Crestliner2008

Get yourself a bunch of 1/32 oz. and 1/16 oz. marabou jigs; the ones with the chenille body. Get some of each size in white, chartreuse, red/white and red/chart./white. Use a slip bobber set up with no more than 4# test mono. Start off with one 1/16 oz. jig suspended under the slip bobber....try various drop lengths depending on the bottom you are fishing. I've had my best luck setting the length so that the jig rides just about 3"- 5" off the bottom. S - L - O - W retrieve it back to you after the cast. If that doesn't produce anything, switch to two of the 1/32 oz. jigs, tied in tandem, about a foot apart from one another. Use two different colors, under the same slip float set up as previously outlined. If that doesn't produce anything, then you're fishing in the wrong place! Try to find a drop off somewhere. If you don't have a sonar on your boat, then make a drop line. A 4 - 6 oz. weight tied on a 1/4" nylon rope. Tie a simple overhand knot every 5' - starting at about 10' from the weight - and working up to about 20', depending on the depths of the lake you are fishing. Place various colored ribbons in each knot, so you can easily identify what depth your line goes down to. Dropping this line occasionally will let you know quickly if you are on a drop off. I used this system for many years, prior to my first sonar back in the 80's. Hope this is of some help! Good Luck!

I agree wholeheartedly with what's been said here. Lake Associations are popping up more & more. Restricting access to a lot of bodies of water. The Congamond lakes are next. Now they are talking about a "user" fee of $40./year, on top of the $5.00 launch fee. And these launches were paid for by our license fees. Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds! The biggest problem we fishermen face is ourselves. We need to do a better job of policing our resources and keeping the EPO's on our cell phones. It would also help if we were all "pulling the cart" in the same direction, politically. I know....that's a real stretch! ;D

I feel your pain! However, don't give up....there's the CT River. Some fine winter smallie fishing to be had. Most launches are open and in decent shape. Slow dragging tubes, hard jerks (w/long pauses) and blade baits will get you bit. Find some deep holes with a shallow shelf (~ 10') and work your way from shallow to deep. Suppose to get some moderating temps next week, although with the Christmas holidays, it's doubtful that I'll get an opportunity to get out before the weather turns really bad once again.

Visit Netcraft online. They have been selling split rings for more years than I care to think about. As well as most every bit of terminal tackle you can imagine. Plenty of size charts as well. A good company to do business with as well. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

Do you still catch fish with it? If so, it's a keeper!

Normally, when I'm tying a fluoro leader to my Fireline and/or PowerPro, I use the Uni-Uni knots. Haven't had a serious problem with it, but then a friend sent me this video on the Alberto knot. Has anyone used this variation of the Albright? Any advantages/disadvantages over the Uni-Uni? Thanks.

Nose hook 'em on a drop shot. DY-NO-MITE!

I use a scent as an "edge". It may/may not make a difference, but it's a no-brainer to not take a chance and not use one! hmmm....did I say that right? ;D In other words....it can't hurt. Anyway, I like Megastrike paste. Seems to me to last longer than the water soluble sprays. But I could be wrong!

Easy choice for me....Al Lindner. I've been following him since he was on the pro tour back in the 80's. I even have his original "Book On Fishing", published back in the 70's with his brother, Ron and Bill Binkleman. In those days, these guys were associated solely with the "Lindy/Little Joe" company. Man, can those guys fish! I just recently parted ways with the original first 70 issues of the "In-Fisherman" magazine. Gave it to a local teacher to use as reference material for his students.

1) 5" Senko 2) Fat Ika 3) 78 Pointer 4) 4" Roboworm (for drop shotting and/or shakey worms 5) Jig & Craw trailer

You've worn the same pair of boots for 35 years?! Wow... That is nice sturdy pair of boots right there. ;D Funny guy! Actually YES! I'm still using the same boots I bought way back when. No BS either. I've replaced the liners occasionally, but the darn boots wear like steel. Especially when you are inactive while sitting in tree stand or on your boat in freezing air temperatures and wind. Don't get much better.

I started using the Sweet Beaver just this past spring with great results. I rig it with a 4/0 EWG and I put one of those "Sluggo" nail weights inside. The LM love 'em!

For the past 35 years, I've worn a pair of Sorel boots; rubber bottom, leather top boots, with a thick, wool felt liner. I have a size larger than my regular shoe size and use a pair of wool socks as well. Never sweat. Never cold. And I've sat on a deer stand for up to 6 hours at a stretch sometimes. A key mentioned here previously; do NOT tighten them up! Loose is good. Think of it as creating air space which equals insulation around your feet.

