NYWayfarer

I recommend a palomar knot or improved clinch knot for tying lures. Split shot are useful if you notice your lure gets caught in current and you need some weight to get to the desired depth. With trout I generally cast upstream past where I think the fish are and reel the lure in through the strike zone. Let us know how you do.

The wind and rain in the northeast this weekend made fishing undesirable. I was able to get the canoe on the water for an hour and a half on Saturday for some paddling exercise with my son. We forgot the poles at home though! Next weekend looks crummy so I am taking a vacation day either Wednesday or Thursday to get out on the water. Sad to say but that will most likely be my last outing until next spring. After Columbus Day we start getting ready for winter and the toys have to be put away. Like A-Jay I will be living vicariously through my southern brothers at Bass Resource.

I go through Senkos faster than any other bait, except maybe Strike King dreamshots. The only way I know to make them last longer is to wacky rig them with an O ring. When I do texas rig them they don't last long so I carry ziplock baggies with me to save the tattered ones. I then cut them in half to use on drop shot and ned rigs.

Amen! I have so many memories of catching Sunfish with canned corn at the end of a bobber line as a kid. Cheap and 1 can will last the whole day and then some.

I enjoy the change of seasons where I live. Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Just around the time the seasons change I am sick of the prior one and ready for the new one. Love my fishing, boating and swimming in the summer but I am ok when winter rolls around and snow cover gives me a break from yard work.

I would suggest the Lew's American Hero Graphite Spinning Combo for about $30. It comes pre-spooled with 8lb line which you should factor into the cost savings. This rod and reel should handle what you describe and more if you decide to do more than just drop the line. As an added benefit a portion of the profits on this combo go to organizations that support our vets.

I was fishing on a dock this weekend for smallmouth when along came a group of young ladies to fish. They were using live nightcrawlers and were catching both perch and bluegill. I was nice to see girls interested in fishing and how many perch they caught. My ego was saved when I pulled in a keeper bass that looked like it could have swallowed their biggest fish.

I was looking at this combo, its a Dick's F&S exclusive. It is on sale now $10 off the baitcast combo and $30 off the spinning. I like my Carbon Fire spinning reel (also a Dick's exclusive) I might have to get one once my wife forgets how much I have spent on the new canoe and accessories.

I had the rear drag Spirex. If you are going to get one the rear drag model is the one to get. It has the fighting drag handle on it. Another gimmick but one I actually like. If they made the Spirex rear drag with fighting drag, double paddle handle but no quick shot it would be one of my favorite reels.

The Spirex is a decent reel. Just keep in mind the weakest point on it is the quick shot, one handed bail opener. It is cheap plastic and when it goes, and it will (I speak from personal experience) the reel loses its balance. I generally like Shimano stuff but I think this reel is more gimmick than substance.

I am 50 years old and my motto has always been, what is better than owning a boat? Having a friend who owns a boat ? Well that ended tonight. I bought a used Pelican Explorer canoe. I am hoping to use it a few times before the weather turns up here.

I did love my ugly sticks back in the day but I would rather have a Berkley Lightning rod for the same money. Much more sensitive than the mushy tipped ugly stick.

I have never sealed the cork on any of my rods. I had this crazy theory that they need to "breathe" and sealing them would prevent that. Don't know where I got that idea from. I wipe down my rods with a wet rag after every trip. I clean any stains with Dawn dishwashing detergent. I also repair any chips in the cork with a cork powder and white wood glue mixture. My rods are fine, even the ones that are a few decades old, without sealing.

Same here. I was taught how to fish with live bait (crawlers, shiners, craws, etc.) and that artificial baits don't work. When I left the nest I became experimental and tried new things. I can still remember the first trout I caught on a rooster tail. I am now fishing with almost 100% artificial baits. I also wish I had learned sooner that the Ugly Stick is not the best rod in the world.

The SG suicide duck looks like one of those lures that catches more people and their wallets then it does fish.

With all the advances in technology it is only a matter of time before someone creates a "drone" type lure. A little flying drone disguised as a bug that has a hook and a place to attach line to it, maybe a built in camera. On your line you can fly it inches above the water to entice a bite. Talk about the ultimate top water action!

I have dozens of rods and reels yet I find myself using the same few all the time. Use what you like.

I agree. That's why I stick with my Fenwick Eagles. They are pretty tough and if I damage it myself it's not that much coin to replace.

I agree. My wife and I moved from LI to upstate NY a few years after 9/11 It was too crowded and unsafe for us to raise our son. I got laid off and thought a change of scenery would do us some good. The people up here hate us "flat landers" even after a decade plus of being here. They hear that accent and you can see their whole complexion change. We met a few good people but they are few and far between.

I use the VMC mushroom head jig hooks and have not had a problem landing fish this season. The few I lost were when I didn't keep tension on the line.

I voted other since I use senkos in so many different ways on any given day. I normally fish senkos the following ways: Weightless Texas rig Texas rigged with a bullet sinker Wacky rigged weightless On a drop shot, nose hooked (3 or 4 inch senko) On a drop shot wacky rigged (5 inch or pro senko)

I have a 6' medium action Fenwick Eagle GT that is still kicking I have yet to find a casting rod that size and action to replace it. f you can get one at that price I say snap it up!

For spinning set ups I always recommend Fenwick Eagle rods. Perfect balance of good price and great quality. Pflueger President on a Fenwick Eagle rod goes like peanut butter and jelly, just a great combo. I have a 6'6" med/fast. Its one of the rods I always take with me when on the water.

VMC Spinshot hooks are great for avoiding line twist. I tend not to keep line on my reel long enough to worry about twist. I pull a yard or more off after a trip when I get a lot of bites. I fish most of the time with mono (Stren) so its not to expensive to replace.

Measure and weigh. I tend to measure and weigh fish that are 12" and over. Yesterday for instance, my fishing partner and I caught 20 smallmouth bass, 1 sunfish and 1 rock bass. We only measured and weighed 3 of the smallies as the rest were clearly under the legal size limit. best catch yesterday was a 2.5 lb bass on a senko followed by a 2.3 also on a senko and my 2.0 on a dropshot roboworm. The dinks were caught on califonia craw colored TRD ned rig, drop shot roboworms and biospawn plasma tails. The sunfish went after a red hook that was hanging in the water while my partner was getting out a senko.