Tokyo Tony

Cold, muddy water, strong wind, right after a cold front with a lot of fishing pressure. I'd still rather try my luck than be at work though.

I wouldn't spray scents into your bags of plastics - it will make the hook slide around a lot more when you rig them because you'll be lubricating the hook inside of the plastic as you push the hook through when the scent is already on.

There is no really effective way to organize all of your plastics if you have a lot. Keep them separated in size-appropriate containers, and before you go fishing, just pick through a few select bags that you'll probably need. Taking them all with you is a waste of space and time, and this is a lesson I still have not learned. I don't know that I'll ever learn.

I replace all my LC hooks with Eagle Claw Classic. Good hooks aren't fair to the fish, and I like a good challenge. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20291_TGP&id=0030278112916a&navCount=2&podId=0030278&parentId=cat20291&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=XH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20291&hasJS=true Kidding 8-)

This won't necessarily be for Christmas, but moreso before iceout next spring. I'm looking to get: Loomis GLX (I may end up with GL3 - depends) casting rod with Revo SX Loomis Bronzeback rod with either Shimano Stradic or Pfleuger Supreme *maybe* a new 5 or 6 weight flyrod and reel Cheapish used bassboat ~16ft Obviously the accumulation of lures will continue throughout the winter. Ambitious but possible if I *literally* play my cards right.

My grandmother taught me how to fish. She didn't know all that much herself, but she would take my brother and me out in her boat and we'd all do our best. She realized we loved it, so she bought us guided trips, took us on camping trips, houseboat trips, and even got us lessons (e.g. fly fishing lessons, fly tying lessons). For that I'll always be grateful. She is the one who sparked my love not just for fishing, but for the outdoors. Fortunatley, she's still alive and kickin', and for a grandmother, she's very young. I plan on visiting her in GA this winter to get in some "swamp fishing" and redfish fishing.

I've never had a problem with flouro to braid using the double uni knot, but make sure you only wrap the flouro 4 times and the braid 8 times. this makes a very effective and small knot that will glide through your guides.

These are great for transportation. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20325_TGP&rid=&indexId=cat20325&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20325&id=0037306

Don't get Vanish Transition - I think it's junk. The regular clear Vanish is pretty good, but I much prefer P-Line. It's smoother and has better knot strength and less memory. I'll definitely be trying the Yo-Zuri next year because of RW's reviews, but one thing is for sure: stay away from the Vanish Transition, as cool as it looks.

So I just went to Tackle Warehouse for the first time after reading this post, and I'm very impressed by the site. It is the best organized fishing retail site I've ever seen. Great format. I may have to buy some stuff...

Records are which person caught the biggest fish of a certain species, regardless of how they did it (beyond the obvious, i.e. rod and reel, not M-80s). World/state records should only take that into consideration. Of course, there should be further classifications, such as line strength and artificial/live bait, but as far as a single record fish goes, if it was caught on live bait, there should not be an asterisk saying, "Record fish, BUT it was caught on live bait." Maybe if it was caught on an artificial there should be one saying, "AND it was impressively caught on an artificial." Either way, a record fish is a record fish, regardless of how it was caught, so yes. I believe fish caught on live bait should qualify for records.

How do you know shiners don't feel pain? 'Pain' might be the wrong word anyway, but regardless, I don't have any more respect for mice than I do for shiners. Using mice, IMO, would not be any worse than using shiners, although it may seem worse. Kittens? That's just ridiculous. I can't believe someone would do that, but I guess he really really, really likes his muskies, and doesn't care much for cats.

I think to start, the term "bait snob" is misleading. How about using "bait afficionado", or "one who enjoys fine baits"? Anyway, especially lately, I've been buying a lot of higher-end baits (hi Cabela's in East Hartford), and while there may not be a huge or even noticeable difference in fish-catching ability, I think the main advantage (other than their confidence-giving powers) is that you don't have to tune them as much (or at all). Even comparing the relatively-high-end X-Rap to the LC Pointer, X-Raps do have to be tuned relatively frequently, which is not the case with Pointers. Either way, I like having Pointers (and other baits that look awesome) and just looking at them, especially when that's all I can do over the winter. Also, it seems a little more satisfying catching a good fish on an expensive bait for some reason, maybe because you think to yourself, "Wow - definitely worth the price!" ;D Is that crazy? Maybe.

Depends on your tube - some you sit really low while others have you pretty high above the water. It sounds like you'd be much better off with a pontoon if you want to sight fish. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jsp?id=cat360011&navAction=jump&navCount=1&cmCat=MainCatcat20431&parentType=category&parentId=cat20431

I hate to say it, but in CT lately I've shifted my focus to trout. The bass fishing is just too tough for my taste, and you can catch some really nice trout this time of year, on bass lures nonetheless (which is part of the fun of bass fishing - using artificial lures). As soon as I have a boat and good electronics, I may try to do some deepwater bassin', but if you have trout in your area, go for those.

I don't see how using mice as bait is that different from using shiners for bait, or feeding mice to a snake or bass. It's certainly not any more brutal than setting mousetraps in your house. I bet mice would make great bait, judging by the few mice I've seen swimming on the surface. I wouldn't use them just because it would be messy.

Great article, and well-written! Makes me wish I knew of wingdams to fish - but when I do find some, I'll be sure to heed your advice. Thanks!

Also, if I were fishing that pond I'd try an X-Rap or LC Pointer.

I'd spend a lot of time with the chatterbait if I were you, and you said it's muddy - if the white doesn't work, try a black/blue one. I love chatterbaits - the fish can really track them, and you can really work the whole water column. It sounds like this is a pond for the chatterbait.

Has anyone had problems like those mentioned above with Cabela's? I would think that even though most people say that BPS is good about fixing their errors, the fact that they are making this many errors is inexcusable. I've had some problems with BPS myself, but never with Cabela's. This is just part of the reason I've always been more of a Cabela's guy. The main reason is that I've been a Cabela's customer since I was a little kid. Obviously I'm totally psyched about Cabela's opening 10 minutes from my house.

I float-tube all the time on lakes and ponds, but never on a river. If there's a very gentle current, I don't see a problem. Basically, you just need to use it to get the hang of it. It took me a couple of trips before I really got used to fishing out of it, but when you do get the hang of it, there are many big advantages to float-tubing... Basically, there's no secret to using one, and it's not rocket science. Just take it out a few times and you'll feel comfortable in no time.

HA! Stiff cold front, nose dive to the 50s. It snowed all morning here in CT :'( Have fun, and I'm jealous. Fish slowly.

But for Yamamoto Kreature, I like 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG. 4/0 are too big for that bait IMO

Definitely don't skimp on hooks - I once bought a "value pack" of some kind of G-Lock style hook, not sure if it was Mustad or something else, but I got three strikes with a senko with only one successful hookset, and the 25 pack went into the tacklebox, never to see the light of day again. All my hooks are Gamakatsu, from EWG to offset to circle to trout hooks.

Well there's no reason to mistreat a bass by keeping a bass "in its own filth", but you have to realize that the fish wouldn't be sitting there, miserable, thinking "Boy, this really sucks". It might not feel comfortable, whatever that even means for a bass, but it's certainly not the same as keeping a person locked up in a little space (like in these f'd up news articles I keep reading). Either way, a bass doesn't "deserve" anything. We owe it to each other to keep the bass fishing good, and there's no reason to mistreat a bass, but it really doesn't deserve anything. This is coming from a guy who absolutely loves and respects bass, feels terrible after gut-hooking them, and also who couldn't spare even a single turd for PETA.