J Francho

This episode features Andrew, a guy I watch grow and mature into a heck of a tropy angler. Big Bass, and big pike. He recently put up some pics on a local site of a northern that was every bit of 20+ lbs. He also delivered the goods during filming of an episode featuring him on a beautiful upstate NY lake.

It's been years since I've been up there. I wouldn't have clue, considering the current conditions. You might want to do a little ramp chat, and check with local bait shops.

Cough - cough....river...cough-cough...Rt. 81 Bridge....something about umbrella rigs.....

When you can fit you're hole hand in it's mouth to get a tiny wacky jig out

I don't doubt it at all. Pretty much all tungsten fishing weights are made in China. Their track record with the environment is well known.

I'd be there, with the reel, my receipt, and wouldn't leave until I had a working reel or my money back.

I think the best solution here (which is what I did) is get a bigger battery. I also tend to turn my console unit off when I'm not driving. I can't say that I've ever had a problem running out of juice, running off the cranker. I recall trying to run off a single deep cycle that was for the troller, and every time I stepped on the thrust button, the screen would get wonky.

It's one or the other.

Here's a good example of "structure" on a grand scale. Speaking of scale, look at the bottom right. That's right, you have to travel a football field to get another foot of depth. Yet, this is a spot where I ALWAYS can find smallies. And back to the point of "searching," I agree with both thoughts on this. There's a time for both or either. I also know what Catt will say, and there are "interesting" structural features in this area that don't show up on the map. Namely, large round boulders. They're laid in the bottom, like cobblestones. Bait fish can hide better, and I think that's why they're there. Sorry for the turn in discussion...

I'll add that I do essentially what A-Jay does when chasing brown fish out in the big lake. I'm looking for alewife - carpets of them in 20-40' of water. find them, and you will find quantity and quality, unlike hunting and pecking through widely scattered bass that are keyed in on gobies. I discovered this a few years ago. It was partially by accident, partially by design. I stopped paying attention to the grid lines from shore to 20', treating that 20' line as my "shoreline." Out in the big lake, there's no search baits, unless you troll. If I don't see bait on the graph, I don't bother dropping a jigging spoon or DS rig.

Ouch! I'll be looking forward to your results, Allen.

Tungsten? Yes, it's nasty. Tungsten Carbide, which is what they use to make weights is inert.

I have a tandem, and yeah, brute force. Even if you have one of those trailer dollies, it's hard to swing it. You can lay a flattened cardboard box under the tires can help. The only other thing would be to put a hitch on a riding lawn tractor, to give you some power to move it. That's pretty much what I settled on, since my oldest son has a few trailers, plus my two boats.

Yes he is. He also seems to be on the water more than anyone else. And it doesn't hurt that he's probably better than most average weekend guys, like myself.

Up north is a little different. With all respect to @Catt, transitional periods can really mess with you. Spring smallmouth on Oneida, or fall largemouth the bays of Lake Ontario are two situations where searching comes into play for my fishing. These are natural lakes, loaded with prime structural features. Sometime, take a spin around Sodus Bay or Oneida on the Navionics web app, and you'll see what I mean. Where to start? The hot bite in fall might be in the River for Oneida. It might be 5 miles away. Whip out twenty or thirty casts with a bait that covers water, catch an aggressive bass, and start collecting clues and evidence. I've learned my lesson on being married to structure during transitional periods, and even lost my butt in a few fall tournaments, because I was drowning jigs and worms where there weren't any fish. My stubbornness didn't help either. That said, when you are in a well established summer pattern, know the local bass haunts, then the idea of searching makes little sense. I guess I can see covering water with a "search bait" when fish are scattered on a large flat. But are you really searching? You already know they're on that flat. This topic got interesting, real quick.

You could totally ask for this at my family's place. They'll even put sauteed onions (or even peppers and onions) on them if you want. Most non chain places will do whatever you want, , so long as they have the ingredients and you ask. Pro Tip: for crispy fries, ask for them well done. This ensures your fries are freshly cooked, separately.

I think we can all benefit and help each other with the production aspect without issue. Speaking for myself, I'll be a little loose.

I'm wit Glenn, and like photography how to related posts, this could really benefit us all. That said, I really need you guys to stick to the guidelines. Video adds a certain amount of burden to moderating that I'm happy to take on, but really I'd prefer to wear my member hat like all of you. Thanks!

That is actually worth every penny. Thanks a million. My next project is to clean up my kayak installation!

I'm actually searching for the location of the fish. Fan casting at the front, are they shallow, deep, or both. Spinnerbaits and rattle traps are my favorite. Once I determine it's one or the other, I'll keep fishing that bait until it stops producing, or is only producing small fish. Then I'll slow down with a jig or plastic. I most often go through this when I don't what is going on, and I have guest(s) in the boat that aren't as proficient at casting. That way I can get them on fish.

I just didn't want this thread going in that direction. Your all good. And that's awesome. I can only think of a few days where it fish after fish, cast for cast. They were usually smallies. I remember one day, my uncle started throwing an unbaited, bare, gold hook with a bit of splt shot for weight up the line, and catching. I suppose that answers the question of whether fish see the hook!

Trespassing. Promoting breaking the law is no bueno here. Also, that's one fish every 1.6 minutes or less. If you're going to try and fish a golf course, you better have permission.

The last time I tried to explain this, some guy got bent and said I was stupid and knew nothing about reels, lol. I'll stick with what DVT Mike said above.

First, I don't care for vanish, but your drag shuld set to less than the breaking strength of the line. Second, you're fighting the fish for 2-3 minutes? I can't remember a fight lasting longer than a minute, ever. Even for fish over 6 lbs. Sounds like you are under matched. What is the whole setup, reel, line, rod, and all the specs like rod rating and line size.

Never fished it that way.