ww2farmer

When I decided to buy a boat 10 years ago there was one thing I was NOT going to do.................put myself in debt for a hobby. SO that meant it had to be a cash deal. I knew nothing of boats, so I went with a new Tracker. I flipped over the couch cushions, took a part time night job for a little while in the winter when I had nothing better to do, and sold off excess to me needs reenacting equipment, and a few guns that I had multiples of. 3 months and $12K of ZERO money out of my family budget later, I towed it home. and have fished out of it d**n near every day during our open water season ever since. I'll probably keep it until it sinks, catches on fire, or my wife sells it after she kills me. If and when I need/want another boat, I will do the same thing all over again. I loath debt. I have not even bought a car/truck in the last 15 years that I could not pay cash for.

They are doing that here too,clearing out the Black, Silver and Pro Max 2 reels, and making room for the new "3" series reels. All right handed though.................I use LH. I actually like the these reels. Yeah they are cheap, but I have had a bunch of them for a few years now in heavy, regular use, and other than basic maint..............like oiling the spool bearings, and I had one that had a AR bearing acting up that just needed to be oiled, they have held up well. I still use a little "better" quality aluminum framed reel for the bull work around here,like frogging, cranking, and flipping but those Max series reels are just fine for fishing jigs, plastics, and such around moderate cover. Multiple 6lbers have been pulled in from the grass, and under docks with them around here and they have not exploded in my hands or caused me any harm.........................and I will tell you guys this with a stone cold straight face.....................they can skip a weightless soft plastic better than the most expensive reels I have ever owned..........the much beloved and ballyhooed Curado 51E's. Yup, I am the idiot who has cheap reels on $200+ custom rods...............oh well. I also have a pile of $40-$60 rods to back up, and supplement the use of the customs. Plus, if I break one..................I'm out $35. I toss it in the junk drawer, and have a donor parts reel for the rest of my "junk". I have had $200 casting reels that needed to be sent off for repairs, and $35 dosen't even cover the shipping, parts, and labor. Buy once cry once??? No thanks................I buy cheap and stack deep.

I had that problem with a couple too, SK was more than generous in replacing them. For every defective bait I sent back, they would send me 2 in return, plus other free stuff like hats, etc............I had a few translucent ones that had "sticky rattles" and I could see what the problem was..................where they glued the bait halves together, a couple rattles were stuck in excess glue that seeped out of the seam. A quick and hearty "smack" on the water freed them up and all was well again. Now, if I get one that "sounds" off..................which I rarely do, a quick slap on the water cures it 100% of the time, and I don't bother sending them back, because they catch fish just fine after that.

No bait is truly "silent" you have hooks and split rings that rattle around and make a little noise. I have tried the "silent" Red Eye Shad's.................mehhh....even in our clear water, I caught more and bigger on the rattling versions. I tend to use lipless baits early and late in the year when the fish are still "sluggish" and the strike zone is smaller. They don't really seem to want to move far from there hiding spots to "track" a bait by feel or sight like a silent squarebill or a swim jig, but they can here/feel that rattling lipless bait from a long ways away, and the closer it get's to them the more triggering effect it has.............especially if where they are laying low is in a little patch of grass. They might never see it coming, but all of a sudden this rattly noise making thing is in their face, and they bite it. I have hauled water combing a flat apart in sub 50 degree water with a squarebill or swim jig, only to turn right around 15mins later and put 20lbs in the boat on a lipless in the same area. It just works, and I am not arguing with it.

I fish from the day the ice is off my local lake, until the water dips into the low 40s in the fall (usually)............that is any where from late March/mid April until around Thanksgiving. I usually have a frog tied on for all but the first 2 weeks, and the last 2 weeks.

I had a cheap Abu Black Maxx2 reel that was giving me some anti-reverse issues this past fall. On the advise of a member here, I tore it down, cleaned and LIGHTLY oiled the AR roller bearing, and it's as good as new now.

Nope..............Silver is locked up end to end side to side..........with about 2 foot of snow on it. Except for the ends, the ice is generally unsafe, but it ain't going no where until the snow is gone. I have no idea about Conesus, that place is not usually on my radar until after SIlver is open, and I am in need of a change of pace.

