MrPeanut

I feel like the bait monkey is going to take you back to Siebert's soon..... good work! nothing beats a hard jig bite

I haven't gotten a chance to use them yet, but I picked up a couple packs of the tomahawk by Missile baits, I'm pretty excited about them

Good work! It always feels better when you've put in that much time and effort As a fellow suburbanite who fishes a lot of forest preserve lakes, I know that for this area that's a good sized chunk for sure.

funny you mentioned that as a first fishing memory, I grew up learning to fish vacationing to smaller lakes in Wisconsin with my family and we would anchor and sit in the same spot for long periods of time too. I still use anchors a bit, although I do run and gun too, but I more often use the anchor to force myself to slow down and pick the area apart.

I'm a fan of the missile baits tomahawk, the double ribbon tail give it a little bit of a different look than the standard ribbon tail

I fish them the same way as a bigger jig as well. I tend to swim them a bit more than a bigger jig though too, depending on which trailer I have on

awesome! thanks for the tip, I'll check that out

Hey All question about the cork handles, as mine are still pretty dirty looking from last year, how do you guys clean them off a bit? I thought I had read somewhere a little rubbing alcohol and some elbow grease, but wasn't sure and couldn't find the info again

like many others it's my goal again to catch a new PB, and always better myself as an all around angler. Reality is, it's a goal to relax more and just go fishing as often as I can, even if just to a local pond for 15-20 minutes. A more specific goal is to catch fish offshore - something that I am really bad at.

missile baits tomahawk is usually what I reach for

I just read on their website that next year they'll be adding a couple tournaments, and interestingly enough, they're going to air the extended cast prior to them being aired on TV

best bet would be to check online for any info you can find. I think a lot of lakes have info like that on the states DNR website? I could be wrong though

I usually rig my smaller tubes like that, more often than not I'll just use a basic bell sinker and go through the hoop on the top of the sinker it works great at keeping it completely weedless and usually lasts for a few fish

I agree it sucks to have it spoiled..Ill still get the extended cast when it comes out but that type of policy to keep ratings I dont think can work in the long run.

got my first fish with a drop shot this year...not all that confident with it yet but gettin there

I was curious to see how everyone rigged up soft swimbaits. I like using skinny dippers on the back of swim jigs, and was thinking of trying them weightless in shallow weedy areas. Has anybody had much luck this way? Or does everyone stick with either the jighead with hook exposed or weighted swimbait hook for the most part

I would start by trying to find or downloading a decent contour map of the lake and look for some areas on the map try looking for clues where underwater points etc are by looking at the shoreline. Example: if it spikes out into the main lake area chances are the ground under the water does something similar even a relatively cheap depth finder should help get a start off shore. I'm on a tighter budget as well so i dont have anything fancy, but it at least can show depth and drop offs. After you find somewhat of a good drop off or a small hump etc probe the area with something your comfortable with (c-rig, deep crank, jig, whatever) to find hard bottom areas holding fish

IMO the veritas fishes at a heavier action than what they're calling it, I think my MH veritas feels more like a H, that could be why it seems there's no need to go up to a H too, you almost already are using one other rod companies will be different though

fishing is definitely an out / stress reliever whatever you want to call it for me sometimes i catch myself daydreaming while enjoying the scenery/serenity...until i miss the biggest bite of the day ha

that's awesome Mud River i would also agree with the previous posts that it's the challenge of figuring out the puzzle each time your out. That and it's the best way to relax

I think it depends on the person who you are speaking with it comes to groups such as PETA. A large chunk of them will not listen to a word anybody is saying, almost as if everybody is evil for walking on the animal's earth. However there's also a large chunk that would be more than willing to listen to a fisherman's point of view and discuss/learn how the average fisherman loves to help the environment as well, considering if we don't we won't have anywhere to fish Most people's opinions can only be based on who they've met that has the opposite point of view. I"m sure there's a fair share of fisherman who aren't ethical or who litter, etc. but that is clearly not the standard everybody sticks by. On the same note, I'm sure there's a % of PETA members who truthfully do help a lot with different charities, etc involving helping animals/environment...but PETA also is statistically one of the biggest kill shelters in all of America for rescued pets. I also have a co worker who is an avid PETA member but routinely eats KFC chicken and cheeseburgers at lunch, while talking about protesting zoos. That I will never understand, ever. moral of the story, in my head, is if they're willing to discuss, that's awesome and I share the thought of we can all learn from each other. But if they're not wiling to listen and are being hostile, then just separate yourself from them before it gets out of hand.

cool, i'll have to give those colors a shot. I don't know why I've always shyed away from them in the past in dirtier water

I really like throwing weightless flukes in the ponds around my house, the water is somewhat clear though. Have any of you had success with them in more stained water? wasn't sure if they would still be as effective or if there isnt enough vibration on a weightless bait...mayeb still OK with a bright white / pearl color or chartreuse?

IMHO the fish want different sounds on different days / when they're in different moods. At times they want the extra rattling of many small rattles, and other times they may want one knocker sounds or even silent baits with no rattles. I try to throw a different kind until I figure out what they want.

I've had good luck with the Northstar new gill swim jigs with a green pumpkin twin tail