5dollarsplash

"I'm taking the dog."

Well, I for one am glad he only stared at you. I would have been truly freaked if it had spoken. If it was a snakehead and you manage to wrangle one, don't bother with catch and release. Ugly invasive buggers.

Slime coat is there to protect the fish from disease and parasites, my guess is with temps up this year that parasites and illness maybe wider spread? Thicker line of defense for our fishy buddies? Maybe a expert will pipe in, but that'd be my guess.

I'd agree with those who say find the fat paycheck. After that though to give a good recommendation, I'd need to know how you feel about saber-tooth spotted bass(Muskie). If you enjoy toothy buggers like pike and muskie, and maybe hunting whitetail, I'd recommend my fair state of Wisconsin. If your just after fat bass, stay south, as our winters don't let them get to the sizes you see down there.

I've got a old pair of thick kevlar gloves in the back of the boat for musky and pike. Those along with my "Toothy fish dental kit." Pliers, forceps, jaw spreader. I remember the first time the girlfriend saw me open up the box I keep it all in. She said something along the lines of "Are you a fish orthodontist?" Never said I chose her for her brains....

Senkos, craw trailer, maybe a ribbon tail worm. Those are my random experiments in colors, and I'll pick up a pack almost any time I'm shopping. I do tend to stick to certain color patterns though; browns, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, or a combination of those. Lately I've been hooked on top waters, so I've picked one of those up pretty regular. Be it a frog or Pop-R or wiggle wog. I've got so many cranks/jerk baits/spinners it really takes something jumping out to get my attention, plus cranks tend to run up the price tag quickly. Hope that helps some?

Theres just something pretty about pike and musky. They rip up my baits, tangle/tear my line, and try to remove my fingers. But when all is said and done they are gorgeous fish in pictures!

This is what I use mine for. Works great with a 7' MF rod for dropping your plastics right where you want them. Smooth action as well. I haven't had the above bail and handle issues.

My friends grandpa uses one. I believe its a PSE Tac 15-I maybe? Its interesting but unless you have a physical hinderance you can't use them in WI for hunting. It was fun to target shoot though.

High temps have people avoiding big fish here in NW Wisconsin. A lot of people don't want to take a muskey or big pike for fear of it dying on them. My local lake limit is 50" so you feel awful about one passing. This has put more pressure on the bass and panfish population, since people don't feel as bad about them. I think the year has been decent so far, although the summer bite has been slower with water temps around 80*

I've had some of my best frog luck while walking in open areas off of cover. Walk it real slow and let it take on water and slowly sink. I've had some big ones nail it when its 6" under the surface in its slow fall.

I have one dedicated crank set up. LgMouthGambler covered why. I just don't find myself running one a lot, too much to get hung up on up here.

If you have a store that carries Abu around you (I found mine at ACE homecenter), the silver max is a great reel. I'm not a connoisseur of baitcasters, but I do love mine. I paired it with a Berkley AMP that I got for $15 and its a slick affordable combo. Total damage around $65.

65# Braid for me. When your fishing weeds as thick as your forearm you appreciate the extra power. People will also beef up their rod, going from MH to H for the extra backbone.

Shakey or T-rigged. If its a trick worm I'll use wacky on occasion.

Greetings! So glad to have found such a great community of fisherpeople. My name is Brian; I'm 26 years old from Barron County Wisconsin. I split my free time between fishing and golf, with the tendency sliding more towards fishing as I age. My personal best was a 6# largie caught on a rebel pop r about 10 years back. I look forward to adding what little I know to this site, and unselfishly taking in all the great information you all provide.

Northwestern WI, I use mainly braided on my casting outfits, for backing I just use a bit of electrical tape to let the braid dig in. For my spinning gear I use mono, mainly for simplicity. I'll tie a double uni like you described with fluro to braid, although I rarely bother as I'm not to sold on line scaring off fish. Just my .02

.30-06 Remington bolt action. .243 when I was a young buck.

Anyone been up in the NW part of the state? I'm from Rice Lake and am looking for info on other lakes in the area if anyone has input on how the bass are behaving.