JacobK

caught my first smallie of the year decent sized guy i'm guessing maybe 2 1/2 pounds? and i upgraded my rod, but i don't have enough for a new reel haha i'm slowly getting there. ;D and yes thats a hello kitty toy hanging from my tow hook. I'm so JDM ;D

i was reading and thinking hrmm interesting approach whispering to feel vibrations then when i got to the part about the rod crying i felt like i wanted to cry. it was like getting rick rolled but worst.

So if you guys haven't heard yet Gander Mountain has a 50% off green tag sale. Well that triggered a relapse with the bait monkey so i went and picked up some skirtless jigs a few packs of GYCB Hula grubs, another SPRO bronze eyed frog and last but not least a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer, 112MR. After my splurge at Gander, I went home geared up and headed for our local metro park which consists of 4 rather large inland lakes. I only stayed out for about an hour just trying out some of the new lures i had acquired over winter such as the TruTungsten 4" Bluegill. Well after getting tired of chucking the bluegill I tied on my newly acquired Pointer and tossed her out. Being that its spring time i decided on one hard jerk to get it to dive and i let it suspend for about 15 seconds. Right as my count was on 15 and i was ready to give it another jerk something hit it HARD! I gave it a hard hook set and the fight begun. it made a hard run towards a log but i was able to horse it away, so then it decided to make an extremely fast run towards shore, i was able to reel in the slack fast enough and when it was close enough for me to see i realized that it was a rather large Northern Pike So at this point I'm thinking W T F?! I was able to bring the Pike in and lift it onto shore and right when i thought i was safe, i heard a loud SNAP and just like that my 25lb PowerPro braid was cut by his razor sharp teeth So now i'm running around the bank chasing this 35inch Pike who is ticked off because he has my 20 dollar Lucky Craft Pointer in his mouth and i'm ticked off because my LC is in his mouth ;D Anyway after a few seconds he kinda gives up and im able to grab hold of him with a towel, as i assess the situation i realize pike have teeth ;D so i reach for my needle nose pliers and to my surprise they're GONE!! and now i'm pretty worried because i don't wanna risk any of my fingers. i dig through my bag only to find a pair of scissors. So like any other guy out there i use the scissors as needle nose and am able to get my pointer free, which was unharmed! and released the Pike back into the lake to live another day. Stupid ole me left my phone in the car (only camera) so i don't have any pictures of the Pike but i snapped some pictures of the lake and my gear.

5.05lbs

here are some tips for ya i just started using a baitcaster this year too and i liked it so much i bought 2 and i don't bring my spinning rod with me anymore ;D 1) its easier if you start with something heavier, try practicing with a sinker or something. i started off throwing a spinner. 2) play with your brake settings i have 0-10 on mine, the higher the number the more forgiving it is. i started at 10 and now i'm down to 7. 3) play with your cast control settings (the knob by the crank) i like mine a little loose 4) start off with cheap line, like you said you've already re-spooled twice 5) don't use braid, since it has no stretch you'll tend to lose alot of lures due to birds nests. 6) its all about thumb control, start with gentle side sweeping casts and focus on when you release and when you re-apply your thumb to stop the spool keep your eye on your lure and before it makes contact with the water or ground stop the spool with your thumb. with time you can usually envision the lure flying through the air, i can actually not look at my lure and just stop it right on time.. 7) just take it out with you and give it a chance, but start with a heavier lure, mono line, and gentle sideways sweeping casts. 8) come back and let me know how you're doing

just wondering if any of the SE Michigan members wanna have a little meet and greet do a little fishin' and maybe some grilling? Some of the locations that came to mind was Stoney Creek Metropark or Metro Beach. Please post up some suggestions and lets get something together SOON because its getting quite chilly outside ;D.

this is the advice i got from my thread that i posted asking about jigs: 1)start small & cheap cause you're bound to lose some, i bought bitsy bugs 2) start simple don't worry about color but rather about how to detect hits etc. 3) match trailer & jig colors i think this might've been said already. ;D

awesome! i think i need to upgrade from my jr spook ;D

congrats LBH! i subscribed to your youtube channel ;D so when can i get my hands on one of these things

blue strike king 3X chunk i've tried the paca craw and they tore a little to easily for my liking.

oh andrew uh i think i met you at metro beach this summer i was one of the asian kids that helped you with that gut hooked bass? we should get some of the local guys to have a fall meet or something....well i think this is the wrong section to be talking about that haha i'll make a new thread in the Northeast section.

i visited stoney creek today, the water there rose about 3 feet and is extremely murky i caught two pikes by the first dam right off the weed lines. one with a blue and black pork & jig and the other with the rage tail shad. sadly i had no bas today

how can you get inside?

is it too late for me? i always miss out on these things ;D

awesome fish! hope ya get better soon.

just wondering how you guys keep fish alive on a stringer? and what kind of stringer do you use and how you put them on? or is there a better alternative to a stringer? i'm entering a off-shore tournament and theres a 8oz per dead fish penalty so i'd like to avoid that as much as possible.

5lb smallie from st clair 4lb largemouth also from st clair

if you haven't checked this out yet its worth a look. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1121527643

most people use 50lb braided line, you make the call.

Welcome to the battle, some people prefer different brands for durability, others swear by the fragile yamamotos its really a personal decision.

don't jerk as hard (no pun intended)

try using weedless hooks, its almost impossible to snag anything with those.

megastrike JK ok this is a expensive solution but i'm almost 100% it'll get it off, at your local autoparts store (autozone, murrays, advanced auto) in the detailing//car wash section they sell these kits called "clay bar kits" pick a brand i usually go with meguars because they come with a free microfiber towel. just follow the instructions and if the spots are just stains they'll easily be removed unless they're etched into the glass. you can also use it on your car after to freshen the paint up a little bit. kits usually cost about 20 dollars so if they're a cheap pair you might as well buy another one.

yup so if you're from the northern states look to pick up a peacock bass since those aren't game fish in our areas, i had a peacock bass they're messy eaters and its a challenge to get them to eat pellet food. they require LARGE tanks maybe 50+ gallons my peacock bass was about 4 inches and lived in a 30gallon tank he wasn't too happy.

Hi guys lately i've been hoping to get into jig fishing so i purchased the uncle buck's 18 jig kit from BPS and a pack of net bait's baby paca craws in green pumpkin//watermelon. i'm a shore fisherman and i haven't had any luck yet i also get caught up alot in heavy mossy cover is there something i can do to make it a bit more weedless? i'm fishing my jigs with a 6'6" st croix med-lite fast action rod, gander mountain advantage pro reel and 12lb test yo-zuri hybrid. and also any tips to help get me my FIRST jig fish?