WaskaCrank12

@Jig Man early in the season this year I heard some big blow ups and thought "I'm going to catch that massive bass !" - but what I have come to find is those big/loud splashes (sounds like a dog has jumped off a dock and in to the water) are most often giant carp (or Large Mouth Buffalo)

When you see a fish "blow up" - what do you do ? Do you cast in that direction ? If it is further away than a cast length do you troll in that direction quickly ? Do you catch a lot of fish quickly in these situations ? Or is it generally a false alarm and no fish are caught ? I am just curious as I see "blow ups" but am not sure if it is worth pursing them or not.

@A-Jay - thank you ! - I have ordered up one of those silicone mats

@A-Jay - I could sense that you were keen on landing some brown bass - yet the fish you caught were very nice ! Thank you for bringing us along for the adventure. Could you let me know what the rubber mat is that you use to place the fish on ?

Last week I caught my LMB PB (just a sliver shy of 19") - this weekend I caught a full 19" LMB for a new LMB PB - it was healthy/strong and I was surprised that it was in only about a foot of water (near a lay down tree in the water)

I was able to get out on Sunday - it was very windy with some substantial gusts - I braved the waves/gusts for a while but then moved to the north side/shore of this lake (4500 acres) to get as out of the wind as I could - I caught a 14" LMB near some above water weeds/reeds - then a 17" LMB near an isolated dock - then my new PB LMB - 19", pictured here, in about one foot of water near a tree that had fallen in to the water - I was pretty surprised that a fish this size was in such shallow water, but it was shaded/protected from the wind/well protected by the branches from the tree -- last week, on a different lake, I had caught a LMB just a sliver shy of 19", now I have caught one that is a full 19"

I am in MN - so what @gim mentioned covers it My comment is WOW @Swamp Girl - days of 20, 30, 40 up to 70 fish !!!!!!! I am only in my third year of fishing - and with info/inspiration from you and the Bass Resource community I am chipping away at the stone - with that said I believe I have had one day of 20 fish (early June, most were 12" to 14", your "slow day" of fishing equates to my top day) - on the flip side I rarely get skunked (maybe a handful of times across those 3 years)

@Smirak - this is the St. Croix warranty process I followed - Service and Warranty -not sure if it is specific to the Victory line or how recently they went to this process - as per the instructions I attached the required pictures (one required picture being the rod cut in half) - my hope is to find a section of that rod that can serve as the "sleeve" to repair my other damaged/broken rod - this is something I have never done and, as I mentioned, I ordered up some materials to attempt the fix - We have long winters here in MN so I figured this will be a good project to take on when the lakes freeze over - and there really is no downside to giving it a try (a good challenge to take on something I have never done, learning new skills, taking a currently broken rod and potentially turning it back into a serviceable rod, ect...)

I have a broken rod (in the tip area, a few inches down, similar to what @MickD posted) that is otherwise in excellent condition - and I am going to give his/O'Quinn's method a go - I just went on to the Mud Hole Custom Tackle site and ordered up some epoxy/brushes/ect.... - I have a spare broken rod (a St. Croix Victory rod that broke and was replaced by St. Croix under warranty, they require you to cut the rod in half, yet I might be able to take a piece of that broken rod and make the "sleeve" piece for the rod I will attempt to repair) - I am looking at it as a fun challenge/project - I have never done anything like this before - If it works, then I will have a spare/back-up rod that could be used (taking novice fishing friends out, loaning it to a local school for "Take a Kid Fishing" day, going out in rough conditions, ect...) - 95% of that rod is in excellent working order - Even if the fix has it working at 75% or better capacity it could serve a purpose - I agree that I might not want to rely on it to land my PB or be in my regular rotation, but I won't know until I give it a go

It is windy here - just a matter of how much wind are you willing to navigate/tolerate - I chose to get to a smaller lake (about 600 acres) to be as out of the wind gusts as possible - the water is high (the ramp has water all the way to the top of it) and with the wind and recent storms the water was a bit cloudy/muddy - for several hours it was nothing but pike/crappie - I went to an area that is usually less than a foot but now was about 4 feet deep - went along the weed line and nothing bit - on the way back over that same weed line (after changing over to a wake bait) I caught this LMB - just shy of 19 inches (my previous LMB PB was 18.5 and this one was just a sliver shy of 19, a new LMB PB !) - as you can see it was bleeding (I think one of the treble hooks might have caught a gill) - so I quickly measured it (I am trying to shrink the size of that pic down enough to post it) - I was going to weight it but it was thrashing so wildly (and bleeding) that I released it right after this pic - I also caught a 16in./two 16.5in/17.5in/this one for a total of about 85 inches, I believe that is my best one day total ever in my three years of fishing

