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Today has been the best day of fishing for my buddy and me in a while! I got a new Tatula 300 delivered today (thanks Digitaka!) and just had to go test it out! I started out with the Chad Shad, and after about 10 minutes of casting, I had a follower nip at it right when I was taking it out of the water! I've seen videos of guys in Japan figure eighting their swimbaits on followers and getting bites, but I had never tried it myself... until today!! Two figure eights later, and the bass in the second pic tried to hammer it! Barely hooked the SOB, but I flipped it onto the bank ASAP! I looked at my buddy across the corner of the lake and just laughed for about 5 minutes after releasing that fish. I never thought bass would eat on the figure eight, as I've only known musky to do that! The second fish also came on the chad shad, and I got to test the drag on the new Tatula! She came in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces! Hell of a fight on the new reel, and it felt great. I was worried that the 8.1 gear ratio on the Tatula would be too high, but turns out it's perfect for most of the baits I throw! Tight lines y'all! -appstlhd

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.

Got on em quick this evening , stop and go on the beast crank

I miss read the assignment, lol. Painted this rainbow on the 3.15 now I’m thinking about making this little nugget a glide or wake.

Got a big one on the Swimbait underground k9. This one came off a point near deep water early in the morning . Water temps are still 46F in North Jersey.

We will have more Superbait bags very soon and the board bag will be available.

January - Reservoir iced over February- Lackluster (no swimbait fish) March- Equally lackluster, but I lost a nice one. Which brings us to April. April has started off well. Water still around 50 degrees today, winds were gusting, got rained on, but only saw one other angler, so that was good. Caught 7 lbs and 10 ozs of northern strain goodness bottom bumping a 7" citizen in about 15 FOW. The itch has been scratched. On to the next one. Caught a baby 2-3 lb-er a few casts later. Didn't weigh it. GGR Light/ Curado 301HG/ 15# PLine PF/ Brook trout citizen painted by Garrett

I also enjoy the taste of gunpowder and fine cutlery

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.

Got mine today. Excited to rig em and fish em especially with RI trout stocks coming and ponds opening mid April, really nice looking baits in person. bait folds over in half without any modifications Thanks @JohnMarinofor all the answered questions and info

Here's the the unboxing I did today! Go easy, it's my first one! Cheers!

Helix 7 was my first. Its a good unit very adjustable. Consider making a view that puts your side imaging at the top window utilizing your whole screen for better separation and detail. The view you sent photos of is cramped and in my opinion a waste of MSI technology. Toggle around til it pops up top w 2 small panes below for your MDI and 2D (both mostly useless except in rare occasions) hummingbird failed me by including zero mapping and the 2d I could never identify a thermocline properly. Garmin 93echoUHD is a better unit in every way. Touch screen is great. Maps are good. Compatible and upgradable. The side imaging is not as good as a 'bird but you can learn it's nuances in a few hours or days on the water. Birds are fine to start, but my money now goes to Garmin happily. Hope you find your upgrade!!

I haven’t tried it but this method should apply to most soft baits that don’t have any harness as long as you weight it down properly. 3/32 Tungsten nail weights in the fins and I had luck using a 3/16oz neko weight under the hook slot bringing it to a total of around 3/8 oz of weight The harness rig just stuck a 9lber

Damn, perfect save with the net! Thats one of reasons I always encourage people to have a net on hand, boat, kayak, or even when angling from the shore. Pretty cool chain of events image capture.

I keep it pretty basic. For me, when I go walk the shore, I pretty much know and commit to a particular bait I plan on using for the time of year and conditions in my local waters. I find if I have too many options, I’ll second guess my decision for that particular outing. Plus keeping options limited, it forces me to focus on the bait at hand. I use a small Plano bag, that I sling around myself. 9 times out of 10, I commit to one bait, but will carry one more option or backup to what I plan on using. Rather than having multiple baits, I rather have my scale, measuring board / tape to document the catch. To me these are essentials. I don’t carry much for terminal tackle except maybe some grenade / board weights or snaps. Which are in a small bag or small Plano terminal tackle container. I do have a pair of aluminum pliers that are in a sheath that is attached to the shoulder strap. I agree with others, I tend to use a small bait wrap or Husky document bag for keeping the baits in the bag when not on a rod. Unless it’s a hardbait, then just put the hook covers on and toss it in the bag. One other item, I know is not bag related, but I can’t stress enough importance to, is a small net. It has bailed me out numerous times when fishing on a rocky dam or precarious conditions. Plus, it puts the odds in my favor should I happen to catch a PB. I can also keep that fish in the water, and compose myself to document it, causing less stress to the fish. This has been my main setup for many years now. This is what works for my system.

@MountainMan83 Nigel Tufnel has nothing on the Fender Blues Jr in my home…..we go up to 12….one more louder than 11.

Made a line through on this 7.5 inch swimbait and caught this nice 6.5-7 and had 25 lbs on the day from the bank last July, cant wait to get back out there come spring.

