Woody B

That's one of the reasons I stick with Big Game mostly. IIRC it's made in Iowa....or somewhere in the Mid West. I tired Fins Windtamer, and didn't like it......but I'm not a braid guy. 832 is on my braid combo because it was the last braid I tried.

I see several people catching decent size bass on NEDs. I just can't make myself "finesse" that far. I've stooped to a 6 inch worm, cut down to 4 inches on a shaky head. As it get's colder I'll probably toss a NED a little. I don't think using a NED or other small bait is a dink invitation. Dinks and adult Bass don't usually hang around together even Spots. IE, when I'm catching micro bass I have to go to a different area to catch 16 inchers. If I'm catching 16 inchers I don't catch dinks in that area. I also don't buy into the big baits = big Bass train of thought. I bought one of the $40+ Shimano swim baits. The only fish I caught on it was a 8 inch Spot.(the bait is 7 1/2") I gave it to a 12 year old kid who's a friends nephew. He caught a 4 pounder on it, in a golf course pond. I suppose a small body of water, like a golf course pond may have dinks and bigger bass together. In that situation the big bait big bass mindset probably works. We all fish diverse waters. The similarities, and differences continue to amaze me.

This year (2023) I've caught 2 that were 6 pounds. (1 was 6 even, the other 6.1) I've caught 10 that were between 5 and 6 pounds. The one that was 6 even was a per spawn fatty. It was only 21 1/4 long. The 6.1 one was post spawn, and was 22 3/4 long. My longest under 6 pounds was 5.8 and 22 inches long. I caught it the same day, in the same rain storm I caught the 6.1 pounder. It rained so much that day my automatic life jacket deployed. I can get into big schools of what I call "micro bass" where I can catch an 8 to 10 inch spotted bass pretty much every cast. I try to stay away from them. I've never caught more than 2 or 3 decent sized Bass (3 pounds and up) in a single School. I did catch a 3.5 pound Spot and a 4 pound Largemouth on back to back cast a couple months ago. I caught the Spot on a crankbait. I was the LM follow it to the boat, then swim into a boat house. I skipped a wacky into the boathouse. The LM hit it almost instantly. I used to never see Spots and LM's together, but have been seeing that more lately.

I'll get laughed out of this thread (that's OK) but every time I try new line I end up going back to Big Game. I reluctantly have Sufix 832 on my "heavy stuff" combo. I change my big game every 3 weeks. I don't use my combo with braid much, but the line on it is a year old. I tried some high dollar fluoro on my bottom contact combo. I didn't hate it, but can't see spending what it cost compared to big game.

If they're under the docks skipping is the only way to go. IMHO a weightless wacky is the easiest to skip. Using one is helpful when learning how to skip properly. Lipless cranks and shaky heads are good for skipping too.....at least for me. I can skip light jigs, but heavier ones (3/8 oz and over) tend to dig in, at least for me. If you're scaring stuff skipping you probably just need more practice. I also suspect you're starting your "skip" too far from the boat. I have my boat 15 to 25 feet from the dock or whatever I'm skipping under. My first "skip" will be within 3 or 4 feet of the boat. I'll have several skips between the boat and my target. A couple weeks ago a Spotted bass attacked a shaky head mid skip. If you skipping is "choppy" start out with spinning equipment until you get it smoother. The brake setting needed for "choppy" skipping on a bait caster will limit distance too much. I couldn't skip good until I got my technique right with spinning gear. I now skip with bait casters. I run my brakes a little tighter than normal, but not much. I can't "pitch" or "flip". (Hold the lure in my hand and kinda flip it out with an underhanded pitch) I end up with line around my neck, and the lure no where near I want it to be when I try. My shortest rod is 6'6". Most of my rods are over 7'. I use the 6'6" one for skipping. I wonder if I could pitch/flip with a shorter rod.

I never got a sniff on an A-rig until I got live sonar. I would have never imagined how slow one sinks. It drops slowly, but comes back up quickly if the retrieve is too fast. I've got a torn labrum so I try to keep weight to a minimum but I suspect if you really loaded one up with lead it would still sink slowly. An A-rig is the only lure that I strictly video game fish with. I rarely throw mine but I suspect my cast to catch ratio is better with an A-rig than anything else. I didn't use mine at all yesterday. I didn't see what I wanted to see on sonar to use one. I've watched Bass ignore spinner baits, bladed jigs, lipless cranks and various other lures, then almost jerk my rod out of my hands when they hit an A-rig. I've also watched Bass following an A-rig, then all of a sudden one flashes out of no where and hits it.

