A-Jay

I've been a Night operations angler for many years and in many different environments. There are several different schools of thought on light use at night. Some promote little to none. Some like red / colored lights. I try to use very little and when I do, I use red. One major concern is that white light will DESTROY your night vision for quite a while. So if vision is a factor for your safety & fishing success, consider your lighting use ( or non-use) carefully. A-Jay

For a low profile cranking reel - Quantum Tour KVD TKVD150PPT 5.3:1 - I have 2 and really like everything about them. For a round cranking reel - Shimano Callcutta 200D - Demoed one for a week - really sweet reel. http://www.tackletou...12calcutta.html A-Jay

Remember - Do Not Eat. A-Jay

I've been fishing from the Old Town Predator square back for 5 seasons now - love it. Suits my needs well. Very Stable and holds a lot gear, more with some modifications. A-Jay

Everything about it, and I do mean everything, allows me to be me - just like my Better Half. A-Jay

Goose - one would have to believe that if that girl was to be landed again in the spring or better yet, the spring after next, she would Have to be pushing what - like T W E L V E pounds ! Keep fishing man - and congrats again, that's a great fish Anywhere. A-Jay

"The Kicker Sticker" A-Jay

WAY TO GO Goose ! What a Dynamite story and a Fantastic Bass ! That head shot is OBSCENE ~ Your bait in her mouth must have looked like a bumble bee in the Astrodome ! And why is that not your new avatar ? btw- for a 11 acre puddle of a pond, that place is beyond fertile. Nice Job A-Jay

^-^-^-^-^-^ This ~ X2 A-Jay

Very Cool Photos ~ ! A-Jay

A-Jay

Okuma's Guide Select series of Big Bait Casting Rods are decent performers, have received favorable reviews and they are very reasonably priced. A-Jay http://www.tackletou...uma711mhsb.html http://www.amazon.co...ct swimbait rod

They do not affect the presentation at all - at least not that I've noticed. The first time I used them was on a Senko and I thought that they looked a little gaudy. I had been accustomed to just a plain ewg hook and the silver clip looked out of place. After fishing it - makes no difference to the fish. Although very light, it does have some weight so I guess it speeds fall rate but it is hardly noticeable. I use them on just about every soft plastic I fish. It does take an extra second to rig it but after brief time it becomes habit and it's all good. I have the weights also and they work as advertised but I have since switched to tungsten so they don't see much action any more. Good Luck A-Jay

Very Cools story and Photos ~ and I Really like the Shirt and I Really like the Hat ! Yes, I am also a Q fan. A-Jay

As I remember it - I like that reef ~ and your water temps are close to mine here - However, Erie's a just a bit more vast that the puddles I fish. A-Jay

I'm up in northern Michigan - Tip of the mit. A-Jay

To keep your plastic from sliding down the hook and/or bunching up on the point of the hook preventing a solid hook set, consider using these ~ Parasite weights or Parasite clips - they really work well. Check out the link A-Jay http://parasiteweigh...bb2309d7ddab3cf

This summer has been a bit warmer and the local water temps are up. I have been able to find fish this summer in their usual haunts during the day. Night fishing has been better than usual and most of the better than average fish this summer have come at night. Day trips have included way more drop-shotting than I like but a deep/finesse approach has been successful and some days it’s the only way to get bit. Early / late top water has been spotty, docks give up some fish, deep cranking has been hit or miss and when the winds up a bit a spinnerbait has done some damage. A deep jig bite is a viable option in the lakes that have deep water cover. The last couple of trips, I chose to really grind it out by committing to a jig and eventually got bit. I even went old school by switching out the usually reliable Rage Craw for an Uncle Josh Pork Finesse Craw Trailer. (A couple pictured below) As autumn approaches, I usually have a 2-3 week period where I really struggle to stay on fish consistently. As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler I do get excited knowing that good fishing is coming. But, man, the fishing during the transition for me is Tough. It starts about Mid-August here. Shallow water weeds start to die off and the water cools quickly at first. Then everything just seems to go into a holding pattern. It’s like the entire eco-system is stuck – just waiting for something to trigger the environment to take the next step in the seasonal transition; which usually spawns excellent fishing. This is where my area seems to be now, and I have tried all kinds of different approaches the past few years looking for something to put a few more / bigger fish in the boat. Hasn’t happened. During the fishing season, I keep a log documenting conditions, including the days I don’t get out. Weather, moon phases (helps during night ops) and water temps are all noted. Every year is different in some ways and the same in others. It makes deciphering the info quite challenging. If I could take one constant from it all, it would be that there is no constant. I’m betting that the bass would disagree and I sure wish they’d let me in on it. I try to remain patient and keep watching for some sign that the Magic Trigger that sets off the fall bite is near. My struggles to catch quality bass makes me even more determine to keep at it. Because when it does happen and the fish do turn on, it’s a very good time to be on the water. Shallow hungry bass are always a good time. How do you see it in your area ? A-Jay

WTG ~ ! It's a "Two-Hander" - you know it's a Good One. A-Jay

Very Cool - I bet that will be three days that goes by Way Too Fast ! A-Jay

NO ! ~ My open water season is not nearly long enough up here in the North Woods - So I'd Like to postpone / refrain from any and all thoughts, casual mentions and even hints regarding the other thing. A-Jay

Very informative and like Jeff said - That IS a lot of info ~ Thank you for taking the time - I saved it to file - btw - for fear of being called gloopy and a domeless wonderboy ~ Clockwork Orange. A-Jay

The Boy's a natural ! A-Jay

You can get both the 705 & the 765 on Amazon.com I just picked up another 705 myself. Also, if you haven't thrown an all Glass rod in a while, you might want to find one to test drive first. They are not for everyone. A-Jay

I haven't seen every pre-season game and I will grant you that these replacement Refs are not as "Polished" as the Seasoned Vets that we are used to seeing, but I think these guys are Actually Calling a Much Larger Percentage of the infractions that occur on each Play. Penalties that often do not get called because they occur all the time, these guys are tossing a flag. Like it or not I say, if it's done - call it. A-Jay