Felix77

Forgot Rennselear Lake. Primarily for LMB but they stock with trout so every once in a while one will jump on your line.

Oh boy ... you are in my neck of the woods. I live just outside of Albany, NY. Here's my short list Round Lake - LMB, Pike. Especially towards little round lake. Saratoga Lake - LMB, SMB, Pike. I generally catch LMB. The creek gets less pressure than the main body during the summer. Collins Lake - LMB, Pike. This is a small lake but it's fed from the Mohawk don't let it's size fool you. I saw a huge pike pulled out from shore. There are others but those are my top 3 which I have fished on my canoe. There are also a bunch of bank fishing spots which are fun to fish. Welcome to the forum.

IMO there are two "Rules of Thumb". #1 - The "clearer" the water the "clearer" the line.. #2 - The slower the presentation the "clearer" the line. Use the line which gives you the best advantage to meet both of those needs. Err on the side of "Clearer is better". So for example Clear water / Slow presentation like a shakey head/drop shot. I use 8lb FC and drag slowly along the bottom. Clear water / moderate presentation like a swimbait, spinnerbait. I up the size to 12lb FC with a moderate retrieve. Clear water / fast presentation like an alabama rig. I up it to 20lb FC with a moderate to fast retrieve. stained water / Slow presentation like T-rigged worm or craw. I use 10lb Braid and drag slowly along the bottom. stained water / moderate presentation like a chatterbait. I'm comfortable using 10lb Braid but generally stay with 12lb FC with a moderate retrieve. stained water / fast presentation like an alabama rig. I up it to 40lb Braid with a moderate to fast retrieve. One variance to my "Rule of Thumbs" Grass - You can treat grass like you do clarity IMO. This allows you to assess sparse cover vs thick cover.the same way. That is why you can get away with a 65lb Braid Flippin' Stick setup in thicker cover situations.

Welcome. I am in the Albany, NY area. There is exactly 138 more days until my first Bass Tournament of the year.

Roboworm is my #1. I also have some success with the Strike King dreamshot. We need a Rage Shot.

I saw the show and immediately thought of the post already shared on this thread. Sad because as the pros people will listen to them and believe they did was the right thing.

I think its a refreshing change of pace to see a Superbowl in a cold and open environment. It is football after all.

Way to go! I am starting from a very similar place. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Not impressed with their line of baits in general. I tend to avoid the marginal price difference and buy something which is of better quality.

I am personally on a quest to lose over 100 lbs. No more weighing down my boater as the biggest co-angler in the club. Wish me luck! LOL

I think that is obscene to spend on a lure. Even if I had all the money in the world I wouldn't go there. TO each their own but I could think of a ton of things I can buy with that money. Like a ton of other baits which i'm sure would catch just as good if not better than those.

I tend to use the pencil style weight most of the time. Fish it around grass, rock etc with very little issues. I use the ball as well but tend to when the bottom is smoother (sand, pea gravel ish)

My go-to lures for Pike are Spinnerbaits and Red Eye Shads fished fast. My team won the last two pike tournaments for our league using those.

The only fish I have kept have been those fish who have died during a tournament. I was curious about the taste so I decided to bring them home and cook them. They are tasteless to me. Slather anything with butter, a little garlic, salt and pepper and you can make it taste good. By itself it's nothing to write home about. This goes for Largemouth and Smallmouth.

WalMart. Watch for deals

I prefer them on a T-Rigged Flipping Setup like described above. I also love them on a Jig. Caught my first Jig bass with a 1/2 jig and a D-Bomb (Bruiser Flash I believe - their black/blue color)

x2 - That's a no brainer for me if I had the choice. Since I don't do the ice fishing thingy I can only dream of fishing and then watch the superbowl to keep me from my Fishing Blues.

FWIW this is my setup when fishing from my canoe 6'6" MH Spinning setup 10lb Power Pro Braid 8lb FC leader if clear. This was my very first setup and is the single setup I use for fun fishing. I, of course, added a ton more to my arsenal since I started doing tournaments but I am still able to do everything I want with this setup.

Yes. I used it last season for a drop shot and mojo rig on spinning. Won't go back to straight FC.

My best friend lives about 30 minutes from there. Over the spring and summer we fished it some. Huge lake and there is some good fishing to be had there.

I have taken trips to Basspro, Cabelas, Gander Mountain, DSG, and still ordered stuff from various sites. In short ... YES. LOL

Welcome ... love fishing for Pike!

You probably met Jim Mayberry. Met them last year. They rock! Great people, great service.

Thanks for all your feedback. I will post pics when I get some skirts built.

Got my Chromecast for $30. I can see YouTube vids and movies/tv shows from Google Play. It rocks.