Smokinal

Merry Christmas everyone!

Strangely enough, I'm eying the 10 day to see if New Year's Eve is a possibility! I have cams on my home lake and it's wide open today. This week stays in the 30's at night and hits 39-40 during the day; next Sunday may be possible! I'd dig the boat out for 1 more run. Blower is primed and ready but it doesn't like I'll pull the cord for at least another week. As far as an ice-out date on my home lake...very hard to tell. We've had some mild winters where I thought, "Awesome! We'll be out early this year"; then it turns cold and changed everything. If I wanted to nail down a date, I'll go with April 3rd on my Menderchuck Hope everyone is safe and well Smokin'

Thanks guys! I ran off a generator for a few days but it could have been worse. I was talking to some people today who are still without power and not estimated to get it back until Saturday. We all lost it Monday morning pretty much. Lots of flooding around towns with rivers through them, which is many in this state. I'm glad it wasn't snow

First 3 that come to mind are...in no particular order...jerkbait, red craw trap and a blk/blu Space Monkey on a football jighead Ok,,,maybe in that order 😁

X2

I'm out tomorrow!! Some small ponds have skimmed over but my home lake is wide open! And we're getting 45 degree rain right now so everything should be back open tomorrow. Every day could be the last day though. I'll go throw some blades in 40fow while I can

Nice! I was looking at the week and it looks like rain Friday evening...I'm out Saturday!! Can't wait. Will also go in the Augusta area. I plan on fishing blades and small swimbaits. We should get together and fish sometime! Lets take @ol'crickety with us!!

Yup...pretty much done here too. I went last Sunday; caught 44 between my neighbor and I (bass and black crappie). Water was 45 degrees, which I was surprised it was that warm. But we had a cold week. Gonna be skimmed over here any day now.

I love fishing in rain!

I'm a Braun Series 7 guy; that said, I could get away with a cat licking whipped cream off my chin 😁😔

Don't forget the maintenance wipe!

Menderchuck is in my home town ?

I just go in the early morning all year round...ice out, that is

Skipping a bait...bad, bad, bad C-rig...I want so bad to be able to use this technique...but I don't throw it because I've never caught a fish on it.

I'm diggin' the area in the lower right, between the "415" and the shore

On a baitcaster I swing anything ~3 and under; over ~3 and I typically lip it. Spinning rod...anything ~2 and under is airborn and over ~2 is lipped. If it's a real good one I'll net it or my partner will. It we do net, it's never a "stab"; I've knocked a good fish off my buddy before...not a good feeling. We both will put the net in the water while holding the "bag" until we feel the other can guide the head in.

Is this rig not supposed to be used in grass? I tried it with a teardrop weight and after about 10 casts and not one coming back without grass stuck to the rig, I had to change over to a pegged bullet t-rig to get a worm to fish clean. The grass was always caught between the weight and the bait so it wasn't the style of weight I was using; just the fact the bait gets pulled up to the weight after separation and catches grass between the two. I guess I'll save it for the rocks. Thoughts?

He is They eat the second one in my water

Are the size weights you use similar to t-rig...wind and depth dependant? 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 ?

CB's definitely catch me more than I catch fish with them. Some of the paint jobs are absolutely sick. I mean, would ya just look at it?!?! Nevermind the custome painted ones you see on Ebay and FB I bet I have 40-50 that have never been wet besides the times I cuddle and nibble on them.

Alright, alright....I'll try it, I'll try it ?

Me as well I prefer to fish offshore as much as possible. There's just something so rewarding when you spend time on your Si, mark some spots, turn around and fire to them and catch fish; that's what keeps me out there.

You're on the right track. Add in a Green Pumkin or PB&J TRD on a Ned head and you're in. As far as spots... @ol'crickety has some gems I'm sure. I'll tell ya though, I'm due for an outing on my home lake that has a good mix of LM and SM. I'd be happy to take you, you and a family member or 2, out on my boat and just about guarantee a bunch of SM and LM on either weekend day; really, I'd be honored to take you out and put you on some fish. Without naming the lake, it would be the Augusta area. My wife and I were on it today and just blind casting between paddling I caught 6 Sm and 2 LM in about 2 hrs. We'd double that on my boat. PM me if you can make it; I understand if not though; family trips can be tough to plan ahead. Either way, I hope you have a great, safe trip to Maine!

As far as boat control goes, anyone who watched Schooled by Denny Brauer knows to always have your nose into the wind. As far as casting, I suppose this forces an into the wind cast or as Tom said, a 45 to it.