2 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

It was near 40 degrees at midnight. It was -5 with wind chills around -30 by 7am. Might take more than a few days for the fish to start biting here in OH!!! Keep the vids/reports coming. It'll be March before I get to wet a line again. On the upside, once the ice lid comes off, I should be able to pick up right where I left off with the A-Rig and the Esox.

All that epic Musky action you recently had should stave of the withdrawals for a little while I'd imagine ?

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

All that epic Musky action you recently had should stave of the withdrawals for a little while I'd imagine ?

Nope. Just makes me crave more of it. That rig is addictive. Everything hits it hard. Bass, eyes, muskie... I've never had a subtle bite on it from any species, but man, when a 40"+ muskie T-bones it going full tilt...... POW!!! Crazy fun!!!

22 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Nope. Just makes me crave more of it. That rig is addictive. Everything hits it hard. Bass, eyes, muskie... I've never had a subtle bite on it from any species, but man, when a 40"+ muskie T-bones it going full tilt...... POW!!! Crazy fun!!!

 

Tim, do you ever get to see those V's in the water right before the muskies hit? I love that moment. I once fished a musky lake for a week in northwestern Ontario. The fishing was tough because of a cold front. Then the wind suddenly shifted, from the northwest to the southeast. There was a strait that ran southeast to northwest and I correctly guessed that the hungry muskies would pile in there to feed as bait was pushed through it. At one point, I had two V's racing to my buzzbait. In the hour while the wind roared, I caught five and missed a sixth. Considering the time it takes to land and release a musky, it was pretty much non-stop action. When the wind died, the bite died. 

16 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Bass come in many shapes and colors. Some might see a chair, but I see a DD PB.

well it took me several hours and wasn’t a DD or PB, but I got one haha 

 

I definitely Wouldn’t have been able to brave the elements if it wasn’t our dock and I could just run in by the fire occasionally 

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Nope. Just makes me crave more of it. That rig is addictive. Everything hits it hard. Bass, eyes, muskie... I've never had a subtle bite on it from any species, but man, when a 40"+ muskie T-bones it going full tilt...... POW!!! Crazy fun!!!

Muskies just seem epic in every aspect.    I didn't think people could catch that many in a day until you were posting all those multi fish days.     

 

The rarity, and size of these fish is what I grew up romanticizing about.   The whole fish of a thousand casts.    In your case it's the fish of a dozen casts ?

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

Tim, do you ever get to see those V's in the water right before the muskies hit?

I've had them do that when rolling a spinnerbait just below the surface. Makes ya pucker!!!

7 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

I've had them do that when rolling a spinnerbait just below the surface. Makes ya pucker!!!

I was reeling in a fish and a Musky ate it once, it closed my hook gap shut it bit so hard. Granted it was a crappie jig but I’ve had many buddies catch 40” + Musky with a crappie jig 

5 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The rarity, and size of these fish is what I grew up romanticizing about.   The whole fish of a thousand casts.    In your case it's the fish of a dozen casts ?

It ain't always that way. This fall was epic. The A-Rig was the difference maker. They love that thing. I turned my new musky guide friend onto it, and shared how I fish it, and in return he shared lots of info with me on different aspects of muskie fishing. Our newly formed friendship has been mutually beneficial. He averaged four fish per trip through Nov and Dec. I averaged three per trip in the same time period. COME ON MARCH!!!

1 minute ago, T-Billy said:

It ain't always that way. This fall was epic. The A-Rig was the difference maker. They love that thing. I turned my new musky guide friend onto it, and shared how I fish it, and in return he shared lots of info with me on different aspects of muskie fishing. Our newly formed friendship has been mutually beneficial. He averaged four fish per trip through Nov and Dec. I averaged three per trip in the same time period. COME ON MARCH!!!

Don't you go rogue on me Braided Wonder.....there's a reason you were branded with a Bass where the sun don't shine ?

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I was reeling in a fish and a Musky ate it once, it closed my hook gap shut it bit so hard. Granted it was a crappie jig but I’ve had many buddies catch 40” + Musky with a crappie jig 

Oh yeah. I can't keep 'em off the TRD bug in the early spring. I have a video of me fighting a muskie that has a smallmouth I'd hooked on a ned T-Boned in it's mouth. It ended up breaking/cutting me off, but I fought it for several minutes first. It wasn't gonna let go of that smallie for anything.

8 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Don't you go rogue on me Braided Wonder.....there's a reason you were branded with a Bass where the sun don't shine ?

