Tokyo Tony

Probably, but it also depends on your reel size. The Okuma reel I had some problems with (and again, this is freezing temps) is a little smaller than a Shimano 2500 size, so a larger reel should have less problems. And I can see how trolling it behind the boat for a while to eliminate twist would help the problem. Even if you do have that problem though it isn't a huge problem if you're aware of it. Again, I love the sensitivity and strength of this line. Headed out in a bit with that same setup to try my luck with some night trout

Ice fishing has never really piqued my interest, but maybe if I were to go out and get a few I'd feel differently.

Wow you must have been faded The only freshwater cat I've ever caught was on a little marabou jig with a slip bobber

That's all the encouragement I needed, thanks I'll go out for an hour or as long as I can stand it and let you all know how I did tomorrow on this thread.

Yeah it's iced up in CT too. Sucks. Good thing is that the streams are still goin' strong and the trout are still catchable. I need to invent something like a big heat fan or something so I can melt all the ponds in my area :-/

I'm in CT and although it's cold, I caught a bunch of trout last weekend at a river that's kind of near my house. Question: do you think I'd be able to catch any at night time, or are they really dormant and inactive at night? I need to catch some fish, and I just want to make sure it won't be a total waste of time before driving 50 minutes each way to try to catch some trout in the cold. If you think I could possibly have any luck, any advice for lures? I was using little Powerbait minnows that were working great. Thanks

You can't go wrong with bread. Throw a bunch out first to chum and just include in that bunch of bread your piece with a hook in it.

Can't go wrong with the 3" Powerbait Minnows on a 1/8 jighead. They're great for both trout and smallies.

What do you guys think the odds are of a warm front that lasts a week or two that will melt the thin ice in the CT area? - I'd guess that this won't happen enough to melt all the ice, but I'm still *hoping* for a warm front at least, maybe in the 50's for a few days... What date would you say ice-out is in CT? - I'd guess March 20th What would you say the odds are that I don't totally lose it and freak out before ice-out? - I'd say there's a 15% chance I don't freak out

Once caught a decomposed arm with part of the hand still attached....just kidding Caught a shirt once in a really sheisty pond and was really worried that it would be something like an arm

"Wow that eeis small. See I was not expecting anything less than ten, or eleven inches." -Ladies Man

Twist is probably a source of the problem as well - can't troll it, but I guess I could let it float down the river a ways for a while... I wish line came on smaller diameter spools. I remember back in the day when I used Ande monofilament on those smaller diameter spools twist wasn't so much of a problem because the line spool size was almost the same as the spool on my reels. Oh well.

Convergence is a great rod for the price, I have one that I got a while back for 40 bucks. I don't know if they come in fast action, but the one I have is pretty flexy, medium action, which may not be good for t-rigged plastics.

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's the freezing temps and no humidity - the line coils off the spool pretty badly, but nothing that can't be overcome. I'd say this time of year braid's definitely better, but on the other hand, I'm not sure I would have gotten all the bites I did if I were using braid with a leader. P-Line Flouroclear is definitely softer and more manageable than the Ultra Soft, but has no sensitivity. I'd much rather have a more sensitive, less manageable line.

Went out yesterday to find that all of the ponds I fish are totall frozen over, so I went to a couple trout honey holes I know of to get my fix. Just spooled up one of my smallie spinning setups with the above mentioned line, #6 mist green, and.... First of all, I'm hoping it's the cold weather, but it's one of the least manageable lines I've used, so not great for cold water. The line really coils off the spool so you can't leave any slack. I didn't mind too much because I've gotten good at either not leaving slack or keeping my left hand on the spool to prevent this, but if you're used to leaving slack sometimes or if you don't manually close the bail, I'd stay away from it in cold weather (I'm talking freezing temperatures). That said, it is the most sensitive non-braid line I've ever used, and I can't wait to try it out in the spring. I was fishing gin-clear rivers for some finicky trout and ended up catching 13 (12 browns, one rainbow), 3 over 2 lbs - my PB trout fishing day for numbers + quality ;D. So it seems this line performs well in clear water situations. It casts really well, as I was shooting a little 1/8 oz jighead with a PowerBait minnow as far as I wanted, and it seems very abrasion-resistant. Do you guys know if the mist green is less soft than the clear line? Also, will the stiffness go away once it's warmer out? If the stiffness goes away, I may start straying far away from braid for most applications...I like this line a lot so far. Last question, any ideas on how to get cell phone pics onto this site? I'm not sure if I can email from my phone... Thanks P.S. At one spot I was fishing alongside a couple flyfishermen who weren't having any luck, and I was just killing 'em with my little Powerbait minnow ;D The fish were ONLY biting the PowerBait minnow in 030 color - I tried a couple others with no luck. I could tell these trout fishermen were a little annoyed by a "bass guy" coming in, no waders, just casting from shore, pulling them out one after the other 8-)

For the SureSet hooks, I remove the front one and replace it with a normal treble - you'll get less crap on the lure without that long hook hanging down in the middle. I'm a big fan of the squarebill DT flat series.

Stick with decaf Doucet - my ears hurt

One day that sticks out in my memory was this past summer, my brother and I went out at daybreak and there was a thick thick fog that didn't lift until 11. The bite was better that day than any other day I've ever fished on that lake, and the topwater bite lasted until the fog lifted. I believe the fog was a primary reason for that, so I'd say foggy days are generally gonna be better, especially during the summer. Not sure about colder periods, but it may not be good if the fog keeps the sun from warming the water... It does keep the pleasure boaters off the water til later in the day though

That's my favorite part

Wow, amazing work there. I have to admit, when I saw your first couple of pictures I wasn't too impressed :-? But now that baby is beautiful ;D I would have no idea where to start with a project like that :-/ And one more different smiley for good measure :-*

The Storm slab thing is a POS. I bought one (for 5 bucks, not 3 > ), tried it out for 10 casts. The action is terrible, doesn't track straight, jointed tail is worthless, sinks like a quarter sinks when you try those things in Taco Bell. On my ~11th cast my knot to my leader got caught in a guide and the slab flew about 40 yards into the pond. I'm not saying that was the lure's fault, but good riddens. I do like the rearview mirror idea though - the lure does look really cool.

You can work it like a crank, but I've found it's much more effective when twitched aggressively. I love these baits, and they're great for smallies when they don't wanna swim 15 feet to the surface to hit a regular X-Rap. And as for Rainbows, my brother and I caught some really nice ones last spring when we were shore-fishing rivers for smallies. I don't mind catching trout at all, as long as it's on bass gear

65 or 78 LC Pointer finesse jig and pork 4" senkos

If we're talking about the fish in your avatar, I'd probably refer to it as a "freak of nature" ;D Or a "freakishly gargantuan fish"