Fishes in trees

That larger lure in your picture is a Rapala Husky Jerk. Those are good lures. The exact model number of the one pictures escapes me right now. I've got a number of them. I think that they are light for their size, and I had distance issues casting them with bait casting gear. They are relatively easy to tinker with to get them to suspend, using suspend dots, or strips or weighting the hooks with wire. They are still pretty light for their size though. One of the reasons I went to spinning gear and light braid for all jerk bait applications. Not really, I went to spinning gear and light braid for jerk baits about 8 years ago because, I got tired of dealing with bait casting gear in early spring windy conditions andIn-fisherman magazine told me to. It works well enough that I haven't had any reason to go back to bait casting gear. For me, I'm pretty certain that I can cast any given jerk bait 40 or 50 feet farther using spinning gear, especially into or quartering into the wind. Fishing jerkbaits is, in part, a cover the water kind of deal so that extra distance becomes important to me. Hey, I just realized I got quite a bit off topic, and sorry for that. It is Tuesday, there is 10+ inches of snow on the ground and I don't have to be anywhere until Friday afternoon.

What is up with all this cutting back/slimming down/going lean stuff? If the subject is your waistline, then slimming down is a good thing. Might help you live longer, etc. When the subject is fishing tackle, I've got to say, "Huh?" "What?" "Why?" I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I got a boat is so that I could carry more gear and have more choices when I am fishing. I totally get lean & mean when you are bank fishing and you've got to tote all the stuff around with you. A boat totes all that stuff for you. Just saying . . . If you're worried about spending money, I've got to ask, "Why?" All of us, at some point in our fishing progression have spend money on stupid fishing stuff, or stuff that we don't use very often. That is something to laugh about, maybe vow to "not do that again". I've got to tell you, the first time I saw a senko, I thought that the lure looked stupid and what kind of action could that lure possibly have. After buying a few packs of those stupid looking senko lures, I changed my opinion. Besides, what else would you spend that money on? Would you spend it on rent or food or work clothes or something else important? I don't know, but in my case the answer is probably not. All the posts prior to mine have given you good advice about cutting down, minimizing your tackle options. If you got to do that, take their advice. If you don't, then take my advice. Take all your options with you. Take as many as will fit into your boat without tripping over them. Every so often, you will come across a fishing day when that oddball option will be THE TICKET, and you will be glad you brought it. Anyway, while I'm encouraging you to waste money on fishing tackle, I am assuming that you are doing it with the "disposable" portion of your income. If you are spending money on fishing tackle that should honestly be spent on various "necessities" in your life, that is a different issue. Believe me when I say I've been there, too. I've been down to my last few hundred dollars in the bank, and currently unemployed and spent $160 on a new fishing reel and put $30 gas in my buddies truck so we could go fishing instead of me going job hunting. Ahh, yes, the choices we made when we were younger. So, really, one of the coolest things about our sport of fishing is that we can all engage in it at whatever level we choose, and at the end of the day we can all laugh about it and have something in common.

I'm glad that I have some credit cards. Credit cards have solved sticky issues that have happened to me on several occasions. That being said, I try to not do dumb stuff with my credit cards.

That Boulevard 80 acre beer has wheat in it. Wheat beer doesn't like me. So far at the beer store I've noticed that the New Belgium spring seasonal beer - Dig is out. It is a tasty Pale Ale. Shiner has a new spring seasonal beer - FM 966 Farmhouse Ale. I got a sixer of that a week ago and it is good. Last year, both the New Belgium summer seasonal beer - Somersault - and the Shiner seasonal summer beer - Ruby Redbird were great. When it is HOT outside and you get the Ruby Redbird ICE COLD - that is some great beer. The first two just evaporate, they are so tasty. Another good thing about the Ruby Redbird is that they are aroundj 4% alcohol. You can drink a few of them and not be just hammered. Many craft beers come in around 5 to 6 1/2% or so. I found the Shiner Ruby Redbird to be a great fishing beer. This thread started in reference to Boulevard Beers, I'm not much of a fan of their 80 Acre beer, but the Boulevard Pilsner - their tribute to yard beer, is good.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm feeling revolutionized. I am uncertain if I will get over it or not. Time will tell, I guess.

