Leaderboard

I have used a jig & a minnow for walleye for ever up in Canada. Very good presentation in cold water. I have used hair jigs tipped with a minnow for smallmouth bass as well. It works great in the spring. I caught a 6-14 smallie on one a few years back.

Congrats Micah and Adam! You guys whacked them!

Of course duder. Initially I wasn't going to, and was going to leave them in the FB group, solely because there are plenty of lurkers here that don't post that will immediately run there. Then I realized it hasn't actually been made public. IT WAS AT DOCO GUYS

Here ya go.

Zimapan, one of my most favorite places to fish ever. Zimapan is about a 2 hr drive from Queretaro, pass Queretaro, take the road to Peña de Bernal, Ezequiel Montes, Cadereyta, pass Cadereyta take the road to El Palmar, pass el Palmar and take the road to the town of Zimapan, almost right after leaving El Palmar you'll find the road to the lake, my take ? Don't bring your boat, you won't need it, better rent a bass boat at the lake, it's cheaper and you don't have to tow the dang thing for hundreds of miles. To fish from a boat you'll need a fishing license, the cost is around 25 dollars but you can use it to fish any lake in any state since it's federal. some Zimapan pictures.

Enlist in the army you can eat them blow stuff up and get paid......... i always dug for the buffalo chicken, sausage and gravy, boneless pork rib imitation. Best three there is. If you can find one and want to really challenge yourself get a veggie omelette one and actually eat it bet ya can't lol.

28 degrees this morning. Still managed a couple. One for me, and one for my son. No matter what I do, I can't get these photos right side up! Hootie

I can tell you what it mimics -----> it mimics food, doesn´t matter which kind of food. Overcomplicating things.

Something crazy tomorrow

Fished from 10-7 today. Caught a little over 50 fish. Had 22lbs. Two fish over 6 and broke off 7 fish over the course of the day. Never broke off that many fish in my life. Found tons and tons of fish, but just couldn't make them bite.

Indeed I did, sir-- at the little car wash in Lyndon. I didn't have any spray bleach to hit the bilge or livewell, though. I kept the main power off at Osage to make sure the auto bilge didn't puke in the lake. When I was in college I picked up a hitchhiker in Topeka on my way back to Kansas City. Tried to sell me Amway the entire ride. Right then and there I vowed to never pick up a hitchhiker again. Not even aquatic nuisance species.

With a snap, it's a no brainer. There are numerous lure manufactures that provide new baits with a factory attached snap. The reason is because the bait runs better. Even some JDM bait manufactures do the same thing. And you never have to worry about your knot getting worn at the split ring opening.

oldschoolbasser could fill in the details but as a starting point one could say that they are both Abu Ambassadeur 2500C "platforms". Neither reel is a stock, factory configuration. oldschoolbasser starts with a 2500C frame and hand-crafts the reels individually, using a combination of original, and aftermarket/custom, parts. The bottom photo shows one 2500C and it looks like two 1500C "platform" based reels. Pretty neat...

My dad and I fished last tues and wed in Indian Creek for two days, it yielded 3 dinks. We stayed shallow, 5ft and less. We plan on going back this weekend. It was funny, on the way to the lake, we stopped in Burkeville to gas up. A guy next to us has an ice chest full of 3 pounder's. He tells us exactly what to do, how to doit, and where to go. I tell my dad, "This trip is cursed now". We followed his instructions to the T, and set the hook maybe 8x's in 2 days. My point is I hate "dock talk" . . . it killed us. I was gunna focus on mid depth stuff, and I've never liked Indian Creek. I have a camp there (16years now), and absolutely don't like the area for bassfishing. My old man thinks nothing lives deeper than 10ft. I may keep the Humminbirds off this trip Were you C-rigging BF? Were you on main lake points or secondary points, any main lake stuff yet?

I've become a huge fan of round reels as of late. They just feel good in the hand.

