BigAngus752

Fall feed bag is on now. Launched at 8:30. By 3pm I had gotten 31 LM in the boat and failed to boat 5 or 6 other good ones. Two different times I was trying to shake my crank free from a snag and had a bass attack it and pull it off the laydown. I boated both of them and then told them how dumb they are. They are in line at the buffet. Look at the belly on this fish! I can't believe it's still eating. Also saw a bald eagle and got to watch 2 big bucks fighting about 30 yards from me. It was an A+ day on the water.

moved

+1 on both of these. I fished Thurs and Sat and didn't see another bass fisherman, but the crappie guys and the duck hunters were out in force. I don't mind sharing the lake with them. I frequently have to wait for the crappie boats to leave a decent bass location but I've found that I'm MORE likely to catch bass if the crappie guys have been soaking live minnows in a spot for an hour.

Challenge accepted...

Dark Night of the Scarecrow. I agree, that was a good one back in the day.

I love the Templeton 6yr and 10yr and the 10yr should be well under your price limit. Should be about $80. For something different, I absolutely love the Templeton Stout Cask Finish. I don't usually like the cask finish stuff (sherry, amburana, etc.) but this stout cask blew me away. Not sure how easy it is to find now.

My dream, when finally fully retired, is to spend the end of every year “chasing fall”. I’m starting near @A-Jay, then coming your way. I’ll pass home and go to @TnRiver46 neck of the woods after. Heaven’s Trail is what I’ll call it. Great pic. See you in 6 years.

You’re right, looking at it on paper it was an ideal day. I’m sorry to say, this time of year, I think the problem is you are bank fishing. Fall, IMHO, is the time of year that you find the perfect spot with no fish, then the perfect spot with no fish, then the perfect spot with a bunch of fish. That’s extra-tough when you don’t have a boat. When the water is colder and the baitfish have moved to the backs of the coves I think you’ll be able to get in them better and more predictably from the bank. Good luck! This is my favorite time of year.

LOL. I know what you're saying. It's very difficult to fish which is probably why they found two different state record muskies during two different electro-fishing surveys. Look at the tournament results! Top bass was a 6.18 for the season. #2 was a 3lb and 4 and 5 were 1lb! Monsters in there but who can catch them?

You got it.

My biggest issue with the Okuma warranty (and many other rod company warranties) is that it's a guessing game. I am REQUIRED to ship the entire rod to them, it MUST be insured, and ONLY THEN will they tell me if it's covered under warranty. The entire time I'm wondering if I'm getting a new rod or just spending another wad of money for nothing. But that's not enough, then I have to pay a $20 replacement fee. So how much does that all come to in a best case scenario? $70? More? I can get that rod on sale right now for $128. It seems like gambling to me and I hate gambling. They do have a "send us a section of the rod and fifty bucks and we won't ask questions" replacement plan, but that requires an original receipt and expires after 3 years. This rod is over 3yrs old. I have an identical rod that I bought this year and I could use that receipt to falsely make a claim, but I can't be dishonest like that. I'm mentioning it only to point out the flaws in their warranty program.

Agree!

I have to agree.

I was having a good day. Very windy so I was easily finding fish. Lost a couple cranks but that's the cost of fighting the big Stripers. Sunny! 70 degrees! I should have known it was just too perfect. I'm casting my lipless crankbait at a windblown, rocky point like I had 100 times already that day. I was using my very favorite rod for the lipless, an Okuma TCS. All was right with the world...and then my reel seat broke...and my Tatula SV hurtled off the rod and into the lake. Of course it did. No time to invent new strings of profanity, that would have to wait. The line snapped when the reel ejected into the drink and the last of it was trailing through the line guides. I chucked the rod and scrambled for the line while dropping on my belly at the bow. I started pulling up line, wondering how well I had tied that knot at the spool because, after I got about 50 yards into the line, I knew it was still free spooling. Now was an excellent time for my best George Carlin imitation. I was working in profanity the way Leonardo da Vinci worked in oil paint. Suddenly the line felt heavier and I slowed down. The line had tangled on the base and I didn't have to try out the knot strength on the spool. The SV was back in the boat. I can't complain too much, I guess. Broke a favored rod but could have been about $200 worse. This will be one of the reels I send to @Delaware Valley Tackle this year. Moral of the story? I guess it's don't tighten your reel seat down excessively? That's all I can think that would have caused this. Happy fishing!

Well, it's on like Donkey Kong now. The LM aren't in the creeks yet but they are piling up together getting ready to go. The stripers are in the middle of coves following the wind from bank to bank. 12 LMs and lost track of the stripers...18?19? All fish on a lipless crank. A bank fisherman had an angry, 3 pound striper break off his little crappie jig so I got it back for him. LOL The stripers are insane. Like an underwater Tasmanian Devil. Very fun.

Considering we are talking about 5ft long musky, that's a little disconcerting.

I suspect we all have tendency to make assumptions about the health of a body of water based on what we are catching. The only true measure is to electro-fish the lake. You really have no idea what's in there until a thorough study is done. That is one thing that the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources does a fantastic job at. They electro-fish public lakes and provide access to highly detailed findings and statistical analysis (if anyone wants the link let me know) A perfect example is a lake about an hour from me that is known to have large musky, but it's very tough to fish. The most recent electro-survey (several years ago) resulted in TWO fish that annihilated the state record. And, of course, they swam away after the survey. How much more confidence does that give you to keep casting?

Surprisingly...by people. Before I saw this video I thought this was the most logical answer, but with modern technology I assumed it was something I had never seen. As usual, Occam's razor turns out to be the answer.

If you were closer I'd just sell you my RT188 and you'd be set. I've been looking try a glass boat. +1 on what everyone has said. Avoid anything that contains wood. If you have a trusted mechanic tell the seller you want to take it to have it looked over. That could be a lifesaver.

My dad taught me to fish using spinning reels and spincasting reels. I didn't have anyone to teach me how to use a baitcaster so I taught myself. I didn't have anyone to tell me I was doing it "wrong" so I did the only thing on Earth that makes any sense whatsoever...I cast with my right hand and reel with my left. Who invented the "switch hands" thing? Were they missing a thumb or something?

Water temps here dropped very quickly from 64-ish to 58-ish. Suddenly I'm finding them bunched up on windblown main lake points. Love the time of year when, if I catch one, I know I'm catching more from the same spot. They are definitely hunting. I have to keep my pliers in my pocket because every single one of them just INHALES it. Two or three weeks from now they will be piled up in the backs of pockets. Just Heaven. Oh, and I have to remember to keep my net assembled and handy this time of year because 4lb 8oz saugeyes are hitting crankbaits in less than a foot of water. SMH

That's sounds very good. The bourbon/rye-monkey is worse for me right now than the bait monkey. Thanks for the info.

You're the guy that got me buying multiple bottles of the Michters and visiting their distillery so please let me know what you think of the Sagamore (is it worth retail $) since you and I seem to like the same stuff. And in relation to that, have you every had Roulette rye? Retail is $24. I can find it on sale as cheap as $18 sometimes. It's outstanding for the price.

The "fall feed" has barely started and old girl is already looking tired. Last year my best week was second week of November. She's not going to make it. Luckily, I have 20 of her identical siblings still in the packages hanging in the garage.