Pat Brown

I think there's a lot of nuance to hooksets and ultimately it's a combination of casting distance, the gear you're using, the bait itself, how the bass gets the bait and your own ability to react appropriately. To me, it's just something that takes practice and you figure out what works and what doesn't. When I swing for the fences on single hook baits, I usually blow their mouths out and miss em, but occasionally I'll stick a couple. I lose less fish doing the Greg Hackney method but I typically have to make long casts to get any attention from sizable fish. Sometimes on a really short pitch where they're swimming out of the cover and towards you, all you can do is reel down fast and pound em hard and hope for the best. This is the sort of thing that is only learned with experience. The good news is, if you're missing hooksets, you're getting bit! Just keep trying different stuff til you find something that works consistently and be mindful of the tackle and gear you're using.

Great comparison shot. The shot caller also tends to stand up a little bit more at rest and I've caught some hogs stopping and going on the bottom with my swim jig when a normal jig on the bottom or t-rig isn't getting bit ????

Sleeper colors are golden shiner and smokin silver ?????

One of my favorite ways to catch fish in the summer! I like 8-11" ribbon tail worms and my favorite ones are the Netbait C Mac, Zoom Ole Monster, Berkley Power Worm Tackle HD Hawg Monster and 6th Sense Ridge Worm. Favorite colors are motor oil, redbug, junebug, black grape, morning dawn, plum, black, green, brown for different water clarity etc. I like 1/8-1/4 oz weights unpegged for shallow water worming around and 3/8-1/2 oz for pitching it into cover and deeper wormin.

Nothing fights like a giant channel catfish. If it don't break you off it'll peel your drag a few times before you get it in. Even on heavier bass gear. I fished lake Huron and st Clair for smallies plenty growing up and getting a LMB to bite is my passion but a cat fights like it's out for blood.

I know what I'm getting for Father's Day this year. ?????

Caught me an almost 9 lb largemouth that had just laid it's eggs (would have been my double digit unicorn 2 weeks prior) on a red 6th sense quake back in March. The post is in the latest catch thread somewhere back there if you wanna go digging. I can't seem to find it easily on my phone. I'm a firm believer in lipless crankbaits and I like throwing them when I'm after a giant. Shad colors seem to be best for numbers but I like throwing red for a big fish.

I think people mistake it for dirty water only color and it will definitely catch fish when it's murky but I actually tend to do the best on black and blue in clearer bodies of water. My theory is that they see a lot of green and red hues (and can actually differentiate those colors from grey's and browns), and black and blue simply provide stark contrast to the bottom in most bodies of water and a silhouette when fish are looking up which yield a target the fish feel safe about and can see well. It's my favorite jig color by far.

Motor Oil variations, Pumpkin (not green pumpkin) variations, more green or brown + purple, Black + stuff besides blue glitter, more glitter and flake variations in swim baits/I feel they mimic baitfish better when they have lots of glitter, more laminates. I really like having a 'belly' and a 'top' defined on my plastics because most critters got lighter colored bellies no matter what they are.

Berkley, Zoom, Strike King, Z Man, Gambler, X Zone, 6th Sense, Net Bait, Missile Baits, Dry Creek, Yum, Big Bite Baits, GYCB, Dave's Tournament Tackle and Deep Creek (local pours).

Hopefully means less boats this weekend ?

I consider anything with a slim pencil body a worm. The craw worm been around forever and to me is more a worm variation than a craw variation. YMMV

I just started throwing glide baits and I can tell you this after catching five or six big fish. I'm trying to figure out how to get them to sink slower in general. ???

I have one pair and it's amber/copper tinted and it's got mirrors and I bought it at Walmart for 15$. I get accused of having x ray vision by my friends I take fishing and I simply show them my cheap old Ike glasses. I'd love to get a really nice pair of specs for low light and one for sun but man I break glasses like someone's paying me to do it.

7'6 medium moderate fast action Abu Veritas PLX 100 with a Daiwa Fuego CT100 8:3:1 spooled up with 15-20 lb Seagaur Red Label with a Siebert jig tied on!

