Scott F

I grew up in the 60s too. On TV, the reruns of The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, and The Roy Rogers Show were my favorites. One of the first movies I remember seeing, again on TV, was “The River of No Return” with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. I believe that was the movie that let me know that I liked girls. Been partial to blondes ever since.

Don’t know if you’ve seen anyone with this costume before. I’m sure he had to explain it to all the non fishermen at the party.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about there not being shad in your waters. Shad baits will still work. There probably aren’t many worms in there either, but I’d bet they’ll still catch bass too.

I can’t get the site to load on my iPad right now. Had to try on my phone to log in at all.

A generalization like that is incorrect. I fished the St. Lawrence for many years out of a flat bottom jon boat and was never in any danger from rough water. There is a lot of water in the river that is sheltered from the current, ocean going ships and wind. The Thousand Islands area provided my father and I many many days of excellent fishing out of a small boat. I do agree that Lake Ontario, is not an area we’d have used that same boat.

It’s not going to be a short winter when it starts at least a month early. Once the water temps get into the 30’s, even if it doesn’t freeze, most bass are somewhat dormant. Guides ice up, hands and feet get cold. Fishing for me at least, is over till spring.

For me, a lot depends on how thick the weeds are and how close they come to the surface. One of my most consistent areas I catch largemouth on is an enormous weedy flat that ranges from 3 to 6 feet deep where the weeds don’t come all the way to the surface. There really isn’t any weed line. We fan cast over the entire area with spinner baits, lipless cranks or swim jigs. The fish are usually scattered. Where the weeds are thick and come to the surface, I fish the weed edge first. Finding what depth they might be holding for me is the more difficult part so I do that if the first two options aren’t working.

If you buy the smaller motor, you’ll spend a lot of time wishing you’d bought the bigger one. Then, you’ll spend even more when you finally replace the smaller motor. Just cry once.

The nice thing about being retired for me is that I don't have a schedule anymore. I may get up at 5, or I may stay in bed until 10. I don't decide ahead of time. Same thing about turning in at night. Schedules are for people who have jobs. After 50 years of having others decide where I have be and when I have to be there, it's my decision now.

Garment makes probably the best dash mounted units out there. Just be sure you get one with the LM designation which gives you free, lifetime, map updates. The maps are made to give road information but to see many smaller lakes or rivers, you have to zoom in before they show up.

Trick-or-treaters will be facing mid 30’s, 30mph winds and snow (up to 7 inches) in Chicago.

Ive got news for you. No matter what lure you chose, if you want to be successful, you need to worry about speed, depth and location.

If it were me, I wouldn’t waste my time painting them. I used to powder paint my jigs but realized that the fish really don’t care if they are painted at all.

Have you actually fished the rod before you passed judgment? I fish St. Croix rods a lot and disagree that their rods power ratings are higher than others. I find that the weight range of lures listed on the rod, to be spot on. The rods do have more “backbone”, than other rods with similar ratings. I’m a smallmouth fisherman who uses more finesse lures and lighter rods most of the time. I prefer St. Croix rods because of how well they can handle hard fighting smallies in current while still being able to throw those light lures. Fish the rod a while then see if you still think it is more of a mh.

I’ve fished for crappies using minnows and a fly rod before. I wasn’t using a fly reel and fly line though. I’d put on a spinning reel and used the long rod to drop the minnow into brush piles, flooded bushes and trees. Didn’t do much casting at all.

There are over 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. There should be a guard on every boat launch? Crime at boat launches in Minnesota and Wisconsin for that matter, happens, but it is not at all common. In 30 plus years of launching my boat on dozens of lakes all over both states, I’ve never witnessed anybody’s truck or trailer bothered.

You guys who like bad weather should have been here today. Mid 40s, constant rain blowing sideways all day. You’d be in heaven.

Got this one on a number 10 Rapala X-Rap. I find it hard to believe, but this fish showed up during pre-spawn fishing, mid-May, in Northern Wisconsin. Because the bass hadn't spawned yet, this little smallie had to have been hatched the year before.

I started with reading glasses almost 20 years ago. While fishing, I’d use flip up readers attached to my sunglasses which worked well for many years. 3 years ago, I had to get bifocals. I especially needed glasses to tie knots. I tried clip on and flip up sunglasses, but Cocoons that fit over my glasses work the best as they have the side shields.

Your original thinking about layering underneath is the way I’d do it as long as you buy one that is big enough that has room. As expensive as a good rain suit can be, I can’t afford to have one for every season.

If you talk about river smallmouth, the biggest fish are often caught more often in the early spring and deep into fall.

From the water temps you reported, it sounds like your lake turned over recently. That alone will shut down fishing. Once things stabilize, fishing will improve. These warm climate fishermen probably don’t experience lakes turning over until much later or not at all.

The fish was successfully live released back into Lake Michigan.

Could be, if they use that as a wintering area.

This the time of year when the biggest fish are often caught. They probably won’t be in the same places you got them during the summer. Move downstream from the creeks to the bigger rivers the creeks flow into. Find their wintering areas.