Tokyo Tony

These are great for transportation. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20325_TGP&rid=&indexId=cat20325&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20325&id=0037306

Don't get Vanish Transition - I think it's junk. The regular clear Vanish is pretty good, but I much prefer P-Line. It's smoother and has better knot strength and less memory. I'll definitely be trying the Yo-Zuri next year because of RW's reviews, but one thing is for sure: stay away from the Vanish Transition, as cool as it looks.

So I just went to Tackle Warehouse for the first time after reading this post, and I'm very impressed by the site. It is the best organized fishing retail site I've ever seen. Great format. I may have to buy some stuff...

Records are which person caught the biggest fish of a certain species, regardless of how they did it (beyond the obvious, i.e. rod and reel, not M-80s). World/state records should only take that into consideration. Of course, there should be further classifications, such as line strength and artificial/live bait, but as far as a single record fish goes, if it was caught on live bait, there should not be an asterisk saying, "Record fish, BUT it was caught on live bait." Maybe if it was caught on an artificial there should be one saying, "AND it was impressively caught on an artificial." Either way, a record fish is a record fish, regardless of how it was caught, so yes. I believe fish caught on live bait should qualify for records.

How do you know shiners don't feel pain? 'Pain' might be the wrong word anyway, but regardless, I don't have any more respect for mice than I do for shiners. Using mice, IMO, would not be any worse than using shiners, although it may seem worse. Kittens? That's just ridiculous. I can't believe someone would do that, but I guess he really really, really likes his muskies, and doesn't care much for cats.

I think to start, the term "bait snob" is misleading. How about using "bait afficionado", or "one who enjoys fine baits"? Anyway, especially lately, I've been buying a lot of higher-end baits (hi Cabela's in East Hartford), and while there may not be a huge or even noticeable difference in fish-catching ability, I think the main advantage (other than their confidence-giving powers) is that you don't have to tune them as much (or at all). Even comparing the relatively-high-end X-Rap to the LC Pointer, X-Raps do have to be tuned relatively frequently, which is not the case with Pointers. Either way, I like having Pointers (and other baits that look awesome) and just looking at them, especially when that's all I can do over the winter. Also, it seems a little more satisfying catching a good fish on an expensive bait for some reason, maybe because you think to yourself, "Wow - definitely worth the price!" ;D Is that crazy? Maybe.

Depends on your tube - some you sit really low while others have you pretty high above the water. It sounds like you'd be much better off with a pontoon if you want to sight fish. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jsp?id=cat360011&navAction=jump&navCount=1&cmCat=MainCatcat20431&parentType=category&parentId=cat20431

I hate to say it, but in CT lately I've shifted my focus to trout. The bass fishing is just too tough for my taste, and you can catch some really nice trout this time of year, on bass lures nonetheless (which is part of the fun of bass fishing - using artificial lures). As soon as I have a boat and good electronics, I may try to do some deepwater bassin', but if you have trout in your area, go for those.

I don't see how using mice as bait is that different from using shiners for bait, or feeding mice to a snake or bass. It's certainly not any more brutal than setting mousetraps in your house. I bet mice would make great bait, judging by the few mice I've seen swimming on the surface. I wouldn't use them just because it would be messy.

Great article, and well-written! Makes me wish I knew of wingdams to fish - but when I do find some, I'll be sure to heed your advice. Thanks!

Also, if I were fishing that pond I'd try an X-Rap or LC Pointer.

I'd spend a lot of time with the chatterbait if I were you, and you said it's muddy - if the white doesn't work, try a black/blue one. I love chatterbaits - the fish can really track them, and you can really work the whole water column. It sounds like this is a pond for the chatterbait.

Has anyone had problems like those mentioned above with Cabela's? I would think that even though most people say that BPS is good about fixing their errors, the fact that they are making this many errors is inexcusable. I've had some problems with BPS myself, but never with Cabela's. This is just part of the reason I've always been more of a Cabela's guy. The main reason is that I've been a Cabela's customer since I was a little kid. Obviously I'm totally psyched about Cabela's opening 10 minutes from my house.

I float-tube all the time on lakes and ponds, but never on a river. If there's a very gentle current, I don't see a problem. Basically, you just need to use it to get the hang of it. It took me a couple of trips before I really got used to fishing out of it, but when you do get the hang of it, there are many big advantages to float-tubing... Basically, there's no secret to using one, and it's not rocket science. Just take it out a few times and you'll feel comfortable in no time.

