Jar11591

What date does it end? I'm going March 8th so I hope it is still going on. I haven't received the flier for the Spring Classic, just an angling catalog about a month ago.

Dottie was a 18-20 lb bass that was caught several times and people thought it would eventually become a record. But it washed up dead on the beach one day. It had a dot on its face which is why it was called "Dottie"

Lol I believe there is a Squirrel Invasion Survival Guide app. I'm gonna study up before the EMP!

Dottie was an incredible bass. I'd rather see it go naturally than in someone's kitchen. Can't stand that.

"Don't spend it all in one place now!" - Says "the Man" What would we do if the Govt didn't take all this money from us then return a fraction of it? I don't know what I would do! (Besides spend it sooner)

My thoughts exactly. Rain or cold seperately I can deal with, especially if I'm catching fish. But combining the two makes my patience run VERY thin.

I use my weather app

Girl-Lily Boy-Spro

lol good one. That's gonna be me in a couple weeks.

I have noticed the same thing, and I always figured that smallmouth were just more catchable on topwater. But based on the answers here, I guess that isn't the case. Gonna try some new approaches this year with surface lures.

I know Dick's always has St. Croix t-shirts for sale.

A "flat" is any area withouth depth change. You can identify those on contour maps by looking for the areas with no lines. And you're correct as far as I know about points. Just pieces of land that jut out I to the water...but points often continue under water for some distance and they usually drop off on either side.

Looks like I'm giving no leader a shot first then. Thanks for the info.

So how often do the hooks get caught on the line, enough to cause a problem or just occasionally? Thanks

I have never used braided/fused line before, always fluorocarbon or monofilament. But I decided to put 10 lb Fireline on one of my reels. Now I'm wondering, when I fish topwater like poppers and jitterbugs can I tie the Fireline directly to the lure, or should I use a monofilament leader? I'm new to braided line so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Jar

You're right, it could be an unlisted species. But I would think that a non native shad would be killed by the harsh winters, no? I know down south they have shad-kills if the temperature falls too low. And DEC actually states the only herring found inland was the gizzard shad. I'll post a picture as soon as the lake isn't under 2 feet of ice. Lol

A few months ago I was fishing in a small 50 acre lake in upstate NY and as usual in this lake, the surface with alive with baitfish schools and bass chasing them. I wanted to know what baitfish these were, so I tossed my jerkbait into a school and snagged one. It was some type of shad/herring as it had the black dot on its head. The NY DEC does not list any shad in this lake and the only shad inland in NY is the gizzard shad. Im pretty sure this was not a gizzard shad because it did not have the overbite, and gizzard shad prefer clearer water.(this lake is slate-colored and has a visibility of 1.5' feet on a good day). Also I know it wasn't an alewife because this is basically a big pond. Can anyone help ID this fish? Thanks

Thanks a lot.

It wasn't really a habit because this person hadn't fished before but a buddy that went fishing with me rigged his pole up with a Rapala Husky Jerk and then put a little piece of worm on a couple of the hooks and and casted right next to shore and just waited. I could not stop laughing. When i told him you don't have to bait the hooks and that you usually should keep retrieving the lure he was shocked.

I'm ordering some new tube baits online and I'm trying to figure out if the length is really the length of just the body of the tube or the body including the skirt or frills. None of the lengths of the tubes i have match the lengths that are online with neither body or body and skirt. the ones I'm looking at are the Bass Pro brand. Anyone have any idea? It would be appreciated.

Haven't noticed that specifically, but i like to think that whatever scent of mine that had been on the bait would be covered once i caught a fish. But I've never noticed a real difference.

For me, fishing is all about odds and percentages. Lure color, size, style and depth as well as time of day, location, weather and water conditions all change your odds. When I seek "answers" I'm simply looking to increase my chances of catching fish. With fishing nothing is guaranteed.

My absolute favorite type of fishing is top water for smallmouth. There is truly nothing better than fishing in a crystal clear northern lake on a morning when the lake is smooth as glass and seeing a bronze back come up to clobber the popper. It's addicting.

I guess the best one can do is seek advice from people who have been more successful than oneself. Almost as good as an answer if that's the best you can do right? And not to be cliche but it's called fishing, not catching. Haha -Jar

Storm Chugbug in Tennessee Shad color has been the most productive for me.