Leaderboard

March 27 at 11:26am the stars aligned and I got her… Wasn’t planning on fishing that morning, but the day prior my boss wanted to trade me vacation weeks so I asked for the rest of the week off as part of the deal and he agreed to it. So I hurry to the lake the next morning, anxious as the conditions are about as ripe as they get this time of year. I arrive at an empty parking/launch facility and rush to get my boat in the water and head over towards my first spot. Three casts in I am running a soft bait parallel to the bank and watch an easy 4-5 pounce on it and pin it to the bank. I set the hook and broke it off. Tie up another soft bait and throw out downhill. I get thumped again only to have that fish run me in to grass and come off and it blew the nose out of the bait so it was virtually destroyed. Rather than spend the time to retie another, I grabbed my glide bait set up and fire it out there. Somewhere near the edge of the same grass bed I got thumped again and lean into it. BIG one. Got her in the net and decided to well her up and run her to the other side of the lake in hopes a bigger fish would move up in her place later in the morning. Heading in to the area I wanted to release the fish at, I started fishing my way in and the glide bait gets thumped again… I see a pale beast of a fish trying to turn and dig but I kept her coming toward me and bounce her off the net as I try and get it under her. She turned and made a strong run, but I got her turned back around and scooped her up. I screamed and shouted a few times in celebration as I knew what I was looking at. It was obvious she had several inches on the fish I had in the livewell. I rush to the shoreline to try and take shelter from the wind and waves and weigh the fish. I let the smaller one go after a few quick pics and a weight so I could focus on giving the bigger one lots of time to rest between photos and measurements. She went 24.2” x 18.7” weighed 10lbs 12oz and shatters my old PB by over a pound. Public waters predator. A true unicorn of a Northern Strain bass. She bit right as the baro bottomed out and after taking my time with her the bite window closed up and I didn’t get bit again the rest of the day. Before releasing her I called my friend Brandon and he just happened to be leaving work early so he shot to the lake to see her and be there for the release. We had always talked about him being there for this fish, and they way it worked out he basically was. On the way home it all hit me. All of the hours dedicated to grind. All of the money spent in the pursuit. All of the failures and mistakes made along the way. All of the time with friends and my family that I selfishly sacrificed for this fish... It all came together and my quest to hit double digits is over. Of course I gotta shout out Brock from Hiroshima Customs for producing the tools that made it all possible and for the customer service over the years keeping baits in rotation that were critical to my success. The bait I caught her on(8.5 hiro) has earned retirement for the years of abuse I’ve put it through. It’s bounced off more hard surfaces than a resin bait should withstand. It hung my wife’s PB as well so it’ll go on the wall, possibly with a replica mount of the fish. A cast to catch, weighing and release video will go up on YT after the spring bite is over. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Just finished up this pair, one being for a coworker. Was gonna throw the other one towards the swap but since we’ve got till the end of May I’ll just build a couple more and document the process along the way. Made of Poplar wood 5.5” body / 10” with tail ~3.5 oz

So far couldn't be happier with the 66XH Valkyrie 3pc - short bank strikes, end of the cast strikes...if it has treble hooks and weigh between 2.5 and 4.5oz, it's been absolutely solid.

Anyone else have a second most expensive hobby? Post your sweet guitar, antique tube amp or that Klon you remortgage your house to buy. Here's my first Tele I bought last year and my Ize Light Millionaire. It's a 2017 Japanese Hybrid 60's. American electronics, American Vintage 58 pickups, U shaped neck, 9.5" radius in a beautiful Candy Apple Red.

+1 on the Sly 6.2”. One of the most productive baits for me last summer/early fall. Hookup percentage is no issue 10/10 some of the most aggressive bites I’ve gotten they bite like they’re trying to kill it.

can you share your discount code?

I had more than 100 hours invested into hudd fishing without a single fish. Well today, it finally happened. If I hadn’t lost my Deps 250 earlier I never would have tied it on. I made a long cast over a prime spot and was retrieving at a slow pace. Near the end of the cast I was watching it swim just 3’ under the surface when this beast came up and gulped it. Feels amazing to finally break into the 8s after all these years of grinding.

March was pretty good to me closed out the month with a solid NJ fish and a few mediums. The soon to be released 7” Smolt from Hoog has been really solid and got me a few good ones this month IMG_1026.mov

I have no clue at this point, but I organized all my "baits in progress" and discovered I have a lot of options! What size/type of baits do you prefer to fish?

Go with the Heavy.

Wraps, like @chevro1et stated plastic boxes are dead space and space killers for packs and I also use those SU x Backlash collaboration storage boxes for tackle, or whatever. There are many other options for the little boxes that are attainable, Spro makes them as well.

i think the XH is way too much rod for softbaits in the size you are thinking about. Go with the Heavy. the XH is super stout. its a beefy blank.

Been asked about my pack a few times from my IG stories, this is the 18L pack I'm using to carry what your outlining above with a little extra space. https://www.511tactical.com/rush-moab-10.html?queryID=c47d44f44db43e5c1ee2c8d885bfdb30&objectID=42001&indexName=magento2_productiondefault_products They make 13L version if you want to go even smaller. I went through 4 packs from various "Swimbait" companies that were either too much or not enough space, didn't like the way they fit or double strapped which come to find out at my older age I hate wearing.

