bigbill

Well my 400# blackbears left the area for his mate. The 170# blackbears with four orange tags , two in each ear hit the road too. The little 140lb cub is camped out here in the watershed. The crazy yellow lab keeps him at bay. But when it’s here the cats in the house are crawling to the back room to hide. The cub is on the front porch looking in the house. The bird feeders have been in for a while now. I haven’t been night fishing so I’m not sure how the bears are in my hot spots. any bears where your fishing? so many broods of turkeys this year.

I carry a pliers in every tacklebox and a longer one in my scent box.

Your going to find out all these baits really work. When you have the color and presentations down. Put plastic worms in the Arsenal for sure. congrats for sticking with it.

Wolves were seen here crossing the frozen lake. There was three of them together last winter. The size of them is no mistake as to what they were. Now these reports of dogman there’s just too many conflicting reports.

Maybe a dogman in the flesh or something new? https://www.yahoo.com/news/mystery-wolf-creature-shot-killed-111901069.html

I mainly fish with outdated models at clearenced prices. My rods are LEWS. My spinning reels vary between okuma, fin nor, globe, viva. My baitcasters are US Reel. when I started bass fishing I had a 5’ med action rod from a tag sale in Maine just $5. That was my lucky rod it caught lots of bass with my skill of course. Then it was bubble pack quantum spinning reels at Walmart. I started out being frugal.

I been using Excalibur Silver Thread Copolymer line for over two decades now. Less stretch and can take abrasions. I’m a shore fisherman and I’m in rocky areas all the time.

I use a weighted 3/0 hook with the weedless barb in the head for worms. My senkos get a eagle claw weedless hook for a wacky c rig. little by little watching for clearances and sales I have fill the plastic #37 boxes with weedless hooks of all sizes. You can never have too many different size hooks.

On a c rig I use red beads plus a brass clicker and weight. In the head of the plastic I put a tiny worm rattle sometimes.

I setup my 1/8, 3/16, 1/4oz spinnerbaits using a blue glimmer colored skirt, with a trimmed to fit the hook mister twister 4” split double tail grub. A single or double gold Colorado blade. With a trailer hook and a shot of scent. Or I pickup a Mann’s Classic spinnerbait and tweet it my way. From shore they work. It’s not spinnerbait luck, it’s the skill in the tweeking. When you get the setup right the bass will let you know. Decades ago when this forum was beginning Glenn told me don’t give up with spinnerbaits keep on trying them. He was correct, again thanks Glenn.

I’d fish with it, it wouldn’t bother me. but try to get it replaced if it bothers you.

I read as the ice is off and the water starts to warm up, the bass are in the most northern part of the body of water. Because it get the longer amount of sun time wise to warm up the water. I think of it as being closer to the woodstove? being a shore fisherman most of my northern areas are private property so I can’t test out the theory. But I think it’s true because my hot spots at this time are dead to fishing. There’s nothing there yet.

I use a ultra light with 4lb test and a joesfly blackgnat spinflys. I think using livebait we won’t feel the slightest nibble with heavier tackle. i was using a light action rod when I didn’t feel the light nibbles. Someone let me try there ultra light and I was hooked ever since.

I have one tackle box full of weedless baits. When others are hauling in weeds I fish weed free.

First it’s these big gals that keep the bass population up. The government did a study and put a slot limit on bass here so they can’t take the big bass to eat anymore. I may take one smaller bass to feed the rescue kittens I take in. One bass per year.

I use ultra- light setups for trout fishing. The trout are small. I’d never feel the nibble with a heavier setup.

Beaver will swim near me and slap their tail. I’m talking a 48” long Beaver encluding his tail. There is a drainage pipe to keep the pond at a certain height. The Beaver fill the pipe every night, the town shows up with a backhoe to clear the pipe. We have turtles too. When the turtles are active forget about fishing. The otters are out at twilight first sign of light in the morning. I see otters everywhere I fish at.

