blakebrown71

Just wanna say thanks again to everyone for their help, IT PAID OFF!!! Can't believe it but I actually caught my first musky last week while I was up in Eagle River, WI. Had fished morning, afternoon, and night every single day last week without much luck at all for anything. One decent walleye, a good smallmouth, and a few blowups on frogs but that was it all week long until literally my last cast of the vacation. My fiance and I were night fishing out at different spots on the lake Friday night, had no luck at all and finally decided to head back to the dock. She said let's just fish about 20 yards out from the boat house for 5 mins before we head in (since that's where she caught a few small walleye that afternoon). I agreed and was casting a #5 Mepps Musky Killer on my new setup you guys helped me pick out. We were getting eaten alive by mosquitos so she finally said she was done. I had just cast and said alright let me just get this back in....then he hit it. I'm getting goosebumps typing this, it was my coolest fishing experience to date and even cooler for me because I've only been fishing for about a year and this was my first week ever trying for Musky. Unfortunately I was too excited and also focused on getting him unhooked to think to measure him, but my guess is somewhere around 36". He wasn't very big but I don't care, it was awesome He was hooked really deep, had to spend 10+ minutes working the lure out but I was thrilled that he slowly swam away after. It definitely would've ruined the fun for me to see a fish I caught roll over and float away, that's never the point. Just wanted to say everyone's advice paid off and I'm thrilled to be part of the Musky club! Now that I'm back home away from good Musky waters...time to keep searching for that 5lb+ bass

Hey guys, I just recently bought my first 1 piece rod, before that I was using 2 piece for convenience. It's a 7'6" Veritas 2.0 - problem is my truck bed is only 5'8" so the rod would still need a bend in it to fit diagonally. I trailer a 14' jon boat but the trailer is pretty stiff and seems to bounce around quite a bit, so I'm hesitant to leave the rod in there while towing, even if it's strapped down. Does anyone think that would or wouldn't work? That would be the simplest solution for my 5 hour trip up north with my fiance (so she'll be in the passenger seat) next week, but also isn't the most secure for anytime I have to stop. Worst case scenario, I'll fit it into the back of my crew cab and crack a window with the tip out, but I'm hoping you guys can give me some other good ideas. I've done as much research as possible for rod tubes and holders and I just can't find a good option for my truck. The biggest hindrance is my tonneau cover, makes it hard to mount anything without interfering with rolling the cover back. Before people suggest rolling the tonneau back for fishing trips and building an angled rod holder at the front of the bed, that wouldn't be ideal because I use my truck bed for a lot of storage for items that can't get wet, so I'd really like to be able to keep the tonneau down. I'd really love to build a lockable rod tube, but again, my issue comes with not interfering with the tonneau cover and how to mount it. I'd like to mount it off the stake pockets on the top side of the bed and have it hang off enough that it wouldn't interfere with rolling the cover, but I haven't come up with any good mounting ideas yet. Thanks in advance for any help! Red truck is mine, picture below that is the idea I'd like to implement, just not sure how to mount.

Oh wow, well I'm definitely going to be as easy on that rod as possible now haha. Thanks for all your help & advice!

Thanks for the advice! Fortunately the rod's held up to the tests I've put it through the past year (trees, logs, you name it lol). I've been careful every time when trying to unsnag to not put too much bend in the rod, I usually point the rod straight at the snag and pull straight back, usually snaps the line. Anyways, I'll definitely keep that advice in mind when I'm around heavy cover! Also in response to my last post, I'm actually rethinking straight fluoro and considering straight mono on the Black Max/Pro Guide to use for crankbaits. All of my rods are fast action, so it sounds like mono is the better options with it's stretch. Any opinions on that?

https://www.lake-link.com/Wisconsin-Fishing-Reports/report.cfm/2607/Lake-Noquebay-Marinette-County/

