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I was back on the"new to me "pond today. I fished 3 hrs with only one pickerel & two lmb.I covered lots of cover and made many casts.About 1 pm they started liking an LC100 real good. The sun was way high in a cloudless sky.8 lmb in an hour started off and ended by nice pickerel in 6 to 7 foot depth. The lmb averaged about 2-1/4 lbs with the large around 3 1/2lbs It was a great day over all with the catch at 10 lmb==4 nice pickerel from 21"to 23" The pick pic shows the LC out of sight . She wanted it. WT just barely broke 40 deg one time. The shaded coves still had ice. My seat is 14" wide Nice trip home and I stopped at my local pond to watch the sunset in the brisk temps along with one eagle,two blue herons,several geese and one turtle up for a breath of air.I love it. Aside from the ice on most ponds now this is my favorite time of year. Its quiet ,peaceful and the fishin is a bonus.I actually show signs of being depressed about mid March when the cold water period ends. C22

The women in my family tell us to go fishing to get us the hell out of the house. I don't know how many times my mother has called me ranting "Pick up your father and take him fishing" My ol' lady knows I won't be getting into trouble out on the lake. Like Sam said, better I'm fishing than boozing it up with other broads.

Don't leave the electronics on the boat. They go on and off in a minute or so. No reason to even tempt thieves. Since you are asking all these questions, as a new boater, let me ask you some questions. Do you have insurance on your boat? Do you have the correct insurance for your boat? You want to have replacement coverage which includes the boat, motor, trailer, and anything permanently mounted to the boat. You want to have the contents covered which means a rider on the policy that will cover everything NOT permanently attached to the boat. Lastly, property damage, liability, medical payments etc. The replacement coverage is important. Basically, you and your agent agree on the value of the boat. In your case, it would be the money you just paid because it is a new purchase. If at any point in time during your ownership the boat is a total loss, the insurance co cuts you a check for the full amount you paid for the boat. There is no depreciation like auto insurance. So, you pay $30k for a boat today and it sinks in 20 years, they cut you a check for $30k. Mind you this insurance is not cheap and the rider for the contents coverage isn't either. It does not go down year after year like auto insurance either. It does give you piece of mind.

Tons of herring moved in at the area I fish on Lake Anna. Blueback herring make fish behave in very strange ways and today was no exception. I started off targeting some breaking fish that I assumed were stripers (what else would chase bait on the surface in 48 degree water, RIGHT?), throwing a 4" swing impact on a light jighead. Every time something thumped my swimbait I expected a nice little linesider, but every time I was shocked to see a green one on the end of my line. Today I kept a free lined herring behind my kayak at all times. It was so easy to net them that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. The free lined herring produced about half of my fish today. Fish only fed during the first and last hour of daylight, something I wouldn't expect in the winter, but again these are herring eaters so they do what they want. I gave it my best during the mid day lull, and even though I could see them on my fishfinder, they were not interested in anything at all, even live herring. Fish started to pick up again in the evening though. In the last 15 minutes of daylight it was like someone flipped a light switch and every striper in the area came to the surface for a couple of minutes. I landed 4 on the swimbait in 5 casts, then they were gone as quickly as they appeared. Ended the day with 24 largemouth, 4 stripers, and a channel cat for the icing on the cake. Exactly 80 largemouth this year so far...I may have a problem.

Pretty sure I just bought a reel from him 2 weeks ago. Regardless, I have dealt with tons of Japanese sellers on the auction site...all exemplery. Like has been said, theres often little treats included. The reel I received 2 weeks ago was nicely wrapped in ornate cloth and included a hand written card from the seller and a picture of him and his wife and child.

So I got access to a new pond recently and have been waiting to fish it. Temperature was around 65-70 throughout the afternoon, so I decided to stop by. The pond was much larger than I expected, but very well maintained. Water was stained and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The wind almost caused me to just come back another day. I recently picked up some bladed jigs and custom spinnerbaits from @Siebert Outdoors and wanted to try them out. I started out fan casting with the spinnerbait around the pond, but didn't get any reaction strikes. Decided to try out the bladed jig in summer craw with a lime purple passion pit boss rigged sideways for the trailer; I think I remember @Bluebasser86 mentioning to try the pit boss that way. This was my first time trying bladed jigs and I pretty much learned what I know about them from reading the forums. Long story short, I only got five bites the entire day. However, I now have a lot of confidence in bladed jigs. Left the new Accu-Cull scale at the truck and was on the opposite side of the pond when I caught these.

