HuntFishAK

I don't see why you couldn't texas rig it if the conditions warrant that type of approach. I typically just nose hook the bait. As far as casting goes, I like to cast it into deeper water while my partner pounds the bank with a crankbait or spinnerbait.

I like Sammy's but buzz frogs have become a very close second.

My guess is northern watersnake. http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/animals_plants/herps/species/ne_sipedon.html

Thanks for the responses guys. We ended up going to Badger Lake and slayed 'em.

I have and use both. The thing I like about the ocho is it seems to be more durable. I've caught fish on both. more on the ocho but that's probably because I've thrown it more. They have a different action on the fall due to the difference in shape. You won't be disappointed in the either.

Outstanding! This is one chewed up tail.

A good place to start is the fishing articles on here. Ton of good info for a beginner. Then get out on the water and apply what you've read.

Well done brother! That's a technique that has eluded me as well.

LOL! Her b-day is in January and we'll be living in Alaska by then.

For my birthday, my wife said I could rent a boat for the weekend. I'll pretty much let the pics tell the story. All fish were released. Enjoy!

Yes she does, but not on that lake. The regs on it state artificial lures and single barbless hooks. She fishes with bait and bobber.

I was thinking of hitting this lake and have never fished it. Some general info and maybe some starting points would be great. Thanks.

Went out tonight after work for a couple hours. Got to the lake and decided to throw a fluke. No bites so I switched to a SK ocho. Now, my daughter had bought me a t-shirt that says "Fisherman of the Year" for my birthday. I've worn it every time I've been fishing since. I was wearing it when I caught the 5 1/2 lb'er last weekend. And I was wearing it when I caught my first fish on a fluke yesterday. Well, today she says "Hey, you're going to catch a fish since you're wearing your lucky shirt." VERY NEXT CAST, I catch a 2 lb'er. Soon after my wife shows up and we decide to go to another lake that is nearby. I start off with the ocho. No dice. I switch to a Cabela's Mad Tommy Toad. I make a cast from the dock toward some reeds where there is a little cut out. The toad hits the water, I engage the reel, wind maybe twice and WHOOSH!!! A new PB on this lake! I'm guessing this one is around 3 1/2 lbs. No more strikes after that. My wife and daughter head home and I head back to the lake I started at. I throw the toad and not 5 minutes after getting there, I get a good strike but miss. A while later, I throw the toad out and it lands on some sparse weeds floating. As soon as it hits the water, I engage the reel and rib the bait away from the weeds. WHOOSH!!! The fish came halfway out of the water to nail my bait. A good fight and I land another 2+ lb fish. Needless to say, I love my new shirt and will be wearing to my next tournament.

That last one looks like a squawfish, or to be politically correct, a northern pikeminnow. They are common around my area, and are an invasive species. There are bounties on them in some waters. I kill them whenever I catch one. Very nice 'bow.

Hit the water today for a quick trip. Started off with a senko, but no bites. Switched to a zoom super fluke in glimmer blue. After a few casts, this chunk crushed my bait while twitching it just enough to make it kind of do a sub surface walk. I'm guessing it weighed around 2 lbs.

Ask the farm owner if there are bass in it, then ask to fish it.

The last tournament I fished, my partner and I caught 5 species of fish: largemouth, smallmouth, pike, brown trout, and brook trout.

Took the family out to one of the local lakes for an evening of fishing. After throwing a Cabelas Mad Tommy Toad for a while, I decided to give the senko a try. After a few casts, I feel that familiar tap...tap tap. Give a little pressure, feel the weight, and go to set the hook. Swing and a miss. Few casst after that, same thing. Finally, on the third strike I connect and the battle was on. I land her and was in awe since I had told my wife that you can never tell the size of the fish by the bite on a senko. What makes this fish extra special was we were fishing a lake that is selective gear rule. For those not familiar with this, it means single, BARBLESS hooks only. On top of that, I was using a light action rod. Needless to say, I was fortunate to land her. Took some rough measurements, 19" long by 15.5" girth. The weight calculator on this site says 5.5 lbs. Does that look about right from the pics?

My bass club had it's third tournament for the year on the Pend Oreille River. 48 anglers in 25 boats. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, finishing 28th. Total Fish: 7 Total weight: 8.68 lbs Water temps: 57-60* Top producing baits: 1) Senko 2) Suspending Jerkbait 3) Spiinerbait I did catch my first pike, which are rampant in these water. The Calispell Tribe asked us to start keeping them after this tourney. All in all it was a good weekend. Weather was nice at times, then it would get nasty.

Nice fish and pics Glenn. Looks like you guys caught some nice fish. Good to see some muley's in velvet. Have seen one buck with fuzzy nubs, muley or white-tail.

When I'm shore fishing, 3: 1 spinning, 1 treble hook casting, and one single hook casting rod. When I'm on a boat, 6: 2 spinning and 4 casting.

My tournament partner and I spent Saturday pre-fishing for a tournament this weekend on the Pend Oreille River. We started off the day hitting docks. The fish were on the side of the dock opposite the sun. I was throwing a weightless SK Ocho, letting it land on the dock then dropping right off the edge. Missed 2 and landed one. As the sun got higher, this bite turned off and we moved on. Next we stopped at a slogh the had some water flowing in through some sort of concrete culvert. I tossed my Ocho close to the concrete and picked up another. We found a downed tree that extended well out off shore and had some really gnarly branches. I pitched over to a little clear area as far in as I could. As it drifted down, my line jumped. Reeled down and set the hook. Another nice largemouth. I ptiched near there again. And again I hook up and land a fish. We ended up hooking 6 and landing 4 off this one tree. Near the end of the day we pull into a small cut in off the main river. Not much was happening until we got to the upstream side. i had switched to a spiinerbait and on the first cast landed a nice smallie. I throw back to the same spot and catch another smallie. Game on! My partner switches to a jerkbait and drill 5 fish on five casts! Hoping there is bigger fish below, I change to a crankbait and dig the bottom before hitting the drop off. I missed 2 solid strikes. Then the bite turned off. The way we figure it, the current was washing food into the cutoff and fish were stacked in watching for things to come off the ledge. Great day on the water and we have some good spots to go to next weekend. Totals for me were 7 fish landed, 2 lost, and 4 missed strikes.

Bow and arrow.

Noted. Thanks for the reply.

I'm going to be pre-fishing tomorrow for a tournament next weekend and wanted some opinions on my lure choices to start off with. I have 6 rods and this how I'm going to rig them up: Spinning #1 - weightless t-rigged SK Ocho Spinning #2 - 1/8 oz buzzbait; switched out for a shakey head maybe? Casting #1 - topwater, most likely a Sammy; switching it out for a jig Casting #2 - shallow diving crankbait Casting #3 - t-rigged lizard casting #4 - spinnerbait I don't know for sure what the water temps are, but I'm thinking they will be in the mid to upper 50's hopefully warmer. We'll mostly be targeting largemouth.