Scott F

I was at the show and remember his booth but not the name. Who is he?

Pinch off the claws before you fish them.

I'll narrow it down a bit. Here is the list of exhibitors from the show. You can do the google searches to figure out which one it was. http://www.tinleyparkfishingshow.com/page/exhibitors/

I find dragging jigs in deep water for just a couple of bites as exciting as watching paint dry. I have a friend who targets big smallies in the Vilas County area and is very good at it. I ran into him while I was up there and even he was struggling to get bites. The repeated cold fronts every few days for over 3 weeks just kept the smallmouth from getting active. The largemouth bite on the other hand, saved our trip. The cold fronts didn't seem to bother them much at all.

That's what I needed to know. Thanks.

I'm not quite as concerned about safety while visiting the tourist attractions as I am about my car while its parked at a Metro station while I'm being a tourist. That's why I'm still trying to figure out where to stay that's near a relatively safe station. And at an affordable hotel.

I can drive from Chicago to Washington and back for $125 in gas. That's about the same as I'll pay just for transportation to the airport and back home. If I park my car near (not at) the airport instead of getting a limo to the airport, it will cost $70 and cost me an extra hour in additional time. Airfare for me and my wife is over $600, car rental for a week, $250. It will only take about 5 hours longer for me to drive than to fly. I can give up 5 hours of my trip each way to save $900. That will pay for my hotel stay for a week and i won't have to deal with the aggravation of having to deal with the airlines, airports and cramped airplanes. Thanks, but I'll drive.

Back in the 60's, my dad did not use a lot of lures but THE one that caught us a bunch of smallmouth was an ABU Reflex in-line spinner. I remember catching fish on a flatfish and on a pre-rigged worm too, but Abu's, as we called them, minnows, and poppers on a fly rod, were just about all we used.

My wife and I are taking a trip to visit Washington DC in a couple of weeks. My plan is to drive from our home near Chicago and stay in a DC suburb. We want to use the Metrorail to get around once we're in town but I need to know where a good, safe place to leave my car where I board the Metrorail. It would be nice to walk to the station from our hotel, but I need some suggestions on what area to look into. I know there are some less than secure neighborhoods in the DC area and would like to avoid those areas if we can. Anybody got some suggestions?

A Vision 110 is a $25 bait, the Shadow Rap is only $9. I've been using the Shadow Rap for the last few weeks and I like it a lot. I got big walleyes, pike, largemouth, smallmouth, muskie and even a crappie on it. I don't know that it out fished any of the other baits I have been using, but it catches fish for me.

Before you try and put the lure on the hook keeper, reel up a bit more of the slack line until the lure is just short of the keeper. Pull the lure putting a little bend in the rod and hook up under tension. Turn the spool by hand after you are hooked up until the rod straightens out.

Do not make one long run from the motor to the battery. It will make removing the motor a pain every time. Mount a trolling motor plug near where you mount the motor so you can easily unplug it. Run wires back to the battery. Try an automotive parts store or a marine dealer for the right wire..

Where exactly is the fish you say is in the screen shot? Is it directly above the 2 in the speed measurement?

How often do you do the Macarena while you're fishing? I'd kind of like to see that.

Quantum Energy in the 20 size.

Nope. I use the same knots for any line I use. If the knot is good for light lines, it's good for heavier lines too.

Get the lure first. Breaking off just makes it harder to get the lure back. If you don't like going after the lure right away because you may spook any fish that are there, you can return to the spot 10 or 15 minutes later to fish it again. The fish will probably still be there and will have gotten over your previous intrusion.

The Beatles

If you are casting with your right hand, hold the rod with the spool facing up. Rotate your wrist so the spool is now facing left and the back of your hand is facing the sky. Now cast using your wrist and arm with the same motion as throwing a baseball. If you are casting with your left hand, rotate your wrist so the spool faces right. If you can't or don't know how to throw a baseball, I can't help you. Find a little leaguer.

If you've never used the technique described in the video with your line running through the rod guides, you'd be amazed at how much your rod will bend from just bare line with no lure on it dragging through the water.

"You" probably can't fix it, but like he said in the other post, take it to a prop shop and they'll make it look just like new for a lot less money than a new one will cost. Any shop that repairs a lot of props will probably have some used props for sale as well.

Does the interference only happen while the trolling motor is running?

Do you mean Lake Cumberland in Kentucky or is there a Cumberlin Lake somewhere else?

Big crankbaits will work in lakes and big rivers but just dive too deep in small rivers. The majority of fish in small rivers will be smaller. Spring and fall are the prime times for the biggest smallies in the system.

On state controlled waters you are probably OK. On county forest preserve lakes, you need to check the regs. Some lakes don't allow any boats or you can only use one of their rentals.