Nice axes. I've been playing....or at least making noise since I was 8. I used to work part time in a studio mostly recording tracks for radio commercials. I also build acoustic guitars, although I've slowed down on that. This was the 25th guitar I built. It's all Koa....kinda my own body design. I wanted a 12 fret. I built a mold to fit an old L-00 style case. If my link to the recording works I'll post some more. I rented some studio time to record 3 guitars I had just built. Edit: I noticed the sound file quit working. I uploaded it to another free server here. All Koa 12 Fret

I put mine in a water bottle if a bottle is handy........but I re use water bottles. Most of the time I ball the line up and wrap it with masking tape. I'd never heard or or thought of recycling line. I've never thrown it in the lake.

It's frustrating when you stop at a normally productive spot and either see no activity, or see Bass laughing at or ignoring your lures.

There's a guy who fishing a local 1500 acre lake all the time. He's the "The Hammer" on the side of his boat. He posts all kinds of Bass pictures on social media. The last time I was at that lake I watched him some. He'd pull up to an area, take the single Bass out of his livewell, take a picture, then go somewhere else and take a picture of the same fish, with a different background. I had always heard people who catch fish all the time "sticks" until he put "the hammer" on his boat. I suppose "hammer" is a new term. When I raced there were several racers who were called "shoes". I managed to win an occasionally race. People called me a "machine", I suppose because I just raced win or lose without showing any emotions.

I "caught" a big ol skunk today. Use your imagination for the picture. I lost a 3 to 4 pounder on my first cast, and didn't see a Bass after that. I went to an area with some fairly deep lay downs. I saw what I figured was a Bass on sonar and made my first cast. It hit right after my (brand new) Bandit 300 bounced off a limb. It came up, danced on it's tail a little then my line went limp. My brand new lure broke off right behind the lip. I fished several more hours and never saw another Bass, or even anything I thought was a Bass on sonar. The forecast is for high winds and buckets of rain tomorrow. I won't be able to go next weekend due to family Christmas stuff. Likely my next outing will be the 30th.

I've never caught a Drum. I've never caught a Carp while bass fishing. I've caught plenty of Carp, but I was fishing for them. Last weekend I felt a little tug on my A-rig, and had a big scale about the size of a quarter on one of the hooks. I suspect a big Carp brushed against the hook. What else would have a scale that big? There's all kinds of different species where I fish but Cat's don't have scales, Striped/Hybrid bass aren't going to have scales that big. Neither are Perch. I don't think a Longnose Gar or Bowfin would have a big scale like that. I should have taken a picture of it.

I only target Bass.....or at least I use bass tackle and bass lures. The lake I fish most if FULL of BIG Catfish. I can usually tell the difference between a Bass and a big Cat on sonar, but I'll cast to the cats anyway. Blue Cats fight hard but give up quickly, so they aren't all that fun. Flatheads don't fight that hard to start with, but when they see the boat the freak out. It takes patience, steady pressure, good boat control and luck to land a big one on bass tackle. I was 1/2 mile away from where I hooked this one when I finally got it in the boat.

I don't have "target lock". I've got a turret from LS Mounts. I use a foot pedal to turn it left and right. I didn't like some of the things about it. I've re wired it, and mounted it differently that it came.

I've had my Active Target (Lowrance "live scope") for a little over a year. I was torn between getting it, or 360 before. I'm happy with my decision, but I don't fish a bunch of "strange" water. IE I usually fish the same lake. I have a pretty good idea where the structure is. I rarely use "Scout" mode. (I think that's "perspective" view). I use forward and down mode all the time. For a rock pile, brush pile ect in the "middle of no where" I normally use side imaging to find it. I'll mark a way point 50 feet or so away, then have my sonar unit to tell my trolling motor to spot lock on that spot. I'll point my active target transducer at it, then start fishing. I have a motorized turrent mounted on my trolling motor with my active target transducer. I can turn the transducer in any direction. I've been in one boat with 360. I liked it. I may add it someday, but without even considering the cost my trolling motor already has one pole and transducer hanging off of it. There's also already 1 screen on the bow of my small boat.

