Ratherbfishing

But to address your question differently, I love to soft plastic fish because I feel like I'm involved in the entire process. I get a real rush when I feel the bite and, setting the hook, feel solid weight on the other end. But, really, while I may prefer one mode over another, I try to do whatever it takes to catch fish. And I'm not opposed to switching species if the bass are not biting OR, say, the crappie are in full swing. Last year one of my best fights was a 10 lb channel cat on a medium-light action spinning rod. I love to river fish for smallies when the banks aren't swollen. The middle fork river is probably the closest to being in a real "wild place" in these parts. The rest of the land around here is occupied either by large acreage farms (not the "idealic" farms of yesteryear) or by houses.

In a perfect world, I prefer to fish in the idealic setting that you described (the flitting damselflies and croaking frogs, etc). However, short of that, I will ALSO fish manicured neighborhood ponds. And when the temps are in the negative digits and there hasn't been liquid water for months, I will ALSO ice fish. In other words, I'll take it whichever way I can get it. It may sound counter to appreciating these things, but I do not like to guzzle a lot of gas and deplete a lot of resources if I can sometimes get my "fix" locally. Having said that, I am definitely an advocate and admirer of wild things and peaceful places.

When the bass seem to be scattered and/or suspending deep and I cannot reach them (depth-wise) with a regular cast, I'll troll. It's a great way to cover a lot of water and pick off the active biters. I catch a fair number of crappie this way, too. And if I'm on a trolling-motor only lake, it's a great way to maximize my time when I'm moving from point A to point B. (Can't catch fish if your lure isn't in the water).

I have to qualify this by saying I've never been in Alaska or Montana or anywhere where there grizzly bears and never in the deep south where there are big old alligators but so far, like you, it's the two-legged animals I worry about.

Unless they changed the road signs on us, Lake of the woods is ALSO in Canada. This might explain why we needed passports.

As Darth Vader once said, "Impressive!"

Now why can't some millionaire have a straight daughter he wants to turn lesbian?! That seems to be my luck with women.

Clackin' Raps, you mean? I bought the Bought it (the lure) in the largest size available mostly for Lake of the Woods, Canada where the smallmouth seem to prefer a large meal. But I'm good with Pike if they aren't slimey little snot rockets.

Just bought a Rapala Clackin Rap which has a SureSet belly hook. That big, wide gap seems to be more trouble than good and I'm not eager to lose it quickly (or ever for that matter). Thinkin' of replacing it with a "standard" treble. What experiences do you all have with these hooks?

Fish shallow early and late in the season-especially where there is vegitation. Go deeper in the heart of winter. While it's true that I fish for anything that will bite, I catch a decent number of bass too. I don't use minnows simply because they're hard to find and/or keep alive. I catch a good number of bass (and catfish) tipping small ice jigs with wax worms-or doing likewise with a small jigging spoon like a swedish pimple. I use a flasher so instead of saturating an area with lot of tip ups, I saturate the ice with a lot of holes until I find cover or fish (or both). If I have a topo map, I can sometimes reduce the number of holes I have to drill. As mentioned, drop offs are always good places to try.

Smallmouth? Ugly? Can one really use those two words in the same sentence? All I have to say is there are some men who think Heidi Klum is ugly but the vast majority do not. I I had a picture of Heidi Klum posing with a 5 lb smallie, I know I'd pin it on my wall.

I have to ask-have you tried various other baits and techniques in the same location? I'd be curious to know how much can be attributed to the bait and/or method and how much is it the location itself.

As is nearly always the case in fishing WHERE is as important, or more so, than WHAT but pike, being an aggressive predator will go after just about anything. I like lures that cover a lot of water. Spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, swimming plugs (like 5 1/4 inch Rapalas), large lipless crankbaits, and spoons fit the bill pretty nicely. Get durable baits, though, unless you like replacing them often. And steel leaders which are at least 8 inches long.

This is kinda humorous because a generation before, the question would've been, "Do you ever throw back a bass?" But to answer your question, Bass caught in cold, clear water are quite good if they are kept that way (cold) until they are cooked. In Canada's Lake of the Woods we keep smallmouth all the time. I rarely keep a largemouth because the aforementioned conditions are largely absent (around here).

I keep mine between the mattress and box springs.

