thomas15

Lucky you, it's about 8 degrees here in North East Pennsylvania. I don't think the ice is thick enough to go out on it but even if it were that's not for me. I think about 60 more days before splash time gets here.

Shane I sort of headed in the same direction as you, just on a slightly more modest scale. The Cardiff reel above is going to be my swimbait reel, need to decide on a pole. I'm thinking right now about the IROD Jr swimbait because it has a 17" handle and is 7'8" long, slightly shorter than most I've seen. The weight is 1-4 oz but I think the biggest bait I have is a 7" MS Slammer and a couple of LS swwimbailts. Thinking about getting a rat. So I think this combo will work ok and think I will use 30 or 35 pound floro.maybe 60 braided, not sure yet.

The bait monkey did a hit and run...

No one moves from state XYZ to NE PA because of the fine freshwater fishing.

There is, to be sure, a fine line between sanity and insanity. I have found that the best way to avoid unhealthy habits is to keep your tackle organized. I'm personally skeptical of anyone who is not organized and who does not have a plan. People who give no thought as to where the fish might be on any given day and/or put what ever bait on their hook are simply living on the jagged edge.

I would say that if the outboard runs well, the hull is sea worthy and the trailer roadworthy then look further into this. Try to determine if the transom is not rotted out and that there are no holes in the hull. The seller should have titles for the boat and trailer. Just because the seller is asking $1200.00 doesn't mean that he will not take $1000.00 The trailer looks like a converted utility trailer but if it works ok. Does it have rollers and/or bunks and working lights? The boats is not huge but if sound and works you can have a lot of fun with it and it's not that expensive. Lets see what others have to say...

Been out of NJ for 12 years but... Look into Shark River Park (lake) in Wall Twp. Been years since I've fished there but they were in there. Lake Como just south of Belmar is supposed to have some check on this first. Have you tried the upper part of Deal Lake? amazon has used copies of this book cheap worth a try http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-New-Jersey-Freshwater-Anglers/dp/1580801404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455036566&sr=8-1&keywords=freshwater+fishing+in+new+jersey

Let me try again... I've never fished it and simple math it is at least 35 years old. Reading this thread has me thinking that perhaps I should give it a try.

When I was in college I found a tackle box and this was in it. Have no idea how old but I found it in 1979. Sorry for the poor picture quality. I will try again later sorry

As others have said space will be an issue no matter what. This is going to be my third season with a 16 foot V hull and I cram a lot of stuff onboard but also have no room to move and always in danger of stepping on a pole. So I have been working up different ideas to store gear and poles and generally make the boat more of a fishing machine. I have this to-do list of about 25 things to do before the season starts. Some of those items are maintence but there are going to be rod holders, a stern platform and a bicycle seat for the bow. Third year and I'm just getting to that now but have fished the dickens out of the boat the past two years. So my advice is don't give up and don't lose heart. If you can, try to get into it and make steady improvements one at a time and as money allows. A small modest boat is way better than no boat and there will always be something better out there but once you leave the bank it's all good.

I sent in an order, mainly swim jigs to TW and added a Phantom Shad color at the last minute to check out all the fuss. Should be here in a day or two.

I have some new tackle to put into service. I'm thinking about putting into place a new tackle protocol so that I have less clutter in the boat and be able to find things easier. When I took the boat out of service I made a list of things to do in the spring. I'm putting a new sonar at the console, doing some TM maintence, putting in a bigger stern platform, trailer work and a bicycle seat at the bow. I'm also looking at making a few rod holders. I'm going to put a lot of effort into my home pond this year. It's a challenge and I basically suck at this but I'm going to give it my all. So for now I'm putting together a plan of attack. I think if the weather stays like it has been so far ice out will be earlier this year, in any case we are at this point about 10 weeks from launch.

Sorry if I'm a bit late responding to this thread. As a kid I never fished for Bass, it was either salt water or trout/panfish. My grandfather took me and my brother freshwater fishing many times. I started out with a very inexpensive spinning rod/reel, this was about 1966 ish. From time to time I would get an upgrade but I simply dreamed about having a Mitchell 308. Finally I saved up the money and bought my 308 and a Garcia Conoloin Five Star 5' 4" ultralight pole. This was one awsome set up for a kid in 7th grade! I had a paper route and could afford such things. That was probably around the spring of 1969 or so and the package was somewhere around $80.00-$90.00 I think, I believe the reel was over $40.00 and that pole was the best conolin that they offered at the time in UL. I was very proud of that set up. Once in high school I found other things to do and fished very little. One time I decided to go fishing but couldn't find the pole, I think someone (one of the neighbors) took it from our garage. I don't really know for sure. In college I bought an inexpensive 6'4" combo because one of my friends wanted to bass fish. The reel is long gone but I still have the pole and use it, It's a dept store rig made by Berkley. I think about buying a new mitchell 308 at times but I have two or three ultra lights with Shimano reels that really have held up well. But the memories

