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Cut a hole in the ice. Put 2 spikes on the tip of the jig. Set your tip up. Relax in the shanty with some cold pizza and 3 fingers of Jack.

That sometimes asking a question here will get your head spinning 1000 X's faster than before you asked. Everyone want's to, and thinks they are "helping", but sometimes the only way to learn is to get your hand burnt.............. No one's right, and no one's wrong, but so much of the trouble with the first time baitcaster is user error, and only you can work through that. It don't matter if it's a $300 reel or a $50 reel, neither one will be ANY different in the hands of an inexp. user. That being said....I'll toss my .02 into the ring. go with an Abu Max series reel. #1 they are inexpensive enough that if you don't get the hang of it, no big loss, #2 they are quality enough that they will last untill you have become good with it and can upgrade, #3 they are user friendly with externally adj. mag breaks etc....no taking side plates off and wondering if pushing the pin down is on, or up is off, or what not. And #4 they are available in both LH and RH, so you can get one that is comfortable to you.

Currently -17 and -42 with windchill. Quit your complaining.

My wife says I deal with it by driving her nuts. 2° here this morning. Supposed to fall to -4° by noon, with an overnight low tonight of -11°. This is Cincinnati by the way, you know,.... the home of the comedy team known as the "Cincinnati Bengals". Hootie

I went to try that and its so cold as soon as I unzipped little guy was like a turtle retracting into its shell.

July 2010, Lake El Salto, last afternoon of the trip, last day of the season for the lodge. We started the afternoon session catching fish here and there on a little bit of everything but no specific pattern. Then my buddy goes to a deep crankbait and catches a fish on 3 consecutive casts. I switched to the same and it was on! The school got fired up and we were catching fish on every cast. The small fish were 3 pounds and they ranged up to 7 pounds - average was 4-5 pounds. We are talking busted split rings, changing out hooks, and my buddy caught 2 fish on the same lure twice in a 15 minute time span, once with two other bass chasing the two he had on. We were counting fish and when hit 98 the guide started to count down to 100. I pulled 99 aboard just as my buddy stuck #100. She comes to the top and starts belly-rolling and our eyes bugged out. Fish number 100 goes 11 pounds even! We caught 103 fish in about an hour and fifteen minutes, 116 fish for the afternoon to go with 50 that morning. I remember we were both sitting there feverishly changing out split rings at one point and I looked at him and said, "You know this is it, right?". "What?", he said. "The best day, the best moment of fishing of our entire lives!" He smiled, nodded, and turned around to cast again. Epic day.

And for the life of me, I can't fiqure out why people care about that. Pro's can be sheep too. I think some people would be very suprised to learn that often times the diff. between a pro, and a good local nobody is the connections he has, the ammount of money they have to play with, and how well they can kiss backsides.

Yet there is a warmth in my heart that the Packers lost

I started this topic, now I am bored to tears with it.....lol. Totally lost interest in it......BYE. Hootie

i buy new lures, put fresh line on my reels, look on google maps for new spots, spy on birds (cool photos: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/129090-during-the-dead-winter-when-i-cant-fish/), scout out new ponds, buy new gear, dream about spring, watch videos of people fishing, post on this website...

Yep. Besides, it's cold down there. Wouldn't you go willing into a heated ice hut?

Get indoor projects done around the house. It's a perfect time to get them done. Keeps the wife happy. Who wants to work indoors when the weather is nice?

Get yourself a BPS pro qualifier. It has the dual brakes(plus the tension knob set to tight enough so the spool doesn't move side to side, tighter in the begining, then looser as you get better). Set the internal pins, two in the on position.Use inexpensive 10 or 12 pound monofilament. Buy a cheap larger spool of line and change line often when you notice it feeling too rough.With the dual breaks you can increase the outer magnetic break for windy conditions or just to keep from backlashing. The reel is a good starter and many people stay with this reel. For $100 or less, on sale they get down to 60, 70, or 80 bucks.Keep the reel clean as you can and periodically oil the spool bearings with quality reel oil/lube(one drop). It may all sound like much but it becomes a labor of love for most of us die hards. Wish I knew all of these tips when I first purchased a baitcaster 30 years ago.(otherwise buy a daiwa or shimano )

I agree with this, even though I bought the "need" thing before I "knew better"... but then again, I actually like using bait casters now even though they are not a "need", but because I wanted to learn them.

