Smokinal

I hadn't heard anything A-Jay...what went on?? Are you and your wife ok? Local friends and such ok? Ice storm?

I know I've questioned the safety of that trip but I gotta get there! My wife is going back to school for her Masters so the funds won't be there for another couple/few years ☹️

Most lakes/ponds are open around me; if not, very close. My Menderchuck will open fully this week. I won't be able to go next weekend as I have a business meeting at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut next weekend. You can bet your asphalt I'll be out week ending 4/12-4/13; most likely Sunday 13th

Baseball players gotta have the most OCD rituals of any sport! 😂🤣 Just watch Nomar

I'm not superstious at all...I bring a banana if I want one, I have many different hats depending on the weather, I hope for a fish on the first cast...whatever. But, the one thing I have is a rock I found when I was around 14. I was helping my Dad launch our boat and was skipping rocks into the lake. I found a nice, flat, smooth rock and was just about to throw it when my Dad sternly reminded me of my duties. I put the rock in my pocket to skip later. That day I caught a 5+ lber. I got back on land, remembered the rock, decided it was that rock that helped, put it in my tackle box and it's been with me for 40+ years. Transferred from box to box, from box to bag, from canoe to boat to boat. It's in my current boat as we speak.

The last few days have brought a big swing in the weather here. Temps are now consistantly ranging from 30-50 every day; and the 10 day forecast shows the same. Web cams on my home lake are showing open water in the first 6-8 feet of the shoreline and the ice is darkening some. I estimate full open water in 2-3 weeks unless we have some sort of reversion.

Could't agree more Glenn. I use scent during a tournament or if the bite is tough. I do think it helps a fish to hold the bait a hair longer, giving me that split second longer to set a hook. An aggressive reaction bite does not require a scent imo. fwiw...ymmv

And I'm fishing the sleeper like a jig, not a swimbait; slow along the bottom.

Happy to share, although it's nothing out of the ordinary. Basically we fish a shallow cove on the north end of the lake with jerkbaits and dark sleepers...slow moving stuff...really textbook. Not sure why it works there so well; it just does. We alternate betweek a jerk and the sleeper to cover the column. Either bite comes and goes throughout the morning. You mentioned a shallow cove you were curious to try this spring; I'd be curious if this works for you. Oh, and you can use any color jerkbait, as long as it's gold. 😁😉

I'll be out the first weekend after ice-out...whenever that is. I've got a pretty consistant pattern that gives us 40-60 fish mornings for about 2 weeks after ice-out.

Fluorocarbon and its "no stretch" qualities 😅🤣😂 I've tried 7 different brands/types...spared no expense...bought the best stuff available. This stuff is an absolute rubber band. Never experienced so much stretch in any line. I had it on my jig rod and couldn't stick a fish to save my life. Went back to braid/fluoro leader and everything was fine again. At least I have a lifetime supply of leader material now 😉

The bigger decision of where to mount the FFS ducer is your fishing style. Keep in mind that you will want to be scanning the water by moving the transducer left to right and so on, to see fish. So if the ducer is on the stern, you will want it on a pole and then be able to reach it to hand move it. My initial statement was my biggest issue when deciding this. I'm more of an offshore guy; as opposed to beating the bank. So I use Spotlock a lot. I ended up mounting my FFS ducer on a separate pole so I can use Spotlock and then be able to scan with the FFS by hand. Maybe a little clunky but I couldn't see having it on my TM shaft with the way I mostly fish. Stuff to think about.

This is exactly what you want/need to do. Some of the platforms just don't seem right to me to navigate. I use HB mostly, Garmin second...Lowrance just always seemed clunky to me...but that's just me. They are a fine unit and tons of people like them. It's Ford/Chevy...you need to try them all and you'll see your preference. I'm a big fan of FaceBook Marketplace, Craigslist etc... I've gotten some smokin deals on barely used units. Us fishermen will just about give things away if it means an upgrade on our part. You just have to be careful and do your homework before sending money; or meet in person only.

Fwiw...I added FFS to my boat this past winter so I used it for the first time this past season. Mixed thoughts My other 2 units are HB but for the FFS I went with Garmin and run a 106SV Ultra and the LVS34. I gotta be honest with you, I like my Mega 360 better for my fishing style. Sure, FFS, when you get it dialed in and are around fish, works well but that doesn't mean you can get them to bite. I found myself focusing too much on it instead of fishing. On my last trip out, I decided not to even get the ducer wet...and we wacked 'em. We spent our time fishing what we knew would work, and it did. That said, I did have a few times where the bite was tough, I used the FFS to see if fish were in the area, and it helped to figure them out. But most of the time, if I just went with gut instinct, I'd be better off. But I'm a tech junkie so here we are.

Incredible!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