basser89

Berkley Vanish Transition fluro. What a waste of $$$$$$

And on cue, I'm a Tony Stewart fan (like Glenn)! I used to pull for Mark Martin until he hopped in that car with the OTHER V on it! ;D Can't stand the Hendric's drivers! They all just rub me the wrong way (well except for Jr, I don't pull for him for spite of my sister! LOL!). I don't watch as many races as I used to but I will listen to the race on the radio while doing other things...... like fishing!

Picasso makes a great spinnerbait but I also like Strike King's Premire Plus and the KVD series spinnerbaits as well (the bluegill is a killing color). I'll throw out a call to Bass Pro's Lazer Eye series as well.

Has anyone else been out recently? I've managed 2 outings this month. :-/ I've hit the two power plants that are close to me. While my first outing was only for an hour and fifteen minutes (not to mention, freakin COLD! LOL!), it was action packed hour and fifteen minutes. I caught 18 smallies on jerkbaiits and crankbaits. My second trip wasn't as productive (only one smallie on a crankbait), mostly due to the area being slammed with anglers. Surprisingly, I've tried tubes on both occassions which is usually one of my top producing baits this time of year, but haven't had any takers (just a bunch of panfish peckin at the tails).

Ouch! I know the feeling! Figuring that mid to upper 40's muskies have a head around 12", I go with an 18 to 22" leader. I like the extra length, gives me a little better chance if they go into the death roll and the line gets close to the gill plate. I've lost a couple different baits that way using a shorter leader. The toughest one to swallow was the Top Raider I lost (Cable Crossing if you're reading this Mat). That fight lasted about 5 seconds and was no more than 10' off the shore. :'(

Ok, here's the scoop on Cunningham! This is straight out of the email I recieved! "Sean, The regulation restricting the thrust on electric motors was changed in 2003. There is no thrust restriction on electric motors. Boats with gas motors are allowed on the lake, but may only use the electic motor. Inland Fisheries"

From top to bottom, I'd throw a buzzbait/toad/frog, spinnerbait, Senko style bait, Brush Hog and a tube. Obviously, not all at the same time! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I know a couple of the higher up's at DNR. I'm going to check on this to clarify. That just doesn't sound right that they can limit you on the size of an electric trolling motor. I have a 43 on mine and I've seen glass bass boats on there with larger trolling motors than mine. The only thing I can think of is they are attempting to keep the electric outboards off there but that's only a guess. I'll let you know what I find out!

I have 6 of the first gen Accurists and they've held up great for me. The only reason I don't own any of the newer gen models is I've started switching over to the Energies. The only problem I've had with any of mine was a self inflicted problem I had caused. Keep the clean and lubed and they'll work great for years! My younger brother has 1 of the newer models, hopefully he can chime in on his.

From my experience, steel leaders aren't always the best choice when I musky fish. While I may not use steel, I do you a leader. I have heavy mono (80#), fluro (65#), braid (can't remember the test) and steel (45#, mostly just for bucktails). My partner and I split the cost of the materials and he ties them for us (except the steel, I use Berkley steel leaders). The musky in my signature was caught using a heavy mono leader on a top water lure.

Must be nice! LOL! I've been to two different Dick's Sporting Goods in the past week and both of their selections flat out STINK! I usually rely on them for my Suffix braid and a few other odds and ends that I can't get at other places. The only thing I found on sale were the Reaction Strike swimbaits. I picked up two packs of them just to satisfy the Bait Monkey. I wonder if they'd air a picture of that sign PlasticMan135 was talking about on one of the late shows? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Its a real trip trying to get it to work with a trackball mouse!!! LOL

Only had about an inch to inch and a half this morning when I woke up. Still haven't heard how much we're supposed to get. If I had my way, I would have blown work off today and hit the warm water discharge 5 minutes from my place! But like I said, IF. :-/

Welcome home!

A few Smithwick Rattlin Rogues (suspending and flaoting), Bandit 100 series cranks (Limetruese, Rootbeer and Chrome/black are great colors for me) and BPS Magnum Flippin tubes are my top producing baits for smallies.

You bet! I was just at Wally World this evening and the only thing they had on sale here was Mizmo tubes. Besides a decent selection of Tiki Sticks, they don't carry very much that I use. Heck, their line selection has a lot to be desired too!

Cool deal Brian! Did you have any problems finding the area? How did was the catfish? The last channel cat I pulled out of there was about 30" that I foul hooked. If everything goes well, I'll be hitting there tomorrow. Hopefully, you left a couple in there for me! ;D

I'm right handed also. Spinning reels I reel with my left hand only. Baitcasters, I mainly use right handed retrieve unless I'm flippin and pitchin, then I will switch up to a lefty.

Yes Btech, catching more bass not more snags!

I tried G-Locks a couple years back and my hook up rate did go up using them! The only problem I had with them (was using 4/0's) was I had a hard time removing the hook from the bass, especially larger bass. I found myself having to cut the hook in order to save the fish. I'm not talking deep hooked bass either, I'm talking about largemouths hooked in the side or the roof of the mouth (maybe as deep as 1/2 to 3/4's the length of the hook deep). Has anyone else had this issue? Just curious.

For all 3 types, mono, fluro and braid, I use the Palomar. For me, I "waste" alot less line when tying the knot with braid (maybe and 1" to a 1" 1/2). The way I look at it regarding mono and flurocarbon, I'm not wasting line when I'm retying the knot. I take advantage of that tag end (however long I may have to make it) to help eliminate the section of the line that is nicked up from use.

I also have one from that time, the CX 401, paint is damaged but functionally a 10/10 AC400's, (1) AC401, AC500's, (1) 501 and a 500PT from that era! All still running good! Yeah, the paint is chipped here and there but looks aren't as important to me as functionality is!

I have 2 Kinetics and love them both (one is an '08 model)! One thing you should keep in mind is that if you decide to use braid, the Kinetic and the Catalyst have a different drag system than the Energy and I have witnessed on my fishing partner's reel (Kinetic - the same model I have) the drag failing (only with the braid, when he put the spool on with mono the reel works like a champ). He has not had any issues with the Energy. Hope this helps!

Was it offered at a discounted price at the expo? I know sometimes you can get better deals at events like that. I have a hunting and fishing show coming up near here in a week and was wondering if I should wait to order one. I'd hate to give 150 for it and see it for 115 in a few days. That would have been REAL tempting if they had offered a discount at the expo! Unfortunately, the tags all said $150.

Smallies are a great fighter! But my favorite is defintely the Largemouth!!!