HogHunter

Yes, Yes, and Yes. Last year went down to a new lake that that I had never fished before and did okay. This year went to the same lake and hired a guide who had been fishing the lake for thirty years. We just went with him for the first day. It was a world of difference. We were using different tactics from my familiar waters, had a great time, and caught a lot more fish.

For me it depends on the mood. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

I think its a good thing to have in the boat. It's one of those things where it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

I consider myself a multi species angler for sure. Idefinetly spend the most time on bass but make a trip to Canada every year for walleye/pike. Also, i spend a lot of time catching eaters such as: perch, crappie, blue gill, trout, and salmon.

I've had really good luck with swim baits. Especially soft expensive ones seem to work the best.

I have used both extreme and pro qualifier rods. I haven't used either of the reels. The extreme rods are pretty good quality, durable and pretty sensitive for their price range. However, now i exclusively use the pro qualifier for all of my casting rods. They are so sensitive you can feel the slightest bite. There is a noticeable difference between the two.

A hydrofoil worked wonders for me.

I have the bps pro lite finesse. I bought it with the intention of replacing one of my spinning setups. I've been better off keeping the spinning gear for light weight baits, skipping and casting into the wind. If you do go with a finesse reel i bet you will be surprised how well it will cast heavier lures as well.

I've had good luck with skullcandy.

I've used both the bait casting and spinning J.M. signature. Love both of them. Really smooth, casts a mile. I've got 4 of the bait casters if that tells you anything. The spinning is excellent as well.

If you can try to take an entrepreneurship class if your school offers it. It will go into detail about the challenges of what you want to do, and how to make it a happen.

30lb bps excel braid for me.

I agree, if it swims something will want it. Sometimes I'm amazed at how unrealistic lures look, or how they inmate a bait which isn't present in that lake.

I know when I got my first accurate scale all my fish seemed to lose a little weight.

That is what I was guessing. I've just never been a fan of people putting their name on a product and not using it themselves.

I know in many industries that there are pro models, fishing is no exception. My question is do pro actually use the gear that has their name on it? The reason I ask is often times pro model reels are on the lower or mid price range. In the industry i work in(skiing and snowboarding) there have been pro models for decades and the pros don't always use their own gear. If they do they use a beefed up version or use it just for marking events. So do you guys no about the big name tourney guys?

Wow this was a great year for me. I was able to go on two different week long bass fishing vacations. I found my new love the swim bait. Most importantly though i was able to take 7 people fishing for the first time, four of them being my nephews.

I really like it, along with my family. Even the people who say "i don't like fish" enjoy it. Have used it mostly with perch, walleye, and bluegill. But, its good for the occasional bass as well. If you have any extra batter cut some onions slices and make some home made onion rings.

Huh, I was really surprised to see how many people didn't like this lure. I've had pretty good luck using the baby eel in the color tadpole around pads. I haven't caught a lot of huge fish on it but at least for me and a few buddies it's been a good numbers lure.

I use the zoom fish doctor and the centipede, mostly in pumpkin or water melon seed. Most of the time t-rigged and weightless. Great lightweight lures to skip under docks. They sink really slow, but skip great.

I've been to lakes that sound just like the one you are talking about. If you like a deep fried fish try this. Get some instant pancake mix (the kind where you just add water) and mix the batter with beer instead of water. The kind of beer doesn't matter. Then after you rinse the fillets off cut them in smaller sections and coat them with the pancake beer mix and pop them into a pan of hot cooking oil. Make sure that there is enough oil for the fish to float off the bottom of the pan so the batter stays on. Cook them a few minutes on each side until the fish are golden brown. Enjoy!

Greeting! I would like to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Evan, I've been bass fishing for the last 15 years or so. My home waters are located in northwest Indiana. Due to work I'm away from my home (and boat) for extended periods of time and can't get a lot of fishing done this time of year. Luckily I've found this site and have been doing hours of reading. It's a great source of info and looks like a great group of people too.