HA! Stiff cold front, nose dive to the 50s. It snowed all morning here in CT :'( Have fun, and I'm jealous. Fish slowly.

But for Yamamoto Kreature, I like 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG. 4/0 are too big for that bait IMO

Definitely don't skimp on hooks - I once bought a "value pack" of some kind of G-Lock style hook, not sure if it was Mustad or something else, but I got three strikes with a senko with only one successful hookset, and the 25 pack went into the tacklebox, never to see the light of day again. All my hooks are Gamakatsu, from EWG to offset to circle to trout hooks.

Well there's no reason to mistreat a bass by keeping a bass "in its own filth", but you have to realize that the fish wouldn't be sitting there, miserable, thinking "Boy, this really sucks". It might not feel comfortable, whatever that even means for a bass, but it's certainly not the same as keeping a person locked up in a little space (like in these f'd up news articles I keep reading). Either way, a bass doesn't "deserve" anything. We owe it to each other to keep the bass fishing good, and there's no reason to mistreat a bass, but it really doesn't deserve anything. This is coming from a guy who absolutely loves and respects bass, feels terrible after gut-hooking them, and also who couldn't spare even a single turd for PETA.

I agree with Holland to a certain degree, though I wouldn't put it so abrasively. Bass are not people, they're not smart, they are not rational, so they don't deserve anywhere near the same respect that people do (bass aren't even capable of knowing that they're being deprived of a natural life). That being said, there's still really no reason to torture a bass or take it from the wild if you're not gonna really try to care for it. But if you want to take one, put him in a tank and have fun with him for a while, go for it. Just don't do it with a trophy bass that's gonna die, because then you WOULD be doing something wrong by possibly depriving another human of the pleasure of catching (and releasing) the trophy in the future. I think we need to take the middle ground here, somewhere between a tree-hugging PETA environmental wacko and the ignorant bully who is gonna torture a bass for the heck of it. Think about the whole concept of catch-and-release. Whatever you may want to believe, the reason for the policy is not for the protection of the bass species - it's for the benefit of humans so we can continue to enjoy good bass fishing in the future. I admit that I have what may be considered an irrational love and respect for bass, but at the end of the day, they're really just little slimy creatures trying to survive, and they don't even know it.

Best day as far as numbers go that I can remember was earlier this year, went float-tubing on my favorite smallie lake in NH, got over 70 fish, 95% smallmouth, 4% LMB, 1% slimedart. Biggest LMB about 2.5 lbs, biggest smallie 1.5, but a great action-packed day. They were hitting everything and anything without regard for their safety or health ;D

In that order. A perfect day: buy nice equipment, catch good fish, drink good beer, then hang out with a good woman for a while 8-)

Another note - I "took time off" after college - meaning it took me a while to get my act together and find a job. That's when I fell back in love with fishing. So from June to October I was fishing pretty much every day. I started out using just minnnow baits, retrieving them with a straight retrieve, then a friend recommended Senkos, and the rest is history. Anyway, like I said before, you'll have plenty of time to fish in college, summers off, etc. Plus, don't neglect to consider the ladies.

I bought one almost two years ago, and it's a piece of crap. I knew for a fact that a lot of the depth readings were incorrect, and if there's any kind of a chop on the water, forget it. If you're going to be fishing from shore on glass-calm conditions and want to see if there's any obvious structure underwater, it would probably help. But for anything else, especially if the water isn't glassy-calm, don't get it.

I like chrome for day, black for night, although this year I was doing really well with a black one during the day. I also have many colors, and it doesn't really seem to make much of a difference with topwaters. I did just get a clear Super Spook Jr, so I'm looking forward to trying that baby out next year.

Go to college man. You'll have just as much time to fish as you would if you were working part-time, but you'll be getting an education. Freshman year at college is amazing - you're around a bunch of freshmen, - NO PARENTS! There will be a lot of females there as well, in case you were wondering. Go straight to school, get your education, then worry about your career, even if that might be bass fishing. These bass fishermen who are the most successful did not make their money in the tournaments. They make most of it with their business mindset after they gain a name for themselves, and a college education will give you some of the tools necessary to become successful in the business world, whether it relates to bass fishing or to anything else. Plus, you'll have time off between terms, and the whole freakin' summer off! Man, what I wouldn't do to get summers off again. Now that I work full-time, the summer is nothing more than a time of year that it's warm. Go to school, and live it up for the rest of us ;D