BassThumb

Those look interesting.

Those are desiccant packages. I get them at work and put them in most boxes. I'll have to give rice a shot. I've saved a wet cell phone by putting it in a bag of rice.

I stated that I did this in the initial post.

I bend over backward to keep the boxes dry. I may have to get a small, light wire brush and clean up a few lures and maybe toss a few more. I expect a few worms hooks, trebles, and split rings to rust, but I noticed I had a rust spreading thru my jig box a few days ago.

Corrosion was not the word I was looking for then, rust was.

That's what I've been doing, mixing used and unused hooks, jigs, cranks, etc. It must not be easy keeping them separate.

I called them up and asked about the no questions asked warranty and about past breakage issues. They're friendly people there, and the NQA warranty sounds alright. I won't be worried about getting a replacement if I snap one, but I would prefer a service similar to the GL Expeditor instead, so I didn't have to pay to ship the rod in first and wait for it to be processed before a replacement was shipped.

What is the best way to prevent your tackle from rusting? I still have rust even though I make sure my lures are dry and free of salt from soft plastics before I box them up again, and I unload the boat after fishing if I do not plan on going the next day. Desiccant packets aren't getting it done for me. I only have short-term experience with using KVD Line Conditioner as an anti-corrosive, so I can't really say what the long-term results might be. Any opinions would be appreciated. Who has used the KVD with good results? Thanks

I just recently tried some Snag Proof Bleeding Frogs after using mostly Spros. The R2S and Spro are basically identical, IMO. I think the Snag Proof has a better hook-up ratio because of the larger hooks and and softer body, but those larger hooks tend to collect a few more weeds and scum than a Spro. It is also quite a bit easier to walk, and it has a little more glide from side to side because it sits higher. The Spro displaces a little more water when walking due to it sitting lower in the water, and having flat sides and sharper contours. It is a little more weedless than the SP, but that also makes it more likely to miss fish due to the hooks being smaller and the body being harder. The Spro is also a little easier to cast into the wind because it is more compact. I like them both, and will continue to use them.

I like 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8 oz depending on depth and wind. Take into account that the worm itself weighs at least 1/8 oz and likely more.

Rage Tail products are unique and create a lot of disturbance. They will continue to have a place in my tackle boxes. I just wish they were a little cheaper, but there's a lot of tackle I could say that about.

While beating the bank with reaction lures, I believe you can even the playing field a bit by speeding the boat up. The front angler will miss more opportunities this way and leave a few more bass for the guy in back. Oftentimes the two of us will catch more fish put together because we cover more water, and the splits will be more even. The person in back needs to be paying attention to what I'm not hitting to really make it work, though. If you work together, the two of you can really kill it. When I fish alone, the troller is usually set at 20-40%, but with a buddy in back, it's often set at 40-70%. Don't forget that you can use the outboard skeg as a rudder to swing the back of the boat toward the cover to give the back angler better casts. I rarely see people doing this, but it really helps at times, especially when the back angler has less experience and cannot cast as well as the angler in front.

There have been many mortality studies released that show that no matter careful and skilled a person is at catching and releasing fish, there will still be many accidental deaths. Some studies say that as many as 20%+ of released fish will die. After all, the sport we love involves violently driving hooks through live flesh, so we can't really be surprised that there are deaths. Fish deaths are an unfortunate fact of the sport, but nothing is wasted in nature. It's lousy to think of the hundreds of bass that I have released that died and ended up as crustacean, minnow, and muskrat food. Hopefully something good came of it, something that benefitted the ecosystem. All I can do is try to do my best to conserve the resource while still enjoying my favorite hobby. I'm really glad I don't have to explain this to a traumatized kid. :-/ http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=catch+and+release+mortality+statistics&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

1. You never want to point a rod at a fish while fighting it. You want to keep the rod and line at a 90 degree angle so that the rod is absorbing the shock, and not the line and knot. 2. You basically want to set the hook and immediately reel fast into this right angle position, all the while keeping the line tight from the moment the hook is set until you land the fish. Francho said it well. I'll +1 that.

If it's murky, then I bet it's muddy and unsuitable for wading, so unless you can get a little boat or canoe in there, flyfishing isn't really realistic. I would try a white or Arkansas Shiner Zoom Super Fluke, small lipless crank, tube jig, susp jerkbait, or an 1/8 oz buzzbait.

Large black Jitterbugs and heavy black spinnerbaits with the largest red single Colorado blade that I can get away with, just as long as the lure still runs true. I sometimes shrink-tube jig rattles to the wire arm near the blade to really make a ruckus.

I learned to fish pretty much by myself by wading the Mississippi River in town for smallies, walleye, northerns, channel cats, and even rough fish sometimes. I had a couple buddies that fished with me but they were strictly flyfishermen, and even when we did fish together we were still 50 to 300 yards apart. I began at about age 14 and got serious about it at 15/16. I learned a lot out there by myself. I was lucky to have such a nice fishing resource that didn't cost any money to fish and was within biking distance of home. I don't really fish the river much anymore though, but it was fun while it lasted. You don't need any mentors to learn how to fish, and you certainly don't need the internet, although they both will help. You need to pay very close attention as you fish, and remember what you see. You'll learn as you go from trial and error, and thousands of repetitions will create muscle memory. It won't take as long as you think. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself, or to be aggressive, try new things, or lose a lure once in a while to a snag. A good attitude will go a long way with staying motivated. Remember, even the best fishermen can get skunked. Try not to let any trip be a failure, even if you do get skunked. Try to pick something up from every trip.

I'd guess anywhere between a few days and two weeks. I did see three very nice bass slashing thru the pads at dusk on Monday. They didn't look like males, they looked like actively feeding females. I took it as a good sign that things may be heating up just in time for opener. Monday set the record for high temp in St. Cloud by 7 degrees. It was 94 and super humid, and I spent almost as much time swimming as I did fishing. The temp might have thrown things off a bit. We'll see.

I pretty much always bring the same thing it seems. Standard, store-bought trail mix with Craisins and cashews added, a blue Gatorade, an ice-water thermos, and a 5 Hour Energy shot.

I never use nets for bass, but I would if I fished tourneys. Landing a bass by hand is fun to me, and part of the challenge. I've only been hooked once while landing a fish, and that was years ago. It was my fault for not paying attention while lipping a small bass at night with trebles in it's mouth.

The water is 67-71 degrees locally as of Monday in Wright and Stearns Counties, just north of the Twin Cities. It appears that most of the bass spawned weeks ago. The beds on Clearwater Lake were being invaded by grass on walleye opener weekend, which shows that they had been abandoned at least a week or two prior. There were a few other lakes that in the last week looked like about 10-20% of the beds were still active and had males guarding them. The spawn was pushed up this year by what I believe was the warmest April on record in MN. I would consider it mid to late post-spawn at the moment, although this Bass Spawn Map I linked would disagree with me. I have been pike fishing and bass watching 6 times on 8 lakes(some connected) since the walleye opener on Sat. 5/15 and I see many old beds, very few fresh beds and even fewer bass. Last year at this time there were males everywhere you looked in the shallows on these same lakes, guarding fresh beds. http://www.versus.com/blogs/bass-spawn-map/

Haven't yet on a chatterbait, but a paddletail swimbait/spinnerbait combo is a killer.

Expeditor is a pretty slick service.

MH was a good pick.

I like this one a lot, but the St. Croix Premier Glass is a good option, too. http://www.simmonssportinggoods.net/servlet/the-9136/KISTLER-MAGNESIUM-MGAJCBSGGM70-7%22/Detail