Woody B

One time comes to mind for me. If I wouldn't have gotten killed I would have been badly injured. I had put new front axle universal joints in a Jeep Wagoneer. (30+ years ago) I was working in a flat bay.( a bay with no lift) I had the front jacked up. I had jack stands just sitting under it, but had it supported by my floor jack. I was done with the job, except for putting the front wheels back on. I decided I needed to check the lubricant level in the front differential. My jack, that had been supporting it for the entire job was in the say. (while doing the actual job I wasn't under the vehicle, just beside it) I put the jack stands that had been just sitting there so it "looked" safe under the front leaf springs and let the jack down. I grabbed a 3/4inch/19 mm wrench to remove the plug to check the differential lube and slid under the vehicle. The plug takes a 5/8-16mm wrench to remove it so I slid back out from under the vehicle to reach in my tool box and get the correct wrench. As I stepped away from the vehicle it basically spit the jack stands out, crashing down to the floor, with not tires or wheels on it. IF I would have had the correct size wrench I would have still been under it, and would have got crushed, resulting in death or serious injury. Having the wrong size wrench saved me. The thing is, I had done a BUNCH of them, and knew what size wrench I needed. I'm a Christian, and I believe the Lord put the wrong size wrench in my hand. I don't have fear anything, including death, but I got sick on my stomach and threw up in the floor right in front of the Jeep after it came crashing to the ground.

I strap my rods down on the deck with bungee cords. I've never lost any while towing. I have reached down to get one while fishing a couple times and it be gone. This is while on the trolling motor without them strapped down. I keep losing throwable cushions and light weight jackets. The rear compartment on my boat will blow open while towing if I forget to lock it. I have a track record of forgetting once a year or so.

Yep. Every day I pay for patience. Patience doesn't usually require bail money.

6 rods????? Why so many?

I suspect most of the crime in Memphis is isolated in small areas. 83% of US cities have lower crime rates than Charlotte NC (near me). Most of Charlotte is OK though.

My opinion is 3/0 is too small of a hook for a 5+ inch bait. 3 seconds is 2.999 seconds too long to wait on a hookset. I suppose species of Bass could matter though. It's my experience, with Largemouth the big ones don't chew on stuff or hold it in their mouth. Small ones will mouth and chew on stuff for a while. I'm not after small ones. (even though my big ones are small by some people standards) Regarding species. I don't fish for Smallmouth enough to have an opinion. I've been told they'll chew on stuff for a while. Smaller Spotted/Alabama/Kentucky Bass will chew on stuff, but the bigger ones are quick and subtle like Largemouth.

Most tournament people are nice but there's an occasional jerk. When they mention that "they're fishing for money" I tell them that I have a job, what I make, and that I can afford to fish for fun. I caught 10 today. That seems like a good day to me. I can't imagine catching Bass like Katie does. So far this year (January through May) I've caught at least one 5 pound Bass each month. I didn't catch a 5 pounder today, but I caught a 4.54 pound Spot. Most including the biggest one came on a spinner bait with a couple on a shaky head. Water temperature was 80 degrees. 2 degrees warmer than yesterday, 1 degree cooler than last week. Pictured are the first I caught, along with the biggest one.

9" and 7"

Get well soon!!!!

My Classic XL console has a flat top where I have one graph mounted. The other is on a ram mount.

I managed 8 this morning. No big ones, but on really small ones either. First and last are pictured. Many of the fish are really skinny post spawn. I was going to fish longer but my "gut" said no. After my 4th trip to find a restroom I decided to call it a day. I've pretty much been "sitting" since I got home. Hopefully I'll be able to fish tomorrow without all the pit stops. The last few nights have been fairly cool for this time of the year. The water is 3 degrees cooler than it was Monday. (78 degrees)

Old age and treachery will always beat youth and skill.

I think what you're seeing on that Bass is more than just bed making but I've seen it quite a bit. I wonder if some of it comes damaged slime due to improper handling. (from being previously caught) I think the typical spawning "scars" are worn, bloody tail, from making and clearing the bed. Seen in the first picture. I also believe this is mostly in males, but occasionally seen in a female. The other thing I consider typical spawning scars are......side rubs. I was told this comes from the actually spawning, and is usually seen in females. You can see it in the second picture. I'm not an expert. Feel free to disagree with or correct me if I'm wrong.

Dontrelle Willis. I suspect most of y'all have never heard of him. He was a major league baseball pitcher for a few years. His pitching was excellent at times, but sometime erratic. (just like my fishing). The main reason I picked him is regardless of what was happening in the game he always had a BIG smile of his face, and looked like he was having the time of his life. That's me fishing.

