Bluebasser86

A couple years ago, I took both my boys out for a late afternoon trip to the lake by my parents house. It was more of a lure hunting trip than a fishing trip as it as late fall, most the leaves were off the trees so baits would be easy to spot. We showed up to the ramp with just a few hours to try to get a lap around the 400 acre lake, kind of hurrying. There was 2 pontoons on the ramp, it's a 3 lane ramp and there was one on each side, so the middle was open. I prepped my boat, prepped my boys, and neither pontoon duo appeared to have made any headway with getting their rattletraps off the ramp. I've been backing a boat trailer for 2 decades, there was plenty of room, so I lined up and guided it down right between their boats with plenty of room on both sides. As soon as I put the parking brake on and got out, one of the Ken's hit me with a "You in a *** hurry?!" Both my boys were in the boat so I was super excited to have someone cussing at me because they couldn't load a boat. I told him not to worry, I wasn't going to scratch his piece of junk pontoon and I'd be unloaded and leaving the dock before he figured out how to get his boat on the trailer. That was when his Karen decided to chime in about me being disrespectful, to which I had to respond that nothing about cussing in front of my kids and greeting me with hostility for using the 3rd lane on a 3 lane boat ramp deserved any respect from me. The other Karen and Ken decided to join in and started to say their piece about me "Disrespecting my elders". I told them that being older than someone doesn't automatically command respect, nor does it give you the right to be a jerk. Then I pointed out if they would have pulled their boat up and finished strapping it down in the parking lot like you're suppose to, none of this would have been an issue in the first place. By this time, I'd unloaded my boat and tied it off to the dock. I had my kids come to the truck with me instead of sitting in the boat because I wasn't sure what else they might do or say. We walked back to boat and pushed off from the dock while they were still grumbling at me. I idled out of the marina slowly and talked to my kids, both that were obviously upset about what just happened. Thankfully, a little boat driving and some sweet snacks got their minds off of it and we were able to still have a good time and I didn't have any flat tires when we got back in for the night. A friend of mine showed up about 45 minutes later, he said there was still a pontoon trying to get on the trailer when he got there and left the ramp. I think the guy was just mad because he couldn't load his boat and decided to take it out on me.

The jerkbaits are very nice. Unfortunately, they DC'd my favorite color of it recently and it was either everyone else's favorite, or they just didn't make many that color because I can't find anymore anywhere.

You need a flateye jig if you're using a split ring, or you can try to carefully open the eye with pliers or tapping it open with a thin chisel or flat screwdriver and put the new blade on. You risk breaking the eyelet doing it that way but if the bait is no good otherwise, nothing really lost if it breaks.

I have not fished a Nucanoe, but when I was looking to purchase, I was torn between them and Oldtown. I was pretty 50/50 on which I wanted and ultimately, it came down to being able to get an Oldtown much faster than I could the Nucanoe back in 2020.

I'm not. Too many people either too manly to fish a Ned, not fishing it right, or using the wrong equipment. I'm not upset about people giving up on some of my favorite techniques though, just leaves more fish for me ? I haven't given up on anything, but I rarely fish Carolina rigs or deep cranks for fun, because they're not.

Hope it's just rain for you guys, we had a few inches of heavy, wet snow come down really fast last night. No school for my kids today. It was only supposed to be rain for us also.

Welcome!

Ned rig, not even a question I have to consider. Not that my season is off to a blazing start but I've probably caught 40 bass so far this season and a Ned has accounted for at least 30 of those.

Actual fishing trips, probably 60-70. Had a lot of 15-30 minute stops at the lake before or after work that I don't really count as fishing trips. Not nearly as much as I use to go.

Sorry for your loss man. Seems like just yesterday my golden was a wild little puppy Now she's 10 years old, white faced, and gets around pretty slow except when she gets a big burst of energy. It goes so fast, it's so hard to lose them, but I don't know what I'd do without them. Still loves them boat rides.

I use a weedless Neko hook made by Eagle Claw, but as far as I know it can only be bought in store at Wal-Mart. It's exactly like this Trokar, but without the awful cutting point. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Trokar_Neko_Weedless_Hook_6pk/descpage-TNWH.html

Welcome!

1/0 or 2/0 Kahle, usually Eagle Claw.

I burn very easily so I always cover up, because I also don't really feel like the stuff in sunblock is really great for me. I understand what the OP is saying though because I've seen it too where someone is in shorts, t shirt, flip flops, but has a face shield? That never has made much sense but I guess the bug protection would make sense.

Hopefully I didn't already catch my biggest of the year last weekend. It does typically happen in January-March for me though and the big fish juat haven't been happening this year so far. I haven't caught a big one on a swimbait in a few years, so lets go a bone Clutch glide bait. It was hot last fall, just never got a big one. Has to happen eventually if it keeps getting bit right?

Once an appendage is gone, so is my confidence in that bait and I change it out.

Table Rock has a great winter bite and isn't a bad drive from Iowa. Don't believe anything you read about the powerplant lake in Kansas, you'll leave disappointed.

Got out on a really nice day today, too nice for my liking. Took the boat so I wouldn't get run over because I was sure it would be a zoo and I wasn't wrong unfortunately. First bass of the morning was also my biggest of the year so far at just over 19" and 5 3/4 pounds on a 6th Sense 75x in Brown Eye color, only bite I got on a crankbait all day. Fishing until 2 pm and only caught 6 more, 5 on a Ned rig and 1 on a shakyhead.

Yeah the chrome/black pop r is everywhere here too.

I'd say heat but they've been out so many times before in the heat with no issues. I never take them out other of the original pack except to use them so cross contamination shouldn't have been an issue, especially for that many packs.

Honestly, I have used the Hobie very little compared to the Sportsman so it's probably not a completely fair comparison, but the bicycle peddling of the Sportsman drive feels much more natural.

The Frabill is decent, I've had a few of them but they tend to pull apart at the end section if you get a stubborn bait, usually one attached to heavy braid. The T-H Marine Money Pole is twice as expensive but seems to be about unbreakable so far. I'd much rather have either of them than none. They're a lifesaver if you get snagged underwater with a treble hooked bait and retrieve so many lost baits out of trees for me. I've had them pay for themselves in a single day, sometimes a couple times over.

Lots of 14-16 inch white crappie in the lakes here. One of the lakes I fish has a 12" minimum length limit to keep crappies, it use to be 14" and it wasn't hard to catch keepers. They're so dumb, even I can catch them too.

I side-arm cast swimbaits from my kayak for the most part. They're heavy baits, lob cast is about all you can do, but you can still perfect a gentle lob cast so it doesn't sound like you're throwing rocks every cast. All the baits you listed, I fish on a Dobyn's 795 that's listed 1-5oz, with the sweet spot being those baits in the 2-3.5oz range. The Bull Shad especially is going to be pushing a rod rated to 2oz. I have not fishing any Kistler rods, I know they're very well made rods, but buying a rod to push to max capacity every cast seems like it's asking for heartache. I wouldn't be surprised if the other rod you were looking at is too stiff though if it's not a specific swimbait rod, it's possibly more of a flipping/punching rod which don't make great swimbait rods in most cases because they don't flex much and tear hooks out.

That's when a telescoping lure retriever pays for itself real quick.