Ratherbfishing

If you're gonna spew, spew in this!!!

Ditto. They get pretty noisy in the throes of love

When I hear "bucket fishermen" I think not of those people who go out and now and again keep a few fish to eat for a meal. In my eyes, that is perfectly fine. Rather, bucket fisherman for me conjures up images of those yahoos who either fill a 5 gallon bucket with every fish they can catch (or can beg from others)-regardless of daily and possession limits. Or I think of those who, while perhaps keeping within the daily or possession limits, will go out every chance they get and keep every fish they can legally retain. While the former example is the most despicable, they both can have an impact on a small fishery. And this impact is greater with every additional bucket fisherman who goes there. One of my local haunts was nearly decimated of bass by some fools two years ago who didn't know (or care) when enough was enough. I rarely catch any bass over 9 inches anymore and the now dominant bluegill keep the remaining bass skinny. I've been keeping more of those bluegill until a better balance occurs.

I cheated by lumping several together: Time of year Wind/wind direction Water temperature/clarity barometric pressure structure and cover

Generally I stay in one spot or fish the same method for only about an hour before I move or switch. UNLESS i think the weather is going to change or the water is going to warm up sufficiently to remain. I generally feel that if the fish are there and they're going to bite, they will. I'm not going to consume my time casting to non-existent or inactive fish.

I'd immediately go about the task of selling it. If I kept it, it would then require that I get a heavier/much more expensive truck. The cost of the new truck and the gas alone would be more than I'm willing to spend. I'm happy with my aluminum john boat and Toyota Tacoma.

It's possible they sold you an axle too light for your boat and trailer. My friend had that happen. After he'd replaced his axle his tires were wearing out prematurely. Granted, his boat is rather heavy for a single axle trailer (probably too heavy, really) but when he brought up the issue to the folks who he'd gone through, they said "Who ever did this, recommended too light of an axle." My friend replied/retorted: "YOU sold me this axle (you jerks)!!!!

Left the drain plug out of my boat AGAIN. Fortunately, the access is on the inside of my boat. Unfortunately, the plug itself had worked its way under a board that secures a spare battery and I couldn't see or get to it. But I knew it had to be there. So, with a couple of mighty heaves, I ripped that $&^(*# board off to get to it. (Didn't like that stupid piece of wood anyway!) As I write this, I'm picking a piece of dead skin off my finger where I'd dug my fishing line into it earlier this week. ***** happens.

Don't know where you call home but I would love to take you one place I go. I've often commented to a friend that it is the ideal place for someone with a visual impairment. There are stands of cattails in about 5 feet of water where you can cast almost anywhere in a 360 degree radius (by boat) without getting too badly hung up. It is an ideal place to fish a jig, creature bait, or texas-rigged worm by feel and there are (usually) lots of bass there. But to answer your questions (or contribute to the answer), using tungsten weights will help feel the bottom while keeping bulky weights to a minimum. Swim jigs are good for giving the impression of a jig but also covering more water. Yum makes a good soft-plastic called a Mighty Bug that has legs which undulate when it is swam along. Braided line will give you better feel with a slow falling bait such as a wacky rigged senko. Using a good graphite 7 or 7.5 foot rod will help keep the line vertical and help with detecting strikes. That's about all I have.

I would suggest you soak them in soapy water however you may not wish to be called a dirty cork soaker.

Respectfully, your question is a bit like asking "What spices are good on food?" Assuming you live in the northern hemisphere and some distance from the equator, time of year (specifically spring) seems to be the most relevent factor now and there are a lot of good articles on this site http://www.bassresource.com/seasonal-fishing-articles#spring that address springtime fishing. It's not simply the baits that are relevent, however. It's also location and methods. Fortunately, smaller ponds/lakes make finding fish easier.

I hadn't mentioned Floating Rapala's ONLY because I don't view them as shallow diving crankbaits. But "shallow" is relative I suppose. I LOVE Floating Rapala's. If there is a crankbait that can produce a fish when none others will, it's the floating Rapala.

Ha! That's priceless!

Be firm and be consistent. Do not wait until the 3rd or 4th time you have to say something before you resort to punishment. As Oregon Native said, let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Rewards are good but not if they become expected for normal, reasonable behavior (whereas the child acts out if they aren't rewarded). Children are better at training us (wearing us down) than we are with them.

1) While taking a leak off the side of a boat, the coangler should refrain from fishing until at least the second shake. 2) Because the cooangler should never know when that second shake has occurred, the responsibility will then be on you to announce when you are finished by stating, "boy that water's cold" followed, perhaps, by "deep too."

Your GRANDFATHER is infested with them? Where do they hide? Oh, wait!!!! Forget I asked!!!!

I do not think yo-zuri hybrid is quite as limp as, say, Trilene XL however it's strength (literal strength) far outweighs this deficiency. I've saved a fair number of lures ($$$) that would've broken off with a lesser line.

Sorry but I just have to ask: Are you absorbent and yellow and porous ? Do you have a best friend named Patrick? Well, this IS a fishing website so I wouldn't be surprised. On that note, my first piece of advice is this: No matter how much you want to be accepted by Sandy, don't leave your aquatic environment without, at least, a goldfish bowl of water on your head.

Youthful exuberance and inexperience can often come off as arrogance or "privilege" and I think some people chafe against that. Kudos for Young Fisherman's mom keeping a watchful eye on his internet activities. There are too many parents who treat their children like adults (in terms of privileges, choices, etc) at far too young an age. I also give her praise for encouraging her son to do something he wants to do rather than, perhaps, what she would expect him to do. I certainly am a believer in "reality checks" as the world (often for selfish reasons) will promise the world and seldom deliver. But I am also an advocate of encouragement and praise (when it's deserved). Perhaps he will not become successful tournament fisherman (insert "basketball star", "astronaut", "rock star", etc here) but it is better, in my opinion, to say he "can" than to say he can't. If all we ever hear is "can't", how do we ever think we "can" hold a good job or "can" be a good parent, etc.

I haven't tried them all but the Mann's 1 minus is difficult to beat.

Some guys I don't like much, I'll grant you that, but it's not because they have nicer equipment than I do. Heck, by SOMEBODIES standard (real or imagined), most of us probably have nicer equipement than them. I do tease my friend, sometimes, because he attempts to use gear that is not matched to a technique (such as fishing a frog in thick slop with an ultralight and 6 lb line) but even then it's ultimately his business and not mine. I have experienced times when someone in a boat approximating the cost of my house will come roaring into the cove where I am fishing, send waves at my boat to the point where I have to sit down to avoid falling overboard, and then they go roaring off again after a half a dozen casts. It's difficult, sometimes, to not assume they didn't feel "entitled" with their fancy boat. But even then, it's their actions and not their property that defines them.

The last two times I went out, I used my spinning rod/reel exclusively so yes, it's very possible to get by without a baitcasting rod/reel. But I also use my baitcasting reel pretty regularly and there are times when it's nearly irreplaceable. So, if money becomes available and you want to get one, sure, why not?

I'm from Champaign area. A buddy has mentioned wanting to fish the canal and I'm doing some scouting.

I dunno exactly. It's a number of different things I guess. I like figuring them out and then "outsmarting" them. I like having an excuse to be outside. There's always a rush when I feel weight on the end of my line and it just gets bigger as the size of the fish goes up. Sometimes I ask myself why I like fishing so much but then I tell myself to shut up and just enjoy it.

I always hear people complaining about the weather but I've never known anyone to do anything about it. Yes, this weather is goofy as *&^%%!!! It's wreaking havoc on all my plans. p.s., Being from geneseo, do you fish the Henepin canal much?