Is there any reason to have a straight fluoro setup instead of braid to fluoro? Multiple tackle shops and people online have recommended braid to fluoro because of the how smooth braid casts, but most pros have straight fluoro. For my setups above I was thinking: 1. Ugly Stik Elite Spinning - 7' Medium Fast Abu Garcia Orra 2s (5.8:1) 33"/turn retrieve rate 15 lb braid to 8 lb fluoro 2. Cabela's Pro Guide Casting - 6'6" Medium Heavy Fast Abu Garcia Black Max (6.4:1) 26"/turn retrieve rate 15 lb fluoro 3. Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Casting - 7'6" Medium Heavy Fast Abu Garcia Revo SX (7.1:1) 29"/turn retrieve rate 50 lb braid (with 8 lb fluoro when not fishing topwater)

I appreciate the suggestions! I was originally thinking about getting a heavy rod, but after researching the Veritas 2.0 quite a bit it sounds like they run pretty stiff. I decided to go with the medium heavy in hopes that it has more backbone than typical medium heavys like most people seem to say they do. I just didn't want to get a $100 broomstick as my most expensive rod to date haha, hopefully it works out fine

15 lb Power Pro on the spinning rod

Thanks for the input! To be honest, since I haven't ever had much luck I don't use them enough to know most off the top of my head. Only ones I typically throw anymore are Squarebill 1.5s and Lipless. I believe I have a decent variety for the rest that I don't use, ranging from 8-20ft between the different lures. Any suggestions for line for the first 2 setups?

Hey guys, I've done a ton of research and have a fairly decent idea of what types of setups are used for what situations, but there's also a lot of conflicting information, especially regarding line choice. I'm sure people will have different opinions on here too, but I wanted to get some ideas. Below are the bass setups I currently have. I'd like to know what everyone's recommendations are for each setup in regards to line and lures/presentations to use each for. 1. Ugly Stik Elite Spinning - 7' Medium Fast Abu Garcia Orra 2s (5.8:1) 33"/turn retrieve rate 2. Cabela's Pro Guide Casting - 6'6" Medium Heavy Fast Abu Garcia Black Max (6.4:1) 26"/turn retrieve rate 3. Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Casting - 7'6" Medium Heavy Fast Abu Garcia Revo SX (7.1:1) 29"/turn retrieve rate My current lures consist of plastic worms, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, buzzbaits, and frogs. I'm planning on buying a decent arsenal of jigs and carolina rigs in the next week or so. In the 1 year I've been bass fishing, I've caught 90% of my fish on Senkos, very few on spinners, and none on crankbaits or topwater. While I love Senko fishing, it's not efficient for locating fish, so more often then not I have outings with 0-2 bites. I've spent hours and hours reading articles and watching YouTube videos and I believe I understand proper retrieves for most of my lures, but I'm certain I'm probably not using them in the best situations or using them to their full potential (Ex: using correct depth crankbaits or using line that allows them to get to desired depth). The point of this post is to ensure I'm using the proper equipment for the correct lures before I continue to try and improve on technique. Wisconsin lakes and ponds I fish tend to have a good combination of open water and areas of weeds, along with cover along shorelines (laydowns, rockpiles, etc). I currently use Power Pro braid on the first two (haven't received 3rd setup yet - next week). I used to use fluoro leaders but once I had to cut my line I got lazy and haven't tied any back on since. I really want opinions on straight fluoro vs straight braid vs braid to fluoro, what lb test, and which lures each setup would be best suited for. Thanks for all the help!

Just want to say thanks again to everyone for the help and input! I basically decided to purchase a good (good for my budget and current setups lol) bass setup, and I'll probably just throw some bucktails on it while I'm up north. Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 7'6" MH Fast Abu Garcia Revo SX 7.1:1 For comparison my first/current baitcasting setup is a Black Max/Cabelas combo, so this should be quite an upgrade for me

Email sent! Thank you

Exactly, that's where I'm at. I fully understand why most people might scoff at the idea of using a bass setup for muskie fishing but like I said, this is more or less a purchase for a new heavy bass setup that I'm probably going to use for muskie while I'm up there. And I might not have been clear in the original post. I plan to throw some bucktails but given my budget, I'm certainly not buying a bunch of giant muskie lures at 20 or 30 bucks a piece, so the lures I'm throwing or trolling shouldn't be excessive for a bass setup. I'm also not necessarily targeting the largest muskies out there (using large lures), this will be my first shot muskie fishing so I'll be ecstatic to get ANYTHING in the boat lol.

