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My oldest was about 6 months the first time he went in the boat, edit courtesy of @buzzed bait His first time meeting a fish. This past year was the first time he'd really fished, he was 2 at that point. I started him with a Zebco Dock Demon rod and 20 size President spinning reel. Now he's 3 and gotten pretty good at reeling, even has several solo catches under his belt and looks like a seasoned vet while posing with his fish. Our trips are always short, when he's done, we're done. I try to make sure they're his idea as much as possible and that wherever we go has a very healthy population of readily catchable fish. I feel like I'm doing something right because barely a day goes by that he doesn't ask if we can go fishing. Going to be time for him to graduate to a little better rod than the one he has.

start as early as you can! i took my nephew when he was about 2. Started his brother out at about that same age. Every time i talk to my older nephew (4 now) he says "Unc when are we going fishing?" EVERY TIME! they are both much better with the spincast. i tried them with spinning and it was awkward for them to use so we stuck with the spincast for now. the dock demon is hard to beat man, they've put that thing through hell and back and it still works like a charm! starts from somewhere too, here's a pic of me about 30 years ago with my stringer! and here are my dudes!

Is it ice out yet ~ A-Jay

I think the starter tackle should hinge on age. Spincasting gear would be appropriate for toddlers, but for children over 5, I'd go straight to spinning tackle. Thanks Bluebasser & buzzed bait, this is the future of our great sport Roger

Spring time is such a fun season in Michigan - Both weeks. A-Jay

That definitely could have been a lot worse. I had one bounce off my spare tire once. Nothing quite like that though! I say pick the hair out and clear coat the lower unit just to let others at the ramp know that you mean business haha.

Here's a few of my latest additions. Will post a few of my new recon elites when I organize everything. From left to right: Zillion 7' 6" H/F with concept (a) Zillion 7' 3" MH/F with concept (a) Dobyns Savvy 704c with concept (a)

i like the pad crasher junior, only 1/4 oz, but using a mh/fast and 17lb mono/30lb braid you can cast it fine

As long as I've been fishing from a boat (forever), I still can't buy into the notion of "New Water" vs "Used Water". First off, it's always a good idea for anglers in the same boat to fish different lures and in different depth zones. Of course, when a certain lure or depth zone dominates the action, then all anglers should concentrate on that pattern. But even when all hands are working the same lure in the same depth zone, there are a still a host of variables that separate one angler from the next (NO, not color). For starters, suppose the 'new-water' angler retrieves his lure a smidgen outside the strike window, but the 'used-water' angler retrieves his lure right down-the-pipe. In heavy cover and in dingy water, we're only talking about inches folks. Suppose the 'new-water' angler retrieves his lure a tad too fast for the present mood of the bass, but the 'used-water' angler offers the same lure at the same depth, but uses a different speed or action. Even when all things are equal, who hasn't seen instances when the first cast seems to wake up a bass, and the second cast elicits an explosion? Among many of my stale jokes, I'll often say to my wife: "You're wasting your time, I already casted over there". If I got a dollar every time she rubbed that joke in my nose, I'd never have to pay another launch fee. Roger

The hook gap for weedless rigging should be a minimum of twice the size of the worm body diameter. Berkley 7" Power worms I use 3/0 worm hooks. Tom

First bass of 2017! She weighed in at 1.41. I caught a few more smaller lmb, and caught one smallmouth that was very, very golden. All the colors of these bass were very rich and vibrant, must be the cold creek water?

Left to Right for my newest 3 additions. - 7'4 Hvy-Fast St Croix Bass X Shimano Curado I - 7' Med-Hvy Mod-Fast St Croix Mojo Bass Diawa Tatula CT -7' Med-Hvy Fast Powell Inferno Abu Garcia Revo SX

