little_stephen

nope. but something else does. I landed a really nice bass in a private pond i fish in. had to have been one of my top bass todate. but she swallowd the hook so deeply and faught so hard that when she finally came outta the water, she was bleeding alot. it was obvious this bass was a bruiser! She had a long plastic worm that was so old it had bleached white in the water stuck in her throat, and a few nicks on her. tried to extract the hook, didnt work, throat clamped shut quick! i was gunna cut her free and let her be and have nature run its course. but the guy i was fishing with flipped. that fish was hurt bad. and tossing it back, to him seemed really cruel! So, he insisted we toss her on ice with the bluegills we were gunna fry for dinner........ and i did (mainly bc the guy was the reason im allowd to fish that pond & he kinda intimidates me a bit). she tried so hard to get outta that cooler. she had the thing bouncing around..... and i felt HORRIBLE! it was so wrong to hear that beauty of a bass trying to get free. at long last, she quit. but while i was watching him fillet the bluegills, and then eventually the bass, the poor thing was still trying to gasp for air. gills were going hard. and he just cut into her. i had to walk away. for all the times that ive been sooo excited to watch a bass swim off after a hard fight i was heartbroken. :-[

im game. where r we talking about launching from?! and whos got the boats?! because idk how far my beater stationwagons gunna make it. lol r we talking sandusky? and i honestly think that the best game plans to just set a date. pick it and stick to it! otherwise itll become a lets please everyone match! wont work! (trust me if being in a greek chapter in college taught me anything its that) let me know! ;D

im getting all excited now!

1700 + 4 = 1704

id be really interested, but im a non-boater, and i am really unexpierenced bass fishing compared to most here, top that off, ive never fished for small mouths. so let me know!

having a frequent customer discount. sadly, i became broke, and now, i havent bought anything i quite a while, and im no longer a frequent customer.....

NEVER lip a fish or try to unhook a fish that is landed ona lure with trebles! use a net if u can, and a pair of pliers, those things are HORRIBLE! I know! My story really quick. I didnt even earn the honor of landing a fish........ it was mid winter last year when i was reorganizing my gear for the 9th or 10th time and i decided that my one football jigs skirt was in serious need of some TLC. So i snipped the band and went to work. at some point I must have lost my grip, because the 1oz All Terran Tackle Football Jig and its MASSIVELY thick hook punctured straight into the core of the meaty soft part of my right hand thumb. well past the back barb, but not coming out the other side. I lived with my parents at this time, itwas of course like 1 or 2 in the morning and the last thing i wanted to do was wake them or the dog up. so i grabbed a leather belt, a pair of pliers, and a first aid kit. went into the bathroom furthest from their bedroom, "sanitized" the wound with alot of hydrogen poroxide. then bit down hard on that belt (so hard i left teeth marks) and "carefully" "extracted" the jig from my thumb. I paid dearly for that mistake. Im a college drumline snare drummer, and by day i work a job that requires me to type all day long.... needles to say. work was hell the next day, and drumline rehearsal that night i was in so much agony that i dont remember most of that 3.5 hour rehearsal............ So, lesson learned, watch where u place ur fingers! ;D

wait..... were not all pros? im shattered! ;D

would if i could. shes a new nurse up at the Cleveland Clinic. New Grad means crappy shifts! she works all day and goes to sleep at 9pm one month. then the next she works all night, sleeps from 9AM until 9PM with a wake up for dinner the next month. then back to day shift.... im basically living with a coma patient when shes asleep......... lol makes for a lonely Stephen..... but more time for fishing when the waters not hard. :-/

ive lived here all my life (Mind u ive only been heavy into fishing for a few years now) and Ive only fished Erie once. and it was for Walleye......... another of the top fisheries in the country........ but ya. erie smallies are the football fish! plump, round, and happy to eat a tube bait anytime! ;D

plain and simple. NO! lol the reason why, a LARGE group of people literally floated off onto lake erie last year..... becuase they were ice fishing over a reef and the ice float broke off the main pack and away they went! Ice fishing, not my idea of fun. and this year, the ice in this part of ohio hasnt froze over enough to risk being out on the lake anyways. And i actually am a huge advocate of fishing in any situation...... i was just trying to practice my jig presentations last spring like a week after ice out when i landed my personal best Largemouth! I think Ill try the ice ledge idea tho! I never thought of using the ice to my advantage! thats a cool idea. Should I be worried if my lines rubbing on an ice edge tho?

i know this is really late. but im from cuyhoga falls. and i dont steelhead fish but ill bass fish with u any day.

How does a few fallen trees on a slope sound? Or a "stair step" drop off? the other option is a cove i fish from alot where theres a storm drain that lets run off out and has carved a nice "mini-creek channel" that winds thru the cove to deeper water thru what im guessing are semi flats that the pads really frow thick on.