I painted up a green gizzard that is probably one of my favorite paints I’ve done it’s just so simple and clean, and also I painted a carp color that I've painted in the past

The biggest stick you can find , casting is the main concern The smallest rod i fish ships on is a 908....

Solid Fish!!!!

If you’re on FB, look up Brandon Orr, Tim Mccaulife, Big Gus, and Robert Kane

Did they stop announcing drops? I signed up for the emails but haven’t gotten one since February.

Agreed on the sly, the 6.2 is the best of the bunch I’m also a fan of the Deltadood/skumline customs gill glide. Has a tunable weight chamber and his gill pattern is dope. @Jinxd12makes a couple sick ones too, there’s some pics in the grassroots section and I know he just got some custom painted which came out great. Great dude to deal with a long standing member of SU (as are sly and Deltadood)

Been sitting on this for a little while, might mold it and see what I can do with it!

@SumoNinja @HCfromNC are guys I see posting reports w the ship. Maybe they can help.

Being ghosted for a month is pretty bad. What did u pay with? PayPal ff? If u payed g&s, just file the claim and move on. If u paid ff, go to your bank or credit card that was used, tell them that u bought something and it never delivered. They should take it from there. I was scammed once years ago paying ff. I skipped going to PayPal because they won't help u if u sent it ff. But I went to my credit card company and they gave me a temporary refund. They then contact the seller to get proof that the item shipped or got delivered. Of course the scammer has no proof, so my refund went from temporary to a permanent refund. That was the only time I ever got scammed paying with ff and that's what worked for me. Then give an honest feedback of your experience on the seller's feedback and contact the su staff so they're aware of what happened. In the future, try to buy only from solid reputable members or else don't use ff. If someone has little to no feedback, only pay gs or check for references first. Usually a reputable person who knows them will vouch. If all else fails, just pass. There will always be other baits. Good luck to u bro

Got to the ramp early today, 30min before sunrise, trying to beat the crowd. That was an epic fail as a 25boat tourney was launching just as I got the boat in. My personal goal this year is a 7+. Been getting them on the 6" magdraft last few trips, up to 5lbs. Wanted to play with the 8" mag and savage gear shine glide today. The glide paid off. Second spot the big girl decided to play. About 12ft deep near downed trees in 53 degree water. Biggest fish for me in close to 6 years. Few stops later got hammered next to a downed tree. Thought it was gonna top the 6.2 as she was dogging me deep. Then she full on breached about 20ft away. Got her boat side and netted then she did the characteristic death roll. A solid 5min to get her untangled and unhooked. Snapped a quick pic and back in the water to swim away strong. Both fish on shine glide in hitch pattern. Tatula 200 on dobyns fury 795 with 50lb suffix braid to 17lb sufix mono. 3rd day of 65+ temps with a storm rolling in tomorrow. Hopefully back on the water next Friday to top these.

Well, until I get the funds aside for a PowerPole Micro as recommended by @chefchris, I put together this shallow water anchoring system for my 14’ aluminum boat. Might be a great alternative to those who have smaller crafts and on a budget: I used a Minn Kota transom mount trolling motor clamp on bracket ($25), a piece of PVC pipe and some stainless steel hose clamps to secure the pipe ($5 for both items). I opted for the PowerPole Heavy Duty Spike ($90 +/-). Figured I planned to get the Micro eventually, may as well get one piece of the puzzle at the time. IMG_3381.mov

So, the way I understand it, Yuki Ito, the founder of Megabass, brought Megabass to the U.S. by challenging tackle shop owners to a fishing duel. It just seems like such an amazing story, and I think it'd be really cool to tell it in an anime. There's a surprising lack of fishing themed animes, there are definitely some that involve fishing, but only one that I know of that is centered around fishing. (Tsuritama and it's fantastic). Anyone else think this would be a cool idea? I have no clue about any way to bring it about in any form whatsoever, but I still think it'd be really cool to see. Lemme know what yall think?

Lake Biwa pumps out multiple DDs everyday. Every spring, the lake will pump out a handful of 12-15lb fish. Even guys from shore will catch 12-14lb bass. The lake is very pressured but the fish are so wired there. So much forage to feed on all the time. It is illegal to release bass though but most of the Japanese anglers still release them anyways to basically give the government the middle finger. The government does shocking's every spring and takes out a lot of bass but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Less bass equals more food for the ones that are still in the lake making them grow extremely large. The reason most guys over here don't see the Japan catches is that algorithms here in the states don't recommend Japanese content to you, you yourself have to go and search it yourself before the algorithm decides to start regularly showing it to you.

That’s going to be a no from me dawg

Just go the package today and I Zelled him Monday morning. So you are good to go. Like @JacksonFsaid; you gotta let the man have his secret stash right? Something the wife does not need to know lol. Good luck guys!

Hiding money from the wife, smart man