AlabamaSpothunter

Haha, for us simpletons everything above the Mason Dixon line is Yank territory 🤣 Back me up fellow redneck 😁 Nice to see you posting again Scott!

When I first joined I had no idea what a Whopper Plopper was because they came out when I was taking a break from the sport. I just kept seeing fat Maine Bass after fat Maine Bass being caught on them, so obviously I had to get some Whopper Plopper love in my life. Long story short I own half a dozen now and caught a ton of fish on them late Spring last year thanks to you Katie.

Thanks, guys, for the especially the kind words! That 7lb fish was the best medicine/gift I could have received. I never fully realized how special the Green Fish was until I joined here and become buddies with folks like @Swamp Girl and @The Baron who taught me that people up north are every bit as passionate and talented at chasing LMB as any angler who gets to fish for them year round in Alabama. I'm a much better angler today because of all the things I've learned from you Yanks since joining. @Pat Brown I really like your thoughts on the whole 'controlled burn' aspect of what's happening in your area. One thing I know for certain is that one of the best recipes for creating the conditions for an epic winter big fish day is a hard freeze down here in the South. O.H. Ivie as we know it today was discovered after a historic hard freeze/winter storm several years ago, when Milliken and a few others set the internet on fire with a 50lb bag. The incredible winter fishing that I've come to love over the last three years doesn't start until consistent freezing morning temps happen. I'm a betting man, and I'd say within TWO WEEKS, Pat will be posting a 7-10lb fish (I'm being modest not to jynx you 😁). ETA: It looks like Canada or Maine in Alabama today......we got a couple of inches of snow last night. It can't melt fast enough 🤣 As we've talked about a bunch before.......I feel like attitude is the second most important attribute to have to become a great Bass angler. The first is confidence. Every day out I try to work on my attitude, and I use many people on this forum and especially in this thread for motivation and example. Pat no doubt has the right attitude, and I've never met anyone who has a better fishing attitude than you Katie!

@Bluebasser86 and @T-Billy That's brutal guys, really hate hearing those stories. We're in a club that nobody should ever have to be in. I won't forget your story Clayton especially since you still have the card and recovery might be possible. Prices go down, new tech comes out, I don't blame you for not spending that much. If mine is successful, might be worth getting a quote from them. Few lessons I want to share with anybody who needs to hear it. 1. Going forward I will always re format the card a new each time out. 2. I will always make sure I safely remove hardware or eject media on my PC before pulling the card out 3. I will pay attention to the warning signs before the mega disaster strikes, when I insert a card into a drive and it says something is wrong it wants to scan and I x it out because I've done so without consequences 1000x before, don't do it. Enough of that, had a great day which was about the only thing that was going to put me in a better head shape over the data deal. Didn't catch but 11 Bass but managed a 21lb on the dot bag. The two prizes were a 7lb 11oz fish, and a 5lb 2oz one. The 7.11 ate the red vault, the 5.2 ate the shad vault. @Blue Raider Bob What a fantastic reply brother! A big girl awaits you in the New Year! 😎

And every Alabama Bass in California today can trace its lineage to the original fish that were taken from Smith Lake north of Birmingham, AL.

Pathetic response I had similar QC issues with a few Alpha Angler rods......each time no questions asked new rods in the mail next day, and then after 3rd rod had QC issues, they gave me a free rod for all the hassles. Alpha Angler is about a thousand times smaller than Shimano too. It really pains me to say this, because they're made in China, but Megabass makes the most cosmetically flawless rods of all the high end rods I either buy or fondle at my local tackle store. Maybe return the rod, and just buy a P5 Destroyer for the same or even less online than a new GLX.

Great stuff Pat, and really appreciate the pep talk!!! The livewell is a great suggestion, and I recall watching Doug Hannon use a similar setup with a beneficial solution like SureLife in it. He would dunk them in the livewell and then release them. My gut and stats tell me she's the biggest fish I'll ever catch out of the lake, but you can never discount pure luck. Thanks again everybody, and I don't want to hijack a picture thread anymore than I have considering I didn't even post a picture.....here's to being able to post a pic in a week though 🙂

Thank you guys so much for the kind and encouraging words!!!!! Means the world to me as nobody else would understand and get it. My best buddy spent hours last night trying to recover them, but no luck. So I just packaged the card up and sent it to a repair lab in CT. No charge if they can't get it back, but it'll be $354 if they can. I didn't realize how much a memory is worth in terms of dollars until I got put into a situation like this. Luckily it's not as much as Katie's recovery at $1000. I suspect many people who do this professional recovery have lost finincial data, passwords, etc. Knock on wood, the tech in the lab is going to see Bass fishing videos and think I've lost my mind 🤣 I'll be sure to keep you guys updated since we're all invested in the outcome at this point. Small little silver lining is that at least I'll always have the bait that got retired. Caught it on a Red Craw 1/2oz Damiki Vault blade bait with upgraded hardware.....Owner Hyper Wire #1 or #2 split rings (can't remember which size) with Owner STX-38s in size 6. I can't emphasis enough how much changing out the OEM hooks for STX 38s makes a difference. If you notice she broke one of the treble hook points which I suspect was caused by me having to re bend it in place a few times after freeing the bait with a lure retriever. I should really learn from that and start changing out the hook as soon as I have to rebend it once.