Saturday 1/30/16, Holey Land, Palm Beach Fl., 7:00-2:00, Weather beautiful, water clear, current strong in places to the east, bite very subtle, a high of 70*. Went out today with Steve Johnson a good friend and fellow coach. We got to the ramps early and were the first ones out there. We ran east to the second pump house and fished east. I threw a senko in W/R and got bites right away. Steve threw a Hollow Body, and spinnerbait and got nothing. The bite was a lazy one that you couldn't detect until you moved the bait. Most bites were close to the bank in shallow water. With the bright sun the bass were tanning themselves in the shallow water. Steve switched to a jig and trick worm in basic black. This was to the fishes liking and he got a bunch of hits on this little rig. He also caught the big fish of the day on this combo. We ran into another member, Lou, and his brother in law. It was great to see them out there on the water, its been quite a while. Steve and I ended with 20 bass total and a bunch we missed with the subtle bite. Weather was perfect, and we had just enough action to keep us entertained. After weeks of lousy weather, It was a day to remember!!!!!!!!

I know you have not heard those responses from your wife and are just giving us some samples. Only one I have heard, and I have been married since the world was water and son is 40-years old, is "How many fishing poles does a guy need?" But since I don' drink, hang out in bars, go dancing with other women, am completely trustworthy and support her quilting habit, I get to go fishing when ever I want. She and I are heading to Lake Gaston and Buggs Island later this year. She will stay in the room and quilt while I fish and go on the boat if she wants to go for a ride or just read a book as I fish. But there are a lot of insecure and immature women out there that would ask some of the questions you proposed. They want their men all to themselves and fishing can be a nasty habit and mistress.

Nice fish! That's how I suggest fishing them, it's even the color I had in the picture of it rigged up! A very underutilized color I feel.

A yeti 110 ice down with some silver bullets?

Maybe it's chapped lips ~ A-Jay

First of all I hope you are purchasing from someone with a reputable reputation and by that I mean across the board not just JDM. With that said there is nothing out of line with what was written to you, some have better communication then others because of the language barrier. They are thanking you for buying their goods , they will be shipping it right out, they will be sending you a tracking number, they are asking you to contact them if it does not show up on time rather then open up a complaint against them, they hope there will be no damage to your shipment ,message them if anything goes wrong and they are very grateful for doing business with them. Pretty thoughtful people wouldn't you say !!!!

Just got the Smallie girls all serviced, just waiting for the thaw. Might take a bit after just getting hammered with 34" of snow. Brian.

Ned rig is a very light weight and very slow falling presentation that takes time tournament anglers don't have to locate bass that may strike. Shaky head, dart head or drop shot is a lot faster to locate and catch a few inactive bass. What you don't realize is a lot of lures and presentations can catch the same bass a Ned rig does, they do it much faster. Tom

So with the new rod shop nearly complete and a small break with work I finally get to build a few. Here are the first 5 on the new bench. From top to bottom. Worm Rod - Rainshadow RX6 843 MH fast in Gloss Black with a forecast exposed trigger and cork split grips. Cranking Rod - RodGeeks C273 Medium Moderate in copper flake with a Fuji ACS exposed trigger and eva split grips. Finesse Plastics - RodGeeks C473 MH ES in maroon with a forecast exposed trigger and eva split grips. Frog Rod - RodGeeks C476 MHF in Gold metalic with a Fuji ACS exposed trigger and eva split grips. Frog Rod - RodGeeks C276 MHF in Gold/Black metalic with a Fuji ACS exposed trigger and eva split grips.

One of my goals for fishing this year was to try some new spots.So I fished one today around 6 miles from the house from 3-6 o'clock.Caught 9 missed several.All the fish were caught relating to lily pads.Caught 6 in the last 30-40 minutes.Most were caught on yamasenkos 5 inch but I cut them down to 4.Biggest was 3.5.Fairly pleased for the first time out on this lake.

