Pat Brown

I thought this until I learned how to dingle the dangle. I literally couldn't buy a bite with topwater ever and it IS all anyone fishes here in NC....but when I fully committed to the nuance of the frog and the buzzbait, two topwaters that for some odd reason are fished all over the country every day for pressured fish to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have been for decades.....I got some spectacular results out of fisheries people swear are dead and most of the time do seem impossible to catch fish at. I taught my son this: Location is everything and learning where and when to throw topwater baits to efficiently catch large pressured fish is an art form and it's all about super skinny water IMHO. 2-3 feet is ideal and less is often ideal and super heavy cover. Learn to fish slow baits fast. And learn to fish fast baits slow. This applies here and it really seems like the secret to the frog and the buzzbait is learning to fish them (fast baits) as slow as they can be fished *efficiently* based on what I've learned this fall and summer fishing both with lots of success. The adrenaline rush you feel when an 8 lber loads up on your frog on a slick calm afternoon in 1 foot of water after toilet bowl flushing it in the middle of open water on a do nothing bank near a little hidden stump or rock is hard to put into words! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I think that in general it's all about knowing when you are going too deep into bait monkey stupor. I don't feel the need to try every new trend under the sun at all by any stretch and try to put the majority of my thought into efficiently targeting fish at the depth and in the cover that they're preferring on the bodies of water I fish but also I enjoy learning and mastering new things and 5 or 6 lures isn't really a whole lot in a state with lots of fishing pressure. I try to put a 'classic fish catcher' or two in my confidence column per year when I can and will continue to do so until I feel like I can catch fish with all the toys I have bought over the years 😌🤣🎣. That being said I still throw a jig or a worm or a spinnerbait or a lipless a lot etc etc. But if fish on your lake can't get enough of a small swimbait or a fluke or something else kinda off the power fishing top 6 and it's the one technique you refuse to throw, that could result in bad years. All that to say I do agree with @Catt and have observed said behavior in my son BUT I will add a grain of salt: my son MAY throw new fangled stuff that he asks me to buy at times that I find odd BUT he is happy and confident when he does it and he catches fish that surprise the both of us and teach us about the water we are fishing. It's all gravy. Just a matter of teaching the important stuff also.

Life's too short. Too many fun techniques. Plus I am friends with the bait monkey. He is very persuasive.

Dang nice fish everyone. Glad to see folks catching em. @Aaron_H I seen what you catch, I reckon it was probably close to 10. I did get some of those Thunderhawk Sergeant lipless cranks to try and I have very high hopes! @NorcalBassin those are some studs! Jake was real proud of himself on account of catching his first fish on a buzzbait and wanted me to share with y'all. Not only did he catch a topwater fish the day after a cold front in the middle of November but he also caught the only fish we got into the boat yesterday. I'm real proud of Jake too. 🙂

I like to fish in the morning on account of daylight savings time and usually if you can get a bite this time of year early in the day, it's gonna be a good one. I'd rather adjust my sleep schedule and enjoy 'darkness turning to light' every day until days start getting longer again in a couple months.

Crocs or boots. Winter usually boots. Spring and summer usually Crocs. Fall could go both ways depending on the weather.

Yesterday a lot of fish had pulled off the bank but it was a post frontal day. I got a feeling it's gonna be a little while before they settle down here in NC because surface temps are still 57-60° in most of the lake. We did find a small shallow bite around 1:30 pm when the sun was up really nice and wind went from 15 mph to 7 mph. It was a tough day up shallow for sure.

Sounds like your friend might need some perspective and some alone time on the water/maybe fishing isn't for them. Sheesh. Sorry to hear about the nightmare. I fish on the bank a lot. It's peaceful. I think the Facebook group idea is solid if you're looking for new local fishing friends. Sounds like you and your pal could use a break.

Depends on species you'll be around but I see people catch giant muskie on ploppers at spillways on YouTube and it looks really fun.

I learned a LOT about boat positioning from bed fishing from the bank and from learning what creek and river waders have to use routinely. I try to stay downwind/downcurrent so I don't disturb dust or debris or water that fish 'feel' that I'm fishing for. I try to be conscious of my boats shadow in relation to targets as I approach them and while I fish them. I make as little noise as possible when fishing shallow or clear water.

Our lake is down about 2 feet right now and I've been catching them on jigs in 3-5 fow on points and channel swing banks.

Highlights from a pretty nice 4 hour trip out today. All on the jig!

It's 60 and cloudy today. You know where Jake and me are gonna be 😉🎣 Meagan is a true Southern woman and when the weather gets to about 60 or less, she takes serious persuading to get on the boat. Hey, more fish for me and the boy. 😎 Tight lines and thanks to all who served, with us and no longer with us. 🙏

My son lights it up with those blue fox spinners. He got that exact box from a kid in his class (just shows how much he loves fishing) who came to his birthday party and he's only used one and caught like 20 fish of 5 different species on it. Speaking of my son, he's been having a hard time with the transition bass and I got him some chicken liver because I wanted blackened catfish for dinner and he got two PBs the last couple nights with a 6 lber in there. Gonna be yummy in my tummy tonight.

