Tuckahoe Joe

Couldn't tell you why but 8 out of 10 of my keys look exactly the same. Fortunately the 2 that I use the most are the 2 that are different. Aside from those, I might use 2 or 3 of the others every once in a while and it's always a pain trying to figure out which is which.

What does everyone think about Terminus? I can't shake the feeling that...

http://www.in-fisherman.com/2014/03/05/new-20-pound-record-walleye-pending-washington/ Is that the one your talking about? It's a beast of a fish...

I just bought some Suffix Siege on clearance and it spooled up fine. Maybe you over-filled your spool? I've had this problem before and I can sympathize with you that its a real pain in the ass. Here's a good video for putting line on a spinning reel and it offers a helpful tip or 2 that some people may not have heard. And btw, awesome avatar pic...Homer fighting General Sherman...classic!

This time last year I was catching them left and right on spinnerbaits. Not sure what the water temps were but I'm pretty sure it's been a lot colder this year though so you might still be better off with lure that has a slower presentation. Still, spinnerbait might be worth a shot.

It's gonna be jigs for me this season. Never really gave them the time of day but I recently got a dedicated jig rod and a few different models and colors. Lost what should have been my first jig fish at the end of last season due to my 12 pound mono breaking off so I'm gonna grab some braided line as well. Now if this weather will just break and we can get started with spring I'll be in business.

That place looks beautiful! My wife just told me she wants to move there.

I went on a scouting mission around Harford county and hit just about every small pond that was listed in the booklet that came with my license. Most were only about 1 acre. No luck anywhere. I saw 2 small baitfish and 1 dead catfish. I ended up running into a guy that said there weren't any bass in any of the small ponds so I shot over to the Conowingo dam while I was up that way to check out the Susquehanna but the flood gates were open and the current was just too much below the dam and I couldn't find a way to any water above it. If anyone has any bank fishing info for that area let me know. With the wind, cold, and the wasted gas it was kind of a miserable day but at least I got out of the house and I was able to rule out a few ponds in my quest for a decent bass spot.

I had the same problem a while back and posted about it on here. A tip someone gave me was to take some needle nose pliers and bend the tip of the blade. I usually bend it about 45 degrees. It helps it catch the water and gets it spinning easier.

Found a plain undressed Mepps last season. I've caught a few bass and pickerel on it. Seems to do well when the fish aren't really biting anything else

Another vote for the Abu Cardinal. Bought one to put on my wife's rod at the beginning of last season. It landed quite a few nice fish and it's going into it's second season with no problems. I'm looking at picking up another one for a different combo.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll give a few of them a try and see what works best. Gonna post some pics after I get the cleaned up cuz I need to get an ID on them.

I have an Australian Shepherd too. I've taken him a couple times but he's got so much energy and it's hard for him to resist running off and exploring on his own. I'd like to take him more but it gets to the point that I spend more time looking to see what he's doing than I do fishing. Here's a couple of pics with him and my wife with his first fish. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she set the hook and he realized there was something alive on the end of the line.

Found a couple of squarebills at the lake the other day. The hooks are rusted out but I can easily change them. The only thing is that they're really dirty. It's like they're stained from mud and grime. The last couple of times I was in this situation I just used a rag and some hot water/dish soap and it worked alright but took a while and a lot of elbow grease. I was just wondering if anyone had a better way.

No I don't have any. Just one of many techniques that I still need to learn. Maybe I'll pick a few up. I got mine at the WalMart on White Marsh Blvd in Baltimore County. They're long gone by now though. Last I looked there was only a handful of Shakespeare rods in the clearance bin.

Hit up 2 lakes in Howard County today. Centennial and Jackson's pond. It was my first time at each and didn't have any luck at either of them. I was thinking that at Centennial at least maybe the pike and trout would come out to play. Of course there was still a lot of ice so I had limited water to fish and had to do quite a bit of walking to get to it. And of course the majority of the soft water was at the end of the lake that was buoyed off as a wildlife sanctuary so I left that alone cuz I'm sure that that's a heck of a fine. I liked the look of Jackson's pond but it seems really small. I mean, there can only be so many fish in a pond that size right? And who knows if people are keeping fish or not and how many. So I'm wondering if that one is completely fished out. I dunno though. I'm probably just over-thinking it cuz I haven't caught a bass since the beginning of November. I'm gonna give it a week or 2 and let the water warm up a bit and then try them again. Also planning on trying Lake Elkhorn, Lake Kittamaqundi, Wilde Lake, and the Baltimore County reservoirs. I seriously hope were done with winter. It looks like its starting to warm up. I just wanna get back on some decent fish.

I just bought that same rod on clearance at WalMart for 25 bucks. Gonna use it for frogs and jigs. Thinking about hitting some of the lakes in Howard County this season even though I'm in Baltimore.

I hate Trilene with a passion. Way too much memory for my liking. Spooled up 3 rods with it a couple weeks ago even though I don't like it because it was all I could get a hold of at the time and just wanted to get out and fish. I fished with it for 3 hours and got so many twists and wind knots that I took it all off and threw it away as soon as I got home. It's Suffix Siege for me. Casts smooth, nice and limp with very little memory, and doesn't fray much at all.

My WalMart had the Vendetta's down to $19.99. Picked up one for the wife and also got myself a Bucoo Micro Guide for $29.99. All the WalMarts have they're fishing stuff on clearance right now. Around here the different stores have different stuff though. The one had rod's marked down while another close by had line/reels on sale and still another had lures/terminal tackle. Some of the deal's are better than others. You just gotta sift through them.

I'm the opposite. My wife has 16 years on me. There's no one I'd rather fish with though. She goes with me 95% of the time and usually does pretty well considering that me trying to teach her is kinda like the blind leading the blind. She likes fishing Yum Dingers and lipless cranks. Here's her best fish from last season.

X's 2 on this.

I'm ready to get working on my goal of mastering the art or the jig. I recently bought a 6' 10'' MH Falcon Bucoo Micro Guide that I'm dying to try. Gonna buy an Abu Garcia Orra Sx to put on it. Aside from that I can't wait for the topwater bite to pick up so I can throw some frogs and my Hula Popper.

4lb mono and 1/8oz or smaller inline spinners is what I use. You might also try a small crankbait like the Strike King Bitsy Minnow. I usually just cast it out and reel it in with a steady retrieve. If there's current like in the creek below the dam that you mentioned, I've heard people say to cast upstream for a more natural presentation. Makes it look like a small baitfish being washed downstream with the current. But I've done the exact opposite and caught fish too so give both a try. Never used Powerbait but I've seen others having success with it. I'm not personally a huge fan of the 'cast and wait' method.

I was fishing by a boat ramp when I looked down the trail around the lake and saw what I thought was a stray dog. It was rolling around playfully in the grass. I started to walk toward it and then I realized that it wasn't a dog but an otter. Probably about 3 to 4 feet long. Tried to get close enough to take a good picture but when I was about 20 feet away it stopped rolling and slid into the lake.