hooah212002

Thank you. That helps tremendously.

You are correct on all accounts (they are bombers). However, she has LOTS more. I just grabbed square bills and lipless for today because those are my needs for now. I want to know how to look at a crank and determine it's use.

Here are some pics of what I bought. Everything I bought was brand new as far as I could tell.

I am what you would call a "budget basser" and whenever topics come up that pertain to gear, I get to hear about guys that spend $150 on a rod or $200 on a reel and how that is the norm or how "Walmart crap" is junk that won't catch fish. Bass fisherman, IMO (since this is real talk), are pretty pompous and self righteous. A lot of you act like you can't fish unless you spend copious amounts of cash. That said: I do understand the importance and significance of "high end" gear. I do realize there are advantages to paying a premium. However: if you need these advantages and you need $200 rods, how good of a fisherman are you? You have to realize that at least 75% of fishing comes down to YOU knowing where to look for fish.

Wow. That is a great piece of info since I alternate between a very clear lake (near my dad's that we fish on weekends I go there) and somewhat dirty creeks I fish during the week. I would have NEVER thought that until it was too late. This is why BR is a great resource. It has earned it's name 10x over.

Does that help when buying baits that are not in packages or labeled in any way?

http://www.bassedge.com/'>Bass Edge is the only one I have found that still has episodes. It airs twice a month and, IMO, has good information. However, it does a TERRIBLE job at hiding the fact that half of what they do is advertising. It's difficult, neigh impossible,to find a fishing program not drenched in product placement.

There is a house on my way home from work owned by a widow who is selling her since deceased husbands fishing gear. The amount of lures she has is simply astonishing. This one man had more lures than I have ever seen at even Walmart, and they all looked to be in new condition. I asked her about this and she said he would buy them, then un-package them for easier storage. He was a custom jig maker and she has something like 30 jig molds for $18 apiece (that is a good deal, right?). Anyways, what I want to know is: how do you know what sort of properties a crankbait has just by looking at it? Obviously, you can tell if it floats...by putting it in the water. I have always thought the longer the bill, the deeper the dive. I picked up some Rat-L-Traps and some of them in packages that claimed to be "deep diving", but they are lipless?? I picked up some "square bills" but I don't know if they qualify as actual square bills. What makes a jerkbait, a jerkbait? Are they just the crankbaits that are long and skinny with short lips? What about the long skinny cranks with large/long lips? This question is probably easy for you guys with boats because you can go out in the middle of a body of water and cast and see how deep it goes, but that can't be done from shore (or I just don't know how).

Ya know, I didn't think about the very obvious conundrum of how a Hi-Vis line could be Hi-Vis on top of the water, then do the complete opposite underwater.

Well, according to research that I should have done before posting about it here, the color is "ghost" and apparently is highly visible above water, but nearly invisible under. Reviews seem positive, but it IS Sufix so the quality remains.

Yes, but red is the most easily absorbed in the light spectrum.

That was my thinking too: it's almost too cheap to pass up, white or not.

I stopped at Dicks on my way home to window shop and found a 150 yard spool of 30# Sufix 832 for $14.97. Anyone familiar with Dick's sales knows this means the final price is $7.50. Since I am THAT broke, I set it aside for payday. I looked around a bit then looked back at the line only to find the reason for it's low price (I think): it's white. I have never seen white braid nor heard about anyone using it (negative reviews or otherwise). I was thinking I could just run a permanent marker along it to darken it or use a leader, but I am terrible at tying leaders on so far. My number 2 lake that I fish is very clear. Delavan, the main lake I fish, is moderately clear with heavy grass.

It's pricey, but it's supposedly good: check out http://www.navionics.com/en/navionics-2'>Navionics

I know the feeling. Except....I have boys..... ::edit:: I apologize if that came off as inconsiderate or sexist. I meant that I know the feeling and it is a tougher pill to swallow because I have boys. My older son refuses to lip a fish, while my youngest has ZERo problems tossing around carp lol.

Good job dad! Boooo for not making her hold it, though.

haha. I read that as her having to earn your husbandry by catching quality fish. If she can't catch keepers, she gets tossed back as well. I don't mean to offend.

GO HAWKS!!!

Thanks Mark. Ya know, for a Sox fan, you're alright.

I am unsure how I can make any clearer from where my confusion stems. If you are unable to clarify either the ethics (as I pointed out in post #12) or the actual regulations (as in the first post), thank you for your time. I did not at any point indicate that these notions that I gathered were from bassresource other than perhaps a few glancing comments that alone are meaningless.

Thanks. Obviously, I already have read it, since I provided the link. I am asking for clarification. In this thread alone there is conflicting information and there is far less verbiage here.

My favorite pizza was Sam's in Belvidere, IL. No, not the chain Sam's pizza. It was a small local joint run by a father (Sam) and daughter (Josi) that were straight out of Sicily. My father. my brother, myself and 3 of my cousins all delivered for them, so they knew us by name when we came in or called a pizza in. We were all convinced that Sam was "connected". He was a no nonsense old man who never had the sense to know when to stop working. he worked harder than any number of younger people even when he was 60-70 years old. One time, I had a different job installing internet and I had to go up on the roof of the building. It was perhaps 3 stories up and I had to access via ladder. Sam came up because he wanted me to toss some stuff off there (an old TV antenna). When I was a kid, my dad would bring me in when he would pick up the pizza and Josi would feed me raw dough (I love it AND I love bread. I can eat loaves of plain bread in a sitting). Every takeout pizza I get gets compared to Sam's. They all fail miserably in comparison.

So then it is just largely ignored, both by the fisherman and the DNR/Police (since people do it and talk about, but not in a way that would indicate they are breaking the rules)?

"Seriously, warden, my crappie gear is a 7' MH Baitcaster with 20# braided line"

EXACTLY why I made this thread! I have read that Lake Winnebago is open all year and isn't subject to seasons. I am starting to think that from the time the ice thaws to season opener is a no-go. Period. So you either ice fish or you wait. I am going out of my mind. I want to fish so dang bad, but not at the expense of a ticket that I can't afford.