Yep, trim it up after you're on plane. Trimming up is worth 4 to 5 mph and ~5000 rpm on mine. 4500 rpm seems low to me, even without trimming up. Once again, make sure you're getting full throttle. Trimming up increased speed (at least) a couple ways. It raises the foot of the motor some for less drag. It also lifts the bow some, resulting in less drag, due to less boat in the water.

There's an occasionally a Kayak tournament on the lake while I'm fishing. On 2 different occasions I've had kayakers peddle up to me and ask if I had any Bass they could take pictures of. Once during a big boat tournament 2 guys fishing near me saw me catch a Bass. They came up and asked if they could have it.

I've got a 9 inch on top of my console and a 7 inch on a Ram mount to the side. This is on a Tracker Classic XL. The console is probably a little bigger on a 175TE. I was looking for a picture but couldn't find one. I'll post a picture if you'd like to see one this weekend when I uncover my boat.

As long as the land/lake owner is OK with it, and it's not against the law I don't see why anyone should question ethics. Go for it. The bait monkey is too fat anyway.

"Loose line that starts to blow up after I cast" sound like you just need to thumb the spool as the lure is landing. More brakes, and even more spool tension can help, but either will rob distance and accuracy. Also, if you get a few loose coils pull them out. If you reel line over them, then cast again it's just going to make it worse. Many of us (including myself) say that we rarely backlash. When I say that I'm saying that I'm not picking out birds nests. It's common for me (and I suspect others) to occasionally pull of a couple feet of line after a cast.

Bass and humans are different. A Bass out of water isn't the same as a person holding their breath. There's been plenty of scientific studies on this. How long can a Bass survive out of water.

I had a rare holiday off. I went early. I caught 4 between 5AM and 9AM. The lake was already getting full or recreational boaters so I called it a day. (FWIW I'm not a fan of all the pleasure boaters, but I suppose they have as much right to the water as I do) The Bluegill spawn is starting but the Bass are still scattered between post spawn, and summer. I think the hot cold hot cold weather as well as all the rain messed up the Bass spawn this year. I saw very little Bass action during the Shad spawn. The water has really warmed up. It's 9 degrees warmer than it was 9 days ago. (81 degrees this morning) Oh well, back to work tomorrow.

I'm thinking in some situations where the wind is blowing opposite the current there should be "magic" spots somewhere under the surface where.....stuff is mixing. I haven't found these magic areas yet, at least magic areas full of feeding fish like I imagine.

If your tow vehicle can handle it I'd go with a single axle. A single axle will handle the weight just fine. Tandem axles are more stable.....less sway, but not needed if your vehicle is up to the task with a single axle. A tandem axle will tear up your gravel more than a single axle. Tandem axles are also tougher on tires and bearings. Even though they're carrying less weight per tire/bearing turning puts more side load on them. This causes cord separation in tires and accelerates bearing wear.

I can't put a number on it. I'm not lost, I'm just hard to find. Tech wise I have 3 Lowrance Lives. Two 9's and a 7. I've got 2 transducers. Active Target on my trolling motor, and a 3 in 1 on my transom. When I make myself use the stuff the way it's supposed to be used I catch more fish, and make less casts. I don't have any of the fancy "FFS" lures. I can see old lures just fine on the screen if I want to watch it. I have a GPS trolling motor. I use Spot Lock all the time. Even though the trolling motor is networked with my screens I don't use auto pilot, or any of the trails stuff. My boat is 16'8" and aluminum with a 50 horse power engine. That's quite a bit different than a 250 horsepower air craft carrier modern Bass boat. Also, I use 5 rod/reel combos. Not the normal modern 30 or 40.

I don't snag that often, or at least lose lures. Spinnerbaits are good, I can usually "feel" them out of snags. Siebert Bladed jigs work great too. I think something is different about them. I'll lost a Chatter Bait or Jack Hammer within my first few casts. For some reason I can "snake" the Siebert Fogy right through them without snagging. Gamakatsu makes a weightless, weedless wacky hook that will bring a wacky rigged stick worm though the trees pretty good too. For me I suspect luck plays a role in getting the Bass out. It's my theory that the Bass are coming up most of the time to get the bait. Largemouth, especially ones 3 pounds or bigger have a tendency to jump as soon as I set the hook. A quick horizontal rod jerk will "surfboard" them. As long as you keep moving them fast enough they can't "get traction". I get them out of the cover, move the boat away, then let them fight in open water.