Does anybody.....lol Sam, if it makes you feel better, you can give me all the reputation you want

There are canoes, and then there are CANOES. There are yaks, and there are YAKS. You can't really compare them unless you decide how you want to rig them and how you want to use them. This question comes up often enough that I have some boilerplate text on file and will paste below. Welcome to BR. Really, only you can answer that question. Some types of small watercraft (canoes, kayaks, bass raiders, float tubes, pontoons, inflatables, etc.) are perfect for some people. No one type of small watercraft is perfect for all people. In selecting whether you want to get a canoe or a kayak, you need to make a list of your needs, and then determine which craft is the better fit for you. Some of the factors to consider: Stabililty and standing capability (moving around, landing fish, another person or kids or dogs in the boat, standing to fish, etc.) Cargo/gear storage (how much stuff do you want to take) Inboard storage & handling (canoe) versus handling things in your lap or over the water (yak) Seating position (usually, but not always more upright seating in a canoe vs. legs-out in yak - have back problems?) Vessel weight (how much can you lift/transport) Transportability - to the water and possible portaging (do you have a truck, trailer, going to car-top, need to portage, etc.) Ease of paddling Will you want the capability to motor it? Manueverability Type of water (lakes, streams, white water, etc.) Number of people in the craft Stay mostly dry or don't mind getting a bit wet Length of voyage (couple hours or a couple days) Etc. Once you answer those questions based on your own capabilities and needs, you'll come closer to chosing either a canoe, a yak, or a hybrid. All are great watercraft in their own ways, you just have to find the best fit for YOU. I faced the same decision as you are tying to make now but I was open to all types of small watercraft from float tubes up to bass boats. The best solution for ME, was a heavily accessorized canoe. I only fish my local, small (1.5 to 201 acres), no-wake lakes. Some of these lakes don't have boat ramps. I needed something car-topable without a special rack, modular, very light weight, with as much capability as possible. I wanted stability so I could stand and fish all day, lots of inboard storage, motorized, and little to no maintenance. I didn't want to have to buy a truck or other tow vehicle, I didn't want to consume a garage bay or driveway space with a boat and trailer, didn't want high expense and high maintenance, and didn't want to use gasoline power. Taking everything into account, I ended up with a canoe, trolling motor, and outriggers for stability.

Don't show this to the monkey... https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/2016-03-11-000000/de-minimis-value-increases-800

Not tackle but I've officially caved to my original idea in regards to personal watercraft. Put my canoe on CL today and when it sells my kayak is gone too. I'm getting a d**n Lure 11.5 and nothing is gonna stop me.

Original Poster....as opposed to TJ (thread jacker)

she didn't appear to be on a bed but she had her spot staked out and she seemed nailed to it. no messin' around with this one. red hot fish. she bit on the first cast as soon as the bait got near her. probably didn't take 30 seconds from cast to catch. got her on a swimbait.

Why do I get this message when I hit the "like" button on a post? You are not allowed to give reputation to this user.

Fished yesterday and found fish busting shad. May have been a shad spawn taking place. I could see pods of shad on the surface and hungry bass taking and easy meal. Caught fish on crank baits Carolina rigs and spoons. Evens caught a couple on jerk baits. Better action was in the morning and then slowed throughout the day. Caught around 30 with 5lb being the biggest..

Yeah. On the boat ramp of the Kaw River...where we all fished last night...

Those lurkers can probably stand on the boat ramp and catch a pretty nice bag today

Mike's Reel Repair in Canada. I was ordering a couple ceramic pawls and noticed that they had the handle, with the recess, for $50. It's carbon fiber, has 4 bb, and meaty EVA knobs. Maybe not the classiest CF handle but it fits and I needed a handle anyway. The 2500 in the above photo had a bent Daiwa handle on it when I bought it... ALSO - I see where Mike's has lowered the price of their 2-bb cog wheel to a dirt-cheap $19.95 USD. I have never seen one in person so can't comment on how it works but the price is now $10 cheaper than the lightened Avail unit sold at Hedgehog...

