FishTax

Totally agree on the hook keeper style!

Don't be afraid to use heavy weight on the Texas rig. Try texting while fishing to slow down. Or drinking coffee or water. Something to occupy your hands. It's great until you get bit, then drop it overboard 🤣

In the same day, almost touching the bank on a bed and as far as I could cast it on a deep ledge. At the tail end of the spawn they are everywhere in different phases.

Bass pro haul, they had red eye shad on sale 😎

Yeah probably about now, big girl buffet is about to start 😎

My wife uses one. Feels like a fan lol. I use a mission hat I dip in lake or the cooler water. Works fine, no batteries 😎

Katie-2 observations from your posts. Your fish love keitecs. Do you know what their primary forage is? Sounds like you have it dialed in. Do you ever try a keitecs on a swim jig? Bigger profile but similar action, I'd be interested to hear if they'll bite it and if it's a larger average catch (although your average fish looks incredible and maybe hard to improve on) 'only 11 fish' 👀😎 you are blessed to have great waters. I think I've caught 1 fish in my last 15 hours of combined trips! Although I was hunting big ones, but catching is fun. Always interesting to see how different all of our fishing areas are. One thing I've learned from @Pat Brown through local observation is how different each body of water is. One lake they'll love something, the next one down they won't touch it! I think the bait monkey talks to the fish. 😅

Ricky Stanicky seems like the solution...

Dislike: jerkbaits. Haven't given them a fair shot though I'll admit. Can't stand: wacky rig. Can't feel bite, my yak floats away before it hits bottom, and it's too easy to gut hook with. Can't catch bass: Whopper plopper, of course 😎

Focus more on the size and weight.

If I see a fish with my eyes, I get stubborn really fast.. Even though I know they saw me too..

I'd love to catch one at some point. I'm pretty sure one has looked at one of my lures before. She probably laughed and took off. I love the hunt. Catching a DD on public water in NC is certainly an achievement, but I also think it's very doable. The time investment is the hardest part from my perspective.

I always wonder if the mud is on top or ask the way through the column? I don't want to drop a go pro on a string, but can't think of either way to know. Seems like that'd be relevant. I think cold and muddy is way more difficult than warm and muddy.. Yesterday we fished in the rain and it was so interesting to see the fish response to scattered showers. They'd be cruising the bank, then pull back, then push back forward. I learned a lot. Hope to do it again soon and continue learning! @Pat Brown is basically a bass scientist from studying their behavior and I greatly appreciate him letting me tag along recently on a few trips!

@Siebert Outdoors finesse jig is the ticket. Caught one yesterday on mine and have more coming in my next order I think. One of my favorites!

Thank so much @Pat Brown! We had a great time. The 7 one was crazy. I'm ditching my line and going to braid on the spinning rod as you suggested so she can't break me next time. What a monster! I learned so much today, an incredible experience all around at the pressured pond! Can't believe how many active beds we saw today. NC is crazy! Also about that grass carp, That thing was crazy. Really think Jake should hunt her, big PB potential! Who's ever heard of a grass carp attacking a bass jig? Fun to watch though!

Learn a new technique, and work on bite detection and hook setting with various lures.

Agree with @LrgmouthShad. Type of weeds and density matters a lot. Texas rig and frog always shine though. Jig is also good. Give more info and we'll give you 20 other things to try 🤣

I'm in the mono camp. Floro is a pain to work with, and I'm still testing braid options but really don't like that I can't break off in some situations and that's close to a deal killer for me. I don't like leaders, an extra point of failure and something Else to fool with instead of fishing. So yeah... Mono

And a new hole starting to form in the jeans. Definitely correlation with quantity of fish caught!

Seems to me you're targeting either a feeding bite, or a reaction bite. Reaction bite can happen any time, although they're certainly more protective of beds/fry, etc. Feeding bite probably needs to match what they're munching on to some extent, at least in my mind. So watching for topwater activity, like mayfly hatch, the cicada thing everyone is talking about, etc., seems relevant.

I don't know how you guys drink so much coffee before fishing. I'd have to fish beside the portajon all day long.

It's pretty good in southern VA as well. Lynchburg and South I'd say. But Bojangles and good BBQ have very similar geographic limitations 😎

Bojangles. A Cajun filet biscuit is good hot or cold, so stick one on the yak 😎 Also bring Cliff bar and snacks on boat. I always run out of snacks. I was just chatting with a guy at church this morning about how fishing makes me hungry. I think pedaling kayak burns more calories than I take credit for.

Doesn't matter. In a month you'll want 2 more. 😎 Personally, I have numerous MH/fast rods. Wish I'd gotten a couple shorter ones, mine are mostly 7+. Wish I'd gotten m/f Sooner. I still don't have heavy and don't feel like I've missed out as I have some stiff MH setups. Everyone fishes different and has different preferences, which also change over time. Bait monkey is real.

In my mind the fish would taste it if you used that much, but I don't really know.