airborne_angler

Wondering about this bait...Ive seen the Spittin Image(similar to a Zara Spook,Walk the dog type bait) Ive also seen the Pop'n Image(A popper) What is the Swim'n Image supposed to be? A Jerkbait? A shallow Crankbait? Who has used the Swim'n Image,and what technique did you use?

Its been super windy this year locally,this has kept me off the lake. Just last week the weather calmed down and the wind all but stopped. I thought this week would be a perfect time to get on the lake. WRONG!!! Monday the Arlene fire started locally and this has caused the lake I normally fish to be closed until at least June 1st,maybe longer. There is a pond on the military installation that has "some" fish in it.Mostly Bluegill. This pond isnt managed or stocked.The water is really low and reeks of algae. Decided to try it anyway,I just had to get my line wet.I ended up landing about a 13 incher on the first time I ever tried a Hard Jerkbait. I was using a very small Rapala X-Rap. Now I wish that darn lake would open back up so I can give it a try there.

I have at least 10 of the smallest Hula Poppers that Arbogast makes.The skirts are all unravelling and coming apart.I have no idea of where to find the small replacement skirts...anyone know of a source?

Just remembered a trick I used to use for fishing with live bait,but havent in awhile for catching panfish on really small gear.Get yourself the lightest rod and reel combo you can find. Use some 2-4# test and the appropriate Hooks as you prefer.' The best part I like about this setup is the "bobber". Forget about pencil floats,and red/white or orange and yellow clip on bobbers. The Bobbers I like to use come straight from the Salmon/Steelhead fishermans arsenal.They are called "Corkies" http://www.grapentin.com/ColorCharts/Corkies_Lg.jpg All they are is really small,round slip bobbers.If you can rig up a slip bobber,you can fish these.Little to no weight is needed when using these,thus allowing for a very natural presentation. The "Corky" is also small enough that it goes under with very little resistance,so the fish wont spook and reject the offering. Downsize like I have described here and get into some large Bluegill or Redear,and your sure to have a blast. Ya never know,ya might just get into some nice Bass. I know my first 5# Bass was caught while I was Bluegill Fishing with a tiny piece of Nightcrawler on a itty-bitty hook on an ultralight setup...Boy was I surprised.

I fish a dropshot rig on a 6'0 Daiwa ML spinning combo.On that combo I have 6 pound backing,15 pound braid(6 pound diameter)main line and then a 6 pound Fluorocarbon leader.It works very well for me. Decided to spool an UL setup the same way.I won't be using it for DS though.I may just throw some really light finesse tackle and small cranks with it.Is the bnraid and its strength overkill for this little setup?

Watch them SK cranks. I had some Redeyes I left on the boat and due to heat of the sun,they swelled up.The Redeyes Swelled and the regular SK cranks split in the middle of the back.Had some Cotton Cordell lipless Baits get all deformed too.

http://kananlure.com/ Would like to get some feedback on the products if possible.

Wondering what everyone thinks about details on Topwater baits such as Poppers. Details I speak of are on top of the bait,which the fish dont likely see anyway. For instance,the eyes of a bait. I have a Popper which has some "stick on" eyes,which are about to fall off. If I were to take these off,does anyone think this would lessen the effectiveness of this bait. Its a reaction bait anyway. Fish arent really TOO likely to get too close of a look at the top of bait as they strike it from underneath.So is there any harm in taking the eyes off? Would anyone agree that the fish most of the time arent overly concerned with what the popper actually is,only that it may be annoying so they strike at it out of pure irritability.?

What about the Luck E Strike Bass Magic. Anyone use them and like em? I scored on a Wal Mart Clearance sale and have a bunch of them. Id like to hear about some success stories with them prior to trying them out,so I dont feel im wasting my time.

lol

Doc had me take em for cholesterol.These things were expensive.But if they show that they will benefit in catching fish,im all for it. I took em for a month and they didnt even touch my cholesterol. Now im on Niacin.

I just can't believe how much stuff I have aaccumulated. Between scoring big on the clearance sales at Walmart where the stuff is marked down almost 80% on particular items.Personally when an item like a Rapala DT is marked down from $8 to let's say $1.00. I can't help but purchase every last one they have.Even if I walk out of there with 10 or 15 of the same bait,how can a person pass up a deal like that? Is that so wrong? Then there's Ebay.A lot of times I find "Lots" where people are listing 5 good brand name cranks for $.99 or a "lot" of 4 War Eagle SB's for $1.00. Those the fish these SB's know how much they retail for each,so this would be a bargain. So those 2 scenerios are how I have come to accumulate so much tackle. My wife asks me why I have so much if I can realistically only use one bait at a time. My answer? "No one bait will catch all the fish all the time." In reality in fishing the situation dictates what you use at any given time,and to be ready for that ever changing situation,you gotta have a wide array of equipment to include lures and baits.

I bought a 7 tray tackle box from a yard sale a few weekends ago. I decided to start filling it up with Crankbaits.Im not even near done with all the cranks I have and im up to the count of 40. So anyone else been told they have alot of tackle,and not realized just how much it until you started sorting it out? I never had any idea I had so much. I even found a Terminator Spinnerbait new in the package the other day when I cleaned out my truck. Now where did that come from? I dont remember ever buying that!! Is the Bait monkey planting tackle now?