I like a much shorter rod for poppers and walking baits, because with a 6'6" rod or longer, I am smacking the tip into side of the boat way too often. You can break off tips that way. This I KNOW. Currently my dedicated popper/walking bait rig is a 5'9" Mitchell Fulcrum, straight out the late 80's or early 90's, I can't remember. I would call it a medium action (all the print on the side has long since worn off). I got it on a close out - it was one of the first split grip rods I had ever seen.

There isn't really a weight limit to these little reels. I've got a few of them. There is a line capacity limit. So if you want to throw a heavier weight a longer distance, there are probably better reel choices out there. On my current primary bubba drop shot set up, I've got a Curado 50 E on a Kistler flipping stick. This reel handles 20 lb Abrazax and half ounce drop shot weights fine. No issues.

I use bait casting rods to drop shot quite a bit. That particular rod weighs quite a bit and isn't the most sensitive rod around. It works ok for cranks, I guess. For bubba style drop shot fishing, any flipping stick will be the same weight or lighter and be much more sensitive. Any 6'6" to 7'6" jig or worm rod will be lighter and alot more sensitive. You could use that Clunn rod for drop shot fishing, I'm just saying that there are many rods out there that would be better tools for the job. If you want to go bait caster finesse drop shot fishing, Loomis makes a 6'10" drop shot casting rod that matches up perfectly with a Calcutta 50 or similar sized reel. JMO

A split shot rig is an ultra finesse carolina rig, with a fixed weight as opposed to a sliding weight like you'd use on a carolina rig. I don't fish this rig very often, but the few times I've fished it with success, a shorter ring worm was the ticket. I also found that mojo weights were more effective for me than regular split shot. They seemed to come through grass better.

I'm not big on clips or snaps. I find it easier to tie a knot than to use my stubby little fingers to close the wire on the clip. As I get even older and arthritis sets in even more, I might change my attitude.

I prefer the shoe boxes with the attached lids rather the ones with the separate lids. I think that they stack better. I got them at Walmart for around a buck, I can't remember. Also, I keep alot of gear in large plastic tubs. Clear tubs are better than solid color ones I think. If you have outdoor storage (I keep all my fishing stuff in a 30'x50'barn) or even in your basement, mouse proofing is important. Mice will tear up soft plastic lures and packaging if you let them, especially Gulp baits. I have learned this through experience. Now, I sprinkle mouse poison all over my shop and I've got a dozen or so mouse traps set. There is a 6' black snake that likes to hang out in my shop when I'm not in in and I think that it hangs there because the eating is good. I've seen it a few times and I've found shed skins several other times. It always ran away when it saw me. It is a little unnerving, but overall I think it is a good thing to have. They say that Rattle snakes won't come around places where black snakes live. I hope that is so. I haven't seen a rattle snake on my property near my house in a number of years, but I haven't gone actively looking for one either. Knock on wood.

The scratches that happen when you twitch the baits and they kind of walk from side to side under water aren't a bad thing. I don't know about the Visions per se, because I'm primarily a Lucky Craft guy and for me, the new lucky craft lures are replacements for the scratched up ones. I always grab the scratched ones first.

I think that the Curado D is a great crank bait reel. It seems to me that is around what I paid new. I'd haggle a little, but in the end, I think it is a good reel. I'd go ahead and get it.

Hard to say. I'd suppose 5 inches or so of snow, but I'm inside now after an hour or so of getting snow off of my deck and I had some monster snow drifts - waist deep & chest deep in some places. My neighbor came over and knocked down most of it with his tractor & loader. I could get out now if I had to, but the county snow plow hasn't been by yet. I don't have to be anywhere until tomorrow evening. I'm staying put for now.