I'm not a hammer........I'm an automotive technician, so I suppose I'm a wrench......or maybe a socket. I know a few hammers. They all share 2 things. The ability to catch a bunch of bass, and the ability to remain humble about it.

I probably told this the the "2023" version of this thread. My new years resolution every year for the past several decades has been to "not die". So far I'm doing good. Fishing wise, I'm just going to have fun. If I get to take someone else fishing occasionally that's great too. IF (big if) I stumble onto any fish catching knowledge I'll share it with everyone I know. Not fishing related. I'm going to quit getting aggrivated with people. Mostly while driving. People tick me off pretty much every day either on my way to work or on my way home. I'm just going to try to chill. I'm not in a hurry I don't need to let some idiot cutting me off get inside my head.

I'd be willing to bet that EVERY "hammer" everywhere has 2 things in common. They're going to be good at strike detection, and they're going to be able to make precise, quite casts. Some people seem to have a knack for catching bass. I think this "knack" is skills and intuition they've developed through observation and memory retention.

Aluminum props flex making what I consider the "effective pitch" different than the actually number. FWIW the pitch number on a prop is the number of inches it moves per revolution. One variable is the gear ratio of the lower unit. I don't know what ratio your engine is our how it compares to my friends Merc. For livin2fish to be able to turn a 15 inch prop with a 40 horse his Yamaha gear ratio must be lower than my Mercury. If you're happy with your original prop I'd recommend trying to find a local prop shop to repair it.

Yep, a co worker has a Tracker Panfish model, stick steer with a 40 Merc. He runs a 13" pitch. If you're going stainless go down to a 12" pitch. You current prop should be marked somewhere. As far a top speed, handling ect. It's my experience that proper balance and weight distribution will gain more performance than a "magic" prop. I have a SS prop, with some extra cupping. This get's my boat "up" enough for a super smooth ride and great handling. My factory aluminum prop was 1/2 mph faster.

Rain rain rain is the forecast for today. I was sitting home watching is drizzle. I was either going to make a BPS/Academy bait monkey run, or go fishing. I decided to go fishing. (take that monkey). It's not cold. When I got the the landing (which I had to myself) there was a light drizzle, very little wind and it was 63 degrees. I was stuck on the decision to wear my Summer rain gear or Winter rain gear. I opted for the Winter rain gear, since my Summer jacket doesn't have a hood to keep my head dry. That was a bad decision. I re treated my winter stuff and it worked great for a couple trips. Not this time. Once the drizzle turned into real rain I was soaked. I caught 6 Spots. No big ones. The 2 pictured are typical for all of them. My phone was trying to fog up so I didn't take any more pictures after the rain got hard. Fish were active. I may have fished 45 minutes. I never got more than 1/4 mile from the landing. I realize I would have caught 9 instead of 6 if I'd had my hair cut. It's all a matter of time management. I didn't have time to go fishing and get a haircut. Pat, when I see them hugging the bottom on sonar I think they're sleeping or at least in some kind of inactive state. I have a hard time getting them to respond to anything. I suppose electricity or dynomite would work but I haven't tried that.....yet. Often suspended bass are the same, but sometime running a buzz bait over their heads a few times will get them to respond to something else. I can't get a buzz bait to wake up the bottom huggers though. I think they're hugging the bottom for warmth. The Earth is warmer than the water.

I don't mess with lightening. When I was a kid I loved to play outside. My parents would have to threated to whip me to get me to come inside when a storm came up. One evening they set me down and gave me a lecture about how dangerous lightening was. THE NEXT DAY my best friend from kindergarten, along with his Grandfather and his dog were struck and killed by lightening. I'm still deciding on going today or not. Update, I'm going. It rained so much the day I caught my biggest Bass of the year that my automatic life jacket deployed. I've got an extra re arm kit so I'm ready for that now. LOL

I'm a fan of the AT4 option. It's enough of a lift to look cool and function doing anything you "should" be doing with your truck. However, it's not so much suspension geometry and safety is compromised. Extended warranty companies(Carshield, The Warranty Group, ect) won't sell an extended warranty on a vehicle with an aftermarket lift. They'll void the warranty if a lift kit is installed on a vehicle they sold a warranty for. What I'm saying is, the factory lift is the way to go.

I'm thankful that I can fish year round. I fear if I had an off season it would start like But would end up like the movie "Falling Down". Added: If you're considering barber school I'm receiving peer pressure to get a hair cut.