Scott F

Here’s a tip for ponds that get muddy after a rain. Many will have a place where the water is flowing in. Sometimes it’s a creek, or there may be a culvert where the water is coming in. Fish at that inlet. If there is a culvert, throw a lure inside it. That water runoff will be a huge attractant. There may be some current, but work that area hard. Jigs, worms, spinnerbaits whatever lure you can work in that spot.

Remote or foot pedal, they are both electric steer on the Terrova. If I’m fishing, I’m using the foot pedal on the Terrova 100% of the time. Holding a rod in one hand, the other hand is on the reel. Taking a hand off the reel and looking at the remote isn’t something I’ll do. If I’m not fishing and not in the front seat, I’ll often still use the long wire on the foot pedal to operate from the center or back of the boat. I only occasionally use the remote and never if I’m on the front deck.

What does “rammy” mean?

When I had my river boat, I frequently used an anchor. Currents that ran 4 mph meant that my spot lock was almost worthless. In fact, the anchor was invaluable. I’d drift downstream and when I found a good spot, I’d hit the switch and my 45lb chain anchor would practically nail me to the bottom. I caught plenty of smallies after dropping the anchor, which did go down slowly with the electric winch. Being that the anchor was made with large chain links, it did make a certain amount of noise, a lot more than a solid anchor did.

On the Minnesota fishing regulations website, the rivers on the boundaries between North Dakota and Minnesota have year round open seasons for all species except for sturgeon. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/regs.html?section=definitions&topic=inland

I use these plastic drawer storage containers for tools, spare parts and other accessories.

There’s a big difference between 95° and 10°. Assuming 72° is most comfortable, 95° is 23° warmer. 10° is 62° colder. 95° isn’t as extreme as 10°. Comparing similar differences in temps, I’d rather be in 49° temps than 95°, or 10° rather than 134°.

For me, joining a non-tournament fishing club where I met and got to fish with other knowledgeable fishermen and time on the water, were the keys to becoming a better fisherman.

I dropped out of college, worked in retail selling electronics, and was on my way to becoming an electrician but that didn’t work out. Through a chance meeting with the friend of a friend I got hired to be a service technician repairing restaurant equipment. It was a steady job with good benefits and I was good at it. The physical part of the job took a toll on my back and I had to retire due to an injury after 36 years. The long hours and stress are just an unpleasant memory and I’m now living happily ever after.

I have no doubt that all of those lures will catch fish. If it were me, I wouldn’t use any of them. You can catch fish on newer lures. The value of those baits pictured is more in the nostalgia than in their fish catching ability. I wouldn’t risk losing any of them.

Hook the electronics to a separate battery and try it again.

What kind of phone do you have? You can resize photos by clicking on options to choose what size to use when selecting a photo when using an iPhone.

Nice! How do you keep the boat pointing in the right direction? Looks like a breeze will spin you around. Any thoughts on adding a trolling motor?

If realism was important, worms and spinnerbaits wouldn’t catch nearly the amount of fish they do. How often do fish really see any worms where they live? We give fish too much credit for being able to think and reason.

I fished with a guide in Canada for pike and the guide was throwing a Moss Boss plastic spoon with no hook. He’d throw it deep up into the reeds where the pike were hiding. The pike would follow the lure out of the reeds. With no hook, the lure wouldn’t hang up. Once the pike were out in the open, they were much easier to catch with lures that did have hooks. Learning tricks like this is just another reason to hire a guide.

I’m a type2 diabetic and have cut way back on the added sugars and carbohydrates. You’d think that buying products labeled as sugar free would make this easy, but in a lot of those, especially sugar free candies, there are actually more carbs in the sugar free versions than those with sugar making the sugar free versions even less healthy.

At 68, I sleep around 7 hours a night. Seldom much longer than that. I’m retired so I go to bed when I’m sleepy and get up when I’m not. Typically asleep by 10:30-11, and awake between 5:30 and 6. Once in a while, I’ll take a nap for an hour or two in the afternoon.

For trailering, fit is the most important feature. A generic cover that is not custom made to provide the tightest fit will flap in the wind, rip the securing straps and cause the fabric, whatever it’s made, from to fray. For outdoor storage, resistance to sun damage is most important. If you keep you boat outdoors and keep it covered while traveling, both features are important for a long lasting cover.

When you choose a photo to upload from your photo library, you click on options on the bottom left of the screen. From there you choose the size. Full, large medium or small. You can even choose to let it use the compatible format. Make sure your OS is up to date

I’m an Apple fan boy. My iPhone and iPad let you resize photos before you post them.

I’ve been leery of scents ever since I witnessed bass turning away from a Gulp worm but hitting a Senko on every cast We were hammering them on Senkos one day but we didn’t have a lot of them and as you know, they get torn up pretty quickly. My fishing partner had some Gulp worms. We could plainly see the fish hitting the Senkos. When using the Gulp, they’d swim up to it, get close, then swim away. Back to the Senko, and they’d hit it. I’m sure it’s not like this in every case(nothing in fishing works the same way every time) but I’d rather not take a chance that I’m throwing something that MIGHT repel a fish. Plus, the stink that remains after a spill of a scent product is not something I ever want to deal with again.

I don’t know if you fish rivers but in the smaller rivers I fish, smallmouth will often follow around carp that stir up the bottom and uncover the critters that smallies like. I’ll also never pass up any beaver lodges I see. The logs and sticks provide lots of cover for bait and bass.

I’m surprised you can tie titanium. The titanium Terminator spinner baits always broke on me when the wire was bent too far. Must be some kind of alloy. I’m a big fan of tieable wire for light leaders.

I started my love of smallmouth bass at 10 years old while on a vacation to the St. Lawrence River. Didn’t do much fishing until I was about 30. I fished all over Canada from the NWT, Nunavut, and 4 other provinces, dozens of lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. I’ve fished for and caught almost every kind of sportfish that swims in the northern parts of our continent. I can handle a fly rod, spinning or casting rod. I’m at home on both lakes and rivers. The only thing I’m not very good at and don’t enjoy doing is fishing deep water. Other than that, while by no means an expert at any particular phase of fishing, I’m confident you could put me on any body of water for any kind of freshwater fish, and I’ll have enough knowledge and the tools to fish it.

I’m very familiar with Northern Illinois rivers. THE most heavily fished spots are always just below the dams. They are also THE most dangerous. You can catch pretty much every species in the river below a dam at most times of the year. During the heat of the summer, right below a dam has the most oxygen which makes it very attractive to fish. Knowledgeable fishermen will usually skip the dams and find less pressured water downstream. Above the dams, the water quality is the poorest, lots of silt, and low oxygen levels. Check out the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance. Dedicated river fishermen who are happy to share their knowledge of Illinois rivers with other smallmouth addicts.