Further North

A few thoughts... Surface temp is different from temps a few feet down... A good wind and wave action will get plenty of O2in the water... If there are any inflows from creeks or rivers...that'll have some O2 in it. Rivers - in addition to being cooler - will have plenty of O2 in them, particularly if you can find a section with a lot of mid channel structure, or rapids.

Thanks Glenn.

October, 2014...I'm on a local lake targeting late smallies, pike and muskies... On a sunken island, I'm letting my Terrova run me around the 16' contour while I'm firing a perch colored Doctor Spoon across the structure from every angle...I hook a 23" pike, have it about 15' from the boat when a 40-somthing musky t-bones the pike like a freight train. She moves the pike from half way down the boat to off the bow before I can say "Cheese and Rice!". ...and she won't let go. I work the two of them back to the side of the boat, expecting the musky to drop the pike at the side of the boat...but no way. I even reach towards her thinking that'll work...no dice. I have to reach across the back deck with my left foot to get my net, pick it up and stick it in her face before she let's go...then she does and "Submarine with eyes" deal,,,sinks about 3 ft. down and slowly cruises away.

I did a poor job explaining... First, it's Ontario...so we were (God help me) walleye fishing. I'll never do it again. Really. Dullest week of fishing I've ever had. What happens up there on occasion is if some other fishermen see someone having success on a spot, they'll do their best to get there earlier than the folks who found the spot the next day...or they'll get on the spot and camp out. Not a tournament.

Springs?

I had a bunch of old marker buoys...I never use them, I've got GPS...We were on a lake in Canada, where there is a fair amount of spot poaching... We'd find a worthless spot, usually right before lunch, toss out a marker...then move off a ways to eat...and count the poachers. One place worked so well we left the buoy there all day, counted 8 different boats in the spot as we moved back and forth that day.

I do this...but with a caveat: I'll share my home water off-line, or in person. The lakes are too small to sustain website hot-spotting.

While I agree that it'd be a bad idea to try to up against the guy directly...if I was certain about it, an anonymous call to the cops reporting you'd seen him stealing fishing equipment wouldn't be out of line. Hint: Don't use your cell phone... Agree. Good way to get shot.

@ 30,000...I'd have IT run a report showing which internal accounts were on non-work related websites more than about 60-90 (enough for lunch and breaks) minutes a day, then I'd block every one of them. I'd leave the folks who were within those parameters. ...and the goobers who tried to go around the blocks? I'd encourage them to seek alternate employment.

Cabela's went from being family owned to publicly owned several years ago.

Sorry to hear this...that kind of pain is terrible to deal with.

I wonder how your employer feels about that? ...we blocked Internet access for everyone who demonstrated they couldn't be responsible about using it. Overtime dropped like a stone in the first month...

I think the pole is a good idea if you have room for it.

This is it, right here. It usually costs more to do it right, but it's worth it in the long run.

The best part of fishing in the winter is that my treble hooks never get fouled by weeds.

Rage rods are still on sale for $89.00 on the website...Still with free shipping and a hat...

I have several Rockets...they all cast fine. Sounds like something is out of whack.

A few years back I was fishing a channel on Sturgeon Lake up in NW Ontario...I was in a Lund Pro-V 1800, with a Johnson 150 on it - not a lightweight by any stretch of the imagination. The wind was blowing me along a a nice break where my electronics were showing a sharp drop off from a big flat to about 30 ft. of water. I was fishing what was marked on the map as a mid lake hump that topped out around 5 ft. deep...turned out it was really about 5 inches...which I found out when I high centered the boat opposite the side I was fishing from...the big motor was stuck on the rock (by rock..I mean rock. Not basketball sized...not truck sized...think...apartment building sized) and the front of the boat was stuck solid...with the wind pushing into me enough that I can't get the boat moved without it getting right back on the rock. 10 minutes of rocking the boat and trying to use the trolling motor to get me off the rock told me I was screwed... I'm an easy 10 miles from camp, by myself and I haven't seen another boat all day...so I put the TM (a Terrova) on 2, pointed it away from the rock, into the wind...hopped over the side and gave a big ol' grunt and a shove while hanging onto the back of the boat...then I had to get back in the boat while it was far enough off the rock to crank the TM up to 10 and pull me off. That took two tries... I got 'er done and finished up the channel (staying 20 ft. away from the rock) with a beauty of a big pike - just under 40"... I do not recommend this as a method for getting un-stuck...

I use this: http://www.m-ywedge.com/ I broke three transom savers in three years with my old Lund Pro-V with a Johnson 150 on it...some kind of shock was getting transmitted that was causing the problem. Went to the M-Ywedge and like it quite a bit. I'm a belt and suspenders guy on a lot of things...so I use two instead of one...

The Marathons were good, and will work for most folks just fine. I just replaced my Goodyear Marathons with Kumho 857 tires. I took my time, did my research, talked to a lot of people and made the call to go with them. Thy had a higher load rating, and a higher speed rating...which meant I can tow at the speeds we all know we run at without worrying. ...but I just looked and they are not available in a 13" size. Sorry about that...

Yup. No matter which one you like, there will be someone who's had a bad experience with the other (or had a friend who had a bad experience with them) and will bad mouth them for years...ignoring the idea that they got one of the inevitable bad ones, or that maybe things have improved since 1987... Bell curves are real...for every single manufactured item on the planet. I'll stick to my idea that they are both great products, pick the one you like best, or is cheaper and meets your needs/wants.

The problem with tungsten isn't how well it works...it works better than lead. The problem is the cost. When I shoot shotgun shells..tungsten matrix is the best shot out there...but it's $25 for a box of 10... Same thing for fishing...get a reasonably priced non-lead alternative into the the market and this is no problem. All my current bullet weights are steel, and they work fine. Bigget than lead, but thay get the job done...

Generally speaking...Insurance companies will insure for whatever you want to pay a premium for. make sure "replacement value" is what it's covered for. If something happens...and they lowball you...suggest that they go out and find one for that price... Being informed is powerful...

I'm a big fan of loop knots when fishing baits like Rapalas and some others...they allow freedom of movement while maintaining line strength... I lave them on a fly rod, especially for streamers on smallies... I tend to wind up with a loop that too danged big... What do you folks recommend and why?

OK...really stupid question: Where do we find the "little frogs"? I tie small frog-like poppers for flies all the time...but am curious where to find small frogs...