X2 on what has been mentioned here. here is a link to a post about my boat alarm install.....don't leave your valuables in the boat....alarm is just to alert me that someone is messing around where they shouldn't be.

Well the next time you go in and buy a boat have a plan of what you want, what extras to add, and what platform(boat you want). Test the boat, yes tell them you want to run that boat in the water. Then you can see what works and doesn't even if it is new. If you don't like it then move to another model. Once you figure out what you want, you factor all that in and have them do the work and let them take their time (mine sat at the dealer for a month) to set it up for you. From the time I looked at mine to when I signed the papers was over a 2 week period. Left a $500 deposit (fully refundable) to hold the boat, gave me time to think about what I wanted to do as well as test run it, look over it a few more times and then sign and let them install all the extras. Some were already in the sale price,(loan) others were add ons after, but just paid prior to picking up the boat.

Look up a Ram Mount for your console which will mount off to the side and you can mount the bow unit on the bow or get a Ram Mount for that. And as mentioned.....Take them off the boat when you're not using them. Takes about a minute to unplug and unhook each unit. Remember, you are going to need some of your money for gas to put in that boat. You're like a kid in a toy store and things add up really quick into the thousands of dollars and before you know it you're going to spend another 4-5K on a boat you just purchased new. Enjoy your new toy, just don't get too carried away. Look up a Ram Mount for your console which will mount off to the side and you can mount the bow unit on the bow or get a Ram Mount for that. And as mentioned.....Take them off the boat when you're not using them. Takes about a minute to unplug and unhook each unit. Remember, you are going to need some of your money for gas to put in that boat. You're like a kid in a toy store and things add up really quick into the thousands of dollars and before you know it you're going to spend another 4-5K on a boat you just purchased new. Enjoy your new toy, just don't get too carried away.

If anyone has any spots they have fished on the southeast side of orlando airport please share. I have found multiple locations in lake nona with 10lb plus fish. Some of the ponds have never seen a plastic worm and the developments are just ripe at 8 years old. Narcoossee road is a gold mine. Behind the outback steak house is gold. If anyone else has any other spots please share.

The Cabin Creek tubes are awesome. I caught atleast 200 smallies on them last year. I've had success with Gitzit, Cabin Creek, and Berkley Power Tubes. I honestly can't tell a difference between the three. It's just whatever is cheaper and easier to source when I need to order them.

The local dealerships wouldn't budge from 28k. I said fine, Cabelas has it for 26.5k. Screw you. I went and got another 1k knocked off and tax and all got it for 26.5k. Cabelas threw in a $250 gift card and Ranger threw in a free boat cover $200 gift card, and two free Mustang vests and boat ratchet tie downs for the rear. It has a maxxum 70lb variable thrust tm, and maybe another option or two, I feel good about the transaction.

"A wolf pack: the first 3 are the old or sick, they give the pace to the entire pack. If it was the other way round, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. In case of an ambush they would be sacrificed. Then come 5 strong ones, the front line. In the center are the rest of the pack members, then the 5 strongest following. Last is alone, the alpha. He controls everything from the rear. In that position he can see everything, decide the direction. He sees all of the pack. The pack moves according to the elders pace and help each other, watch each other."

You might want to review this thread from 2 weeks ago that posed the identical question: Metanium or Metanium DC To answer your question, it depends on the type of presentations that you prefer and the conditions that you typically fish in. The standard Metanium is an outstanding reel - suitable for just about any presentation. The Met DC has the edge when fishing a lot in windy conditions, especially when using baits that catch the wind like spinnerbaits. Plus, fishing a DC reel is just fun - see this current thread What's So Good About DC. I have both the standard Met and the Met DC and like them both. However, only you can decide if the Met DC is worth the extra bucks for you. As part of your decision - you might want to read this review of the Met DC: Shimano Metanium Dc Reel - Initial Review / Impressions

X2 He probably bought tinted lip balm on accident.

Avid X 6'8" Medium, Extra Fast.

Their English is far better than my Japanese.

