D4u2s0t

sounds good, looking forward to it.

the color that works best is the one you use the most 8-)

everybody is busy. It takes 2 seconds during the times you were online, which we know about, to say something simple like "hey guys listen, not dropping the ball here, crazy busy, keep you posted. sorry" Communication goes a long way. Lack of communication goes even further.

for panfish, hands down best bait is live bait, whether it's nightcrawlers or minnows. Especially if you're taking out your fiance/wife/girlfriend/kids/youngens... It's the kind of bait you can just throw out and repeatedly catch fish. (provided they're there) If you're dead set against live bait, at least give it to them while you use small cranks and spinners. But you'll be hard pressed to find something that works better than live bait for these lil fish.

If you don't have a scale, should not estimate weight and post it. always my thought. ALWAYS hard to tell from a picture, but I would guess that to be 3-4 lbs. I still love the guy on my lake that caught MAYBE a 1/2 lb smallie and was screaming about how it was 3 lbs... was maybe 13 inches long lol. Most 4+ pounders I have pulled in, the head is about the same size as mine. That pic the head is the same size as yours while your arms are fully extended. Either way, great fish. And who knows, you can't tell from a picture. That being said, a 7 pound fish for these parts is great. I am yet to break 5 pounds in my home lake. Lots of 3-4 lbers, and 2 or 3 that were just on the brink of pushing 5.... but not quite there!

there's no way around it, if someone wants to forward the message badly enough, they will. Even if it means them typing it out in a separate email. If you don't want anyone else to know what you said, email is not the way to go. (remember inspector gadget? if only we could do that lol )

New jersey is not one of the most poluted states, while we do have some nasty cities. Once you get out of north east jersey and away from cities like trenton, jersey city, newark, passaic, etc. it's a whole new ballgame. It's actually overall a cleaner state than some of our neighbors who like to bash us lol... here's a top 25 poluted areas list. http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/09/07/the-25-most-polluted-regions-in-the-united-states.htm That being said, it's a great fish. But come on guys, we should all know by now that it's very, very hard to look at a picture and guess the weight. Especially when comparing it to other pictures. Doesn't work that way, and we all should now better than to call bs so quickly. How do you know the guy is not 6'6? I'm a full time videographer, so I understand a lil more about pictures and perception than the average person. and I bet I can take 2 VERY SIMILAR pictures of a fish, and if I asked you to guess weights, they would be no where near each other.

Every rage tail bait i've thrown so far is so versatile that you will have luck doing anything you mentioned. Give it all a try and see what works 8-)

so went out twice today, in the morning, threw my bait lol and like clockwork, there it was. Tried throwing a crankbait through, nothing, and then no more hits after the crank on anything. Nothing 2nd time out either. I really want to get this thing now! Got a 2 pounder in the process, but I want that muskie! Just found out today they're going to be putting a few hundred muskie in soon.

yep, it's a real shame. I hope this guy has a legit reason for not being able to respond, even though he's been online a bunch of times which makes it seem like pretty much bs. On a lot of sites, this guy would be sorry he did something like that lol. Quick google search gives everything from his name, address, phone #, etc. MOST of the members here seem above that though, and I have to say from my dealings here so far i'm happy to be a member.

I always keep my drag set to where I can pull on it fairly easily, but not easily enough it's going to let out slack every time I give my bait a good tug. If I need more force, i'll use my thumb to feather the line. You should make a habit of checking your drag every time you head down to the water. Takes 2 seconds, and you won't have to worry about losing any fish. (because of the drag at least lol)

is this just for peeps from the first one? Or can I get in on this.

rig it backwards with an ewg hook and call it a day. Can fish it weighted, or weightless. Weightless is best imo.

I have every intention of trying!! The thing just bolted, even if I was prepared I wouldn't have been able to reel fast enough to keep up with it. But next time I now what i'm up against. I've caught some big northern pike, and pickerel, but never a muskie.

MUSKIE!!!! So today I was back out, threw out a texas rigged worm. Same area. Let it sit on the bottom for about 10 seconds, and WHAM!! was like I set the hook on a stump, except I didn't set the hook and there was no stump. Bent my pole almost literally in half the way it hit. Needless to say I set the hook, but couldn't move it for anything. It really felt like I was hung up. Was pulling very hard, nothing. Finally it darted forward, line went totally slack and it was gone. Started reeling back in, it followed to the dock and did a 180 maybe 2 feet out and was gone. Was so fast, I didn't even get to see it. But let me tell you this, the comotion this thing caused in the water, this was no small fish. There was 3 whirlpools in the water spread out over a couple feet. Upset I didn't land it, but glad I at least had the chance. That's the first muskie I had on in my lake. I just wish I got to saw it, that would have been almost as exciting as landing it.

on second thought I agree with above, some of those look like bogus shots.

this far north? and only 1? weird, but I guess possible. It's been cold, we had snow already a few weeks ago. and i'm pretty sure it wasn't a bluegill. The way it was pulling, if it was, it is a world record lol. They don't pull my ultra light as hard as they were pulling my casting rig. At any rate, it seems to be gone now, or at least not biting anymore.