Biggest fish was on a wobbler, all the others were on a jig or Hard head with a pitboss. I believe Keith caught his on a spinnerbait.

Vanish has been improved in the last few years, but it's still not a very good fluoro (and that's coming from a Berkley fan). I really like their 100% fluoro as it's less brittle and manages well. The differences between Vanish and a mono are their water absorption, their sensitivity, abrasion resistance, and how they act in the water. Fluoro doesn't absorb water so it's characteristics stay consistent throughout the day. Mono in general will absorb water and when it does it becomes a little more stretchy. Fluoro is made out of a more dense material so not only does it sink in the water column, but it also transmits vibrations better and in my opinion creates a more sensitive line. For the same reason, I feel it helps transmit bites better for semi-slack line presentations such as wacky rigging. When it comes to abrasion resistance between the two, I feel there's a trade off. In a mono, there isn't as much abrasion resistance, but to me it doesn't seem to lose as much strength if it is nicked. Fluoro is more abrasion resistant, but when it does get a nick in it, it seem to lose strength a bit quicker than a mono. As far as how they act in the water, like I mentioned mono floats in most cases, where fluoro sinks. Although the two lines have somewhat similar stretch rates, I think this is why people don't feel that fluoro stretches as much. With mono the line is almost always wanting to rise up in the water column creating somewhat of a bow in your line under water. When you set the hook you're overcoming the slack in the line and pulling it tight and then the line stretches. With fluoro I think the line keeps a more direct path to the bait so when you set the hook with that you only feel the line itself stretch. Above are my observations from using both mono and fluoro. Both are good lines and have their place in the fishing arsenal. If I were you I'd venture away from Vanish and at least step up to 100% Pro Grade. If you're worried about the cost difference, I intentionally left the same line on one of my most heavily used rods for two years just to see if it broke down over time. If it did I didn't notice any loss of performance, and still had zero issues with it. If I had to choose between vanish and XT or XL I'd choose either of those mono's before Vanish but to each his own. Figure out what you like and what works for you!

Nicely done guys!

Here are the "before" and "after" parts of a recent 2500C hop-up: Before: After:

Thanks for posting Brian.

Caught this on a all white spinnerbait with a Colorado blade 21.5 inches 5.09 pounds

It is so annoying how the weather keeps bouncing back and forth between fourth degrees and seventy degrees. And the cold fronts that seem to come every third day isn't exactly helping the fishing. But, I guess it's still better than during the winter when I had to break through a half a mile of one inch thick ice in a canoe with aluminum sheets attached to the bow so the ice didn't cut through it, just to get to some open water!

Thank you, I'm trying to get up there Friday to fish a few hours. Then back to LC for some baseball.

you better believe it. we usually drop in from 2 to 3 dozen every year. all you do is drive around town about a week after Christmas and they're everywhere. grab some 8x16 cement block (32 lbs a block) at Lowes for $1.50 each, and some small rope or wire, and you're set. one block per tree will usually do unless they're really dried out or super huge. placement is the key. i prefer brush piles consisting of at least a dozen trees minimum. i throw a buoy and make a circular pattern around it. consider points, humps, depth, and normal prevailing winds. dont try to stray too far from the launch and dont forget your life vest. take a buddy and some marker buoys, and tools... and tarps for the boat. you'll be finding spruce needles in the boat for months to come. it's nasty work but will pay off. catch one for me.

i know your pain, but at least when the weather gets better you can actually fish i have to wait until they are already in the summer pattern before i start fishing. freaking Ontario change your fishing regulations

I'm still iced up here but the red / pink blade is a perennial spring time producer A-Jay

Well the setup looked awesome in the water! Didn't catch anything on it! Yet

They don't care about your opinion apparently

Kedren and Horton are very close to you as well.