Don't be confused. Leave your winch where it is. Buy a dedicated sub 3 oz swimbait / A-rig rod and then get a reel for it. Sooner or later you are going to want to use them both on the same fishing trip, and you won't want to be bothered by switching the reel - so go ahead and buy another reel. As far a quality goes - do what every one else does, buy the best quality you can afford. If you tear it up on a fish - you've got a great story to tell. If you tear it up while fishing ( tearing up the gears by throwing too heavy a weight or something like that) well, then, next time get a better reel. That is doable. Don't over think this. Many fishing issues can be solved by throwing money at them and this is one of those instances.

I miss the old days of In-fisherman magazine, when the Lindners ran it. I miss the older days of Fishing Facts magazine. In my 20's I learned alot from that magazine, even though, as I recall, it was very Illinois/Wisconsin oriented and I had to translate many of their articles into stluff that might work for bank fishing. I still subscribe to In-fisherman & Bassmaster, I think for reasons of inertia rather than anything else. While I would like for the magazines to have more content, I've got to say I like the ads. I don't know an easier way to find out what is new and interesting in the marketplace.

Don't ask if night fishing is ok. Just do it. It is easier to say, "ooops, sorry" than it is to jump through hoops asking permission.

On a 10' jon boat, weight distribution is crucial. You could mount the trolling motor in the front, but from a practical fishing perspective, I think it would be a pain. What might be easier would be to reverse the head on the trolling motor (easy to do, 1 bolt I think) and keep it mounted on the transom. Then pull the boat around from the transom rather than the front. I would strongly recommend a set of oars over a paddle for this boat. Oh yeah, those black bench seats will roast your butt next summer. I'd go to a lighter color.

I got Hibdon 800 on closeout from Cabelas at $40. If you really like that reel, there is a source to get a couple more pretty cheap.

Those XLT's are great reels, a medium of the line reel in their day. The great thing about them is that you can swap out the spools. Once upon a time, extra spools were readily available. I don't know about now, though. As I recall the gear ratio was 5 something to one. Take a sharpie and make a dot on the edge of the spool. You can get a good idea of what the ratio is by counting how many spins of the spool compared to one turn of the crank.

When I go lure shopping some times it is just to replace stuff I've lost or misplaced. Other times, I'm looking for a better alternative to what I've currently got. When I am confronted by a potential purchase, I ask myself one specific question: i.e. "Is there a chance that this lure might catch me a fish some day?" Should the answer be "sure", then I buy it. If crankbaits are involved, never buy just one, always get 3 or so. Needless to say I've got some extra fishing tackle, but there is still a chance that every one of those lures might catch a fish for me - someday. Another reason that I shop is to make myself feel good - if only for a moment. The reasoning goes, "I may be a **** head, I might be stupid, but at least I can buy myself new toys once in a while." It's one of those things that doesn't have to make sense.

Bummer - I wanted a different trap rod last summer and so I paid full price for that rod. I am so ashamed.

There is a real good tackle store in Osage Beach, less then 1/2 mile from the turn off to PB2. I don't recall which brands of rods they sold, but I am pretty sure they could hook you up with a good rod for pitching docks at LOZ. While you are pitching docks - watch out for the cables. For every cable that you can see there is probably another couple that you can't.

Use suspend dots or suspend strips.

Be careful standing up on a 12' Jon. Be careful with weight distribution in a 12'jon. A 30 lb thrust trolling motor should push that boat around ok. A 55 lb thrust will push it better. 2013 Bass Pro catalog shows a price difference of around $100. A 55 lb thrust with the Maximizer (or Motor Guide makes an equivalent) might actually make your battery last longer. Buy a paddle. Be mindful that a set of oars is better than a paddle and rowing is good exercise. Have fun & catch fish in your new boat. Wear your life jacket. I strongly recommend the inflatable life jackets because they are more comfortable and you will be more likely to wear it.