Bluebasser86

Looks like a blue tilapia to me. They stocked them in one of the private lakes I get to fish once in a while. They're very skittish and selective about what they eat but they fight very well if you get one to bite. I imagine they'll have a lot more success surviving in Florida than they do in Kansas.

Best story I have about Gardner is the day I gave up on fishing it. It got Largemouth Bass Virus several years ago and still has not rebounded. It has quite a few smaller fish and they are getting a little bigger but minus a couple 4 pound fish I haven't caught anything worth going out there for. I talked to one home owner who said he caught a 7 out there a couple years ago, bottom fishing a goldfish for flatheads, said it tasted great

Lies!! Awesome job man. What part of the lake are you catching them on? I lose confidence in that lake so fast when I'm out there I barely have time to figure anything out.

I could but then I'd have to start leaving early enough to shower before work also and bringing towels and shower supplies and extra cloths. I know, I know, I'm just making excuses

I wish I had the motivation. I have access to a very nice free workout facility I walk past when I leave work everyday Something about working until 8 in the morning just takes all your motivation away. If I could just hang onto the motivation I have at 2am I'd be a beast

The rig you're wanting to fish isn't a big rig at all. I use a Curado 300E or a Calcutta 400B for the really big stuff but you'd be fine with most bass reels. I'd probably opt for something in the 6.2 ratio range. Something like a 5600 or 5500 round Abu or a Cardiff 200 would suit you just fine and wouldn't break the bank. An older 200 Curado or Cardiff would do the job just fine also.

Been working with my deep cranks more this year, one of my techniques I really struggle with. I did pretty well with a 5XD and 6XD last Friday though, even managed a 4+ pound fish in a lake not known for producing much over 2 pounds, let alone 4. The 6XD looks like a big bait until the fish spits something like this up when she makes it to the boat.

1/8oz little cleo. Cast it out and either start a slow retrieve immediately or let it sink to whatever depth you think they're holding at. Make sure you use a small snap with a good swivel to avoid line twist. Another option would be a slip sinker rig with a blown crawler so you can catch trout and cats.

I owned a 7' MH Mojo until I upgraded to the LTB version of it last year. It fishes large spinnerbaits well and doubles as a pretty good lighter duty pitching rod. It's too stiff for traps IMO but if you really needed to rip one it would work, just not sure how well it will keep fish pinned when you hook up.

I prefer to fish open jigheads on my A rig for the better hookups but it's just not a good option if you're fishing around standing timber, unless you like losing lots of $20 rigs.

I fished it once and wasn't impressed. It was during the summer though and maybe we just never located the fish. It does have lots of timber but it was nothing like I expected. Everything I read said it was like "an ozark lake in southeast KS". I guess I've never seen an Ozark lake that has dirty water and almost all mud/clay banks? We caught some fish but the constant sunfish pulling our baits all over the place was driving me crazy and something about the trees was extremely snaggy. Wabaunsee allows camping and is a really nice lake but there's no shower house that I know of, but not many SFL have shower houses that I can think of.

I'm not going to have the money to fish the Wyco fish off and then the BBB the next weekend. I'm just going to have to hope I can get into one next year.

X2 best way to do it right there.

The smallmouth at Melvern or Milford are both great if you're wanting to stick to the bigger lakes. For what it's worth, if your wife is planning on fishing you'll want to take into consideration her ability. If she isn't having fun, you're not going to be having fun. My wife loves Melvern and Milford because there is very little cover other than rocks so she can just cast a Ned rig or power minnow and catch every fish that swims in the lake.

What kind of fish are you wanting to fish for? Milford and Melvern both have places you can get out of the south winds you'll most likely be encountering. Milford has nicer shower housed but Melvern has them also. Both have good smallmouth, white bass, and channel cats. Milford has really good blue cats, wipers, and if you can find them, walleye.

What kind of activities are you looking for at the lake you camp at? What kind of stuff do you want nearby? Melvern has great fishing for lots of different kinds of fish and the state park has a very nice campground with lots of spaces availiable. Milford is very nice also and even better fishing for mor species of fish. Bot

The Mojo will be slightly lighter and has a split grip instead of a full grip like the Triumph. I believe the guides may be little better quality on the Mojo but can't swear to it. The Mojo lineup is more diverse also. I own rods from both line ups and far prefer the Mojo.

I use to fish for them with 2lb test and a super ultralight rod (old Abu Colon(sp?) rod that was like a buggy whip) A big bluegill can break 2lb test really easy if you're not careful.

Keep an eye on their bargain room on the St.Croix website. I picked up 2 discontinued LTB rods last winter for $120 apiece. With shipping I paid just over what one of the rods would have cost.

If you just use mono for a leader it won't stretch very much at all and won't cause you to lose fish. I go with 50lb braid and a 15lb fluoro leader. Must be nice. Our bass head deep for winter for the warmer water, come shallow for a month or so in the spring and fall, then they're back deep during the summer for cooler water.

Spoons can be very effective at times. I've caught tons of bass casting 1/8-1/4 ounce Little Cleo spoons in ponds. Make sure you use a good swivel so your line doesn't get twisted up bad.

^This. If they'll eat a faster moving bait I'd rather toss that and cover water. Sometimes they need something that sits in their face for awhile to get them to bite though and the popper does a great job of getting their attention and then sitting still where they can't ignore it.

Water looks pretty stained for a senko style bait, especially a watermelon color. Do like others have said if you're going to go with the Stick O and get a dark color like black and blue but I'd Texas rig a 5" version on a 4/0 hook with a 1/4oz bullet weight and fish it around those laydowns and any other cover you see.

Hey Hook! It has been quite awhile since you've been on the forum! Welcome back and good to see you're still out there getting after them!

Looks like some very clear water, bet you could see her fighting a long ways down! That always makes it more memorable. Congrats on the PB!