AlabamaSpothunter

So sad to see Florida destroying its fisheries. See what anglers are complaining about from FWC hydrilla spraying (theledger.com)

I doubt the rods, or handles are worth the premium, however if you follow the big swimbait game, then you'll know the DRT Tiny Klash, K9, and Ghost are very much legit. I don't think they charge crazy money for those three baits, especially considering the demand and their ability to produce them. The two most expensive categories in Bass fishing tackle are 1.) JDM tackle 2.) Big swimbaits. DRT squarely intersects those two markets; it's not really surprising the prices they charge imho.

Not me, and I live next door to Satan this time of year. Fishing down here has been better than any other summer I've had thus far. Last August was one of my best months ever so I have high expectations again this year. The fishing in July, and August down here is only matched by Jan., Feb., and March fishing.

Agreed about Alabama Bass, the violence and top end speed of that fish in unmatched pound for pound. I had a 2.5lb one literally jump in the boat last night when I was trying to retrieve a stuck bait, then proceeded to go absolute nuclear. I've never had that happen before, still blows my mind.....just like you see in those flying Asian Carp videos.

The death of Bryan Kerchal - Bassmaster Such a bittersweet story. RIP Bryan, at least you reached the summit of Bass fishing in life.

One of the defining qualities of a true elite level pro angler is casting accuracy......all of them are jedi masters for the most part. When you spend that much time on the water, it's hard not to become a master at casting. That said, I'd look to older pro anglers vs. the new young guys. While both are extraordinary casters, the old guys know how to skip, flip, punch, etc. The new guys simply know how to pinpoint traditional casts to a blob on a FFS graph. Power fishing experts would be my first choice for a teacher.....somebody like Greg Hackney or John Cox.

Welcome from Alabama Scott My mother is from Dayton, spent a lot of time there visiting the grandparents.

10-20% of LMB can have that tongue patch, so I wouldn't use that as a full indicator. Imho, that's a LMB. I haven't witnessed any LMB with the rough patch, but it could be geographical. Outside of the patch, that fish looks 100% like a LMB.

I take a bath in 40% deet before I go night fishing all summer long, and the summer is one of my most productive times. The only thing I do differently to account for deet usage is use a scent masking agent on my baits, and I don't spray deet onto the inside of my hands. Without deet I can't fish, so it's not even a consideration in my gameplan.

Easily the Free Rig and Whacky Rig.

For the record on multiple podcasts Kristine Fischer has never said she felt she wasn't wanted or discriminated against because of her gender. Perhaps women did feel that way in the 70s, but that's 50 years ago and a lot of stuff has changed. I was never alive when women were discriminated against for fishing, moreover in my lifetime I've only witnessed men trying hard to include females into the sport. Most men I know would LOVE to take a woman fishing, be it wifes, daughters, GFs, friends, whoever. If you really want a good opinion on the matter, her interviews on the Dave Mercer podcast, and the Bilge podcast are good listens. At least according to her, it's not because of biased opinions towards female anglers. She says all the male anglers she competes against are extremely welcoming, and helpful.

This site is a great representation for the Bass fishing public in terms of true committed or "obsessed" anglers. To my knowledge we have one very special, and incredibly talented female angler, which is @ol'crickety This goes to @Choporoz point above.

There are less professional anglers (folks who actually make a good living) than MLB baseball players, and just about every other major professional sport. Do you realize how many men try and fail at becoming professional anglers? There are roughly 100 Elite Series spots, and roughly 80 BPT spots. Female derby anglers make up less than a percentage point of all those anglers at the Invitational (MLF) and Open (BASS) levels trying to qualify for the Elites or BPTs. The reason more women aren't represented in pro fishing is because very, very, very few women try to make it. Nothing is holding women back, sponsors would love to sponsor them, tournament organizations would love to have them, and ultimately male professional anglers would respect them if they earned their ticket to the Elites or BPTs on meritocracy.

Don't get the Zillion unless you're prepared to be ruined by that reel. If the Zillion is a choice, then there really isn't a choice, the Zillion is all that and then some.

