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A friend and I started a annual event on father’s day event with the Kids today I managed to get 2 and my buddy’s daughter got 1 it was a good day And. Here are the rest

As many of you guys and gals on the Forum know, I am a strong proponent of being hydrated when you hit the water. For this past Saturday's club tournament on the Potomac, I hydrated myself starting on Wednesday and going through Friday. But I still got dehydrated during the tournament; got leg and foot cramps; got a little off balance; got really tired; and put down four bottles of water (one gallon) during the tournament. What is scary is the fact that so many guys and gals don't hydrate themselves and you can get into trouble with dehydration on the water or along the bank in a New York second. Leg still hurts a little but foot is fine. Although the temperatures were in the upper 80's and lower 90's, the sun reflecting off the water magnified the heat problem. So be careful out there this summer and be sure to hydrate as best you can before hitting the water.

My PB, caught it on my honeymoon a few weeks ago.

Turn the heat source off ?

In almost 30 feet !

I drink Gatorade, twice during the day I’ll take a 15 minute break & eat fruit/vegetables. Strawberries. Water content: 91% Cantaloupe. Water content: 90% Cucumber. Water content: 95% Grapes. water content: 84% I’ll also eat a banana! Yes there’s bananas in my boat! If all ya have to beat me is putting a banana in my boat you in trouble anyway!

I have no idea why people fear night fishing but I sure enjoy being out alone

Best Fathers/ Grandfathers day ever

Some Recent Tackle Pickups... - - - - - - - - - - Also just completed my box of Strike King KVD Deep Diving Jerkbaits... WolfyBrandon

Happy Father's Day to all the dads on here and also to all the moms who have to be daddy too, if there's any on here. Well for Father's Day, today, My niece, Amber, her husband Jacob, their 2 kids Brantley and Ariel and my brother in law Warren all went to Cross Lake this morning to do some fishing from his boat. We had lots of fun, got a few bites with nothing to show. Got to try my new baits. Threw the prop frog, had a blowup, but somehow he missed it. Threw my chatterbaits, nothing doing again. So I threw my new 3/8oz green pumpkin swinging swim jig with a bama bug Rage Craw trailer it got bit but the fish came off. My hand was wet and slipped when I set the hook, had him hooked for about a second or two but couldn't keep my hand dry enough to quit slipping. Was a nice one, definitely had some weight to it. Oh well, we can't catch em all...lol! Stayed with that bait since it got hit the hardest and it was smashed by this 3lb 3oz hawg. That's Brantley my great nephew in one of the pics holding her up. He's 5 years old and thought it was totally awesome. Wasn't long afterwards, everybody but me wanted to leave and go home. Needless to say, I was out voted. Hope you fathers caught a hawg or better today! God Bless! ?

Here's exactly how to know when to change lures, how long to fish lures, or when to give up on a lure. Expert advice to help you with the best decisions!

I find topwater to be most exciting, but that is just my personal opinion.

It’s not well understood by most people that hydration is more than just water. Often overlooked key components of hydration are glucose, sodium and potassium. These are needed to maximally absorb water. Gatorade really is scientifically formulated for hydration and drinking a Gatorade for every 2-3 bottles of water can really help a lot. (Fruit and or fruit juice can achieve a similar effect.)

Sunday 6/17/18 6:30-10:00 Cloudy Temp hot and humid W/T 84.5* current south and east Water stained Went this morning with friend Rick. Fished the spoil bank on the flats side. We never left the flat. Hydrilla was topped out all over the place. High water allowed us to move around without problems. You could see fish busting the surface early. Rick and I started with a frog. I used a swim frog and Rick a H/B. We had chasers but on takers. Switched to a u-vibe and Rick a swimbait and both caught a few. I then switched to a fluke, and the bite got crazy. Sometimes it was every cast for a while. We both caught a good number for a short trip. We both caught a 20 inch fish, with a bunch in the high teens. We finished with over 25 bass caught, a chain pickeral, and a bunch of hit and misses. Ripping the fluke off the bottom and letting it fall back was a key. Once the clouds cleared and the sun rose the bite slowed, the humidity got ridiculous, and it was time to head home, and have a cold one. Much better this morning then we ever expected. ?

