Subaqua Adinterim

All fantastic advice and information, I'm constantly learning here. From my own experience, and it should be noted that I'm not a tournament/competition guy; when it comes to Texas rigging, there is no shame in crimping down the barbs on the hook for me. I do occasionally get some fish that are hooked deep, and it's easy to get the hook out and nice to see them swim away. Of course I do have fish that throw the hook, which is part of fishing this way. Also, if I could go back and really be a true beginner again, having no lures; knowing what I know now, I would have about 90 percent less stuff. It's good to be prepared,however, you don't want to be a slave to your possesions and spend time constantly sorting and organizing and getting things ready. At this point, I take just some basic lures and try to have more fun. Love seeing the smile on the kid's face above, that captures how much fun it should be.

Can you please educate me, someone that primarily uses spinning tackle, why I am limited in the different types of lures that I am using. I'm having a lot of fun using all different types of lures with my spinning outfit.

Just got back yesterday from two weeks in the ADKs spent in the Blue Mountain lake area. Been going up there every year for the past ten years or so and this was the best year. Caught from 20 to 30 each day, casting mostly toward shore. In the deeper lakes, I was using a shakey head set up or weightless t rigged senko type worms, the 4" size worked the best. In the shallower lake, I had good luck using a booyah frog with a trailer hook. This was the first time using this technique for me and it was a lot of fun. I have attached a few pictures . Most fish were around 2#s, some were over 3. I don't use a scale. All fish were released right after landing. The one on the dock was caught right next to it so I set it there for a better picture, as it is hard to take a picture sitting in my hybrid canoe (Hornbeck), and this was a good size fish, so easier to take a picture that way.

See my post on the Lake Fork trailer hook. These will help you. Please note, I have no affiliation with the company - I'm just an amateur fisherman that used this and it worked, hopefully others can benefit as I did. Good luck

I'm not sure who to thank exactly, however, someone on this forum recommended these trailer hooks and they do work. I'm up in the Adirondacks and have been fishing a lake that's about 20 feet deep at the deepest part. I decided to try using a frog today for the first time, since there are a lot of weeds. Tried a Lake Fork trailer hook in 2/0 size attached to a booyah frog and I had success today, landing 7 nice LMB. All but one I would have missed if not for the trailer hook. I did miss 4 fish, which I attribute to a combination of not knowing what I'm doing, as this was the first time trying the top water presentation; as well as fish that were just swiping at the frog and not really engulfing it. Thanks again, this forum and the advice that I have received have really helped me to catch more fish.

Consider using a 4" senko or similar style worm. I have more and better hook ups with the shorter worm. I use a 3/0 EWG hook t rigged weightless in shallow water with good success. Best of luck to you.

Yes, most ADK lakes have water that gets deep fast near the boulders on the banks. There are some shallow water exceptions, Abanakee, Durant and Mason are a few that come to mind. I'm up in the Blue Mtn. Lake area now and have been having great success with the shakeyhead set up. I may try out some grubs and tubes as well to see how that works, just because I like to try different stuff when one thing is working really well, LOL. Thanks for bringing another option into the mix. Also, in the weed lakes like Durant, I may try the top water weightless grub idea.

I will email you a picture of the biggest one, I'm guessing 4# or so. It will have to wait a few weeks as I'm almost off the grid here - just wifi, no tv. My wife took the picture with a camera, so when I get back to Penfield, I will download it and forward on.

My advice is use an Owner Ultra Shakeyhead Head Hook which has the twist at the top of the jig head to screw the plastic in. I have best success using the chocolate brown colored 1/8 oz. jig head paired with the Gary Yamamoto mini craw in pumpkin (Orange) with green and black flakes. It looks like a tiny lit up Christmas tree coming through the water, if there bass around, they will see it. Cast toward shore and let it sink down as you reel in slowly. You will generally get a hit on the fall. I have had great success doing this, hope it works for you. Best of luck. As far as season goes, if the bass are near shore that's when it works for me. I'm up in the Adirondacks now and caught close to 20 in about 3 hours this afternoon, so it's working for me right now.

Welcome - I live in Penfield, and similar to you, was mostly into trout fishing until a few years ago. I started getting into bass fishing more and was really helped out by the advice I received from this site. When I get a chance now, I fish mostly the smallest finger lakes out of my ultralight canoe. Because of the information gathered from the experienced and really helpful folks here, I am able to go out and have more fun, catching more fish. Best of luck; you will really benefit from the stuff you can learn here.

Your words were a nice tribute to someone that put you on the right path in life. Very sorry for your loss.

A good cost effective option is USA braid. You can order a 500 yard spool from Walmart online for about $25 and have it shipped to a local store to save shipping. This is good stuff. I was referred to this by fellow forum member SirSnookalot, a very experienced and practical fisherman. Also, for knots use Alberto for leader and Palomar for tying on snap connection or lure. I'm primarily a spinning reel guy so I use 10 or 15# test braid, which is small diameter handles well. I also like the orange color as I can see it better. You can also use a black sharpie to color the last six feet of line to make it less visible in the water. Good luck.

Another option to consider is the Owner Ultra Shakeyhead with screw in attached to the jig. Pair this with a Gary Y mini craw and you can rig this to be weedless by screwing the head of the bait into the jig and passing the hook through the bait to lie flat against the back. I would recommend the green or brown jigs in 3/16 oz. and plastics colors in watermelon with red flake or pumpkin with green and black flake. Cast along the weed edges and reel in slowly. You should have success. Good luck.

