AlabamaSpothunter

Ben Milliken won $50k in large part to it at Toledo Bend a few weeks back dragging it on a C-Rig, and his co angler the first day won some nice cash on it as well. Ben makes everything look good, but according to him they would only eat the Hogwalla vs a Brush Hog or Zoom Lizard.

To be fair it was a rare day on an otherwise big Bass factory. The Elite series was there recently and during better times for bigger bags, and Rivet never hit 30lbs all four days: "After placing third on Day 1 with 24-5, Rivet gained one spot with a second-round limit of 29-2 on Friday. A slower Saturday yielded only 14-11 and Rivet dropped back to third. But he turned in a Championship Sunday bag that went 18-13 to seal the deal and collect the $100,000 top prize." It was an anomaly to a large degree, the bigger fish were just super turned on that day.

Man those drum will break your heart below the TVA dams fishing for 5+ Smallies. Great trip, tons of big fish!

Thanks, a Spotted Bass truly is a beautiful fish.

Alabama exceptionalism ?

Nice one Katie! Getting old really sucks, and you fish in a manner that would make a teenager tired. Ah to go back to the days of pulling all nighters ?

I'm so stubborn that I'll be inspired or learn about a new technique that I think targets the white whale in some manner, and then I tend to lock that in my hand for weeks at a time, intermixing baits that have had at least some success in the same window as well. So one week it will be hours on end with a Buzzbait looking for those big bites, then a few weeks of using a T-Rigged Creature bait, then back to a week of buzzbaiting. When I catch fish on more than two baits it's rare these days, not so much when I first got back into it. As the months have rolled on, I've found myself gravitating to using baits that produce significantly fewer fish, but the size is significantly larger. I feel slowly my patience level for dealing with hours on end without a fish is improving, and I think this might be the single most important aspect if I ever catch the fish I'm hunting. Big Swimbaits taught me a level of patience I thought I already had as a fisherman. My last thought before I go to bed is what bait, and where on the lake is most likely to yield the biggest fish.....it works out about .0000001% of the time ?

Now that's the Katie I remember in all her glory, sore thumbs, and screaming "I am Spartan" ? Great job on the measurements Katie, that's a nice sample size in order to guage the health of that bog. For a bog that is untouched by man in terms of management, stocking, etc., your data supports what I've always seen in your pics.....amazingly healthy fish that a thriving, not just surviving. Throw your data into the Relative Weight chart that is the benchmark for LGM health, and that bog's fish are right on the money. Those fish got that pre spawn perfume as well ?

All three in my book, and oddly you ranked them in importance in my opinion. Although spool cap and action imparted on the bait is really tied at #1 for me. A rather small difference in line diameter makes quite a big difference on how the bait works I've found. Fish swerve or mouth these baits for the most subtle of reasons. They get a super long look at them, many times follow them for a half minute, examining everything about them.

That's awesome, I rewatched his win either on Clear Lake or the Delta where he got a century belt, and had to release a DD who ate his swimbait but on the outside. That was kind of the beginning of the big swimbaiting for folks outside Cali.

Lol, I'm Auburn alum, had no idea he did that. I took a long break from the game, but have really enjoyed watching him on the elite series this year. Auburn is awesome, wish I would have studied fish instead though. When you are 18 it's hard to know what you want in life.

Curado 150 MGL XG 8.1 review: Bought this reel because I desperately needed a 8 speed for buzzbait fishing. First and foremost, this reel is dynamite for that task. 4 hours of buzzbaits, hundreds of casts, several quality fish caught, one giant lost.....I couldn't ask for more in a buzzbait reel. The difference between a 6 and 8 speed for these baits over the course of an afternoon is worth every dollar for a dedicated reel. ERGOS: 5/5 This is a 150 sized reel hints the name, but wow does this reel have a fantastic profile in medium sized hands, and palms like a dream. To me this 150 size is a Goldilocks sized reel as it will hold 90-100m of 14-16lb mono/fluoro which is what I'll be using. User friendly: 4.5/5 The reel is not like the Shimanos I bought in the past to include Calcuttas, Calcutta DC, Calais 100a, and several lower end models. This is an extremely easy reel to pull out of the box and start fishing. This reel is not over finicky on your spool tension setting, get close on the drop test, set the brakes to 4 and it's pretty hard to backlash this reel. I took off half a star because the new Zillions ruined me. That is my standard for this category. Castability: 5/5 When you combine how this reel performs in this category with the last category, you get so very much for your money at that $200 price point. This reel will bomb cast with the best of them, and I didn't have it set up for maximum casting distance either. It gave me everything I asked for with little effort and zero backlashing. Drag: 3.5/5 Typical drag on a higher end reel, but once you fish with those new Zillions and their clicking drag, everything sucks in this department. Not Calais, Zillion, Steez smooth, but plenty smooth. Handle/Knobs: 5/5 I used this category because a $200 reel with a handle and knobs like this one deserves it. Wow does this reel have the perfect handle and knobs for power fishing. This reel comes with a better handle and knobs than the Zillion SV TW which is twice it's cost if you use the USDM model. The size of both the handle and knobs really stand out on this reel when you keep in mind how small it fishes and feels in your hand. Just a dynamite feature, and something I wouldn't expect from a reel at this price point. I can't rate durability but I'm hard on my reels in terms of fishing them year-round, 5/7 days a week, and they get a drop of oil here and there. I'll know in a few months if it's a durable reel. Glad I brought Shimano back into my life, it's easy to get fanboyish on one brand, I just love Daiwa reels, but Shimano and Daiwa are really like two sides of the same coin, they both just make exceptional reels. Testbed was a Loomis special edition GLX MBR 6'6 MH Fast Line used was Sunline Super Natural 14lb green