Toothy creatures. Sauger was 1/2 inch short (I think...) but The walleye was a keeper!

New jigs/heads from Siebert Those darn ebay coupons get me every time

Stepped on one of my rods last week when I was on the boat, and broke a couple of guides... Good reason to get a new rod... So I bought 2... They were 50 percent off at DSG. Lews Carbon Fire 7' MH F Casting, and a 6'8" ML F spinning. The spinning will be great for some drop shotting, the tip has some great action.

Got out this morning for a couple hours before work as I often do to fish my favorite local. Father's Day fishing found me hitting on a creature feature. So I started the morning using the same lure to no effect, well a couple dinks that just couldn't do more than nibble the appendages. I decided to jump in the car and try the other end of the lake, near the d**n. I cast a few more times around the paddys and brush and still nothing. I got my line wrapped around some rocks and wood so I decided to cut some line for a fresh line. And... I figured, what the hell I'll throw a popper. Lunkerhunt popper on I cast a couple shots and work the bait near paddys and tall plants with no results. A ways out are patches of underwater growth, grass, millfoil etc... just touching the surface. Bass like to hide in there, right?? I cast out a good distance and start jerking the lure; twitch twitch reel... repeat. I get the lure halfway back and SLAM!!!! I hesitate just a second and pull up on the rod tip to set the hook. FISH ON! She was a beauty! Great fight right up to the bank. No scale with me but 31/2 to 4 lbs. A few casts later, again out in the deeper water brush I hit and set another. Also a nice fish. I had a couple other hits but I was so schoolgirl giddy excited from the topwater hits I probably jerked too early and missed them. This Topwater thing.... Man is it exciting. That slam on the surface is awesome!! Eric J

No doubt proper hydration is very important, but don't confuse that with the effects of exposure to heat. All the water and sport drinks in the world won't help if one exceeds their ability to cool for a prolonged time. Another important factor is the body's physiological response to a hot climate. It takes about 3 weeks for the body to start adapting, so the first few outings can cause symptoms to manifest in a shorter exposure. The symptoms you describe are classic of the heat exposure spectrum.

Yeah , it gets the lure to dive .

Took a quick morning fishing trip on Father's Day. Smallmouth Bass were gone at my local shore spots but the Bluegill were bedding. I used a Leland Trout Slayer jig dragged onto their beds to get them going. When they picked up the jig to remove it from the bed I set the hook and reeled them in.

I used to be a gatorholic but as I got older I was worried about excess salt and sugar so I switched to sugar free drink mixes. But i always felt like it wasn't enough on the water in the heat of summer so I recently started adding this to my drinks.

Going to the Big O tomorrow. Gonna start at the Hay Field and plan to finish up in the Monkey Box. If we do any good I'll post. Mike

Sorry about the rod box picture, taken right before a massive storm lol. Bought a new toy Saturday and had to try it out. A new favorite! 7'm Legend Elite

Nailed it. I was going to say "...a sharp knife", but scissors will do. either buy a practice plug, or take the hooks off a lure and practice around the yard...even in the house (I practice pitching inside off and on all winter.) I have a drill I do for my fly casting, every night the weather is decent: I cast my my way around the house. At least one rod, and often two or three in different weights. This makes me deal with the wind from every direction, trees, shrubs, whatever I can make get in my way. I cast under branches, around bushes (you can do that with a fly rod, to a point) and right next to branches where I imagine a monster pike lurking next to that gopher mound... Shoot for targets, don't just go for distance, as accuracy is 10x more more important. Tighten up your "short game" with pitching, and learn flipping. Plastic buckets, hula hoops, weeds, darker/lighter spots on the lawn, gopher mounds, leaves in in fall, and around here the occasional Brittany* have all served as targets at one time or another. *This kind of Brittany: ...not this kind:

These guys pretty much summed up the majority of the reasons. A couple things I will add. On baitcasters, I'd actually disagree to a point as baitcasters have thumb bars, and a good "thumbarrer" is the equivalent of back reeling, IMO. I do it rather frequently with fish on baitcasters. The other point is that I don't like leaving line strength on the table. So if I set my spinning reel with 8 or 10 lb. line at 2.5 to 3 lbs of drag, it's a pretty decent amount of pressure (try dead weight lifting, equivalent to the way most guys fight fish), but the line has several more pounds of force it can handle (5-7 lbs or more in this example) before breaking. Problem is, every time you get to 2.5 or 3 lbs., your drag starts slipping or screaming, and the only control you have left is to put your hand on the spool to try and apply more pressure. I'd rather control all that through the reel handle and the position of my rod, and if I need to apply 5-lb. or 7lb. of force to stop or turn a fish, I can. I get that we're in the vast minority these days, and it's not something I'd recommend to everyone, but it's the way I like to play this game, so for me, I'll keep buying reels with the switch until I can't.

Got the first one (only one so far - lol) on the big JB last night about 15 min after sunset. I'll keep messing with it on some other waters as I get the chance.

Picked up an original wooden Musky JB off eBay a couple weeks ago. Swapped out hooks and ready to try and land one on this big old piece of history. First attempt last night resulted in half a dozen blowups, but no hookups. Still fun for the first time out. We'll keep trying until I find one big enough to actually eat this thing ?

14# is more than you'd ever need for bass fishing. 20# is overkill.

I grew up in the Florida heat and humidity. Spent much of my time outdoors. We would play all day outside except for lunch. If you got hot, you drank water out of a hose. Played all kind of sports also when coaches had little compassion about us being comfortable. I never got close to heat exhaustion. Fast forward to last Tuesday afternoon. I did some physical side work outside for about 4 1/2 hours. I got to the point right before I finished that I had nothing left in the tank.My fingers were cramping, I had aches all over, esp. headache, back was killing me, and I felt like I had a fever, plus being nauseated . I toughed it on out and finished. Made it home and spent several hours trying to cool off and feel better, which I finally did by drinking lots of water, and holding ice water up against my temples. Had another side job 2 days later, but I drank a gallon of coconut water the day before and day of the job.+ plenty of water, and hosed down with water several times. 7 hour job and hotter even, but I didn't get near to heat exhaustion. Moral of the story: Hydrate the DAY BEFORE, and the day of the exposure . Dont think you can handle it, even though you may have before. The BEAR will sneak up on you !

Yeah well, when they pass out or feel like they can't pick up their head, or start to get dizzy and don't know why, there'll be no doubt as to who the clowns are. Mike

Totally agree! Down here it's as important as having a rod in your hand. Mike

I dropshot docks alot when they won't eat my jig. 3',5', 10'... My dropshot shows no discrimination towards depth. Only time I won't really throw it is in high winds.

Sort of reviving this. I finally made it out to Berryessa and it's already my favorite body of water in California. It's the first time I fished a lake that clear and with such diverse cover. You have the north with shallower water and cover great for largemouth. You have rock for Small mouth. And you have the narrows for spotted bass. We pretty much followed the advice of everyone and found structure/ledges with baitfish. We fished long underwater points, submerged trees, and rock. We only caught 20 fish. I know that might sound like humble-bragging but given the reputation of that lake, I know people can pull in fish by the barrel, metaphorically speaking. In our defense, we launched late and only stuck to one arm of the lake.

I never even owned a hook file until recently. Most all my hooks were snagged and broke off before needing sharpened. That said ever since I switched to using seiberts brush jig I've had some jigs last a long time as they come through cover so well I Bought a file just for them.

I fish a small body of water (strip pit) and find that yes, catching is a little easier during mid week and at night. I've also found that the majority of big fish have, what I call, an internal feeding clock and stick to it throughout the summer. Once I figure that puzzle out, I plan my outings based on that time. Not that I don't pay attention to weather, the moon phase, etc. I just don't let it dictate when I go. That feeding period has more influence on my decision. That doesn't mean those are the only times I can catch them, only that they are most active then. Prime time for me on that body of water would be Wed. and Thurs. evenings from 7:00-10:00PM. I also like to stay out until just before sun-up under a new moon. Not a bunch of big bites then, but some great numbers.