I prefer using a meat slicer when I prepare venison jerky....to each his own

Where to start? At the beginning! Sonar isn't the answer to your question, knowledge of where the bass should be located seasonally begins by reading about basic bass behavior. Most regions are currently transitioning from winter cold water period to the beginning of the spawn cycle. Mans calendar we call this time period winter and spring based on length of day light, bass can't read a calendar so they respond to changes in water temperature. The water warms from being cold to around 55 degrees bass react by moving shallower from deeper water. We call this pre spawn or staging before bass move to spawning areas. Points are usually good staging areas until the water warms to about 60 degrees, then bass move into areas to spawn, usually close to the staging area that is more wind protected. As the water continues to warm up to about 65 degrees the male bass are now making nest sites in water no deeper than the depth of light, the females looking for nest to lay eggs into and spawn. Spawning lasts for a few weeks up to a few months depending on the size of the lake and stable water temps between 65 to 75 degrees. When finished spawning the femal bass recuperate a period called post spawn, then the bass move to their summer warm water locations. Summer the bass locate anywhere that a abundance of prey is easy to find and eat. Bass can be in lots of different location during the summer period. Most bass anglers fish shallow during summer however bass can be in deeper water away from the shoreline. Fall to winter occurs when the water cools, the bass relocate where prey is moving following thier food source. About 75 to 65 degrees indicates fall transition and bass tend to be located in similar areas where they staged during pre spawn. As the water temps drop into the lower 50's cold water or winter period starts and continues until another year cycle starts during pre spawn. Good fishing, Tom

I'm not sure if this will actually help anyone or not, but I thought I'd share a few things I've learned over the last few years about organizing fishing takle from the perspective of a non-boater. When first starting tournaments as a non-boater, I researched as many articles I could find about organizing tackle. Some of them seemed helpful at first, but I found that most of them are geared toward boaters. This makes sense, of course, since they have a boat literally full of lures, plastics, and other assorted tackle to have to keep organized. But almost that entire boat is available for storing that much tackle. With the design of the modern bass boat, you can have five full size boxes of crankbaits, two or three boxes of spinnerbaits, eight or nine boxes of jigs and worms, and so on.. But when you're a non-boater, you simply do not have have the luxury of much square footage to work with. You not only have a tiny bit of room available, but you need quick and easy access to all of it. And it has to be as unobtrusive as possible for you and your boater. But at the same time, you need to be prepared for absolutely any style of fishing that may be thrown your way. You're not necessarily always going to know what kind of fishing you're going to be doing at any given minute of a tournament and you'd better be prepared for the unexpected to come up. Those well-laid plans for beating the bank may change completely when they open the dam to generate power, the wind starts blowing 40mph, turning your clear water bay into chocolate milk, or a storm comes in and your planned ledge fishing suddenly turns into a run up the river to get out of the wind and elements. So what does a non-boater really need for keeping tackle organized? I originally thought it would be a good idea to have one single, large-size bag that holds absolutely everything. So I purchased one of those Bass Pro Shops tackle bags which holds six 3700 boxes and has big pockets on each side, plus a big front pocket. Big mistake. On the plus side, it holds a ton of tackle. On the negative side, it holds a TON of tackle. Soft plastics are heavy. Really heavy. Add crankbaits, chatterbaits, jigs, senkos, buzzbaits, swimbaits, drop shot weights, hooks, and all the other terminal tackle, and that adds up to a massive load of stuff all packed into one container. It's heavy enough that just picking up the bag and putting it in the boat can be a struggle. No big deal if the boat is tied to the dock and you can just step in. But often the boat is going to be parked on shore, leaving you access to only the bow, where your boater has a dozen or so expensive poles strapped down to the deck. If you don't feel like wading into the water and soaking your shoes and pants, there's not much room for hefting that bag past the trolling motor and onto the deck without landing it on one or two of your boater's poles. If you want to ruin your and your boater's day before it's even started, breaking one of his eyelets before takeoff is a great way to do it. The other problem is the expanded size of those large bags when the side pockets are full. Often (but not always) your boater will have one of the rear compartments empty for a non-boater to store a tackle bag, rain gear, drinks, etc. If they do, make good use of it. Unfortunately, the large bag almost never fits into one of those compartments unless the side and front pockets are completely empty, which they never are. And it would defeat the whole purpose of having them if they were. To make matters worse, you're going to need access to certain things quite often during the day, and if you have to keep opening the compartment every time you want to grab another soft plastic, you're going to waste a lot of time that could be better spent fishing. So... after dealing with the annoyance of one annoyingly large tackle bag, I decided to change tactics. The new, ubreakable rule is that the main tackle bag MUST be small enough to fit into the rear compartment, but still allow for easy access to its contents. This effectively limits it to four 3700 boxes, plus one smaller box that tucks into the back/outisde of the bag. Here are my individual boxes and their contents: Box 1: Jigs & Punch Rigs Includes all Craw style jigs, Bitsy Bugs and jig trailers, plus punch weights, punch skits and hooks. Box 2: Chatterbaits, Swim Jigs, Swim Jig Heads, and various colors of Swimbaits. So far I haven't had any problems with the swimbait tails taking a 'set' from being stored like this, but I may have to move things around if it does occur. Possibly leaving them in bags and keeping them in the soft plastics tackle bag. Box 3 Topwater Solid and hollowbody Frogs, Buzzbaits, Spooks, Poppers, Whopper Ploppers Box 4: Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits, Lipless Crankbaits, Jerkbaits, Wakebaits This is the interesting one, as I used to bring a 3700 size box filled with spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, and another 3700 box filled with crankbaits. I rather quickly realized that I'd use one or two spinnerbaits throughout the entire day, and maybe 2 or 3 crankbaits at most. Almost all the rest of this space was completely wasted. As a non-boater, you're not going to be going through one or two dozen crankbaits and spinnerbaits in an 8-hour tournament, so why bother bringing so many? What I found that I needed is small, carefully-chosen selection for multiple situations, which could all fit into one single 3700 box. - Top left is deep crankbaits, five of them in various colors - Top right is large squarebill crankbaits, five or six colors - Middle left is thin squarebill crankbaits, and next to it is Lipless crankbaits. - To the right of those are smaller squarebills - Bottom middle is filled with wakebaits, jerkbaits, and one large segmented crankbait. The bottom left and right corners took a little bit of work to fit in some spinnerbait holders. I sacrificed the large spinnerbait box I'd previously used, pulling out the 'rack' that holds the spinnerbaits in place. Cutting the rack into thirds, the outside portions still contained the tabs that hold the rack in place at the sides of the box. These tabs fit into the slots that make up the box separators, while the cut end of them (which do not have tabs) can either be left loose, or simply cement/epoxy the bottom of the rack in place. Now those two mini-racks hold 7 white spinnerbaits and 7 colored ones. Enough to cover pretty much all situations and depths, while taking up very little room. Box 5 is a smaller one which contains only Senkos and an O-Ring tool & nail weights. It fits neatly into a pouch on the back of the tackle bag. With all that in the main tackle bag, that leaves a second, smaller bag which remains with me, sitting on the floor at my feet while the boat is running, and on the seat while fishing. It contains the soft plastics I use the most, separated into bags of bags with the biggest possible labels on them Because this bag remains easily accessible, it also contains: 1) My most-needed/important small stuff for the day (Pliers, Scale, Line Clippers, Culling tags, Culling beam, Attractant, etc.) 2) A small box containing my most-used terminal tackle. I may need to get into this dozens of times a day, so it needs to be compact but organized. 3) A small box of drop shot hooks and weights. Drop shot is a co-anglers best friend. I can't stress that enough. Does anybody else have tackle organizing tips to share? If so, it would be interesting to see. Especially for non-boaters with limited room.

Deep diving cranks - 12 lb. Sunline Sniper FC Jigs medium size - 16-20 lb. Sunline Sniper FC (cover dependent) Spinner/chatterbaits - 14lb. Sunline Sniper FC

you run over a dead deer while towing a boat.

Haven't used that one - But these are getting the job done, well as long as they don't bounce on the cast .. .. .. .. A-Jay

I've been using 1/0 Siwash hooks on my blade baits for the past 3 seasons now. I've convinced my hook-up ratio has not declined one bit. I go even further by crushing down the barb. Again, with no ill effects. Check this out:

I've been using the Gamakatsu #2 DS hooks for many, many years now. A few years ago I tried the Spin-Shot hooks. Lost too many smallies on the jump. Went back to my Gammys where I'll stay. Experience can be a costly teacher! Usually most folks don't complain too much about line twist with a baitcaster, but since you are having that problem, what is wrong with a tiny swivel about 3' up your hook? I use a Spro #10 PowerSwivel exclusively with all my drop shot rigs. These quality made swivels are almost indestructible and have served me very well. Haven't seen any downside to doing so either. Some folks claim that the "extra knots" cause break points. I disagree. Like I said, been using them for many, many years with no breakage at the swivels. The line will break - at the hook - if you do not re-tie after every 2 or 3 smallies boated. Their teeth raise havoc with fluorocarbon! Finally, I support the previous suggestion to try a braid with fluorocarbon leader. Best of both worlds and line twist will no longer be a concern to you at that point.

