MarkH024

Jerkbaits, lipless cranks, squarebills, jig n pig, and still throwing a frog into slop

Need more time. Winter is coming. Big Ol' PIGS!

You can walk it with braid, but you have to ease up on your twitches. It takes less effort with braid than if using a mono. That said, it will from time to time get tangled in your front trebles. You could always attach a 1-2 foot mono leader on your braid as well. Regarding the submerged weeds, as long as the trebles hanging in the water column can clear them you're fine. You get caught up at all, you're unlikely to get it free without killing the action or being able to walk it properly. Colors.....surface lure, so what matters most is on the underside. White and Black are your general underside colors. You can also get clear, although I don't have a ton of luck with that.

I sat in on a KVD seminar at the Bass Pro Shop in Gurnee, IL earlier this year in January. He was doing tank demo's with the hooks on his baits completely bent over and was still catching fish out of the tank. It was rather funny as every other sentence was interrupted by him either trying to shake one off or actually unhooking them. I might add that it was in prime winter season, he drove from Kalamazoo and it took him 6+ hours to get here. He still took the time to meet and greet EVERY single person that attended his seminar. I drove an hour and 45 minutes on a drive that I should have been there in less than an hour. He is such a stand up guy and the perfect role model for this sport and all other sports for that matter. It was an honor to meet him and I hope to be able to do so again. Regarding the topic, I use a lot of SK cranks and have had great success with them. Price point they are great too. Some of the paint job durability could be better but when you're throwing a crank, a bit of paint chip on the nose end isn't going to be the determining factor of catching fish. I like SK products all around but have a few other brands I like to sneak in as well.

That is pretty incredible. What an amazing creature

I don't really have a solution for minimizing your problem with weeds getting stuck in the intake, however a soft wire brush or a medium to stiff plastic bristle brush is a fast way to break up the clog at the intake if you're sick of yanking it up and down and reaching over to clean it out. Just a thought. I fish a lot of really weedy lakes too, but my 115 hp Evinrude stays pretty clean. The only time I ever have a clog is if I happen to run it through really mucky areas. I always try to trim up as far as possible to avoid the problem though.

That draws half their fan base. Chicago needs to bring back the Honey Bears!

3 Td's and a FG in 2 minutes? This isn't arena football.

Well that was a great end to my evening. I despise the Cowboys about as much as I hate the Chicago Cubs. It's always nice to get a win from the teams you dislike the most. Ditka, Bearsssss, Polish Sausage, Da Bears!

I don't quite understand why so many people have problems with FC line to be honest. Either I am extremely lucky or really good at tying my knots. I don't have very many break off's ever unless I get so hung up that I have no choice. SDJ and Palomar are the only knots I use. Getting bit off.........well that's another story. Snakey pikes...

5.4.1 for my cranks, 6.4.1 for just about everything else except I have a 7.0.1 on my pitching rod. If you're looking to accommodate all 3 lures you mentioned, go with a 6.x.1 if you're limited to one reel.

Check and Check.... I've done about 1/10th the fishing this year that I have in the past 3.

Can't say I agree completely with this. I catch plenty of fish from the 1lb range to 5+ on 3.5"-5" hollow body swim baits. Where I fish, a 5+ is a big bass. 7+ is a monster. If i were fishing really large hard body swim baits like Mann's, then yes I'd be fishing for the big boys. Swim bait has become a very "loose" term it seems so I suppose better clarification would help. MIbassin- I would throw a swimbait with a lot of vegetation or wood. Traps on the outside of weed edges, or through and above grass where you're not getting hung up.

X2 This should be a mandatory pop up before reading/writing in the forums. Also the "search" function here will help you locate many questions you may have.

I think it depends on what type of fisherman you are. For me, I like to powerfish. I like covering a lot of water, and getting reaction bites. I'll fish a good length of time that way until I decide I need to slow down and take a slower approach, or finesse if you will. I like to throw a lipless crankbait, squarebill, swimbait, or anything that's going to cover a lot of water fast. When I get hit, I try to relate to the structure or cover I just passed/hit that got the fish to commit. Then I'll start fishing spots identical to the one that just produced. I'll slow down when I'm getting a weak hit, or a follow on my search baits but not an aggressive strike. Then I'll go to a jig, or t-rig worm. Something a little slower, work the spots you would typically find fish. A lot of times I'll have a search bait and a worm/jig by my feet because if they miss on the search bait and you toss a worm back to that spot, you will likely get a bite there. I throw topwater in low light conditions when the water is 55+. I love topwater fishing so I always give it a chance. I fish frogs more than any other topwater, but spooks and buzzbaits are my other two favorites. Finding confidence in lures will help you catch more fish too. I have more confidence in baits that create reaction strkes than slow finesse baits. That's just me. Sometimes the bite is tougher than the day before. That's the great thing about fishing, it's a constant puzzle. You just got to get out there and find what works for you.

6 Bass boats on a 20 acre lake is a huge problem. That's about 3.5 Acres per boat to fish each. Traffic on a lake can definitely kill the bite, even on large lakes. If there is a lot of commotion, the bass will be on high alert and very skittish. That is an awful lot of activity for a 20 acre lake.

It depends on what time of day, season, and where I'm fishing. Early morning I'll throw a top water bait or some other search bait. Swim jig/ Lipless Crank.

I have noticed this same sort of experience. Where I fish for smallies by the house, I never catch more than 1 or 2 in a pretty tight spot. They seem to be a lot more scattered and I think it's due to the river being relatively shallow. I have witnessed carp and suckers schooled up in masses but that's when it is really really cold coming off the winter months.

I'm with you. I haven't been a hockey fan my whole life but I do enjoy watching the Blackhawks in the winter months that I'm cooped up inside. I'll be bummed if this thing doesn't get straightened out.

Chronarch for my vote

I caught this fish from a small lake up in Wisconsin 2 years ago. Just came across the picture. I never did figure out if it was a nasty growth or a wound gone bad. Any ideas?

Congrats! Start sleeping now. I have 4 month old identical twin boys and while just having one can be exhausting, 2 is crazy. I wouldn't trade it for anything though, it's the best experience ever. For Christmas, ask for gift cards to Babies R Us or Buy Buy baby. Diapers and formula is insanely expensive. Best of luck to you and your wife.

I love throwing square bills. As stated, they're great for deflecting off of cover and structure. One of my confidence baits and they'll work pretty much year round from my experience. Enjoy!

I agree. I only do a little wipe down and reoil for piece of mind, but it's not even necessary. I think Hootie just got 2 bad ones. What a shame.

I have never fished Cabo so you guys should take me so I can test it out.