I have two daughters, that will be age 7 and 11 this coming season. I learned a few valuable lessons with the 11 year old over the years that has helped me make fishing more enjoyable for the 7 (as well as the 11) year old. #1............They have to catch fish. It don't matter if it's just dinky perch or bluegills. No fish = boredom real fast, and boredom = a short day for you #2...........Your fishing is at the bottom of the list when the kids are out, put the bass rods away and just help them. #3............When the first "daddy when are we going home is muttered" DO NOT keep fishing for hours on end. #4...............Mix in something fun other than fishing. My boat is no good for tubing, or any thing, but a short ride around the lake, or anchoring in a shallow swimming area and letting them get in the water for a little bit breaks it up nice, and helps them have a good time. #5................Secondary activities are a plus, if I ever want to sneak in a little fishing when they are out, and they are not asking to go home yet, it's usually because they have something else to do one the boat.

Thanks, I'll have to check our local DSG's ...........I am in need of restock on power worms and chigger craws for the coming season. I bought a bunch when TW had them on sale during their "25 days" Christmas sale, but not enough to last all season.

I use Stanley Ribbits now, but I used to use horny toads................I kept/keep the color selections simple for both of them. Black, green pumpkin/white belly, and green pumpkin/ chart. belly...........I think Stanley calls that color "Bullfrog" and Zoom calls it the same.

No first hand exp. with the rod your asking about, but I have owned several St Croix Heavy powered rods in the past...........Premiers, Mojo's, Avids...............I guess I was/am a slow learner. They were ALL broomsticks, and after a short time with them, I was glad to be rid of each one.

Never owned one, and never will. But my guess is............lots of quality (breakage) issues coupled with poor customer service, and honoring ........or lack the of, the "warranty". That's what I gathered from the guys around here that had them and no longer do. Also for a time............the "fan boys" were just obnoxious...Now I can't say this for a fact, and it's purely IMHO, but I think a lot of tackle companies put there "pro-staff" up to flapping their gums on forums like this, and to me, back when these rods were first popular, it seemed kind of obvious that this was going on.

I have been known to play marker buoy games.....................I will toss one out randomly in the middle of no where, and then keep an eye on it from a distance to see what idiots come over and fish them. I also like to screw with a buddy of mine, on our home lake he will leave a buoy out over night or for a few hours when he goes back into the house for lunch, I'll pick it up and move it 50 yards just to be a jerk. I don't bother trying to hide mine, if I have one out marking something, it's been well established over the years that if I like you, your more than welcome to join me at the spot, and if I don't.................well those people don't get within 100 yards of me anyways.

I have done it plenty of times. It works. A 7" power worm cut down about 3 inch's is a fantastic swim jig trailer, and a 3" Yum dinger on a finesse jig is also a very productive combo.

I do the same..............it works quite well actually. I'll put my cranking results and exp. up against any one here

Between the two, I drop shot WAY more than I shaky head, but I do use both.

Suspending jerkbaits, and lipless cranks. I am very VERY excited to get out there early with blade baits this coming spring. This past fall was the first time I buckled down and used them, and had excellent results. I am told they are just as good in the early spring cold water period as well.

The only time I don't like pike are: Sure it sucks to lose lures, but they make more every day.

I use chatterbaits, swim jigs, and squarebills A LOT, sometimes almost interchangeably, but often one shines in certain condition. I don't use spinnerbaits much, if at all anymore. Cover, water clarity, and weather conditions often dictate what bait is used. Chatterbaits get the nod when the water is dirty and the cover is grass, I avoid wood with chatterbaits, not because they don't work, but because they get hung up ..........at least for me...........very easy. They are the best dirty water choice for me, and are my first choice if I am fishing over a soft bottom. Sqaurebills get the nod when the water is clear to lightly stained, and even in dirty water, and the cover is wood, or grass not to thick to be able to rip and work through. They are the most versatile of the three and usually my first choice when trying to figure out whats going on that day. Swim jigs get used in clear water, in both wood and grass, any time I "think" any thump or flash would be a detriment to getting the fish to bite. They are the most subtle of the three, and are what I reach for if conditions appear to be "iffy" for a good reaction bait bite.........like clear water, bright skies, little to no wind, etc...They also have the added bonus, especially around cover like weed holes, docks, laydowns, etc. to be be swam through or just pitched and dead sticked like a regular jig I often employ this combo retrieve to find out how they want it that day, and adjust my presentations accordingly. If the are hitting it while moving, I keep it moving...........if they are hitting it when I pitch of flip it into cover, I will fish it that way.

