fmoore

I'm not texposing it because it would get hung, but it's just about as close to texposed as you can get. Just barely putting the point of the hook back in the bait enough so it won't get hung. I think I'll pick up some of the old standby Owner's today along with some straight shank hooks and see how that works out for me. I'd rather just have hooks that work period. I shouldn't have to do modifications to get the thing to work! Thanks for the help guys.

I fish a lot of t rigged craws and this season I've started using Gammy EWG hooks. It seems like since I switched from what I used to use (Owners) to the Gammys my hookup ratio has gone down the drain. It's terrible. Like a few fish for every 10-15 bites. I've never had this problem before. It's extremely frustrating. Has anyone else had this problem with these hooks? Today I watched a bass shoot out from a mess of sticks and eat a Chigger Craw, close his mouth and start swimming away and when I set the hook the bait just slid out of his mouth like the point wasn't exposing itself out of the soft plastic of the bait. I've tried setting the hook right away, waiting longer than normal, different agles on my hooksets, everything. Could my troubles be due to the size of the hook? The way I'm rigging the bait? Or did something in my technique change over the winter? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

The bite most definitely did die after that front came through on Sunday. I caught a few on the CT River, came home, ate lunch and went to a small local pond. Ended up with a couple bass and an accidental 11 pound 1 oz pike on a little bluegill swimbait

I asked this question last October on a different site and this is the answer I got:

Water temps in the setbacks of the CT River in Hinsdale are anywhere from 49-56. I caught 8 largemouth in a couple hours last night plus a few pickerel. 7 came in water from 54-56 and 1 came in 51 degree water. All the fish were up shallow holding on laydowns in 3-9 FOW with the bulk of the fish holding in 4-6 feet. Caught all of them on a spinnerbait. Many fish hit after a 5 or so second pause.

Caught one largemouth up shallow on wood Sunday, took this guy tonight:

I would say using exclusively spinning reels is not popular with more serious fishermen and tourney fishermen. The reason being that they may not be the correct reel for certain applications. I know if I'm flipping wood I want a baitcaster with braid...but that's just me. Then again, in my neck of the woods it's also unpopular to use exclusively baitcasting reels. It comes down to the correct tool for the job.

I'm a junior at Keene High just across town... assuming you're bass fishing, the immediate area doesn't have much, but there are a ton of places to fish within 30-45 mins. Wilson Pond in Swanzey is just south of town but has little shore access (although the college owns some land on the pond), Forest Lake in Winchester just had a new boat ramp put in last summer after the old one was closed in 2004. That has pretty much no public shore access. Spofford Lake is a great fishery before all the yahoos get out there in the summer, but again, no public shore access. The setbacks on the CT River in Hinsdale are great, and probably offer some of the best shore access in the area. There are a lot of ponds in the Rindge area, and most of them are phenomenal bass fisheries. I could go on all day, but feel free to shoot me a PM if you want some more specifics.

Good tip. I bet heat shrink tubing for electrical connections would work too, although I've never tried it.

Thanks Dwight. First spring chasing bronzebacks. Had a great fall fishing for them, though.

Have any of you noticed a certain water temperature at which the smallies start to move up shallow?

I have no knowledge of the rod of which you speak, but I caught a 33 pound carp on a light action rod and 6 pound test while smallmouth fishing. A 5 pound bass would be more than doable. Just a testimony that a light action rod is not too light.

1502+17=1519

I know I'm a little late to this thread, but just use Dacron or what's called 'squidding line' Don't use braid. It's much too expensive. It's ice fishing, keep it simple.

Thanks! Caught her on a live shiner. Didn't get a weight...

Curly tail grubs and jigheads. You can not work this bait incorrectly! But I'd wait until he's about 6 to get him into lure fishing.

Never got a weight on her. Caught flipping pads with a chigger craw in July.

Simple, just go with the flow ;D

Here's my system: I have one binder for craws, one for Senkos, one for soft swimbaits, etc

Silver Max combo did me well for about a year, when the anti reverse in the reel went bad. I'd be inclined to get something a little higher end right off the bat. By the time it stopped working for me, I was ready for some higher quality equipment anyway.

Here in NH we had about 2 inches of great ice, then 8 inches of snow about 3 weeks ago. That turned the ice an ugly white color and if I was going to go out, would have put me off it for a week or so. Now I'm cutting 7 inches and life is good. 4 wheelers and bob houses on the ice. As has been said, 3 inches of fresh black ice is fine as long as you're not in a group. I'd stay by myself at all times of 3 inches. If the ice isn't nice and clear, wait til you have 4-5 inches. Just be aware of currents and whatnot. Or just make it easy and let someone else be the guinea pig Another thing about ice: snow insulates it. If there's a decent amount of snow on top it will be slower to freeze further and slower to thaw. Last March I was ice fishing on a 65 degree day on 9 inches of ice. It takes a lot for it to melt.

Did some ice fishing Sunday afternoon. It was windy as hell, and the bite was slow. In 4 hours I saw a pike and 2 bass come through the ice in addition to my one crappie.There were 8 guys fishing on this 75 acre pond. Slow day. I was cutting 7 inches of ice. Hopefully I'll be out there again soon now that it's Christmas Vacation. And by the way, Merry Christmas to everyone in NH!

I know pike absolutely love them. Never caught a bass on one though.

I have a few of the Mojo Bass rods and imo they are excellent rods for the money. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for a rod in that price range.

Glad to help guys. Not sure how new you actually are to ice fishing, but if you need help rigging up, or with anything else I can show you my way. May not be the best way, but hey, it works for me!