Hopefully Scott Martin's group AFLO or Angler's for Lake Okeechobee gets the attention of Florida lawmakers. Okeechobee's story is especially tragic because it's a natural lake, as humans we have no right to destroy that lake!

The only time I notice this is when fishing for river fish, or fish that live their lives in current. The biggest thing I've observed that makes a Bass fight harder is the actual hook placement. Foul hooked 2lbers can feel like 8lbers. A fish hooked in the gills acts like a Marlin. Hook a big fish on the outside of its mouth, especially towards the top.......game on. ETA: Pound for pound I think a NLMB pulls harder than FLMB. To me FLMB are much more of a "lazy" fish. Last year I went to a Bass ranch that stocks Tiger and Gorilla strain bass.....just F1 hybrids, but no doubt about it they pull harder than either of their parent. Hybrid vigor is very real.

Sadly for this to be the case you'd need to catch a 22.8lb fish because the IGFA decided to make the Perry/Kurita fish the NLMB world record. The recent NY state record LM caught on Cayuga is the fish that should be the new NLMB world record at 12lb+. The only thing all these changes did in terms of positives, is that it helps separate the upland Black Bass sub species further, and thereby hopefully increasing awareness about the need to protect them and keep bucket biology from killing them off.

^^^Bingo......we are in the extreme minority, nobody except Bass anglers like aquatic grass, and states are hellbent on destroying it. Public lakes are managed for the majority not the minority. We need to educate the public how aquatic habitat like weeds doesn't just help the Bass.....it's the nurseries for countless other critters and fish, not to mention it clarifies the lake and increases the fertility of water.

To my knowledge the Kurita fish never had genetic testing done, and that's the reason the IGFA won't list it as the FLMB WR, rather a recently caught 15lb fish by Kyle Hall on OH Ivie was listed as the new record. Perry's fish fwiw came out of an oxbow that perfectly matches up with the historical range of the FLMB strain. Nobody covers this stuff better than Ken Duke. His Bass After Dark, and The Big Bass Podcast are amazing sources of information.

The IGFA has made an absolute joke of the records. Ken Duke is hopefully going to address this in an upcoming Bass After Dark show. The fact they made the Perry/Kurita fish the NLMB WR thereby making it impossible for northern anglers to ever catch a record of their own is criminal. If the angler can't tell the sub species apart visually, then there doesn't need to be a separate category. Hopefully the IGFA listens and changes them, again absolutely pants on head stupid.

One of the wildest things I've seen recently was a co angler at the Okeechobee BASS Open earlier this year, the one where Scott Martin won. In one of Scott Martin's videos from the derby, he points out another boater's co angler's FFS unit on the back deck. Got to give it up for that backseater, he was committed 😁

If you fish around Spotted Bass, you'll have copious amounts of plastic tails bitten off. So much so that I've stopped fishing curly tail worms for the most part, just too wasteful.

Bass have different aggression levels when eating a bait. It will range from them literally choking a crankbait, to eating a crankbait where they get both trebles sideways across the mouth, to just nipping the bait and only getting the back treble. There has also been underwater video showing Bass completely inhaling a crankbait, spitting it out, and the angler never felt a bite. Same goes for a T-Rig, there are days when they'll just bite the tails of the baits, then other days they will completely engulf the baits and you get those textbook top of the roof hookups. This isn't even touching on the "swiping" aspect especially around schooling fish. At times Bass will just fire themselves into a bait ball, or group of baits with the intention of stunning the baitfish, and then will circle back around for the easy meal. This is why you end up hooking so many jerkbait fish outside the mouth. Same reason you snag a bunch of fish on the A-Rig. ETA: A common technique when fishing really big worms is to wait after you feel the initial bite because often times they'll grab the tail first, then in a second motion grab further down the worm in order to get the entire bait in their mouth.

Easily watching them swim away full of vigor and fight. If that doesn't happen, the whole experience is soured, so that's the most important part.

What a cute pupper Katie! Beautiful fish as well, great job finding the fish! In terms of spinnerbaits, there's a reason why the original titanium Terminator baits were the best ever made. It's criminal that nobody has replicated them since they discontinued them.