bassh8er

And just like the 'Hawks' that year, none of those teams will get very far, so not a big deal. Win your division and you don't have to worry about it.

Trick worm for the win! That is my favorite soft plastic.

Castaic Jerky J

Coors Light and that is all

I actually like ice fishing better than open water fishing and started doing it seriously last winter. I can give you some solid advice and would suggest you go with somebody that has done it before and has the gear and knows what they're doing. You don't need a flasher to catch fish but I wouldn't go without one now. The same for the house and heater. It's easy to get discouraged when you go and don't start catching fish right away and don't know where to go from there. I'm LOVING this arctic blast and hope to be on hard water by Black Friday.

As the season approaches, I've got a few things to stock back up on. For bass fishing, I get most of my gear at TW, but do you have any good suggestions for buying ice fishing gear?

I wouldn't put on new line until the beginning of next season rather than the end of the current one. Your brand new line is going to have 4 months of memory on it before your first cast.

I get the point of your post and agree with your summarizing statement, but were you not doing the same thing as these guys were before you were considered the "exception"? I've found that in most cases I can get access to privately owned ponds by simply asking first. It's the "getting caught" that will give you issues every time.

I started ice fishing semi-seriously last year and now prefer it to open water fishing.

I just hold them by the lip in the water while my buddy is getting the camera ready, and we don't take many pictures. I've yet to have one swim out of my grasp and don't see why you'd want to put a fish on a stringer, even for a little bit, if you're going to release it.

I worked at BPS part time for about 6 months in college for some extra income. I actually had to take a test, fishing department, and had to come back for a 2nd interview for a total of 3 different interviews. It was for $8/hour and I ended up quitting when I graduated and got offered a "real" job. I don't know how the full time guys do it there unless they're retired or have another job. I got a 4% raise right before I quit, but the extra $.32/hour just wasn't enough to keep me there.

How do you lose a top water and a shallow diver? Break the line? If so, get new line.

Yours is more than ok. Road Warrior is a strong advocate of Megastrike and they have quality products. I, however, put the Trick Worm up against any bait as far as consistently producing fish.

$150 will get you a nice setup if you wait until the BPS Spring Classic. The Pro Qualifier is a good value at $100, better at $80 during the Classic and a steal at around $65 during the reel trade in.

We had a bad string of EHD here in the midwest 2 summers ago and lots of deer died, and most of them would head towards water towards the end.

I've got 11 in 2 different colors and buy all I can find on eBay. It walks easier than other baits in my opinion and has great action.

It doesn't surprise me that the gloves were out of stock. I, unfortunately, have not had positive experiences with Cabela's and gladly drive by it so that I can drive another 25 minutes to Bass Pro.

Lucky 13

I tried them last year on the ice but they were always froze and I couldn't get them out of the jar. Seems like they would work but I couldn't keep them warm enough to mold on the hook; tried 3 different times then threw them away!

My first baitcaster and almost my last. I couldn't get that thing to not backlash and haven't gone back since.

8.13 lbs in a southwest Iowa lake. I haven't caught anything over 6 since that day 3 years ago. Storm Mid-Wart that hit on top before I even started cranking. Not sure on the color but I've since bought 9 of the color on eBay!

Been thinking of pulling the trigger on a Yeti cooler for those weekend foshkng trips. I've read several reviews and was wondering if anybody has experience with these? I think that I'm looking at the Yeti 45 cooler. Thanks in advance.

The same lure it's been the last 5 years; Zoom Trick Worm.

I've got that reel in a Premier L & UL and it feels fantastic. I about fall over if I pick up my bass rod after handling either of these 2 setups.

I use a pearl or green pumpkin Zoom Super Fluke and always fish it weightless. I fish it just like a Senko with erratic jerks between pauses.