A-Jay

Sweet ~ How cool is THAT ! Congrats A-Jay

A-Jay

At least you get your own parking spots. A-Jay

Yea - I know the feeling ~ Especially the rod snapping part. I know that one quite well. A-Jay

Gorgeous Fish ~ Congrats A-Jay

Here we go. A-Jay

Thanks Chris - I appreciate it. And yea - I did start getting a little giddy and perhaps border line hysterical after a while. It was fun and I'm thinking there might have been a bit of stress released there as well. You know what it's like. A-Jay

Dipped my toe into the Diawa pool. Brent makes a sweet drop shot rig. A-Jay

Conditions have improved here too ~ A-Jay

It's Official ~ A-Jay

Yes. A-Jay

Fantastic Day ! Nice Fatties. Only pointer I have is that in the canoe - I'd recommend wearing your life jacket. Congrats A-Jay

This was my second trip out this season. First one (two days ago) was a brief afternoon trip that was more of a shakedown cruise. I did ‘fish’, just didn’t catch. Well that changed today– Big Time. Got on the water just after Just after 7 AM. It was calm & cool to start. Both the water & the air temps were in the low 40’s with virtually no wind at all. Air temps warmed nicely, and thankfully the water did not. The morning started off a little slow. Despite the calmness, I was trying to force feed the local smallie population a jerkbait. Often touch & go. After a bit I had my first fish of the year. Very happy. Then a few more 'keeper size' came to the net. Although, I’ll admit, despite my stubbornness, I expected more. Then the wind came on; nice NW’erly breeze. And the bite was on . . . . and on . . . . . and on. Pretty much all day. Once I found a couple spots that held fish (and seem to be reloading), I’d bounce back & forth between the two. It was wide open a few times - back to back to back and more. Jerkbait & a drop shot did most of the damage though I did get a few smallies on a Rage bug & a Menace; both on a swing head. I ended up with quite a bit of video. I’m sifting through it and will post up ‘the best of’ once it’s done. No way I can put it all up – too much. I’m not a fish counter, but I may fish all season and not have a numbers & size day like I had today. Pretty crazy & totally killer. Best fish went 5.00 lbs on the nose. No doubt it seemed like a fairly looooooooong winter – but it's hard to say today was not worth it. A-Jay

Good Luck ! A-Jay

I use the War Bait swim bait head south of the border - Need it. A-Jay

That felt good. A-Jay

On the subject of Travel Rods - When flying Commercial Air - the convenience of 3-piece sticks can not be over stated. Having your gear arrive on time & INTACT is important. Taking it as carry-on virtually assures this. Anything else is a Krap Shoot and frankly one I choose not to participate in. YMMV. A-Jay

Like I noted above - I have not used the St Croix line you listed. Though I am a huge St Croix fan and use several of their (non-travel) rods successfully, I did not have success with the Tidemaster line of travel rods - Every one eventually failed at the ferrule. (some sooner rather than later) Every one and I think we're taking like 6 rods. So based on that, I really can't offer a glowing recommendation on their travel rods. St Croix did replace (then then give full credit toward an upgrade) for every stick - which I certainly appreciated. The Fenwicks are decent sticks - especially for the money. https://www.amazon.com/fenwick-Travel-Casting-Medium-Heavy-Fishing/dp/B075DNHN8V/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525465446&sr=8-3&keywords=fenwick+methods&dpID=310AYrm6x1L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch A-Jay

Hello from up in Otsego County Brian and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ I've been down the road you're on - it's bumpy. My experience has been that, like may deals, you get what you pay for. I have not used the rods you've listed. My results - ~ On the Low end - Fenwick Methods travel rods are solid and very versatile. ~ On the High End (and the best Travel Rods I know of) the G.Loomis Escape Line. I love these sticks and have fish the heck out of them. They are Sweet ! (but not cheap) Good Luck A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Super Sized Smallie for Sure ~ Congrats on the great catch and your new PB. You may be stuck on that one for a while. Certainly a nice 'problem' to have. . . . A-Jay

That's what I thought 4 weeks ago . . It's just funny at this point. A-Jay

Just checked, there is a sheet of free ice (or slush hard to tell) that's covering about 40% of the lake I want to get on. Moves around with the wind - yesterday it was up on the north end (a no factor). Right now it's parked in front of the ramp and over a couple of 'the spots'. (The right kind of point) I'm gonna knock out a back workout right now and check it again once I'm done. Tomorrow is cold, wind & rain - Saturday looks like a good day though. A-Jay

While there's no wind in tomorrow's forecast - there's no sun either and some lingering rain. I Hate a wet boat but after waiting this long I may bite the bullet . . I've got a work out to do (early) Then I'll probably play it by ear - Either way - I'll be ready to go and will continue to go every time the opportunity presents it self. A-Jay