This morning was the first trip of the year out pond hopping, and I got skunked. On the plus side I didn't lose any baits, nothing broke, and there were no injuries.

Uh oh. I have a feeling that BigBill is about to make an appearance.

You have obviously never seen what a Yeti can do to a pack of wolves

Straight tail roboworm gets the nod from me. Has never let me down.

Yelp! The Ned is the answer to every condition on every body of water world wide! Y'all really think they don't throw something because of sponsors?"

Do y'all not understand that no technique or lure produces all the time & in all conditions?

While not a tournament angler, I still only swing dinks and even that is only on single hook baits. Treble hooks in the hand are not something I enjoy so net use is common practice for me, especially at night. Also when certain TV anglers swing a 3 or 4 lb bass into the boat and unceremoniously allow it to flip & flop from the seat to the deck and then bounce all over - seems seriously disrespectful and I'm thinking "Thunder Punch to the Neck" time. But that's just me. A-Jay

It really depends on the season but I'll just assume it is post spawn. 1. Spinnerbait - 3/8oz white, since I don't know the lake I'll use the smaller size that will attract more fish but still get big bites. 2. Eakins Style Jig - 5/16oz, again, I don't know the lake or the cover so I'm going to choose a jig that can be fished in any kind of cover from grass to brush and rock. 3. Square Bill Crankbait - This is a bait that can be deadly all season and draws good reaction strikes. 4. Shaky head/4.5" finesse worm - 1/8oz and this is my skunk repellent, if there is fish in the lake I know I can catch one on this. 5. Lipless crankbait - 1/2oz in chrome/black back, this is a search bait that really works in all seasons but can also load the boat when they are chasing baitfish.

St. Croix Avid AVS66MLF or St. Croix LES70MF. (You should probably state what your budget is.)

Booyah Pad Crasher in Bullfrog My homemade 1/2 oz flip/swim jig with a green pumpkin skirt with a few strands of orange and chart. 5" Green Pumpkin Yum Dinger 4" Green Pumpkin Havoc Pit Poss, I can flip it by itself, or use it as a jig trailer SK KVD 1.5 Square Bill in Chart. Sexy Shad

Nope, OP should try and reply in Japanese. That way the seller and make fun of that response! OMG, the Green Tea Kit-Kats are the beat!

Exactly! Alphas sv for under $200 from Japan or pay over $300 from TW. Hmm tough one.

We all have our priorities where we don't skimp. I like GOOD beer and I've spent $13 on one 12 oz. bottle. I consider myself to be a middle-of-the-pack angler. I have a couple spinning combos in the $70 range, one combo in the $90 range, one in the $110 range and 2 in the $240 range. One would have cost $300 if I hadn't bought used. And I spend more on baits than anyone else I personally know except one guy. He likes good baits and cheap spinning combos. I have a friend who thinks I waste mega bucks on fishing but he owns a pull-behind camper that cost more than his house and he has a dually to pull it. Says it saves him money on vacations LOL.

There was more but the wife and I have already ate some. My wife is going to visit our son at the University of Fl next week and she is giving the rest to him.

Nice rig - I like the layout and storage, I suspect you'll like it.

Dont matter where u put the handle its gonna be in the way .any.poppin or walk the dog lures get the best action with pistol grip.been there done that ..all jokes aside this aint a matter of who has the longest rod its who can.make.the most.waves lol

Beautiful boat....the itch to get it out on water must be driving you crazy.

I still have that rod. Actually I had two of them but gave one away to a friend back in the day. Might have to dig it out this season. I had a Hooksetter in both casting (5'6") and spinning (5'9"). Not sure what happened to the casting rod but I still have spinning version.

New

Not bad for your first go at it. When I started tying I was making small (size 16-22) nymphs. It took me several dozen before I got something that looked even remotely usable to me. I highly suggest checking out 'smalljaw' on youtube. Most of his videos are about tying bucktails/hair jigs, but the techniques are applicable to any type of tying. Here's one I found on feathered trebles. Not sure if you have a vice, bobbin and whip finish; but you could find inexpensive tools new for less than $20 altogether if you search around. It'll make short work of tying.

I caught both of these beauties down in South Florida on senkos wacky rigged with a dropshot