A-Jay

Yes it is . . . The Perch Patrol in Action ! A-Jay

Yippee First Day of Spring ~ ! Wait what now ? A-Jay

Made my first RECON trip of the year this morning. Checked in on 3 Lake Menderchucks and to no one's surprise, they all looked like this ~ Except for a few downed trees across them, the access roads & ramps all seemed to have come through the winter unscathed, so that's a good thing. While air temps are still averaging at or slightly above freezing day/night, there's still time. 2 weeks 4 days to go. A-Jay

Install an irrigation system first. Or don't bother with the lawn. I'm not joking. and then there's this https://www.scotts.com/en-us/products/grass-seed/scotts-turf-builder-grass-seed-midwest-mix https://www.scotts.com/en-us/products/grass-seed/scotts-annual-program-northern-small-lawns A-Jay

Wow ! Setting the bar pretty high. Like in the stratosphere ! Nicely Done & Congrats A-Jay

My brain would melt . . . . . . . Couldn't do it. Just couldn't I tell ya ! A-Jay

No doubt man. I used to beat myself up for missing workouts. Not anymore - If & when I'm not feeling it - I skip that chit and prep for the next one. #freewill A-Jay

Gotcha ~ You'll be ready for the next one . . . A-Jay

So does that mean an active rest day or did you kick it up a notch ? I'm off Day tomorrow. And as usual, I need it. A-Jay

Putting The Work in Workout ~ A-Jay

@DinkDreams Thank You very much for the kind words ~ I really do appreciate it. A-Jay

I used to ~ The type of deals listed by the op @Mobasser I now place into the "My Life" category. Fishing is and will always be in the "Hobby" category. Helps me prioritize. Clearly I am supremely passionate when it comes to wetting a line, but when I head out onto the water without a clear head, I rarely have the type of day I am hoping for. Thinking about what needs to be done and knowing it will be there waiting for me when I get home, is distracting for me and just about cripples my ability for 'fish free'. Makes a good thing not so good IMO. The only recourse in my mind is, get as much of that deal done in advance of any fishing. So much of my (retired) life is routine that it's mostly fairly manageable. The weather plays a huge role and it usually helps that good fishing days may not always be good 'do stuff' days. Planning is key. Also, I am a HUGE Procrastinator my nature, but I know it. So I do everything NOW knowing that if I don't, it may sit incomplete for the rest of my life ! To help stay ahead of all of that mess, I do whatever I can as early as I can. Example - there's a foot of snow on the ground here, but last week I took delivery of all my lawn fertilizer for the entire year. (and yes the delivery driver thought I was mostly nuts) But I'll be ready. A-Jay

I have tried and tried and even pleaded with them here until I was Megabass in the face. But alas, it was all in vain. Apparently we don't speak the same language. A-Jay

I'm keeping my excitement tempered best I can. It's been warm and or raining now for a couple of days/nights and that forecast is expected to continue . . . . Seems the local north woods has lost at least 60% of the snow on the ground. This is the stuff that get me on open water in short order. Sometime surprisingly so. Next day or so I'll start doing some local and not so local RECON to see which Lake Menderchucks are closest to open water and make sure the access roads & ramps are good to go. Then it's only a matter of time. 18 weeks ago I guessed 7 April as my open water date which is only 2 weeks & 5 days away. This time last week I didn't think that was going to be possible but now I'm convinced it is. Fingers crossed A-Jay

Nice Bass ~ Congrats A-Jay

Glad to hear it. Another brick on the wall. Pull Day for me in the morning. I'll be ready. A-Jay

That 300 is a Bass bait essentially. The hooks and hardware are not really expected to deal with the forces generated fighting big fish especially with plus sized gear. I use hooks & rings that are plus size FOR BASS and was lucky to land that fish pictured. Especially with 10 FC line. I use size 3 owner split rings and #4 Mustad KVD 1x Strong 2x Short Triple Grip Treble Hooks. But you may need something more. Keep in mind that if you over due the hardware it could adversely affect the baits action, which btw is great - particularly for the brown bass I do target. A-Jay

Incorporated some One and a Half Reps this morning ~ A-Jay

Nice Musky ~ I don't target them however this one slurped up a perch colored Strike King KVD 300 Deep jerkbait while I was fishing for smallmouth. btw - I don't run stock hooks or hardware on my baits and that paid off here. A-Jay

I'd say your rig looks solid enough. If you're getting the hook past the barb on the initial hookset, then it becomes all about keeping enough pressure on the fish to keep her pinned without over stressing any aspect of your gear. I use a 7'6" ML for ned rigs. Casts them well, has plenty of power to sink the steel and is sweetly parabolic to keep them pinned up. This was a decent ned rig fish . . . https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?t=61 A-Jay

Great Name ! He's a Stud for sure. Thank You A-Jay

Congrats ! I need pictures. The puppy not the pee. A-Jay

First and foremost, survuval gear; including but not limited to a Life Jacket and Engine Kill Lanyard. After that it gets pretty tough as I always want to have everything. However in the interest of my own sanity and the sanity of some of the other long time forum members, I am going with a SCALE ! A-Jay

Hard water season, I'm usually in the rack by 10 and up at 6. Open water - all bets are off and I'm all over the place. I can sleep when I'm dead. A-Jay

Despite the very nice warm up the past few days, which did melt the world here quite significantly, there's a 'wintery mix' coming today overnight and into tomorrow. So the 2 Weeks and 5 Days left until my projected open water date is looking pretty sketchy to say the least. In the mean time, it's Fish Catch Friday. Here's the best smallie from Three Days on Lake Menderchuck last season. Fish Hard A-Jay