J Francho

I keep telling myself I'm going out Sunday.

Label the compartment they're in, or use a paint pen. Not perfect, but works.

Those are the extreme events I was referring to. We had them too. It upsets fishing in the short term. For the long term, it's a blip. Two or three days of stable, upward trends, with safe water, and it's time to get out there. Oh yeah, it's was snowing just a few minutes ago. ?

I'd be more worried about the delivery person's germs than anything else.

It would be quite the swing to see a 3° shift in Erie at 15 FOW without some major wave action, rainfall, or turnover event. Ponds are much more dynamic, and often the focus when temps are on the steady incline.

My left handed TD-X HSDL reels are at least 15 years old. Never skip a beat.

Is that more or less or the same as when running on the water in any kind of normal circumstances?

I use both, as well as a few other brands.

Got the the same thing here in ROC! Let the dogs out, and there was a mini blizzard. Wonderful. Spring in WNY is so frustrating.

Same five baits I always use, unless I'm fishing deep for smallies. Covers everything from slop to deep ledges.

Here's what I use 90% of the time: Spinnerbaits Jigs T-Rigs Senko or Fluke Crankbait

My general rotation that works for waters I frequently fish is: Spinnerbait Texas Rig Plastic Jig Senko or Fluke Crankbait

Oh jeez, I'd be jonesing for anything fishing at that point!

Junk fishing just means rotating through baits and cover each cast. It's the opposite of pattern fishing.

Pretty simple answer: I wouldn't. 6# for spinning, 15# for baitcasting, if I had to pick one. Let's face it, the world isn't ending, and there's plenty of sizes available, so use what fits your fancy. This feels like a mid January topic.

Well, you done good!

How old is the reel?

That's a funny looking bass. ? Must have been pretty fun on that ultralight setup! Here's the multi-species thread:

This, very much so, especially the wind. It causes the water to mix, and can move warmer off shore, or concentrate it on shore. Erie temp off shore today, according to USGS is 35. Lake Ontario is 38. Prespawn and spawn are a ways off. Usually happens around mid/late May through late June. I've seen them spawn as late as mid July.

We had a newfy that we shaved every summer. It definitely made the heat more comfortable for him.

And I'm thinking about fish I've caught that are over six, not dinks. There's a couple I can cast bank to bank. Most are about twice that. I rarely cast out to the center anyway. I've caught so many over six from some small waters, that I have to disagree it's ALL about depth. There's other factors at play. A pond that typically produces runts has some mitigating circumstances as well.

I don't downsize. In fact, ponds are where I throw some of my largest baits.

Naphtha works fine. I used it for years. Acetone is better. Someone here turned me on to it years ago.

They are mostly chemically sharpened.

We're not even close to spawn, let alone ruining it. Just fish.