38 Super Fan

Low 50s on Wood Creek last weekend. Low 50s and upper 40s on Laurel Lake a few days before that. This cool and windy snap has had me off the water since then.

Why can't we just leave it like this year around?

Nice score!

For some reason Luck-e-Strike slightly redesigned them a while back. The weight transfer system is a little different now, and the bodies of the baits are a little more textured. I liked the older ones better, they usually sit more nose down for me. The newer ones are OK, but I buy the older ones when I run across them.

Too many to list! I'll stick to my neck of the woods and say Dale Hollow. When I grew up as a kid in Southwest Ohio, that was the lake everybody talked about going to.

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you've already gotten plenty of good advice on rods and reels. If you get that boat and decide to go down to Wood Creek or Laurel Lake, I could give you a few hints, I know those two pretty well.

Great read, thanks for posting!

Wow, 7 funerals in one month? Very sorry to hear that.

Can't beat a Cara at that price!

Welcome aboard!

Leslie Co. here

I'm thinking about picking one up. Lots of Shimano love here on the forum, maybe I'll give one a try.

I'm with A-Jay, by and large, suspension is overrated. What I really do like about the Vision 110 is the 45 degree angle when they suspend. IDK why, but the jerkbaits I have that sit the most nose down also seem to catch fish the best. The action is also the best I've seen, those suckers come alive on 10 pound test, and they don't barrel roll like some other jerkbaits. I just wish I had more of them!

I said I was gonna get better at finesse fishing this year. So far it's not going well at all though.

The popper doesn't shock me, but a buzzbait too?

Thanks for the reply. Yep, I've mostly tried it on Norris, a little bit on Laurel here in KY too. I kind of figured I picked a bad year to try and learn it, it's been the most mild Winter that I can remember. How are you fishing those hair jigs? I haven't tried those a lot, but what little I've tried them there, I haven't caught a thing. I've really been trying to branch out this Winter, but I just can't seem to catch anything unless I'm throwing a jerkbait.

Always casting gear for me. I tend to always use heavier hard jerkbaits (1/2 oz) for one thing. Also, a fast retrieve casting reel can pick up the slack much faster than your typical slow retrieve spinning reel. Ability to pick up slack quickly is very helpful when fishing a jerkbait. If you're talking small lightweight jerkbaits and flukes, a spinning rod could be preferable though.

The mild winter here this year has probably made the float n fly much less effective than usual. Better luck next year maybe.

Ah yes, the float and senko, I haven't tried that one in years. That puts mine to shame! I haven't had a great deal of luck with hair jigs either, just out of curiosity, how do you like to fish them?

I really made a commitment to catch fish with this technique this year, but in half a dozen trips since the new year started, I haven't been able to catch one fish on this rig. I've really put some effort into this too, in fact, I don't think I've effort put this much time in with a rig and gotten such poor results. On numerous occasions I've thrown the float n' fly into areas where I was positive that fish were holding, not even a nibble. Then I'll throw a jerkbait in, and catch a fish on the first or second cast. I know many in this area have had a lot of success with the float n' fly, but I think I'm gonna be putting mine away. It hasn't been all bad though. My old standby, the hard jerkbait, has been fishing great. Even caught this nice smallie last month:

I agree, it's a waste of time trying to clean them, it would be quicker and easier just to replace them. And as mentioned in the above link, putting them in a sturdy bottle and tossing it out is a decent way to get rid of them.

I love it for jerkbaits. That's where I use it the most.

Yeah, I've gone back to brining one lately, and I also plan to get better this year with finesse fishing. Funny thing is, I used to fish Senkos on Spinning gear all the time, that was my go to in fact. Then I got into power fishing and didn't look back for a long time.

Same here, I use one often on spinning gear, but never on casting gear.

Oh yeah! On a weak little jerkbait rod too, it was a heck of a fight. I think it was probably my PB smallie, I didn't have a scale though.