What's your point of quoting me?

I use EWG 100% of the time for t-rigging. No issues. For wacky rigging 4" Yum dingers, I use the 1/16th oz. VMC Wacky head. Dingers are not as salt laden and dense as GYCB senkos, that extra little 1/16th oz of weight has no ill-effect on the dingers sink rate, with it, it sinks just about as fast as an un-weighted senko.

I love Red Label...........FOR LEADERS ONLY................it handles terrible as main line.

I typically move on from lost fish pretty quick and don't dwell on them too long. It happens to everybody. I do have several vivid memories however of lost fish in tournament situations that made a big difference in the outcome of the day. #1: wnybassman and I were partnered up in an open tournament a couple years ago, and the bite was on fire. People were NOT cashing with 17 and 18 pound bags. We caught almost 19lbs that day and finished 2nd by about .25 of a pound...........We had our chances. I broke off TWO 4lb + fish that day, and he had a heavy fish break him off too. To rub salt in the wound...........I caught one of the fish I broke off 2 days later fun fishing in the same area, with my hook still in it's yap. It was 4.5lbs #2: Again fishing with wnybassman in a fall tournament, in perhaps the worst weather I have ever been in for 8 straight hours. The bite SUCKED. The team that won, was the only team that caught a limit, and they had 15lbs. We came in 2nd with 14+lbs, but with only four fish. I think we each caught 2 that day, he had the 5th one on, and to the boat, and it was decent one...........3+ lbs, but instead of waiting for me to net it, hilarity ensued and he went full retard trying some combo boat flip/horse collar shenanigans and it broke off. LMAO. #3 Just last season my regular opens partner Rick (the small dude in my avatar pic.) and I were having one comedy of error after another. Fish coming unbuttoned left and right. The bite was actually good that day, and the guys that won smashed them with 20+lbs, we were just out of the money with 16. One cull would have put us in the $$, and it was my fault that we didn't get that fish in the boat. Rick hooked a good one in some heavy matted stuff on a frog, on the end of a LONG cast. I said "just hold him tight, I'll go in after him" . I cranked the TM up to 100 and got right in there. As I am running my hand down his line into the grass I yanked the frog out of the fishes mouth. In hindsite, I should have netted the fish, wad of grass and all. #4...Again just last year. My rod builder and I had teamed up to fish an open, and the bite was good again. This tx. also kicked out a 20+lb winning bag, and we finished 1 place out of the money again with almost 18lbs....... again due to a lost fish that would have been a big upgrade. I pitched a jig under a dock and the fish exploded on it as it was skipping under there, I had him pinned on the surface, up against some cross members, and could see it was a 4+ lber, as I kept pressure on him and got my partner in position to net him, she wiggled every so slightly and got off.

I grabbed a couple of the new Berkley Cranks at Gander Mtn. today. I like the looks of the "wIld thang" in the color gilly.

Everything........7' MH casting might just be the best sub $200 frog/chatterbait/swim jig rod you can buy. 6'6" M is an excellent target squarebill, top water, and suspending jerkbait rod, and the 7' M spinning is a jack of all trades, drop shot, shaky head, finesse jigs, wacky rigs, skipping weightless plastics under docks. Yes............and outstanding for the $$. When I went to custom rods, I had my builder build me "feel" rods first, but I still grab the LR Shocks when an extra rod is needed in the boat and while they lack the lightweight, and refinement of the custom rods, I have zero issues feeling things with them.