softwateronly

The ice came off late thursday, and I got the canoe in for friday and saturday. Ended up with 25ish bass, a really big and pregnant perch, and a few snagged shad over the 2 days, most came from a wind pounded shoreline. The shallow, dark dirty water was probably a few degrees warmer and held a lot of 4" gizzard shad. I had 3 over 4lbs by my estimation. Caught them on a blade bait, underspin, jighead minnow, hair jig, Duel shad crank, and a TB DD crank. This is probably the best I've ever done the day after ice out. scott

Ice came off late yesterday afternoon, but no luck before nightfall. Today was warm and windy, got a few out in 18' fow but then found shad and bass in less than 2' fow on a windblown bank. Underspin, jighead minnow, hair jig, and blade bait got the bites. Got about 14 and one giant perch. Here's the best... scott

IL, IN, and MI for me during a normal year. scott

Did get a couple on it today, here's the best one shaking. Didn't get a pic of the one on an underspin, a northland tackle 1/2oz 2/0. scott

Nice! Glad it worked.

My memory is questionable but I think either worked fine for me. I didn’t throw it last year, I’ll look into it if I remember the next time I’m near my gear. TB has swimbait seminars from 2-3 years ago that have their recs which is where I got mine. scott edit: Looks like 10/0 is recommended.

X2 ^^ Also really nice and subtle on a underspin scott

I feel like a 6” and 6” fatty for my lake is the right size for bottom crawling. Big enough at that slow speed to get their attention. The bigger baits do best for me mid to high in the water column to pique their interest and call them in. But the reality is there’s not that much difference that I’ve noticed. scott

You are definitely correct on that. My bad, I was coming at it from the other direction, fishing shows that are content creators first, not necessarily pros. The shows you just referenced are the real blending of the lines between tv/yt imo. Back in the day that type of manpower and time on the water was only financially viable if you had a small show on cable. I'd imagine that some of those same funding mechanisms are still in play. scott

I missed it too, what great news after a rollercoaster of a read. More prayers coming. scott

Once the water gets into the mid 40's here, a dht punisher w/ a beaver dragged uphill is practically unbeatable for quality fish on my lake. I am confident that it's a good jig combo, but the uphill part is possible confirmation bias. I guess I'm asking Glenn if you feel that way about boat/casting positioning in your experience? @bishoptf reading through this; are you a bank fisherman? Maybe your prespawn issues with location are driven by access? scott

I respectfully disagree, multiple rigged go-pros seem to be the norm. I also assume with some insider knowledge that editing is mostly done by the main parties. Now professional anglers that are forced into this new paradigm, probably hire out or cut in a "producer" to a sizeable portion of the revenue. Content producers as a main living; probably do a vast majority of the work. Exceptions abound of course and the line between YT and TV are blurring more everyday. scott I don't know, but I'm available to start tomorrow. scott

LC casting jig LC compact pitching jig I wasn't clear and looked it up to be more precise... scott

What's less than stellar about the regular Luke Clausen pitchin jig? Line tie orientation? scott

I'll second this. Sensitivity is not a strong suit of the champ series. scott

I still have 4 strand on my frog setup, but have moved to 8 strand on everything else. I vote for the 20lb. scott

I throw that keitech, 1/4oz fireworks jig, free rigs, tubes, finesse scroungers, and other light wire hooks with Major Craft Black Porgy 5G 7'8 M/RF w/ a 10lb floro leader. It's a fantastic rod that I'm always finding a reason to pick up. Highly recommend. https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/140/4573236273983 https://www.majorcraft.co.jp/5g/blackporgy/ scott

I think I do 8/0 and 10/0 for the 6 & 7" scottsboros like you said. I never tried the 8" so 12/0 sounds good, but the 10/0 might just be fine too. I like the scottsboros because I have more retrieval speeds available. It'll do the med/slow crawl like the magdraft, but you can also speed them up without blowing out if that's the deal. I also think the bass by me don't see the scottsboros as often as magdrafts, which can't hurt. scott

Alberto for the braid connection and I spent time rigging and got quick tying a flying bowline an it's been the easiest for lure connections. I should try a 3-4 wrap sdj for swim and regular jigs this year. Tired of losing them. scott

Brass main gear and handle/knob size are all that I know of. scott

The 7'3XH is a mod/fast action, it's just that it's backed with a ton of power and a no stretch line. A smooth reel set with a proper drag setting should get em up and turned without ripping lips off. scott

Brass main gear and handle/knob size are all that I know of. Kicking myself still for not going for one of each additional zillions. scott

Break out and reel rip/kill the big 7-9" flutter spoons, 7" scroungers, northern style preacher jigs, or shake a 7" jerky j, armor shad, or raid fish roller along the bottom. I'd also try 4-5" versions of all of the above till I find what they want. It's basically offering the right profile very erratically, like you can't reel it fast enough before you kill it back to the bottom type erratic or slowly dancing it right on the bottom and right in front of their face like a gizzard in the final throes. I don't think @Pat Brown is wrong about the difficulty in beating the real thing, but if you get it right, that's gonna be where the big fish are. They are not skipping out on the buffet. These are some of the easiest calories of the year for the big girls. This shad kill pattern is dominant for my water mid november thru mid december. There's also a version right after ice out till the turnover and possibly a week or two after if the warm up is fleeting. scott

I would and will buy another bantam. I cannot say the same about a curado dc. Nothing is wrong with the curado, it's just the bantam is far superior. Digitaka has a bantam for $232 right now and would be where I'd order it from. scott

Congrats to you!!! That is a week or a lifetime... scott