Got out for a couple hrs to take my daughter out for first time in our boat. 2.5 yrs old. Tossed a deps around for a few hrs. For those that don't know that bait is 6.5 Oz and 10 inches long. So getting bites are usually few and far vetween. Weak hookset= lost fish in this video.

I thought we needed an ice-out thread. If not only for informational reasons, maybe just to let A-Jay and I know we are not alone. So maybe you drive by some water each day; maybe you live on the water. Whatever the case, what's your situation? I'm in southern Maine and we are all still iced in. A few smaller ponds have some edges open and ice is a little darker but nothing is really open. On my home lake, there is a live web cam I watch daily and it looks like you could still drive a vehicle on top. It would be good info to hear some reports from across the country. And if you aren't frozen, whats your water temp and your location?

Here is a pic of some various sized frogs Smallest to largest pictured lunker pocket cabelas chuck-it jr cabelas chuck-it jr live target 45t booyah pad crusher jr r2s bully wa 55 KVD spro 65 Koppers 65

Wasn't necessarily saying that this applies to you right here right now and in this instance. Was just putting it out there in general to everyone who thinks using silicone caulk only as a sealant will work. Just trying to help the group overall.

You should have no problem with the heavier weight. I would suggest that since you are not fishing vertically, that you use the tubular or pencil type weights, to reduce snagging on the bottom. As far as leader length goes, you just never know what the conditions you are faced with will dictate. Do not go out with a pre-conceived notion about what's right or wrong. Experiment and try different lengths. Let the fish tell you what they want. I take it you are fishing for largemouths, since you are using baitcasting? Still not sure that is your best choice, but if it works for you, you're golden. What size line are you using?

Not trying to be a party pooper, but found out the hard way myself, silicone caulk won't work long term on these type of boats. They are made of HDPE (high density polyethylene) and caulk will not adhere to them and will begin to allow water inside the shell. There is a HPDE glue you can get from Sun Dolphin I believe and it will actually adhere to the plastic and then use the caulk over it.

Hook size should never be selected based on length! Hook size is selected based on thickness of the plastic! A 2/0 hook is fine for a 6.5" Trick worm but will not work in a 5" Senko!

Wow, what a way to dig up an old thread! But since we're on the topic of preventing line twists on spinning gear, here's everything you need to know:

Any Curado would need to turn into an Antares to be up par with a TDZ. The only real upgrade the reel benefits from is a drag pad change to Carbontex since the original wet drag system tends to "stutter" if submitted to a lot of pressure. I own several of them.

I like the small Cotton Cordells (not sure exact weight) on an ultralight or light spinning rod in small ponds to catch numbers (bass). Tons of fun!

The Sustain is slowly becoming the forgotten child of the Shimano lineup for the most part. It used to have features that the various flavors of the Stradic platform didn't have but now they have started putting those on the Stradic and the Sustain hasn't been redone for several years I would expect it to get a makeover soon to help re-establish itself. Most folks are either buying the Stradics or skipping to the Stella or a JDM Shimano offering once you get to that semi-high end to high end spinning reels. I am not sure I could sell you on the Sustain being a better reel by a $100 margin give or take. There are a few differences but honestly Stradics have been so solid for me over the years it is hard to justify something spendier for a spinning reel for bass.

I am too, but it seems that every time single hook replacement of trebles comes up responses are hard to come by. It's either one of the bigger secrets in bass fishing, or hardly anyone does it IMO.

Decided it was worth dealing with the 25+ miles per hour wind for a two and a half hours today. Did surprisingly well, especially given that the winds kept me off of the offshore stuff. Caught 23 bass with five over fifteen inches, and my biggest bass of the year weighing 6.4 pounds! I thought I had a carp when I hooked it, cause it stayed on the bottom near the boat without going crazy or taking any runs. It bit on one of the "last casts" (there always seems to be more than one "last cast") just before leaving. Most of the fish hit half of a zinkerz on a 1/16 ounce head, and a few of them (including the 6.4) hit a 1/8 ounce shaky head with a four inch finesse worm, which was retrieved just like the ned rig except with a tight line. Found them on shorelines at the opening of coves in 4-12 feet of water, and the big one was sitting in 12 feet.

Welcome aboard Jonny Under 50 degrees the buzzword is 'slow', and that certainly describes a stickworm, particularly a W-rigged stickworm Roger

Speaking specifically about rules? Nothing. Now that doesn't mean that it happens or we 'allow' it to happen...We just don't tell people what they can or can't do with their own boats, outside of obvious/mandatory safety rules. The one thing to be said about a division club like ours is that all the Co-anglers are in the same boat (pun intended) when it comes the challenges and disadvantages of being in the back. They also don't need to worry about competing with their boater or any of the other boaters. IMO the whole subject of back-seating or front-ending or whatever you want to call is overblown on internet forums....It comes up waaaaaaaaay more often on forums online than it ever does in real life. There are also some people out there that just won't ever be happy with anything...And they are often the ones more likely to get negative online or otherwise. I won't go into story time here...But I've had a few people over the years that would fall into this category. All you can do is just shake your head while thinking, "Really, dude?", in your head and keep on with your plan for the day. A team tournament, trail, or club is a completely different dynamic than a boater/co-angler or other non-team tournament, trail, or club. Some people prefer one while other people prefer the other. I totally get what you're saying, but it's an apples vs oranges comparison IMO. I'm not into team tournaments - I do fish them here and there - but overall I prefer do my own thing and compete against other individuals as opposed to teams. One isn't better than the other, they're just different.

Below are 4 popular worm hooks: Gamakatsu EWG 58 series (Standard wire for monofilament) Gamakatsu EWB 74 series (Heavy wire for braided line) Owner Wide-Gap Plus (Triangular point) Mustad Grip-Pin Flipping Hook (Rebarb - conical point) 3/0 is appropriate for both 7" & 10" Berkley Power Worms Roger

Not that interested. HA!

Nice early March pig on the Vision 110. 5 lbs, 11oz

Perfect for throwing wacky rigs... But you already knew that

I agree with this statement. Fish do move and not every angler is crelated equal great insight

Hootie has one for $100.

That top one almost looks like a spot.

Forget the Sustain - Go for the 2016 Stradic CI4+ .. .. .. .. I just did. A-Jay

Went out this morning and heard a robin coughing...spring is coming. It was 0 degrees this morning. That means we had NOOO temperature. None what so ever. We were devoid of temperature. When it hit 15 degrees it felt like a heat wave. I almost put on a thong and flip-flops and opened up a fire hydrant. Can't wait till April.

Well I went out to take the video and my GoPro battery..... Yep, the battery was dead so no video today. Also, the sun was coming through the garage doors in such a way that it made composition for the pictures terrible. Never the less, here's some shots I took today Please excuse the boat being dirty. I figured mod it, then let it warm up and wash it before I take it out for a year worth of slime. Did loads of upgrades. The Lowrance Hook 5 will be here tomorrow, but I already installed the RAM mount for it and bought a dedicated battery for it. I installed 2 anchor cleats, one on each side near the back. I installed Pad Eye anchors for tiny bungee's to strap down the poles on each side of the Raider (took a picture of the screws I used. I do not use the screws that come with the pad eyes). Added a donated old Die Hard trolling motor that works! It's on the back mostly acting as a rudder for the front mounted motor, that I installed a "Big Foot" switch on. Also added a nice marine grade carpet to the plywood flooring. I will LOVE this, especially during the summer! Added front and back lights for it, and registered the boat so I'm legal to go in any waters I dare take it! lol. Majorly upgraded the seats!! Those 10-15+ hour days will feel loads better now. Here's some shots. Excuse the dirty boat please.

LS was decent. Good numbers on a jerkbait. Wouldn't touch anything else, especially nothing on the bottom. Had a customer from the UK on board and he took to fishing a 110 like a champ for someone who's never fished a jerkbait, or fished for/caught a Bass. (Not a chance I was having him fish the Ned). Wind sucked there too but was able to dip out of it nicely.

Finally snagged a MS mini slammer after a LOOOOOOOOOOONG wait and ultimately changed the color pattern i had ordered from the black to the bass just so that i could get one before 2020! Then i snagged a triple trout that's kind of a bone with some glitter flake in there. i've got one particular lake in mind that i can't wait to throw these on and see if they call in the donkeys!

Shimano spinning reels are the best. But now after buying my second Lews baitcaster I've given up on ever buying a Shimano baitcaster again. My two Lews work 100% better than my old Chronarch.

I have never used a Yamamoto Senko .

I'm gonna miss her- Brad Paisly