J Francho

Then you could delete over half the threads on the forum, they are redundant, and then you have no forum. Your opinion, "the thread is stupid", yet you have an opinion on the "stupid subject". Thats funny. ;D Yeah, I know. There are a few subjects that just go the same route every time. I'm not sure i get the second part...I thought I avoided posting in the carrot stick threads. Maybe not. Not sure i get your point here....clarify please.

I wish he'd just delete the stupid carrot stick threads altogether. Same thing, over and over....... Seems if you own them, they are awesome, if you don't, you've posted all over the net about a frind that broke his.... I have personally and professionally dealt with raodwarrior, and your opinion of him is about as far from reality as it can get. You are talking about a person that TRULY tries to help other anglers catch more and bigger fish, all the while, keeping this a friendly place. Calling out a mod is probably not the best thing to do for your fifth post.....

I think the word "hyperbole" was use more than twice in this thread, LOL. That'll get it locked down fo-sho!

I have a pile of old Bagleys, as well as a pile of old Poe's Ceder. Truth be told, I don't fish them that much, and don't even generally carry them with me. I keep them for sentimental reasons, some were my grampa's. Same issue with that type of bait. If you have a "special" top producer, you'd be hard pressed to find a replacemtn. Therefore you don't throw it where you need to throw it. I actually prefer the plastic bodied cranks, and slowly but surely have been replacing with them. So far Lucky Craft, Megabass, Deps, and Duo have the styles that work with my style of fishing. If I lose one (rare with a plug knocker), it can be replaced with an exact copy. But to answer your question, I'd look for a sale on the Rick Clunn silent cranks from LC.

I don't really have any superstitions, but I do have some weird observations. Kind of like Catt's bat thing, up here there is a massive hatch of a certain may fly that almost always precedes a thunder shower. Another is when carp are busting. Its usually time to move, though not always. I can't really think of any others.

Hmmmm.....it takes about three or four X-Raps to get one that runs like it should. I have over a dozen lips from DT06, their bodies are either floating somewhere, or stuck in a fish's face. I refuse to use them now. Replace the hooks on a Bomber, and you're in business. DT10 and DT16s are slightly better, though one in five has a completely different rattle. Don't splash your DT10s next to the boat to clean the weeds off. Thing is, the d**n things catch. I'm wondering about the scourge of lip pullouts though, and if that will rear its ugly head in the other sizes. New Rattlin' Rapala's sound nothing like the ones from 10 years ago. Don't feel the same weight either. The finish on Bill Lewis Rattle Trap, Spro Arukus and Jr's, Yo-Zuri Lipless, and Redeye Shad always wears completely off after about a dozen fish. The Spro actually chips away in pieces. That doesn't happen with LC LVR or Xcaliburs. Rapalas, in particular, are not cheap. In fact it feels like a complete ripoff to spend $7 or $8 bucks, knowing it may not work right out of the box. $15 to $20 to replace a Lucky Craft that got eaten by a pike with a lure that is EXACTLY the same isn't so bad. Does it all matter to the fish? Probably not. Does it matter to me? Definitely. And to ge sure, it isn't all about expensive lures. I have had great experience with LJ Speedtraps, Bombers, Normans, Xcaliburs, etc. Some of the other brands being touted as "reasonable" however consistently fall short.

Uh Oh! I might need to own a Shimano. I'm not one that cares too much for looks, but my Kistler DS rod is gun metal gray with red highlights in the wraps.....

Yep, I asked my brother in law about it - he works for the local town highway dept. If she didn't get hurt, there's no grounds for anything. you can't get any "pain and suffering" or "mental anguish" since there was no injury. Had she been injured, a lawsuit is almost automatic, but doesn't commence until she was recovered. It makes no sense to sue for medical if you haven't fully realized medical costs. No injury, nothing to recover. I'm not a lawyer, but I have been involved with a lengthy injury lawsuit. In this case, I think it was just the mother's anger and fear talking. Imagine your kid fell down a manhole. You tend to speak in hyperbole when something involves your kids.

If this is true, then they were negligent. Their process is to put up the cones 1st, then open the hole.

Dude! nice job, what a catch!