After catching my first two swimbait fish earlier this week, I was lucky enough to break my personal best today! I'm in law school right now, so I don't get to fish as much as I'd like- I probably fish more than I should already. That being said, spring break is upon us! My buddy and I have been hitting our local lakes and ponds hard this week with water temps steadily rising. Last year I had caught my previous PB, a 6lb 13oz fish on a wacky worm that came out of this pond in April, and I knew there was some serious swimbait potential here. The bank holding the concrete pad splits in the center with a dock going out about 30 yards. I had blown the side we came in on by walking down on the pad, and knew if there was a fish on the other side, I'd have to be a little sneakier. I positioned myself high up on the bank above the pad, made a few casts under the dock, and slowly inched my way forward. With the angle I was at, I only had about 10 feet of fishability before I had to swing my bait up the bank to avoid dragging it on the concrete. As I made my way forward, I pitched my TK on the other side of a branch sticking out of the water, where the depth was probably around 2-3 feet. I had been burning the Tiny Klash all morning with little success, so I slowed it down. Twitch, twitch, twitch, pause... and BOOM. She came out of nowhere and sideswiped my bait HARD. The whole event happened in about a second, but watching it felt like minutes. I set the hook in disbelief and yelled at my buddy to get his ass over here. I should NOT have landed that fish, that's for sure, but somehow, I did. My hookset was late, and she shook her head hard. Finally got her to the bank with one treble pinned in the corner of her jaw. This fish beat my last PB at 7lbs 3oz. SO close to 8, I'm almost mad about it. Almost.

I am looking to buy my first custom rod some time soon. I am a braid to leader guy. I was wondering, between these 2 rod makers...Who uses a more slower action and softer/parabolic blank? I know that Leviathan uses NFC blanks. NFC blanks are pretty soft/parabolic and are pretty moderate in action. On the other hand, Does anyone know which blank company/manufacturer F5 uses? I can't find any info as to which blank manufacturer F5 uses. Does anyone know if the Ghost Code series is pretty moderate in action and is it pretty soft/parabolic? I need a custom rod that acts and performs more like a big crankbait rod since I prefer to use braid to leader.

sick!

Thank you. It works for me. Still leaves plenty of room for car keys, cell phone and a few other add ons if necessary. I even kept a small tripod for my phone in there at times. That particular Plano bag I purchased from Walmart. Definitely water resistant to heavy rain and such, being the inside is lined. I believe it’s a 3500 or 3600 size. I can get you better dimensions if you like later on. The board bag was attached with the included Molle attachment system incorporated with the bag. I believe the board bag was a collaboration between Swimbait Underground and SuperBait. The “Swimbait Underground x SuperBait Board Bag” I purchased was offered in 2021 on both Swimbait Underground Retail site and on the WCZ website. I haven’t seen them in quite some time. I actually like it. It allows the board to air out and dry after using it. It’s actually pretty durable. Surprised they don’t offer them or some sort of variant more often with the amount of travel boards out there. @swimbaitunderground will there ever be a return of the board bags?

F5 ghost code is very parabolic but has plenty of backbone too. Great rods for the price and they just released the new version

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.

I recently just got the Garmin echomap UHD 73sv. It checks all the boxes you need. I've only used it a couple of times so far, but I do really like it. It is the nicest fish finder I've ever bought. Prolly not super helpful, cause I don't have anything to compare to besides some older lowrance models. But overall happy with my purchase, and if I want I can add livescope with the purchase of the upgraded transducer/mount. I think you can do that with almost any brand now though.

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

Sold my Sly because the Baitsanity gets more attention in my waters. Also I'm not timid about putting it in tough spots since they are relatively affordable and easily available.

+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.

It ranges from $5-$10 per inch depending on how experience the painter is. If you want a trout pattern, then I highly recommend you go through Garretts customs. Both my lures turned out great. At the time he only charged $35 for any full paint job. Now he's charging by per inch.

Sunline sniper 30lb

My setups were all salt first, freshwater second. So i had a bunch of curado 100 and 200 b, Calcutta. I have one quantum energy 600pt that is the only dedicated salt setup I have. Even my trout setups got to visit the salt

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.

Lesions or not, that bass is still healthy enough to attack that lure for its size. Nice one.

You been on roll lately. Another quality bass.

Monday will be the opening date for the magazine pre order of issue 4! Available at sntpod.com it’ll be around 2 weeks for the print shop then they’ll be shipped out to you! This issue has interviews with guys like Mike Gilbert, Danny Delamater and so many more. Right at 100 pages of content and in my opinion, the best issue yet! You can keep up with updates on Instagram and facebook, both are scalesntales media. Thanks for the support and I hope you guys enjoy! I’ve got some pretty wicked stuff in the works I’m excited about and hopefully it will only greater the community’s experience with SNT! Picture of the cover art and price chart