Thanks Katie! I really want to share the beauty of this fish with you, and all my other friends here. There was a guy on a dock who saw me catch her, and I thought about motoring over to get him to snap a pic. I don't regret at all how fast I released her though, she didn't have a single flaw on her, she's no doubt in the prime of her life. I do feel incredibly blessed to have the interaction, but I gotta get at least a pic of her. God willing, I can find a data recovery company to restore the files. @A-Jay Thanks buddy! I know you really do get the pain of losing data from gopros. I actually thought about you and the two-camera system last night. You're a role model for us all on how to handle, film, and immediately release trophy caliber Bass. Really appreciate it friends, I already feel better thanks to you guys!

Really appreciate the good vibes @Jigfishn10 ! There's a little backstory to this fish, and the current obsession I've had for 30 straight months now. I grew up fishing a lake that I dreamed about catching a DD on. Then I moved out and went to college, did the adult thing for years, and somehow the universe brought me back to that same lake where I could try to fulfill one of my true lifelong goals. Few things in my life have I ever pursued as much as this goal over the last 2.5 years. @Swamp Girl is best aware of the madness, frustration, and sometimes incredible highs I've had during this process. She's helped mightily along the way keeping my attitude in check, and showering me in positivity. At many points along the way I've felt there wasn't a DD in the lake including hours before I caught the 9.12 yesterday afternoon. To me that fish represented 2.5 years, and it was finally a fish big enough that if I never ended up catching an actual DD from the lake, I could sleep at night knowing I did everything in my power to make it happen. In some ways not having pics or a video doesn't erase that fact, but I'm the type that will absolutely stop fishing if I realize I don't have a scale or camera, so obviously capturing the memory is paramount to my fishing experience. Sounds stupid crying about catching a big Bass, but I felt I needed to vent to friends who actually understand what I'm talking about.

Thanks friend! The worst part is that I'm debating whether I wished I didn't even catch her yesterday, went from being on cloud 9 at the top of the world, to feeling like I want to vomit since last evening. Hopefully this serves a purpose and helps others in the future. Take pics from multiple sources, don't rely on technology.

Had an incredible yesterday and caught a 9lb 12oz absolute beauty of a fish. Also had close to a 26lb bag with another beautiful 5.5 fish. I was so in a hurry to let her go; I didn't bother with a cellphone pic because I had the Go Pro rolling. Get home and my computer corrupted the MicroSD card....... my best friend does IT for a living and tried some things last night to recover it but no luck yet. I'm praying and willing to pay or do whatever to get back those files. If anybody knows someone who can recover my data, I'll make it worth your while. Absolutely heart broken and gutted is an understatement, but hopefully I can recover the data 😰😱

You bought a top of the line $500 new in package rod.......you didn't buy a factory 'blem'. While blems might be petty to some, why buy a top of the line $500 rod if you didn't expect it to be flawless upon buying. I'd have Loomis make it right, and I'm positive they won't have a problem doing so. They should have caught those flaws in their QC process, but clearly didn't.

I can't speak for others, but no other technique specific rod was as needed or produced as dramatic and positive results as when I got a dedicated Chatterbait rod. As a side huge bonus, it terms out the chatterbait rod I bought was just as brilliant for basically any kind of moving bait. So don't struggle with letting fish take that extra second to get the bait fully in their mouth, but I did. I absolutely needed a slow glass tip to allow fish to eat the bait fully. Others in this thread are right though, before you do anything, might as well make sure you don't like or do like the current rod you intend to throw them on before making any decisions.

Honestly you want that long middle straight arm for a very good reason imo, and one that's never mentioned. The reason why you want that long middle arm is because 1.) It's the most likely to get bite, and 2.) That's the only arm of the A-Rig that doesn't required it to be bent initially, and then subsequentially, continuously fatigued by anglers having to re bend to adjust the arms and then bend them for storage. Ultimately this makes the outside of center arms significantly weaker with usage than the middle one.

Toledo Bend experiences the new lake effect quite often though given it's dramatic falling and raising pool levels. In regard to genetics.....no doubt but ask yourself if the world's greatest big Bass genetics would ever produce a record Bass without abundant forage. Kind of the chicken and the egg deal.

