dink

I fished out of one (19 or 20 footer) with a 200 Merc on Lake Wheeler, Ala. a couple of years ago. The water was a bit choppy from a west wind but the ride was anything BUT rough. 25 minutes at 64 mph was a walk in the park. I even drank a soda on the way with no spillage. They are very nice boats... don't let the aluminum fool you.

Over-analyzing the situation is my Achilles' heel without a doubt. I have found myself trying to compare color differences of baitfish in one end of my lake with baitfish from the other end. Doesn't sound too bad... except the lake is under 300 acres without much difference in water quality. This bad habit also causes me to try to pattern the fish prematurely which causes the blinders to go on. At least I am now aware of this and have been just "goin' fishin" more this year. The only other bad habit I have is thousands of tag-end pieces of line litter my front deck constantly.

6" black worm TX rigged with a 1/8th oz bullet and 3/0 offset on 12 lb. clear mono tied to a St. Croix Legend Tournament 6'6" MF/ Pfleuger Trion NLP combo.

All of my tandem willow spinnerbaits have upsized blade combinations. My 3/8 models are all 4 with 4.5. My 1/2 models vary from 4 with 5 to 4 with 6. That being said, I do slow roll alot more than I burn 'em. But, I have fished my 3/8 models set up- with those blades pretty fast in clearer water. I am not sure what my wire diameter is, but it is the same for both sizes.

Why tell anyone anytihng when you go fishing. I just go. Everyone who knows me, asssumes I am on the lake at all times. She doesn't even attempt to call me until after the sun has set, or later. Next rule: understand the futility of some non-fishing activities i.e. mowing the lawn or washing the car. Grass will just grow back and winter will eventually take care of it anyway. And everyone knows as soon as you wash your car it will get splashed or bugged or pooped on, etc. Eventually it will rain and wash everything off Mother Nature style. Don't worry about painting the house either.... the dull colors are really making a comeback!

It depends on where you are going. I'm in the St. Louis area (Belleville, IL) and everything around here and south of here is in the POST-spawn. I haven't seen a fish on a bed in three weeks or so. I have seen "fry" everywhere I have fished the past three weeks. Even with the dropping water temps this past week, I am still catching fish shallow but not necessarily in spawning areas. I hope this helps, but you may need someone near you to clue you in better up there. Good luck.

My hat is off to you and all who have served there and everywhere! My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you!

... you drive over an hour one way to fish for forty-five minutes. ... you fumble through your wife's nail polish collection looking for a good "blood color" for crankbaits. ... the bait shop guys know you on a first name basis and let you use cash or "barter". ... every vacation you take invoves a lake nearby ... you turn in your tourney schedule as your requeested vacation days at work.

I double up a piece of line and thread both tag ends into the head of the weight, leaving a small loop at the top. Then, I put a silicone strand from a spinnerbait skirt halfway through the loop. Next, I pull the tag ends of line through the weight as they pull the silicone strand through also. Finally, I trim the excess skirt material. This also works with rubber bands for weights with larger holes.

I decided to make a few of these when all the "buzz" started a couple of months ago. Both baits are 3/8 oz., one white and one black. I cut a 4.5 willow blade to resemble the shape of the "lip" and curled in a piece of spinnerbait wire across a small gap at the bottom like the original. After theading a duolock snap into the two drilled holes, it looked pretty close to the original. I threw it on and off for two or three weeks with no luck. I decided to try it again during a tournament about three weeks ago on Lake Egypt here in Illinois. I threw the white one with a full trick worm (white) as a trailer. I ran it with jerks and pauses around edges of weedbeds in water with five feet of visibility. Two keepers over three pounds fell victim to enticing dance. That made me a believer! Yesterday, I threw it on a small local lake around riprap with no grass and three to four feet of visibility and caught two over four! Although, yesterday I replaced the trick worm with a natural colored reaper (4") rigged with the tail vertical instead of flat. I have not used rattles in it yet but I probably will try that for some night fishing to come. I now have four baits that include a watermelon and a chatreuse/white. This is one cool bait!

