And so very many of you.....you know who you are.......just absolutely revel in giving me s##t when I go on about HOW INVASIVE BASS ARE !......so predictable....so tiring....so very naive. Even had the audacity to call me "holier than thou"....hehehe...not "holy" at all, dude..... just properly AWARE, long ago !!

Even decades ago, we all knew that to be so, yet so many "just had to" put bass into damn near every "good lake" throughout the nation.
Just a damn shame, imo. Can only imagine the fish populations that have been decimated by this intruder....largemouth and smallies, both, neither even being particularly decent table fare. ( kinda why you throw them back, eh ?)
Selfish, and vain-glorious types will always impose "their" perceived notion of what Mother Nature should provide easy access to, absolute ignoring what "She" had planned to near-perfection already in place. And of course, they will feel oh so self-righteous, because "I practice C & R....I am a caring fisherperson"......not in any sense whatsoever, imho !

And ...here we have a trusted (albeit fictional) character informing & forewarning us of how harmful they are....a half-century ago. Jeeesh.
Too bad the lesson fell on so many deaf ears all those decades ago.

But hey.....showing off pics of all those dinks gives you so many chances to increase your posting numbers, doesn't it ?.........hehehe.

...."not worth driving that far"....hehehe....apparently "worth" has a far different meaning to you than most of us who fish for trout.

I would certainly drive 2 hours to fish (and, while I actually live 10 minutes from throwing a line into one of the better lakes in my region....have done so) in a lake that produces such behemoths.
Great catch and thanks for sharing !

Hardly the attitude that I would have after that stellar catch. Sounds a bit like remorse over finally getting one over 20lbs. Personally, I would be re-living the experience in my mind, while planning my next trip to go pursue catching one of its siblings !
But then, my friends often refer to me as "the eternal optimist" in most every endeavor that I pursue.....and not just fishing. (Have been told...." kinda doubt that you can pull that off, using wood as your medium,, but it'll be amazing if you can".....and later I show them pics of the completed project, and bathe in their awe. Live for challenges, I guess.

My retort is always that Judy Tenuta(sp?) (comedian of a couple of decades+ ago) comeback........"Hey...it could happen".
Great catch...go top it !

Yes it does and thanks for the details. I assume a "red rock dancer" is your weight..? I shall Google the term.
I use a short piece of hollow core 1/4" lead (vary the length...vary the weight...depends on flow and depth of what you are fishing) w/ a "spinner wire" (used for creating spinning lures (stiff wire w/ eye already formed) crimped HARD on the wire, leaving a 2"-3" tag to "tickle the bottom". Bent slightly (think banana), hanging off a straight-line 3-way swivel connection (I like PLine hdwe). I usually use a much longer (24-36")leader.
Perhaps I need to try shortening mine...I want to catch one like YOURS !!....hehehe.

Bobber-doggin' for steelies....too bad I have daily life responsibilities and such, or I would spend EVERY WAKING HOUR chasing those piscatorial wonders with a spinning rod or flyrod, either one.
Thanks for sharing all pics AND setup !

Depending on your locale, i.e...California (not sure if all(?) waterbodies, but certainly many) has outlawed 2-strokes on the premise of oil usage/expelling(?). I am sure some Cali folk on the stage could elaborate/confirm on these recent regs.
And there are a few waterbodies here in Oregon that restrict to 4-strokes.

I have a feeling that I may be above the curve with my little 3hp Torqeedo electric outboard, as Cali, Oregon, and others contemplate forcing us all to use electric motors exclusively...cars, trucks, buses, maybe boats...who knows ?
For small boat owners like me, with 12 & 14' rs, not much of a problem, power-wise. But I certainly think that the larger boat owners will have a conniption when they start pricing electric outboards over about 8-10hp (present price for an Elco 10hp was close to $10k, last I checked....whoaaaa !....and that DID NOT include batteries !)
Gonna have to be a manufacturer out there somewhere that can produce an electric outboard of sufficient hp to move a 20'+r at a reasonable price.
And of course...hope springs eternal that GOOD batteries become somewhat reasonably priced in the future, as well. Good luck to us boaters, all.

