Tokyo Tony

I have a ton of amazing memories from when I was younger, but most recently, the one that comes to mind... Late last summer I was spending the weekend in New Hampshire just to hang out and do some float tube smallmouth fishing on my favorite little pond. This pond has crystal-clear water (20'+ visibility), and you can see way down to the bottom where there are huge car-sized boulders mixed with gravel, grass, and sand, and there are two corners of the pond that are stumpfields with grassy bottoms and really weedy shorelines and laydowns. Perfect smallmouth habitat 8-) It was a bluebird sky day, and the fishing was pretty hot all day (40-50 fish, nothing big). As the day was winding down, I was kicking around in one of the two grassy corners where the LMB like to hang out, just lazily throwing topwaters and plastics when it hit me. The sun was setting, the leaves were just starting to turn orange and yellow, and the only ripples on the lake were from my float tube. All I could hear were birds, and there was not another person in site, or on the lake. Then the beauty of it all hit me - I just stopped fishing, looked around, and just felt so content to be where I was. It's tough to explain - you just really have to feel it. Combine with that setting the fact that the pond is loaded with smallies and LMB who are more than willing to attack any offering, and you have heaven on earth. Anyway, I think back to that day a lot, and others like it, and it's really tough for me to love that setting so much, but be stuck in a frozen tundra for 4 months out of the year. On the other hand though, it makes it so much sweeter when I'm actually able to be in that setting. Can't WAIT to get back out there in my float tube ;D

Favorite night snacks: cheese doodles (NOT Cheetos brand - those suck), popcorn, beef jerkey, leftover Hooters wings (cold), cold pepperoni pizza, and fruit if I feel like being healthy (rarely) Fishing snacks: water, gatorade, powerade, chips, cheese doodles, Chex mix, combos, deli meat sandwiches, and others

Went out yesterday with a buddy of mine to show him some of my trout streams, and after all the rain we've had, the water was up 2-2.5 feet and it was really muddy with tons of debris. Every cast we were getting leaves on our lures, and it was really frustrating. We didn't get a single hit in about 3 hours. We tried going several miles upstream near the beginning of the river, and although the water was much clearer, we still got skunked. Am I better off just waiting until the water lowers and clears up, or is are there specific techniques/areas to focus on when we've gotten tons of rain? Thanks gents

Lol, not what I was expecting ;D

Thanks guys, I'll check with the DNR. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to standing on the shore and walking that fine line 8-)

IMO, society is not to blame at all. It's the fault of the parents and the kids, and in some cases, just plain bad luck with regard to the chain of events that led up to the tragedies. Millions of kids everyday are bullied or picked on, but there is literally no excuse at all for someone to react to the continual bullying by killing people, especially innocent people, and there are millions of kids who handle bullies in other, less murderous ways. The world can be a cruel place, but freakin' suck it up and don't be an idiot and go on a shooting rampage. Obviously these senseless tragedies really really P me off. These shooters are all total losers. The only time someone other than the parents or the shooter can be blamed is if someone saw it coming, or disregarded a threat, and did nothing about it. Even so, the fault lies almost entirely with the shooter and his parents. The media isn't helping matters with its extensive coverage of the shootings, but that will never stop because school shootings are always big news, and you can't blame news companies for covering shootings. Therefore, shooting up your classroom will always be a way to go out with a bang, so to speak. And to place any kind of blame on the high price of medication, IMO, is a huge stretch. Sorry I'm getting all worked up, but everyone must be held accountable for his own actions, regardless of how tough life is. Ridiculous.

What Dean said. You'll be fine at the end of April. The smallies should be really active

Like lures 8-)

If you haven't already, check it out on Google Earth. It looks like it could have some nice fish in it. Also, if the person you're visiting actually does live in one of the few houses on the lake, it's gonna be a really nice house

What lb test line are you using? If it's too heavy for the reels it may be shooting off of the spool, causing the loops, and you may want to downsize the line. Most likely the loops are being formed as a result of line twist. You could either respool (making sure the line comes off the spool in the same direction it goes on the reel), or let out a bunch of line behind your boat with nothing at all tied on, and troll the line around for a minute or two. That will take out all the twist. Another possibility is that the loops occur as you close the bail. Make sure you close the bail manually instead of by cranking the handle. This will reduce the loops. Lastly, if after twitching your lure you reel the line while it's slack, that could cause a loop. But if you get the twist out, this shouldn't be problem. Edit: Also, I just noticed that the reel you're not having problems with is a larger size than the one that is giving you problems.

Doesn't that just mean to choose an alias/email that's not already in use on the site?...

Well there used to be two little ponds behind a Toys 'R Us in my town, but one was drained and filled to become a parking lot for a new Sam's Club. It's been almost a year, and I've pretty much gotten over that because they put at least most of the bass from that pond into the neighboring pond. I stopped by to check out the neighboring pond last night, and it was all fenced in with a construction company's name on the fence, and a huge "NO TRESSPASSING" sign. Now I can't even fish that pond, and I know there are some good fish in there. I assume this is all legally done, but I don't wanna lose that pond also, and it seems to me like they plan to drain the remaining pond as well even though it's brim-full with wildlife. It is a man-made pond, but it's packed with bass, bream, carp, and catfish. Oh, and a beaver lives there also (I have pictures). Are beavers still protected? You guys think there's anything I can do either to gain access to the pond again to fish it, or to prevent it from also becoming a parking lot? Thanks.

If nothing gets done, you could just count your losses and fish frogs (plastic or hollow-bodied). You'd be surprised how many fish are willing to bust throug slop to get a meal Or you could punch through the stuff with a t-rigged plastic of some sort and try your luck that way. As for what to do about the weeds, sorry, I have no advice. But as it is, you could try those two techniques and probably nab a few.

Thanks for all the info folks, great stuff

Wow I was just looking at the specs - 3 lb spool of 4 lb test: 30,000 yards That's a lot of fishing line.

Glad to see you unbunched your panties Lol, you said you wouldn't post on the thread again, so I took the liberty.

I'll lay 5-1, seriously :-?

Looks pretty slick - definitely the most attractive filler spool I've seen. But I'd like to know exactly how they "formulated" it "exclusively" for Steez spinning and casting reels :-? And sorry, I haven't used it, so I have no advice. I'd be surprised if anyone here has used it...

the #6 WAS my go-to sandwich at, but the baconator has taken over that spot and the #6 is now my #2. Then you've obvioiusly become a crazy person

Can't go wrong with Gammy, Owner, or VMC. I like Gammy round bends.

Ahh, that movie is a crock. Take anything to the extreme and you'll see terrible effects on your health, even if you eat nothing but vegetables. Edit: That's not to say fast food is not unhealthy, but in moderation, you'll be just fine 8-)

A person who goes to Wendy's and orders anything other than a #6 (spicky chicken sandwich) is obviously a crazy person. For fast food burgers go to one of your other two options

...but I think it's a bunch of hype. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330591,00.html Think of all the smallies, stripers and largies that would go to waste :-/

Lol, anyone else find that funny?

I'll definitely be checking that lake out this year 8-) P.S. If it hasn't been said enough, I'm dying here. I need to catch some bass.