Zach Dunham

Always find the grass. This time of year though the warmest water will be in the canals in between Lake Hopatcong and Lake Shawnee. You have to go past Brady's bridge and then to the right to get there. It is really shallow but it is probably 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the lake. I have done well in there in the spring. In about 2-3 weeks when spawn is in full swing Hopatcong will be the land of giants! I'm not exactly sure on the water temperature currently, but if it is between 45-50 degrees you can do really well with a jerkbait on the outside of the grass areas where the water is a bit deeper.

That looks like Lake Denmark by Picatinny Arsenal. That would be awesome if I guessed it based on that picture! Am I right?

Carolina rigged trick worm!

Beltzville is the most hit or miss lake I have ever seen. We went there once this year and caught one fish. I just can't figure that place out when it is cold. We have gone during spawn and post-spawn though and really caught a load there. When that lake shuts off, it is difficult to even catch a fish, though.

Went out on Wallenpaupack on Friday and absolutely killed it. Water was between 46-50 depending on location. Caught everything on jerkbaits except 1 fish on a spinnerbait in the far back of a cove where the water was 53. Biggest one was almost 5 lbs and was the only largemouth. I posted a pic of the largemouth and a GoPro video I created of the outing. It is 4 minutes long or so. Here's a link to the video also:

Ford F-150 with EcoBoost! Turbo V6, it's a beast and you still get the big wheels and breaks for stopping power. I have the 5.0L V8 F-150 and I wish I had the EcoBoost. With the sick deal I got though I'm not going to complain.

Make sure to let them know it is never too cold for bass!

I have had some experience with this as I am sure most fishermen have. Always better to just say something nicely to start and not get unnecessarily fired up. But if it ever gets to that point, don't do anything that you'll get in trouble for (like throwing baits at a boat or a person). One time while fishing a tournament we had a boat come right up next to us (a non-tournament boat) and then pull in front of us and proceed to fish the shoreline we were currently moving down. We asked nicely and the person just used an expletive our way. Fired up the outboard and went as close as possible and washed the boat nicely. Probably wouldn't do that now, but at least it is something no one can prove that you did. You don't want to beat up a boat with sinkers or hit a person.

To elaborate on what Mitch said, the more give you have in your line/rod combo, the more hook set you need. I prefer fluoro for my cranking and I prefer a long and not-so-rigid rod, so I give it a little more sweep than some. Still though, it is nothing like the hook sets I will use while flipping/pitching. Much less.

It isn't spawning season yet. You usually don't see beds in NJ or PA until middle of May on average. It is going to be warmer than average again next week, things will catch right back up to where they should be. It will just be a shorter pre-spawn fury. And the pre-spawn fury is on. We have been whacking them the last week or two.

Thanks! and nice signature! lol

Here is a link to the video I promised! Just got done editing it and uploading last night. It's almost 9 minutes long so I made sure I put the big one as the second catch in the video. Put it in HD!

Thanks! I do plan on that. I'm going to order one of the grip-type scales later.

We absolutely sacked them at Minsi yesterday. Wind was howling the entire time and water was over 60 degrees after this gorgeous weekend. I have a GoPro camera and caught all of the action. A YouTube video will be up later this week and posted to this thread! But for now, here is a picture of my giant! Our old and crappy scale had her at 5 lbs 8 ozs, but this same scale was more than half a pound light in a tournament (said 5 lbs 11 oz and tournament scale had it at 6.56 lbs) last year and I compared her picture to other fish over 6 pounds we have caught and she looks 6. What do you think?

I do not believe that to be true. And if that is true, then I have lost all hope for this country. The day that me having a Bass Pro Shops sticker on my truck makes me a reasonable Terry frisk target, I will go down fighting it. EDIT: I just asked a buddy of mine who is a lawyer and he says that is DEFINITELY not cause for a Terry Frisk. Your conduct is the only thing that can give reasonable suspicion for that. So if you are following rules and aren't under the influence or threatening, a sticker in no way can justify that as it is a first amendment right.

And there is where the line should be drawn. You shouldn't ever just give up your rights. Checking your gear, your trunk, and your boat is plenty enough if you have a license and are acting normal. There is no reason to do anything else unless they are on a power trip. Like I said before, I'm cool with giving a livewell search or even a trunk search. The problem is most of these guys are actually out to make some money for the department and write little tickets for silly things that aren't the real problem. Same goes for traffic violations.

I'm pretty sure the only one violating board rules is you, calling people pansies. I'm also pretty sure that laying down and letting the government walk all over you when you follow the rules qualifies as a pansy. Take your complaining about this thread elsewhere. What DelfiBoyzBaits said is exactly correct. Keep giving a little because it doesn't seem like a big deal, and over many years your rights are completely eroded. Go read about the reasons our government was set up how it was and why we started this nation.

I 100% guarantee you that if my person was frisked because I told an officer I didn't think I did what he said I did, I would win a lawsuit for a nice chunk of change. You can't feel up a person without good reason and me speeding or making an illegal turn is NOT reasonable suspicion OR probable cause to FRISK ME. Having an NRA sticker or BASS sticker on my truck is NOT reasonable suspicion to FRISK ME. That IS abusing power. The people have a right to own weapons and a right to not have unreasonable search and seizure. Doing something that is perfectly within your rights is NOT reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a frisk. I'm totally cool with opening my trunk or car door at a lake to show I have no fish. Or opening my livewells. Go for it. I give that up when I get a fishing license. You DON'T give up the right to deny getting felt up. Maybe I have a muskie hidden in my pocket....

There is absolutely no way that is allowed unless your buddy had more going on than he was saying or they found something first. Law enforcement will often ask you to allow them to do things they can't do and if you tell them no then that's the end of it. They rely on people not knowing the laws to do things like that. It has happened to me time and time again getting pulled over for speeding (I like to drive fast). I'm fine with getting pulled over and paying my ticket, but I've been asked if I would allow a search more than a few times and I always say no and that is the end of it. A lot of people think they have to and they allow it. Most law enforcement do this.

Harsh punishments for violators are absolutely necessary. I am totally fine with confiscation of everything related to the incident if you are caught. But giving law enforcement unreasonable measures and taking away rights unreasonably is going too far.

Right. So now doing something that is legal, owning a gun and carrying it, or having a FISHING ROD, is probable cause for a search. By your logic of "you do nothing wrong, you have nothing to be concerned about", why don't we just give the entire government a direct video line into every room of our homes. If you aren't doing anything wrong, who cares?

And that right there is an abuse of power. You can't be personally frisked without probable cause. Say no and call a lawyer. I am amazed at people who just want to give more power to a few people when a lot of them already let that power go their head. (this part is not directed at you, boostr).

If the water is not frozen I am fishing. I will be fishing the first weekend day that the ice is gone (hopefully this coming weekend).

I usually don't listen to music while fishing because I want to be keenly aware of everything around me, but on my way to the lake I am always blasting heavy metal. Pantera, Down, Lamb of God, Metallica, etc...

It will all be fine. It was like this 3-4 years ago as well. Once the lakes unfreeze the temperature could go up very quickly depending on the weather. What is happening now will not necessarily affect what things will be like come end of April.