Dwight Hottle

Welcome to BR.

I predict Lake Erie will be ice free & the smallies will be biting on April 19th. Mark my words. 😀

I knew it was an April fools post after the 2nd sentence. When I was younger I would known after the first sentence.

Birthday bass.

I always enjoy you sharing your local knowledge & experiences from a lifetime of learning. Stay in touch.

My buddy & I fish shoulder to shoulder in the front of his boat all the time. No problems. I cast righty & he casts lefty. There is actually less chance of hooking each other because no one is behind you on the backcast. Just saying.

I would split my time between Texas & Mexico for chasing green bass & probably NY state for access to Erie, Ontario & the two most productive rivers Niagara/St Lawrence for chasing brown bass. I would also devote a month to Idaho to fish Dworshak reservoir.

Bullet proof for bass & flouro bass leader in the same sentence is a perfect example of a dichotomy.

I had this same discussion with our family vet many years ago. He explained it best by saying when your dog has more bad days than good it's time. It's not easy but you don't want them to suffer.

Move over to zone 20 & fish for smallies in the St Lawrence. Special catch & release season Jan 1 to May 10th.

Yes sir just ask the musky fisherman.

Congrats on an unforgettable day. Just goes to show the overall success of using FFS.

I learned how to catch big smallies on Lake Erie by deploying the same technique. The only difference was I primarily did it with jerk baits as my bait of choice. Unlike FFS technology I seldom marked fish before catching them. My success was the result of drifting known fish holding structure that held bait fish. Like walleye fisherman we surmised that the suspended fish often would move away from the approaching boat off to the side before returning where our long lined baits would be approaching. This was especially true when fishing shallower water depths. Not so correct when drifting deeper water depths. We would usually fish two lines out per angler when there was just two of us. One in a rod holder & one held in hand. The long line out was often 200+ feet back with each line staggered back by 20-25’ to help prevent tangles. The longer lines back were usually spread to the side in rod holders & the shorter lines held in hand straight back as you worked the bait. I would run two shallow baits & two deep baits to determine what the fish wanted then switch to all the same general depths once we determined what was getting bit. @TOXIC Thanks for bringing up the subject of a very successful tactic often ignored today.

Both ends of the spectrum covered.

In the money tackle tip right there.

I post on Instagram & Facebook as well as BR.

@Swamp Girl Maybe a DD catfish.

Strike King RES 2 Tap tungsten 1/2 & 3/4 oz $5.99-10.99 Chrome colors straight retrieve along bottom slow cranking with occasional sharp pulls or rips. Also rip them after they hit the water then fast retrieve. Also yo yo retrieve with big drops. Duo Realis G fix tungsten in 1/2 or 3/4 oz $16.99 for a smaller profile bait. Work really well over grass for shallow bites or deep jigging. Bone color is my favorite Spro Aruku shad 1/2 or 3/4 oz $12.99 for yo yo retrieve. This bait always lands upright on the bottom if your jigging. Gold finish. Original rattle trap if you want a different rattle profile than the three above. @rboat mentioned you can also try blade baits as a substitute also lower priced if you'r losing baits to snags.

Losing a pet is heartbreaking. After the loss passes the best thing you can do is get another one not to replace the one you lost but start the process all over again.

Got up to Headwaters Lake for two days of shiner fishing with my old grade school buddy. We had a March cold front come thru just before we got there. Water temp was 65 degrees & the wind was honking up to 30 mph gusts with sustained 20 mph. Few bites the first day but we managed to get some better fish on the second day when the sun was shining.

Good looking plan especially for your setting. Last house we built we went with Arkansas construction with 2x6 studs & spray foam & it really makes a difference on sound & insulation numbers. You might consider ADA conformity since you’re starting from scratch which allows you to age in place in case of mobility problems.

And the people have spoken. And DeSantis gets to keep his job.

Florida is free for old fart residents. But I had to buy a PA, New York & Ontario license for this year. I'm hoping it's money well spent.

If it wasn’t working a fresh start can be a good thing. Take your time & figure out Your priorities.

@king fisher Hang in their buddy with your treatment. You will back chasing that DD shortly.