MarkH024

If you have a pair of good long needle nose pliers there is no reason to get cut. Forceps would work too but I don't find them any easier than using pliers. Pike plague the waters I fish, you learn to deal with them. And, it's rewarding to catch a nice big one here and there. They put up a good fight unless they get tail wrapped which happens occasionally and they have excellent burst speed so the runs next to the boat are always fun.

Those look like phenomenal swimbaits but $100 a pop right? Can I borrow yours? lol

I've only seen loons when I've been up to Canada or they far points of the Wisconsin Northwoods. Never have i seen them go after lures. Usually if you approach them they swim off or go under and pop back up 20 yds further away. Your loons sound loony.

I have one. I use it on a 6'8" M/XF rod for jerkbaits and topwater. I was toying with mono on it, but I'm a braid kind of guy so I'm swapping it out soon. The 50E is awesome and will definitely add more when/if needed.

He got me. Swimbait rod and some swimbaits on the way from TW. I have a Curado 300 DHSV just sitting doing nothing so it's time to put it to use.

Clayton is real life Shrek. Those were 5lbers! Lol

You're probably referring to Gloomis rods.

X2. You won't win them all. Get after 'em

Lower your expectations. Anticipating a fish on 2 or 3 casts is not really realistic unless you're sitting on top of a school. Even at that, still pretty high standards. Leave everything at home and use whats new to you. You will be rewarded sooner or later and at the same time become a more versatile angler.

Had my TM serviced just this month. Had line wrapped in it and actually cut into the seal and was allowing a tiny bit of water to get inside. No real harm done but I will be checking more so now. Haven't looked at my big motor prop but this thread is just another reminder to do so.

I fish in water wolf (pike) infested waters. I will report on my "fins" when I get a chance to use it. I also have a few other brands I purchased and will be trying out.

I don't believe these have a closed eyelet (please correct me if i'm wrong) so snelling is out of the question and for me, snelling a punch rig is the only way to go. Just my .02 on that.

I just ordered one in wicked perch color. I'll let you know if I have any problems. Probably will be a couple weeks before I even get to fish it though.

Ouch. I've seen the one where the woman takes it through the implant...

Try both. But from my experience in punching heavy milfoil mats in Wisconsin you're going to collect more weeds using a punch skirt but it provides a bigger profile bait. If the weeds have a mixture of algae/slime with them, I prefer to not use a skirt rig. The unskirted set up is a lot more weedless and almost always comes out clean. I tend to use this if I'm punching at a faster pace and or around docks covered with slop. I think you need to test both set ups and see what works better for you. If I start with one and don't get bit, I switch. I'm also stepping away from the Trokar flipping hooks now. They just shred plastics way to darn fast for me. There was another topic recently about this but I'm going to be using the Mustad flipping hooks now to help preserve my plastics better. Lastly, get your punch skirts from Siebert Outdoors. They're top notch, awesome colors, and much more affordable than what you'll pick up on the shelves.

No but I did see an albino squirrel up in Wisconsin earlier this year. That was a first for me.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R4/sangch.htm

Nice fish! Big ol pig!

They must be from IL

Yes I use the dream shot. It is a great bait. Not super durable so a bottle of Mend-It will make your stash survive a tad longer.

The issue has nothing to do with Fluoro line. I use 15lb fluoro on my cranks and can bomb them. To echo the others, 30 yds isn't all that bad on a squarebill. Your rod seems pretty ideal although I have no experience with that brand of rod. I think with some fine tuning of the reel you'll gain the extra ten yards or so that you're looking for. Accuracy with squarebills outweighs distance. Most of my squarebill fishing is probably 30yds or less. It doesn't take much to get squarebills to the appropriate running depth and it's far more important to get them in the spots you need them to be. Whether it be running along side of a dock, next to an isolated stump, or in between grass mats.

I use them for punching and on a jika rig. They're pretty big for a trailer. Bigger than my liking anyway. They do have great action. Pike sure love to ****** the tail off. Gets a bit frustrating.

Yea I'm going to agree with bassinlou. Just a bit of tweaking to your technique. Bending hooks is going to lead to more foul ups in weeds and pads. I use LiveTarget frogs straight out of the box with great success. Maybe try a different frog to see if you have a better hook up ratio.

No you should be fine there. How about line? Theres really no reason to bend hooks.

Way to go! Awesome story and congrats!