mako

Check out LureCraft too at www.lurecraft.com. They also own Poor Boy's Baits as well as pouring baits for other manufacturers. They will not only sell you whatever you need, but also give you advice and tips on how to do it. Tell them Mike from Independent Tackle sent you.

I'd try a fluke or skippyfish

St. Clair or Erie. Could go with Jon Bondy or Art Ferguson.

If your fishing in the Great Lakes system check out these goby swimbaits from TYLURE. Haven't tried one yet, but they look pretty cool. http://independenttackle.com/tylure-kicker-goby-swimbait.html

Agree with Bugman. Imagine a swimming pool with a garden hose running into it at one end and another garden hose running out the other end. Not enough of a current to make a difference unless your right by the hoses.

Most ice on St. Clair is gone. Still some shore ice out to about 300 feet in protected areas. Some ice floating down from St. Clair River.

Where were you thinking of holding this event? The western end would obviously be better for those coming from Michigan, Indiana, etc. I'll be bringing my boat if the dates work out.

Not one of me, but my sons best so far came last year at 5lbs even.

Just wanted to offer an open invitation to anyone from out of town interested in fishing St. Clair when the season starts. Even if you're coming with buddies and bringing your own boat, send me a message and I'll give you a couple waypoints. Mike

April 24th, 2010 is when the Catch and Release season opens for bass. Depends on the weather this spring how the action will be. I'll be jigging for some walleye until the bass season opens. Man's gotta eat.

I'd love to buy a nice pair of glasses but I don't know how many $100 pairs I've sent to the bottom of the lake. That's a sick feeling. I'll stick with BPS XPS models at $25.00 until I can learn how to be more careful or I don't have enough to worry about that I can spend more time worrying about my glasses. :-?

6lb. Smallie and a 100 fish day.

Many of the big companies use independent rep agencies that carry multiple lines. I'd contact manufacturers to see who reps their product. You might consider selling for a jobber like Outdoor Sports based in Dayton OH. There may also be some local wholesalers in your area. Selling direct for smaller manufacturers is tough as their support tends to be limited. Smaller companies typically don't have big marketing budgets which can make it a bit harder for you to sell. It would be hard to make a living off of selling just one line in this situation too. Good luck.

Had a 6' rod and a spinning reel, used my Dad's wader that had a small leak. Waded the marshes of St. Clair or sneak into the marinas. We'd throw Panther Martin spinners and pre-rigged plastic worms with the propeller on the front. Good topic. Funny thinking back.

Lake St. Clair Drag those tubes Look for humps

My boat with a full tank of gas is about 3,600 lbs. Thought a f-250 or Chevy 2500 would be overkill. Don't know a thing about diesels. I'll be trailering in mostly flat country southern Michigan. I do go up to Northern Michigan which can get pretty hilly. Thanks for all the advice so far.

In the market for a new truck. Actually a used truck. Narrowed down to a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab or a Ford F-150 Super Crew (I'm N. of Detroit, so it's got to be domestic or I'll get shot). Would be 2008 or 09 model year. This truck is going to have to pull my Mako 2201 for a lot of years. What's your advice?

Those are some awesome looking baits. Haven't seen anything that nice in 20 years.

St. Clair fisherman here and I'm not sure why, but I've never caught a fish on a goby bait. I've caught thousands on tubes though. Must be me.

For the next 30-45 days the smallmouth will be insane. Bring lots of tubes in different colors, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and small jigs. Can easily catch 30 in a couple hours...or more. A boat with 3-4 people can break 100 fish in a day. Don't overlook the largemouth either, plent of them and they're hungry.

For shear numbers Erie is hard to beat, but the long winters are an issue. My vote is for TN.

I have a radio on my boat and enjoy a little Hank Jr. or Toby while fishing. No earbuds for me. Too hard to hear anything else going on.

Nice thing about a grub is that it seems it takes less effort to get the action going in the tail. More movement on a free fall and slow retrieves than a waggle tail type swimbait. Having said that, I'll still throw and continue to experiment with them.

Welcome to the Brown Side :-?