Lund Explorer

You're going to try to compare a female bass on a bed to your pregnant wife, lament her being "kidnapped", plus all of the other ........ And then you take my completely tongue in cheek reply and suggest that I do some research? Wow! Care to tell us how much it costs you to belong to PETA, ASPCA, & HSUS?

So how do you feel when a tournament fisherman pulls Mama from her babies two months after the spawn and keeps her hostage for the day before releasing her miles away from her family? What about when some "bucket fisherman" murders her? It's almost too bad that Bambi was a deer and not a bass! Anthropomorphism: an·thro·po·mor·phism n. Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

My experience has taught me that there isn't anything worth throwing if you are dealing with a true marl bottom lake. Marl, which is a combination of clay and calcium-carbonate doesn't allow for much in the way of weed growth and therefor doesn't hold much in the way of fish. When I see a white chalky looking lake bottom I keep moving until I find better options. A true marl bottom in the spring just doesn't have anything going for it. It lacks weeds and because it doesn't have a dark bottom, it is slower to warm up than other darker bottoms such as muck. That is the reason I asked if the marl was exposed, or if it was covered with a layer of darker muck type material. I guess the only way that you'll find out what works and what doesn't is to give them a try.

On the last Saturday in April, paddle that yak to the south half of the lake, turn west into that large shallow cove and work your way towards or into the boat channels until you find fish. I'd start searching with a bait that covers quite a bit of water. Two lures fit that bill perfectly in the spring. Arm yourself with a jerkbait, and a spinnerbait. My choices for these are: Jerkbait - LC Pointer 78, Husky Jerk, or Rattlin' Rouge. Spinnerbait - Thinking small in size, Strike King makes a small version, or perhaps an 1/8oz beetle spin. If you find them back in the channels, make sure that you work slowly as those fish will be quite spooky in such a confined space. Pickup a few tubes or a K&E Worm that you can fan cast far ahead of you and keep a low profile. Target both sides and the middle before you move forward. As you get closer to the spawn (think 60* water temps) take a cruise along any shoreline with a hard bottom between 2' to 8' in depth. Look closely around any new weed growth and especially the inside edge. You can always look in those coves, but I suspect that the marl bottom has a pretty good layer of silt built on it. The Google Earth picture doesn't show the normal blue/green reflection of exposed marl. If you've fished this lake during prior spawning seasons, you should know where their spawning beds are going to be. The bass won't be too far away from those areas, just a little deeper.

Almost makes a guy think that Buck Perry was just a bum who lucked into every fish he ever caught.

I was happy the day I didn't have enough expenses to itemize. No Mortgage Interest - No Problem! 1984? 1986? I can't remember the exact year when "Itemized Deductions" took the biggest hit. I actually had a client that was very upset that he could no longer write off the $20k in credit card interest he had for that year. Hard to believe that so much debt could be considered a good thing! Doing taxes for others gives a person a real insight into how people live. It also showed me that there was very little I could do to make any of them happy. Whether they got money back or had to write a check to their uncle, at the end of the day, it was still a chore that none of them enjoyed.

Why not start the day out right by throwing the boater some cash at the start of the day? Then it will look more like help in paying for the cost of the day rather than paying for the results.

Seeing as how you can't launch your boat for a pre-fishing trip right now, I'd spend my time between map study and research into what it took to cash money in prior tournaments. Does the group you're fishing with have a website? It can help determine what your goal should be if you know what the competition is capable of producing.

We need a report on how your four legged fishing partner feels about this new rig!

A whole whopping 21 days in 2014. Three spent walking on the water for bluegills/perch. Four days trolling for salmon/trout. One day dragging crawler harnesses for walleye. The rest were spent actually targeting bass. It's got to get better some day.

There's the answer! No whining about it being boring or any of the other myths associated with the tactic, just pure logic.

So how much more conflicted would you have been if you had to admit that your recognized that cleavage? A lot of guys on BR I like, but none of them I want to know that well!

