Fishin Dad

Hey Bankbeater, have you had the chance to use that rod yet? I was eyeballing that one.

The bite was way off anyway. I am hoping to enjoy some solid days up there this summer. Jerkbait, tube, Ned, swimbait, drop shot, hair. It will help if some of the perch have been eaten and there isn’t so much forage.

I agree with those. I haven’t used Howies tubes there yet. I am sure they will be solid. If not, with my tackle addiction, I might have 10-12 others to try. I am somewhat excited to try the Maxscent tubes. Haven’t used those on Mille Lacs yet. Last year there was a weird year with all the little perch. A slower year than normal.

Price was $189 across the board on the site.

Myself, my buddies, and a ton of pros use the Rapala pro scale. Has a nice clip, easy to use and read display, allows you put fish in bins and weigh your best five total weight. It has been very accurate and reliable. I use for tournaments, but also for fun fishing to see what my best 5 fish bag would be.

Wow!! That is my dream shed. ?

I don’t think you get many to disagree with you on the Fenwick. That rod is a favorite of so many anglers it’s silly.

I would still say the vast majority of pros weigh their fish, save the weights in the scale bins, and cull tag them. Then with the next fish catch, it is a quick weigh 1 fish, switch them out and get back to fishing. No need to even get 2 fish out of the box. This is how we do it once we get a limit. Easy, fast, and accurate. No guessing down to the hundredth of an ounce accuracy. Just the way we like to do it and it has worked well for us in tournaments. Sometimes I like to go out by myself and see what my tournament bag would weigh for the day. A fun little challenge.

I don’t remember what colors I grabbed. If it is one of the colors you like, I can send you some. I will check again if I get up there and will grab some more bags if you’d like.

Watch the Hellabass episode with Epic Eric on it. They go back and forth talking about tackle and giving tips. It is a great video/podcast! Epic Eric doesn’t just buy, he tinkers and knows a ton.

Fleet Farm had these on sale really cheap a few weeks ago and I grabbed 3 or 4 bags. I hope they work up on Mille Lacs this spring.

I like to buy tackle and have plenty, but Epic Eric is unreal. Tom Monsoor does have a lot too. I saw a video of his basement and his vintage lure collection is beautiful. I keep trying to stop buying, but as I read and learn more, it seems I always need more. I always find a way to justify more rods, reels, and tackle. Oh well, I work for a reason.

Would love those. That guy is connected to the fish in a different way it seems.

I listen to BTL, Tackle Talk, Mercer, Bassmaster radio, MLF Podcast, Bass Chaplin, and being a Minnesota guy, I like Teal’s Bass Galaxy. He has Midwest bass guys on. It is a long podcast, but I listen over many days. It is hard to find enough Midwest related fishing stuff, so I like that. I watch Hellabass on YouTube, but he has a podcast too. It is a replay of his YouTube. He is Midwest as well, but really tied into the bass scene everywhere. He writes an article for B.A.S.S. on Fantasy stuff as well. There are a lot of good ones out there.

Absolutely! Thanks. Great deal.

Received my Daiwa 7’1” heavy today from Midway. Always well packaged and delivered in 3 days. Awesome! My daughter grabbed it and said, “ Dad, this feels heavier than your other rods”. She is used to dropshotting with a quality ML or M spinning rod however. I thought it was a little heavy, but at 7’1” and heavy power, it is acceptable. It is a nice looking rod with a quality build. *** author Walker Smith loved it for skipping. Sold me for the purchase. Hope Y’All love them and skip up some bigs!!

Often times the colors bleed into each other too.

I totally agree! I do the same for the most part. Have you seen any of Zona’s shows? He puts hundreds in big bags and just lumps them all together. I know a lot of them are the same baits and may play well together, but it looks crazy! It also helps to get baits for free!! ?

I agree. I do my research, trust people on this site, and take my chances. My tournament buddy has the Tatula rod I ordered. I have only received one rod broken and it was taken care of very easily. For 50% off, I am willing to gamble a little too. Nothing like coming home to a 7 1/2 ‘ tube on your porch!! Like Christmas every time!!!

That’s the one I grabbed the other day too. Excited to have the ice melt. 3 new rods to try out. I have a couple months left. ?. Hope you all can give ‘em a go before that and report back!

I agree. I even think it is a timesaver to look at the scale and know right away which numbered fish needs to go. We always fill the box with our 5, once we catch the 6th fish, we weigh em, tag em, and get back to fishing. The next fish gets weighed, quickly replace the bigger fish with the lightest tagged fish and get back to fishing. No guessing.

I have given up on Academy online. I find stuff I like and it usually says, “In-store only”. I really like Academy, but we don’t have them in Minnesota. Their prices seem amazing and their selection and store brands look awesome. I can never seem to make many purchases online for any sale stuff. I am jealous of those that have them nearby. I will look for the spring sale and hopefully get to order some stuff online.

Scheels actually trains their employees and keeps them for a long time. Their customer service and knowledge is amazing. I have bought many guns and archery equipment there. Their fishing department is solid. It is just hard with their prices being retail with a few sales. They recently (about 3 years ago) updated their website to make it usable. It used to be horrible. I also like their values and my family buys a lot of clothing and such from them as well as sporting goods. I think you will like them!!

I actually use bigger size reels on my ultralights for crappie and such. I use a Daiwa Tatula LT 3000 cxh. I would look at a Daiwa Exceller LT for $99 in the 2500 or 3000. The nice thing about these LT reels is they are light weight enough for ultralight and you can move them to stronger bass rods if needed. I just grabbed a Tatula LT 4000 for $127 to try. I think I might love it. I have reels from 500 size for ice fishing up to now a 4000. I have found I like bigger reels, 2500 being the smallest I would go for anything other than ice fishing.

I guess when it could come down to ounces to win, why take a chance. I also think it is easier and less time consuming to weigh and grab one cull tag and switch them out. Not saying I am better than anyone or questioning their abilities. I agree most do use a scale and cull very efficiently. I have just seen quite a few this week grabbing them all out, flopping them around the deck and guessing. My buddies and I use the Rapala scale as well. Makes it so easy. I saw a lot of guys using the new Bubba scale. Have to check that one out.