I appreciate all the suggestions! So far I've been looking at these options: Reel: Abu Garcia Orra 2 Winch $80 http://www.basspro.com/Abu-Garcia-Orra-2-Winch-Baitcast-Reel/product/13061208313411/ Rod: Abu Garcia Vendetta $80 7'6" Heavy Fast http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-rods/casting-rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/abu-garcia-vendetta-casting-rods/2413869.uts or Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 $70 7'11" Heavy Fast http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-rods/casting-rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/abu-garcia-veritas-crankbait-casting/1878652.uts Leaning towards the Veritas. Any thoughts?

Hey guys, I usually fish for bass in southeast Wisconsin but 1 week a year my family takes a trip up north to Eagle River, WI. The Eagle River chain is known for excellent Muskie fishing, so I figure I might as well take advantage and try my hand at it during the time I'm up there. Main problem is - I can't afford/justify purchasing a Muskie setup for 1 week out of the year. For bass fishing I currently have a spinning setup and multi-purpose Medium baitcasting setup. The next setup I've been looking to purchase is a heavy setup for frogs, jigs, etc. Looking for rod/reel recommendations for this, and ideally something that would at least suffice to throw some larger Muskie lures during the week I'm up north. My thought is to spool it with 50lb braid and will add a wire leader when using it for Muskie, but feel free to suggest something else. I know most of you are going to want me to have a separate setup for Muskie, froggin, pitching/flipping - but for now I need something that can get all of the jobs done on a reasonable budget. Hopefully I have 20+ setups and a $30k bass boat one day, but for now I've gotta work with my 2-3 bass setups and 14 foot jon boat I absolutely HAVE to keep the combo under $150, bonus points for staying under $120. I hate to even mention it on this forum lol, but any opinions on Whuppin Sticks for this? I could be wrong in this, but I feel like for a heavy setup it makes more sense to compromise the rod to afford a better reel if you have to compromise one or the other. Finesse fishing I would think the opposite since you want a good rod with good sensitivity and feel, but for this setup, as far as I know I just need something rock solid with good backbone and can spend a little more on a better reel. Thanks for the help!

I just wanna say thank you guys so much. Took the boat out Friday night with the trolling motor and battery up front, and the gas tank between the bench seats instead of all the way in back. Phone showed 10 mph and my new video looks a lot more like the other ones! No more chugging along at 3mph! You guys made my summer BEFORE: AFTER:

I appreciate all the suggestions and questions so far! I'll get some measurements as soon as I can, but I believe the motor is a short shaft. And to answer all the questions about weight, I completely understand this is a big factor, but like Russ9999 said above, he's got the same size/style boat fully loaded and he can get up to a pretty good speed with a 9.9, something just doesn't seem right with my 6hp absolutely plowing through the water at 4mph. I'm definitely going to move the TM and battery up front and try it this weekend. Hoping that makes a big difference because basically all of the weight on the boat is currently in the back.

Hey guys, I'm hoping someone here can help me out. Last summer I purchased an older 1436 Alumacraft flat bottom jon boat with trolling motor. My grandpa happened to have a 1971 6hp Johnson Seahorse (3 blade prop) in his garage that had been stored properly, but hadn't been run in 20+ years. My dad and I put a new water pump in it, checked everything and all seemed to be good, changed lower unit lube and put a new spark plug in it and she fired right up. It seems to run great as far as I can tell, always starts right up for me on the first pull, but it doesn't seem to have anywhere close to the power and speed I'm seeing from the same or similar motors on youtube. I understand a flat bottom isn't going to cut through the water as easily, and 6hp isn't hardly anything, especially when it's pushing the boat along with my 200lb self, a half full 6 gallon gas tank, battery, 2 small anchors, and other misc. light gear. But comparing my video below to the other links below, something doesn't seem to be right and I'm hoping someone can give me some ideas of what it might be. Some of the attached videos are saying they're running between 10-15 mph with their 6 horse, and my phone tells me I'm usually going 3-4 mph and it sure feels like it too lol. I can just tell something's not right when the videos below get up to a fast enough speed to have a long, narrow wake and seem to be on plane. Whereas my video, the boat/motor just seems to be really chugging through the water with a tall and short wake backed right up to the boat, and it doesn't seem to really be singing like the other videos. Any help is hugely appreciated! My video: Compared to:

This is an old post but looks like I'll bring it back to life. I found this thread from a google search to figure out what the bass I saw today in a local pond were doing. The pond is roughly 3-4 acres, typical greenish brownish tint, ~1-2 feet visibility. Lots of submerged rocks along the first few feet of shoreline. The past few days I've been fishing during my lunch break (mid day), 50-60 degree air temp, my guess is water temp was similar. Lots of sun along the shoreline. I've noticed the exact same things described. Fish seem to be "digging" down into the rocks and soft bottom with their dorsal fins sticking up. Today I saw one that seemed to be fairly large and actually wondered if it was a small carp instead of a decent bass. Unfortunately I didn't have any tubes with me so I tossed a jig right to it for a while before it disappeared. Also ran a 1/4 oz spinnerbait through the area for a while after I lost him. No reaction from either presentation. I would've settled on the idea that it was a carp if it weren't for some of the posts in this thread, and the fact that I saw this exact same thing at the same pond a few days ago, tossed a 4" senko to it and caught a small bass on the first cast. I definitely think the larger one I saw today was a bass as well. Unfortunately I don't have an answer as to what they're doing, that's why I'm here. Definitely sounds like a trend for small ponds though.

I just did a little research on Sterling Lake and it looks perfect for the equipment I've got. Thanks for the help!

Hey guys. I just moved back to Racine, WI and have been trying to find some good fishing spots in Racine or Kenosha counties. I've got a 1436 jon boat with a 7hp outboard and a trolling motor, so the smaller the lake the better. I know some of the obvious lakes like Browns, Eagle, and Silver but wondering if anyones got any other good spots I might want to try? Bonus points if it happens to be one of the few year-round bass fishing waters in WI, cuz I've got the itch to go as soon as this snow melts and I'm not gonna make it until May when the season opens again. One in particular I'm interested in because it's close is the Racine Quarry. I found some forums from a few years back where people posted about catching some decent bass in there, but I'm wondering how it is these days and what the regulations are as far as taking a boat out there? Thanks for any help!!

Thanks for all the input from everyone, it's much appreciated! I also looked heavily into that combo, and the main thing that scared me away was looking up other reviews specifically for that rod. A lot of people seemed to have issues with it breaking, which was another deal-breaker towards the Ugly Stik. I know it's not much to most people on here, but if I'm spending $50 on a rod alone, I want to reduce any risk of it ever breaking because they're going to be rare purchases for me. The Elite seemed to be a good compromise between durability and sensitivity. I'm definitely gonna keep the President reel in mind though, it seems to be a hell of a bang for your buck.

I just started getting into bass fishing last summer after I bought a $15 Shakespeare combo to do some bobber fishing with my fiance, the I accidentally got hooked. I bought an Abu Garcia Black Max combo from Cabela's for my beginner/budget baitcasting setup. All the luck I've had so far catching any bass has been with soft plastics, so I want to upgrade my spinning setup. I just ordered an Abu Garcia Orra2 S30 and a 7' Ugly Stik Elite medium action rod from Cabela's, but after looking through these forums, I'm seeing a lot of hate towards the Ugly Stik Elite. It's obviously still gonna be a major upgrade from what I've been using, but would you highly recommend I try to change the order, or is it not as big of a deal as I think? I can't really spend more than $50 on the rod, and I went with the Elite because of all the reviews I read, but will it not have the sensitivity I'm hoping for for finesse fishing? Please feel free to give your thoughts on the rod specifically and/or the pairing of the rod and reel for throwing senkos, jigs, and maybe even some light spinnerbaits.