Fixed that for ya ?

I rarely use straight braid, almost always with a leader. I also never throw more than 10lb. braid on my spinning outfits. As such, for me, it always applies. Most rods can handle 20 lbs of force before approaching a breaking point, though most people and reels probably couldn't - lol. I would say some practicality comes into play at those line strengths and it doesn't matter much. Backreeling has always seemed to be a domain of light line/finesse anglers, or old-timers who grew up with questionable drag systems.

Ill always prefer to backreel. With spin gear and 6 or 8 lbs line, I can set my drag where it gives slightly on the hookset, and then backreel to play the fish. I started on this 30 yrs ago, after reading about Charlie Brewer, Billy Westmoreland and other light tackle guys. Drags are very good these days, but it gives me more control. It is "old school" but still works for me. I could probably get used to that nacsi reel - it was nice. But for now , Ill pick one with an anti reverse switch.

When they do, I'll be waiting.....

Oh I backreel like a crazy man when I have a big one on. Its the best way to guarantee an easy landing. Even the best drag can't compare to backreeling. You can take more of the strain off your line. Practice is the key to using the backreel to its utmost effectiveness. Practice on the little guys you catch and when you get a monster it will be second nature.

Most won't miss the ability to back reel. What, 1 out of 20, 50, maybe 100 anglers use it these days? And, the Nasci reel is a very good selection in that price range, by the way. I have a few of them, like them. No, I like a Stradic Ci4+ more . . . but they are over 2X more in price. I just wanted to mention that drag is very effective but generally limited to pulls by the fish straight away from the angler. I assume everyone here knows we use spinning gear much differently than casting gear: the rod loads up and pins the fish to the hook, the fish tires, we reel down on the line during that respite like a tactical tug-of-war and we seamlessly reload our rods. Put that bend back in it. We often repeat this several times to land the fish. So, with back reeling, if a fish's "vector" is, say, left-to-right or right-to-left and not running straight away from you or straight down deeper, by back reeling you have more options to move/control its head, give it line or turn the fish. I'm only modestly good at it, would like to perfect back reeling if I had the right conditions to work on it; but, the anglers who've mastered it really impress me. From boxing, they'd be analogous to counter-punchers. Brad

If you don't have a straight rudder in the back it will swing to one side when operating the bow motor. The front trolling motor doesn't need to be centered. Your problem is the rear trolling motor needs to be straight and running or out of the water with a added straight rudder. Your V bow should keep the front running straight if the weight inside the boat is balanced. I made a rear rudder for a freind who had his boat on a electric power only lake with this same problem and it cured it. Tom

Couple days ago I picked up a 3/8oz Strike King Hack Attack Select Toadbuzz in pearl toads and a pack of Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics green pumpkin pearl belly Blade Minnows. Yesterday I picked up a 3/8oz Strike King swinging swim jig green pumpkin color with a Trokar hook for $1.68 on clearance(figured at that price I can't go wrong) and a pack of bama bug Rage Tail Rage Craws. Hope I can get out tomorrow and try them out. I wish we carried the Z Man Jackhammer chatterbait at work. I really want one, even though it doesn't come in my favorite color.

Went out for a troll on Georgian Bay this morning with the family, slow start, didn’t get fishing till 11:00 and only fished an hour before the heat drove us off the water, but we did alright. My son fought this one in all by himself. 10lbs even on my light rainbow gear, almost spooled him twice! Looks like we’re bbqing salmon for dinner tonight ??

Got a nicely colored rainbow this morning. First rainbow in years. Normally mostly browns in this river, but occasionally it will give up a ‘bow or a brookie.

Been doing really well with a jig lately. It is now a go to for slaying some Michigan hogs.

If you gotta lie to your partner to get what you want out of life, I'd say there's a bigger issue.