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If you have any dams nearby with heated water being released, that would be a solid option.

I wonder if they are going to offer the rod in blue for those days that don't have clouds. LOL. I stay away from wearing anything white because you're in the sun, unlike the bottom of a boat. I swear it spooks em.

Me too. I'm under the impression that ALL gears get grease and the only parts that are oiled are the bearings.

Exactly. It seems like the extra 6" is all backbone.

Ghost

hahahaha - that really made me laugh man - I heard "moose" I think, oh yeah, and "booyah" - colorful fella - I like him - nice bass too - hate to see how he reacts to a 10 lber - now that would be a funny video!!!!! He's got a few over ten, and one in the 13 lb. class. He also does a character called "Mo' Bass" complete with hillbilly teeth and goofy hat. Mo Bass sounds like a class act. Good videos.

Jimmy Houston Quick Release...that's funny!

Those are pretty steep. Individual angler licenses in MN have been $14-17 for as long as I can remember. I bought mine last week for $17 bucks with a trout stamp for an extra $10.

September until mid-October. School starts around Labor Day and the jet skiers seem to suddenly disappear and there's only half as many people on the lakes. The bass are getting hungry, the water is cooling off and the weeds are thinning, and the leaves are changing. Listening to MLB Pennant Race baseball on my boat on a crisp Fall evening while chasing bass with a big spinnerbait is pretty much what I look forward to all Winter long.

Same here. It's not as easy as some make it look.

Make a spear and spear some dinner. Or find some craws maybe.

When fishing sparse to moderate cover, I mostly use 3/16 and 1/4 oz unpegged weights. Sometimes I'll use 1/2 oz and heavier pegged weights and fish with more aggressive snaps to go for reaction strikes and cover a little more water. In heavy weeds, I'll pitch plastics with 1/2 and 3/4 oz pegged weights to punch thru the weeds. The bulrushes, coontail and milfoil I fish aren't super thick like the weed cover in some parts of the country, and I rarely need to go heavier then 3/4 oz.

Very cool. I haven't found a shaky jighead yet that works well with skipping and keeps the bait straight. This might be it.

Thanks for posting that. It never crossed my mind that the spares may be different.

Removing it and bending it back into position would work too. :

I'd say a new Citica or Curado matched with a used $90-120 Shimano Crucial or St. Croix Avid. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocitica200e.html

Generally speaking, this is a good starting point. Dark profile on dark days, dark water. Light on bright days, clear water. Natural colors and shades mostly. I've had good luck with silver, bone, and smoke colored topwater plugs.

Secret Weapon Pro Assassinator. 3/4 oz, double willow, gold shiner.

I'm thinking this is the case for a lot of people. Jig bites are not always easy to detect. Sometimes the bite is an obvious tap and tug, but just as often there is almost no feeling at all, just a kind of sponginess like you hooked a feather pillow suspended in the water column. Anytime you feel anything out of the ordinary, set the hook as fast as you can, so keep your rod in good hooksetting position at all times and be ready for bites on the initial fall where the bait doesn't seem to land on the bottom as fast as you know it should. Don't get caught high-sticking with a big bow in your line or the fish will spit your jig in a split second without you knowing it was ever interested. How many times have you had Texas rigs come back all scrunched up w/o feeling anything? Jigs don't show evidence of missed strikes like that. Remember: There's no shame in setting the hook and missing. People on shore might chuckle when you send jigs flying thru the air with false hooksets that look ridiculous and showy to them, but you both might be surprised what's on the end of your line. Trust me, I've been there.

Give it a try. It's not complicated and it works great. You don't need any tools, it's cheap and many sizes of rubber bands to accommodate any size bullet sinker. BTW, I have never snapped off a Texas rig when snagged and kept the weight, no matter which peg. I have had northerns bite me off where the weight stayed on the line, but that's it.

2.5 lb bass thru the ice on 1# Trilene ice fishing line (the blue stuff). Panfishing with Eurolarvae.

Blacking out the last 6' is a good idea. I never even considered using the stuff but I might have to try it now. It might make a good line for flipping and pitching heavy slop where the fish wouldn't likely see the black line because of the shadows. I'm pretty inexperienced with slop "Punching", but sometimes those strikes are very subtle and seeing the line better couldn't hurt.

I think it's kind of a pain to break down a telescopic rod so I tend to stay away. I always feel like there's a good chance I'll break the blank or the 1st guide by holding onto it for leverage, which is sometimes the only way to get it to slip. Another thing to consider, telescopic flipping sticks are almost always used with lures like worms and jigs were you pay big bucks to gain sensitivity anywhere you can, as with expensive fluoro lines and tungsten sinkers, etc. A rod being telescopic instead of one-piece is not a deal breaker, like a two-piece. I don't think you lose anywhere near the sensitivity with telescopic rods as opposed to two-piece rods, but I have no doubt that you lose a little. But I tend to stay away, as I said. Not a huge deal. I loved my old Loomis telescopic flipping stick until I foolishly snapped it. If the price is right, snag it. But otherwise I would recommend a one-piece if you can transport and store it safely.

I have to second this. It's just so common.

I've never heard this debate, but I'd like to know more. I have seen the damage that fishing bass beds on or around the MN May 29 opener can do. It can't be good...Hoards of bass fisherman snagging males from nests with Senkos, causing the bass to abandon the nests and leave them to highly visible and easy to catch schools of aggressive sunfish.