Woody B

I need to add to my previous post. When conditions allow I like to catch a Bass on my last cast. IE if I start getting tired I'll decide "I'm leaving after the next Bass" I'll also occasionally pick a time and tell myself "first Bass after noon, and I'm leaving". Catching a Bass on my last cast leaves me on fire wanting to come back.

Have fun. Be careful. Don't let inconsiderate people, or a bad situation ruin your day. As I said earlier, have fun. If there's someone blocking the ramp it will cost you a few minutes. Don't let it ruin your day. If someone is already fishing at, or cuts you off at your favorite spot just go find somewhere else. Confidence is important. Use lures and techniques you're comfortable with. Someone elses way of catching Bass works for them. It may not work for you. Every day is different. Make the most of it. (not just fishing) There is no magic line, lure, knot or technique. Use what you're comfortable with. (back to confidence) Target what you want to catch. Some people want a 25+ Bass day. Some people would prefer fewer, but bigger Bass. (there's some people around here who catch a BUNCH of BIG Bass. My hat's off to them). I was content for a while catching BIG numbers of small Bass. I decided to target bigger Bass. You can leave Bass to find Bass if the Bass you've found aren't what you're after. Do whatever YOU want to do. It's not a contest. Catching 25 ten to fourteen inch Bass is fun. Catching fewer but bigger Bass is fun too. @Bird, you're right. Bass can tell when your net is handy. They won't bite.

I had the 2 shot vaccine a year or 2 ago. I was fine after the first one, but had chills and a slight fever for a day or so after the 2nd one. My Mom had the shingles and it wasn't good. @Ski Mrs B and myself wish you a speedy recovery. You'll be in our prayers.

I haven't fished clear water much, but when I did I always had trouble catching Bass I could see. I just assumed the clear water Bass were spooky and I was doing something to spook them. One thing that Active Target done for me was "turn murky water clear" in the sense I could see the Bass. Occasionally I'd see one come out of no where and smash my lure, or hit something on the way down. Just like clear water I was unable to catch most of the Bass I "seen" with FFS. It got the point I'd locate the area Bass were in and turn my screen off. Finally I figured out I was simply trying too hard to catch them. As my lure got near a Bass, regardless of whether it had shown interest or not I'd slow down...pause, and basically dangle my lure in front of them. They would either ignore it, or swim away. I'm still working on technique but I've had many more strikes and catches using the mind set that, once my lure was near a Bass I wanted it to get away. A lure that appears to be trying to escape has gotten me a bunch more strikes than trying to make one "easy to eat". Does this make sense?

All are proven Bass catching lures. Instead of finding new lures and techniques work on finding Bass and putting these lures in front of them. You don't need to feed the bait monkey to catch Bass. It's my belief that pinpoint casting, and strike detection are way more important than the actual lure. Pinpoint casting for me also includes having the lure land like a feather. You're not going to catch many big Bass with a big splash.

I suppose this counts. I used the term "My arm is in a cast" when I use sick time to fish instead of going to work.

I've caught Smallies decades ago in the Jacob Fork. The South Fork, especially South of Lowell NC is MUDDY, pretty much all of the time. I think this is due to construction. I'm surprised Smallies would thrive there, but I suppose if they're there they're there. Maybe all the recent rains brought some down from the Jacob Fork into the South Fork, and they came into Wylie looking for clearer/cleaner water. There's a decent Mean Mouth (Smallie/Spot hybrid) population in Lake Hickory (4 lakes up the Catawba from Wylie) but I haven't heard of any Meanmouth or Smallmouth South/downstream of there. I need to look at some pictures to see if a Smallmouth has a connected dorsal like the fish pictured. My first thought was Smallmouth but then I decided I was too far South. Sometimes fish turn up in areas where they aren't common. The SC state record Musky was caught in the Broad River not far from my house.

Pat and Alex, WOW!!!!! Y'all catch Bass that would eat my little 5 and 6 pounders. TnRiver, our Winter isn't over yet. It's supposed to be in the 20's Tuesday. I like pre spawn so maybe that will extend it. I got my wiring fixed. None of my sonar was working right, but the problem happened gradually so it took a while to notice. I was losing almost 3 volts in my fuse block. The 2D sonar would show the bottom, but not much more. I use it for "signs of life". I have been wondering why there was so much barren water. My Down/Side imaging basically shows a thin line that was the bottom. Same with my Active Target and range was limited. According to my Fluke meter I had 10.3 volts exiting my fuse block. I'm surprised the graphs worked at all. So, I caught 12 today. No hawgs. The biggest 2 were a 17 and 18 inch Spots. (first 2 pictures) The 3rd picture is a 13 inch...... something perhaps a Spot/LM hybrid.(I wanted it to be 14 so I measured it) No tooth patch on it's tongue,(LM trait) Same size scales all over. (LM trait, Spots have smaller scales on their cheeks) Connected dorsal.(Spot trait) But it's color simply isn't "right". I wonder if it's a Meanmouth but I've never seen or heard of a Small Mouth is Wylie. The 4th picture is a tiny Largemouth. I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile female full of eggs. I've never seen a belly like that on a buck bass. Perhaps this is it's first spawn. I wonder how old it is. I got broke off my something kinda strong and slow. I had just got my spinnerbait loose from the rocks a couple casts earlier. It hit and started to go slowly around the boat, like a Cat does. I didn't have near enough pressure to break my line. It must have had a nick from the rock snag earlier. Check your gear often. In my mind it was either a 20 pound Bass or 80 pound Flathead. It could have been a lazy 2 pound Spot though.

This thread is an inspiration. It's nice to see hard work and perserverance pay off for some many people.

What engine and trim level is your Grand Cherokee? 3500 pounds sounds really low for towing capacity. I'd suspect a Cherokee (not Grand) to have a towing capacity around that. Are you sure it's not 3500 kilograms, instead of pounds? That would be ~7700 pounds towing capacity. Regardless there should be a Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) which is the maximum rated weight for everything.

Disclaimer: I'm not a hammer, and won't pretend to be. Others have already mentioned time on the water. Catt mentioned talking to a guide while looking over his boat. Talk to everyone, and pay attention to everything you see. See someone at the landing ask "did you do any good today?" Many people will give out good information. If another boat, or person is fishing near you keep an eye on them. You may get a hint about what to do, or not to do by watching them. Every body of water is different, and every day is different. I think the best kept secret is.....there is no magic secret to unlock catching Bass. When I catch Bass I learn from it. When I get skunked I learn from that too.

I love the action of fishing "moving" baits, but nothing will run the skunk off quicker than a worm. Lately I've been having the best luck with a Shaky head. 3/16 weight with a Bizz Baits Dizzy Diamond. Sometime I think the fall rate is too slow, but I've got a bunch of 3/16 heads. I'll pinch a couple inches off the worm for a faster fall. I love a texas rig, but lately a shaky head has been better for me. I like a wacky too, especially skipping under docks and other cover. There's SO MANY ways you can rig, and fish a plain ol plastic worm.

Disclaimer: I rarely fish where there's Smallmouth. Pedal, or remote is just a personal preference thing. My trolling motor has both but I never use the remote. My hands are usually busy casting or retrieving. When the water temperature is cold I get the remote out, make sure it works and clip it on my belt. I figure if I fell in the water I could use it to bring the boat to me, or to shallow water if I was having trouble getting back in. Edit: I suspect many of us older anglers used a foot controlled trolling motor for years before a remote had even been thought about. My Son in Law, and Grandsons won't touch the pedal. They're all remote.

I had a hitch hiker today when I loaded my boat. The good thing is it's a harmless water snake. They look similar to a Copperhead, but a Copperhead would have bitten me when I picked it up.

I fished just under 4 hours this morning and caught 5. Not Alex or Katie numbers but enough to make me happy. (I think I figured out why I've been struggling, more on that later)The good news about the 5? 2 were over 5 pounds. The smallest was a 14 inch Spot. The 2 Largemouth were 6.51 pounds 21 3/4" long and 5.88 pounds 21 1/4" long. Around here Bass get special above 6 pounds. This one was no exception. I was fishing a lay down, and a boat cut in front of me to the next lay down. (maybe 40 feet, I didn't say anything but I wouldn't crowd anyone like that) Both people in that boat burned buzz baits around the lay down, then they left. I eased up there nice and quite and pitched a shaky head right into the middle of it. The Bass hit it on the way down....just a gently tick, like most big Bass. When I set the hook (luckily for me and my 12 pound test) she came straight up. When she breached I snatched my rod and surfboarded her away from the lay down while moving the boat further away too. (I broke off a huge bass once after surfboarding it to the boat. I think it was able to break off due to being so close, with no line stretch) She "got traction" and went back down, then pulled like a big catfish headed toward deeper water. She walked on her tail a few more times before she finally got tired enough to land. The 5.88 pounder basically didn't fight. She hit a spinner bait so hard it almost jerked the rod out of my hands, then just felt like a 12 incher. I wasn't paying much attention and just jerked her out of the water, breaking my rod when I boat flipped her. I'd like to have a picture of my face when I saw her size. Nothing about her seemed like a big Bass. I haven't broken a rod since November, so that's pretty good for me. So, why have I been struggling? Forward Facing Sonar. I've noticed lately my screen looks like I'm turning the gain up and down, when I'm not. Today I saw some surface activity, but nothing on my sonar. It would take a week to run my battery down so I don't have the voltage displayed on any of my graphs. Anyway, the fuse block feeding all my electronics has developed a bunch of resistance. I was losing almost 3 volts through it. Lately I've been not casting until I see some activity. After seeing the problem early today I just turned all of it off. We'll see how it does tomorrow after I repair the voltage problem.

