T-Billy

I hear ya. I'm bowhunting after work tomorrow, then fishing Wednsday. Weather will determine what I do Friday morning. Good luck hunting.

You might oughta try it brother. I love fishing this time of year. I'm jacked up and focused all day long because every swing could be a new PB, whatever the species, bass, muskie, eyes... The biggins come shallow before ice over. Especially on calm, sunny days. Last week the surface temp was still 49-50. Big cold front is just moving out. I expect surface temps in the low 40's. We have skim ice in the shallows. When I hit the water Wednsday, it'll be the third day of sunshine with highs back in the 40's. I have HIGH hopes!!! I'll be after 'em daylight till dark. A-Rig and a Flippin Stick all day long.

TRD Bug on a 1/8 football head on main lake basin structure has been my #1 producer right after ice out, especially for brown bass.

I take them off for tying knots etc. Too bulky for that. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Fish_Monkey_Free_Style_Custom_Fit_Gloves_/descpage-FMFS.html They're nice gloves. I have a pair, but I don't think they're worth the price.

Fish Monkey. This brand doesn't have seams sewn in at cutoff points like the FM gloves do. These are cut resistant insulated work gloves that just happen to work well for cold weather fishing.

Yes it does. Half finger gloves also help keep your fingertips warm to a point. That point for me is in the 40's if it's not real windy. There comes a point, which will be different for each of us, that insulated full fingers are a must. The gloves in my OP are the first that I've found that kept my fingers truly comfortable in fairly windy 30's, allow me to operate a baitcaster without issue, and give me a rock solid grip. All at a price anyone can afford. I thought they were worth sharing, but I'm also interested in seeing what has worked for y'all. I don't quit fishing until icy ramps shut me down, and I get back after it at ice out, so good gloves for the task are definitely something that interest me.

Crazy Alberto.

Mine live in my unheated, uninsulated garage year round in Ohio. Never an issue.

I've tried a bunch of different gloves over the years for cold weather fishing, and they're either not warm enough, or warm but lack the needed dexterity and/or grip. These Ninja Ice gloves from MCR Safety are the best I've found. I fished all day in 'em last Wednsday with temps in the 30's and my hands were toasty all day. They offer good dexterity for gloves this warm, and provide great grip, wet or dry. Price is right too at less than $10 a pair. I ordered a couple more pairs online, and while shopping, I came accross the fully dipped version below and ordered a couple pairs of them for cold and wet days. I'll report back on the full dipped after I get a chance to fish in them. If y'all have some gloves you like for fishing in the cold, share 'em with us here.

I don't understand?

Gotta go into that cover with a flippin rig. Smack em in the face with your beaver. They'll eat it.

Yep. I find braid to be plenty abrasion resistant, especially 832. Cut resistance is a different story. I've been cut off by rocks while fighting fish before, and musky teeth slice it like a hot knife through butter, but for me, the pros far outweigh the cons.

No experience with the Vicious no fade, but I've been VERY happy with the Fins Infinity. It's colorfast black, slick, and super quiet through the guides. Quieter than 131. It's on several of my moving bait rods now, and will be going on the rest of 'em. I'll be sticking with 832 for bottom contact and pitching cover. I've tried a bunch of braids and I'm 100% happy with these two.

That Carolina spinner rig is interesting. I could certainly see it being productive. I've considered doing something similar with an original floating Rapala, but never got around to it. I should probably give it a go one of these days. Same as last year, a Sweet Craw on a flippin rig is king, with a green pumpkin chatterbait coming in second. Honorable mention goes to the Yumbrella rig. I've been hammering the muskie with it lately, and catching a few bass on it as well. Still learning this one. It's gonna take awhile to really realize it's full potential for me, but it's a cold water must have rig for sure.

Welcome aboard.

Ark Invoker Pro series. Outstanding rods that'll leave you with some cash left over for other stuff. You can easily spend a lot more money and get less rod than these.

This is why, possum get released, coon get lead poisoning.

Yeah they cut it easily. I was just surprised one got it in it's mouth on the rig Population density is about one per acre on my #1 lake, and not far behind on #2.

LOL. The machine is down for maintenance today. Two days of Alab..... Uh... Umbrella rigging has the tendonitis in my elbows on fire. Going deer hunting this morning. LOL. Lots of 'em move shallow when the water's cold. My best day is 9 on, 7 in the boat. We have a local guide. I was talking to him last week, and he told me his best day was 14. I know another guy who caught 17 one February day vertical jigging a bait he makes that's basically an oversize Little George. Speaking of braid, I actually got bit off on the rig two days ago. The fish smoked it from behind and knocked a bunch of slack in the line, when I caught up to it and swung...... whiff. I barely got any tension on the line and it was gone. I sure wasn't expecting to get get bit off throwing this thing. Not something I expect will happen often. Nah. It's a seasonal thing for me. I collide with 'em when the water's cold mostly. I don't get many in summer. The Yumbrella rig has increased the number of collisions though, and greatly increased the percentage of bites that make it in the boat. I live 15 minutes from the best lake in OH for numbers, and 45 minutes from another good one. They're my two favorite lakes for bass too.

Open year round on all species in OH.

The four today put me at 12 + put the wife on her PB 44 incher. I lost a fat mid 40's yesterday. I was drifting toward the bait as I was retrieving it, and the fish was coming at me when I swung. Just didn't get a good hookset. Couple big head shakes and it was off. I got a good look at it though. It hit about 10' from the boat about a foot and a half down. I was gonna get the wife a replica done. Just out of curiosity, I went to the big auction site and typed in muskie mount. First auction on the list was a 44" VERY close in color to the fish she caught. Mount was really well done. Seemed like it was meant to be. I picked it up for half what a replica would have cost me and no wait. It arrived yesterday. She's tickled with it.

I remember seeing those in the stores when I was a kid.

Hmm...... Plus the 10 on the deck of the boat when I took this pic. Oh... I've also bought a few since then. I have issues.

? I've learnt to catch pressured fish. ?

I'm not catching many bass on the Yumbrella, but the muskie are mauling it. Four today, 33"-33"-35"-40". Water's down to 49. Temps were in the mid 30's all day with W winds at 10-13 and light snow on and off. Only one other boat on the lake. Yesterday I caught a snail on it. The strike was vicious. Nearly took the rod out of my hand.?