dwtaylor

I bought the sit on top one and I can tell you save money to look elsewhere. My biggest complaint is that the seat is not very good. I am 22 with a good back and in somewhat reasonable shape and i have trouble fishing in it for more than 4 hours. The seat is just not good for posture. For the money, bass pro has the best seats. The back opening is a little too small for my liking for storage, but I haven't tested that thoroughly. Stability is good...when sitting down. I plan on adding an outrigger to help. I have fished out of a wilderness systems ride 115, tarpon 120, and commander 120. Out of those, it is most like the tarpon, but the tarpon has better stability and storage options, but the tarpon is also much more expensive. Advantage: price and it floats Don't get me wrong, I like fishing out of it, but I wish I had saved up a little more and bought something else. It is a starter kayak, and that's about it. I understand budget constraints, but I would highly recommend trying one before you buy. It is nice to get off shore without the hassles of a boat. If you have specific questions, please pm me. I can send you more details and pics.

I did end up going up, but the Northern wind was not very nice to me in a kayak. I found a bay with some good structure and marked fish, but I couldn't position myself and fish effectively too. I marked almost all of my fish in 14-16 feet of water where I was. I wanted to try the islands out of penn. state park or the sister islands, but mother nature had other plans. I will try to make it up some other time before I leave Wisconsin to go back to school.

Do not get a microguide Veritas as the guides pop out and break off of the blank. Not a bad rod, but terrible guide feet. Instead, look for a regular guide model. I have a 7.5' mh Veritas that I used to use for all of my flipping/pitching but then I bought a Dobyns Champion 736C.

Find yourself a big ol girlfriend to sit in the back while you fish. That should replace the weight of the outboard.

I agree Alton is a class act. I have had the opportunity to marshal the last two elite events on the Mississippi river and I have talked with many guys. This year, I found it really cool to have my day 1 pro last year, Grant Goldbeck approach me and ask how I was. I talked to him again at each day's weigh in and he is probably the most approachable guy on tour. Pete Ponds is another awesome guy. I rode with him on day 1 this year and spoke with him the next two days.

Has anyone been up to Sturgeon Bay lately? I was planning on going up this weekend and I was wondering what areas I should stick to. I am bringing my kayak and cannot cover water as quickly.

Weight size for punching isn't so much about how deep the water is, but rather how thick the cover is. Typically when "punching," I stick to a minimum of one ounce sinkers. The maximum I have ever used is a 1.5 ounce tungsten sinker. However, sometimes the heavier weight is better because the quick fall will trigger bites better than you think. With that said, I have been experimenting with miller punch weights as of late, and I am impressed with them. Make sure you are using a big enough hook, or else you will have hook up issues. They do look funny, but I assure you they work.

Hammer handle pike are the worst. Last year I marshaled the elite event on the Mississippi and guys were going through pike left and right and not getting their frogs back. I thought it was funny seeing the southern guys on the tour cuss them out. Worse case scenario is another tw order so it isn't the worst thing in the world. Unless its an old wigglewart, Bagley, megabass, or lucky craft.

Check out Warbaits Weedless Slayer Swimbait Jig Heads on TW. Or the Slayer Swim Jig from the same company.

I like a 1/4 oz for shallow submerged weeds. Sometimes even that is heavy,as it can sink too deep. Lift is important to keep the bait from digging in the grass so a trailer and proper retrieval speed are important. Also, reaction strikes occur from ripping the bait free from grass...so a snag free jig and trailer is a must. I really like a single tail grub for swim jigs, but the strike king menace grub is quickly becoming my favorite trailer. However, the grass pig/ skinny dipper/ swimming caffeine shad all work great and provide lift without catching weeds. Green pumpkin is always a good color. Works for crawdad and bluegill imitations. White is good too for shad lakes.

I have a large melon and I wear the blackfin with the 580g green mirror lenses. It is absolutely amazing how much better those lenses are than Wiley x lenses as far as visibility goes. My only complaint is the weight of the glass. After wearing them for a while, behind my ears get sore. I will be buying blue mirror 580p black fins soon for sight fishing smallies in Lake Michigan.

I see doozies in the cheap plastics bins by yum at Walmart for like 1.96 a pack, but usually only in junebug. I like them on a c rig too as well as weightless with a superline hook for weight and fish it like a senko.

I would say citica e series. If you're looking for a left handed citica, I know a place that has several left and can't get rid of them. They are priced pretty good, and for the money they are asking, its probably the best buy. Pm me for details.