Following along with this thread -- I had many of the same questions/challenges as @Cael B Now I see that one of my biggest errors has been waiting to set the hook - great info as usual from the Bass Resource Community

I was able to get out on Saturday - very windy so I went to a smaller local lake - the water is very high from the recent storms - and with the wind it was cloudy/muddy in a number of places - caught a number of good sized bluegill/crappie (I was not targeting them, all catch/release) and a few pike - but no bass - until - I went to an area of the lake you typically cannot get into because it is generally so shallow, yet with the water so high this shoreline/weeds/overhanging trees area had water and were accessible - so I fired in a frog (a small/light frog) - wham, something grabbed it and dug hard in to the weeds, because it was a light frog I had it on a light rod, and this fish was bending that rod to it's max, unfortunately I lost it (operator error, I was afraid the rod/line was going to break so I let up slightly and the fish rolled off) - ugh, whatever it was, was big/strong/aggressive - so I changed over to stouter rod and a wake bait (DEPS Buzz Jet Jr.) - nothing for about an hour - but as I trolled back across an area I had already tried with the frog - bang - the fish in the picture hit it hard - it was a challenge to get to and into the boat - a just shy of 19 inch LMB (my new PB LMB, previous was 18.5, this was just a sliver short of 19) - as you can see in the pic it was bleeding, I think in the fight one set of the trebles must have caught it in the gill area - the fish as going nuts - so I quickly put it on the measuring board and wanted to weight it but it continued to go nuts and was it was bleeding so I released it right after this pic - I stayed in that area and caught a two 16 inchers, a 16.5 incher, a 17.5 incher and this one - the best 5 fish I have ever caught in one day

Happy to hear you had your pdf on, are doing well and retrieved some of the items ! - I fish the vast majority of the time solo and if the water is rough/high wind or lots of jet boats/turbulence I keep my inflatable vest on - I have a ladder at the back of the boat and also have a rope clipped to it, so if I go in the water in rough conditions I can grab the rope and stay with the boat (and it can assist me in climbing back in to the boat) - For peeing I have a big/long funnel and old gatorade bottles, so I can stay on the boat, do my business standing up/discretely, cap the bottle and then dispose of the contents in the porto-potty at the ramp - I like @Glenn WalMart bottle and might invest in one of those - Stay safe everyone !

@MiceNReets @J._Bricker @WRB-2.0 @Bigbox99 @Boomstick @Junger Thank you for your replies and information - I did call the number @J._Bricker gave to me and they said the warranty claim was "in process" -- and today I received the warranty replacement rod ! I have 4 Evergreen Combat Sticks (including this 7'4" Medium/Spinning) and have really enjoyed them - I had only used the rod 2 times (it still had the SKU and plastic on the lower part of the handle) so I am pleased that they saw fit to replace it. It was a slow process, no communication from Daiwa (I had the tracking number for my return to them, so I knew they received it, it would have been nice to get an email confirmation that they received it/that it was "in process" or that the claim was honored/rejected), but in the end they came thru and honored the warranty. My warranty claim with St. Croix was processed more quickly - yet outside of an email that they had received my $60 "processing fee" - I had no communication from them either - the replacement rod just showed up a few weeks later. Overall I am happy that both companies honored their warranties.

@A-Jay - Yes Sir, I have a net (Frabill with a rubber net) and use it 99% of the time - the boat flip was the one time (first time) I did not use it - I am an avid net user and will continue to do so !! I am looking to hone my skills and perhaps, someday, catch a 5lb/20 inch (or larger) SMB like you have - that will probably mean traveling a bit - yet I need to build my confidence and skills first. Thank you for setting a high bar/standard in both your fishing and fitness !

