uiubassmaster

I live in NE Iowa and I went out on the Volga River (a small river that has a mean depth of around 2 to 3 ft.) early this spring when the air temp was in the low 50's. I don't know the exact water temp (probably in the high 40's - low 50's) and I fished the deepest hole I could find (5-7ft) with a strike king bitsy bug (black and blue) matched with a strike king 3X craw trailer and caught some good numbers of big smallies. So far, when the water is cold, my go-to baits have been the strike king bitsy bug, a small Rapala countdown, or a Rapal X rap.

I heard about silica gel packs preventing rust a few years back. Everytime I, or someone in my family purchased a pair of shoes or pants etc that had a gel pack in it, I would keep it and put it in my tackle. I have an Okeechobee Fats tackle back with 8 3700 series cases. I have 2 to 3 gel packs in each case and 6 in my case that contains all my hooks and weights (I figured they would be more susceptible to rusting than my other lures). So far it's worked for me! Good luck.

Don't get me wrong, I love fishing with others, especially when the weather cooperates and we're both catching fish, but I also like fishing by myself too. I mean, I personally don't think there's anything better than getting out on the water by myself and fishing in the quiet, pristine sounds of nature. Just being in the wilderness and taking in all of nature is one of the greatest rewards of fishing to me.

As bad as it may sound, I don't blame the farmers one bit... :-/

I saw a special on this amazing man on ESPN some time ago. It was a touching story and made me feel greatful for all that I've got.

WOW, I would like to think that the US fish and wildlife service and fisheries managers know what they're doing, but this is an outrage. I am serisouly stunned by all of this, over here in Iowa, our streams and small rivers are LOADED with chubs, suckers, and shiners. If you throw something small while fishing for smallmouth or trout, it's a GUARANTEE you're going to catch a chun or sucker. If u ask me, them Colorado fisheries managers can drive their u know whats over here and clean em outta our streams and bring em back to Colorado. God knows we already have more than enough here in Northeast Iowa.

Well put ouachitabassangler, well put...

I'm going to have to take a stand with poor richard in saying that killing an otter is not worth it. I would be thrilled to see a majestic animal such as an otter swimming around in my local waters. Too me, seeing animals and how they act in natures beauty is half the fun of fishing. I don't mean to preach, but there's gotta be an easier way to get the fish to bite than killing an otter. I know it may sound a little wierd, but fly fishing a dry fly would be a great way to silently present a bait to the bass. Another alternative would be to use light spinning tackle with light line and throw flies (if you aren't an avid fly fisherman, which I am not). Don't mean to criticize, that's just how I feel.

I'm sorry ben, thats my mistake, i didnt mean to type 10 inch jackplate, i meant tt type 4 inch. 10 inch is on my dads good boat (my mistake) but anyway I see where u are coming from. So far we have only run the boat once, so I don't have a great idea of the way it handles in all conditions, which is why i was wondering if anybody had any info on the subject.

My dad and I just recently went in on upgrading to a newer boat just about a month ago. It's a 1990 Stratos 270V. It's got a 120 Evinrude (which I've heard nothing but good things about) and a 10 inch jackplate. Does anybody have a boat or motor like this so I know what to do to get the most out of my outboard?

Creek channels and drop offs, submerged structure also....

I'm hoping to get a 7 pounder this summer. We go to a small quarry pond and catch 5 and 6 pounders all summer long, I'm hoping to break out of the slump this summer and get a 7 or better. Wish me luck!

When it comes to fishing plastics, I'm more of a worm and lizard guy, but I do fish tubes when I want to throw sumthing into the thick, matted grass and the jig bight is off. I usually use a 1/2 bullet weight, pegged and inch above the tube. A thick-guage 3/o or 4/o wide gap mustad ultra point is usually my hook of choice. As far as color goes, I like to use black & blue, pumkinseed, watermelonseed, and orange and brown. I live in northeast Iowa, so I am also blessed with the ability to fish some four to five pound smallmouth in the rivers around my house. When I do, a 2 3/4" fat gitzit in the color of either watermelon seed or pumpkinseed is nearly unstoppable. I rig them with a 3/16 or 1/4 oz bullet weight (weather depending) and a 1/o straight shank hook. I hope this can be of some help to you, and if not, then I hope you at least enjoyed reading it...

Common, ya don't even have Stratos on there!!! Well anyway, that's what I float on and I love it.

Well first of all, I don't know exactly where you live, therefor, I don't know the structure of your local lake/river. I would concentrate on sandy areas and shallows where the water starts to warm up at a faster rate than the main body of water. Another suggestion is to fish SLOW, when the water is cold, and the fish are lathargic, a slow presentation can be your best bet, especially when the water starts to warm up at a slow pace. I guess I can't tell you exactly what to do because I don't know what type of water you're fishing, but try to look for vegitation that is starting to green up, putting oxygen into the water. Fish jigs with a pork-rind or plastic trailer or even plastics (worms, tubes, lizards). Another option would be to use scent, and don't be afraid to add too much either. :)Good Luck

Hello all, I am a new member and I am fascinated by this site!!! I am an 18 year old from Northeast Iowa, and I am currently attending Upper Iowa College, where I've started a bass club. Anyway, my question is: How can I get a personal picture for my profile like I've seen on many other's profiles already? The "edit profile" option on this site isn't like the sites i've used before, so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Jacob Bruess