Scott F

I felt a twinge when I set the hook on a bass. It didn't hurt that bad at that moment, but it got worse fast. I had tendonitis for 8 months afterward.

Which you choose to use I think, is mostly dependent on where you are fishing. Most of my time is spent fishing smallmouth on Northern lakes and rivers. Not a lot of slop fishing, mostly open water with smaller baits, so I use spinning gear the majority of time. If you have been watching MLF, a lot of their shows have been on Northern lakes with a lot of smallies. Those guys were using a lot of spinning gear. When they are doing a lot of flipping and pitching and working heavy cover, it's all baitcasters. To repeat what has been said, use the best tool for the job you are trying to do.

Are these big enough for your giant head?

Ask the boat owner BEFORE you load your gear how many rods he wants you to bring. He may not feel the same as the people who post here. His opinion is the only one that matters.

I see several reasons to purchase a craft like this. If you are a shallow water or a river fisherman, being able to cover some distance on the water can be important. In a river, paddling a kayak against the current while it can be done, is not always easy. Being able to motor upstream and float back to your put in place is a great advantage. Having a jet motor and being able to travel the shallows where prop boats can't go is also huge. As someone who regularly floats rivers, being able to get off the water quickly when a storm comes up is important. I can defend a purchase like this because I just purchased a boat that does a lot of the same things except that it can hold 2 persons. Mine is like a jet powered canoe on steroids. It's light, only weighs 250lbs (without the motor). 16ft long, 4ft wide. Unlike a kayak, I have a trolling motor and oars. I can run shallow rivers, and I won't need another car to shuttle me. I can get 10 miles up or down stream in 20 minutes. That's a long way to try and paddle especially going upstream. To get where you want to go you have to have the right craft. An $80,000 bass boat can't go where this boat (or a jet kayak) can go. I paid more for just the jet motor on my boat than that entire jet kayak costs. For someone who wants to fish small lakes, the jet kayak is not for you. But for a flats or a river fisherman, It might be just the right tool for the job. My river fishing craft. A Towee, Rivermaster with a Tohatsu jet motor

I fished Vermilion for 25 years. Color was never a very important thing. Smallmouth like bright colors so you could start there but I never found the bass there to prefer any particular color. Opening weekend, (I assume you will be smallie fishing) the smallmouth will be moving toward the spawning areas. Gotta figure out where they spawn. Trolling for me there was always very difficult. There are seldom any areas where the contour lines are consistent enough to make trolling a good option. It could be 30 feet deep then 5, then 20 then back to 10 all in the space of 100 yards. If you haven't fished there before, fish around the hazard buoys that mark the shallow rock piles and rocky (rocks are EVERYWHERE) shorelines.

On the Great Lakes you fall under the Coast Guard authority. You will need Coast Guard approved signal flares, a fire extinguisher, a working horn and Coast guard approved flotation. They always tell me I should have a whistle in case you lose power and your electric horn doesn't work. https://www.uscgboating.org/images/420.PDF

Every state has different rules. What state license are you looking for?

I picked up an Avid X on sale in the Outlet store last spring. You can never tell when they will have deals. There is always a supply of "B" stock rods that have a minor cosmetic, blemish. Even on those, you never know which exact model they'll have. B stock rods have a 1 year warranty and are typically 35% off, give or take. If you call the store they may be able to tell you if they have any of the version you are looking for and will send it to your house. Shipping used to run $10

It's funny how different people can react to the same situation. I know I've lost my share of fish over the years but I don't remember ever feeling bad about it. When it happens, my normal reaction is, "oh well, I was going to release him anyway", and I make the next cast. Then again, I'm different from most guys in that I don't value a big fish more than I value any other fish.

Gander was purchased by Camping World http://www.outdoorlife.com/camping-world-buys-out-gander-mountain

I use the same stuff. It takes some practice to tie it without wasting much (the stuff ain't cheap) and also to keep your leaders from looking like curly fries. It kinks and curls up easily when you tighten the knot. Be prepared to waste some while you figure it out.

There was some proposed legislation. Our group had a sit down with the woman who was sponsoring the bill. She wanted to protect the loons in Illinois. We had to tell here there are no resident loons in Illinois. She backed down on the bill and instead decided to focus on education concerning the dangers of lead in the environment.

One more week, and this will be my home away from home.

That plastic on the back of the spoon will just destroy any action that spoon had. In the early spring, I down size my baits and stick to spoons, Johnson Silver Minnows and plastics no bigger than 5 inches. I know they eat bigger fish than that, but we always did so much better with smaller stuff. with the pike hanging out in shallow, dark bottom bays, any kind of diving bait would run too deep and hang up in the mucky bottom. We also did much better looking for the warmest water we could find

I'm in the Chicago area. The weather here is no more crazy than it is in any other part of the country. Everything that works for largemouth anywhere will work here. Worms, jigs, spinnerbaits, topwaters, crankbaits, other plastics, everything works. Ponds are usually small enough that covering them entirely is no problem. Pick something and try it. If it doesn't work, try something else. My only real suggestion which pertains to ponds anywhere, is to fish at the spot where water flows into the pond especially right after a rain.

You are right. Leaders are trouble. That's why I use straight braid and no leader.

There are many books written about finding smallies in rivers. There are tons of variables too. Are you fishing from the bank, wading or floating? What time of year is it? What are the river conditions? Is the water high or low compared to average? How much current is there? Location depends on the river conditions. Today they might be in one place, but a good rain overnight will change things for days.

Instead of asking guys here, why don't you just call St Croix? Here's the phone number. (800) 826-7042

My wife was not at all interested in fishing when I got my first boat. I was lucky, she never had a problem with me going on week long fishing trips with the guys. The thing that changed her mind was that I put her on fish and she caught them on artificials. She thought she had to use worms and hook minnows. Just like kids, once she catches a few, they start to like it

Not likely any kind of hybrid. If food is scarce and they are schooled up, they need to be aggressive to get to food before another fish does. Not an uncommon occurrence in rivers.

I fish clear water smallmouth almost all the time. Bright colors like clown work very well. I would not be overly concerned about color. The biggest challenge is always finding the fish. Northern lakes are typically less fertile, have shorter feeding seasons and have less forage than southern lakes. That being the case, the fish are usually not as picky. They can't afford to pass up too many easy meals. Once you find them, catching isn't usually too difficult. Clear water will usually send fish deeper than you might find them in off color water. Be prepared by having baits that will be able to run deep.

Camping World bought Gander Mountain. They will keep 17 stores, maybe more depending on how profitable the stores are. You can google it for more information.

Tinypic is the only thing I use and my pictures are never grainy. I don't think that's where your problem lies.

What makes you think the smallies are a "strange hybrid"?