FryDog62

I have 3 different ultrasonic buzzers in my boat over the winter storage months. Have been told mice could still get in but are much less likely to nest, reproduce. I put out a couple traps and check from time to time too. Friend of mine had a great family dog that got into the next door neighbor’s garage and ate some poison a few years ago... so I avoid that route even though it works.

You may have seen I posted similar on ido and got a variety of answers... but I'm at the same trailer/tire age as you. I've decided that whether the tread is worn or not I will replace as its been 5 years. A friend of mine who used to sell utility trailers said the biggest risk isn't tread wear, but drying out and cracking. He said even if there appears to be wear left, replace no longer than 5 years, sooner if you put a lot of miles on and/or store outside. Since time/cracking is more of the actual risk, I'm going to let the boat sit in the garage all winter and then replace in spring. May not buy me an extra 6 months, but who knows... that's my plan anyway ~

Tom, I remember using those, pretty sure they were the Tora tubes. Up here, we used them for snapping white ones off the bottom in deep water for lake trout and a lot of guys threw them for muskies before all the Medusa style baits came along. They worked!

I’ve had a lot of re-newed activity with the tube the last couple years. I’m a fan of Maxscent for Senkos and drop-shotting so when they came out with a tube this last Fall I grabbed some 2.5 and 3.5 inchers. Smallies of course, but they do catch decent sized largemouth too. A lot of times I fish the 2.5 like a slightly up-sized Ned and drag slowly on the bottom around rocks, laydowns, etc. If a lot of snags or sharp rocks are present or I want to go a little deeper, sometimes I throw the 3.5 on an Owner Phantom hook. They don't always have to be pitched into the weed line.

The only ice I like is the stuff that rattles around in the bottom of my Scotch glass..

29 degrees and snowing right now as I write this... only 152 days til average ice out date, but unless you ice fish (which I don't) its 181 days (yeah 6 months) til it’s legal for us to fish for bass again here in Minnesota ?

I've had both.. because two years ago the top 6 inches on my Orochi PP snapped when casting a 3/4 oz jig + trailer. At about the same time frame there were breakage issues and a re-call on the old Levantes. New Levante came out this past year and I got the PP again... I assume they strengthened/tested them plenty to ensure against breakage. I feel more confident for that reason with the Levante over the Orochi right now, although I have no reason to believe there were rampant quality issues with the Orochi like there were previously with the Levante. So far, so good. I really like the rod (both models), its fairly unique for power and action and fits a good niche.

Thanks, sounds good. I'm not opposed to going into Tennessee either. My wife and I haven't really determined specific dates/routes yet but plan to figure out it out fairly soon... kind of an adventure of sorts ~

Wondering if you can recommend any smaller or lesser known lakes in that area that maybe don't have the notoriety of Guntersville but have a good population of quality fish? If windy, I may seek smaller waters with an 18 foot boat. Thx

Thanks good info. That’s just crazy for us Northerners to get our heads wrapped around though - warming water and fish moving up in February... That’s a May thing here!

“Really, just one more cast..”

Good to know... any general idea what depth the fish are then, techniques, etc? Not sure what to bring... but sounds fun.

I may be driving through Guntersville in mid-February - and wondering how the fishing is that time of year. Or, is it markedly better in March? I may have some flexibility on dates. Thanks

I fish smallies in a local river or two a lot... and I have more expensive rods but the one I use most often there is a Phenix Feather 7'1" MHXF. I use 12 lb fluorocarbon and always have something tied on it - tube, fluke, Caffeine Shad, etc. It is light and extremely sensitive, and feels somewhere between a medium and medium-heavy. Great tip, but enough backbone to be able to get fish out and away from laydowns, rocks, etc. in current.

Nice video A-Jay... I too like fishing for the brownies as late into the year as possible. Kind of steal whatever I can from the front-end on set of Winter. Ice out date 2022 is a long ways out! I know I'm taking away from Old Man winter here in Minn when I'm still fishing and can hear the leaf blowers on shore like I could in your video ? My last day for smallmouth was November 1, still doing some largemouth and maybe walleyes but my PVB will get buttoned up soon too ~

Any thoughts on how the Alphas CT SV compares? Thx

Anyone know if this model is still In production and if so where to find it?

Suspending jerk baits, football jigs... but to cover a lot of water where the bigger bass are near the bottom moving to their deeper wintering holes, I like a 3/4-1 oz underspin with a 5 inch paddle tail.

My dad. He was an only child whose dad died when he was 8, raised during the Depression by a mom who had to work 6 days a week to make ends meet. When he turned 12 he started hitchhiking (unbeknownst to her) 35 minutes away several days a week to the Mississippi near Wabasha, MN. Did this for years... Live bait was too expensive. So he found some old flies and learned to re-tie them and fish for smallmouth. "Smallmouth?" the locals would ask him, why the hell would you want to catch those? "Because they're fun." He honed his fly making craft and gerry-rigged light action rods. Later, he learned to make his version of a fuzzy grub that he caught smallmouth, walleyes and everything else on. Fast forward to the past 30 years until he passed away - many times there were 3 of us in the boat fishing together. He'd sit in the middle and out-catch us 3:1 even though we were fishing within 3 feet of him. We'd get frustrated and he'd just smile. One of us would finally ask him what he was doing different. He'd say "slow down and go with a lighter jig..." Still works today. Whenever I get skunked or struggle I can hear him tell me to go the finesse route.

This. Check out Jimmy Dezurik for sure...

Just picking up the slack line, I use 7.1 to 8.1...

I agree with his statement about Fall fishing. Rarely have I ever found them "stacked" in high numbers. Just the other day I caught 2 of the bigger largemouth of the year on back-to-back casts and then didn't get another bite for almost 90 minutes. That's typical Fall fishing for me. Makes sense to utilize a Texas rig around the remaining green weeds though.

My opinion here but it’s pretty well known the breakage issues with the Levante a couple years ago. But I do think the Orochi is a bit fragile too. I snapped about 5 inches off on the Braillist and then a Perfect Pitch during casts with lures approx half the weighted rate. Made me leery. So when Megabass re-did the Levante last year, I opted for a Perfect Pitch in that line. Like it just as well as the Orochi and my confidence is higher given that it has been re-done and hopefully got the bugs worked out.

I think right now, the rivers in Central Minn are peaking. 52-55 water temps is a sweet spot. Challenge is low water levels. After Nov I don’t know for sure. I’ve not fished the Bayport area but I would think very good too!

Engage the reel a 1/2 second before the buzz bait hits the water. Also have the rod tip pointed at the landing spot and just as the lure hits the water and raise the tip and pull the lure slightly towards you as you start to reel... it gets it "out of the hole" gradually but keeps it from sinking. And an 8:1 ratio helps too.