wisconsin heat

Nice! wish I could hit a deal like that. Few years ago I picked up a handful of Rebel Wee R squarebills for $1.50 a piece. If I come across a lot of wood cover, they are my designated crasher cranks.

I have had a few vendetta's and I like them. However I got good deals on them. For $80ish dollars I'd go with something else. I'm partial to Fenwick and their HMG's, as well as the more budget friendly Eagle.

Booyah Pad Crasher Standard Spro Popper Didn't like the Spro Original. 2/3 sank like a rock out of the package.

big bite baits has a 25 pack for 3.50 on tw.

I caught a 14 incher on a 6 inch Savage Gear Line-Thru Trout like a week ago. If there are muskies in the water might want to consider a steel leader, or at least really heavy Flouro.

In-Fisherman is a decent fishing magazine. I'm mainly a bass fisherman but am still subscribed to in-fisherman. IF blows Field and Stream out of the water in terms of fishing content. Field and Stream always seamed to have like 10% relevant fishing content for me. IF has articles for Bass (LMB and SMB), Walleye, Panfish and catfish usually every month, also Pike and Muskie, and trout and salmon. I think it is a decent all around fishing in the U.S, magazine

You can pinch a split shot above the lure, I go 18" ish a lot of the times. It is a quick fix and there is nothing broken about it. Be careful casting it though as the split shot will make it do funny things on the back cast. Had an inline spinner treble go in the back of my head last year because of this.

6'6"-7' MH fast action rod. I'll throw them on whatever line, but I can't use a soft rod or snapping it away from vegetation becomes a real headache.

Just placed an order to replenish tungsten weights! Thats a sexy lure

It is really hard to tell. I have fished the same body of water the past 4 openers and the fish have all been located in different spots. 4 yrs : Snow on the ground, caught em on a suspending jerkbait along dam wall near deeper water. 3 yrs ago: water was muddy- caught a big one next to shore on a colorado spinnerbait. 2 yrs ago: water was cold, and I caught em on a suspending jerkbait, however no fish near the spot I caught em two years prior, instead they were in the dead middle of a backwater pocket. I'm assuming staging and getting ready to spawn in the shallows. Last year: couldn't find em, tried the dam wall, tried the pocket. Ended up walking along a long featureless bank with a soft swimbait and caught a handful of nice fish. So my advice for you is: Be prepared for anything. For what it is worth, I walked along the bank of a small lake last week and saw a plethora of empty beds. I still don't know how to interpret this information though.

Welcome!

Welcome aboard!

If there is any area of current ( creek flowing in/out, runoff, etc) try there first. Sometimes the fishing gets ON after a heavy rain. When the pond gets muddy throughout, fish shallow, right up against any hard structure cover available (bridges, large rock, steep bank, big wood cover). If its muddy I will throw an all chartreuse chatterbait or colorado spinnerbait, or flip a bulky black jig with a big trailer. Some really really good fishing can happen for a few days after a good rain.

Nice! I've never fished around phoenix park, I might have to get out there soon since that area is open for bass. What's it like over there? What would you recommend?

BIG Smallie! where'd you find this one at? Eau Claire River or Chippewa River? Drag files here to attach, or choose files... Max total size 7.32MB Insert other media Off Notify me of replies

Big falls in the spring. I've only fished it twice, but it is where I've caught the Smallie in my avatar (3-15). My friend that took me said it is a hit or miss spot though, and it is pretty difficult to get to. I mainly fish for largemouth around here.

Video uploaded today.

I just use a knife. I usually have one or five hanging around in my car, so I will grab one and keep it on me while I fish.

I use a 6'6" M or ML rod for trout. Same rods as I use for finessing bass. I have a 6'6" Gander Mountain Vortex spinning rod and it feels pretty good so far. The rod costs $20 most of the time. Only gripe on the rod is that it only has 6 guides but it still works well. There are tons of great options for spinning reels. Abu Cardinals are what I use but the Pflueger Trions and Presidents are very highly rated as well. I use 10lb power pro as a mainline and 4-6lb leader. Flourocarbon or mono would work fine too. Lures: Small inline spinners, small spoons. small jigs with a little Gulp plastic work well.

Eau Claire area is where I am from. Not a lot of lakes in my area (for Wisconsin), but I get by. Lake Wissota is a good fishery that I haven't fished enough of yet.

I love my Fenwick HMG's. I have a few Vendetta's and Vengeances and they're ok but the HMG feels much better. I also like the Fenwick Eagle (GT) alot.

I really like it. One of my favorite jerkbaits. I haven't tried the smaller version yet, but I plan to.

It's been a few weeks since this trip on the ice. But here is the photo of my first fish through the ice of 2016: a little bluegill. It wasn't the best day on the ice, but I finished with maybe 15 fish. Here are some of the Goliath yellow perch we pulled up. I've also been keeping busy with the Brooks and Browns around my parts; I don't take many photos but take my word I've been catching more than just this one!