I was my hands before I go fishing. I do not purchase gas or handle oil when I’m going fishing. If I do I wash my hands again. I make no noise when I’m fishing. Stealth is the number one mode to be in. I use spinning reels and open and close the bail by hand. No noise. handle your tackle quietly, keep the one cell lite low in your tacklebox. Do not shine it at the water. If your night fishing. Keep your reel lubed so it makes no noise. i use a scent also. It can cover foul oders, I wash my tacklebox and lures when they start to smell. spinnerbaits, I use the white spinnerbait with a blue glimmer skirt, with a mister twister 4” double tail grub in white, with a trailer hook. You must trim the grubs body to fit the size of the hook on the spinnerbait, the trailer must be installed correctly so the spinnerbait runs straight. From shore the 1/8oz, 3/16oz & 1/4 oz seem to work better but if the water is any deeper a larger 3/8oz spinnerbait may be neede.

I have a few different baits that never caught anything not even a cold. First I had a Mann’s baby 1 in browncraw that was killing bass, I lost it, clipped on a new one and nada, nothing has been caught on it. So two exact baits don’t run the same right. why doesn’t a bait work? Our presitation could be too fast or too slow. Anything with blades I learned to crank it just fast enough so the blade spins. Not too fast, not too slow. With spinflys, inline spinners and spinnerbaits. with crankbaits same thing. I go slow enough so it’s at it’s given depth as it’s design/ box says. But there are many different presentations, like topwater, slow wake bait topwater, jig it over open weed pockets. Use a 1-2-3 pause. Over a open weed pocket stop it, twitch it, the rattle rings the dinnerbell. topwater popper, A 1-2-3 pause works the best. Your 1-2-3 must be picture perfect time wise. You can vary on your pause but keep the pause timing the same on the whole cast. The bass is timing the strike during your pause. read the water conditions clear water conditions, use natural colored baits fished faster. stained water conditions, natural or brighter colors fished slower muddy water conditions, brightest color, larger baits fished the slowest. swimbaits, example, yum money minnow I use a twitch that makes it dart like a dying minnow that’s trying to hang on. i notice the water conditions can be clear but as we go deeper it can change. Switch to a brighter colored bait. your catching smaller bass and the bite shuts down. Switch to a larger sized bait. The action could pick up with the larger fish. if a certain new bait isn’t working, ask here and try it often. Try different presentations. Change colors. when a bait isn’t catching fish that’s a challenge to me.

I purchased my sons the Swiss army surplus camo rain gear. The ponchos worked well for paintball and fishing in the rain. Cheaper than dirt had them.

My famous bacon cheeseburger, grill cheese, cheese on both slices. Your favorite cheese. burger 1/4 lber bacon yellow sweet onions sliced fried in olive oil, with salt, pepper, ketchup, paperika, cooked till carmalized. these are so good. As a kid I worked in a fast food place I could only eat four. They are filling.

Get them replaced and fish with them.

When I was logging firewood we were splitting oak onetime and I seen large bore holes inside the heart of the wood. I finally found what was doing it. Large diameter grubs about 4” to 5” long and rounder than a dime but smaller than a nickle. I been tempted ever since to take a larger plastic grub and cut the tail off so it looks like the natural grubs. Ever see the real grubs? These were white in color.

My trail cam is running out back. I have one yote that has a painted face. He has blue stripes along his jaw. I caught him one morning crossing my road I stopped and whistled he froze I pointed my finger at him and went bam. since I’m 67yo everything is free now I need a fur trapping license to shoot them.

Do we throw one bait for too long? how often do you/we switch baits? how long do we stay in that spot? i have a decade assortment of different baits I switch to often. i skip fancast the whole area. once I’m content that I gave it my best shot I go threw every bait changing presentations, sizes and colors. I actually get into the practice mode and have fun trying different presentations. I upsize my baits Incase the bigger fish are there but won’t strike the smaller baits. i change my flavor of scent. I switch from a bass attractant orginal flavor to a garlic. I see the garlic turn them on. then I move. What do do you Do?