lovecranking

I do prefer St Croix but I didn't know Avid was a combination graphite/glass or composite/glass rod

When I use Yamamoto Fat Ikas fishing I catch a lot of bass (as I'm sure many of you do). One of the colors I have the most success with is the green pumpkin w/red (color #318). I went online to order some from GYCB but that color was no longer listed. So I checked all over the Interner but could not find that color anywhere. So I contacted Yamamoto and was told that color was only made for a few select stores and will no longer be made. When I told the person that I bought that color directly from the Yamamoto store online, the answer I got was if I wanted to buy that color as a special order, I'd have to order 1,000 bags. I told them I couldn't afford buying anywhere near that quantity, Yamamoto said that was the best offer they could make. So I'm asking all of you out there that buy and use Fat Ikas...is there anyone willing to sell me 10 bags of green pumpkin w/red #318? Thanks

My buddy has a Alumacraft 17' Navigator on a Yacht Club trailer. The trailer states 1800 lb capacity. The winch is made by Dutton-Lawson and he wants to replace the winch strap. He's shopping around & has found 3 choices: 1,500 lbs, 2,000 lbs or 5,000 lbs. The 5,000 lbs states a rated capacity & working load of 1,665 lbs. Any suggestions? I told him I'd go w/one with the highest pounds.

We were at Bass Pro's Spring Classic & I was looking to pick up some Power Pro braid line. A tournament pro who guides in Lake of the Woods/Ontario & has Power Pro for a sponsor...was at BPS promoting their new braid called Super 8 Slick. He compared it to the Power Pro I use & what a difference...it's so soft! When we told him that we head to Ontario every May for a week of fishing...he showed us a new color called Timber Brown. He told us that Canadian guides had been requesting this color for the slightly colored to clear water lakes in Ontario & that there's no need for a fluro leader. Has anyone had the chance to try this new braid?

In the past month or two, some of the Lakemaster digital gps cards have been updated with version 3's. The Most current Wisconsin Humminbird gps card is the version 2 that I think was released in 2010 or 2011. I contacted Lakemaster for any info that the Wisconsin version 2 card will or will not be updated with version 3. Lakemaster's response was that there was nothing to announcers this time. If anyone has read any articles after Johnson acquired Lakematheirselves they have planned new versions for all of their digital cards for 2012. Thanks for any help.

But how are you using them?

Shadcranker, I fished yesterday & I tried a rattl trap and didn't even get a bump. The conditions were:clear skies, sunny & windy, water was clear & water temp was 56. Now is the rattl only used when it's windy? I fished it over shallow, over weeds, open water & deep water. How would you fish it? I'm thinking of heading out tomorrow for the last time for this year.

Avid, that was pretty funny. I agree, I think the Lucky Craft people will take a pass on this guy.

What is your best fall bait and what way do you fish it? With crank baits, what are the colors you use in the fall on clear and on stained lakes? I fish a clear lake & I've tried many soft plastics, cranks & jerk baits but I can't get any bass to respond.

I want to learn about lake turnover & the affect it has on bass. At what temp does a lake turnover and how can you tell? Once the lake turns, how long (days?) does it take where fish become active again? When the lake turns, do bass come shallow to load up for winter?

This is a question I should be probably asking the Bass Professor but hear it is. Is it worth fishing at night at this time of year for bass? Here, the nights are in the 40's & the lake temperature is at 60. Are bass active at night in the fall? What do you think?

One more question. Does anyone fish at night during the fall? I'd like to know if the bass are active during the night with the lows in the 40's or if it's just a waste of time?

Well I tried all of the suggestions and ended up with a northern & smallie. All of the others fishing around us were using live bait and catching a mixed bag. I'm heading back out this week and will try all of the suggestions again. The water temp was 61 but a cold front is coming in for the entire week & we'll see. I just can't get myself to use live bait (I refer to it as the "dark side"). Thanks all.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm heading out tomorrow & plan to try them. Does anyone have any info on when a lake turns over? As I said, I'm on a deep clear northern lake, what water temp should I look for that will tell me the lake is starting to turn? Also at what water temp range do you call it quits for the year because the bass are no longer active enough to fish? Thanks for the help & info.

Ok, I'm in southern Wisconsin and it looks like fall is finally arriving and I need some advice from all of you. I'm on a large clear lake, no structure near shore except a few docks that are still in, water temps are between 63-65 and the last 3 trips out have been real slow. I know to start looking for drop offs near weeds. I've tried cranks (both shallow & deep), topwater, senkos, fat ikas, lizards and power beasts on weedless jigs. The only ones that have produced are rick clunns 2.5(trolling in 20 fow), the lucky craft g-splash(in 10 fow) and senkos(near shore). What would be your 2 or 3 suggestions to try right now? Also for northern lakes, what water temps will tell you that the lake is starting to turn over? Once the lake does turns, what would usually be the water temp range that you look for that tells you that bass are just not active enough to fish and you're done for the year? Thanks for the input.

