Scott F

Rick, it seems you and I are in the "same boat" so to speak. I spent a week in Northern Wisconsin last week and found exactly the same conditions, tried just about everything with the same results. If I didn't have fantastic fishing in the spring on the same lake, I'd have thought there were no bass in this lake. I have done better on the largemouth when the water temps were colder. Largemouth were all over shallow weedy flats where the weeds were still green.

Depends on how far you have to travel. Isn't transporting live fish against the law in California?

Anybody watch the Barrett-Jackson auction? I'm not much of a car guy but I saw quite a bit of the auction. I am fascinated by all the car shows on TV and am amazed at how much money people will pour into rebuilding/refurbishing old cars. Watching the auction, I could see that many of the cars sold for much less than had been spent restoring them. Toward the end, a 1952 Buick called "Bombshell Betty" went on the block. This bizarre car was built to run on the Bonneville Salt Flats and set several land speed records. I googled the car and saw it for sale online. The owners were asking $195,000 for it. At the auction, the hammer fell at only $33,000! I wish I had the money, I'd go to the next auction to buy a cool car for thousands less than it would cost to have one fixed up.

The corporation has little to no input on the hiring of store employees. The quality of the floor personnel depends on who the local manager can get to work for near minimum wage.

I used to use it just for what you want to do. When the line is new, it is stiff but after a short while, it softens up. Another choice is Nanofil. Fireline isn't very popular with guys on these forums, but I liked it quite a bit.

So what do you do when one is hooked? Cut the line?

Due to a recent back surgery, I an retiring 18 months earlier (now) than I was planning on. Several of my fishing friends are already retired, but they don't seem to have as much time to fish as it appears I do. My other problem is the lack of decent fishing waters within an our or two of home. There are several rivers that are wadeable with good smallmouth populations not far away, but I'm not in good enough condition yet to do much wading. My favorite water are up North in Wisconsin, but retirement income may limit the number of times I can make the trip. Driving 3 hours or more each way for a poor day of fishing to Illinois lakes does not motivate me to leave the house. Just exactly where in central Illinois are you?

I fished Vermilion for many years but haven't been there lately. What part of the lake were you staying on? I used to stay at the Shamrock Marina, located between Moccasin Point and Oak Narrows.

I started fly fishing when I was 10 using a fiberglass fly rod with an automatic fly reel. I carried and used a fly rod, along with spinning gear, on all my smallie trips. I was never really properly instructed on techniques or gear. I was exclusively a topwater fly fisherman. Many years later, after I joined a club devoted to Smallmouth fishing, I had the opportunity to fish with some expert fly fishermen. When I saw how much effort these guys put into chasing smallies with the long rod, I knew it was more than I was willing to do with the limited time I had to spend fishing. I also learned that the cheap rods I was using was limiting my ability to cast. Fly fishing doesn't have to be expensive but to become proficient at it, takes a sizable investment. One fly does not cost much to make, but you can't buy material to make just one fly. You can buy a cheap tying vise, but they don't work very well. You can buy a cheap rod, but they don't cast very well. Fly fishermen are not immune to the bait monkey. When you take up fly fishing, there is a lot more to it than just catching fish. You need to be able to appreciate and enjoy the "art" of casting.

The bad news is that the bags on the conservation series nets are not replaceable. I did use the handle from the Frabill on the rubber net I bought.

I fish a lot of waters with pike and muskies in them but I usually use the net on smallmouth with a mouth full of trebles. I use light line for the most part and don't want to lose a Lucky Craft Pointer trying to hoist a bass over the side so the net gets used. I had an expensive Frabil conservation series net but the hooks were always getting caught. So now I use a rubber net. For pike, I seldom use the net. They go nuts in the net, and slime it up. Hand landing them is faster, safer and easier for me.

I think what you're doing makes good sense. Bring the rods that suit the way you are going to fish that day. One reel can cover many situations better than one rod can. Do what works for you. Don't worry if it's not the way everybody else does it.

A bare hook will sink monofilament line.