I would guess smallie before bluegill or crappie. There's enough bluegills and perch to catch them almost every cast in my lake on a good day, but not where I was casting and not what I was throwing. I've caught as many as 25/hour when I give up on a slow bass bite.

I love outfishing the people that "know" what i'm doing is "wrong". Especially the ones that make the faces as they boat past lol. It's best when you're fishing from shore, and they say something like "What are you using? That thing won't work __________" (Fill in the blank. usually "this time of year", "this time of day" "this type of water") Then later on it'smore like "So, what was that bait again?"

This is almost 5: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30297380&l=4ec63a41ea&id=1003390062 This is 4: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30297370&l=c84402d531&id=1003390062 This is about 1 lb: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30288703&l=110d8db8a3&id=1003390062 They all pretty much look the same. Moral of the story is you can't tell from a picture.

Well, I don't really KNOW it's the same fish... but it's literally the same square foot area... I'm to the point that I can tell like clockwork where the fish will bite, and where it won't. I know when I cast if i'll be in it's range, and if I won't. That's how specific it is. Really weird. But unless a school or even a few fish would only nibble in one super specific area, it leads me to believe it's a single fish that is not moving, just pecking as my bait comes by. As far as the lake, it's not "big" by some standards, but it's almost a mile long and maybe 2-3 hundred yards wide on average.

Curious as to why this was moved out of General and into outings. (So I better understand where to post for future)

Use the same thing you would use at other times. Experiment to see what works best, and keep using something if it works. Many people don't realize how versatile majority of baits are because they only use them at certain times because that's what they were told to do. As an example, topwater can produce all day. Crankbaits can produce all year. (though most people say use them in fall) Spinnerbaits will work on the calmest of days. (most people would say use them in some chop) Most people go fishing early in morning and at dusk because it's the "best" times. But many people catch their biggest fish in the middle of the day. The list goes on. If you really want to know what works and what doesn't, go out with your tackle box, and try things that you wouldn't normally do. I think most people would be surprised. My logic in baits that hit the water is if they catch fish, they earn their spot in the tackle box. If they don't, then I don't buy them again. But basically, certain baits don't just stop working at certain times of day, just like certain baits don't stop working at certain times of the year. People just don't use them enough, and lack the confidence because everything they read says otherwise. If this thread goes long enough, you'll have 100 responses as to what the "best" fall bait is... and the reason for that is like I always say, the bait that catches the most fish is the one that's most in the water.

NOt sure how big it is. It was far enough out where I couldn't see. It stays still almost to the point where I could probably just gang hook it. But like I said I'm not interested so much to catch it as I am to understand what it's doing lol. Never seen that kind of behavior before.

So here's the scenario. 2 feet of water, 20 feet from shore. Recently closed swimming area with a few isolated weeds. Ever so slight slope, about 100 feet from shore goes to maybe 6 feet deep. I was out this morning, and there is a fish holding tight in a small few foot radius. Every time the bait goes through, nails the hell of out if, but won't swallow. This has been happening for the last 2 weeks or so, probably about 6-7 times out for me. What I know is the fish is not moving. Cast 10 feet to the right, nothing. 10 feet left, nothing. Right down the middle, it will hit the bait literally nonstop till you pull it away from the small radius it will hit. I've left it there for 5 minutes at a pop when my patience runs out, and it will hit it dozens of times. Will not hit a moving bait like a spinner or crankbait, but any soft plastic just sitting there it will hit. For kicks, I tried every soft plastic in every color I own, all the same. Flukes, stickbaits, finesse worms, brush hogs, rooster, lizard, you name it. (Furthering my belief that color is 100% irelevent, and bait selection is secondary to technique. But this post is not about that) I'm not so concerned with how to catch the fish, more about why this fish hasn't moved for so long, especially since it's not in an area with an abundance of food. And since there's minimal food, why is it just nipping at the baits and not taking it? Seems like some serious teritorial behavior, but usually they would just eat it and call it a day. Any ideas?