Wild Bill [NY]

Welcome aboard from NY.

Randall, Hope all has been well with you. Are the guys there doing it there with the float fixed in place, or a slip bobber? From the video, it seems fixed in place. While I have never done it yet, I have read a lot up on it, and talked a bit to guys that do use the technique. Some guys I have read articles by, or talked to that do f&f , say they use a three-way swivel, with one of it's rings directly attached to the bobber, and that the bobber is weighted, so it lays sideways until hit, when then it goes upright [and hopefully doooown]. I have seen some the flies sold in tackle shops around Dale Hollow, and many are 1/16 of an ounce, or 33/32, or an 1/8th, and many there seemed to favor a duck feather be incorporated in the fly. they looked really nice, but my wallet stayed put. The guys I talked to said it was important not to use a slip-bobber, because the bobber would not be so sensitive to bites then as a fixed bobber would be. I went out and caught fish the ways I knew how to, using what I already had, instead of getting into it all float & fly stuff. I heard it is at it's best right after ice-out[yeah, you guys don't know that stuff-LOL], or when facing really cool waters and suspendiing fish. Clue me in , buddy . I know you're not trying to sell me anything. {LOL}

Welcome aboard from NY

I have never been to Erie, but have always heard that May is an awesome time to be fishing there for Smallies. What stage are they there then ? Pre-Spawn? Staging for the spawn ? On beds ? What type of water temps then ? Sadly, due to the economy right now, I would not be able to make this one. Wallet is infortunately running awfully light this year for me to be able to make a road-trip. It would probably be at least a ten-hour pull minimum for me each way from Long Island dragging the Ranger, depending upon where you'd be going out of. Hopefully, another year.

Are those stainless steel screw eyes used to connect the sections and hooks ?

I cannot imagine a trolling motor could get ANY boat on plane. Not even two of them.

Ken, I am pretty sure my Ranger has white in the livewell. Haven't looked in there in a few months...Like I say, the livewell lid is only open when I am either throwing fish in, or culling them out. Once that lid closes, I bet it's dark as all get out in there. Personally, I think you are 'over-thinking ' this too much.

I would think that when the lid is closed, it would be awfully dark in there. It's not like you're going to leave the lid open for very long.

That is awesome looking !!!!

I am glad to hear Russ is okay. He disappeared from another site I frequent a while ago.

Welcome aboard from NY.

George Welcome of Imagination Bass Fishing Guide Service. George has been doing it for quite a long time, has a great reputation, and is a member here onsite.

Congrats on your first tourney win, Rich !! Way to get it done .

Where at in jersey do you fish? I have fished : Hopatcong Spruce Run Round Valley Aeroflex Monksville The Passaic river The Delaware River The Salem Game Canal South Branch of Raritan The Pequest River Pointview Res Pompton Lake Manasquan Res Merrill Creek and many, many more... We also built three private ponds on our farm in Long Valley that we stocked with LMs. By building the ponds on our property, not only did we give ourselves a recreational facility, but we also then got a huge discount on our fire insurance for our structures, as there are no water hydrants in that area. I will be hosting an event on Waywayanda in May, which is right by the NY border.

Those are some really beautiful and BIG Smallies, Dwight. Congrats !!

For a five-inch wacky-rigged Senko I ue the rubber o-ring and a size 1/0 octopus hook, and I tie the hook on with a snell hook for better hookup ratios .

Rich, Do you or your dad know Burnie Haney from the Watertown area ? He's a really great guy that fishes a lot of tournies up there, and is a laison for the Fed to the DEC, as well as a tourney angler to contend with, too. He is very active in support of our troops in Fort Drum, and puts events together for them where local bassers take troops out to fish to help them relax in their down time at the base. He's a good guy to know up there...

