Scott F

There are only two kinds of waders. Those that leak, and those that are going to leak. No waders are bullet proof. Neoprene are OK during the winter but will kill you from the heat in the summertime. Sticks and thorns will puncture any wader. Breathables are the only kind to buy. I fish with a bunch of guys who wade a lot and breathables are the only choice. Make sure you buy waders that are a bit too big to give you room to move without stressing the seams. Good warranties are a must. Cabela's brand are warranted for life. I think Orvis also are. Simms are expensive but are very well made. I've had mine for nearly 10 years and just got my first leak in a seam near the stocking foot. I will send them in and they will fix them.

Suing to protect the rights of people to use the waterways of our country is far from a frivolous lawsuit. The rivers of this country are supposed to be held in public trust not owned by individuals who try to keep us from using them for fishing and recreation. In Illinois, there are landowners who put up barbed wire across streams to keep paddlers and fishermen off the water. Individuals are not supposed to own rivers and lawsuits are the only way to correct the mistakes that have been made concerning who actually owns the rivers. I wish I had the time and money to sue those in my state that keep us off our rivers.

According to the Supreme Court, size does not matter. If the water is navigable at any time during the year, it falls under the public trust. http://www.nationalrivers.org/river-fact-or-fiction.html

A whole 41 seconds. Not a lot of specifics.

I'm a flat lander currently living in Illinois. My plan when I retire in 2 years is to buy a place to live for the summers near Minocqua. Even now, I spend 4 or 5 weeks a year fishing Wisconsins lakes and rivers mostly for smallies. I love how many bass are in Wisconsin's waters and how few people fish for them. I'd like to keep it that way so I won't list my favorite lakes on a web forum viewed by thousands of bass fishermen.

For those of you with relatively recent Garmin chart plotters GPSMAP and echoMap models, there is a software update that includes Quickdraw HD map drawing software to make your own fishing maps with 1 foot contour lines. The update is free if you download it yourself to an SD card.

I can't stand hat cam or chest cam videos that are shot with a GoPro. I turn them off right away.

Just looks dented to me. If it isn't cracked, just push the dent back out from the inside.

No line is totally invisible. The question is, even if they can see it, are they smart enough to conclude that line is to be avoided. If they are that smart, they must also be smart enough to avoid hooks hanging from lures, spinning blades, plastic and wood bodies. I don't think they're that smart.

Spotted bass.

LaSalle?

Head coach????

Myself, I can't feel the difference between a $400 rod or a $100 rod when they have similar ratings. Everyone is different. What matters to me, has no bearing on what matters to you. Pay for what you value and don't let others tell you what you should like.

Mr Clean, Magic Eraser. Makes them look like new.

IF people actually would keep 18-22 inch pike, the proposal could work. The problem is, there is not enough meat on those fish after you remove the Y bones to make them worth the trouble to clean. Slot limits require people to keep small fish for them to work, which is why they seldom work with bass because people won't keep little bass.

I'm curious as to what you think the DNR could do to help?

Have you noticed that they used to put 20 Stick-Os in a bag. Then there were 18, and now there are only 16.

I've never used nail polish but I've painted jigs several different ways and the easiest, quickest, cleanest and best looking results I've had, came from powder paints. This short video shows how easy it is.

Looks like a black to me.

If this is the worst that can happen to you, you've got it pretty good.

I am my own tool holder. I use a scissor clamp to cut line and to remove hooks from fish. I clamp it to my shirt so it is always close. Other tools like hook sharpeners, I leave in a side pocket on my tackle bag.

My 1988 Ranger has given me very little trouble at least since 1995. The original motor, an 80 hp Mercury died on me back in 95 and instead of getting it repaired, I replaced it with a 75hp Mercury which has been really good. My power trim has been leaking a little fluid for the past few years. I haven't gotten it fixed yet because a few tablespoons of hydraulic oil is a lot cheaper than the repair is going to be. I'm going to change the water pump this spring. Believe it or not, I'm still on the original impeller.

I seldom have the chance to float in the early spring. Seems like every time I have the time to go, the river is blown out. When the river is in good shape and fish are on the bite, I'm tied up. Rain was predicted for everyday this past week so I was sure the river would be messed up by the weekend so I never made any plans. Everybody's been catching, the river is at a normal level and I have some free time so I got to go. At the last minute, my friend Ron called me Saturday morning. We got on the water a little after one. Air temp was 60, skies were overcast, water temp was 54 degrees, pretty clear, but the bottom is already 75% covered with the green, stringy, algae. The good news was that is holding to the bottom and not floating through the water column About 15 minutes into the float, I was drifting an unweighted, 4 inch, Senko with the current, when I got my first hit, a fat 18 inch smallmouth. Too bad I only got one more fish, a 13 incher, also on an unweighted plastic, from along a bridge piling. Ron went fishless during our 4 hour excursion. The stretch we floated I normally fish during the summer and was unsure how productive it might be in the early spring. Could have been the cold front that just went through, my lack of skill, low percentage of fish or just the way things go sometimes that accounts for the low fish count. But, I did manage a nice bass for my first fish of the year so it wasn't too bad a day.

I've never heard anyone say pre-spawn won't bite. As a matter of fact, the pre-spawn bite is the best fishing of the year. Big fish and big numbers of feeding fish. Once the spawn starts, the fish stop feeding so the bite shuts down. Post spawn, the fish are recouperating from spawning and the bite is tough.

I sit in a regular seat at least half the time. I have arthritis in most of my joints and my back gets tired easily. My fishing days would be very short without the seat.