Bluebasser86

Almost hit a deer in my driveway leaving for work tonight. Not how I want to get my first deer of the year, glad I hadn't got going too fast yet since there's no slamming on the brakes on gravel.

I've heard there's some big ones in there and always meant to get up there but it's a long haul for me now. A good jig bite can make me do stupid things though.

They all work. Lucky Craft seems to have started to try to compete with the other companies making budget priced baits. It's also possible they're either reworking their baits, or the pros that are featured on the packages are no longer with LC as a sponsor (what happened with Rick Clunn last time they were on sale).

Unless you want your kid to lose all interest and associate negative feelings towards being in the boat and going fishing, yes, going home is what happens when he wants to go home. We go to lakes that are close, or have other activities that he can do. I wouldn't ever suggest taking your kid with you if you're wanting to really go fishing until they get a little older. Think of it as an investment. You take them out and make sure they have fun, even though that means hooking up and hauling the boat, unloading and loading, all for 10 minutes to maybe an hour on the water. You make sure they have fun and enjoy the experience, so when they get older and their patience gets longer they'll still want to go out with you. Make sure you have plenty of snacks and drinks for them. We even have a portable DVD player that he can watch his cartoons on and that usually keeps him busy for awhile once he's done fishing.

I've got quite a bit of use on them now since I have 4 and all but one of them jumped straight into the starting lineup. They've been very impressive so far. Very smooth and solid feeling and they cast a mile. I've been using 1 to fish a Whopper Plopper 90 and it will launch one out of sight, which has been important in the clearer water I've been fishing them in. I used one for flipping a little when I first got them and it did just fine there as well. They also come with some nice rubber/silicone grip covers (although the grips are fine by themselves). I think they're going to be exactly what I'd hoped for (and what the spinning version is already known as), a dependable, workhorse type reel. I've become pretty biased towards Pfluegar though I guess. I've sold nearly all my Shimano reels and bought Pfluegar or Okuma and been very happy with the decision. My only gripe so far, they only come in a 7.3:1 retrieve speed. Most of the smallmouth in this video were caught on it.

I don't use a swimbait rod for smaller baits like that. The rod I use is only a MH/MF 7' 2" with 15lb Big Game. For baits that are a little larger I'll switch to a Dobyn's Fury 795.

Where in the Midwest? It's been the best bite all year for me this past month or two.

I stick with the TRD or 1/2 a ZinkerZ in a baitfish color and swim it quickly.

Looks like a cross between a plastic shrimp and a craw? Looks like it's probably a home brew.

Suspending jerkbait, rattle bait, bladed jig, jig, shakyhead, glide baits, swinging football heads with a beaver, jigging spoon, wiggle wart, shad rap, squarebill.

I don't like yellow because it fades faster it seems to me. I doubt it will make a difference in catch ratio in dirty water though.

I guess that was my indirect way of saying "No, I'm not a big fan of River Monsters". I don't think Hunt For Big Fish has been on tv since Larry lost his son suddenly a year or two ago. You can still get on Youtube and watch it, the guy is an animal. Not taking anything away from Wade's accomplishments, he has some incredible patience (or at least appears to from the shows I've seen), to go weeks on end without catching his target species but keep after them.

Sorry for your loss C&G.

I have to keep a close eye on my son, but I bought my Stratos VLO because my wife thought it would be more family friendly than the boat I had before we had him. He's never made it longer than about 30 minutes in the boat, but that's about all that can be expected from a toddler.

Geez, and I thought the 18.25" 4 pounder I caught Thursday was fat!

Like I said in my previous post, it comes around pretty often. Here's the most recent one I found.

They say "wiggle wart" on the bottom of the bill. The newer ones say "Storm".

I have a couple dozen warts, a few suspending warts, 1 flat wart, and 1 wee wart. They're pretty much tournament only baits.

McSticks have Gammy round bends, something isn't right with your bait/hooks.

If they're extras then they go on the pegboard until they're needed. If not then they go in a box and immediately into the boat before my wife finds them.

Buying gear is almost as much fun as catching fish with it.

Couple years ago I only caught a handful over 5 pounds, and I haven't broken 6 pounds this year. Now NE KS isn't exactly known for it's big bass, but I always feel like I get out enough on the right bodies of water that I should be able to catch more than a few big ones every year. I just keep doing what I know is what the fish want and eventually it comes together.

That's the size shad you have to find to get around the bigger bass here this time of year.

I don't like being hot while I'm hunting so I haven't been yet. Looking forward to getting to hunt deer in my own back yard this year. Lots of a does and few bucks on the trail camera this past week. Hopefully get a couple before our baby gets here.

Seems like 75% of the fish he catches are catfish. Larry Dahlberg was chasing "River Monsters" before it was cool. Not to mention he invented the Whopper Plopper and a bunch of other crazy baits. He flyfishes for huge pike, while standing on top of a ladder, while he's in a boat. Oh yeah, and he's caught his share of catfish too if that's your thing, including a estimated 400 pound Piraiba in the Amazon.