JHoss

Sheesh that's brutal. I hate to admit it but I've hooked an uncle in the neck, an aunt in the face, my dad in the elbow, and myself in the knee. To be fair, all the injuries to others occurred when I was a kid. The whopper plopper to the knee was as an adult doing exactly what got the guy in the OP. Braid trick got it out and I kept fishing. Still have those pants with a hole in the knee. They're a great reminder to not pull straight back towards me if I'm hung anymore.

Fothergill's story is incredible. Developed a brain abscess just before the College Bracket. They thought it was a cancerous tumor at first. He had surgery and then fished and won the College Bracket a few weeks later. He won that which set him up to fish the Opens, where he won 2 and qualified for the Elites and Classic. So in the span of like 20 months he almost died, had brain surgery, won the College Bracket, 2 Elite Series events, and the Classic. How often does the best fisherman in the country actually win the classic? The last time was probably 2011 when KVD won it and AOY. Fishing is so volatile and unpredictable, I'd almost expect the favorite to not win each time. Lee Livesay was throwing a jackhammer with a pink Flush (6th Sense Fluke) as the trailer. He was fishing it in shallow grass in the back of many of the same pockets Easton was fishing.

I'm thinking something in that 3" range. I'll probably start with a mooch minnow tomorrow morning and adjust from there if needed.

Just got my order of Baby Jacks in in time for the derby tomorrow. They look killer. Biggest difference aside from the blade size seems to be head size. They moved some of the lead from the head down the hook shank. I'm hopeful that may help it come over wood better. @A-Jay these have the 3/0 you were looking for.

Yes, he does. I've heard other Elites say that if they knew what he was throwing, they'd buy the exact same things. Jake Lattendrese, cameraman for BASS (and Japanese American), has said that hiding baits and being secretive is very much part of Japanese bass fishing culture.

He said he weighed 3-4 fish on a jerk and 1 on a jig. So I guess he just focused on the bait that did the bulk of the damage for him.

1) String bikini of self-preservation is hilarious. 2) No life vest is more comfortable than the most comfortable vest made. 3) Agreed it should be a personal choice. That's the point I was trying to make with my last response. 4) I'd be curious if there was some other sort of medical condition that ultimately caused this persons demise vs a straight up drowning.

Listened to the interview with Fothergill on BTL earlier. I was most impressed by how he hunted these fish. If you haven't heard it, he said he would locate a fish in a tree and often spend 20 minutes figuring out where to set up so he could present his bait to the fish and still have a good way to get them out of that cover. He also said he would use the jerkbait to lure fish out of the middle of those trees where he could effectively target them with a neko. Don't really need one when you're as good with FFS as he is. He talked about how being able to differentiate bass from all the trash fish was so key for him. He actually said that it was just the first one he tried in practice and it worked so he didn't change it.

Tackle Warehouse has 3/8 and 1/2 ounce JH's for $15.99. Baby Jacks are $15.99. JH Stealthblades are $15.99. Where are you finding Baby Jacks for $11-12?

Growing up fishing the saltwater, lifejackets were there in case the boat was going down. You'd go get them from wherever they were stowed in the event that your boat was sinking. No one ever put a lifejacket on unless there was an active emergency requiring it. I really don't get the freshwater obsession with wearing them. The only time I can see it really helping an able bodied adult is if you're running a boat at 50+ mph- it's worth it in case you get thrown and knocked out. But on a kayak or boat not exceeding 40... why? When I did kayak tournaments, I found them to be more of a hazard than an aide because of how much hotter you get wearing them. I always felt like the odds of me getting a heat stroke from wearing one were far greater than the odds of a me getting knocked unconscious, falling over, and drowning. In my jon boat or skiff that max out shy of 30, I have no worries about being knocked out from the impact with water if I fell out. The kill switch would kill the engine if I fell over and then I'd just swim the short distance to wear the boat settled. I really don't get why there needs to be a law to wear them for grown ups or why I, as boat owner and captain, can't choose to go out by myself without one on board. The only person who could get harmed from those choices is myself. It's not like a seatbelt where me not wearing one could cause my body to become a danger to anyone else in the vehicle. Let people make their own choices and live with the consequences of their actions.

They take up significantly less space, which is important on a kayak or jon boat.

