Pat Brown

Biggest problem with the new crop of anglers is they never had a mentor or person show them what NOT to do EVER and they kinda disrespect the water. I can't count the number of times I've reeled in 100 yards of braid or 25 lb mono attached to a crappie jig that was just cut and left to ruin prime cover. These types of things are mind boggling to me and consistently make fishing difficult and cost me some nice lures when I'm trying to get in the zone /into my happy place. I'm fine with the new anglers and all the fishing pressure but please learn some etiquette and environmental stewardship.

@Woody B I think the Siebert Fogy works so well because it's silent. Just vibration and visual action. The blade isn't actually rattling up against the head near as much and I think fish that are over chattered go for it. The hunting action is very real also. ....And if you do give up on the Shimano glide, send it to your fellow local NC bass brother because I haven't tried that one yet *drool*??

Yeah my tongue was in my cheek a little on that one. I am just commenting on that age old trope that seems to be a thing of the past somewhat or at least very isolated and private at this point, I'd rate, at least in this neck of the woods. It would sure be a riot to cast a buzz bait in the pitch black at an old farm pond with mosquitoes biting like Pat Cullen and feel a giant thump n' reel in an angry 12 lber, make NO mistake!!!! ???

There are lots of double digit bass in the lakes and ponds around the area that I live and they're small and pressured and close by and I understand how to fish them so it's only a matter of time. ?????? I would love to make it out to Shearon-Harris one of these days anyway just because!!! Might be a fun day trip in the fall or the winter time.

One of these days I'll figure out where all these farm ponds with double digit bass are hiding but I haven't ever seen one around here. I fish a pond with very popular loud paddle boat rentals, a path/sidewalk that goes around the whole perimeter, a very popular Zipline that runs all day with screaming humans attached to it directly over the water and tons of people who fish it every day, every way imaginable. People who have lived in the area for 50+ years and remember 'back when it had fish' come up to me and try to kindly assure me that the fishing has been dead for decades on account of nobody managing it and too many people fishing. Trying to save me the headache and heartbreak. Young people come up to me all the time and ask if I've ever caught anything, frustrated with how difficult it is to even get a panfish to bite. When I tell people there are shad, golden shiners, white Nile tilapia, perch, black crappie, shell crackers, bluegill, green sunfish, grass carp, channel catfish, brown bullhead catfish, 7 ft alligator gar, northern and Florida strain largemouth bass and more frogs, snakes, lizards, birds and aquatic critters than you can shake an ugly stick at in there, thriving abundantly....they look at me like I'm completely insane. To be fair, until I figured out these fish, it felt like the pond was barren. I get it. I understand why these people all feel this way. It took me a LONG time before I got a bite bass fishing and this was well after I had caught 7+ lbers on big lakes. I wasn't no dummy. These fish are special. They learn. I've seen people hanging live bluegill over tree limbs on double digit bass beds and watched the females just laugh. I actually did let that guy have it verbally as I passed him on the bank. Never saw him back after I explained how smart the bass in the pond are and how weak his tactics were. But yeah the fish are scared and the fish are hard to catch.....but I figured out how to catch them and I catch lots of REALLY big bass and all the other fish species listed there I have hooked (less the gar, just seen them) while bass fishing with artificial lures. You gotta know when and where and how to dangle it how they like it....that took me a LOT of work to figure out.

In this day and age people will do anything for attention. That's such an awesome story and I'm sure she appreciates being freed up from that crankbait and wad of line! Absolutely epic PB smallmouth!

I'm finding that I have to go outside of my comfort zone and try things that are weird to get bit and oftentimes when I find the right thing I can get bit a lot. Another really important thing is finding areas that are outside of my comfort zone/ the comfort zone of the general population on the lake. Stick with it and get outside your comfort zone and try to learn some new stuff. Specifically things that you don't see anybody else doing. If people say it's a good lake for XXX or YYY then avoid using that at all costs. Find the thing that nobody throws. Throw it in the places where the fish live that nobody is fishing for.

Had a lot of fun before the really nasty weather hit. We got all the fish this weekend on the jig which is just fine with us!!! Happy memorial day to all and thanks to all who serve our country! Tight lines to everyone.

I really committed myself to winter and very early spring this year and I caught a lot of giant fish including my 9.1 lb personal best largemouth and a slew of 8 lb class fish. I'm a believer in fishing in Coldwater and I cannot wait for the summer to be over lol. I'm having fun catching lots of post-spawn fish though. Nothing wrong with that! The numbers definitely get better as the water gets warmer but their bellies get skinnier.

The bucket brigade has been out in droves this weekend. It's almost too much for me to handle and it takes everything in my being not to talk smack when I walk past them on the bank but I bite my tongue and smile and ask if anything is biting. Better to be kind and tolerant overall. To be fair they aren't catching doodle squat. The big bass in my pond laugh at live bait.