Today was a day of firsts for me when it comes to catching SMB - -For the first time ever I caught 9 total SMB (ranging from 14" to 17") - I had never caught more than 4 SMB in any one day outing -Another first was I used one rod and one type of lure (soft plastic bug type lures) to catch all of these fish (I also caught 12 LMB, mostly in the 12" to 14" range) - I typically will use multiple rods and lures/lure types in an outing - but the fish were telling me they wanted bug type lures so I kept throwing them (for many of those lures it was my first time throwing them) ! -I lost two, at the boat, that were bigger than any of the ones I caught - one literally lashed it's head so hard the soft plastic lure flew in one direction, the hook stuck into my hand, and the big brownie winked at me as she splashed back into the water - the second big one I lost was also at the boat and three times dove under the boat -- stupidly on the third dive I gave some slack in the line which she took full advantage of and blazed up and out of the water and threw the hook/lure - of course this happened with the two biggest SMB of the day !! So, I was very close to catching 11, ugh....all I can think about is the two I lost !! -Which led me to another first - the next one I hooked I was 100% determined not to lose - so I reeled her in fast and, for the first time ever, boat flipped a fish into the boat (17" SMB) - I have been a 100% of the time net user and will most likely continue to do so the vast majority of the time - but after losing those other two at the boat, no way was I not getting that fish into the boat !!

And always check your trailer hitch and bolt/nut as well ! (the nut on mine was working it's way off last year, thankfully I caught it) - I check visually each time before I go out and more thoroughly once a month or so

I live in Minnesota - I bring all three 27M AGM batteries into the basement and put them on a trickle charger - I don't look forward to removing them in the fall/putting them back into the boat in the spring as they each weight about 70 pounds and are a bit awkward to carry up and down the stairs - the boat is kept outside under cover (un-insulated)

@chubaka they might be rods The Hook Up Tackle uses for display or maybe they demo them and toss a few lures on them before putting them up for sale -- I have purchased a few rods from a local tackle shop for about 50% off - for rods that they had on display or had used one time to demo

The Hook Up Tackle is having a "Bulk Bundle" deal now - I believe it said they are offering 50 different bulk bundles - example is 4 packs of Jackall 4.0 Drift Fry for $24.99 (vs. $52 regular price if you purchased 4 packs)

I made this on a 3 gallon bucket - I put zip ties to keep the lures from sliding in to each other/getting tangled and zip ties to keep the hanger secured - on the front of the bucket I have a small tool holder - allows the lures to dry, keeps them handy if I want to re-tie, keeps them out of the way so I don't step on them - if they bounce off when I am under way they just fall into the bucket - I already had the bucket/hanger/zip ties so no additional cost for me - bucket can be used for trash, bailing out the boat (hopefully never have to do that !) or additional storage - works for me.

Caught a chunky 18" LMB and a very feisty 17" SMB on two different recent outings. Big wind and storms have limiting my opportunities to get out today - hope to possibly get out tomorrow (Sunday)

I have a board like this 32" Limited Edition FISHOPS Ketch X Board Bundle - it is nice - yet when the fish are flapping/flopping/jumping/wiggling/generally going nuts - I have found it hard to get the best pics (not that nice pics are needed) - @gim fish seem calm and posing for pics on his measuring board I splash water on the board before putting the fish on it (I just have an old Gatorade bottle filled with water right next to the measuring board) to cool it and help the fish - but often they still go nuts trying to get out of the boat - maybe I need to tire them out a bit more before getting them in the boat !

Early on this spring - RAID Libero (7g size) - MB Spark Shad - MB Hazedong -- all three of those were good Currently - the limited fish I have caught recently have mostly come on - MB Pop-X - Deps Buzz Jet Jr. - RAID Avi-50 and throwing some deeper cranks has caught a few I read about many people catching fish on Wacky/Drop Shots/Ned-Neko Rigs - so I may have to slow down and try some of those techniques

@MiceNReets - nice that you have 7 of the Combat Sticks ! I have 4, including the one I have sent in - I have enjoyed them and my hope is that I will receive some feedback from them as to what the status is. @J._Bricker - thank you for the phone number you provided, I had been calling/leaving a message on the different number than that one. @WRB-2.0 - I have copies of all of the information (return form, receipts of original purchase, tracking info. for shipping ect...)