Tail spinners have been around for a very long time. Bought my first Mann's Little George back in the 70's. I really like the idea of having the line through the lure. However, I'd recommend re-tying A LOT! Great ice out lure. But nothing a blade bait can't duplicate as effectively in my experience. Vibs sometimes produce better than flash. Depends on the mood of the fish I guess. You can bet I'll be trying some of those Blade Runner Tail Spinners. Great looking finishes!

1) A colored jig head is NOT a plain jig head. 2) Why didn't he try the same thing with a plain lead head with no color? 3) Why didn't he try the same experiment without the scent? Really pathetic! But then again.....he gets paid to do it, so who's smarter?

Awesome smallies! Congrats! I too, have my boat shrink wrapped in the back yard now. We got 7" of snow yesterday and temps are going down in the low teens tonight. Oh well, makes the anticipated spring all that much more exciting! T.V. fishing shows, here I come! ;D

There are gloves....and there are gloves! You are talking about fishing in cold weather. Are you talking about freezing weather? BIG difference! In cool - cold weather fishing, I've used the rag wool cut-off finger type gloves very successfully. I usually tuck the wrist bands in my jacket. Then I've place a couple of inexpensive, chemical type, pouch hand warmers underneath the wrist band of the gloves, resting on the skin of my wrist. This keeps the blood flow going to your hands warm. And the wool's inherent thermal qualities, keep your hands warm even when wet. These inexpensive, finger-less wool gloves, combined with hand warmers on the wrists, keep me fishing up to ice up conditions here in the northeast. Once solid water forms, I hybernate til spring!

I usually have my best luck with spoons in a large, clear water reservoir here abouts. It would not be my first option in the tannic stained water you describe. The blade baits are great, as are the tail spinners, like the "Little George". They both put out a lot vibs when fished slow. You can also bottom hop a rattle-trap type plug too you know! Jigged on/off the bottom, they can be dynomite! You definitely need something with vibrations; although, that being said, some of my most productive muddy water presentations have been with slow crawling plastics! Go figure!

An excellent pike & musky bait! And I've had success fishing it for stripers in the spring time, when they come up the river, after ice out. Actually, if you think about it, it's size and super excellent finishes come pretty darn close to our modern day hard Swimbaits. I suspect casting such a huge lure would require a musky or swimbait rod & reel arrangement. I see it's greatest potential when trolling however. Just make sure you use a steel leader!

Interesting concept though! I brought a penlight laser pointer to BPS a few weeks back. I tried to get a reaction out of the fish in their tanks. It actually did get them excited! Sort of like how my cat reacts to it. I just don't see how you can achieve the same results with a fishing lure, if the light is contained in the lure itself. The fish - and my cats - are attracted to the spot where the light is directed....not toward my hand that is holding the light! So, I'm not convinced that a lure possessing a light would even come close to having a similar effect to a directed laser beam. Guess I'm just skeptical!

Sad to say that we just got our first major snowstorm of the season! 7" was dumped on us in about 4 hours. All the ramps around here are un-accessible. Plenty of open water yet, but with the below freezing weather over the next few days, that'll probably change as well. Now all I can do is mark off each day on the calendar until March 1st. arrives.

I totally agree. Pitching is a technique controlled solely by your thumb on the spool. Back off your brakes all the way and you'll be golden.

This is one of those lures which seems to want to take advantage of another series of lures; i.e.: the X-Rap. Not sure if there is any advantage with the Sub Walk. I suspect if you catch fish on one, you could probably catch the same fish on the other. I used one several times this season with no significant results. I'll stick with my X-Raps.

If you are restricted to shoreline fishing and have a limited area in which to fish, then the Fat Ika is probably one of the most effective baits you can throw. Pick apart the cover in detail. Do not miss an inch! And read the recent post on the Fat Ika rigging. Great tips!

I've seen a lot of perch on my sonar and they didn't look like the arch images on JFrancho's sonar. Perch appear as a more solid mass (like bait balls) and rarely suspend as individuals like this (at least in my neck of the woods). The fish on his sonar could very well have been game fish, suspending over a school of perch. I've verified this happening several times with an Aqua View. Perch have a tendency to stay close to the bottom most of the time, in a rather compact school. They will rise up and smack an offering suspended, or traveling through the upper water colum however. The only practical confirmation comes with a viewing camera system of some kind. Association over time, between the camera and sonar, clarifies what you are really looking at, regardless of the outcome. Large separated arches are almost always a game species of some kind. Not meaning to be argumentative, just my opinion - I could be wrong.