I see people on the internet catch giants on them all the time and I'm like this is so cool and then I throw it and then the bite completely turns off for the rest of the day in the area where it was like a hot bite and you can catch a fish on every cast. I don't know if I just don't understand the timing or the areas to throw it or like if the fish here have just all been caught by a buzz bait and refuse to be anywhere near one, but it's definitely a thing that I've noticed when I try to catch fish on a buzzbait. I even have more confidence throwing a plopper because I can pause it and the fish will often hit it when it's just sitting there even with the sun still up. The buzz bait just seems like one of those things were they really probably would hit a spinner bait or a swim jig a lot more readily most of the time and I think when they hit it it's usually just cuz something splashes next to their face. I've never gotten one to hit it on the retrieve.

One pond I go to, there's always someone plopping. Always folks buzzing. Always people chattering. Yeah, I don't throw those baits because I like catching fish. Night fishing at the big lake, all of these presentations work decently but still very situational. I think anything with intensely predictable and consistent sonic or vibrational signatures get learned fast. As far as dud lures, I am not a big fan of throwing the buzzbait. I want to love it but I'm 99% sure it just scares everything that swims a half a mile away every time I cast one.

We have one more cold front and then the full moon in a week. I can't wait. I feel like this time last year we were already way more into the summer/post spawn. I saw bass making beds last night at the pond so it's all out of whack. The water is still in the low to mid 70s though so it makes sense to me...just wild how long the spawn cycle has gone this year here in NC.

That's gotta be ripe for breaking. I mean probably not a ton much larger than that but I'd bet a fair number.

It's an overspin!!! Looks absolutely devastating!

The popper is consistently the best top water around here for big fish and I'm really looking forward to throwing mine a lot when Jake is out of school in the next couple of weeks when we start night fishing!!! That's a beautiful beast!!! Congrats on the new PB!!

Try fishing them with no skirt and some sort of horizontal swimming trailer that's flat to keep it running straight (I like rage bugs). Also agreed with painted blades working well. I feel like when I fish them this way big bass always seem to get the whole bait in their mouth and I don't need a trailer hook at all.

Wader boots on the bank. Crocs in the boat. I like Crocs because if I go over board I can kick em off and swim without a whole to do. ???

Nice. Love the stinger hook feather tails. Hope you catch a DD with that beautiful rat!!!

25 lb big game. Lock the drag down. Winch em out. Pray the line holds. Re-tie. To me there isn't much choice in the matter with fishing docks. They're gonna pull you through rusty metal cables and nails and rocks every time so speed and power are essential.

I have 3 bags of these. I have Junebug and some kinda green pumpkin candy. Always liked the look of them but haven't tossed them enough to catch a fish. I noticed I hadn't seen them in the Walmart bargain bin in a while. Maybe send YUM a message on social media.

I have noticed that any time a lot of people on here hate throwing something in general, it works really well on my super pressured lakes. But yeah I have also literally only thrown it for drum in salt with cut mullet and it wasn't particularly fun to fish. Still I have a lot of rocky off shore points with steep drops where they are jigged and cranked and jerked and t rigged to oblivion and back. Once its super hot or super cold and the fish are mostly educated and worn out by all the lure fatigue, this may be a really effective presentation? I gotta stay confident ???

Didn't set the world on fire yesterday but I did connect with one heck of a bass on my 1/4 oz Siebert swim jig in super white with a white x zone swammer on the back. She thought it looked pretty tasty I guess. Slow rolled it over a submerged tree that was sticking out into wind current and she knocked slack in my line like a giant. I did get some acrobatics on the way in and I love to see them jump. Got a couple little fellas and missed a couple bites once I figured out the swim jig pattern for the day. Super fun 2 hour session from the bank. Tight lines!

A suitcase full of pop'r and fishing line would have you in like flint with KF, I reckon ?. Learn where they live and what they do on your body of water. Early morning and late afternoon during the warm seasons for sure. I find that big bass and are usually more routine/habit oriented and also way more educated. Finding out what they are eating or warding off as the seasons change will aid you once you determine where they live AND where they like to feed (sometimes the same place, sometimes two offshore pieces of cover separated by 1/4 mile of slowly descending sandy bank) The term match the hatch is tossed around a LOT and for reaction bites, is irrelevant, but really big fish seem to be immune to that kind of presentation unless conditions are JUST right for it. Usually dragging or swimming slowly or really fast twitching flashy lifelike stuff that doesn't have distinct sonic signatures work really well. Depending on conditions and what the bass are doing. When big bass are actively feeding, swim jigs, jerkbaits, Alabama rigs, Spinnerbaits, glide baits, wakebaits, spooks, crankbaits (forage imitators) When big bass are in their 'home' and in a more inactive state I like jigs and soft plastics with appropriate weight for the depth they are holding at worked very very slowly. Time on the water and finding out where they like to be seasonally will serve you better than anything else.

In grass, I like worms and beavers a lot. Craws work good but sometimes the claws get hung up. A good craw in grass is the Zoom mag UV speed craw. Blue Sapphire is money. Big bass munch em when they want something compact.