Im new to the lake so i dont know alot about it. and its tiny. smaller than the old 88 acre lake i used to fish. BUT the gentlemen whos been talking to me has lived her for years, fishes from a nice little pond prowler with a sonar system. he says the lakes 25feet in the middle....... but.......... i dont have a boat, and the kind of boats u can get in this lake dont require a ramp.... ie they dont bust ice. think smaller.

my new home lakes got a new challenge for me in it. Ive spent the last 3 years battling Carp, Catfish, Snapping and Box Turtles, Snakes, and the rare but fun to catch bowfin mixed in with my bass. None of which posed much of a real threat to the Bass i was landing. the new lakes got Pike in it tho. Ive already seen pics from people who live here of half chewed up Bass that got nailed on the way to the boat. (even tho i shore fish) So im wondering. if my normal bass fishing outfits..... 1.) A 7' IM7 Graphite Rod Medium Heavy Action paired with a Gander Mtn Classic Baitcaster spooled with 12 or 14lbs Berkely Fireline. 2.) A 6'6" IM7 Graphite Rod Medium Action paired with a Gander Mtn Classic Baitcaster spooled with PLine 10lbs Floro. And 3.) A 7' IM7 Graphite Spinning Rod Medium Action paired with a Medium Sized Gander Mtn Spinning Reel spooled with either 10lbs Spiderwire Braid or 8lbs Berkely Maxx Mono. ....Are going to be able to hold up to these things. I have no idea how big the pike average or range in the lake. But ive never hooked into one before. The other question is this. if i land one of these gators...... whats the best way to hold it/land it. I know it sounds stupid. but ive never really dealt with anything with teeth before. much less one that eats a fish i consider to be an apex predator on my old lake for lunch......... Help!

this is more of a rant to a group of my friends(ie u guys reading this) I moved to this appartment complex ona lake this last fall. Noticed a number of small alum. boats, pond prowler style boats, and canoes chained to a few trees down by the lake shore. One of them was a BEAUTIFUL 14 Foot Canoe that was in perfect shape, spare the fact that it was full of dirty stagnate rain water and lots and lots of leaves from the oak tree it was chained to I went down to the lake today to see what was up with the halfmelted/rain pounded ice sheet on the water...... the canoes got a massive crack down the side of it. ice must have expanded and destroyed it...... what kind of idiot would chain up a nice canoe like that. never use it. and then let it get destroyed. i wish i woulda known whos it was, i woulda bought it and put it to use! GRRR people dont know how to appreciate what they have! >

only while im asleep and dreaming of the future.

welcome aboard from north east ohio i second the ice comment!

im just happy for u that you can go fishing. and again everyones so depressed about..... the waters to cold. at least u have water. ohio has ice. the second it thaws i expect to see the shores packed with people with cabin fever!

im worse. i fish from shore. so carry it all. i had this big tackle bag with tons of stuff. and a back ache each time i went fishing. i found myself using certian lures non-stop. infact. theyre the ones i tie on before i leave. so i limited myself to a backpack with 2 large planos in it. and about 6 small ones for hooks, hardware, tackle, ect. now i never take it all with me. i just decide how i want to fish that day. and set my mind to the idea that im going to find a productive pattern with what i have. its helped me grow as a fishermen! instead of second guessing a bait after 6-7 casts, i work it in diff ways and take my time. In most peoples case, that means less time looking at the boats floor while u re-tie and more time learning by casting and trying....... maybe u should all take a lesson from us shore anglers. lol ;D

I agree with the above! theres TONS of good lakes for Bass here. problem is they arent the monsters u might be looking for Ud be insane not to go up to sandusky bay and get out for smallies on erie! world class smallmouth expierence! besides that. it all depends on wht u want to do for the fish. lol Ladue is good. Mosquitto is a GREAT lake. Mogadore Resv is electric only but has some monsters by ohio standards becasue so few people wanna deal with not being allowed to have a gas motor on their boat to get to them. and the portage lakes are another great one! i just moved to Cuyhoga Falls in the Fall. and im on a small lake that seems promising. if it turns out good ull have to come down and fish it. and If u want someone to explore Portage Lakes with. take me along! i dont have a boat! lol keep us posted. the NEO community of bassers isnt big. so if u find something wed love to know!

charter on Erie outta Sandusky Bay for Smallies. there can be a crowd in some spots. but tell ur captian u want a quiet fishing trip and he might be able to make something happen other than that. if ur going to be in the area. try some of the lakes in North East Ohio. Mosquitto is good but can get busy. Mogadore Resv. near Akron is electric only and full of good bass becasue of that engine rule and lots of weeds and shad...... and the portage lakes are awesome!

Okay, so...... the weathers nuts. and its been warm, then freezing, then warm, then raining, then freezing, then warm......... u get the picture. the lake i moved to is semi thawed. its wierd. theres spots i can almost get to on shore that are open water, and others that are iced still. i think it had something to do with the wind forming thicker ice in some spots or something!? but the lakes thawing out kinda, i know because the large creek it feeds is bursting its banks....... and im wondering. if anyshore line access to water opens up.... if theres a way to fish that open water?! (mind u this lake has bass, and pike. so I know the pike come shallow as soon as the ice melts.) But is it even possible to catch bass off of an opening in a slowly thawing lake?

You got that right. Cold muddy water is one nut I can not crack. And by muddy I mean chocolate milk muddy, stained is one thing...........in fact it may make a bite turn on in other wise gin clear water, but they seem to run from the mud when the water is cold. curious to know where u two are from!? because i know in northeast ohio we fish any day of the year that doesnt include ice on the surface (someof us even fish then. but the idea of fishing thru a hole in the ice seems like a bad plan to me)

GO HAVE FUN! yall take this seriously and forget that its supposed to be fun. lol that and these two Don't Hook Yourself Phones Dont Float!