RPreeb

I used to walk out to the street to the mailbox at our last house leaving bare footprints in the snow. Loved the reactions I got from some people.

Makes that just about the last place in North America that I'd care to be.

I still don't think that I'd change much. Too much tackle I just find confusing, and more than my 3 rods would just clutter up my canoe. I guess I'm just a fan of simplification. It also means fewer issues trying to explain things to my wife, who has no grasp at all of what is involved. As far as she is concerned, I've already gone off the deep end.

For me it's going to be trying to put a firm limit on both. I'm never going to be doing any tournament fishing, strictly for my own pleasure. I'm retired so I have all the time I need to tie on different lures on a couple of fairly wide range baitcasters and one spinning combo. I have several 3600's for hard baits and terminal tackle and one 3700 deep for plastics. I'll be fishing either bank on small ponds, or canoe for larger water, so too much clutter will just be more trouble than it's worth. This is actually the first full season in my 71 years that I've ever owned more than one rod at a time.

I was in Cabela's yesterday and just walked past some boats that they have out in front of the store. They had a Tracker with tiller steer and TM (I didn't look at the size of either motor and I didn't see a fish finder), just an open aluminum boat that didn't look like anything special, and they had a price on that $3500 (it was $13,499 I think) higher than the Special in this thread. I was pretty amazed. If I was boat shopping, there is absolutely no doubt which one I'd choose.

I agree with those who feel that worm fishing is as basic as it gets for bass. Back when I was a kid fishing in Wisconsin, I can remember hearing about guys using live nightcrawlers for bass. I never saw anyone doing it, and I have no idea how they rigged them, but it inspired me to use a little of my very limited funds to buy a plastic worm. Not certain of the brand, but I think it might have been Eagle Claw (it was back in the early 60's, so memory may be a bit sketchy). It was one of those pre-rigged worms with a short leader and 2 or 3 snelled hooks, and also had a few red beads and a prop in front. It wasn't nearly as pliable as plastic worms today, not much wiggle action. I caught my first few worm bass on that before I lost it to something I never saw. I never replaced it, as for some reason I was still not convinced. My thinking is a lot different now.

$119 is pretty much out of the ball park for a rod. I just ordered a 13 foot canoe from Cabela's, shipped to my home for $130. That fee is the oversize surcharge, Cabela's $35 standard shipping was waived. If they can ship a canoe for $130, a rod, no matter how long, should be less than $50.

This^^ Launching will test that Impala even more than simple towing will. I've heard of people getting stuck trying to pull a boat out on a wet slick ramp with only 2 driving wheels, especially if it's front wheel drive.

These were XPS models when I bought them 6 years ago. They have caught LMB in Colorado and Iowa, and snappers and jacks in the Bahamas, so I guess that they are okay. This exact style isn't even available any more.

I've read everything L'Amour ever wrote except for a couple of his short story anthologies. Fun, mindless stuff. Today I went above and beyond just tackle... and bought my fishing watercraft... finally gonna get off the bank: I had to have something I could carry on top of the F-150 when towing the camper. I've had more than 60 years of experience in a canoe, so it's the right craft for me.

I really don't know how old I was the first time I had a pole in my hands, but I do know that there were several bamboo cane poles at our Wisconsin cabin, and I spent my first 17 summers there. Some of my early memories are of standing on the end of the dock in front of my uncle's cabin (it was the only dock for our family's 3 cabins), catching sunfish on a 9 or 10 foot pole with bobber, sinker, hook and worms. The fun included digging our own worms out back of the cabins. I'd say that if they show an interest and can at least handle a Zebco, then they are old enough to fish. Worm fishing for sunfish is usually active enough to hold their interest, at least it always was for us. If they are too young for that they can certainly come out on the boat and spend some togetherness time with "Grandpa". Just don't push it too hard, or make an outing so long that they get bored. Always try to leave them wanting more so that they continue to ask to go.

I do the same... Deep 3700 single compartment. Works pretty good - I can finger through them like an index card file.

A quick off topic... does Wisconsin still have the bass fishing prohibition during spawn? I know they did back in the 50's and 60's when I spent my summers there.