After working in retail, I noticed that Shimano reels had the least amount of markup among Pure Fishing and Quantum reels. We never carried Ardent, Lews, or Daiwa, so I cannot speak about those. Thus I am convinced that shimano cares more about performance per dollar than those other two brands. People would bring in older reels for me to spool up and there was a huge difference in durability between shimano and all else. The pflueger president is probably one of the most over hyped reels I have ever seen (in walleye country). I never saw one older than 5 years come in, yet I saw hundreds of old shimanos. 10 ball bearings? Who cares, bearing quality is much more important. That, amongst other things, is the reason I am switching to all shimano. Daiwa makes SOME good stuff too, but the $10 increase per year almost line wide irks me. The Zillion was an awesome value when it was about $260. Now, its just over priced for aging technology and weight. The best value? The curado or citica and the stradic. Those reels will last a lifetime. I would challenge the sx and the old soron stx to rival the shimanos' performance at price, performance, and durability any day.

Yeah, but the chronarchs are 200 bucks. Besides, I am still able to pick up e series curados and citicas.

HECK NO!!!!! I'm actually on internship right now at Mercury in Fond Du Lac, but I am a senior at Iowa State (Go Cyclones!!!). I don't think I can cheer for Iowa...even if there was a fire.

Unfortunately my first 100d was stolen and I replaced it with a 200e7. Now I am trying to make all of my reels 200e5s or 7s. I absolutely love the frame of the e series. I would gladly buy the new g series but the frame is awkward for me. I would like to buy a 50 size here soon, but I might treat myself to a core.

Don't throw mono for frogs...too much stretch and it doesn't cut through weeds well. Rod selection is generally pretty simple: heavy power (some manufacturers' mh is like others' heavy like Abu rods and vice versa). I prefer a heavy powered rod with an extra fast action for accuracy and bait manipulation. I have a dobyns champion 736c for frogs and it is a beef stick, but that's what I wanted. I love the tip on this rod and I will probably buy a 735 for lighter cover applications like docks and light weeds.

Does anyone here regularly fish Winnebago? I'm on internship in Fond Du Lac until August and its teasing me not being able to use a boat and get on the lake. I was wondering if I could tag along with someone on some Saturday or Sunday if possible. Also, is there another forum available for more local waters? Essentially, I would like to hear fishing and water reports. Thank you!

Like others have said, slack is key. If it is chugging forward then you don't have enough slack. I exponentially increased the amount of bites by learning to walk. With proper technique you can walk a frog without moving it forward more than an inch per rod pop. The padcrasher is a hard frog to learn on imo. The spro frog works best when you trim 3/4" to 1" off of each leg. The rod action can effect the walking too; however, you can walk a frog on any rod.

I would say stay with your current setup. Casting distance has too many variables to just point out the rod. The reel and line make a big difference in casting. If you want more distance out of braid, take a look at power pro slick, it helps. Based on the extra length of your rod, you should be able to outcast that carrot stick, provided all other variables are the same.

Winnie has some pretty good largemouth, but no smallies. Finding bass isn't too hard there because the abundance of shallow weed cover, at least in the summer. My biggest there was about 20" on a live leech rigged weightless and weedless on a reed edge. The only problem is the pike, which seems to be a common issue up north. I also hear leech is pretty good and so is pokegama. No one fishes for largemouth up there so typically they aren't lure conditioned.

Recently I have looked into getting another rod, specifically for 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz football jigs. After several outings, I have found that my current 7' mh is too short and slightly too limber. Ideally, I would want something longer and without microguides. However, I am really undecided on which brand and model. I love to fish football jigs and I am essentially looking to buy the nicest rod in my current arsenal. Thus, I am willing to spend some money for performance, quality, and customer service. So if any of you guys are willing to suggest rods, that would be awesome. I am in no hurry to buy, as the water here has some pretty good ice on it. Thank you!

Again, I like to see good reviews, but I am very firm in trying out rods before I purchase them. For instance, St. Croix rods get excellent reviews and I cannot stand them due to improper balance with all of the reels I own, including the legend tournament rods.

I have heard and seen some very good things about Pinnacle tackle products and I was basically wondering where I would be able to find them. I never buy rods without previously handling them, and because I am interested in the rod series, I would like to handle some. I am in the central Iowa area and almost no one around here carries them. So does anyone in the area have a good place to look at them? Thanks ahead of time!