AlabamaSpothunter

My home lake stocks 10,000 every year early in the Spring, and then that's followed by fertilizing the lake for a phytoplankton bloom which will feed the Shad. The thought is that you stock them right before the Shad Spawn, and them give them an immediate influx of food. I'm not sure the lake would even need to keep stocking them every year, but as far as I'm concerned you can't have too many Threadfins in a lake.

Another really interesting thing he said is that even if the older guys wanted to be as effective as the 20-30 year olds coming up on it, they simply couldn't because of physical limitations. Another thing I didn't think about was how it's affecting lure and line sales for the worse, not that I'm so much concerned with Pure Fishing's bottom line, rather it's having consequences that are far less obvious on the surface. That was such an eye opening video on a subject I thought I had heard everything I wanted or needed to hear about on it.

The guy I used to fish with on the TN River who would get them daily, put them in a round tank as noted above, and they were heavily oxygenated, and we always fished with them in the Fall so heat wasn't an issue. Threadfins are really tough to keep alive. Might try this product from a site sponsor SHAD-KEEPER™ Shad & Blue Back Herring Holding Formula (sure-life.com)

You could honestly see the sadness in JJ's face and tone at many points during the interview, pointing out how much he admired the guy on OH Ivie catching a teener with a big swimbait throwing in the blind vs. catching one off the screen. The saddest part of the whole video was when he said the novelty of catching DD on the scope has gotten old....he now only gets enjoyment seeing his clients catch DDs because of the tech. 180+ DDs, 95% on the scope, and he's tired of catching them that way. That's a very telling statement to me. I finally kind of get it, this tech is stealing the magic from Bass fishing.

Pre Shimano Loomis days were best Loomis days imho, not to say that a NRX+ or Conquest isn't better than anything they made 20 years ago. Their warranty policy, and almost unchallenged lead in the marketplace has evaporated. The rods were vastly more universal 20 years ago, you could take a 6'6 MH F GLX and fish so many different techniques on it. A MH back then is more like a M these days. Congrats, Loomis rods are awesome.....then and now, just different imho.

Josh Jones and Milliken were the two that got me really wanting FFS, and really formed my opinion on it. The bombs that Josh Jones drops in this hour-long interview are absolutely eye opening! The level of honesty is unlike anything you'll hear on the subject by true subject matter experts. He says studies have already been done......specifically talks about a particular state agency telling him some really worrying things. I honestly think every Bass angler, especially those who target trophy fish, and those that target fish deep or in the hot months down here in the South should listen to. My take away........I still want it just as bad, but this technology is on borrowed time in terms of how we see it's wide open usage. When folks like Josh Jones say it's unsustainable, it's going to destroy fisheries, and he's already witnessed Crappie lakes entirely wiped out, it's only going to be a bigger and bigger deal. I like Josh Jones even more now, what an honest no BS guy.

Thanks Eric! Can't wait to fish with it.

Been in one blizzard in my life, it was an epic one here in Alabama.....about 24" of snow, it was the March blizzard of '93.......much of the South was affected. It was fun as a kid, however I'd never want to experience that again. I'm just not good at cold/snow. People up north who live in really cold locales are much tougher than us rednecks ?

The Bears are on a epic losing streak, and right now they are up 27-3 on the Commanders......hard not to think he's up in Heaven pulling some strings. RIP Mr Butkus. They make em like him anymore.

Got a new MegaBass JDM P5 Destroyer 110 Stick today from Dance's Sporting Goods. Awesome place to buy Megabass stuff from! Weighs absolutely nothing.

Any ethically sound angler hates to seriously harm or kill a fish they otherwise wished to practice C 'N R on.......that bad feeling is you being a good human, don't beat yourself, it happens to every angler. Just Katie and bunch of 20"+ slaunch donkies, and snow over half the year ?

Yeah used to be commonplace, now I haven't gotten oil on two new Zillions, a Certate, and a Curado 150 MGL. So it's not just Shimano, Daiwa stopped as well.

