Jigfishn10

Great post @Saltysmalljaws! I caught my PB 7 1/2 lber in 4'of water a week after ice out. She was feeding up and cruising for food just before the spawn. She was relating to a weed line inshore. A year prior to that my first 5 lber came on a jig 2 or 3 weeks after ice out, again inshore in less than 6' of water. There was an abundant of craws in the area, so don't overlook the craw pattern. Craws tend to be moving more this time of year.

I'd fish a jig like a dry or wet fly. Cast up stream and let it drift into the break or eddy. Toa a bass it's a free meal coming his/her way. Good luck.

Even though the lead is molded to the hook, you can't use it? I'm in MA and never thought of that? I guess it would be considered a jig. Thanks for sharing that link.

It's amazing how attached you get to your dog isn't @MN Fisher? Ironically we lost our dog in '01 as well and the other day I was up in the attic cleaning out and area and found pics of him. Talk about going down memory lane? She looks like she was a beautiful dog.

It's actually amazing how some of these fish survive going from an aquarium to wild like that. You'd think they'd die of stress going from one environment to the other?

My son is a pitcher in baseball and can throw a lot of different pitches...curveball, slider, 2 seem, 4 seem, change-up, splitter, cutter...I asked him 1 day, if you have a 2/2 or 3/2 count how many of those pitches do you have confidence in throwing? He said 3. "Why don't you work on those 3 for now and get really good with them and then add another." I basically do the same thing with fishing. Instead of confusing yourself, break it down in smaller sample sizes and gradually add another one to learn.

That's really really awesome...Good on you bud! BTW, how much that set ya back to get the publisher to print up a pic and one of your posts here...J/K. Really happy for ya

That puts things in perspective, thank lo n slo - glass half full guy... Another hook I forgot all about, thanks for sharing Avalonjohn44, really appreciate and respect your input. You know, I don't really know thinkingredneck, where the line tie on the swivel is so small I can't imagine it being very loud, but the guy typing this will be in need of Miracle Ear in the near future, so take that with a grain of salt. BTW, your screen name is bomb.com...LOVE IT! Some great ideas here.

Man, I wish I had the time for more research, I actually read about this years ago in Field & Stream. I used this rig on my trip to FLA, using 5.5” swim senkos on a 4/0 worm hook, worked like a champ! Thanks for your input, I do appreciate it bud. Years ago I was taught to use 17 lb mono and tie a clinch knot to each side of the main line on the hook cut while leaving tag ends about a strong 1/16 of and inch and sliding the nose of the bait over all three mono knots. This worked but I like your method better. Thanks

You took the word outta my mouth.

It's the noise @TotalNoob IMHO. A Colorado with it's circular shape puts out a real THUMP! that translates back to your hands but not much flash. Willows are more streamlined and tend to put out much less of a thump but way more flash. So if you're a big bass and hear and feel a thump of a Colorado it may be telling them BIG DINNER (big baitfish) where as a willow or double willow putting out flash in many different directions maybe telling a bass "little snacks" for a school of fingerling bait fish. Conversely, if you're a smaller bass and hear and feel that big thump of a Colorado, they're thinking "that fish is coming to eat ME! Who knows if the above is correct, but we still have hard water up here and need something to write about, right?

I forgot about the hitchhiker @primetime, I think @A-Jay told me about them a few years back...I hate getting old

You know Jig Man, you've pointed this out to me before and I keep forgetting about it. I have .031 wire I used for making inline spinners that I can use to make these clips. Matter fact, the barrel swivel used in the pics above were left over swivels I used for line ties installed on the spinners. Thanks for the reminder. I'll make some up this weekend, we'll see how it goes.

Great advice in this post. I've had more success with faster presentations in the past than slower. Muted colors and smaller baits used to be and is a good recipe for success, but don't overlook speed. White Spinnerbait white willow leaf blades with a chop on the surface is one of my favorite presentations.

I've caught more fish on a single Colorado blade than any other combination. So I guess we're both wrong.

I never knew this was an actual product, my poker hand was always referenced this as I threw my cards in anticipation of the next deal.

Admittedly, I don't troll tackle sites or visit tackle shops very often after 3 years of relative fishing inactivity. I've fished maybe 10 times in that period, last year I never even bothered to get a license knowing that fishing wasn't in the cards. This year is a different story, I hoping to start right after ice out to ice in...fingers crossed. Most of my fishing will be on the bank during the week after work. I am looking into a kayak, but that's another thread. So it's back to the basics for me. One of the things I'll be getting back to is T-Rig fishing, I remember having problems with soft plastics sliding down the hook shank either on the cast or coming thru cover. One of the things I did was to install a swivel under and in front of the bait (the bullet weight sits on top of the swivel) and it works great, but I'm sure there are better options. Thoughts?

We used to have an "Ice Out" thread starting in February and fishers would report open waters in their area. @DogBone_384 seems to cover the eastern seaboard every year, so we stopped doing it... Thanks for the report DogBone

@TnRiver46... I can see you're not much of a cook...Fire extinguisher?!? Is that for a fish fry gone wrong? you may be remodeling the kitchen this summer...LOL Sweet Fish you got there bud! @the reel ess, she's a beauty for sure!

You staying in MA or another state?

I didn't see it, but if the lake is just opened to the tourney then the kids shouldn't be there otherwise it's open water. You say the kids appear to have been waiting until the spot opened which is subjective, the kids are in high school, maybe they saw an opportunity to get a fish of a lifetime? Can't blame the kids. Sounds like they got the point and politely moved, but "poaching" his spot seems a little harsh to me. They're just kids fishing. If my kids just got into that much trouble in HS I'd be one happy parent.

Friday is forecasted to be 60* and rain, should open up a lot of water. @Mr. Aquarium, good luck on the steelheads

I hate reading stuff like that, sorry to hear ...

For sure @islandbass, 100%. Anything to keep the water out while testing the performance. Anything I wrote was meant as a guide and not hard and fast rules. I've been in construction all of my adult life and have way of doing things but I also adjust if I see or hear someone doing something better and faster. I always go back to the basics or what I know works and can adjust from there. I always encourage people to do the same. I hope this helps.

Got a nice little surprise today, we were supposed to have a high in the mid-30*'s buty we just missed 50* by a degree or 2*. C'MON SPRING!