All good advice. For hot weather, the lightweight breathable cabelas stocking foot type referenced earlier have served me well. For colder weather I have the neoprene chest waders with the built in 800 gram boots. If you live in the northeast or where there is a lot of snow occasionally, the neoprene chest waders are also good if you need to wade out in deep snow to do things around your house. I use them to roof rake the snow off our roof and stay dry as I walk around the house to pull The snow down with the roof rake. A pair of hip waders ( cost around $40 or so for a decent pair) is also something to consider for fishing smaller streams and rivers; very convenient and easy to get in and out of.

Wednesday afternoon (yesterday), went out from 3:30 til 8, stopping for an hour to stretch and eat a sandwich around 5p.m. Landed 9, all largemouth, had 4 that shook the hook; crimped barb on hook and long casts again. One big largemouth and the rest were 2#s or less. Alternated between shakey head, t rigged weightless senko and ultralight set up using small spinners and small rapala like lures. Caught most on the senko, none on the shakeyhead (didn't fish this as much when the senko was working well), and 3 on the ultralight. All were in 2-6 feet of water. Didn't hook any panfish on the ultralight rig, although I saw plenty in the shallows as well as a massive pickeral. Atached two pictures - one about 2# or so I'm guessing, that was caught on a yozuri gold and orange pins minnow. The other was the biggest caught, that was on the senko and I'm guessing somewhere in the 3- 4# range. The water was calm and it was another beautiful day.

Friday - trip to one of the smaller finger lakes. Got there about 3:30, somewhat windy. Had one pole rigged with a shakey head and another rigged with the smallest size yellow/red dot silver blade panther martin spinner on an ultralight set up. I alternated using each, usually following up the shakey head with the panther martin when I felt just a tug from what I thought was panfish. Caught several nice size bluegills and sunfish on the panther martin and a few bass, one largemouth with a big appetite was only about 3 inches long but that one flipped off before I could snap a picture. Had 2 really big fish on the shakey head. One flipped off the hook after it jumped just after I hooked up - long cast and crimped down barb will cause that, but that's part of fishing that way. Took a picture of a good size smallmouth, I'm guessing over 3#s. I never bring a scale but judging by the length and the heft it was a good size one. Fished for about 4 hours: stopping for an hour to stretch and eat some snacks and talk to a really nice guy fishing on the bank. A teacher in the Honeoye school district. He had just caught one on a rebel popper and was thrilled. Good to see that. A relaxing and fun afternoon. Couple pictures attached of the smallmouth.

Consider USA Braid - it's Spectra line. You can order from Walmart online, delivered free to a local store. 500 yard spool for about $25. I'm partial to orange color as I can see it better and use 10 or 15# with a flouro leader. This line was recommended to me by a forum member a few years ago, SirSnookalot, who offered very good practical advice.

Flouro would be my recommendation as a leader if you are concerned with fish being scared off by line visibility.

Agree with BobP above. Crimp down the barb, makes extracting the hook so much easier. You will lose some that jump and shake the hook, but so what? It's supposed to be fun and it's no fun if you end up with a dead fish.

Went out to one of the smaller finger lakes this afternoon. Fished for about 3 hours. Waves were crazy, two feet at times with whitecaps. Paddled a lot to keep in place - would cast out and drift back while reeling in, then paddle forward to cast again. Didn't venture more than fifty yards from shore. Traveled about a half mile south pushed by the wind and paddled back to the starting point by paddling a lot more distance. Caught 2 LMB about a pound each on watermelon red magic senkos t rigged weightless. It was a good workout to catch a few fish. Hoping for less wind next time out.

Goby

This afternoon I went out to one of the small finger lakes. Thought it strange that there was no one parked at the north end boat ramp as on a Friday,there are usually at least 6 to 10 vehicles with trailers there. When I got to the south end canoe/kayak launch and carried my canoe down to the water, I found out why. The wind was gusting straight down the lake and there were some crazy waves and whitecaps. I put my gear in the canoe and sat in my truck listening to the radio and eating all my snacks for a few hours, hoping for better conditions. It started raining a little around 3:30 and then it stopped after a few minutes. After the rain stopped, the wind calmed down a lot and I launched. Probably should have turned around and drove home right after I first got there; however, I had to try,and right after I started fishing at 4:00, it started pouring. I got soaked, I kept fishing until 6. Didn't catch a thing, got 3 light hits on the shakeyhead set up, probably bluegills, and that was it. Headed for home around 6:30 after loading up and it felt good to have the heat blasting in the truck. Sometimes there's a reason no one else is on the lake

So if you were to buy Spectra line then, U.S.A. Braid would be a good value?

You may also look into the U.S.A. Braid line which is Spectra line made by Honeywell in - the USA. You can get this online from Walmart and delivered to a local Walmart store for free shipping. Costs less than $30 for a 500 yard spool. I fish freshwater and tried 10# test in the orange color and it worked quite well with a flouro leader. I used a black marker to darken the six feet of line before the leader. I like the orange because I can see it and the line seems to work well on my small spinning reels. I was alerted to this line by a member of this forum last year, I think his forum name was Sirsnookalot. He was a saltwater guy who had a practical approach to things and I found his recommendation for this braid to be a good one.

Have had the Excalibur Matrix for 2 years and have got a deer each year. Effective range is the same as a vertical bow. Excalibur is a recurve type, so less to go wrong mechanically, you can easily change a string if needed and no need to shoot the arrow at the end of the day to unload, you can do this very easily with the rope aid. I'm not saying this brand is the best, I just like it and I really like crossbows.