I fish southern Wisc. at night all of the time. No hassles from jet skiers, water skiers and not many guys fishing. My #1 go to bait is the palm tree in either junebug or blk/red. I rig backwards T style with 1/16 weight and shove a 5mm glass rattle in it. I've caught alot of smallies and largemouth with this bait. If I'm fishing just before dark or dawn, the hot bait has been either the fat ika pumpkin (color #186) or the palm tree watermelon w/chart tail (color #826). Hope this helps & works for you. Once you get use to night fishing, you'll love it.

Shad_Master, I agree they did buy a license. And I'm not trying to argue with you as I didn't get into it with the tournament guys on the water or at their weigh in site. I'm just thinking that I'm not seeing the whole picture and just asking questions. I appreciate your honesty and thank you. Preach4bass, you're kidding right? You sound a little like the superstar athelete that says, "without me there would be no sport". But maybe I didn't take your comments as they were meant. Everyone has an opinion and the right to it. Thanks for the input.

ShadMaster, ok so you are telling me that when you or I catch a large bass and we then release it where we caught it. The damage to this fish will be the same compared to catching it in a tournament under the conditions I stated above? I don't think it's even close. Badhabit, I'm not talking about clubs enforcing their rules and possibly DQ'ing anyone. I'm asking what does this do to the bass caught? And why allow it for a hand full of fishermen compared to the thousands that use that same lake?

I honestly don't think this is good for bass and in the long run do damage to the bass population.

I would like to hear from some knowledgeable people familiar with fishing in bass tournaments and explain a few things to me. I've been fishing for 20 years and have been on lakes while bass tournaments were going on while I & others were just trying to get a day of fishing in. I just fished this last Saturday & Sunday on a lake that had 2 small bass tournaments going (about 20 boats each). Here is a sampling of what went on. The bass boats fly away from the dock to get to their spots at top speed at around 5:30am. Of course violating the no wake zone, 15 mph nighttime speed limit and 35 mph weekend speed limits. All day long you could hear them flying across the lake at full throttle and see the rooster tails from their bass boats. Then cutting through boats fishing at high speeds & come to a halt & start fishing right in the area that you are fishing. Then watching 6-8 boats going full speed right up to the buoys in the no wake zone at the dock where the weigh in is and seeing the shore take that beating and of course violating the no wake zone. It is amazing that nobody gets hurt and these guys just don't get how their actions are dangerous to themselves and others. As if this isn't bad enough, let's talk about the bass. Alot of the bass caught were in deep waters in this tournament. The bass are then put in the livewells to bounce around in and remain there while the boat is going full throttle throughout the day to different locations. Now after weigh in, the bass are released at the docks in shallow water. It's hard to imagine that this is good for the bass. What makes any logical person think that this does no harm to the bass or even make them die sooner than they normally do? Now I realize that DNR allows bass tournaments to go on because it is popular with those that fish who like the competition. It's obvious that I don't fish in any tournaments. But I'm trying to understand how bass tournaments are really a good idea for proper lake management. The response I always read is 1) that it's good for the local economy (It's hard to imagine that people seriously believe this). 2) competition to see who on that lake can catch the most bass under the same conditions. 3) the chance to win money and/or prizes and finally 4) because even that small group should be allowed to use the lake. Is it right all at the expense of the bass population? But lets say through DNR and the lake police, the ones fishing in the bass tournaments (and I think it is a very small percentage) are educated as to the proper way how to fish & move their boats properly on the lake throughout the tournament. How is this good to let a very small group be allowed to hold these tournaments? It's a shame to see these tournaments unleash their damage to the bass population and put other boaters/fishermen in danger because of their actions throughout the day. How does any DNR see a need for these tournaments? This is what I don't understand and maybe I haven't looked at it from the proper perspective.

I'm just wondering if anyone has used the salt water fat ika on natural lakes? Just wanted to know what the difference is compared with the Fat Ika sold for natural lakes.

So what is the difference between zara spooks & super spooks? If you were to buy only one, which one would it be & why?

So it's been raining (heavy thunderstorms at times) for almost a week in southern Wisc. with the barr press down. At what point do the bass adjust to the weather?

Has anyone else used spike-it on gycb lizards?

Anyone else have this experience? I have been using fat ikas & catching a lot of bass. So I decided to try gycb lizards. I was out fishing yesterday & tried the lizards for the 1st time. I didn't get any results. So I dipped the tail in some spike-it and started getting some hits. All of the hits were on the tail & I couldn't set the hook quick enough. I decided to pour a little of the spike-it on the lizards head. I landed 2 bass with the next 2 casts but the bass destroyed the heads of the lizard. I set up another lizard, poured some spike-it on the head. As I was getting ready to toss the lizard, I thought I saw something wrong with the lizard. I looked & found that the spike-it ate right through the lizard. So instead of waisting the lizards, I stopped putting the spike-it on. No more hits. I really was surprised that the spike-it was that strong.