Hidden Concept is far and away the best Jerkbait line I've found. Hard to believe but it's even more supple than Sniper or Invizx. Seems like I can get 10-20% more distance on casts, and since I love throwing the 110jrs, it really translates to money well spent.

Congrats to the wildcard winners, but man that's the most unexciting, boring first round I can remember. Hate to admit it, but I think the Phils are going to break the Braves hearts again, maybe next year we'll have the pitching staff to match the hitting. Once again they are going in red hot, and the Braves are going in ice cold.

Dreamcatchers on Youtube showcases the highland clear water reservoirs in NC quite well. Southern Trout Eaters was filmed in that general area as well back in the day.

That, and if I do slip up and get caught, I know you'll put me back quickly ? I'll come back as this fat bellied slaunch donkey ?

What an incredible season Katie! So many fat Maine beauties.......if I come back as a Largemouth, I hope it's in one of your bogs. Your unique style, tenacity, and extreme desire to learn made it obvious you'd crush the big girls this year, and clearly you did that and then some. All those big girls will keep you warm all winter long remembering them, and maybe next year you can get the GoPro aspect incorporated into your game. Congrats Katie, next season will be even better given your trajectory in the sport.

They come in their own swimbait wraps?......if so that's awesome I think these will compete with the Clutch Darters as they look more like a good Herring swimbait than Shad. IIrc you fish Herring lakes, should be money.

Me frantically trying to identify the tree/location in the background......well played on protecting the lair of monsters ?

I'm not sure about an actual study, but it's generally accepted that baits like a whacky rigged Senko are "pressure proof". I'd imagine a T-Rig/Free Rig 6-10" worm would be similar. I think every new age Bass fisherman which I consider myself, should watch Doug Hannon's stuff. Most of it holds up.

If I caught a 10lb SM, I'd put it in bold type as my signature ? Lake Erie Record Smallmouth Bass Was 16 Years Old | Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ohiodnr.gov) 10-Pound Smallmouth Bass Sets Great Lakes Record | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

Yeah the places that require the fish be killed defeat the whole purpose in my opinion. I have no desire to hold a record where I had to kill the fish to achieve it. I'm still sad about the Lake Erie SM record, she was 16 years old IIrc and had to go out like that after surviving powerball odds to reach that size/age. Shameful if I'm being honest. Just my opinion.

It's not really that crazy especially depending on what type of lakes you fish. I can't name many big fish baits that are better. It's a true big fish bait in terms of normal sized chatterwidgets. My biggest this year came from a bladed jig, a 9.1. Won't see me bad mouthing them.

Thanks! You seriously got that Midas/big fish touch, it's scary to think what you could hammer on the rig. This thread is getting me jacked......talking about Blade baits ?

Most people including myself don't fish the A-Rig slow enough, and close enough to cover because it's harder to recover rigs vs. lures, they hang up so easily, and ultimately cost a chunk of change and can be a pain to rig up. The A-Rig takes forever to sink, and tends to rise on the retrieve unless slow rolled, that's why the biggest mistake I think people make is to first not count it down to the desired depth, and then fish it slow enough that it remains close to cover or the zone where the fish are feeding in. Live scope really helps you put the rig not only in front of more fish's faces, but equally important put it right on top of cover but not in it. Rod pumps make all the difference with a Rig as well, I'd say the vast majority of the fish I catch on them come right after a rod pump........it's making that rig flex out and in like a real baitfish school. Last winter my biggest A-Rig fish was only a 7.1 but it came out a foot of water I kid you not. Then I had a day where I caught a 25lb+ 5 fish limit all in about 8-12fow, and lastly I ended the winter catching suspended fish over 35fow. One of the reasons the A-Rig is so deadly is that you can cover the entire water column with it. Fish down here in the south start out the winter pushing shallow every warming front they can, but by mid Jan. through mid Feb. they push back out deep feeding heavily on the threadfins that push really deep to live comfortably above their threshold of about 45d. So just follow the fish/baitfish, but keep using the A-Rig regardless if you are dirt shallow, or very deep. A-Rig season is electric, man I can't wait!