Bankbeater

Contact the DNR, and see what they say. They may even come out and do it for you.

Where I'm at clear water means vegetation. I usually find the vegetation first and then work on depth. The bass could be anywhere in the water column buried in that stuff. I just start picking it apart until I find a bait they want to eat.

Most of the rock I fish has some type of vegetation growing around it. If it is just bare rock either exposed or submerged then I move on.

I usually check the temp, wind, and sunrise before I head out on a fishing trip. If it looks rainy I keep an eye on the sky and have the radar pulled up on my phone just so I don't get caught off guard.

Lower temps, less people, and the leaves are falling. The lures hanging up in the trees are easier to see.

I was raised to believe that being late is a bad reflection of your character. It also looks bad to customers when the boss is 10 to 15 minutes late for every meeting.

Congratulations! A good sized muskie is a lot of fun on bass tackle.

I have this rod but in the m/f 6'6" length. It works great with small spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and lipless crankbaits from about 3/8 down to 1/4 ounce. For t-rigs I use a mh/f for more muscle.

Most of the time I carry 5 3600 boxes in the tackle bag, and cram plastic worms in one of the side pockets. The boxes will contain terminal tackle, jigs, craws and creatures for pitching, stick baits, and hard baits. The jigs and hard baits get changed out depending on where I will be fishing, but the other boxes stay the same. I try not to get too specialized when walking the bank. I want 2 or 3 rods with me that can cover multiple presentations.

Pitch a jig and craw into that grass.

Dang, you found the hawgs!

Some fantastic people on this forum.

I just drop mine inside the tackle bag. When I get home it gets picked out when I remove the boxes and clean out the inside of the bag.

15 lb Big Game.

The water temperature around here is still fairly warm so mornings are still working for me. When it gets to be jacket weather then I will fish later in the day.

I don't think I have ever used a spinning reel over the 2500 size for bass. My dad used to have some larger spinning reels but they were for catfishing.

I've had better luck fishing a straight worm either weightless or on a split shot rig. I get a lot more bites than when the bait is t-rigged. I think it may have something to do with the fishing pressure in my area. I don't see a lot of weightless plastics being used.

I gotta say no. These were actually dropped into the lake.

Dead sticking a bait on the bottom, or just letting the wind push a topwater bait around on the surface.

Strike King 3/8 painted spinnerbait.

Never have I ever lost a rod by dropping it into the lake. That is something my dad and wife can't say.

I catch more on the 3/8 vibrating jig. I can't get a bite on the minimax. Maybe when the temps get cooler.....

Around here Colorado and Indiana blades seem to work better than willow leaf blades. I've also noticed what @LrgmouthShad said above about the time of year. When it starts to warm up here in the spring the spinnerbait bite dies off until it starts to cool down again.

My biggest limitation of fishing is time. There are a half dozen or so small lakes and ponds that I would love to fish, but they are a 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive away. Getting off work is tough, and I usually have a job or two to do around the house on the weekends.

I'd tie the end to something outside like a fencepost and then start walking the line off to see what it looks like toward the end of the spool. If it looks bad after you have walked 30 yards or so I would respool.