WI_Angler1989

Nice, I worry about snags with how rocky my main river is.

I can't speak on the "best," but I use.... - 6' 6" St Croix Avid mf spinning rod - Pfleuger President 2500 spinning reel - 10# Yo-Zuri hybrid I only use spinning gear, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, I prefer the "shorter" length rod because it's easier to get the tip down without catching my canoe or the shore and water when I'm wading. This is all pretty personalized for my situation.

I picked up a few hair jigs to try when spring comes. Looking forward to them. Yeah hopefully they both can play. The injuries never lay off this season.

1.5 ft is clear there?! Makes my rivers seem like Sturgeon bay haha. Yeahan, Go Pack Go!! Can't wait for sunday!

Someone's gotta buy me some of these good deal Pointers and I'll send a check

I still need to try a Ned rig. I almost bought some, but decided not to jump yet since I've been a tackle buying machine recently haha.

That's a great deal! We don't have either of those around here....nearest one is 2 hours away. Road trip time? Crazy thing is in the handful of times I've gone ice fishing, I've never caught a fish haha. Idk how I have such bad luck. I hope we get another mild spring like a couple years ago when the rivers never got insanely flooded. Last year was ok, but 2 years ago (I think) was amazing! Plenty of rain but no high fast waters. Then you'll HAVE to go use some tubes haha

I need some Pointers. They're a bit pricey for my budget, but come tax season I'll grab a few.

Pretty much! Ask a group of fishermen what rod they like and prepare to get 100 answers haha

That makes sense. I like jerkbaits early too, but the water is always so murky right after ice out here too. Do you fish rivers much early in the spring? I tend to gravitate towards bottom lures (tubes, craws, small jigs). Although, I fish from shore a lot and current dictates presentation a lot.

Cool video, A-Jay! That's an awesome little boat you've got there too. Talk about decked out!

Now?! Where the heck are you?! Mordor??

That used to be my go-to. A small war eagle finesse Spinnerbait would be the first thing I'd throw, and it'd do pretty well too!

That must be nice! A little surreal too, avoiding those "icebergs" ;-) What sorts of places do you look for that early? I've only fished rivers when it's that cold still. Lakes are nearly foreign to me sadly. You're lucky if your still fishing! Even the rivers have been frozen here the last few weeks. That's pretty rare too. Ugh. My Christmas and offseason purchases are definitley getting some extra motivation to use too!

Here's a fun hypothetical for everyone: what's the first lure you plan to, expect to, or typically use on your first trip out in spring? Here in WI, open water is scarce this time of the year. All we've got is ice fishing (not my thing) and dreaming of spring. So....if you had to imagine your first day out, what would you expect to use? I'll leave the weather details up to you. You know what the conditions could be like, based on years past. Mine will probably be a small tube (Cabin Creek or River Rock) if its pretty early and cold still. I doubt I'll be waiting longer than ice out, that's for sure.

Never used a Falcon, but I've heard good things on the forums. I'm a Wisconsin boy so it's hard not to fall for the St Croixs. They're everywhere here.

I've got a couple St Croix Avids that I've used for bottom contact lures. Never let me down.

+2 on the Mepps for a search lure! It's worked well for me at all stages too: early spring, summer and fall. Just vary the speed and beware snags.

Sent my Stradic FK spinning reel in last week. Should have arrived today. Heres to hoping it gets fixed/replaced painlessly and I can get her back to me! I only had one season with it, and it was damaged and had some issues when I got it, but it was amazing anyway!

Seems like it just comes down to preference. The rods perform equally well (according to the sales reps and reviews). Do you prefer new age design or traditional? I like the traditional style better but the new age handle would probably last longer. Even high end cork will lose any filler it has over time. In the end... I'd go full fan girl over either one!

Sounds like myself. I haven't done much wacky rigging, to my own loss, but I want to do some more finesse jigs and poppers too. The main spots I fish from shore are tough for wacky. I think once I'm in the canoe more it'll work better.

Just so you know, I wasn't here LITERALLY trying to promote his stuff. I actually wanted to hear if anyone liked the stuff because I was excited when I got them. When I saw how much people were taking an interest I felt proud to have helped. That's all. I had no intention of "promoting."

That would depend on the river and what forage is in it. If there lots of bluegill or other sunfish, an imitation or natural green wold be a good bet. If the river has shad and bait fish, a sexy shad could be a solid choice. When I fish my local small river I honestly use the same lures: 2.5" tubea, 4" grubs, poppers, buzzbaits, small jerkbaits and whatever else I fell like if the bites aren't coming.

I have all sorts of goals for next year. Always do. Some are bigger, some are little things, some are works in progress that I want to keep working at. 1) fish as much as I can. 2) I'd love to fish with friends more too. 3) track the weight and length of my big catches ALL the time. 4) get out in my canoe more!!! 5) keep working on my jig and crankbait fishing. 6) learn drop shooting! I never did try that last season, despite planning to. 7) fish more topwater. I had a few days of success on the river with smallies and would love some more effort put in. 8) and of course.....the notorious new PB (smallmouth for me). When it's all said and done, my goal is to always keep trying to grow as an angler. Whether that's learning new lures or new waters, or looking for the big girls in my local haunts. One thing I wanna steal from a few of the guys on here is to stop and see the beauty. Being out on the water, catching beautiful fish, seeing an amazing sunset.... all of these things are tragicly forgotten some days. Here's to taking it all in more than ever. And snapping as many pictures as I can along the ride.

Let us hear how it goes! (I know, long ways off) I use a 610mlxf rod and haven't had issues personally. My Hooksetting issues are more my own issues. I have a tendency to set too fast and not let the fish take tubes all the way.