Brew City Bass

Dragging jigs on ledges is one of my tried and true nighttime methods.

Yeah, this wasn't even a rocket or I'd missing a few teeth. It was a lob that couldn't have been faster than 25mph, but pucks have edges and are heavy! The rubber isn't forgiving. They can do some damage. More than a baseball going the same mph. I do wear a visor. So I protect the most important things. I can replace teeth, can't replace my eyes. I've worn cages before and I just can't get use to them. The bars mess with my vision, and it really makes me feel claustrophobic. I'll probably give a cage a try again at a stick and puck and see if I can't get use to it, but I doubt it. I doubt I'll be playing in this league again next year too. It's a pretty rough n tough d league. Everyone plays like it's game 7 of the cup, good intentions, but playing that hard at a d level usually means high sticking, tripping, boarding, etc. My main skate is a game once a week with a buncha firefighters who are higher level players. Most played highschool / college and some juniors +. These guys there's nothing to worry about. I mean accidents can happen, but never once have I seen a high stick or a high puck from those guys. Every single shot is on the money and they know where it's going every time.

THAT'S MY PUCK BABY, DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH MY PUCK!

Yeah, I usually play with A and B level guys, ex-college players or old guys that played lower levels of pro. They all know stick control and how to place a shot. Never usually have to worry about it. But this D league the game happened in, guys are crazy. High sticks everywhere, clappers from the blue line hitting the high glass, just crazy stuff. I'll probably wear a cage if I play in that d league again.

Ugh... This gives me PTSD from being a lacrosse goalie. haha The nets in lacrosse are extremely tall so one of the common shots is to come under hand and put it top shelf. Which is great, except for when you're the goalie whose 6'3". One out of every 5 shots was almost a guarantee shot at my throat or helmet. Lacrosse helmets are a joke, even less padding than hockey helmets, and basically no throat protection. So I wore those dangler throat guards you were talking about. I'd have one of those shatter on me at least once a month. What made me quit being a lacrosse goalie was playing in mens invite league. I just turned 18 and this league is full of old pro / semi pro or college players, but they needed a goalie so I obliged. About 10 minutes in I saw one of the hardest shots I ever seen by miles and it shattered my neck guard and kept on goin and hit my throat. I couldn't breath for what felt like an eternity. I quit lacrosse after that.

I would absolutely and plan to in the future. What hobby you ask? BASS FISHING. Spring to Winter I fish 5-6 days a week for bass. It consumes my life, but Wisconsin winters keep me down. Every fall I get depressed. It's like a bad break up. Ice fishing is there, but it's never consistent and it's kind of like cheap vodka. Nobody likes it, but it holds you over. I plan to move to Florida or Texas. I need those double digits and I need bigger lakes I can fish year round.

Well Sunday night was my mens league ice hockey play off game. We were up 2-0 going into the third period. Right off the face off I took a puck to the lip. It hit my bottom teeth and poked a hole clean through my lip. I came back to the bench and squirted water out it for the guys and went back to finish my shift. We ended up losing 3-2 in the last 30 seconds. Heart breaker. Still happy to have all my chiclets intact though!

No problem, glad we got that figured out

Haha, I happen to enjoy both. Nothing beats getting "relaxed" on the boat on a 70* July night. It's almost a performance enhancer for me, it makes me slow down and fish more methodically.

Is that the hole for the livewell pump-out? Fill the livewells and hit the pump out switch and see where it starts squirting from. If it's not that I'm scratching my head.

You been hittin' the devil's lettuce? haha

Doesn't Skeet also use his off the shelf Walmart rods? I love when pros prove that a tool is a tool.

I own 4 tatulas of different variations. All I can say is they are absolute winches, and bullet proof. I put them through 5 or 6 days of abuse a week, all summer long. They still feel like brand new. I cannot speak of the K as I do not own them, but when I've used my buddies it felt comfortable.

It gave me PTSD - Post Traumatic Snag Disorder

Honestly this. Most of us know that motor oil is produced by the same companies and re branded for sale. Same with batteries. I'd bet a signed dollar that this is no different. Maybe a SLIGHT different formula. Even breweries re label their booze for other companies to sell as their own.