If you look at state records and the year they were caught.......there is an undeniable correlation between that and when a lake is impounded. It's called the new lake effect, and it's created more record Bass catches than any other single factor in my estimation. Those first 15 or so years after a lake is created is the best opportunity that lake will ever have to produce a record. Bulls Shoals Lake was impounded in 1951, and by 1961 the first class of Bass have had enough time to reach trophy sizes. By the 70s, the lake is already declining in terms of habitat, and ability to grow true outlier fish. It's quite depressing when you realize this fact and then realize that we as country are basically done impounding new lakes. Texas recently opened a new lake, and I suspect in the next 5-10 years we'll see a significant number of 13lb+ fish come from it. Outside of the new lake effect, another surefire way to produce record sized Bass is introduce a new abundant forage species like Gobies. This is the reason why I believe the best chance to break a WR Black Bass record stands with the SM. Gobies have been introduced to a number of new places in the last decade, including the SLR where that NY state record SM came from. I'm curious if Cayuga has had them introduced. I'd like to know why that lake become one of the best Bass fishing lakes on the planet the last several years, something must of changed.

Lol, I'll blame it on being up since 6 😁

Grew up with a kid whose dad was the best stair builder in Alabama, and now his son, my friend is considered one of the best stair builders in the state. They specialize in free standing staircases. The amount of skill, math, and ultimately talent that goes into making staircases for expensive homes is mind boggling. They make a ton of money but also work a ton. Interesting occupation.

That's pretty crazy brother, but there's something very commendable about your patience, and ability to not give up. Mark my words, in the near future you're going to have some electric days. It always works like that, just when you're about to give up and find a new hobby, the dam busts.

I've tried quite a few heads to include the Range Rollers which are excellent. The Deps MIDST (MID STrolling) is another purpose built rolling jighead, and they're weedless with a small wire guard. But the best jighead for purely rolling action that I've found is easily the Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jighead. It's a very unique jighead and line tie. The only downside to them is that a loop knot is recommended. I've haven't found the need for a loop knot outside of using this particular jighead. That said, my favorite strolling jigheads are Keitech Super Round Tungsten jigheads. They're fantastic with rolling action, and I've never had a minnow not roll on those. Obviously not all minnows roll equally, but every minnow I've ever tried which is quite a few has rolled. Nothing compares to a Drift Fry, it just rolls absolutely perfect. So if you want to rule out everything but your own technique, buy some Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jigheads, and a pack of Jackall 4" Drift Fry. If those don't roll, then it's your technique or equipment.

Caught a 6.4 on the Cue Bomb, and a 7.10 on the full sized Imo Kemushi last summer, these Geecrack fuzzy baits are pretty incredible. That said, they have some serious drawbacks, and are quite frustrating to fish with to some degree. As noted by @scaleface, if the hairs are orange, chartreuse, or other brighter colors, the Bream will constantly be ripping them out. Rigging these baits, especially the Cue Bomb requires creativity outside of using them on the Drop Shot like many do. Not a DS fan, so I neko rig them and use an Owner CPS spring tightened down around the hook along with a nail weight in the bottom. I tried them on a Core Tackle Whacky Shot but the hookup ratio isn't great and I think it's because of the gap the weight creates b/t the hook and the bait. If you rig those big Imo Kemushis Texas Rigged, they last a fish or two at most. I thread them on a big 5/0 flipping hook and try to stay away from the really heavy stuff. I'm also still learning how to actually hook the fish on the bait, it's very different than any other bait I've used in that way. You need to really set the hook like it's a jig or heavy T Rig, but at the same time you also need that wacky rig hookset where you reel into them and then apply a modest hookset. The little Imo Kemushi I rig like a combo of a neko and ned rig. Once I got the elastomer version, I started to really like the little Imo Kemushis. With the regular SAF material the things lasted for a fish or two. I use a CPS spring tightened down around the hook and then a nail weight. I need lots more practice and time with these baits, but their potential is only matched by their headaches.

93 Muskies is pretty dang insane brother, congrats! It was fun reading your reports and seeing all those beautiful dinosaurs. Here's to breaking 100 in 2025.........and then you must return from the dark side, and rekindle your love affair with Mr Green Fish 😁

I feel like the 3/16th BR Fish jigheads are like the goldilocks of the options they offer. I also feel like the 3.3" size BR Fish is a perfect place to start as I generally like to start out with the smaller options of a particular bait, and if they produce, I like to then upsize the bait to target bigger fish. In the beginning though I like the smaller option just to generate bites in order to evaluate if the bait is good or not. So, if it were me, I'd get the 3/16ths heads and a couple packs of the 3.3" BR Fish in colors that you think relate well to your primary forage you're fishing around. These work perfectly on your typical senko rod which to me is a 7' M Fast. I throw them on 7' M Fast rods, and fast 6 speed 3000 sized spinning reels.

Happy to help! I can't answer that question as I've only got the 3.3" sizes, but @webertime commented earlier in this thread about the lighter the head the better the drift, so maybe he can weigh in on how the various sized swimbaits effect action. Next TW order I'll grab some 4" to try and report back.