You got that right brother, it's literally a nauseating feeling for about 10mins, and then just sadness until you manage to at least catch another fish. The first two might have been boated if I backed the drag down as one pulled on a blade bait, the other was just on the stinger tiny hook on an Axe Blade. You just replay these fish over and over to try and get closure. At least on this one it was quite obvious lol. This would have never happened to you or some of the habitual monkey offenders, goes to show I should buy more reels ?

Third giant fish since Aug of 2022 I've lost, I can picture the first two as vividly today as when they happened in Jan., and Feb. 100% my fault. Bought a brand-new reel this morning, dialed spool tension and brakes and off I went. Little did I know the first fish I hooked up on this new reel would be a giant, potential white whale fish. If I simply had the drag set she'd be in the boat. I knew the second I felt a dead reel, and realized I had no drag on her she was coming off, she waited to break my heart at the surface and threw the buzzbait right back at me. Still managed a 4, 3.5, and 2.5 on the buzzer and new buzzer reel, but you don't get over these fish destined for the scales, sickening. I need this fish so I can move on with my life at this point....joking/not joking ?

This reel is absolutely fantastic for the price.....just came home for a quick potty break ? I lost a giant a few hours ago on it because I forgot to set the drag, but have gotten a 4 and 3.5 since. I love the handle and grips.

Yeah he's done that, and he was supposed to already have the boat wrapped but the guy who was doing it messed the job up somehow. Ultimately 6th Sense makes so many types of baits that he won't be getting any major bait sponsors. His Open videos thus far have already shown how heavy he's pushing 6th sense stuff. Don't mind it all, but that's where his shilling efforts are focused. He has a battery, whisky, and boat deck sponsor, but I doubt he's ever NASCAR'd out like other guys.

Omaha, NE area code.....throwing some love for his roots. I hope he keeps wearing it, and doesn't get the boat wrapped.....makes him even cooler and unique. B/T 6th Sense and Adsense revenue he really doesn't need sponsors like many others do.

Local store had "Pro day" with a bunch of Elite series tour guys and sales. The Elite Series is in town for the Lay Lake stop next weekend. I had to get a 8 speed reel, went up there to grab a Tat SV TW, or Elite, but hate the graphics on the SV TW, and the Elite was close enough that I might as well get a JDM Zillion. Took a gamble with this Shimano, haven't bought a Shimano in a really long time. Paid 169, regular price was 209......that's all it took for the monkey to steal my wallet.

Haha, Matt Allen ain't got nothing on that ATV torture test ? Been since I was a kid since I caught em, but I always love to go Carp fishing. Even as a young boy I put way too much pressure on myself Bass fishing. I need to make myself fish for other stuff, as that's when my love of fishing isn't tethered by my obsession over catching a single huge Bass.

Out of emotions, but that smells like pre spawn to me, a smell that is most certainly the sweetest perfume known to man.....why must I wait 8 more months.....can I reverse snow bird? ?

A Spinnerbait, and an Opossum.....entertainment and a free meal ?

I've never even heard of or seen that type of fish, beautiful fish. Doesn't even look like anything I've seen.

Only the top 40 get a check IIrc, but I agree he's off to a great start. He dominates offshore, overtime maybe his shallow game can catch up to his deep game.

I've never caught a smart Bass, but I've hammered some really stupid ones ?

That's awesome, you got one on it before me.