I'll add that the Hula Popper I used back then (early 60's) was twice the size of the ones in my box right now. When I bought the 2 I have now, I was rather shocked at how small they are. The one that the bass hit on landing was likely around 1 ounce, or at least 3/4 ounce - all black with a black and white skirt.

I've even had a LM take a hula popper the instant that it hit the water with no measurable delay, almost as if it was watching the lure in flight. In both cases I remember, the fish came right out of the water. We were fishing in midsummer, late evening right about sundown. We used to sit on the screen porch of our Wisconsin cabin and listen to the bass jumping along the weed bed that was just about everywhere from 50 feet to 100 yards off shore. There really wasn't anything else in the lake that it could have been, no carp at all, and although there were northerns, they weren't all that common to see - I never caught a pike in 10 years fishing that lake. Most of the rest of the fish population was various sunfish, yellow perch, crappie, walleye, bullheads. Whatever was jumping was making a big splash and a lot of noise at it.

I have spooked a bear walking to a mountain lake in Montana many years ago. The part of the trail we were on was lined with huckleberry bushes, it was August and they were ripe. The bear was working on its winter fat supply for hibernation. We stopped about 20 feet away, he gave us one look and took off through the woods. I have yet to see anything more startling than a garter snake or a frog around any of our local ponds. We do have ticks, but so far they haven't been a major issue. At the pond I go to down along the South Platte mosquitoes can be bad in the evening.

I would never even have had the idea if you hadn't started it. When I get some time to mess around, I'll set up my tripod and do it right. I took 5 shots this time, and the one I posted is the only one that is in focus. I'm going to try some of my treble baits... poppers and jerks, etc. The other thing that might be interesting is to examine some hooks before and after they've hooked a few fish, and see what damage that does.

Your photos made me curious, so I thought I'd have a go at it. Mine is taken with a Canon 60D with 100mm L IS macro lens, then processed and cropped in Adobe Lightroom. Light source is a handheld LED tac flashlight. This is a weighted Owner Twist Lock 4.0:

For a brand that seems to be often overlooked (or at least doesn't show up on this forum nearly as regularly as a few others), that Berkley looks pretty good.

As usual I don't have a lot to bring to the table on this since I only started trying a little bass fishing last year after a 55 year hiatus, but the topwater that I've caught the most on would have been the Hula Popper back in the early 60's. My best recent success for topwater is a BPS brand which doesn't seem to be available any more, with the slit just back of the lip for water to squirt out of. (I bought these about 6 years ago for fishing salt water tide channels for mutton snapper in the Bahamas, and glad I got 6 of each) I caught my first bass in more than 50 years on the one in the top right of this photo at a little lake lake outside of Eldora, IA called Pine Lake, and I caught several more from a couple of small ponds here near my house.

Right there with you. I have too many left thumbs that always get in the way - the term "klutz" comes to mind.

For me, if I'm catching some fish, I'm having fun. I don't ask for anything more than that. I'm never going to catch any real hogs out here where I live, so my sights aren't set that high. If this thing catches me a few fish, I'll be happy with it. I never even had any intent to buy one. I was in Cabela's and it was there on the rack in front of me. Some force beyond my control made my hand reach out and pluck the box off the peg and drop it in my cart. When I came out of my trance, the Plopper was in the bag and I was getting into my truck. If it doesn't work, it's not my fault... I was under a spell.

There must be something to red in a bass lure, since this was one of the first popular ones: It's the first bass plug that I ever used on a casting rod... circa 1958.

Just bought one a week ago... doesn't work in hard water so I still have a bit of a wait to be able to use it. I'm looking forward to having a go with it.

The one day cooler I've used for everything from canoeing to camping to beach days to... well just about everything.... I bought in 1982. They don't make this one any more, so it's a collector's item now. That one is a Coleman Super Oscar - plenty of room for a sixpack of your favorite beverage, snacks and/or lunch, water and still room for ice or a cold pack. I do have a few other coolers, both larger and smaller, depending on the activity, but my Oscar has been a work horse for a 35 years. It isn't necessary to pay the Yeti price for a decent cooler. I finally had to repair the handle last year when one of the rivets sheared off. Otherwise it's been a great cooler, and when needed, a functional camp seat. This photo is from around 1983 - you can see the red lid next to my 5 gallon water can in the back of my 1980 Toyota 4x4: