AlabamaSpothunter

@LrgmouthShad We all can't look like Jordan Lee last year at Heavy Hitters down on Toho 😄

😆 @Pat Brown, if I could catch them like you on those frogs, I don't think I'd be fishing anything else either. I totally neglected in my original reply one of our shared favorite baits, which is the buzzbait. You can never wrong buzzing that thing around up shallow once those water temps hit 60. Once they start spawning it's a must have bait for the fry guarders if for no other reason alone.

Fish are likely pushing up shallow and doing it fast. If you're on a warming trend with those water temps, those fish are likely a week or two at most from spawning. Go up to the bank and start cruising around looking to see if the fish have moved up. If so, it's really hard to beat a Whacky Rig, bladed jig, or a T-Rigged Creature bait. A big swimbait can be deadly as well. Fish will be using major structure to stage up as they progressively work their ways to the spawning locations from deeper water winter haunts. If they aren't at the bank yet, back all the way out to the major points......not there, go deeper into the coves/creeks arms and try all the secondary points. After they leave those areas they should be up shallow. Right before those fish spawn they'll be up shallow feeding up, and that's a great time to use those moving baits like a bladed jig, Squarebill, Spinnerbait, Underspin, bigger Swimbait, etc. and just cover water focusing on areas that aren't too deep. Once you know the fish are spawning, I like to really slow down and pick things apart with that Whacky Rig or T-Rig Creature bait.

Beautiful fish and great stories everyone! I could never pick a single fish, to me any fish over about 8lbs is a story and memory deserving of my favorite. Little surprised by the overwhelming amount of LMB being posted. Even the Menderchunk Mastro chose a big ole Gina 😁 I've always believed the most memorable thing in Bass fishing is seeing your first big LM's mouth come breaching from the water.

I feel like my life will never be complete until I catch a big SM on a nightcrawler now, thanks @TnRiver46 😁 Really cool thing about this thread is how unique everyone's fishing style is. It really showcases the diversity in techniques, tactics, and locations. @Bluebasser86 Way to go with another powerplant freakzilla

I don't think I would read too much into it until it happens another time or two. The big freeze would be my pick for the culprit. It's a real possibility that you had an existing population of Shad still in there, and when the temps crashed those Threadfins began to die and get stunned.....then for the last couple of days the Bass were at an all you can buffet. They might just not be hungry. Fingers crossed it wasn't those dang Otters.

No, one of the main reasons why I love supporting my local shop (Mark's Outdoors) is because I love to shop for tackle in person. I want to pick out the best looking DT10 on the rack.

Not for my fantasy roster 🤣

@TnRiver46 Thanks brother!! The main difference b/t this year and year's past I believe had to do with the fact the huge rains didn't crash the water temps. I stupidly took a number of days off one of which was in the mid 70s(outside temps) because "muh never catch anything in cold dirty water" attitude 🤪 Now the water temps have crashed to high 40s, and in another day or two the water clarity should be close to normal.......once again the puzzle has completely reset. How can you not obsess over these green and brown fish

How come my first post was "needed approval of mod", and now it's just deleted? What's the point of taking the time to write out a reply only for it to get deleted????

1/8th is generally all you need in terms of weight Then you want to match the hook size with whatever swimbait you're going to use. I have A-Rig heads from 1/0 all the way to 5/0. 3/0 works well with most common A Rig swimbaits. I use a local company who makes really great A-Rig jigheads..... Diamond 30° V-Loc Rig Hooks | Diamond Baits If the fish are more aggressive, a Keitech/Rage Tail/or various other 3.3 paddletail swimbaits are a great option. If fish are more lethargic, the Keitech Easy Shiners are great. I know you already said you got a free rig, but the easy button when learning A-Rigs is to just buy a Yumbrella kit and use the supplied Scottsboro swimbaits.....they're fantastic. You can also buy them separately.

If there's shell beds on a fishery, there's a great chance John Garrett is going to win the event. Dude pulled 31lbs before 1030am. I suspect his spot is loaded with fish. He's likely got this derby won if I had to guess. I just can't see Lowen's fish holding up tomorrow. Whatever happens, please don't let a Johnston win 😁

Thanks a bunch Tim, I'm just trying to do my best T-Billy Muskie season impersonation 😎

Bryan Thrift and Andy Montgomery talked about skipping them on the Bass After Dark podcast recently. Montgomery said he uses Rage bugs when skipping them. Never heard of that before.

I think it was a happy accident but agree this is a terrible schedule for scopers. I feel like the schedule is 1000% dictated by profit and who's willing to pay. I don't think another factor comes into play.

Why thank you Katie! One of many amazing things about Bass fishing is always thinking up new hypothesis on Bass behavior or biology. The fact many, but not every big LMB have bug eyes is an interesting thought experiment. One thought I have is the big fish with bug eyes get that way from living the majority of their life as deep water specialist. I feel like they can grow larger eyes based on the environment they predominately hunt in. Even better thought experiment is why I spend so much time thinking about Bass eyes 🤣

Finally had a good day in cold muddy water. The past several winters it's been almost impossible to just get a bite, but I was able to get about 22.5lbs with an awesome 8.2 and 6.2. Next day not as great but caught a nice 6.15. Finally, fished again today with about 1.5ft of viz and only had 5 bites but one was a 5.15. This 8.2 had eyes on her that are just wild. Thanks to the Zillion's audible drag she put on a good show as well. 6.15 6.2 5.15 Finally here's a fish that had a tail down it's throat, and a claw coming out it's butt 🤣

Excellent point! Like Alabama though, Maine is a Constitutional Carry state. Big kudos to Maine, wasn't expecting to see that when I just googled it. " Maine is a constitutional carry state, which means that anyone 21 or older who can legally possess a firearm is allowed to carry openly or concealed without a permit. However, the state does offer a concealed carry permit for reciprocity purposes."

I'm thrilled to help out in any minor way. I'm a huge fan of both you and guns......seeing the two of you come together has me grinning ear to ear 😁 You'll make a really great firearm owner, you don't half ass things and love the actual process of learning new things. Maine might be tricker than Alabama, but one of the best things to do when buying a handgun for the first time is attend a training class or two. In one class you'll fire 500rds, and equally as important the instructor will get you squared away with what type of holster you need and explain the pros/cons of each type of holster design, and carry body locations. A course like this would be amazing. Not sure how far Portland area is though Concealed Carry Classes, firearm safety, basic and advanced skills - SRT Concepts

Congrats @Team9nine That's pretty dang epic to catch two 3lb Crappies in one day, that's more than many Crappie anglers will catch in a lifetime.

Yeah you likely got some high quality SD ammo. Most of the SD ammo is going to be bonded hollowpoint construction. Basically, you want a bullet that expands about double in diameter upon making contact, and then able to penetrate 12-18". Range ammo is typically FMJ(full metal jacket) and will simply penetrate. Hollowpoint ammo is made to expand, but it will break apart quickly and thus not penetrate that 12-18" threshold. That's why you want a bonded hollowpoint, where the bonded part just means the bullet construction is meant to never break apart just expand and continue to penetrate. This is all info that you don't really need, but the nerd in me likes to type it out 😁 Once you put about 500rds through a new handgun without any problems, you can consider it vetted for self defense usage.

Yeah that's why having a semi auto .308 sucks......with even the cheapest stuff, every time you hear bang it's a buck. The days of buying cheap surplus ammo are over for the most part. It costs more to feed an AK 7.62x39 than an AR with 5.56.

This made me so happy reading it Katie! I hope you never have to use it defense of yourself and loves ones, but it makes me feel a lot better knowing you have one. It's a small price for a huge amount insurance. Beyond that, shooting firearms is a metric ton of fun, and I can't wait to hear how you enjoy shooting your new Ruger. A 9mm is like the goldilocks of handgun calibers, you did great. ETA: For range shooting, don't plink with the expensive/self defense ammo. Just use the cheapest stuff you can find at a reputable sporting good shop. That way you can practice a lot more for the price. Then always keep a couple of mags loaded with Federal HST, it's the gold standard for self defense ammo, and police departments across the country use it. FBI does as well IIrc. Buy Personal Defense HST 9mm Luger Ammo 124 | P9HST1S

In terms of Megabass, their top end line, the P5 Destroyer lineup is offered in both a JDM and USDM lineup. The rods are quite different, and you really get a sense of the differences between Japanese and US angler preferences. For example the JDM P5 Destroyer 110 Stick is a 6'3 offering, while the USDM jerkbait models are much longer. The Japanese prefer shorter jerkbait rods, and so do I which I why I went with the JDM option. I'm not sure about other JDM companies.

I think a trip mid March to early April would be perfect than. Problem with Jan and Feb fishing down in the deep south is that you'll have two weeks of 70d highs, followed by a week with overnight temps in the teens. The fishing however remains pretty awesome through it all. As @softwateronly stated so well, there is some kind of dynamic that happens with water temps below about 45d where the Shad can barely stay alive meanwhile the Bass are perfectly okay. The only problem then is trying to find something the fish will confuse with the real thing. Those dying and stunned Shad can be really hard to mimic in my experience. By mid March those extreme cold fronts are over with even though overnight temps can still dip into the low 30s. Almost all the fish are up shallow.