Pat Brown

I’ve done really good on the @Siebert Outdoors brush mata jigs when they want a bigger bulkier profile and the jig sort of sitting still on the bottom or a slower more parachute like fall! Cold and or muddy water = killer

I like them at night and super dirty water and fishing deeper structure. I agree that it’s the kind of action that’s good to just let it sit - they get bit.

Bingo

Here in NC the fish seem to be on wood and dying grass mostly.

I want to do something exactly like this with all my families PB and notable fish lures that have been retired. I have always loved the idea of a shadow box with the lure and a picture of the fish caught and a little text blurb with date and time and location of the fish catch. My plan is to do something exactly like that with the lures I have saved and give it to Jacob someday.

The big Spro popper, the king daddy, the tsunami and the Zoom large size hollow frog all move some serious water and get bit for sure. The Tsunami is excellent - all of the Copper Red Baits frogs are worth having in your box - they’re top notch.

I’m a lover of the grass jig for all applications- don’t sleep on the 3/4, 1 and 1.5 oz jigs - the fast rate of fall is awesome for getting big fish to react.

@king fisher I have learned that you can’t really set the hook too fast with top water - try faster! 😎😉

My favorite days are definitely the days where it’s a busy big girls boat day - rare - but it does happen! but I’d trade 20 sub 12” bass for one 22” bass any day of the week.

I’d try to figure out where they were casting to not what bait they were using. Just use the lure you feel most confident will work at any given time. Usually that’s the one you’ll be fishing the most skillfully anyway. 👍😉

We’re not supposed to like catching only 1 fish but I’m not after every 1 lb fish in the lake and when I get one big bite in 6 hours I like it the best.

We had a really interesting year. June 1st was the single most memorable bass fishing experience because I disassembled a beaver dam to get a 10 lber out and kept it hooked for an hour and had the net out and under it and she thrashed and snapped my line after all that. I was the old man and she was the sea. It was poetic. I also caught my second DD and tied my pb exactly at 11 lb 5 oz - now I have one on each of the public lakes I fish the most in the boat. i also caught a 9-14 on a jig, 9-3 on a frog, 9-3 on a jig and a boat load of 7-8 lbers this year. My family bought a house on a 14 acre pond that has DD bass in it back in July. My son just turned 13 and is doing well in sports and school and has friends and is happy. Wife got a promotion back in June. We have our health. Many many things to be grateful for over here. Humbled and blessed.

Beetle spin, mepps, 1/16 oz crappie jig and bobby garland minnow, tiny square bill or tiny floating jerkbait, micro popper, fly. Use a ultralight and 4-6 lb mono.

Hybrid hunter is almost hard to lose in wood and gets bit.

White is pretty good when it’s muddy.

Yeah I’m pretty much throwing the same stuff all the time and just fish the conditions and try to figure out where they are biting - like @A-Jay is saying. Once you get them dialed in you can pretty much catch them how you want. And like he said - the bait to throw is usually pretty obvious for the type of cover and depth and speed they want the bait to be fished which is usually top middle or bottom and usually either fast or slow.

@T-Billy - agree. For me it’s all about the forage and how it relates to the moon in shallow water during different times of year. To me it’s just another thing to take into consideration but kinda like bait color - it’s low on my list most of the time - but there are a few days every month where it can be a big factor.

I let the fish rough them up for me usually!

I mean - the interesting thing is - having caught and recaught and recaught again some bigger specimens - I can confidently say they gain and lose weight all the time - sometimes dramatically within 48 hour periods especially when they’re spawning. Fat and short can often mean an older fish that has reached its full potential but not always - smaller mouths and smaller eyes on huge bodies with huge tails are good signs - younger fish that are still growing at a wild pace. I try not to think too much about it - I just like it when a big one bites. : ) when they’re long and fat and wide and tall - HoOrAy for me!!!! 👍😂

Trick worm 😉😉😉😉😉👍👍👍👍👍

It’s like a big swim bait or a big jig - you’re really headhunting when you tie on the bigger frog but my experience is smaller fish can and will hit it plenty - I like the big frog exactly when a bigger bait makes sense - super heavy cover, dirty water, deeper water, darker conditions, heavy wind, bigger fish, super active fish etc 90% of the time I fish a standard size frog - I reach for small ones on small ponds with clear water and calm conditions and smaller fish, big one during the aforementioned extremes and the regular size is my go to because it is a great compromise on bite getting and drawing power that tends to work the best and be easy to present effectively without special gear etc. in the end - big baits are more psychological than other categories - you have to dig deep into your confidence and remember the body of that frog is not much bigger than a small bream or perch or a larger mouse or bird or frog that has their attention. I just try to think of it mechanically rather than fish preference - lot less guessing. There’s times when one offering makes mechanical sense over another and I try to adjust to the conditions UNLESS fish are showing a STRONG preference for one size or profile over another and then I’ll throw that til they’re sick of it!

Hey nice to meet you! Lots of good public water all over central NC and every single place you wet a line seems chock full of giant bass that hardly bite anything 😉👍 - gotta get dialed in 😎! Takes time on the water - no substitutes or short cuts or secret lures or special lakes - just takes time on the water - no time like the present to hop in and start learning to catch LMB in NC! There’s tons to learn here it’s an awesome place. I suggest picking ONE lake or pond near you and learning it inside and out and focusing on consistently catching bass during all seasons and conditions there and then expanding to another body of water once you are starting to see more success than failure at your chosen spot!

Ditto - @Bankbeater

I’m no doctor but fishing seems to be good for you - glad you’re back at it! Keep us posted on your snakehead hunt also!

I just use fiskars scissors and have for many years now for all line applications!