It seems like it wasn't that long ago when all of my tackle fit into a hard Plano 3 tray tackle box. Now I have three plano soft bags with four each 3600 boxes, a spinner bait box and a small duffle packed with plastics. The plano bags have smaller plano storage boxes packed with terminal tackle. I have 8 plastic shoeboxes stuffed with overflow plastics. Then there are overflow cardboard boxes filled with tackle that I don't know where to put and a few misc. 3600 boxes and a scent/pork box that just sort of hangs out. I'm a piker compared to others here and yet I'm to the point where I really have no idea where anything is. So I'm going to take all of my 3600 boxes and put them on a shelf in my shed and select what I think I will need for the day so that the overhead on the boat is much lower. I really don't know what else to do.

Do you have a boat? That's where fishing smokes shooting from a cash flow perspective.

That's what I like to see, a combo tackle/handloading bench!

These are lip-less crankbaits made by Bill Lewis who basically invented the lipless crank. Any tackle store and even WalMart will have them.

I got one in LTB s few months ago. I haven't fished it yet but we put it into a bowl of water and it does make sounds, vibrates and lights up, whatever. I'm open minded about it.

The owner of the marina near here was telling me a story.. He was teaching his granddaughter how to drive and was using the parking lot at the boat ramp. It was late winter and still complete ice cover on the lake. As the girl was driving around the parking lot he noticed a truck from out of state, towing a boat. The truck pulled up, baked down the ramp, then noticed the ice cover . What followed was a string of verbage that was not family friendly.

^^^^edfitzvb On edit: I totally agree with you in every point you made. I believe that finess presentations are where I should concentrate my efforts. My DS is the only thing that really works for me. I'm going to start using the ned rig also.^^^ OK I restarted my Bass fishing a year and a half ago after not fishing at all for 10+ years. I also restarted as a boater. In the past, as a bank fisherman, I really thought I knew how to fish but the last year has been some what of a humbling experience. So, a few thoughts: First thing is I really need to learn is just exactly where the fish are when I'm out there. I need to learn where to actually begin to start looking and I really need to learn how to use my electronics. I know for fact that I'm not going to catch anything if I'm throwing my bait in places where the fish are not. So it's electronics and boat position along with just having a general idea where the fish should be at that time of year and that particular time of day. Second thing is I need to perfect 2 or 3 presentations and stick to them. Master them and gain confidence. I have to agree with those who cannot understand why some on this forum either don't like to drop shot or cannot do it. This past year was the first time I ever used a drop shot and If it were not for that presentation my year would have sucked way worse than it did. And believe me it sucked royal. But I will figure this thing out.

I've used mepps in-lines for trout but never for bass. I guess it's time to give it a try.

15K should buy a lot of boat so don't be in a hurry, there are plenty of them to choose from. Almost every small boat including Bass Boats have foam under the deck to add boyancy and strength. If water gets past the floor it may water log the foam. A glass boat has wood in the transom and stringers. If the foam is wet the transom and stringers will rot. Some aluminum boats also have wood but most today have little if any. Water in the foam at the least will add weight to the boat. A good marine surveyor will look for this condition. A surveyor is like the person you hire to inspect a home before you buy it. If someone selling a used boat states that the floor is new, look somewhere else.

I have a couple of the slow sink models. Agree with everything already mentioned. I haven't caught anything on it yet though. Having thought about that some I think it is because I lack the patience to let it sink far enough and to reel in slow enough. I intend to work with this bait this year as I see no reason why it shouldn't produce.

Last evening I finished off a bottle of Bookers that I've had for about two years. This started out fine but became a chore to sip at about the half bottle mark. That happens sometimes. This pour is not for the faint of heart. So I'm looking at the snow outside and then at my bourbon shelf and thinking what should I do? I have some Four Roses single barrel, Wild Turkey barrel proof, Buffalo Trace (a single barrel from a NJ store), Knob Creek single barrel some Evan Williams black label (great bourbon for those on a budget) and a few Isley Scotch and some Rum. I couldn't decide so here I am sipping a fairly inexpensive Brandy. Sometimes it's not the price or pedigree, its just what you feel like having. BTW ghoti, good call on the Berheim Wheat. If you haven't already tried a Rye Whiskey, may I suggest Billet Rye?

I have 20" here in the Pocono Mountains in NE PA. Really not that big of a deal for this area.