We trade them for meals at the local Chinese take out place.

Put a jacket on

Yup.

Since Sat. is the third day of the warming trend......or should I say, "the getting back to normal" trend..........do what you would normally do this time of year. In other words....................how the heck do I know what you should do? I have never so much as seen that body of water, let alone fish it LMAO................but if it were me, I 'd be yo-yoing a lipless crank out of the first patches of green grass next to deep water adj. to spawning areas.I guess if they didn't like that, I'd drop a jig on there heads in that same grass. If that hauls water, I might even go to the bank and look for some, and if they don't like that..................well I guess I would have a terrible finish in said tournament LOL.

This applies to ALL bass regardless of the body of water. A bass's metabolism is finely tuned to its circulatory system temperature which is the same as the surrounding water temperture. In cold water their metabolism slows down, their brain slows down, so the bass slows down. In cold water a bass's instincts are less finely tuned, it has less appetite and it mostly stays suspended at or near the bottom. It is fairly easy to catch bass in cold water, if you can find them and if you use the right techniques. This means putting lures in front of a bass that looks right, sounds right, and smells right. The colder the water, the slower the bass's brain operaters so the slower you must present the lure or it's gone before the bass's brain tells it to bite. Think Vertical Think Deep Think Bottom Think Slow

Boomerang tool co. Extended cord for tackle bag or belt loop. I have used one for over a year and have been pleased with the longevity of the blades.

You darn reel guys have got me all kinds of confused over internal stuff inside the reels. give me a reel with high speed ratio that can cast a lure btween 3/8-1&1/2 oz smooth drag and easy to palm and call it a night

Not very well!!

I've tried a lot of jerkbaits. I have one box devoted just to them. From Bombers to Husky Jerks, Pointers to KVD....all kinds. Let me tell ya, it's just a tool. I do not believe one is a great deal better than another, under similar conditions. When bass are on the jerkbait bite, it's the fisherman behind the tool that gets the job done. It's like a chisel in the hands of a finish carpenter. A very personalized presentation that can be deadly when properly used.

BPS The Strike XBOX 360 video game

You gotta want to fish pretty bad when you drill a hole in the ice...

RW, where did you get the Dabney Coleman mannequin?

Buzzjet and G2 shellcracker

I am partial to the kinky beaver more than sweet beaver the extra tentacles have a lot of extra action

Crappie eh? I suggest a blackdog shellcracker in crappie pattern.

I wasn't correcting you, I was just casting my vote.

Btw, LEW'S

Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver gets my vote - plus they make a small one and a wide one.

Looked like a MB Vision 110 to me!!

Thanks guys Maiden Voyage was a success we didn't sink the boat or blow the motor up and caught about 15 between us here is a couple of pics

I'm a little surprised at all the "they're the best" at this or that. If either team were so great they would not be playing this weekend. I expect a little more from my favorite commentators. The best players are warm and toasty, sipping on a brew and eating pizza!

Oh, and by the way. The phrase "twenty year old Calcuttas" makes me feel soooooo old, I swear it was just last year that the TEAM DAIWA concept came out

Yes it can be re-melted.

I still have my original baitcaster, an Ambassadeur 5000, purchased new in 1969. Still works great, and I use it ocassionally. You want slow. Try 3.5 to 1 gear ratio. Hootie

