Masshole Mike

if i'm ever desperately in need of a good backlash, i immediately reach for my baitcaster and give skippin a go. it's my sure-fire way to get a proper professional overrun. i've actually gotten pretty good with a spinning setup but baitcasting is just a mess any time i've tried. keeping the bait close to the surface of the water and getting some velocity behind it seems to be the key with skipping a baitcaster. looks like i've got even more practicing to do!

gotcha great fish husky, those really are some beautiful smallies.

great instructional video paul, can't wait to try it out for myself!

i'll tell ya what fellas, i was as careful as careful can be so that exactly this wouldn't happen. here's the story... i was throwin a senko and not catchin so i switched to the xr50 that you see pictured on the first page. i started catchin (mostly perch but there was a bass mixed in) and ended up hookin into a small perch. he got all 3 hooks from the front treble stuck into different sections of his mouth, two on top under his eyes and 1 straight thru his lower lip. his mouth was too small to try and lip him so i grabbed my rapala lip grip scale and my hook outs and went to work. i was having the hardest time trying to get the 3 hooks out because the fish wasn't cooperating and they were so perfectly hooked in his little face that it was just a total b!$&h trying to do anything. so i decided to get down in there and try to work the lure around the fish instead of the fish around the lure. well no sooner than i grabbed the xr50 he starts flippin out, i dropped the lure and pulled my arm back and as i did the rear treble sank in and the fish's little spasms just sank it even further. my buddy joe ended up having to cut the front treble out of the fish's mouth, and i tell ya i tried like hell to get that hook out myself but it just was not happening. the er nurses told me "i did good" when they saw how deep it was. two days later and the most painful part is the tetanus shot that i got in my right butt cheek. it feels like the worst charlie horse ever.

this one did not feel good... that was a nice little visit to the ER to have it removed. was gonna give er a go myself but even my aunts that are ER nurses said it'd be best to just go and get it taken out. it was so deep they actually had to back it out instead of pushing it through and cutting it. the doc took a hollow point needle and ran it down the shank of the hook to the barb so that the barb sat inside the tip of the needle, then just gave a couple tugs on it and out she came. and what did i gain from yesterday's adventure? a new respect for treble hook'd lures and a sore @55 finger.

man, those are some incredible fish! so uh, whereabouts in MA were you catchin those hawgs? 8-)

they just recalled a bunch of toyota pickup trucks because of the same thing. my buddy brought his to the dealership and they "tested" it by whackin away at the frame with a ballpeen hammer, if the hammer went through the truck was recalled. surprisingly enough, after they put about 10 holes in his frame they let him drive it home and keep it for about another month. there wasn't much left of it when they finally got it back, he stripped it, jumped it, drove it without shocks, all kinds of stuff and they still cut him a check for the full amount.

i want to say there's one on quaboag (north pond) in brookfield, ma this weekend. i'll try to get some info for ya today.

that's awesome carl, congrats man! leave some of those hawgs for next year's trip, will ya?!

smallies fo sho! and is "funner" word? more fun?

oh man craig, that's awesome! congrats man, she's beautiful!

that is a HUGE smallie! nice fish!

if you're going to fly with a rod tube, DEFINITELY check with your airline's regulations for oversized baggage. i flew airtran airways down to atlanta and didn't get charged a cent for the flight down (on any of my baggage), but on the return flight i was charged $140 for my baggage. half of that was for the bazuka rod tube i had my rods in, and the other half was for my checked bag that was overweight and oversized. at that point there wasn't much i could do except pay and try to deal with it later. an hour-long phone call later and i was offered a $50 voucher towards my next flight. i told them they can keep it, i'll find an airline that won't charge me to fly my rods.

Forgetting someone arent we? : ooooh yeah, you mean that homeless guy that ryan was talking about? ;D fixed it for ya

congrats bud! getting to fish g'ville with you that day was overwhelming, to say the least! trying to take in all the knowledge and tips and info you were willing to share was enough of a task for the day, never mind tryin to catch fish, too! cj is one of the most honest, respectable and intelligent guys i've ever had the pleasure of wetting a line with. listening to him, fluke, ronnie, SPEEDBEAD and senko77 talk shop after dinner that one night at g'ville was inspiring. the stories and the comraderie will always be cherished and never forgotten. thanks for everything cj, i can't wait for next year! congrats again buddy, you wholeheartedly deserve it! 8-)

those are some amazing fish! was it mostly smallies still or closer to a 50/50 split?

nice! that's pretty much the exact pattern we were hittin em on that day, it's just too bad we didn't figure it out until later in the day. we didn't have any electronics to help but it certainly would have made a difference. those are some fine fish my friend! i hope to get back out on the Q soon but i'm pretty busy the next few weekends. i might try for a half day next saturday or go out all day sunday, but my buddy joe wants to take me to some reservoir out near westborough or something. him and my sister went out on sunday and caught almost 30 smallies ranging from 1-3lbs so i'm looking forward to that! anyways, congrats on the good day out and thanks for the great pics!

glenn the video came out great! that last shot of the sun was actually the sunrise on the last morning there. it was gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful i've ever seen in person. i followed that shot up with a nice 3lb+ on a spinnerbait, which makes it even more incredible! great job on the vid.

ooooooh, i see how it is... i just looked through all the smilies and couldn't quite find one to convey how i feel about that post. let's just say you're lucky this is a family site ;D awesome pics guys, looks like you slammed em out there. that pic of the double is great. hey paul.... I'M NEXT! 8-)

go to the quabbin! you could spend all weekend out there and still not see half of it. smallie fishing is great right now, too. headin there right now, actually!

http://www.lunkercity.com/bakudan/bakudan.html you don't even tie your line to it. just slip the line through the clasp and it holds tight, but if it gets snagged up the design is so that the clasp cuts the line, and you only end up losing the weight instead of the whole hook, line and sinker (pun intended...) make sure you check out the 3 different shapes, too. they make round, skinny and magnum shapes.

listen to buzz killington over here.... : i don't actually see anyone else posting up 20+ smallie days, from around here or anywhere else. keep killin em paul (just next time... BRING ME!)

super quick reply from dana. i'm stoked i made the cut, i can't wait to try these things out. thanks bobby!

email sent, hope i made the cut! the evo jigs are awesome, caught my PB on one down on g'ville, hoping i can best that on a shak-e2 head!

take a look at a pinnacle platinum LP100 or solene. i believe both are under or around $50 and available at almost any walmart. keep in mind that i did own a LP100 and did not like anything about it, the brakes, the drag, the handle, nothing seemed to work properly on it. i ended up giving it away and getting a BPS rick clunn lefty instead, and now all i've got are a revo s and a revo sx. i'd say save a little more money and just get a revo s. i'm sure you can find one cheap on ebay, and you'll save yourself time and money in the long run. they are super easy to learn on and very user-friendly.