The hunting woods aren't the woods surrounding lakes around here for the most part. Thankfully no bullets whizzing past my head. I can still hear the reports in the distance but it mostly just makes me smile! It's a great time to be outdoors in NC.

Congratulations and stick with it! Jig season just getting started! Jigs are FUN and they catch toads! 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

If you're in super heavy cover like leaf mats, pads or matted hydrilla, I have got some of my most violent strikes twitching my hollow frog in place. No horizontal movement. Don't be afraid to fish them very very slow and twitch them in place while 'hung' on the mat.

Had an hour after sunset on the way to the grocery store. Caught 5 LMB all on the buzzbait. Biggest was around 3 lbs. Missed a bigger one off some rip rap but glad to catch the ones I did! Front rolling in tonight. Can't wait to hit it after work. 😎🎣

@Catt Find areas where in flowing freshwater is feeding the brackish main body. Even if it's dried up above ground, I'd think that in a desert, the animals will find the oasis and the water is still flowing in under ground. I wish I knew more chemistry. There are probably areas where the salinity naturally decreases due to current and environmental factors. Those might be good areas.

@Zcoker those ditches look incredibly fun. @ol'crickety I totally feel you. I'm in my late 30s and my knees already don't quite do what I want all the time and that can be a little scary in the Jon Boat. I am always grateful for what I'm able to do and try not to take it for granted!

It really depends on the season and the fish. Sometimes I only need to bring one rod and catch 10 fish on one bait without retying and sometimes I catch five different fish on five different baits. I try to stay open minded and 'fish the moment' There's been plenty of times where I guess wrong about something and I change something and start to catch fish Other times a new lure or presentation that I've NEVER tossed can save the day. I try not to play with tackle unnecessarily but I try to remain fluid and open to changing something if I don't get any bites on things that seem like they should work. Learning to efficiently retie lures helps tremendously make this all pretty unobtrusive. And being somewhat organized ahead of time. I agree on the bank I just want a rod and a couple lures.

I think that the hidden underwater clear water is huge in the winter time. Probably especially when they're pulling or when there's a slight breeze and temps have steadily gone up a little for a day or two. The debris and leaves all make a very stained leaf tea that makes it hard to tell if it's muddy or just very stained but I still believe this tends to hover up near the surface and those undercurrents in the original creek channels that follow the lakes major contours over hard cover are going to stay clear. I'm guessing if you can find these pinch points with steady current where the top layer is muddy and underneath it's very clear AND you have hard cover in direct sunlight nearby and some solid depth changes and bait, probably gonna do really well for yourself. I got a few areas I would have never thought to try during the cold months that now I'm eyeing way up and down the lake. I usually stick to the main lake during the winter but I'm thinking that may be my problem.

Let's say the front hits on day one and typically lingers doing not much for a couple days sometimes more but a lot of times around 2 days in the dead of winter. Let's say water level doesn't have the ability to rise substantially and doesn't but it gets to 'full' during these fronts usually. Severity, let's say it's steady and mild rain for a day leading into the front and it stops after one long day of warmer than the lake/pond rain. This kinda thing happens all the time. Usually followed by frigid windy days. Usually the super clear water gets mighty cloudy and orange for the first day and then gets progressively less orange and more cloudy until it stabilizes. Unless it doesn't stabilize. If it's too gentle it actually doesn't make the water dirty, it makes it clear. So for arguments sake we are talking a real rain, not a short drizzle and definitely not a super hard rain.

Some things worth trying: Z Man floating plastic buzz toad or GOAT rigged buzz toad style paused over the top of these 'swatters' Vary your retrieve or dead stick the frog after a miss for a LONG time and see if they commit.... Downsize the frog. Adjust color to match forage. I'd play around with all of the above! Also don't be afraid to try a buzzbait gurgled riiiiight under the surface with your rod tip pointed straight up 😉

See THAT is what I'm talking about. That makes sense a lot to me. I would think during a *cooling* trend, muddy water would be very very bad and probably a huge waste of time to fish. Especially if we are already in our mean winter low period. @Catt let's say for arguments sake, mostly runoff in generally stained->clearish lake. Clarity fluctuates on my home lakes and ponds like you wouldn't believe. There are weeks I can see 10 feet down. Weeks I can't see the bottom 3 inches down next to the bank. I seem to catch fish out of these bodies of water regardless of clarity but I have been affected by the idea that we should avoid dirtier water when it's cold and I think maybe...just maybe....that's put me OFF the juice during 'cold' times of year. 😉😉😉