Dwight Hottle

Retired residential real estate appraiser.

As another older guy yes I use a net especially with mutiple treble lures. I have a beckman with the knotless bag very fish friendly. Lifetime warranties on the yoke.

Ole and Sven die and wake up in ####. The next day the > devil stops in to check on them and sees them dressed > in parkas, mittens and bomber hats warming themselves > around the fire. The devil asks them, "What are you > doing? Isn't it hot enough? for you?" > > Ole and Sven reply, "Vell, ya know, we're from nordern > Minnesoda, the land of snow and ice and cold. We're > just happy for a chance to warm up a little bit, ya > know." > > The devil decides that these two aren't miserable > enough and turns up the heat. The next morning he > stops in again and there they are, still dressed in > parkas, hats and mittens. The devil asks them again, > "Its awfully hot down here, can't you guys feel that?" > > Again,Ole and Sven reply, "Vell, like we told you > yesterday, we're from nordern Minnesoda, the land of > snow and ice and cold. We're just happy for a chance > to warm up a little bit, ya know." > > this gets the devil a little steamed up and he decides > to fix the two guys. > > He cranks the heat up as high as it will go. The > people are wailing and screaming every where. He stops > by the room with the two guys from Minnesoda and finds > them in light jackets and hats, grilling walleye and > drinking beer. > > The devil is astonished, "Everyone down here is in > abject misery, and you two seem to be enjoying > yourself." > > The two Minnesodans reply, "Vell, ya know, we don't > get too much warm weather up dere in International > Falls, we've just got to have a fish fry when the > weathers this nice." > > The devil is absolutely furious, he can hardly see > straight. Finally he comes up with the answer. The > two guys love the heat because they have been cold all > their lives. > > The devil decides to turn all the heat off in ####. > The next morning, the temperature is below zero, > icicles are hanging everywhere, people are shivering > so bad that they are unable to wail, moan and gnash > their teeth. > > The devil smiles and heads for the room with the > two Minnesodans. He gets there and finds them back in > their parkas, bomber hats, and mittens. They are > jumping up and down, cheering, yelling and screaming > like mad men. > > The devil is dumbfounded, "I don't understand, when I > turn up the heat you're happy. Now its freezing cold > and you're still happy. What is wrong with you two?" > > Ole and Sven look at the devil in surprise, "Vell, > don't ya know, if #### froze over dat must mean da > Vikings won da Super Bowl." :) :)

Prespawn. Starting in late March & April. Weather can be a problem with wind & dirty water. Biggest fish are caught trolling.

I like the shimano's best but the diawa's are close second.

Try borax mixed with water. Its suposed to be color safe.

Try ohiogamefishing.com

If you don't want to wear your arm out try trolling

Rapala tail dancer TDD9

Fish with friends Always be ready Try something different

Rolo said I'm ready Tom. How many rods may Dwight and I take along? Roger you better let me bring the rods! ;D

Hey Rodger maybe we can both get Catt to take us out on Falcon. Sounds like fun and I can go to school watching you both!

RW wrote: Smallmouth: St. Clair Your hurting my feelings RW. :o Largemouth-Falcon with Catt

I'm in Islamorada this month & the cold front has caused a massive die-off of tarpon, snook & bonefish thruout the everglades & bay. Water temps down to 40 degrees before the warmup started. The state has closed the season on tarpon, bonefish & snook until April.

My biggest accomplishment for the year was breaking the 30lb barrier for northern pike & 12lb barrier for steelhead. My decade accomplishment was breaking the 7lb barrier for smallmouth & largemouth, 12lb barrier for walleye, & the 37lb barrier for lake trout.

Interesting article in the infisherman online about gobies & the impact on the great lakes smallmouth fisherie. The article is State of the smallmouth written by Rich Zaleski. From page three " Noted Lake Erie angler Jeff Hahn has found a pronounced shift in that lake's smallmouth population over the past decade. While smallies in the 4- to 5-pound class seem to be increasing, the numbers of young fish are falling. Many folks, including some fishery biologists, lay the blame for declines in young fish on the proliferation of the goby, he says. While gobies have become the main diet of Lake Erie smallies, they also raid the nests of spawning fish, resulting in a population of fewer but larger fish. Years ago, a good catch in the two weeks before the spawn might have included 100 fish with an average size close to 3 pounds. The best days now may produce 35 to 40 fish. The average size of a culled limit now borders on or exceeds 4 pounds, with a few fish over 5 and frequently a 6-pounder or two. While this appears to be trading quantity for quality, the reality is that that smaller fish are much fewer and farther between. Those not familiar with Lake Erie see that it still takes 5 fish over 20 pounds to win a one-day tournament and figure the lake's smallmouth population is in great shape. But many Erie anglers and fishery personnel are concerned about what appears to be a significant reduction in the recruitment of smallmouth. When those big fish die off, says Hahn, what will be left? "

The hardest part about bass fishing is keeping up your enthusiasm for day two after getting your butt kicked the day before. Then figuring out a new strategy that works.

Bass Hole Thanks but I would trade you any day for that 9lb-8oz RI bass. That is a monster northern strain for RI. Congrats!

My biggest smallie for 2009 was 6lb-12oz.

Try seguar fc.

Thanks for the info. I have been very happy with all my st croix rods. I have always loved the cork handles on st croix as they fit my hands like a glove. The specs on the inshore rods do look good. I will let you know how happy I'm with it when you come up.

Excellent article. Thanks for posting it.

My favorite inline spinner is hands down the blue fox vibrax in firetiger. After the hook gets dull cut it off & add a splitring to the wire loop with your favorite hook. Very versatile lure for lots of species of fish. Almost as versatile as a jig.

Has anyone had any experience with the legend inshore rods? Specifically the LIS70LM spinning rod. Looking to use it for light weight cranks.

Paul Roberts said [Agree. Not to stir things up. I can see the argument that scales and conditions rarely allow for perfect accuracy. But...George Perry's scale didn't either. What we a recording are not bass, but weights via scales. All we have are imperfect scales and imperfect conditions. A "certified scale" should count. Also, does the 2oz rule apply to yellow perch and tarpon? Without knowing the details of the reasoning, I feel Kurita is due the record. ] Paul the IGFA rule regarding beating an existing record by 2 oz applies to any record under 25lbs. So yes to the yellow perch but no to the tarpon. I don't have the rule book in front of me but I recall the differential is greater than 2 oz for records over 25 lbs.