Interesting. This is the closest I've seen to a government agency having some sort of rule or law on them. I have one of the Onyx vests- I guess I need to read the label when I get home today.

I don't really throw a jig much and the bladed jig and trailer I like will get blocked by the filters on this site. I think I can get away with saying that I tend to throw either a blue gill pattern or black/blue with a shad style trailer most of the time.

I had the opposite experience a couple years ago. Was fishing from the kayak and had my inflatable stowed in the front hatch. Got stopped by DWR who asked if I had a PFD. I opened the hatch and showed them my inflatable and they were good with that. Made no mention of needing it to be on.

@Bigbox99 Thanks for clarifying. I was playing with those centrifugal brakes last night and it took a minute to figure out how to engage and disengage them. Never did quite figure out how they worked, but now I know. It came with 4 engaged so I left it like that. Do you have to disengage them two at a time so they balance out? Or could you have 1,3 or 5 engaged at a time?

2,044 bass in a year has me drooling!

I got the frog and shallow crank rods. 6'9" for the frog rod will be the shortest I own. But it feels right and frogs cast a mile anyway, so maybe they're onto something. I wasn't happy with the rod I was using for frogs last year, so why not try something new. I was very tempted to grab the bladed jog rod. It's much lighter than the one I currently use. But the setup I have now is dialed in after testing many rods, reels and lines, so I decided not to go down that rabbit hole again.

I did plenty of googling before posting. Even in the link you provided the only thing that remotely aligns with what you're saying is, "Often approved only when worn." Nowhere can I find any wording that the must be worn at all times. https://dwr.virginia.gov/equipment-regulations/#:~:text=The operator%2C each rider%2C and,Except non-motorized vessels. Seeing as USCG seems to give the final say to the states, I looked at my state, Virginia. Nowhere does it state that an inflatable must be worn. In fact, they have a section about inflatables: A Special Note about Inflatable Life Jackets Inflatable life jackets are lightweight, comfortable to wear and take up about one-tenth the storage room of conventional foam-filled life jackets. Most are USCG approved only for persons 16 years of age and older who are not engaged in whitewater or skiing activities or riding on PWC. They are a great choice for adults on the water!

Perspective is a powerful thing. For a canoer launching, that point is the start of your journey. If that was connected to a major water body, it would be the end of a journey for a boater working up from the main lake/river. I'm unsure if the screen shot of an area near me will attach or not. I would think that if the backwater pond in the middle wasn't connected to the main river, it would be very similar to the stuff you fish. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I guess I'm old fashioned because I'm a fan of in person weigh-ins with fish. I'd rather see some reform done to Basstrakk to make weigh in more suspenseful. Maybe shut that off at noon and let announcers and viewers speculate if so-and-so has enough weight to hold on to the win.

It does- 6 mag brakes internally and a slick little pull-out pin to release the sideplate. I wish the side plate stayed connected so I didn't have to worry about dropping it over the side if I have to adjust on the boat.

Would you mind DM'ing or emailing a link to where you're finding this? I can't find anything online the clearly confirms that.

I was never trying to say that a pro tour would come to your ponds and I've never been to Maine so I don't know for sure what the areas you fish are like. I'm inferring from the pictures I've seen you post that spots like your bogs/ponds exist on other fisheries- at least the depths and structure is replicable elsewhere. Heck, I have seemingly comparable areas in the backwater marshes of the Northwest River and Back Bay here. On big waters, they aren't the whole fishery, but if you get far enough back you can likely find something similar. Guys like Keith Poche have made a living seeking out some of the skinniest and least accessible waters out there. When he gets back there he still has 50 rods in the locker and 10 on the deck so he has a specialized tool for every scenario. That's why we see guys with the same bait on 3 rods with different line sizes for slightly different depths. All I was trying to say initially is that 10,000 fish catches show the underspin is not a highly productive bait for the pros, but because folks like you and I have success on them, it's likely due to the fact that pros have more and better techniques to fill each niche that we use an underspin for.

I'm in VA and they're projected to be here Thursday with standard shipping. Hopefully they are because they sure like to eat a mini max in the lake I'm fishing Saturday.

I thank you and the Bait Monkey thanks you, but my checking account does not.