I lived in Knoxville for about 4 years until I relocated to Charlotte. As for local Bass clubs, I didn't get too involved with any while I was there, though I know there were several.The Alcoa plant there (as best as I can recall) makes hot/cold, rolled, and ingot aluminum for various applications. I think the do a lot of recycling of aluminum cans, but that's about all I know of it. SSgt Hoskins said, "Not really familiar or either I don't quite understand what you're asking. I know that there is a nuclear power plant located in Oak Ridge, TN." Well, there *is* a small test reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, but the commercial (TVA) nuclear plant is down I-75 a bit (about halfway to Chattanooga) on the Watts Bar reservoir. Spring City is about the closest town to that plant. Watts Bar has some decent fishing pretty much year round. There is another TVA Nuke plant farther south (near Soddy Daisy, just outside Chattanooga) on Chickamauga lake. Never fished there, so can't say. SSgt Hoskins said, "Anyways, I fished Douglas Lake located in Sevierville, TN & it is a beautiful & wonderful lake. Growing up, we would travel from my home in Harlan County down to the lakes in east TN...mainly Norris & Cherokee...both great lakes for nearly any species & both have quality smallmouth in them." "I also fished Ft Loudon lake while I was on recruiting duty...but didn't enjoy it because of all the pleasure boat traffic. I don't mind pleasure boaters...but when they scream by right next to your boat as your trolling the banks...well, it makes me want to cast a Zara Spook at them so that I can hook them up & snag them off of their boat or jet ski! lol" "Seriously, east TN is AMAZING! It is BEAUTIFUL & that's mine & my wife's dream area to retire in!" Agree with all of the above. Beautiful place. Great place for fishing!

Just signed up! Thanks.

iabass8, on 04 Jan 2014 - 16:53, said: I'm confused, wouldn't the "former being the most likely scenario" be the "Eagles by 10" and the latter scenario, saints by 2, the outcome?...J/K...

You're fine, the general topic is jigs. Both 3/8 and 1/2 are fine. 3/8 is probably the most popular size, but I prefer 1/2 oz for better casting distance. Your rod length can be whatever you like. The key characteristics are a firm tip and stout blank. For comparisons use the G.Loomis MBR844C as a standard. These are other traditional jig rods I own: Pinnacle DHC5-761CAMHFS, G. Loomis BCR854 and St. Croix LEC70MHF. For swim jigs a MBR842C. For hair jigs I like spinning tackle: LES70MF.

For me it's a local gas station. The nights before a tournament they fill my van and boat up for free. As I said in other posts, my kids race quads and the same deal goes with them. It adds up through out the year. That's about it though. You made me chuckle with the snow shovel idea.

Guys you have really struck my interest so I went and bought me a 10e. I have made me a rudder and while its still cold I'm going to lay and carped the floor and get my fish finder and lights installed. Here are my pics and hopefully my rudder will work.

when first researching a new lake i always go here....fishingworks.com/lakes/ It has everything broken down by states and counties, has maps, and user comments(not all have comments but most do) i have found it to be a very valuable resource.

I like the Ish's phat frog the best. For me, it is the easiest to walk. I too use black and white. I also have a couple of sexy Ish color that have caught some fish.

I saw a picture of a ULM Collage guy that caught four bass on New Years day between 6 and 8 pounds in the Twin Island area fishing with the A-rig and Lipless Crank Baits in 15-18 feet of water grass. The friend that had the picture told me he was headed up today to fish. I have not heard what he is catching but I would like to know what these tournaments way in in the next few weeks.

On a small club level, with money on the line, I don't see anything other than live weigh ever being 100% replaced.

Do you actually believe that the 'Pre-Spawn' season is the best time for trophy bass? Cuzz if you do, You're Spot On In central Florida, the hottest depth zone for pre-spawn and post-spawn bass is 3 to 6 ft, where deep lures have no place. With regard to slob bass over the past 5 years, some of our best producers are listed below: >> Gamber Big EZ Swimbait >> Berkley 6" Hollow Belly Swimbait (6" is no longer available) >> Deps 7" Deathadder Grub (6 & 7" Deps Grubs are both discontinued) >> Johnson 1/2oz Spoon & Kalin 5" Lunker Grub >> 3/8oz Swim Jig & Deps 4.5" Twin-Tail Grub (Deps Twin-Tail Grub is discontinued) With respect to 'spawning' bass, I'll have to renege During the spawning season, cow bass are not interested in feeding, not aggressive and not worth our time. In Florida, there's a generous overlap in the pre-spawn and post-spawn periods, sparing us the woes of bed-fishing Roger