I use Megastrike, though I don't consider it an "attractant." The bait itself is the attractant, and once bit, the Megastrike seems to get the fish to hold longer. I also like to use it as a lubricant. For hollow, soft swim baits, I lube up the hook shank and the belly with it. For hollow frogs and hard swimbaits, I lather the whole bait in it. It helps by allowing the bait to move in the fish's mouth, and clearing the hooks for a better hookset.

I'm not sure what Doug's screen name is here, but we've been trying to meet and fish for some time, but kept missing. Finally tonight, we met up for an evening at the City Dump. The City Dump lived up to its stingy reputation. We fished jigs on deep ledges, flipped and pitched laydowns, cranked deep structure, spinnerbaited the shallows, skipped docks, and even tried for a few squirrels.....all to pretty much no avail! Man, I hate that place. I do like it, though in some ways. Doug finally tried something I never do this time of year, and we crashed jigs and big creatures through the reeds into open spots. He finally came up with a fish, and I missed one. It was a pretty dramatic one, too. I love seeing fish ripped from HEAVY cover. A new pattern was emerging, and one better than the pattern we were setting all night. But that bite seemed to die. So we went to another spot that I hardly ever fish, and actually didn't realize got as weedy as it was. Its a spot I'll revisit, for sure. We frogged and toaded, but no takers. It was getting dark, so we pulled out around 9:30PM, and headed to my family's burger joint for food, and lick our wounds. In case you didn't notice, that's ONE fish in the boat, and it shouldn't be to hard to figure out who caught it, LOL. And once again, there was some clumsy antics from the back of the boat: I had a bite on the beaver from deep in the junk, and put the hurt on the hookset. A miss! An ounce or so of tungsten, and a 6/0 Owner SSW came flying back at me at about a hundred miles an hour. I though I had moved out of the way, but the weight whacked me on my inner thigh, just missing the "back office" of the baby maker. Luckily I had jeans on, or that hook would have got me good. I was practically crying from pain and laughter. Got a nice bruise there, I'll spare you the pics, though, LOL. But, I do draw some positives, and have some new ideas about certain spots to fish in the future. Hopefully he can get to try out some of the places I showed him, especially that cranking spot, hint-hint, it usually produces. All in all, a great time, and another new friend met through the interwebs. Next time, we avoid the City Dump, and fish somewhere where there are actually fish, LOL....to be cont'd!

I used to get checked, but now I know most of the local guys by name, even have their cell numbers in my phone. A few times, I've seen people doing things that "weren't right," and called. I'll make the call, and if I stick around, the responding officer will check me, just like everyone else, even though he knows I have mine. Whenever this happens, there are at least a few that don't have a license. The fine is pretty heavy, and in some circumstances, the officer has the option to confiscate the offender's gear, including the boat. Seems pretty silly not to drop a few bucks on the license. If you forget to bring your license, you can submit a copy of your valid license along with the ticket, and the charge is dismissed.

Welcome!

Go back to sleep and fish at night.

Its definitely a good option. My yak cost almost as much as a well outfitted jon boat, but I was looking for a single person fishing machine. I can carry 12 rods, all my tackle, camping gear, I have a sonar and GPS, anchor system, drift socks, and steerable skeg. Its not the "simple, bare bones" style of fishing that many yakkers enjoy, but for me, its every bit as good as a boat. Jusat not as fast. As far as waters I cann access with this yak, I can get into slop that a bass boat cannot, and I've also been three miles off shore in Lake Ontario, chasing deep water smallies in 3' rollers. Here's a pic of it "fully loaded"

Here is a cell pic of roger with a typical bass of the day, this one 17" and 2.49#:

Got out for a day of yak fishing with my friend Roger to fish some water that I haven't fished in years. Its really like a giant pond, the deepest I noticed being around 9 feet. The day was not without its usual mishaps. We were all ready to shove off, and I realized I forgot one important thing: my paddle! You'd think with all the freaking water around, some little bait shop would have a paddle. Nope. I had to run all the way home to get my paddle. I left Roger to start fishing, and made the 30 mile run home, stopping at various bait and tackle shops looking for anything. By the time I got back, he already had four fish. He was running light, with just a casting rod and a light spinning rod. I split off to explore a deeper weedline that looked great, but pitching worms drew a blank, so went back to join him in the swamp. He threw a toad, while I was throwing my go to slop bait of late, the black frog. I did get a few blowups, but nowhere near the attention his toad was getting. When in Rome.... I had just finished saying that I really don't like the plastic toad baits, and the ones in my box have been around for two years. And then I finally get bit. I lost him. Wimpy hookset, LOL. Don't know why I'd wimp out on it, but I did. I finally started crossing their eyes, and catching fish on the toad. I guess I'm a convert, and will grab a few more of these to get a feel for which brands suit me. As we worked around the lake, We changed up for some laydowns, and I got fish to one of my strengths. While I worked the submerged wood with a jig, Roger worked the overhangs, skipping soft plastic into the willows. I was on a perfect laydown, and just refused to believe there were no fish. About 20 casts later, and I heaved a dink over the branches, and I was satisfied I caught EVERY fish there, LOL. Needless to say, the wood pattern was weak today. Meanwhile Roger had like four more fish from the willows, so I had to get in on it. Another dink for me. There were some other memorable moments....Roger had a cast go off target, through several willow limb, before his bait hit the water. Immediately, his line began to take off to left, so he sets the hook. I will have the image of him trying to swing a bass through several willow branches, his light spinning gear arched at the handle, and a bass sploshing around under a tree. A good bass at that! He "caught" bass by going over to it, and releasing it, and then getting his line out of the tree. Before that, I took a little time to run a lipless crank through a deeper portion, and suddenly had one on. It felt like a dink, so I just started cranking him ion quickly, when I felt another "galump" and the weight got heavier. When I got the fish in, there were two! One on each of the trebles. Crazy! The day went on with Roger getting more fish on the toad, and the same for me. I lost count of the fish, but numbers were good, though the size was OK. No matter, it was fun as hell and success on new water is a good thing. Success on a bait you don't generally use is also a good thing. I also forgot my camera, but I think Roger may have a cell phone pic of one of his fish. Maybe I can post a copy later, though its no monster. And oh BTW, Roger treated to Angry Whoppers on the way home. Excellent!

There are two guys in our club that have similar boats. One built a storage compartment on the right and center, and left the bench.

Its $5 for a dozen spectastic cords and $2 for the line locks. Why bother making your own at those prices? :

There are exceptions to every "rule" or "guideline." You are looking for weed pockets to toss your jig to. Try to hit the back edge of the pocket, and feed the jig line by stripping it from the reel so it falls vertically. Jiggle, pop, or even dead stick it, and then bring it back in. Clean the weeds off, and repeat. Here is a pond bass from last year, caught on a jig, in the middle of the day: Another pond/jig fish by a buddy of mine, though caught in the late afternoon:

I use two FTO speed bags, a small and a double. Each has a matching size Plano box with the hooks and weights that go with those baits.

Black Spro.

I wouldn't consider myself "goth" at all, but I played in a goth band in the early 90s. Did pretty well, too. Toured the NE. Good times.

For my lunch breaks, I have been visiting a local pond. There are a few that fish, but its mostly joggers and walkers. The water has dropped quite a bit this past week, and it is probably 90% weed choked. I've been froggin' for this time, and coming up with fish, but nothing huge. Mostly just fun. Today, it payed off. I was walking the frog in a patch of open water, when a big wake shot out from the edge of the hole, stopping by my bait. I just kept up my little cadence, and after a foot or so, KASPLOOOSH!!!! Now, I've been froggin' long enough to know these huge blowups are usually nothing but a miss. So I waited, and then the line tightened up. No worries about the fish spitting, since I always slather my frogs with Megastrike. I set the hook, and immediately thought I was in trouble, since it felt like it was in the weeds. I kept heaving it in, and once I got into another large open patch, I saw she wasn't attached to any weeds at all! Just one big mamma. I got her up to the shore, and grabbed her. She scaled up at 6.01 lbs. 2nd biggest fish this year, and a 3rd fish over 6. No camera, just my story. At least I brought my scale. What a blast! Angry Whopper never tasted so good with fish slime on my hands