Lund Explorer

Bumper stickers? "Don't laugh at my truck - You're daughter might be in it!"

Fortunately, the vast majority of us have choices as to where we want to live, and what restrictions we are willing to put up with to reside there. Our county and township have building codes and zoning restrictions that provide for residents to expect a safe and enjoyable area to live in. My only issue with the subject comes when people who move into the area and decide they want the rules changed to fit their own prejudices.

Hey, they might work in shallow weedy conditions or on a really soft bottom, and the idea behind the free sliding ring might help retrieve the darn thing if it got snagged and you could pull it up from the back side. My experience on Burt Lake which has a hard bottom and can get some fairly big waves when the wind is blowing hard enough to need an anchor was that the thing just wouldn't dig in. If the reason you were considering one of these was for it's snag proof qualities, you may want to consider a chain style river anchor, or my favorite choice which is an old window weight. Both styles work well in a moderate wind.

I'd fish it just like any other body of water. First, I would try to locate where the bass are. Then, I would take into consideration the current conditions and how they may have an effect on the mood of the fish. Only then would I even dare try to decide what lure may work the best based on those things stated before. You really only have three choices for lures. Top waters, horizontal baits, and vertical ones. Any of those three may work better than the others on any given day, and what works best can change as quickly as conditions do. But the bottom line is always the same. The perfect lure isn't going to catch anything if you are fishing it where the fish aren't!

Choose your windmills wisely Mr. Quixote. A ten minute conversation with management of the course may not satisfy your argumentative side, but would go a long ways towards your future enjoyment of ponds that you state are yours to enjoy already. Or, continue on with your plan to collect your pound of flesh. I'm sure the LEO's forced to respond don't have anything better to do than help you in your quest. I'm sure that management of both the course and the company you work for won't mind either.

The only thing I noticed is that you've gone with a much less than normal mounting angle for your motor, which in turn might cause the problems you are talking about. You may have been much further ahead by using on of the wireless power drive motors.

Unless you have better luck with that style than I did, I would suggest throwing it over the side with NO rope! The one I had was left sitting at the boat launch on Maple Bay, Burt Lake about five years ago. In 20' of water, it did a fantastic job of swimming, twirling, and finally skidding along the bottom, but not near enough weight to allow the flutes to dig in and hold. Same rope, now with a 15# regular fluted anchor w/chain does a much better job.

Two great drinking games for March Madness. To stay sober, drink a shot each time the refs make a traveling call. To pass out early Thursday afternoon, have one each time a shooting guard misses a free throw!

Wow! Your girlfriend has some really big hands.

Blind? I guess the first rod would be a white one with a red tip! Almost sure that neither of the others would have a bobber.

What happened to you California guys bragging up those nice warm winter months? Should I mention that the Great Lakes are nearing record high levels?

The short winded reply would be to say that the only one limiting your access to this higher level is going to be you. There are plenty of choices out there if you look hard enough. Set your own goals and start looking for something that fits. Getting started was the easy part. Plenty of groups willing to accept your donations to the prize pot!

Do you think a steel leader would kill the action on it, because that thing is going to attract pike!

Time to go back to a dish so I can lose everything when it rains. Also lots of fun when that heavy wet snow packs in on it.

Indiana..... Just like living in Alabama, but without all of hillbillies!

We have a rather small 30' x 40' x 10' high pole barn type structure that I knew was going to be too small before the steel was even hung. This summer we're going to cure that problem. Back wall is coming off and we'll be putting up a 40' x 36' x 14' high addition. Will also end up with a 10' x 40' extension on the original barn. This should give me enough room for 2-3 vehicles, boat, ice fishing trailer, and motorhome. God I love country living with acreage and no home owners association!

Good Lord, if you don't want to spend more than $50 on a rod, save half that amount and buy a Berkley Cherrywood. It's as light, sensitive, and probably twice as durable as any rod in the under $100 market.

$2.39 in Rodney this morning, but almost all the snow has now melted from around the motorhome. Expecting a real jump in the price in a week or two when it can finally get on the road! Sorry.

Sounds great! Here's to hoping that you guys have a fun and successful season.

Use the 8lb mono. Trilene XL is going to lay on that spool a lot nicer than the stiffer fluorocarbon will. If you think you're not getting as many bites as you should be, pickup a small spool of 6lb to 8lb fluorocarbon and tie on a leader.

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Belated Birthday Keri. May you enjoy this year many, many times!

Your post brings up way more questions than it does answers, so here goes. Q. Are these a "Team Format" series of tournaments? If so, many of these types of tournaments restrict the number of partners a person can have during a season. You need to find this out and to be fair to this other guy, you need to make a decision soon about making the full commitment. Which brings up more questions! Q. Has he ever fished this series before and what happened to his last partner? If this is going to be the first year for both of you, then it may not help in your decision making. If he did fish them last year, you may want to find out why his last partner isn't fishing this year. If possible, ask both of them! Q. What does this guy expect from you and can you meet those expectations? If you can't measure up, you need to confess to him that he may want to look elsewhere for a more seasoned partner. Q. How much is this going to cost? In a team tournament format, both partner should have the same investment. You need to know how much are you paying, and how do the two of you split up any winnings. Q. Inclement weather, what do we do? From my own experience, I can tell you there are certain people I will not fish a tournament with for no other reason than these guys don't see any reason to seek shelter in a thunderstorm. You will likely be expected to fish during a day long rain storm, but are you going to be comfortable when the static electricity lifts your line off the water. The Bottom Line: You two really need to have a good long face to face talk where both of you lay all your cards on the table. There's nothing worse than being stuck in a bad situation, and there's no reason to miss out on a golden opportunity. The title of your thread is prophetic. It could end up being either or both!

IMHO, the cadence you're using is way more important than what you have tied on in front of the lure. So long as the stickbait doesn't come back to the boat just like a stick, it just might be the retrieve the fish are looking for that day. That being said, the only time I use a steel leader is when I am actually targeting toothy critters. I've found that using a large floating jerkbait that the leader helps it suspend with a slight nose down angle. Who is to say that isn't what the fish are looking for that day? Too many different lures with different actions, thrown using so many different lines, rods, and cadences to say that there is only one perfect option. When fishing for bass, I only use a small sized "Duo-Lock" snap.

Just remember that no matter how painful, it's better to deal with Mr. Arthur Itis than to get a visit from his cousin, Mr. Ricky Mortis!