My wife and I were hiking in Custer State Park in South Dakota (near Mt. Rushmore) when we came across a heard of bison blocking the trail. We waited for a little while to see if they would move, but they stayed right there. I doubted they would move if I tried to pass and didn't want to get too close to one that might not want me invading his space, so we turned back the way we came. The bad news was that a second heard was now blocking our way out. We were surrounded. The good news was that the second heard were moving and gradually moved off so we could get back to the car. We continued to explore the park, but stayed safely in the car after that.

I've got just about the same truck and have had it for 13 years with almost no problems. It's pulled my boat all over the Midwest and Canada many many times.

You are kind of far away but, my fishing club rents a cabin on the shore of the Menominee River on the Wisconsin/Michigan border that we use as a home base for floating the river. The river holds lots of big smallmouth and is perfect for kayak fishing. There is 100 miles of floatable water so you don't have to fish the same stretches every day. If you haven't fished for river smallmouth, you would be amazed at how hard even a 13" smallie will fight, especially on light tackle. This past August, one of our guys got a 22 inch fish that easily went 6 pounds. Not huge for a Southern smallie, but a monster by Northern standards.

I can't tell you how many thousands of bass I've caught on black Fireline with no leader. If black line is a no-no, how did I catch anything?

In states like Minnesota and Wisconsin that have closed seasons for bass. Targeting bass during the closed season is illegal even if you release them.

It can be, I caught a lot of fish "stupidly dragging a bait". But as with everything, you can increase your chance at success by learning the nuances and finer points of trolling. I learned a lot from a book written by a walleye fisherman where he measured exactly how deep 200 different lures actually ran. Depth control is critical to getting more fish so knowing what influences running depth is very important.

I had a 55 pound thrust Minn Kota motor on my 17ft Ranger for years. I could go 2 days on a charge and it moved me around OK. I've got an 80lb Terrova now, and it's obviously more powerfull, but I wasn't unhappy with the 12 volt.

Here is a video of Larry Dahlberg making a Whopper Plopper

I used to troll for smallmouth on occasion. The lake I used to fish in Minnesota had few flats. It could be 15 feet deep, then 3, then 50 over the course of 100 yards. Hard to troll water like that. Then, I was fishing in Wisconsin a lot where trolling was not allowed. New regs now allow trolling so I'll be doing some while I'm up there next week. I'll be following weed lines mostly.

St Croix scrapes the logo off the returned rod to identify it so it can't be returned under warranty after it was repurchased from the bargain bin. Up at the St. Croix Store in Park Falls, WI, they have a bin with the broken rods that have been returned and repaired. You never know what you might find when you get there. There is a large measuring stick next to the bin so you can see how much shorter the rod is then when new. You can pick up Legends for $50. Locals visit the store frequently and snap up the rods with "only" a couple of inches missing. Every time I've been there, (I'll probably go there next week) picking on the best rods are pretty slim. Many have as much as 12 inches missing. I'm not sure, but I think the Avid series and under are, I think $30 each. I've never bought one so I'm not positive of the prices. They have a big selection of "B" stock rods that are marked down about 40%. B stock rods have a cosmetic defect that is generally very hard to spot. Those rods have a 1 year warranty. They carve an "S" for seconds on the reel seat or rod butt to identify the rods with a 1 year warranty. Most days, they have at least some rods, usually discontinued models, that are brand new "A" stock, full warranty rods that are marked down. I've gotten $100 Mojo Bass rods for $50, $150 Rage rods for $66, and last year, A $200 Avid X for $140. The sale Items change all the time. Sometimes, there are no real deals, sometimes there are. They'll ship the rods to your door as well for $10. I just realized I repeated almost everything WIGuide already posted. I should read the threads closely.

It shouldn't effect the rod. St. Croix scrapes the labels off all of their returned rods so they can't be returned under warranty. I can't believe they'd do that to a rod if it was going to be a problem later.

Not knowing ANYTHING about you, where you live, or how you fish, I could never suggest anything for you to buy. What would you like to do, that you can't do, with what you already have?