That's the spirit! A man of patience. Sometimes the good fishing is worth the frosty wait.

This clear water lake I fish is deep and rocky, holds some giant small mouth. It was a hard lake to figure out though. I thought they'd be holding at the island by the big rocks, but never had luck. I even went snorkeling there and didn't see one. Last year though I was driving to one of my spots and went over a massive ledge. I'm talking 10fow point that drops down to 80fow in a matter of 10-20 yards. I thought that was interesting as there is a bay right to the west of it, and it's all shallow flats up there. I hit this point hard last spring and caught multiple 5's and 6lb smallies that I believe were staging to spawn. I wondered what made this spot so good compared to the other points so I dropped my underwater camera down and did some poking around. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but there's an old truck sunk in about 30FOW. I was pulling smallies off that truck all summer long with the occasional giant walleye thrown in too.

Crazy. I was just steelhead fishing in shorts and a t shirt in 60* weather two days ago. I really didn't think lower Mich would have been so different.

Crazy you still have snow on the ground. Here in Milwaukee we're almost all open water. Most lakes with current just broke up, some lakes 100% ice free.

Ahh! I was just assuming you meant in summer, and not in spring! Then yeah you're right, they're probably putting on the feed bag shallow, waiting for their forage to fall in or wash in from the bank / trees. Smart bass know where their next meal will be. What's the water clarity like for you? Gin clear, stained, or muddy? Might have to downsize line, maybe go fluoro, and I'd definitely chuck a finesse jig. Now... I didn't want to give this away because it's my secret weapon, and basically nobody knows what this is... Drop-shot.. Okay, Okay, it's no secret, but it KILLS in shallow water when the fish are on guard. If I'm drop shotting shallow fish I'll use as light of line as the location lets me. Last year my set up was braid backing, 6lb fluoro and a tiny berkley emerald shiner minnow. This allows you to just sit it in front of their face and giving it action without actually moving the bait any distance.

Yak and wading I'd treat like a boat. Get behind them without spooking them and toss it up on shore and drag it in. This is the only method I bother with for fish right up on shore facing it. Also, I've noticed when fish are like this it's because they're over heated or lack of oxygen in the water. Trout do the same thing, so sometimes there's nothing you can do to catch them because they're in shut down mode just trying to survive. My favorite lure for these guys are senkos and jigs.

Best way to tackle these fish, get a boat. JK JK When I bank fished I would always wear dark colors, sometimes even camo (over the top, I know.) We know that if we can see the bass, they can see us. So what I figured out worked best for me was casting to these spots that potentially hold bass long before I can see if they're there. I'll walk up about 10-15 yards out and make a pitch. Keep moving down the shoreline. When I deemed there isn't fish there or they aren't willing, then I move to the bank and cast out.

I agree with you. As much as I love my fellow tournament anglers, it gets pretty crummy when all the best lakes are being hit by 100 of the midwest's best anglers Wednesday - Sunday. They take up every trailer spot, push you off spots while claiming "I'm in a tournament!", and generally put tons of pressure on lakes. Our lakes aren't big at all, so when 100 anglers are there, every spot is taken and there will be one to three people on each spot. Did I mention they take every trailer spot at every launch too? And I am not biased because I've personally fished some of these tournaments. But alas, we know money trumps all. Even if the DNR doesn't want this going down like it has been, I'm sure someone above them is telling them to shut up and deal with it because of the $$ it brings to the areas. I kind of like this. Sometimes it feels like all these big boats with $100k of gadgets are just training wheels. I'm sure every single one of these guys can find fish without it all. Sometimes I get bored watching a pro stare at their graphs for 8 hours, and with stuff like spotlock and GPS, I feel like being a master of your rig has gone the way of the dodo. Most guys follow their GPS right to the spot, set their lock on and fish. To me, this would be like hockey players having GPS guided skates and sticks. Do they still gotta do a lot to win on their own? Sure, but boy would it help them if they never had to worry about where they were skating or where their stick was. Sorry for the bad analogy haha.

Glenn, it should be illegal to make these posts before the whole forum has an open season! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!

Ahh the good 'ol parental banhammer!