BassKat

I use the medium-sized SPRO Terminal Tackle Box. These are very nice boxes because the latches are sectional where if you have one section open and the box gets dropped etc, only items from the one section are scattered. Also, the individual sections are quite small, so these are specifically for smaller terminal items. I also use the Ryugi binder for hooks.

Throwing big topwaters for Rooster Fish out of La Paz or Puerto Vallarta with a satellite trip to Bacarac. Might we have time to squeeze in a tequila tasting in Jalisco?!

@RRocket I tried another brand of that setup it got bit but the action wasn't consistent. I'll give that decoy a try.

Wrecked one time and when the paramedics asked me if I was okay, I said mostly but I have a sharp pain in my a**. Bandit 100 treble deeply embedded!

@casts_by_fly Thanks a lot. That's where I was going. It's just that they do not have much info for lakes in my area. That's really helpful that some sites have temps at multiple depths. I can at least monitor lakes of similar size in similar climates to maybe get a rough idea of expected temps. The X factor is clarity bc lakes with color and suspended materials warm way faster than clear lakes.

@casts_by_fly The USGS data page I found only shows temp data for creeks and rivers. If you could share where you're finding lake-temp data across the country, I'd greatly appreciate it.

@Rockhopper Man, I came pretty close! And it all started with the report card "deal"! Usually, with my Dad, the deal was if you want something, you work to buy it, and I'll help you out when you prove your work ethic. As it somewhat relates, I love the saying, teach a kid to hunt and fish, and they'll never have money for alcohol and drugs.

@Rockhopper If I'm honest, it started with Star Wars "action figures" (dolls) and, luckily, quickly evolved to lures. Every Christmas was nothing but fishing equipment from around 8 and up. It has been the same for my son. My daughter just borrows our stuff!

Probably various wacky presentations. I really had to switch up the baits from the usual suspects to keep the bite hot. Honorable mention to speed worms in and around summer grass.

@Hogs_n_Logs It was pretty common that the Huntin' n Fishin' stores around here were 80% huntin' and 20 fishin'. We only had one legit fishin' store and it was amazing. I mowed lawns and had a deal with my Dad that went something like 5 lures for As, 2 for Bs and I was always on the honor roll.

@Alex from GA Alex, I have a Hobie Lynx that's extremely manageable at just 47lbs in case that might sound like something that could help keep you on the water.

@WRB Absolutely unreal. Can't even imagine what it was like to have that freight train run under the boat and out.

Two to report. First is "one that got away" - my PB is 9-10 and have been on a lifetime search for a DD. I was fishing a 16' john with two buddies from HS and hooked a giant. I surfaced the fish so refraction was out of the equation and estimated it between 11 and 12 before it came unhooked. Brutal. The other, my prized Personal Worst (PW) in my profile pic. Fishing an original GLX, I felt a distinct but extremely light tick, set the hook, and impaled that mighty 2.5"er. Anytime friends start swapping pics of PBs, I pull out my PW for a laugh.

Thanks. I'll try that, Scott. I stock swimons are my spinnerbait/buzzbait trailers so I have some.

For when I'm fishing away from wood, I saw my catch rates increase when I went to a spunkshad. It really seems to allow the bait to naturally hunt and take on an extremely organic action. My away-from-wood change of pace is a Senko! That said, I fish a lot of heavy cover. When I'm around wood, I especially like a horizontal flat trailer to keep it from rolling and hanging on wood structures such as a Rage Bug or Dudley Flippin Bait. This year, I'm going to test the Nories Hula Bug, which is supposed to be a weedless spunkshad. If it gives me that Spunkshad action weedlessly, it will become my primary with the others reserved for when I think I need to show them something different.

Great explanation, Glen! The ends of bluff or channel transition banks can be so strong on warming days. Exciting time of year is upon us!

I used to fish in a really clear lake (highly unusual for me). During high pressure, when fish were under shoreline grass beds, I stood a much higher chance of getting bit if I stayed way off, but ensured I could still get my lure to hit the weeds instead of the water in front.

There's no doubt that shopping in person is so much better. Because I do not have the option of a local shop, even my mom and pop orders are by mail. It's not uncommon for me to order a lure and the color be significantly different that it looked in the web pic.

Nice fish! I'll remember that pose...that's how it's done!!

At night, the hope is always that they will rise for topwater or at least take a big colorado fairly high in the column. If those don't work, BC with larger ribbontails sometimes plays well.

My YZH and Maxima landed yesterday. Diameter and feel looks good. Can't wait to start testing. I also have PlineCXX & IzorlineXXX on my radar. @rangerjockey I haven't been able to find any 11lb, just the larger sizes.

Unfortunately, everyone's gone locally. I sometimes get baited by chains with low pricing during sales. I also shop with local stores in other areas, like Tackle Trap. I'd say I fall in the middle.

Aside from topwater, fishing extremely high-wind fronts is my second passion. If I have good color to the water, which I usually do where I fish, I'm usually throwing a 1/2oz spinnerbait directly into 20-35mph winds with even higher gusts. It's the perfect lure (once it's in the water) for the conditions, but it's sure not the most aerodynamic. Ultimately, I sacrifice distance for throwing the right lure in the right place at the right time. If the conditions don't necessarily tell me one bait is likely superior and I'm using long casts with a search bait to cover water and locate fish, I can see selecting the most aerodynamic of the baits that I suspect might work, especially with pressured fish, and selecting the set-up that maximizes that distance makes sense.

I just thought of something else. On 2/8-9, because they were hitting the spinnerbait in such shallow water so well, I threw on a buzzbait for what was likely only a little over 10 minutes, but I did catch one. Since the switch caused a slowdown in action, I went back to the spinnerbait. However, the point remains that not only is February not too early to fish in the south, but with optimal conditions, it's not even necessarily too early for topwater!

Glock 9mm bc I don't get to the range as often as I should and my second/third shots were more accurate than with a 40.