Preytorien

I think that our DNR could probably do better at maintaining high quality fisheries. It seems like every year their stocking schedule heavily includes trout. Does anyone know where or if they're stocking LMB? I just know it seems a bit backwards that my own and several other anglers I know have caught their PB's (6+ lbs) out of neighborhood retention ponds and rarely break a couple lbs in larger bodies of water. The pressure, poor water quality, and lack of maintenance seems to make catch quality go down as the year progresses. I know the past 3 tournaments the winning weight is in the park of 11lbs. I would say though we have some great smallmouth fishing in our river systems. I'll be heading out there in the morning!

I haven't personally fished many other states, but anglers I know say that Indiana is pretty difficult. Our fish don't achieve very large size quickly, if ever. Our fisheries aren't effectively maintained by our DNR, and the pressure the "good lakes" get make the fishing very tough. A couple weeks ago Morse had 4 boat tournaments and a kayak tournament all on the same Saturday - on a 1800 acre lake! Like I said I've not personally fished all over the country, but the tournament guys I talk to say Indiana's tough and makes it just a bit better when you get someplace with large and high quality fisheries

I've officially retired the following from the rotation... Umbrella Rigs Jigs Scatter Raps Zoom Toads Livetarget Sunfish Deeeeeep diving cranks

William Rossi -- Yours might just be my favorite avatar picture in all of BassResourceLand Team Denarys all the way

I looked up alewives and that's exactly what they are. I didn't know the river had those. Apparently they're spawning. The water was pretty shallow, only about 18"

I was paddling my kayak down the river here by my house. It's a nice river, clean and clear. I usually do smallmouth fishing and do pretty good, but a good ways upstream. This time though I was in about 18 inches of water, and noticed a bunch of fish, probably 20-30 of them, swirling in a circular motion counter clockwise along the bottom, and they kept doing that. What were these fish doing? I've never seen it before

Glad you've quit. That means you'll probably get a good many more days to be out on the water fishing later in life. Kudos!

Jonathon, I think the bait monkey's still on your back....he's got you good! Hahaha

This to a tee. The Ned Rig is pretty much the greatest lure I've used for heavily pressured waters, especially featureless, coverless, and structureless retention ponds.

I've had good luck with Tatsu as far as that's concerned, but I just simply can't stray away from braid. So my compromise, as stated above, is braid + flouro leader.

If I pretty much NEVER catch a fish big enough to engage my drag will Carbontex drags even do me any good / are they even needed? I literally can't remember a time I engaged the drag on any of my casting reels and only occasionally on my spinning reels.

I have a Curado I.....as do many others on here. We probably all agree.....you will be happy you went with it

I heard once a good idea when cleaning reels.... Get an old egg carton, number the individual pockets and in order you take the reel apart (maybe just the intricate pieces) place them in the egg pockets. That way they stay organized. Springs don't go flying away, and it's all in order. I used that system and it works!

Heck ya. Rapala is a tried and true brand. But be careful.....that bait monkey will sneak up on you more and more now!

I think confidence, as you can see by the posts above, is the confluence of a lot of different things. The right gear, conditions you like, maybe a body of water you historically have success on. But I've learned that confidence doesn't always mean success. Sometimes those fish, despite excellent weather for fishing, having the right gear, and being on the best lake, will not bite, and you never know why - they tend to keep it a secret. For me, confidence is simply knowing I've done all I can do for the factors that I CAN control. It's knowing that despite the conditions I'm faced with, I'm using the right gear, an effective lure, and breaking down my presentations to cover and structure, and I'm giving it my focus and best. That's all we can do really......be confident

This exactly. I don't own the panfish rod myself, but my buddy does and we use it, along with others, at a small pond we have access to that's loaded with nice size bluegill - it's a blast to use and has good characteristics you'd want in a panfish rod. I guess you could always get one, take it out the next day to give er' a try and if you still don't like it, just exchange it for something else that fits your needs.

I love Rod Sox. They have a rubber opening and a tip protector built in

Yea I can find the spare 2500FG spools pretty easily but I figured maybe to use the 1000 series for ultralight line

I have a Shimano Sustain 2500 reel. I would like to get a spare spool for ultra light flourocarbon applications, thus not needing a lot of line on there, nor a deep spool. Can I put a 1000 size school on this reel?

Some of the replies to this thread are cracking me up.... But yes. I have a whole box of Mike Sieberts jigs....daggum works of art is what they are I tell ya' - but no matter when, what, or how I throw em' I never do any good. But sometimes I just like to try one, and I figure I should throw the best jigs out there

That's true, it'd be hard to say no to that. But from a customer point of view I'm hopeful that TW doesn't ever sell

I've had luck texas rigging a RageTail and working it like a jig on the bottom. The fish seem to be few and far between, but it works better than anything else

As the title says, it's been a bad week. I'm a blessed man, and certainly blessed more than some I know, and I really shouldn't complain given my mistake week were due to very trivial things but I digress. It's good to keep in the back of my mind that I'm heading out in the kayak Saturday morning to do some fishing. For all the granular details we put into fishing, sometimes it's about the simplicity. It's fun to debate the best colors for a craw trailer, or get opinions on the best and latest rods available to swing, and I'm not minimizing the importance of having a reel that fits you perfectly and helps you land your personal best..... But sometimes it's nice to go fish someplace hidden, no cars, no computers, no people, a pond where it's easy to catch them, and just sit back, listen to the birds announce the rising sun, and just let a bad week dissipate like the wake of your boat or plop of your Jitterbug hitting the surface. It's almost like you can take the cares of a workweek, tie them to the end of your line, cast as far as you can, and if you're lucky.....you'll get them hung on a treebranch

I had one for my trolling motor battery and it worked great. Never had an issue with it

Please please TW....DO NOT SELL!!!