J Francho

Thanks guys. Tried a location closer to home Monday night, but nothing much to report. Not Lake Ontario, but I've fished the Canadian side on Erie, where it's much more accessible. Calling in to immigration is a pain, though.

Two words: Pepper Spray.

Step up to the variable speed Maxxum 70. Better battery life, and easy to dial in the perfect speed. I'd get two new batteries together. I'd just hook up the 2-bank to the TM batteries, and get a portable charger for the cranker, or replace the 2 bank with a 3-bank.

Injury, congenital deformity, disease, malnutrition. Happens now and again.

If it's too small to lip, then it's small enough for an overhead grip. Otherwise, just lip it. As far as the other issues, a deeply hooked fish is allowed to be set down, per the marshal.

That is one slime kayak, lol.

I thought this looked familiar..... http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/123820-is-this-rod-reel-combo-ok/ Please refer to the original post.

You can try, but to me a spoon is a completely different profile, rhythm, and sound. It does share flash, but little else. It's worth a try, if the cover allows.

Sure you can feather a spinning reel. Pretty easy, actually. I'll have to capture some video of it. I do it pretty much every cast.

LOL....

Locating was always the name of game when I trolled Lake Ontario. I'd much rather been anchored up, and casting to them, than trolling. Trolling isn't really as easy as it sounds. You need to have good graph reading skills, understand how your baits behave under different speeds, as well as know how to tune them. Throw in special equipment like inline planers or dipsies, lead weights, etc., and you get the picture. I had a good teacher in my uncle that ran a salmon charter, and I applied a lot of that to locating smallies in a lake bigger than most could imagine.

Balanced, unbalanced, rod, reel....as long as the gear works, accuracy is ALL about PRACTICE. Did someone say practice?

It was a full moon, maybe they were werefish.

I'd agree on the Zillion. My TD-X can cast pretty far with baits 1/2 oz. and up. What rod you use and your technique/ability are more critical than the reel.

When you stick them in the chin, especially with a trailer hook, they are definitely hitting the blades. You can downsize the blade, and go to a single blade, but it's just gonna take patience.

This has a significantly different meaning than, "I know from the dead striper I saw at a local lake..." LOL. As to the OP, you'll get away with that gear for smaller fish, but catch a big one, and you're toast.

Learn how to swim. It's pretty easy. In the meantime, wear a good auto inflate life jacket. You get so used to it, you'l forget it's on. Can't tell you how many times I've driven off in my truck after fishing, and left the thing on, lol.

No one said "rip it out." Please see the link above for details on how to remove deep hooks. All it takes is a pair of fishing pliers. Leaving the hook in the fish's gut greatly reduces it's ability to recover and feed normally.

Anyone that fishes crankbaits for a any amount of time learns how to belly land a bass. I don't see this being an issue for pros. Most of the time, all i see them use are heavy flipping sticks and braid, so most of the time, they can just lift them out of the water.

How long can you hold your breath? Seriously, about a minute to 90 seconds is reasonable. After that, I lip them and give them a minute in the water or put them in the live well to recuperate if its going to be a prolonged procedure. This also works if you want a picture.

Yeah. Seriously. This one is done. Move on.

We are done discussing anything other than the original question here. Any off topic discussion can be handled via PM. Please refer to the rules about attacking individual members. Brian's post was addressed already. Any further discussion is beating a dead horse.

Those Bac-Racs are pretty useful. I like this toon, though 1/2 hour seems like a long time. It is cool that it will probably fit in a closet - nice for an apt. dweller.

You lose your pants in a bet with him?

I agree. Most guys were wearing the heavy Simms bibs simply to turn their body into a landing net, which I don't think was in the spirit of their original fish landing rules. This new rule makes great sense, and will definitely change some things.