Hooligan

I positively love my Bronzebacks, too. I've got 4 or five in the series now, and I end up using them a lot for largemouth with lighter techniques.

My wife got me a pair of the Ross Pescadors a couple years ago when I was still guiding. Man, I love these things; I would be lost without them. http://www.rossreels.com/products/fishing-pliers/pescador-fishing-pliers.cfm That said, they're definitely a luxury. I've also got a couple pair of these, and really like them: http://www.riverbum.com/Dr-Slick-Barracuda-Plier-PC85FX/

More and more I go by the Mr. Fords rules on color, just change the wording a bit. You can have your topwater in any color, as long as it's black. 90% of my topwater fish of all species come to black lures.

I actually really like the 4" version for pike and wipers. I've never fished it for bass in earnest, primarily because I've got other baits I fish.

I'm a Costa Fan. I'd gladly pay for a glass lens than anything else.

Have a pair of friends fishing Stockton as I'm sitting here *grumble.* They said, yesterday, that they were seeing some mid 40's temps, as high as 49 towards Needmore. Sounded like they were getting some fish on jigs and jerks but it was slow still.

Is that a jab? The story with the lower fish is pretty cool, too.

Aww, man. There's nothing special about the Fat Ikas. They're really not that great a bait. Really. They don't catch any of the species of black bass. They're not good for pitching, or flipping, or for working timber, or for weightless rigs, or any other way. Disclaimer: The above post is written wholly as sarcasm; and in no way should get you to fish Ikas. Leave them for the rest of us.

Muskie, if you're talking average pike in the 10-12 pound range, I've had reasonable success with Mason Hard Nylon in 25lb. for fishing topwaters. While it isn't foolproof, I've had better luck with that than fluorocarbon. If you're getting into bigger pike than that, I'd go to straight titanium wire in either 18 (if you can find it) or 30 (more readily available.) Use as short a section as you think you can get away with and it's a non-issue. In smaller diameters because of its flexibility and behaviour, it really doesn't impede the action of your baits.

For how long? A day? 16 days, in this instance. It was a measure of surviorship to dispersal from nests. After that, predation and mortality #s change pretty dramatically based on the individual body of water.

I totally agree with that sentiment, however it rings true that because of the elements leading up to it, it's the primary reason for there still being seasons of any sort. If the walleye guys lost the "season" then everyone else would, too. If the bass and muskie guys lost it, the walleye guys would go absolutely haywire, and demand change. The sheer numbers of revenue dollars lost due to not having that would be astounding.

http://www.mouldys.com/hawg_wobblers.htm The Lil version is killer. The original is excellent, too.

I've only fished that rod a couple of times, my brother owns two of them. He fishes a myriad of baits with it. everything from tubes to 3/8oz Spinnerbaits. About the only thing he doesn't fish on it are cranks. My experience with it has been limited to jigs and plastics, because that's what we were fishing at the time. Nice rod for sure.

We pitch smoke DT Hula grubs quite a bit. They're a standby.

It's far and away my top producing Carolina rig plastic here in NE. Elsewhere, it remains a good bait for me, too.

It's another "great debate" indeed. There are those with no biological knowledge of nest spacing, and habits that will say that the fish that are nested in the shallows are the fish that produce all the offspring for the lake. There are those that will say that drastically effecting the recruitment of a lakes year class could be achieved by simply targeting a few of those beds. In truth, some of the biggest fish will spawn (where available) as deep as 20 feet. Their nests are spread 35-40 feet at a minimum. There are so many fry produced from one spawning pair that you'd have to hit a huge number of beds in an area, and have every single one predated to reduce the recruitment numbers dramatically. Considering that a single female can lay as many as 90,000 eggs, that's a big chunk of fish that you're going to have to deal with. They've been documented as high as 62% survivorship. Of course year class depends on many other factors, predation, natural mortality, fishing pressure, seasonal environment...there are many that contribute. But then again, there are biologist friends that will tell people that fishing them while on beds is killing the fishery and is the reason for seasons in areas that have them....so who knows...

Mepps #4, 1/4 oz Jighead with black 3" Grub. (Agree, too, with the Culprit Worm. 6.5" Crawdad color is killer anywhere I've ever fished.)

That's one of the most common misconceptions about "seasons". It boils down to tourism dollars, not biological reasons. Daryl Bauer in NE, Dave Neuswanger in WI, Gary Elliot in MN, Darryl Ellison in MN...I can list many others that have been quoted as saying as much. Biologists nearly unanimously agree it has nothing to do with "raping the population" during the spawn, it's more about generating tourism and local hype for "opening day."

I'm really thinking about this rod as an addition. I like the contact rods that I have in the series, and want to add another 7' crankstick to the mix. Is it as solid a rod as they say for med-deep cranks?

You've got pretty good advice thus far. I can't add much to it. If you're intent on learning a proper cast, one item that I'd point you to that is very beneficial is the Wulff Wristlock. It works wonders with those limp wrist casts. One thing you/re describing to me is that in your back cast you're dropping your tip. That will almost always be a cause of reduced distance in short rods, and it's a tendency with short rods because of the weight distribution. If you're in an open enough area that you can cast and watch your cast, do so. Watch what your line does at every transition. Watch what your rod tip is doing in conjunction with your line, as well. In regards to rods, a better rod will, indeed, make you a better caster. It will not, however teach you how to make a proper cast. Once you have the basics down it will magnify the bad habits in your cast and make you aware of them in a much more noticeable manner. It will then allow you correct them much easier. Typically today's higher end graphite rods are more forgiving than lower end rods. Meaning you can still get some distance and accuracy out of the cast with all your habits in the stroke. I fish primarily Sage and Winston rods, and have come to love the Z Axis trout rods; I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to you at all. The rod is your greatest tool in fishing, learning to utilize it for all it has is something that will make your life a lot easier in terms of the cast.

Booyah, War Eagle, Picasso are the top three I use.

By far the most freaky thing I've caught is a wolf eel. It's also the one I feel the worst about because after learning more about them, they're incredibly misunderstood critters.

I agree with that. Rap DT series in Bluegill is a great bait for us.

I think it's part of the natural progression. It was put to me this way from a close friend: When we start fishing, we're into the numbers game. We eventually tire of that, and start seeking quality over quantity. Eventually we figure out that there's true trophy fish out there, and we start learning everything we can about targeting those fish, and we try very hard to become successful at catching BIG fish. Once we've accomplished that, we're quite content with continuing to do so, and content with constantly learning. So much so, that the knowledge and skill becomes the chase, moreso than the fish itself. In that latter stage, we also become able to appreciate and enjoy a day on the water as just that, a day on the water; it doesn't really matter anymore if we catch anything or not. sure we'd like to, but it isn't the end all, be all. I'm very much in that stage of learning to target big fish, when it comes to bass. I spent so many years of my life guiding trout bums, and fishing muskies that bass has found a renewed passion. I've fished tournaments and had a great time, I intend to fish a few this year again. But I'd almost rather spend that time chasing the one fish on the lake that is a true monster, a giant among bass. If I don't catch her, well, that's ok, too. It gives me something to do tomorrow.

Actually I don't take pictures often. They're just not important to me.