As for golf courses, many voluntarily stock their ponds in the name of natural habitat. This is a widespread practice in the face of the ever-growing environmental concerns. I have worked in the golf course industry for 16 years and base this on first-hand experience. My golf course stocked hundreds of bass, bluegill, catfish and crappie in our irrigation ponds years ago for this very reason. We also designated certain areas of land around the ponds for waterfowl habitat.

Ken and KU, SPIRITUAL indeed!!

Basser89, check out Zoom's color selection. I think they have that or something close to it.

Well it seems everything I would write down for this post has already been written... with the exception of one. I fish all winter long here in the midwest (lunacy, I know!) and there is nothing in the world like fishing during a good snowfall. Not a storm, but a calm slow descent of frozen water over a lake. You'd have to experience it to know what I'm talking about. The snow muffles all noises around falls to earth in complete silence. Mother Nature is beautiful!

I fish alone more often than not for the simple fact that I go fishing at the drop of a hat. I have been known to drive for an hour one way to fish for an hour. It is not easy finding someone to be willing to do that on short notice. I do enjoy fishing with others for the learning and teaching aspects of it. One can only learn so much from fishing alone and reading articles. The valuable bits of info are learned in person quite often. Other than that, I will have to agree with the 'sounds of nature at sunrise' theory. THAT is Heaven on Earth.... no comparison!

I have a question for any club tournament fisherman who help out with or run weigh-ins for their clubs. I have seen people wear gloves with rubberized palms when handling fish. Is it better for the fish (slime coating) with wet gloves like those mentioned or just wet hands? My partner and I volunteered to run every weigh-in this year for our club. I just want to make sure I am informed well on this topic. I have done weigh-ins before, but thought I would ask anyway. Thanks for any input. dink

Valascus, All the lakes around this side of the river are in the 50s and 60s. Washington County yesterday hit 66 degrees in some spots. I'm fishing a small lake in Pontoon Beach today and plan on throwing a spinnerbait all day. The sweet beaver and ol' monster worm might get the nod too. We'll trade reports tonight. Good luck! dink

LBH! Even though his show (his icon) is always the same, he is always catching fish!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

I think someone told Velvick that robofish was Biosonix ;D ;D. He must have used it the whole time. Do you guys think those robofish like roboworms?

Velvick is cool. Ike is fine. KVD is a good guy. Ish rules. I've met and/or seen many professionals at many locations. The all have distinct personalities much like the BR members do. I try not to bad-mouth anyone no matter who they are, based on the boob tube. TV is a fantasy land. It's really a shame some people actually have to waste alot of time and effort insulting other fisherman in the name of hearsay. Get a life and go fish!

Look at all the replies for "low-light, overcast, dawn and dusk, etc." THAT is why I throw one all times of the day... with much success. I might go through three different styles, sizes, colors, trailers and retrieves before I find something productive. Yet, it is a good go-to lure if you can throw it with the same confidence as other go-to lures. Granted, I have thrown it enough to find out the subtle differences and 'patterns' in which it can excel. Anytime you limit ANY lure to certain applications, you run the chance of missing out on something that could be quite special. I personally need to remember that with crankbaits this year .

Listen to Senko! That is exactly what I've been doing here (St. Louis area) for the last four weeks. Muddy water with 44 - 52 degree surface temps. That approach has been the only consistent producer for me with the exception of the bait. I have been pitching a junebug Sweet Beaver 4.20. Everything else is exactly as Senko said. Good Luck.

You did say "retired" and not "reel-tired" because that would be absolutely horrible . Kudos to you and good luck!

1) Hawg Retriever 3/8 oz buzzbaits 2) Custom make spinnnerbaits 1/4 - 3/4 oz 3) Zoom Ol' Monster worms and V&M Big Hawg lizards 4) Cotton Cordell Spots 1/4 oz - 3/4 oz 5) Super Spook Jr. and Chug Bug 6) Zoom Super Fluke 7) Strike King Bitsy Flip jigs 1/4 -3/8 oz 8) Rapala Shad Raps SR5 9) Storm Sub-Warts 10) Gene Larew's Salt Craws

I take Hwy 15 to Hwy 127 then a left turn at the sign. ;D Oh yeah....Global Economy...ride that wave or get crushed by it.