Chode2235

I have been looking at getting Hobie outback for quite a while now. I am going between that, and one of those Wenonah Wee Lassies (weighs 25 lbs). I have fished out of a kayak quite a bit, and you do have a harder time casting to s docks, and fishin types of lures (like walking the dog) as you have to keep your rod pointed up higher than you would normally like. I find myself doing a lot of drop shotting, drifting a jigging etc. You can actually be, I feel, more productive in a kayak. But your favorite methods will likely change. They kayak is great, but utilize it strenghts rather than fight its weaknesses.

Check out the MN DNR lake finder. You can find lots of good information on each lake. Ham lake is pretty shallow and weedy, tough to fish. Of those three Forest lake is probably your best bet.

Yeah its still frozen pretty hard. We still had about 20 inches of hard ice last weekend.

6 ft UL pole, with 4 lb flouro. It works great. I throw a lot of small crankbaits and minnow plugs.

I spent a couple years in Cleveland, and loved the fall and spring Steelie runs. Those fish have such a great color. Nice fish and thanks for the pictures.

I fish the twin cities metro and surrounding lakes quite frequently. It is where I live. The best, or should I say, most famous bass lake around here in Minnetonka. It has a great LM and SM populations and its not too crazy during the week. Weekends and evenings are crazy due to its proximity to the city. There are plenty of great lakes for fishing around here, and the Mississippi is right here too. There is a lot of great fishing, let me know if you have questions.

Hank Parker "The Classic" Spinnerbait in firetiger (021).

I love the mini fat raps for fishing for smallmouth on rivers. They eat them up. Rapala didn't stop making them though, right?

Exactly! I have been saving my money for a hobie outback for a couple years now. There are so many metro lakes around here that never get fished that are non motorized. They are also incredibly sea worthy, and provide the hands free fishing.

For a number of reasons. Most simple one is supply and demand, why wouldn't they charge more for their lures if they could? They're still a great value. Also, raw materials and labor costs are going up, and the dollar is weak. Get used to paying more for everything. Just thank God that Rapala inflation is significantly less than food inflation. Milk is so GD expensive these days.

Take up ice fishing. It is like 2 different sports. I love the complete change of pace and style in the winter. And the fishing is great.

I think it is a little different. I think Cabelas is more geared toward the Northern/Midwest angler, where Bass Pro is more geared toward the Southern angler. I find more stuff in Cabelas that I like, of course I am fishing the 10,000 lakes of MN and not the big reservoirs of the South. We have very different needs and fishing styles. Not that different enough, but we do have niche needs which Cabelas fills better. For instance people were/are screaming that our beloved Lindy tackle company was bought by Spro.

I have one of those Ego nets, and use it in my kayak. I love it because it floats. It is also a rubber net, those are the best by far. No tangles or hooks in the net.

I fish small rivers for smallmouth all summer, and really only use hard baits. I love the jointed and original rapalas. Gold color, up where I am works wonderfullly. I like the rapalas in the river because they can be scattered out over a variety of structure. The hard minnow baits can cover a lot of water, and give you great flexibility in your presentation. They also work well for drifting and floating. I found while using jigs or other soft bottom hugging baits that I drifted to fast to really fish them. Granted soft baits have their place, especially when the fish are more negative, but in the summer I throw jointed rapalas pretty much exclusively. p.s. the rebel crawfish work great too.

In-Fisherman, although not nearly as good as it once was (since the Lindners sold it), is still the best and most informative fishing publication out there. The articles are well written, cover a variety of fish species, and have great graphics. I just miss the days when it was like a medical journal, cover to cover it was so well done. I guess though for $10 a year they had to make cuts somewhere. I highly recommend their special issues: ice fishing, bass fishing, walleye. Those special publications still have the same magic.

FishingMinnesota.com also has a pretty good one. I t is MN specific.

I fish from shore and from a boat and needed something that could be used both places. I ended up getting the Humminbird PiranhaMax with both the suction cup transducer and the smart cast sonar. I love to be able to fish from shore and cast out the sonar and check all the spots around me for structure and for fish. The unit works equally well in the boat too. Check these out, they really are great units.

Eelpout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eelpout I had one wrap around my arm once. I hate those guys.

One can easily expect to drop over $100 bucks on gas for a weekend of fishing. We onlly have 150 hp, and it is an older motor too, but the thing drinks gas like, well... I drink beer. Outboard motors were not really designed for efficiency, but rather for performance.

I love my Tierra too. Such a great reel for the money IMO. But I dont think you can go wrong with either.

El problemo esta cuando nosotros pescamos nosotros no enseñar otros la cultura de 'pescamos Americanos'. *Rough Spanish, Sorry* The problem is that when we go fishing we don't teach others about the culture of 'American Fishing." Instead of complaining about the foreigners, teach them, take them fishing. Instill in them the values that you have regarding fishing. Like it or not, these are the people who you share the water with. It is in our best interest to get everyone on the same page regarding C&R beliefs, and fishing philosophies. Lead by example, and don't be afraid to take someone fishing who doesn't quite know how we do it around here. Don't blame and demonize, help them.

The issue, the way I see it, is that we are not the only ones fishing out there. I go up to a resort town in Northern MN, where most of the people fishing are tourists and they keep every possible fish that they can. Is it ok to keep some fish, sure! But please remember that you are likely needing to release other peoples 'share' as well. It may be being overdone by some individual fisherman, but at a macro level catch and release has yet to fully catch on.

Its not so much that its the Chinese's fault. I'm sure they can actually produce quality goods. The problem is the 'race to the bottom' mentality that we insist that they follow when we buy products from them. We insist that they produce more goods each year for less money, and to do that they cut corners. The whole dog food thing was due to them trying to increase the protien % in their food by substuting urea, a trick that origniated here but was quickly done away with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_protein_export_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine I just think the demands that American corporations are putting on them in many ways force them to cut corners, on top of the fact that there are billions of them so the relative value of human life and individuality (arguably the cornerstones of our culture) is limited. So its not only them, but the companies that so willingly ship jobs and manufacturing over there to save some money, avoid environmental protections, and labor laws. Its not so much that I don't want to support the Chinese, I don't want to support the companies without any soul. I vote with my wallet. Just my thoughts.

I assume you are talking about the cork on the casting Avids, because I love the grips on the spinning ones. I really love the cork on the back of the reel seat. Anyway, here is the link. http://tackletour.com/reviewicast07rodspg6.html Do you really think the price is going to go up that much. I really doubt it, after seeing the redesign of the Premiere rods and how St. Croix managed to keep the price point the same. It also doesn't make much sense from a business perspective as the Avids would canabalize their Legend Tournament line. But to be honest, Avids are probably the best bang for the buck where fishing rods are concerned.

Has anyone heard when the newly redesigned St. Croix Avid series rods will be available. I have been holding off on a new one since hearing about the redesign on tackle tour. Thanks.