NateFollmer

Just about everywhere. I use flouro leaders about 90% of the time. I use a 6 ft. Flouro leader and the fish don't see the line. Ill use mono for top water. Actually, I can only ever remember 1 or 2 times I haven't used a leader. As long as you tie the alberto knot right, its super reliable. I almost always snap the 20lb flouro before the knot will fail. The braid I have on now is 25lb test. I find that to be a good overall line weight. The leaders are where ill change line weights. Ill use anywhere from 8 to 20 lb leaders.

Personally, I have braid on my baitcasters 100% of the time. When I need to use a different line type, I just tie on a long leader of whatever I want to use. Braid is nice if you're just learning to use a baitcaster too because its easier to pull out backlashes. I tie my leaders on using an alberto knot because it casts and even goes on the spool with absolutely no issues at all. Edit: I use spiderwire camo braid because it has hi and low vis sections (it adds depth perseption to your line watching) and for my flouro leaders, I use spiderwire flouro or I also just started using berkley triline ( it was on clearance at walmart for 5 dollars so I thought id try it and I was impressed). For Mono, you can't go wrong with Bass Pro Shops brand!

Thanks everyone. @Mike - I'll probably be sending you some reels once I get some extra money. For now, I'm going to try and make due with what I can do myself I always liked being able to take care of my own stuff too, I guess it's almost an ego thing HA No, I just like to learn as much as I can... about as much as I can (if that makes sense). It's a blessing and a curse!

Sorry I can't help you but I do have a question for you.... I'm thinking of doing either the FLW or Bassmaster's Open Series tournaments for this region get year. Was it hard for you to get a spot in the tournament? It seems like the spots would fill with all the advanced entries. I'd love to fish the same tournament that you are this year, but its too short notice haha

@basser89 - They claim it's bacteria only, but there was an oil tanker truck crash in mid May that dumped oil into Mitchell Run (which feeds Beaver Creek, which flows into Walker). If it was bacteria and heat only, I would think that Faylor would be seeing the same effect (AND it should be worse there because it would heat faster). I didn't see any oil or anything when I was at Walker for the opening day of bass, but I did notice a weird film covering the timber in the water (which could have been caused by bacteria also). Who knows though, I'm no biologist, but it just doesn't seem right to me... When the bite is on at Walker, you can pull some BIG bass out of there!

Well, I like using wide gap hooks on plastics like that. I'll either use a weighted or unweighted hook depending on what the fish want. Just toss it out, let it sink a bit then twitch it back. Try different depths, speeds and twitches to see what works. Flukes are deadly baits so be ready to get smashed! I use flukes almost any season. They work best for me during pre and post spawn, then again in the summer period. You can get them to work anytime though, depending on how you work them.

I remember seeing that on WFN. That is nuts. I don't think I'd even take a Kayak out in the ocean let alone fish in the ocean with one HA.

Howard (Sayers Dam) is about an hour away from you. Although it doesn't seem to be producing as well as it has in recent years, thats going to be your best place to fish. Northumberland is lacking in lakes compared to the rest of the state, although the Susquehanna makes up for that (when you can fish without all the darn boats everywhere). Lake Chillisquaque (no idea how to say that) is around your neck of the woods too. I have never fished there but it seems to be a decent place. If you come down Rt. 15 and hit 304, then 104 and finally 235, you can go to Walker and Faylor Lakes. Faylor is my #1 for shore fishing. Walker WAS an awesome fishery but something is wrong this year. the crappie and carp are all dying, they are claiming bacteria caused it... The bass don't seem to be biting as much though Ah, almost forgot about Middle Creek Lake South of you (It's near Selinsgrove). Decent little place for some bass and panfish. Some of the best lakes in the central pa region are the smallest ones so don't let that scare you away If you're willing to travle further, let me know and I'll list some more haha. Most of these are less than an hours drive from Lewisburg.

Don't limit yourself to just those areas. Look for 'boils' and ripples in open water current. This means there is something big under there like a boulder or tree. Smallies and walleye love to hang out in front of and behind these structures. They will watch the current for incoming food. Walleye's will usually settle back further from the structure while smallies will be tight against it. Cast crawfish colored cranks upstream and bring them down around these boils. If that isn't working, try using shad or panfish imitators. If all else fails, smallies love tubes! If the current is too strong, put extra weight on it to get it down quickly.

FINALLY! The fishing is picking up for us in Central Pa! After months of high, muddy water and post spawn stress, the fish are putting on the feed bag! Started off the day catching somewhere around 7 to 9 smallies in the river. All were caught on a Rapala X-Rap Shad (Shallow in olive green) with a slow retrieve with erratic twitches thrown in. I didn't get any pics of the smallie because I was wading and didn't want to drop my phone in the river After the smallie bite slowed, I moved to the local canal for the largemouths. These guys put up an awesome fight and really loved the texas rigged ring worm. I started off with a pink worm, then brown with an orange tip but nothing was hitting it. As soon as I started throwing the blue and black worm, the bluegill kept biting at it, so I know it was the right choice. After a few twitches, BAM, this guys took it (within seconds of each other): Theres my size 13 shoe for size reference ha (I always think they look smaller taking their picture like that).