Youth often has a way of taking people in one of two directions-either you are highly idealistic and uncompromising OR have no ideals whatsoever and anything goes-often to the detriment of oneself and others. Mostly I chose the former-ultimately to find that life's experiences and my own many failings made such a high opinion of my beliefs/self untenable. I tended to wave away, dismiss, or competely deny some of my own weaknesses. That has been a tough old crow to have to eat-I can tell you. I'm unsure when I figured out when I wasn't all that (or, even, the bag of chips). Probably it was when I began paying one's own bills and living long enough to have some bona fide regrets. It didn't come at once (it's still coming, actually) and there was no great epiphany. I'm unsure I could've handled that.

I would think that being non-competitive may or may not make a difference. It largely depends, I believe, on the boater you draw-especially if the tourney is a team format-where combined weights are tallied. Some boaters (not the kind I want to be with) could get pretty irate when they hear "oh well" when you lose a nice fish or if you take an extra long break to make a sandwich or just rest. I think, though, that most clubs are pretty good and it's just certain members who might take things to the extreme-like everything/everyone else in life. Like J Francho says, go and ask questions. You'll see if a club is a good fit for you. Disclaimer: I don't fish tourneys because I want every day out to be a good day and for me, personally, being placed in a ranking order at the end of the day would probably spoil that. I hate dock talk.

Technically, I violated the intent of your thread because I didn't actually fish there. I wouldn't cross that fence without a full suit of titanium armor. Those steroid swollen swans stand up to my chest and have that look of "Go ahead and try it!" in their eyes. But I have gazed longingly at that pond.

There is a local retirement community which has a pond in the back. There's a big fence around it (which should have concertina wire on the top) because there are some swans there that make velociraptors seems like kittens by comparison. Anytime a resident goes missing, that's the first place they look-only there usually isn't much left of them! I'm kidding but just barely.

I still haven't broken my girlfriend of reelin' like crazy when she hooks a fish.

Whenever I catch a dink it's either "That there's a wall hanger!" or "That there's one of dem Florida strain bass!"

All of us should remain students of our beloved sport however sometimes humility is thrust upon us and we are required to be teachers as well. How good do you think you are as a teacher and, in a similar vein, how patient are you? Speaking for myself (who else could I be speaking for?), it largely depends on the willingness of the other person to learn. I don't generally assert my opinion too forcefully unless it's requested. If a person asks for help but then readily dismisses what I have to say or, more irritatatingly, attributes my success to "luck", I don't bother any further. On the other hand, if someone is curious and asks a lot of questions, I'm more than happy to oblige and will even stop what I'm doing to instruct them. Truthfully, I haven't much patience with children who'd rather throw rocks than fish-unless the fishing is downright horrible in which case I might just join in. A friend asked me if I'd be willing to take her son fishing. I asked her if she thought he had a real interest in fishing or was this going to be an exercise in...well, was he likely to be a pain? (I've seen how he can be as an aspiring teenager" and I wasn't overly impressed). I admitted to her that fishing is my passion and I don't have a great deal of room for "attitude." Ultimately we agreed that it probably wasn't the best plan. One of my best experiences was the time a young teenage girl who sat at Park bench, watched me fish for awhile. I was doing fairly well and after a while, we struck up a conversation. Eventually I lent her a rod with a plastic worm tied on. She almost immediately caught a nice bass. It was so fast I thought she must've snagged the bottom. But she fought it like a champ. I like to think she still goes out fishing sometimes-and maybe it's even a passion.

I'm sure you've heard of the nuclear physicist who, when he went on vacation, put "Gone fission" on his door.

My girlfriend doesn't share the same obsession I have for fishing but she respects it and, I'm sure, she'd rather I fish than carouse at the bars or get in trouble in other ways. She will often find a tree under which she will read or sew while I do my thing. And sometimes she'll ask to borrow a pole. I always celebrate when she catches something. When I occassionally bring a stringer of bluegill home, she's a terrific cook (so long as I do the cleaning). And she never gives me grief when I wander aimlessly around a sporting goods store for hours. I CAN tell you that if she weren't in my life, I'd be out fishing a LOT more often than I am now but that's one of the tradeoffs of being in the relationship.

Though the specific city is wrong (Kansas City is what they have me at), the region was more or less correct.