You didn't specify caught with a hook. Lobstering: I've caught a sail for a Hinckly thirty five foot sailboat that wrapped around our ground line. Must have been washed overboard. A couple of weeks later, I caught the bag for the sail. Countless anchors. Sea turtles and basking sharks. In the fall we fished areas that the party boats from Montauk Point and Point Judith fish for cod. We called them porcupine boats since all the rods hanging off the sides of the boats looked like quills. When they drifted across our ground line many would get snagged. We'd come up with all manner of diamond jigs, sinkers in all shapes and sizes. One year, we filled a five gallon bucket with bank sinkers. We also pulled up parts of boats that had sunk years before. Fishing is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.

I tie most baits direct...except for crankbaits. While working around a lake, I often have 4 or 5 cranks in front of me and switch back and forth between those baits depending on the depth I'm trying to hit. Snap is the way to go in this case...

Went to my favorite somewhat hidden pond today after work for an hour only got one. There was alot of comotion and splashing around that tree and the bank threw a trigged pitboss between the tree and the bank and let it sit a minute went to drag it out and felt weight set the hook.

That's a hell of a deal! I pucked up a ZPI Morrum AE74 cheap,so a good deal does come around once in a blue moon. I've seen those line guides,and plan on picking up a few. I already have the SIC bearings,and dual bearing cog wheel. I'll probably add an Avail spool,and swept star drag wheel,and a carbon fiber handle.

Now that´s an excellent reason to have a really bright colored painted jighead for use in clear water ( cuz in muddy water ain´t gonna do any difference at all ).

I have a 2012 with a 150 Pro XS. I've got a solid year of use with it now and have been happy with it so far. I haven't gotten the prop I need for it yet to get it to full potential. Right now I'm running the 24 pitch Lazer 2 that came with it but it needs a 23 pitch to get to full performance I believe (It doesn't spin the 24 fast enough but I have a 21 that sets off the alarm at WOT). It isn't quite as fast as I thought it might be (low 50's), but a different/better prop would bump it up a bit if that's an issue for you. It is a very smooth and dry ride though, which was my biggest concern due to the fact that the wind is always blowing here. Even in rolling white caps I can run and not shorten my spine in the process. The rod locker was too small, until I took the dividers out. With the dividers it holds about 12-15 rods with a max length of 7.5 feet. Without the divider like I have it now, it holds over 30 and I have rods up to 8' long and there's still room. I wish the step up or the center storage between the seats was a cooler instead of storage and the cooler and the starboard side storage were combined into one big storage area instead. The cooler is nice if you're packing a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 with you, but mostly I feel like it's just wasted space which is so precious in an 18' boat. I like the snap out carpet and keep mine out all winter and put it back in during the hot months to protect my dog from the extreme heat in the bottom of the boat. The textured finish on the floor and interior is a pain to clean, but it looks nice when it's cleaned. The center storage area holds quite a bit of tackle and a few rods if you want but I don't use it for rods. The flip up windshield on the passenger side is a great space saver and actually does about as good as a console does with blocking wind and spray. The livewell is huge, big enough my son gets inside of it and splashes around when it's hot. The 2 back storage areas have a lot of room and the bins are easy to remove if you need to access something inside the hull of your motor (made running the wires for my Garmins very easy). Plenty of room for batteries, tools, extra oil, whatever in the back storage and it's very open so accessing it is easy. The built in boarding ladder is nice and easy to use when in the water (we use it all the time when it's hot and jumping in the water is almost required to make it through the day). The trailer is good but I really feel like it should almost be a dual axle, just seems like a lot of boat for a single axle. I really think the boat should be rated for a 200hp at over 18 1/2' long, but obviously they did their homework and felt a 175 was big enough and I'm not going to upgrade anyways. Overall, glad I bought it. It's been a great first step into the world of bass boats and I wouldn't have a problem recommending it to someone else.

It's a Strike King Swinging Swim Jig 1/2 oz with a Trokar Hook Trailer is a Rage Tail Lobster Falcon Lake Craw I'm going to be throwing it in a shallow water marsh!

With a firm $200 budget I'd go St. Croix Avid.