He's trying hard to convert me!!! The muskie are a fun diversion when the water's cold, as are those yummy saugeye and crappie, but I'm a bass fisherman at heart.

The reason I quit musky fishing is because casting those big lures hurt. I'm guessing Tim's A-Rig isn't easy to cast. Same with those swimbaits.

 

What I miss about them is their utter fearlessness, how they'd sidle up to my canoe and stare me down.

 

And one of the great thrills of fishing is successfully figure-eighting a musky and having a green, furious fish a few feet from your rod tip. 

 

@T-Billy What rod, reel, and line do you use to cast an A-Rig? Considering I caught two bass at a time four times in 2022 on a Whopper Plopper, I'd love to see if I could catch three at once on an A-Rig.

9 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

What rod, reel, and line do you use to cast an A-Rig? Considering I caught two bass at a time four times in 2022 on a Whopper Plopper, I'd love to see if I could catch three at once on an A-Rig.

I've used several and found my favorite out of my lineup is the 7'10" Shimano SLX H MF. My Ark, Tharp Series, Guntersville Special 7'11" flippin stick is a close second. Both have tons of backbone as far as bass rods go, with pretty limber tips.

 Most any aluminum frame casting reel will work fine. The A-Rig isn't a high resitance bait on the retrieve. Similar to a spinnerbait in that regard. I prefer a 7 speed reel for it personally. 50# braid is all I throw 'em on. You're pulling a dang chandelier through the water. Nobody's gonna convince me mono or fluoro makes a difference in getting bit. Braid lets me straighten out hooks and get my rig back when I snag, and they snag anything that get's within 10' of them it seems.

I run three 1/8oz jig heads in 15' of water or less. Dummies on screw locks on the top two arms. The dummies are not a disadvantage. I've only had ONE hit on them ever, and that's two less hooks to snag up. I'd run three hooks on my rigs even if we were allowed five in OH.

Thanks, Tim. I'm thinking of buying one and throwing it on my froggin' rod, which is 7.5', MH, and has 50 lb. braid. Like I said, I'd love to double and triple up on bass. Just for giggles!

 

Do you have an A-Rig to suggest for bass?

12 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Thanks, Tim. I'm thinking of buying one and throwing it on my froggin' rod, which is 7.5', MH, and has 50 lb. braid. Like I said, I'd love to double and triple up on bass. Just for giggles!

 

Do you have an A-Rig to suggest for bass?

Yumbrella, regular or the finesse version will both work fine. They're inexpensive and pretty well built. Your froggin setup will work fine for ya, at least to get you started. If you decide you like it and end up throwing one a lot, a longer, heavier action rod will make it easier on ya.

39 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Thanks, Tim. I'm thinking of buying one and throwing it on my froggin' rod, which is 7.5', MH, and has 50 lb. braid. Like I said, I'd love to double and triple up on bass. Just for giggles!

 

Do you have an A-Rig to suggest for bass?

 

Don't buy it yet, I will send you one all rigged up.

9 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Don't buy it yet, I will send you one all rigged up.

Some awesome people on here!

 

Setting it up is a real pain for a new person like myself a few months ago.

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Don't buy it yet, I will send you one all rigged up.

 

This is so kind of you. PM your snail mail and I'll sign some picture books and send them to you, assuming that you have children or grandchildren young enough for picture books. If not, send me your snail mail and I'll send you some chocolates, a kringle, or beef jerky. Your choice.

 

This is roadwarrior driving past my house the other night:

 

Been way too many weeks since I last made it out, and it was great having the spots come out to play and show interest in so many things.

 

Alabama rig

 

Crankbait

 

Little John cb

 

Rock crawler cb

 

Magdraft with bonus shad regurgitation ?

 

Pops wasn't getting quite as lucky as me but did cross paths with a planter.

 

Nothing great but it doesn't take much to be picture worthy in December. 

50 minutes ago, NorcalBassin said:

Been way too many weeks since I last made it out, and it was great having the spots come out to play and show interest in so many things.

 

Alabama rig

 

Crankbait

 

Little John cb

 

Rock crawler cb

 

Magdraft with bonus shad regurgitation ?

 

Pops wasn't getting quite as lucky as me but did cross paths with a planter.

 

Nothing great but it doesn't take much to be picture worthy in December. 

Heck ya, this thread has been as quiet as it's ever been since I've joined....those Spots warm the cockles of my mean fighting heart.

 

Tom. I'm back at it again, 3-4 days of freezing temps has me going nuts.   Tom. might be the one day when I'm okay not catching anything. 

