Turkey sandwich

Everything. Congrats! That's one fat fish!

I have rods that are over 15 years old that I still use frequently because they're good for a specific purpose. If you like the feel and action of a specific rod, there's no reason to replace it unless it can't be repaired or you simply want to upgrade or use something new. I have a late 90s St Croix Premier that I still really like for certain presentations. Could I replace it with a new Avid X, GLX, Crucial, etc? Of course I could, but I like it.

I'm a big fan of selective harvest if the fish is badly hurt and legal size. I don't keep many, but typically when I do, it's because the fish isn't likely to survive. Or if they look like a walleye. I have this terrible tendency of mistaking walleye for badly hooked smallmouth.

For those dimensions, I'd be concerned with stability in any kind of wind/current/chop. 48" or less isn't very wide for a johnboat. In fact, I like the stabilty of my kayak at 36" width over any small johnboat I've ever tried standing in and it handles much, much better in current and choppy water. Have you considered either towing or tieing to the rack on you ur vehicle? A few decent options you might consider - a used 14-16' V hull, an inflatable, a Pelican (I've never fished from one, but plenty of guys here have had great experiences with them), or a kayak (many are now available with a trolling motor in the 2-3k range). I hope this info is helpful. You have lots to boat options in that price range, I would just be careful about buying something primarily because it fits in the bed of your truck. None of that will matter if you hate using it because it handles poorly or is super uncomfortable on the water. My .02.

We can all give our best guesses based on experience, but figuring out "why" is rarely more than that - educated guesses. Here's my take. Generally, I think, choosing color comes down to either matching forage accurately or creating enough contrast to make your bait visible. Sometimes even on brighter days in clear water the darker colors provide that contrast. Another consideration has to do with light penetration. If there's any discoloration in the water, there's going to be much less light available 20, 30, 40 feet down. Similarly, early morning or late evening means less light and darker colors (black, brown, purple, green pumpkin) provide more contrast. I also think having something super visible - be it dark contrast or crazy bright like bubble gum or methiolate can be very effective for sight fishing, not so much because they look great but because they're super visible to the angler.

Nice! I'm jealous - t- shirt weather is long gone up here in the north. Most of what I fish for bass is frozen up or just dangerous in a kayak at this point. With any luck, I'll get a weekend to get to central PA the for Browns and rainbows.

I haven't fished much water requiring punching in a while, but this has produced extremely well for me in the past. When I taught myself to fish heavy, matted vegetation back in the 90s, all I had to work with were T-rigs and grass/Arky jigs. That said, there is definitely an art to dragging a T-rigged worm across vegetation and working it into pockets, and it's well worth learning. In addition to having a heavy punching rig, I really like a lighter 3/8 - 1 oz T-rig and 7-9" plastic worm of choice to work the surface and area just below pads or holes in mats once I start to pattern fish sitting high in the water column. I prefer pegging the weight 90% of the time. You can do the same with a jig (I like a durable trailer like a beaver with the front end trimmed off, or even pork if I can still find it).

It's a fun, shallow lake that fishes best out of a small craft. Bring a flipping stick.

I believe you're also reasonably close to Shahola if you feel like pitching shallow, thick weed mats and frogging. Wallenpaupack isn't far either.

Seasons and the type of river can have a big effect. Generally, look for active fish at the heads and tail outs of pools and in/around riffles as the water warms, typically using current breaks and live vegetation as points of interest. From late fall up until pre-spawn, you're going to be keying on slower, deep holes with some kind of structure or at least large current breaks where fish can stack up in slack water while occasionally slipping into current to feed (points, oxbows, and some islands can be great examples). Pre spawn indicates a move toward shallow flats with moderate to moderately slow current and often gravel bottoms, or feeder creeks to spawn. Pre-spawn/spawn can very a lot depending upon th body of water and the quality of spawning areas available. This is kinda the Cliff's Notes version, but it should give you some basic ideas on which parts of a river to fish and which to pass by based on the seasons.

Just let it happen.

Welcome to the forum! I grew up near Wilkes-Barre, but also now reside in Philly. You're in a great place for the outdoors. The north branch Susquehanna isn't too far (I try to get there at least a few weekends a month), and you're right on the Delaware. If you don't own a fly rod, pick one up and head north. The tailwaters of the Delaware down into the main stem are killer trout waters.

Of course. Damnit.

Thank you, WRB. I have pants that look like they got tie dyed and then covered in oil. Looks like they'll be getting bleached. Any idea if the bleach will ruin the sun protection/SPF rating on the clothes?

I started using Megastrike crawfish scent last year and never really made a control to compare results with. I can totally understand the reasons why it would be effective, but I can't say that I nicked any huge difference between tubes fished without it and tubes basically filled with the stuff. That being said, it wasn't expensive and I didn't notice any real negative effects, so I'll likely continue using it. That said... any help on removing Megastrike or Dip'n'Dye stains would be greatly appreciated.

Surprised no one asked, what are you targeting and where are you? Are you fishing mostly largemouth/smallmouth/spots/mixed species? Where are you fishing? Are you fishing rivers, lakes, farm ponds, etc?

WI I've fished both and own several Chronarchs. They're both super reliable, user friendly reels and bye all accounts very, very similar. There is no bad choice between the two.

For versatility, it's very hard to be old classics like 3-5" grubs, 5-7" plastic worms, 3.5" tubes, and inline spinners.

If you're having that difficult a time fishing light T-Rigs, rig it drop shot with a standard worm hook and light DS weight or split shot heavy enough to keep something in bottom contact. A light C-Rig has also produced well for me in similar ponds/lakes.

Looks like the Cabin Creek and Coffee Tubes will be getting some company on my yak.

Tubes flat out catch fish. Tubes are the most ridiculously under appreciated flipping bait I can think of. @smalljaw67. What makes the tubes different?

This conversation is probably one of my favorites on the forum, and I can't credit enough of you guys for your remarks and insight. It's a reminder that there are some really bright fellas on here, and a lot I would love to spend time on the water trading ideas with. It's hard to quote just one person on here, but Francho's recent comment about science and art is spot on - and in bigger terms than just fishing. I think that ultimately becomes the allure for so many of us in our careers, hobbies, passions, etc because in fields where the two combine perfection becomes a completely impossible, yet inescapable pursuit. This is how we become addicted. To quit waxing philosophical and return to the discussion of the "why", I view it as piecing together a puzzle that will always have pieces missing. You're never going to know EVERY detail or create a true control, so finding perfect "why" solutions consistently (and especially on different bodies of water or under difficultly conditions) is extremely difficult. We know that food, mating, comfort, and safety are dominant factors, but getting them all figured out at once is really f'n hard, if not impossible. Realistically, I think a pursuit of understanding "why" is a general necessity as an angler superseded only by the understanding that most of the time we're only going to figure out parts of the puzzle and hope it's enough to be productive.

So... Is the entire purpose of this thread to complain that a company offers a wide variety of effective baits... And that you actually have to read free resources to learn how to use them? I'm not trying to be a jerk, but d**n. Also, I love Fat Raps. I want more of them. They've become hard to find

I tried to park for (not exaggerating) an hour, went to the bar because I needed food and whisky) and then circled for another 30 minutes. SO. MUCH. HATE.

We're only expecting 2" or so here in Philly, but that's enough to create parking chaos. Parking here is already a nightmare. Snow makes you question whether murder is justifiable.