I decided to take a stab at cleaning and servicing my reels myself. Which oil and grease do you recommend? I bought some cheapo Eagle Claw oil and grease but I'm too afraid to use it because it was loads cheaper than everything else I saw. I guess I should have asked this question BEFORE I went to get the stuff, but I was buying tackle and it was just there (an impulse buy). Stupid salesmen and their impulse product placement!

I like to throw a floating model crankbait on flats. Get one that dives to just about how deep that flat is, smack it off the bottom a few times and let it float to the top. Just keep repeating that and you should get a strike. For softbaits, you can't go wrong with the C or T rig! That's been mentioned though so I won't go over it again

x2 on the Bombers. I like the balsa ones as well. Wood always seems to have a little bit of a different action than plastic, almost like it's more natural. Although, you can't do wrong with the Sexy Shad either. I have caught fish on that thing when it was only 2 feet beside me. It's a great multi-species imitator too (bluegill and multiple shads).

Haha Roadwarrior - I use those exact arch inserts (those one on the top). I'm getting old and broken in my young age... Sam - If you want something more shoe like (and not something you could storm a building with ) check out these: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_52091_500001000_500000000_500001000_500-1-0 They haven't failed me yet... I want a pair of these though: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_72066_500001000_500000000_500001000_500-1-0 How awesome would you look in those!

Ah, sound work is a killer on CPU's. I used to dabble in sound recording back in my prime... ok I was 13 HA. When I look at that rig (for the third time haha) I see 100's of millions of polygons..... God I'm a geek! @Dan - Normally it's cheaper if the rig is high end. If you get a mid or low grade PC, it's actually cheaper to just buy one. I got a refurbed Gateway for around $200 from Tiger Direct. The only thing I put it in it was more RAM and a graphics card, so the whole build ended up being around $400. This was 3 years ago, you could probably get a comparable system today for the original $200 HA.

Man that's a powerhouse haha. Id love to have that much RAM for when I'm using my 3D apps (especially sculpting). I may have missed it but are your HDD's SATA? There's nothing like building your own pc. Its simple and sometimes cheaper! Edit: nevermind, I see the cables are SATA so your image answered my question ha.

Good luck ghoti, I wish I had two jobs, moneys tight atm so at least someone is making out good. Glenn, I sent you a pm about the position. I know I haven't been around long but this is the perfect opportunity for me to do something in return for such a great community. I've learned a lot from here and would like to contribute somehow... I knew me bein a geek angler would pay off someday!

Corn works great. Chicken livers are also good for carp and catfish. Carp are attracted at sweet stuff also. I coat my flies in vanilla when I fly fish for carp.

Link isn't correct. Send that pic to info@fishinginpa.com and ill post it (include whatever info you want under the pic)

I've never really trout fished in a lake so take my advice for what you will... I'm pretty sure you look for trout in a lake the same you do for bass, especially if they are the dominant species in the lake. Native browns are VERY smart fish and are easily spooked so tred lightly. As far as tackle goes, I would go pick up some bead head stone fly nymphs. yes, there a fly, but you can use the bead head ones on ultra lights. Spinners may work, but I've only ever caught stockies on them. Work the top water column in the morning, deep in the afternoon and top again in the evening. You could also pick up some hares ear nypmhs, phesant tail nymphs or flashback nymphs and use them with a split shot. I do this for my buddies who don't fly fish. Put the weight about 6 inches to 12 inches away from the nymph. Use the lightest line possible ( I use 3lb test). As far as live bait goes, try wax, meal or red worms. Browns will usually hit the wax best. Sorry I wasn't much help with what tackle you already have haha

I'm sporting a 96 jeep cherokee. That baby has some power for how small it is. Don't get the xterra, its a friggin gas hog. I realize suv aren't normally gas friendly vehicles, but that thing will put you in debt haha. Stay safe over there and thanks for your service!

I use a jig in a tiny canal (we're talking only 10 ft wide at most). Some of the biggest fish I have caught came from there. I've found that big jigs catch quality fish while smaller jigs catch quantity with the occasional biggin'.

Good luck in Guam and thanks for your service. I rarely fish in the ocean but its an absolute BLAST when I get too. There are so many weird things to catch in salt! Have fun out there and keep the bananas off of any boats!

RoadWarrior pretty much nailed it. Sometimes if there are too many of a certain item in a pack, throw a completely different style of bait. Try a baitfish imitator or senko in that area and see what happens. Make your offering stick out from the rest and they will smash it.

I caught a massive bluegill on a Rapala X-Rap. I don't know it's exact size, but he was almost the size of a large dinner plate. It was in Raystown Lake in Pa. Of course, everything is bigger in Raystown...