Like @GreenPig I thought a DC reel would be the thing for skipping. I have a couple DC's and really like them, but don't use them for skipping. I get more distance out of them than any other reels. I would never refer to a DC reel as "hard to backlash". For me the hardest to backlash reels are Daiwa with the SV spool. The problem with them is I HATE THE "WING" SYSTEM. I have a habit of keeping my index finger under my line for feel. This picks the line up out of the guide and caused uneven spooling. The brakes, at least for me are great for skipping but I use a Shimano XT with centrifugal brakes for skipping so I don't get the spooling mess. After decades of having my index finger under the line it's a hard habit to break. I also think having the finger in contact with the line aids in strike detection. Perhaps this wouldn't be necessary with a more expensive rod, but a $100 rod is top of the line for me.

I believe there's a bunch of factors in play......and yes I struggle in muddy cold water. The other factors? Pretty much everytime I was out in muddy sub 50 degree water the wind was HOWLING. Bass (especially Largemouth) are ambush predators. When its muddy they hang right next to cover. Even if they aren't actively feeding I believe they might hit the right lure when it comes right by them. The problem the last Winter, at least for me I believe was the howling wind. 20 mph winds make it really hard to make accurate casts, especially to Bass in shallow cover. Most of the muddy cold Bass I caught this year were Spots (active hunters instead of ambush predators) and were on some kind of deep structure I could get a lure to. As always, I'm not an expert.

It's over spooled as others have said. Also it's common for the DC brakes not to work correctly until you've made a cast or 2. I think something has to get charged. I usually have my DC brakes on 1. Sometimes 2 if it's windy.

Use what you're comfortable with. I don't think Bass are lined up in the murky depths laughing because "he's not using flouro".....or mono, or braid or whatever.

The biggest threat around Greenville and pretty much everywhere else is people..

I have limited time to fish so I only target Bass. Decades ago I Carp fished some. I'd catch them at power company reservoirs and sell them to pay lakes. I don't think that's legal anymore, but regardless I'll just keep Bass fishing. I occasionally hook onto a big Catfish. A couple weeks ago I caught 15, and 11 pound Blues on back to back casts. While not big for Blues they're still fun on Bass tackle. Big Flatheads are even more fun. I will target a big Cat when I see them on sonar, but not with traditional Catfish gear or baits. A couple years ago I caught a 47 inch long 53 pound Flathead on a Bandit 200, and 12 pound test. It took a while to land it.

Quite a few companies are paying for people to attend truck driving school now with a contract upon graduation. Driving a big truck is a big responsibility, but the trucks are easier to drive than ever.

I went with #3 also. Part of the fun, at least for me is the mystery of the other ones. I can look on windy or other sources for wind speed and directions but the lake channel often changes the wind.

I fished for 4 hours today. I caught an 18 inch Spot on my first cast. After than I caught 6 more spots between 14 and 16 inches, then I caught a 5.20 pound 20 1/2 inch Largemouth on my last cast. 3 came on a buzz bait, including the 18 inch Spot. The rest were on a bladed jig. They were all on secondary points in almost no water. The lake was "funny" today. We had a BUNCH of rain yesterday. Lake Wylie is fed by the Catawba river, from Mountain Island lake, but 1/3 of Lake Wylie's water comes from the South Fork River. The lake is up about a foot or so from yesterday. They were not drawing water. The wind was from the West. The South Fork is really muddy, almost blood red. I suppose due to the wind, and lack of current there was a mud line coming up the lake from the South Fork. They were scheduled to turn the generators on----- start pulling water a Noon today. I suppose after some water got moving the mud line went back down the lake. Pictured are the 18 inch Spot, and 5.20 pound Largemouth.

Guy Eaker made a living with the combination of chartreuse spinner baits, pin point casting and strike detection skills.