FryDog62

Will a 7 foot Medium Heavy/Fast work (rated up to 1 oz lure weight) or do I need to go to a Heavy power rod to throw a Whopper Plopper 130?

What about something like this.... St. Croix Avid Steelhead/Salmon casting rod - 9'-6" Heavy, Fast action, 1/2 to 2 ounce lure weight, 2 pieces, weighs 6.7 ounces $270

That's where I thought a long but lighter salmon/steelhead rod might be a possible option - if not too "noodly."

The reason I'm interested is that there are certain places I fish in the milfoil here in Minnesota - where I drift the boat quietly along a weed edge. If I had - for instance, a 10 foot rod with 10 feet of line out - I could drop a jig or Texas rig into 3-4 different openings within reach and get a reaction bite. Or, drift along a little further and repeat - without ever really casting, plopping, making noise, etc. Would be a stealthy way of covering some high percentage spots. Wouldn't plan to cover a lengthy shoreline this way necessarily, I have a 7'-6" rod for that...

Anyone using the longer rods for Flippin? I ordered a Skeet Reese 9'-2" flippin' stick - didn't even use it before sending back. Obviously weight and balance are critical in something that size. I thought it was quite heavy and would be a huge fatigue factor. Liked the telescopic feature though for storage. Are there any other good good options out there without breaking the bank? How about a salmon/steelhead rod - I have a credit from St. Croix, maybe could have a dual use for flippin' too ??

It does sink - it has an extremely high salt concentration so it will sink on its own. I've used it weightless and on the 3/32 oz weighted hook. Because it's so full of salt they don't last long. That's why I think you have to use the screw-lock type of hook, either weighted or weightless. It does help them from crumbling apart as easily but you'll still go through them. I may catch a couple fish per Shad, sometimes more. I'd say the Caffeine Shad is somewhere between a fluke and a wacky worm. The front-end is like a fluke but the thinner tail has a small air bubble in it. Between the bubble and that the weighted hook is in the middle (not like your typical nose-weighted jig) the lure will stay horizontal more like a wacky worm. When it hits the water be sure you have semi-slack line like when you fish a wacky worm - then it typically dives a foot or so to the side or backward like its swimming, then slows and starts spiraling downward like a dying baitfish. Most of the time it stays horizontal - a slower fall when weightless and a little more rapid at 3/32. Either way the darting then dying action usually trigger a strike if there's fish in the area. If not twitch/jerk the rod tip up gently a couple times and let it dart/die again. Great action -- better than your typical fluke IMO. Skips very well up underneath docks. I also had good luck this summer throwing it about 4-5 feet deep into the Lilly pads then wriggle it on top back to the weed edge and let it dart/die back into the open water. Caught a lot of bass that watched it come over the top of them, follow back to the weed edge and then hammer it once it falls back into the water. BTW, the 3 fish in my photo were all caught on the same Caffeine Shad on a 20 foot section of dock within about 4 minutes... Its not a new lure on the market but it was for me this year and I've had a ball with it!

Booms 5 inch Caffeine Shad on an Owner 3/32 oz Screwlock hook. If there is a bass anywhere near where this hits the surface and does the slow fall - lights out. Its such a good skipping lure under docks too. Pearl, Glacier colors. 5 inch Kalin's Baby Bass 5 inch Wac-O-Worm. Weightless in lakes, 1/16 oz VMC wacky hook in rivers. It just works... around cover, skipping, weed edges, etc. Old Faithful. Keitech Fat 4.3 inch on a 4/0 1/4 oz swimbait hook. As a search bait I prefer this over crank baits now, covers water and weeds don't stick to it like a crank. Caught my PB walleye this year on one. Shadow Rap - high confidence lure in cold water (which we have a lot here in Minnesota). Caught my PB pike while jerking for smallmouth this Spring. Busts Drop-shotting. I caught my PB smallmouth on Mille Lacs last year drop-shotting ala Seth Fieder style, but have yet to catch anything on a drop-shot this year. But then again I haven't been back to Mille Lacs either --

I would agree with the SLOW comment on fishing lately... at least in the metro with water temps nearing 80. Catching a lot less fish and a lot more work to find them. My son did try to catch his sister in the big largemouth category. His was 21 inches, but hers weighed a few ounces more. A little sibling rivalry is good

Jim DaRosa - smallmouth guide on Mille Lacs. August is his favorite month. Best smb I've ever caught, been out with him 3 times and worth every pennny. Other option would be not until late September thru mid October on the Mississippi north of St Cloud. Guide is Joe Scegura. Unbelievable river fishing and Joe knows the river like the back of his hand.