I've got a few I'd like to share.They all occured when I was stationed in Alaska. I was at a lake on the military installation,throwing spinners for trout.I had caught 3 really nice ones and had them on a stringer loosely tied to a log about 10 feet away from where I was fishing.I'm admiring the scenery,when I see a Bald Eagle circling above.I'm in awe,I haven't ever seen one in the wild. The eagle proceeds to dive bomb where my stringer was and take my catch,all 3 fish and my stringer. A few weeks later,same lake, I'm fishing with my daughter.Using Powerbait,I hook the fish and let her reel em in.I set the hook on what I feel is a pretty small fish.I hand the rod and reel to my daughter and she starts reeling in the fish. Suddenly the rod doubles over and the drag starts screaming.I'm freakin out.I hear some commotion on the surface and look.While reeling in her catch,a Loon dove down and got my daughtes fish.The Loon managed to shake the hook and all was well,but man what an experience.

Anyone currently own one or had one in the past? I picked an empty one up today at a yard sale for $5. A few of the rivets on the hinges for the trays have been replaced with small screws and nuts,but the box still opens and closes fine. Down in the bottom of the box are 2 small vented sections which read "ZERUST corrosion protection" How long is this Zerust technology good for? How long has Zerust been around? Why have I only recently ever heard about this technology?

I have 2 series 3 Crankbaits from Strike King.I bought each of them from a different seller on Ebay.They both have the exact same paint scheme(Sexy Shad). They both have rattles,but one has louder rattles than the other. Is this an issue with Quality Control or what?

So that darn Monkey got me again. Was at a Walmart out of town and they marked things down a great deal. I ended up picking up the following items: 3 Chatterbaits in the 3/8 oz size for $2.00 each 8 Arkie Football head jigs in the 1/2 oz size for $1.00 each 11 packs of 3 count Luck E Strike Bass Magic Swimbaits for $1.50 a package 4 Strike King Bitsy Flippin Jigs for $.50 each Needless to say,I cleaned em out of whatever they had on Clearance. This was a deal not to be missed. Anyone agree?

The battery I just purchased yesterday from Autozone is a 27DP-DL.I'm guessing the DP means Dual Purpose? I think the DL means Duralast(Autozone house brand) I got the largest battery I could afford.Specs are as follows: Marine cranking amps 1000 Cold Cranking amps 800 Amp hours 115 Reserve capacity 180 Based on the info provided,is this a good choice of battery for a 12ft jon boat with a 55# Minn Kota Endura Trolling motor?

Is there any difference between a deep cycle battery and a marine battery? Is it just the same thing with a different name? What's best for an aluminum jon boat with only a trolling motor as propulsion?

I was using a 30# Thrust Motor Guide TM on my 10 ft Jon Boat which was just fine until I destroyed it when I sunk the boat. I purchased a Minn Kota Endura 40# Thrust model as a replacement,worked fine.I now have a 12 ft Jon Boat and have upgraded to a Minn Kota Endura 50# Thrust,and It does well,but I need to invest in a new battery. The 40# model will be used as a back up if I ever need it. I fish a lake that has a 10hp gas engine limit. Its pretty small so a TM is really all you need. A larger lake nearby has a no wake zone on it,thats where I stay as I see some crazy stuff going on in the distance on the rest of the lake. People hauling A** and just stirring up the surface really bad. I want no part of that craziness in my little boat.

If you are a Military ID card holder,you get an additional percentage off as well!!

When I was young,I remember seeing a soft plastic made by Rebel. It was a worm(IIRC),with a lizard head and it had some red gills around its neck,like a waterdog. I believe it was called a "Ringneck" lizard. Anyone know for sure. Anyone know where to find them? If anyone has a pic please post it.

Its a Spinnerbait called "Double Chance" from Blakemore (The same folks that make the Roadrunner for Crappie and Panfish) Anyone fish this bait with success or is it just a wild design? About what year did this bait come out?

I did this once with a Mattlures Bluegill. Ive dropped The pliers overboard when I was trying to shake a treble out of a Trouts mouth. Shook the fish free,opened my hand and in the pliers went. I was launching my boat out of the back of the truck and ended up getting a crankbait stuck in my my leg. I clipped the line,and went fishing with the lure still attached. On every cast,my leg rattled. Removed it easily when I got home. I decided for some reason I wanted to Anchor off the rear of the boat,as thats where I fish,and its easier to manage the anchor from back there,instead of climbing up front all the time. Waves were crashing over the back ,filling up the rear compartment of the Jon Boat I was in. I got to pulling up the anchor(which got stuck),the back end dipped lower and lower until I had to jump ship because the boat had taken on too much water. I Destroyed(Bent) the shaft to my TM,Broke a blade off the prop, while trying to muscle the sunken boat back on land I didnt have an oar with me.,Yet after I drained everything and recovered my gear,I managed to limp the boat all the way back in(barely),fighting the wind the whole way. I ended up losing 3 Rod/Reel Combos off the boat in that experience which I retrieved 2 days later. For those that dont know already... DO NOT ANCHOR OFF THE BACK OF A BOAT!!

choupique- You are totally correct about the adapter plug. Didnt look at it the way you did...Thanks for clearing that up. Fishing Rhino- I took your advice and checked the fuses under the dash with the owners manual. There was nothing in the book about trailer lights. I turned the page and it showed another fuse box under the hood,which did have a fuse for trailer lights. Found it and removed it. Low and behold it was Blown. Well now I have to get another fuse and hopefully that will correct the issue. Ive towed cars ALOT with this truck and have never had an issue with the trailer lights not working before. Thanks for helping narrow down this issue!!!