Junk Fisherman

I don't throw Chatterbaits that often but when I do I throw white or some kind of shad color. My question is if it is cloudy and rainy but the lake has tons of shad, will you go to a black/blue color or stick with a shad-colored Chatterbait? I know guys throw the black/blue and a green pumpkin color but is that more for a bluegill-forage lake? The old adage I always heard was white in sunny conditions and black in cloudy conditions but does that change if the main forage is shad? Any input is appreciated.

Surprised no one has said YGK G-Soul Sinking Braid. Love that for the light stuff.

Welcome. The Madison Chain is a fantastic fishery. My bass club goes there most years for a tournament so that tells you how the guys feel about the place. And we never fish Mendota since it has the 1 fish, 18" limit. You're really fortunate to have such a good fishery in your backyard.

I done this many times for 3.5 hours each way. Doubt I would do that if gas was much more than $6 a gallon. Some of my favorite places to fish are 5 hours away. I've never gone there unless I've had 3 full days of fishing. With gas prices as they are, I'd need a week to drive that far.

Like Paul said, it's a powerplant lake. I was fishing from a boat but there is a lot of shore access.

733 Since you can cover more tactics with the 703 and the CB rod than with a 703 and a 733.

Got out to Braidwood this past Saturday. The wind actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be during the morning. Caught a few good ones right on the shorelines on plastics. Water anywhere from 60 to 65 but a little murkier than what is normal. Would of had a great day but lost several in the 4 lb range right at the boat. I broke my wrist a little over a month ago and it was hurting on hooksets. lol- at least I hope that's the reason I lost the fish. It would have sucked if I were fishing a tournament since I would have had a real nice bag if I could have gotten everything in the boat.

I'm waiting to see if these Sleeper Gills have the flat bottom like the Dark Sleeper. Definitely gonna try those Berkley baits when they come out.

If I can’t catch a fish on a Ned, I might as well go home. A Ned is often not the best tool for the biggest fish, but it nearly always puts fish in the boat.

Like Fallser said, it is so easy to take pictures nowadays so why not take photos of your fish? I'll send them to my wife and daughter and a couple fishing friends. They send pics to me as well. The pics are not "proof" in my opinion. I wouldn't get any satisfaction out of exaggerating about my catches. I don't post many fish pics to FB because I think that is kinda obnoxious since most of my friends and family are not fishermen. I'll post a big fish or fish from a vacation but I am more likely to post a picture of the sunrise than of my best fish on some random day. Now Instagram is different- I post a lot of fish pictures on there but I only use Instagram for fishing and not for family. I post pictures of my boat, lures, rods/reel, ect.... Then again, Instagram is for pictures so I feel it is appropriate.

It will most likely come back in a couple days. It definitely is depressing so I can empathize with you. My wife has had a long term effect where dairy and wheat smell and taste like garbage. It started a couple months after she recovered from Covid and it has been going on for 5 months now. I feel so bad for her. She's basically on a Paleo diet now. She hasn't had pizza or a burger since last October.

Should bass fishermen stock the type of fish you want to fish for?

9 times out of 10, the jokes I see online targeting bass fishing is coming from walleye fishermen. Seems like walleye fishermen are insecure about their fishing which is why they want to mock bass fishing. I don't have any interest in walleye fishing myself yet I enjoy catching the occasional stray 'eye. Personally, I respect all types of fishing and enjoy talking to passionate fishermen of other species.

MickD, AJ, Frydog, Gimrius, and Team99 are a couple that come to mind. Pros Feider, KVD, Zona, Pipkens, Gussy I chose guys that fish or specialize in waters I fish.

I used to HATE the wind and would always fish protected coves on windy days. Nowadays, I just dislike it since I am more of a finesse fisherman. But once I stopped fighting the wind and moved to primarily fast-moving baits on windy shorelines, my success rate went way up. A spotlock troller and a shallow water anchor really help as well.

Something is going wrong for you then. I've used many fluorocarbons over the years on spinning reels and baitcasters and have never had that problem. And I use more braid than fluoro nowadays so I am not a fluoro Kool Ade drinker.

People that bash fluoro or braid either don't have enough experience with the lines, spooled them incorrectly, used the wrong line or weight for the technique or their tackle or possibly got a bad batch. Both lines have a time and a place and at times one will be the better choice. I have migrated more to fluoro or the last couple seasons but they'll always be applications where I prefer straight fluoro or mono-.

A couple reasons: 1) The adventure of it. I enjoy being out exploring, running the boat, and observing nature. I used to only go when the weather looked favorable but not anymore. I enjoy even the slow days on the water. It is therapeutic and I am recharged after spending time fishing. 2) Being outdoors and enjoying the weather and the changing seasons. Like others have mentioned, there is nothing like being out at daylight. When possible, I will launch and be on Lake Michigan when it is still dark and watch the sun come up as a I fish. 3) The challenge. Continually trying to improve. 4) Learning new techniques and technology and becoming proficient with them. Using and learning Livescope, jerkbaits, hairjigs, and a variety of finesse techniques are all goals for this year. 5) All the other things that go along with fishing and taking fishing trips- camping, cooking out, roadtrips, and the nostalgia of past trips. My fishing season starts in 2 weeks and I can't wait!

Since you are having 1 battery, go with the 55 lb. And I am not a constant max out the HP, max out the thrust sort of guy but in this case spending the extra money for more thrust is worth it.

A wobble head jig would be a good choice to imitate crawfish quickly covering water on the bottom. 3/8th oz tungsten with your favorite craw would be a good starting point. I would throw a 3"-4" swimbait on a round jighead higher in the water column but you can use that to tick off rocks on the bottom as well. A Dark Sleeper would be a good choice too since you can fish it fast like a swimbait or slow it down and scoot it on the bottom. Good luck.

It doesn't slip on heavier braid that I use on baitcasters or the 15-20 lb braid on spinning reels. It is only when I go to the 8 lb/ 2 lb diameter braid that I have slippage. I'll make a cast and the whole leader goes sailing. That has never happened with my baitcasters and only a few times with the 20 lb braid on spinning reels.

This is what I am going to experiment with first. I meant half hitches in my original post not clinch knots. Looks like I'll have to take another look at the Rizzuto. Maybe I am tying it wrong because it was considerably thicker than the FG knot and the half hitches I was tying. Thanks for the responses everyone.

I've had problems before with having the FG knot slip with 2 lb diameter braid to a 8 lb leader. I go to the Alberto knot and have no issues and I use the FG knot with thicker lines on baitcasters and have no problems. So for those of you tying the FG knot with 2 and 4 lb diameter braids, how are you finishing the knot? I was going to try 4 alternating clinch knots to finish. I've tried the Rizzuto finish but that makes the knot as thick as the Alberto and defeats the purpose of the FG to begin with. Any advice is appreciated.

Nitro- it is interesting that you bring this up. One of the things over the last year that I have been trying to reduce is my fishing anxiety. I worry about boat, motor, and trailer issues all the time so I have been trying to be more proactive with maintenance going above and beyond what is on the maintenance schedule for my motor and trailer. My next purchase is going to be a lithium battery dedicated to my electronics so I'll have no doubt that I am not trying to get too much out of my starting battery. Sure, I am going beyond what I am confident would work in some cases but if it makes me worry less then it is worth it. And to answer your question, BoatUS with the towing is a good option. When I had Progressive, they had an inexpensive on-water towing package. Good luck.

I know the feeling Panda. Hang in there. One of my favorite lakes opens on March 1st and it is a powerplant lake so the water will be in the 50s and the fish will be very active. Looking forward to that!