 

7 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

this thread has been as quiet as it's ever been since I've joined

There is always a huge fall boom in this thread from September to November, and then a lull in the winter. Us yankees would love to be able to contribute to this thread now but it’s up to all you southern boys for a couple months! 

Had a really fantastic session today.    Biggest 5 fish day since this summer with about 18-19lbs.    Caught my biggest fish since August 4th, and second biggest fish since starting back, a 7.2lb fish that couldn't have been healthier and fatter.    To see this big girl swim off so much easier in the 45 degree water is a big plus of catching them in the winter vs. summer I see.   Loved seeing her swim off full of spunk.   She'll be my White Whale in about 1.5 years hopefully.   

 

Pardon the usual schoolgirl excitement, but wow this fish lit me up on my BFS Steez setup with a 110Jr +1  in Threadfin Shad.    She peeled dragged within nano seconds of hooking up.   Catfish was the first thought in my head lol.    Some might remember a week or two back I lost a really nice fish I never got to see, just got this same lure back with a straightened out treble hook.   Note the last picture, WHEW lol 

 

 

eta:  @ScottW   got so excited after catching her I had to text Scott, told him I'd tag him once I got the video up

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Had a really fantastic session today.    Biggest 5 fish day since this summer with about 18-19lbs.    Caught my biggest fish since August 4th, and second biggest fish since starting back, a 7.2lb fish that couldn't have been healthier and fatter.    To see this big girl swim off so much easier in the 45 degree water is a big plus of catching them in the winter vs. summer I see.   Loved seeing her swim off full of spunk.   She'll be my White Whale in about 1.5 years hopefully.   

 

Pardon the usual schoolgirl excitement, but wow this fish lit me up on my BFS Steez setup with a 110Jr +1  in Threadfin Shad.    She peeled dragged within nano seconds of hooking up.   Catfish was the first thought in my head lol.    Some might remember a week or two back I lost a really nice fish I never got to see, just got this same lure back with a straightened out treble hook.   Note the last picture, WHEW lol 

 

Yes sir!!!! Congrats 

@AlabamaSpothunter awesome fish. Love the enthusiasm. That’s why we do it! 
 

Alex! What a day!!! You are a heckuva fisherman. Nearly all of us have hung our rods for the winter, but you don't just keep casting. You are landing so many gorgeous fish. Quantity and quality! Thank you for caring about their health. And thank you for posting these videos. I missed watching you catch fish due to Christmas! 

 

I love how you catch fish with less. Such a basic boat and I love basic boats. They're what I've used all my fishing life too. And a stealthy boat with your electric motor! 

 

I was on Green Bay last summer and I saw a guy fishing from a cigar boat with FIVE four-hundred horsepower engines (No lie.). He was drunk and had caught nothing. He asked what I'd caught and I told him and he smirked, thinking me a liar. Sometimes less catches more and less is a lot more fun, for you're closer to the fish and you and I and many others here love that connection.  

 

That lure you used is beautiful. It caught you and it caught your big bass too!

Thank ya'll so much for the kind words and support!!! ? Such a privilege to not only catch these fish, but share them with others that are equally as passionate about them as I am.   With anything else I'd die of embarrassment sharing something like that first 3mins of the video, but you guys afford me the buzzword of the last few years.....a true "safe space" ?

 

After a decade + break, I had only started fishing about two weeks until I was searching for a community of great people who I could learn from.   Enter BassResource and the amazingly talented, friendly, knowledgeable, and diverse background membership base.   I've learned more in 4 months here than I had in all my previous years of Bass fishing growing up and as a young adult.  The members here especially in this thread have given me confidence to fish vastly differently than I had in the past.   Seeing some of you post ridiculous reports on top waters, others on big Swimbaits, others on Jerkbaits, etc., all stick in the back of your mind next time on the water.   

 

I'm inspired by some members, others fascinate me, others educate me, some always seem to make their posts funny, this is a wonderful place because of the wonderful group of people that populate it.    I enjoy getting to share the occasions I have some success because there is no doubt that many in this thread and community have played a huge role in facilitating that success.   

 

Katie you are spot on correct, that beautiful lure caught me with all three trebles, but one managed to snag that big girl....so now MegaBass will snag more of my money tom., and thus the viscous tackle monkey cycle continues  ?

 

 

2 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

@AlabamaSpothunter awesome fish. Love the enthusiasm. That’s why we do it! 
 

You got that right brother!    When I stop shaking, I'll go golfing or antiquing or something ?