You also have my closest thing to a grandma I've got left living in Bangor: My great aunt Tish! (She likes me to call her Great Aunt Fish ???) I'm not even remotely opposed to the idea of - 100 bass days - lobster - smallmouth - muskie - pike - perch - successfully using whopper ploppers to catch fish. Seems like you got all of those and even mooses (meese?) to boot! Maine is calling....

You sure do know how to make a humble NC angler blush! Ever make it down this way, I'd happily oblige that idea with some fishing! ??????

Having bank fishing PTSD looking at that line of trees. All jokes aside, Catt makes an excellent point. It's all well in good being able to hit a teacup in your driveway but I find the skill set is more about avoiding hitting lots of obstacles while being able to compensate for current/wins and boat movement. On the bank I find good casting even more critical. This spring I have been able to watch lots of HUGE bass react to my presentation in real time and I can tell ya this. If you can make a 3/4 oz jig hit the water without a splash from 70 feet away and get it right in their face on that first cast, you gonna get bit ?

Full moon fever on the boat today. Cold front hit and dropped the temps a lot. Wind and grey skies rolled in. I hit some sandbars and rocky humps with a black and blue jig and did pretty okay. My buddy caught his PB at the pond with me again!!!!

I am not super into dragging baits but then when I catch a big fish dragging a bait, I am super into dragging baits. ? For a long time it was the only thing I could do and catch a bass and I guess I'm just thankful there's other options that work that are a little more involved. I will say, dragging baits is satisfying on rip rap, ledges, points and jumps that have harder bottom composition. Nice to sort of feel out the topography and learn the sweet spots. I dont really hate fishing any bait at all that's catching the fish on any given day and some days the wacky rig is your best buddy!

One does not *work* a wacky rig. Just kidding but all jokes aside I basically cast it where I think a fish is and watch the line. It's about the most boring way to catch fish of all sizes I can think of but when it's what they want, you can be sure I'll be throwing it. Caught a 7 lber last May on a wacky rigged yum dinger in green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail and multiple 4-6 lbers, interestingly enough, off of docks while tons of people were also fishing on blisteringly hot days. It definitely catches bass.

Rapala Rip Stop - a very very good shallow water Jerkbait. Berkley Stunna - my favorite Jerkbait for fishing offshore /deeper water 6th Sense Provoke - Another excellent Jerkbait that works tremendously in shallow water for ripping style. Strike King KVD Pro - awesome rolling action and great for ripping in hotter water. Jackall Rerange - really awesome Jerkbait that is great when water heats up and you need to slice and dice it in. Lucky Craft Pointer - really great all arounder that suspends well and has a great action Megabass Ito Vision - the king

I change my line out a lot. Switch to 15 lb big game if you like 20 lb fluorocarbon but feel like it's too expensive. I can feel bites and that's some tough stuff. Reel magic/KVD line conditioner works well on it and changing it out is cheap. Also use reels with shallower spools if you don't already. Once I realized that with heavy line presentations, I'm not really using my drag for more than a second or two and then I'm winching in the fish, I stopped using bigger spools altogether for that. Saves me a ton of money on line.

Net Bait C Mac in redbug with a 3/8 oz pegged tungsten sinker and a 3/0 worm hook. Missile Baits D Bomb in GP3 with a 3/8 oz pegged tungsten sinker and a 3/0 EWG. Weightless senko either whacky or tex style. Keel weighted 3/0 Berkley fusion hook with a shad colored 4-5 inch swimbait trailer. I like the Gambler EZ and the X Zone Swammer a lot. Zoom Horny Toad in a green pumpkin/chartreuse laminate on a screw lock not weighted Berkely fusion hook. I reckon I could catch some fish.

It's a very happy day. Lithium battery on the way. And some swerve glide baits. And some boxer craws. And some booyah Spinnerbaits. And a rat wakebait. And some dredgers. Oh the monkey is very pleased with me today. ??????