I totally agree with that statement you posted. Many guys are not willing to leave thier homes and families to 'chase the dream' of being a touring pro. Being a touring pro requires a tremendous amount of time away from home, and not only fishing the tournies, but prefishing for them, and also repping for thier sponsoring companies at trade shows, expos, and doing seminars. Often guys do this before starting their families, or do it with thier young kids and wife in tow before the kids have to enter schools,living in Winnebagos and the such until the kids get to school age. So many start-up young tourney guys live in thier trucks, driving from one event to another, in hopes of cashing a check hopefully, and HOPEFULLY making the cut to fish the big events. During that time, especially if they do not have strong finacial sponsorship, they sleep nights in thier trucks as they go from one tourney to another, eating lots of P&J or balogna sandwiches[and the such], keeping in touch with thier families only by phone for long times. It's not the glory life many would imagine when they are trying to get known and established. If they don't make it, often they may have extended themselves out finacially by gambling thier home to try and make it, coming home to a house in foreclosure, and thier wives walking out on them. :-[ Lots of guys are NOT willing to risk all that, and just fish the local events near thier homes, or get into guiding to make fishing pay for thier lifestyle that way.

If you are going down to the Big O now, or in the next two months, you will find that there will be bedding fish there during that time. I have fished down there during this time frame for a very long time. There will be several waves of fish moving up to spawn on the full moons during that time frame. We just had a full moon, so bass should be putting thier "satin sheets" all over the waters there right now. If you hear Barry White music eminating from the waters, fish RIGHT THERE...{LMAO} !!! Lots of shallow water areas to fish there that will have Bass beds all over the place. Scott and his dad Roland both use an airboat to find these shallow bedding fish prior to tournies there, as well as thier conventional bass boats, and of course, they also rely on thier extensive knowledge of seasonal patterns on Big O.

Welcome aboard from NY.

I have had vvry good luck with them, fishing them on belly- weighted EWG style of hooks, swimming them steadily along.

Dwight, Those are truly beautiful chunks !! Phil Jensen is a reknown tier of hair jigs. Google his name; he ties beautiful jigs. I have tied them for about 15 years, and I use them predominantly right at ice-out, usually with NO trailers. I tie them to simulate the small craws that will be emerging from thier winter habatats, predominantly in blacks and browns, or combo colors using those two colors as the primary colors with either orange, red, purple or chartreuse accents. I fish them on a 4 or 6 pound flouro line, working them in rocky areas. Another type of hare jigs are the float&fly jigs that guys in the Tennesee and Kentucky area [mostly] use which also are fished very early in the season, but those are basically tied to represent tiny baitfish[and often incorporate duck feathers as well], and are used in conjunction with a float on a long drop line under the float, with very, very long rods.

To me, a guy that supports himself PRIMARILY through money he makes while fishing tournies , or guiding full time is a Pro. All the rest are wanna be pros in my opinion.

Welcome aboard from another NYer. I live down on Long Island, but vacation up in the Adirondacks each July. What part of upstate are you in ?

Bobby, I got a funny outdoors trade show story , too. I had worked the NYC Boat Show in Manhattan in a booth at the Javitts Center for a few years, and had become buddies with another exhibitor there that had a 4000 gallon fish tub that he would do bass fishing demos in. We had the adjoining booth to his tank. Well, this guy from Oklahoma and I got to be good friends, and we'd hang together between his demo shows a lot cracking jokes, busting on each other, making fun of people walking by us, etc. To kill the days time, we'd bet on stuff often , but only $1 bets, so the money was never a real issue. Well one day, I bet this guy he would not lick the glob of Megastrike I squeezed out of the tube...and he ACTUALLY did. I do not know WTH he was thinking, but from that moment on, he was constatly wiping his tongue on his shirt, and trying to gargle with soda to get the taste of out his mouth. He had me dang near in tears of laughter watching him, wondering why he had been so stupid to do that....all for a dollar none the less. It was some funny stuff then...and we still laugh about it on phone caalls, and it's been years since that happened. Boys will be boys..