The secret is to wear enough layers to stay warm and yet avoid sweating when you to exert yourself. Depending on how cold it is or what I plan on doing outside in it, winter wear always starts with my Duofold longjohns and could end up with Carhart Jacket and Bibs on top of two or three other layers.

Probably not surprising, but I could do a multi-quote here and hi-lite so many parts of these posts that matched my demons, the whole darn thread would look psychedelic! While I've always been impressed with those who have led a long and healthy lifestyle, I find myself cheering on those who can face their problems and over some them. It's also the reason that I have a hard time feeling sorrow for those who threw it all away, especially those who lost so much more than the average person could ever dream of having. If I could find my way to escape my alcohol induced, gambling and womanizing life, then it is proof that anyone can.

The History Channel had a 3-4 part series on snipers last night. I'm sure I'd get flamed by Rupert Murdock, but it seems that there is a long and decorated history of snipers within our military. Perhaps the number one reason why I haven't read the book or worried about if or when I watch the movie. Too many people trying to make a movie into a litmus test on patriotism.

Days of the "Mega-Refund" long gone?

A former client who had retired from GM (aka: Generous Motors) decided to keep himself busy got a part time driving a school bus. He had an epic quote that I'll never forget about teachers. "What's so special about teachers facing students, I have to turn my back to them!" Anyhow, good luck.

For My Fishing - The original Berkley Power Craw For My Wallet - The original "pre-Rapala" Wiggle Warts!

Many years ago we purchased a used Class C motorhome that intended to use on fishing/camping trips. Wife hated the thing, hated traveling to all these different lakes, and wanted to settle down at a seasonal campground. So, we sold the Class C and purchased a 30' travel trailer. For three years we traveled to different seasonal campgrounds and bottom line the fishing was lousy at everyone we could find. Now we were back to the old fishing/camping trips, but with only one vehicle capable of towing both the camper and the boat meant double trips. For me! With a Class A motorhome, I've got more room than the travel trailer and I'm down to one trip each way. BONUS: To get the boat to the campground, the wife drives the truck which leaves me in the motorhome all by myself. Life is good! BTW, much like a boat, it is often much more affordable to purchase a gently used RV than it is to buy brand new off the lot. A guy can buy a brand spanking new $100k Triton, or he can wait two years when that same boat is now valued at $75k. So long as the original owner didn't beat it to death, it is the best deal.

Never heard of it described as points, but the NW part of northern natural lakes have long been known to warm up faster than the rest of the lake once we experience ice out.

When you guys want to experience an truly expensive hobby, take your wife to the RV dealer and ask her which motorhome she likes!

Any good quality fluorocarbon will work. As far as splicing the lines together, it's your choice of how you do it. Most of the time, I use a swivel to connect them. When I'm fishing deeper water, I'll put a small egg sinker on the main cord line to get and keep the bait down. In shallow water I go without the sinker. Either way, I find it is easier to replace the leader by tying it to the swivel when my fingers are half frozen! BTW, remember to check the direction you're going when starting to spool the main line onto the tipup. Wrap a dozen or so times on the spool, and then watch the flag tripping arm as you slowly pull line off the spool. I can't tell you how many times I've seen guys who wrap the entire spool on backwards and only realize this when the flag won't fly. And, I think I've been guilty once myself.

Always worth it to try a #11 floating Rapala. Toss it upstream and give a natural drift right over those obstructions. Just give it a few slight twitches as the lure gets there and hang on.

Pickup a spool or two of something like this for your base line. Much easier to see and manage when it's laying on the ice and snow when you're pulling up those toothy critters. http://www.basspro.com/Woodstock-Nylon-TipUp-Ice-Line/product/10230379/ Then splice in a leader of 15-20lb fluorocarbon with your hook of choice.

For the want of a proper t-shirt, this nightmare could've been avoided!