AlabamaSpothunter

I remember thinking Buffet was a pretty decent human, that's sad to hear.

I smile every time you and your pops post an Alabama Bass from CA. Not only that, but from Smith Lake which is not far away from me. We are linked through Bass genetics my friend ?

I was too afraid to post it.....but that's the EXACT video I wanted to post. I've sent it to a few friends, they were all blown away like I was. I knew the tech well, seen it used lots, seen screen shots, short videos, etc. I watched that video and said to myself, "yep I'm getting FFS before somebody else does on my homelake" ? I already love using down/side scan sonar to fish, so I'm down with looking at a screen if that's what people want to term it. I can't think of anything more exciting PG13 rated.

Took 3 days off while a significant cold front blew through, it was still chilly in the mid 40s for most of the day. Water temps were at 56-58 throughout the various parts of the lake. In a very shallow cove I saw 59. Caught about 10 fish after graphing for a few hours to find active fish. One big post spawn that was a threadfin short of 6lbs. Lost a big Spot right at the boat as well. Few other quality fish as well. Still looking for those 5/20lb days that were so frequent in the winter. One small fish came on a MB 110+1 in Sexy Shad, couple on the flashback mini, and then the rest on the Damiki Axe Blade. After somewhere around 130-140 fish the Axe Blade finally lost an eye on one side, it's surely one of those "magical" baits that I wouldn't be talking about to people IRL lol.

My gosh, you literally picked up where you left off, that's incredible!

Do you ever post anything meaningful?

Spot on my situation. 3/4ths of Feb was much warmer than March has been. We've had half a dozen freezing nights including the last several. I've taken 3 days off which is marathon for me with rain then a big cold front, but I intend to fish the next 5 days in a row. Looking prime this week

Hey we're in the same club together ?

He services Bass, he's a Bass mechanic ??

Awesome Spot, way to persevere.

18 DDs in one day on the same bait?.....if so that's mind blowing

12lb CXX for DDs which I totally suck at and working hard at changing 12lb Fluoro, or 14lb Sunline Natural mono for squarebills and medium runners.

Black, Black w/ Red flake, and BlackGrape 1/8th Tungsten 4/0-5/0 EWG, I like the red Gamas June, July and August hot summer nights. You'll catch big fish this way.

Awesome report, thanks! Glad to hear you are doing better, and got to fish.....that's the most important thing. I wanted to hear about the pressure aspect the most, sounds like it's boat to boat. I'd want to be fishing a lake that has 17lb fish swimming around as well.

I'll have to check this sucker out, 9.5" and Bama Bug perked my ears up ?

Awesome, and amazing we both live in the USA.....easy to forget how massive this country is. The common denominator is that special green fish, its ability to survive and most times thrive throughout America is incredible. Nice one Pat! I like the weird filter thing your phone does on pics. Blurs the borders, and focuses the center.

I fish Zoom Mag 8" Lizards extensively at night during the summers. Perhaps my number one bait. My PB and only DD came off a black 8" variety. I'd say both of your conclusions are spot on, but I've never understood why people limit themselves to throwing them only in the Spring. I have dozens of bags of 6" models too. Besides a 6 or 7" Roboworm, if it's dragging on the bottom, it's gonna be a lizard from me most times. They just seem to catch bigger fish for me. Colors: Junebug, Watermelon Red, Greenpumpkin with red flake, black, and my personal favorite Blackgrape.

Pretty little guy that's for sure!

Dang that's like my whole budget for the year lol. I want one of those K9s super bad, might be priced out of that game though.

8" Zoom Mag Lizards have always been a big fish catcher for me. An all black one accounted for PB during one summer. I'll fish a lizard year round. Perfect combo of creature bait and worm.

Luckeeeee ?

Agree 100%. Just wish they had the full "cheat code" poundage like they do right before they spawn.

Thank you for contributing, and to others, please share your tips......I should have made that more clear in my OP.

This thread is really for the Northern folks who have yet to get on the water and start fishing in that pre spawn period. I wanted to start this thread for a few reasons, first being that I now fully understand this is a Bass angler's best chance of catching trophy fish, the fish of a lifetime. This is your best chance to break your PB, let the FOMO fuel you! Secondly because of how fast it all happens, or at least did for me. If you fail to realize it by a week or two like me, you'll be chasing your tail the rest of the spawn cycle. Every body of water, and particular Bass is unique in regard to spawning but after reading an article about 30mins ago a real "eureka moment" happened. February 3rd I caught this 6.4 in 30+fow on a Damiki 1oz Axe Blade. The water was in the low 50s, and this fish had a big sore on it's tail that was dripping blood. This fish was only a couple hundred yards away from a spawning cove and flat, but in my mind even though I thought the tail injury could be a result of fanning a bed, I thought the much more likely explanation was some kind of injury/infection because it's Feb 3rd and the water was in the low 50s after all. Otherwise, the fish was a perfect healthy looking big prespawn fish. The quote that really made me flip and realize that this was a fish that had already moved up and at least started to prepare a bed was " Before releasing ‘em, check their tails for fresh sores or even dripping blood." I knew to examine the tails and overall look to them to decern which stage of the Spawn cycle they are at, but not that early. Had I connected the dots better I wouldn't have stayed offshore for another week or two wondering where all the bloated big fish went, where did my 50 fish days go. I was still catching some, still catching some quality, but something was shifting majorly, and I didn't listen to the obvious clue. So my tip for you folks not on the water yet.......check the condition of the fish, listen to the clues in front of your face even if it goes against what you've read or heard. "Before releasing ‘em, check their tails for fresh sores or even dripping blood." - Walker Smith