If you've not fished there before there's a great guide - Jim DaRosa. Otherwise, use your side imaging to find the boulder piles out in approx 20 fow. Go above the piles and drift in the wind back over the boulder field with a drop shot rig. Again a good guide like Jim is a great way to do this as he knows where the best boulder fields are. Big lake, be prepared to search around if your a first-timer.

Thx for the suggestion Darren. Just got confirmation from TW that in fact they do have the Spin Muscle wacky hooks just back in stock and on its way... Sorry to hear they broke on you. I actually bought my first pak last summer when I was having so much trouble with my wrist. I couldn't make very good hook sets and fish were coming unbuttoned. These hooks really seemed to help in both categories. Ordered 2 more paks this spring and also had good luck. No breakage of the hook, just the line a few times unfortunately - hence the new order. Always looking for good hook recommendations from other 'finesse' guys - curious what you've had luck with? Thanks, -Fry

In my search for Hayabusa's Spin Muscle wacky hook... I came across their "202" hook. Interesting concept - anyone tried this or something similar? Wondering: • If it has the same action as a traditional wacky worm? • Does the hook point stay buried when skipping? • Is the hook up ratio as good as a regular wacky hook? • Is it as durable (do the worms tear easily, can you add an O-ring to this set up)?

Looking for this hook in a 1/0. Have only found it at Tacklewarehouse but they are backordered indefinitely. Anyone know who else sells them? Thx...

My daughter "The Wacky Woman" is in town til the end of this month - so we got out in the West metro this morning. Holy Hanna! She caught a PB 5.91 lb largemouth - just an ounce shy of 6 pounds. Dad was just honored to net it for her

Thank you!!

Ditch the O-rings... go to http://cadmansjigs.weebly.com/. Got to "other products" and buy the wacky worm sleeves. They last several, several times longer than O-rings. Even get several hook ups on Yamamoto worms which are the softest on the market.

Does anyone know of an anti-fog cloth or treatment for sunglasses? Back in the 70's when I worked in a ski shop we sold a product for this, but with mixed results. Anything like that available today? Right now, every time it's hot or I get sweaty, my lenses start to fog up...

I think some guy named Roland Martin coined the phrase - "If you want to catch 'em big, you gotta use a jig." And I think he also says you can use any color ... as long as it's Green Pumpkin. Of course Roland is more of a Marketer than fisherman - but pretty good at both --

It's fun to try different lakes, techniques in the pursuit of - if not a state record, your own personal best.... ...To that end - which technique in Minnesota do you think gives the best chance to land the largest fish? •Crankbaits •Flipping •Skipping under docks •Texas rigging •Punching mats •Frog/topwater •Drop-shotting •Live bait rigging •??

And yet an 8 lb 15 oz Largemouth was caught 20 minutes from my house 12 years ago. Is the 8-15 the largest LMB to have ever swam somewhere in the state? Chances are there have been others that may have even been bigger at some point somewhere... so, we keep at it --

True, we need to find a nuclear power dam somewhere and fish the discharge ...

I think that could be true - SW part of the state near Mankato is where the previous state record was caught and there are a handful of lakes there that could hold the next record. I've never fished there but in the general vicinity a few times. Overall some bigger fish in those eutrophic lakes. Lots of bluegills to feed on --

I'll throw out a couple lakes: -Tetonka (where the previous state record was caught) -Spi But not Minnetonka - tons of one to three lb fish and very few above 4 lbs. Any others??

If you ask anyone where the next Minnesota state record smallmouth will be caught, pretty much everyone will tell you Mille Lacs... But how about the next state record largemouth? Any guesses? And will it be a large or small body of water?

Have switched over from smallies to largemouth this week ... got out at sun up this morning in the west metro. Caught this 20 incher - well it was really early - so of course used a Caffeine Shad. Woke both a nice fish and me up too... right before the rains kicked in.