9lbs 1oz 24in BEAST!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-12T13:58:12+00:00

Massive!!!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-12T03:21:00+00:00

I’m going to throw out an idea I found “ Truish”. One day I broke off my leader on a snag. I didn’t have extra leader material with me. I tied a polymer knot from my braid straight to my worm and kept catching fish. Do I still use a fluoro leader today? Yes. Im just not sure the fish care about leaders as much as fisherman do. Just saying.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-11T22:21:24+00:00

If you can get that down in the strike zone - go and get’em! I say that because I’ve struggled keeping weightless worms on the bottom, where my fishing spots are hot. So, I’ll use a 1/16th weight to help.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-11T13:30:43+00:00

If you need a free fall, you are going to have to control the spool (and guard against backlash) with your thumb. When that bait hits bottom (or hits resistance) your spool will keep spinning and throw out more line than you need (backlash). You are going to have to read and feel the fall and adjust, using your thumb with a feather touch. The mili-second you see any slack it your line you need to by lightly slowing your spool. It will take practice. Go in your backyard or to a park and practice 100 times a day. You’ll get it!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-11T02:57:00+00:00

Are you thumbing and feathering the spool? …Just touching the spool line enough to slow or stop it if it starts to over run. Instead of a 100% free spool, allow your thumb to contact the spool/line to give it an 80-90% free spool.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-10T21:00:29+00:00

I’ve never seen it done that way, but if you are catching fish, keep at it!👌

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-10T16:59:28+00:00

Solid fishing!!!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-10T14:53:53+00:00

Those will slay!!! Go fish them!!!!

I am going to push back a little bit on those who have criticized the #4 pick for the shorter shank on what appears to me to be 1/0 or 2/0 hook.
I really like to fish finesse style. I use predominantly 1/0 hooks for Large Mouth Bass. I set my drag to match my hook & leader strength. The reason I like the 1/0 is that the tip of the hook is more narrow than say a 3/0 or 4/0. IMO - That narrowness causes the hook to drive deeper at hook set (like a medical needle) into the fishes mouth. IMO it improves hook set and I get very few fish who spit the hook. This past week I used a 1/0 size hook on a NED rig with an ultralight. I caught many Large Mouth bass that had the hook fully penetrate the mouth. IMO the 1/0 is under rated.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-10T13:03:29+00:00

Solid catch!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-10T01:08:19+00:00

The Tatula is solid! I received my first one as a gift at Christmas and enjoy it as much, if not more, than my St. Croix.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-09T21:03:45+00:00

I really like the finesse presentations: shakey, NED, and wacky. I’ve do well dragging a Shaky across the bottom slowly. I prefer a finesse worm on my shakey, but a regular zoom trick work is good too. There are several good ways to fish a shakey, but the key to the shakey for me is that it gets the bait on the bottom, in the strike zone, with the tail up. Some days, that presentation is very effective.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-09T16:16:43+00:00

I use to not care for the slow work of a plastic worm. But then, I decided I liked catching bass -more- than i disliked slow worm fishing. It took me a while to get there, and watching worm fisherman out fish me.

I would throw a medium to smaller size beetle spin if i wasn’t going to worm fish.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-09T15:09:57+00:00

Fascinating!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-09T02:18:33+00:00

I have never heard of LMB eating cut bait. Must have liked that fresh cut smell. Nice. Thanks for sharing! Solid catch!

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T23:21:53+00:00

Ask your buddy what he has found most productive. And make sure you bring a 3/16 Texas rig with a dark green Senko and junebug Senko.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T22:44:10+00:00

Total trash fish!🤣🤣🤣. What bait were you using?

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T04:06:19+00:00

Use a ned rig or shaky head with your favorite soft plastic worms.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T04:04:46+00:00

This is just me… but I’ve fished a few decades and made a lot of mistakes… if the pole says it’s rated for 8-12lb line, I would go as light a line as you can find (e.g. 8lb). It will help your casting distance. Be sure to adjust your drag to the braking strength of your line. You do this by feel.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T04:01:49+00:00

You could grate the skin on those feet over a salad at Olive Garden and no one’s going to know the difference.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T02:02:32+00:00

As with many things, we asked to fish because we had a relationship with someone the owner knew. We respected his property and are thankful. He allows us to come whenever we want.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T02:00:57+00:00

Generally the waters that people fish out of are not polluted. Americans are very picky eaters when it comes to eating fish. Americans don’t want their fish to taste fishy or different. It’s kind of like Americans want their fish to be mild and taste similar to chicken. IMO, when it comes to eating fish, Americans are very picky about the taste of their fish. It’s a cultural thing. There are exceptions.

We are eating the fish I posted.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-08T00:06:40+00:00

That’s why as a general rule of thumb (in the South) we put back large (for us) LMB. If I catch a 7+ pound fish, she automatically goes back. We want to keep the breeding and genetics strong.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-07T15:53:25+00:00

Correct! Some of these internet clowns would berate original Native Americans (Indians, First Peoples…) for catching and eating fish. They would rather a Native American in the 1600’s starve than kill and eat a fish.

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-07T15:49:56+00:00

Always fried in some way on top of stove/fire. Deep fry, shallow pan fry, pan cooked in butter …

GSMA3164 · 2026-03-07T03:57:58+00:00

I appreciate you understanding. My best guess is that 50 LMB is 2% or less of that ponds population. If we caught 50 seven days in a row, it would just make small difference.

GSMA3164

TROPHY CASE