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL !!!!

That would be my advice as well...Craigslist. I look daily, just to see what's out there,and looking for bargains...especially from the folks who THOUGHT they were gonna enjoy boating, fishing, whatever, and decided to pass on it after dropping a chunk of cash on a whim.
Garnered several trolling motors that way, as well as a Honda 3hp4stroke & a 6hp Tohatsu 4stroke, that had about 8-10 hrs on it that I "stole" for a mere $850....retail was $1695 at the time !
Even scored a $2999 (new, retail) Torqeedo 3hp electric outboard, with an extra ($999 !) battery for waaaay less than 1/2 price.
Check the "boat parts" category, as well as the "boats for sale" category daily. Deals are out there this time of year....shop hard, & you'll find something suitable. Good luck !

Had me going there, until I read where you ACTUALLY caught it....hehehe. Very nice catch !
I assumed from the thread title, that it was caught in Kansas. Having spent the first 31 years of my life in Kansas, fishing every river, lake, and whatever farm ponds I could, I was quite curious WHERE in Kansas you might have caught that beautiful 'bow.
And said to myself when I saw the pic...I used to have to drive over to "the White" or Roaring River, Branson/Noel area (long before it became the "Gatlinburg-type tourist-trap++ travesty" it is today, imo), to catch trout.
I see you make the short journey, as well. Pretty fish, & thanks for sharing.

I like clean, but original PineSol makes me gag, even from the next room or even another floor in the house. Guess I just smelled it waaaay too much as a child. Would rather stick my nose over an ammonia jug than smell PineSol.
But the good news is that there are now a couple of alternative scents to choose.
IMO the chemist who came up with the newer scents should be knighted or given paid time off or at least a monetary bonus....he/she is my hero !

Wow...I am feeling envious, since I have been chasing steelies for the entire 39 years of my Oregon residency, and am still trying to land one over 15lb....and here you top that by 5lb+ !! Sweet ! & Congrats ! Good on 'ya !
What were using at the end of your line ?
Bait ? Lure ? Fly... beads ?..... TIA

Whatever it was...obviously worked !
Thanks for inspiring and sharing.

Yeah..."innocent"....that's you....hehehe

And I am a boxer brief guy....lol

Why yes...yes it does...unnecessarily.

However, "Mister gotta chime in if it might make FixorFish look like he is not 'one of us' or aware of what he wrote"....hehehe......I am.

Our nation has never NOT been GREAT OR GRATEFUL, either one, imo. That is why I said...."no again to it"....never left us in the first place.

Only your perception of what makes us so, has you questioning, thus the cohesion of citizenry has waned, thanks to #45 goading you into believing such.
"Rabble-rousers" like #45 love seeing widespread panic. You have shown your cards by embracing that panic, and the hand you hold ain't gonna win the pot, sorry.

Just ordered mine (shirt) last week,when an ad for it popped up, Jeremy....though the ad I saw didn’t have Bob Weir holding it up...that's even better !

We Deadheads know what makes America "Grate"(ful)....ain't no "again" to it....."the music never stopped".....thank goodness.

Keep on truckin'.....

Sweet mount and nice execution ! A present that will certainly be cherished.

BTW...as a "furniture guy", I absolutely love your table ! Have always loved the "porcelain-ized" ones, and yours is a design that I have not seen before.....so sweet looking and so very practical....hallmarks of great furniture in my world.

Ain't nature grand ?...even when it isn't OUR nature.....hehehe !

Merry Christmas to all !!!!!!

Sweet...40'+ of beautiful red !
And the horses/trees silhouetted against that sky.....just stellar. Thanks for including that shot. I would have that pic put on glass (that pop-up ad that I keep seeing) in a rather large format. Like was said....calendar-worthy, for sure.