Scott F

I saw the same information from Al Lindner and found clown pattern jerkbaits have worked very well for me. Although, on my favorite lake, chartreuse shad was the preferred color by a wide margin during pre-spawn.

For me, the amount of weight I use is 100% dependent on the stretch of river. Current speed, depth, lure choice and bottom composition all affect my choices. With very rocky and bottoms loaded with wood, more weight means more snags. Because those types of bottom content are most of what I fish, I don’t often use tubes at all. I’m most likely to use something weightless. Even in faster current, I don’t want to give bass a lot of time to decide whether to bite. They are used to food being swept downstream with the current. If they are hungry, they’ll catch up. I’ll make several casts to give them a chance if my bait is moving quickly.

Many, if not most species of prey have some kind of camouflage so they can remain somewhat hidden and survive. In nature, animals that are born albino don’t survive very long because they stand out, don’t hide as well and are soon eaten. White baits stand out, are easily seen and get eaten because they resemble food even if they don’t look like all the other bait fish.

Will you be fishing for other species besides bass? Do you use lures with multiple treble hooks? There are pro and cons to every net style. Rubber nets are heavy, and typically have shallow baskets. If you fish for long fish, they don’t hold them very well. Conservation nets are terrible with treble hooks. You spend a lot of time trying to get hooks out, rubber nets are better with trebles. Telescopic handles are a big plus. Only you can decide which “features” fit what you do and will work best.

I don’t know how helpful this will be but when we moved my wife had several small, cheap cabinets that were from Target or somewhere similar. I used them to store my Plano 3600 and 3500 boxes in a walk-in closet. The boxes don’t fit perfectly but if you are trying to keep them out of sight, it’s something to consider. I obviously didn’t have enough to store all my other accumulated fishing gear.

Back almost 40 years ago, I was pretty much a novice on most bass fishing techniques. I had just bought a new Ranger boat and was devouring everything that the In-Fisherman was telling me. One of those things was about small jig and twister tails. Like a lot of us do when you read about a new bait (to you), I picked some up before a planned fishing trip. On the first evening of that trip, we pulled back up to the dock at the end of the day and while I was straightening out the boat, a young kid maybe 10-12 years old walked out on the dock and started casting a small jig and twister tail. He caught probably 4-5 small smallmouth then turned and walked away. There was a small rock pile that years before formed the support for the old dock that I wasn’t aware of before that moment that was holding those fish. I followed his lead and tied on my own jig and twister. I cast several times and came back empty. I knew there were still fish there, I could see them follow my bait back. My next cast, I let the jig sink, reeled up the slack and gave it a twitch, then a second. Bam! I got one! I got 4 in 4 casts just hopping it back. I ran and got my fishing partner to show him my discovery. That little, simple technique was responsible for the majority of my smallmouth catches on that trip and for many years after that.

First mow of the year today. We’ve had a number of warm spring days (like today)and my lawn was getting pretty shaggy. Lots of rain coming this week, had to get it done today.

No! Not overkill at all. I’m sure that a 1,500lb rating is probably stronger than the rating implies, but if you are winching a fully loaded boat along dry, or even wet bunks you are also working against friction. Apparently the winch you are replacing failed but you didn’t say why. Would a stronger winch have lasted longer?

I fish a few northern lakes that have large weedy flats. On windy days, instead of fighting the wind, we’d let the wind blow us across the flat and cast around the boat. Once we got to the end of the flat, we’d motor back and choose another line. One of the lakes was relatively shallow and was loaded with smallish pike. We’d throw spinners or spoons and catch dozens. It was nice not having to keep positioning and adjusting the boat and just fish. By keeping your back to the wind, you don’t feel the cold, you don’t get backlashes from casting into the wind. It’s a nice way to use the wind to your advantage instead of fighting it.

I’m on the latest version of my browser in iOS26.4, and my cache has been cleared. I’m still seeing it.

For the last few days, anytime I open a thread, I get a very brief, full screen sized, Facebook logo, before the actual thread opens. Is this a paid ad, or is this a glitch? Anybody else seeing this? I don’t have the Facebook app, and I virtually never use Facebook.

Brand new they run $3,000. I’ve seen much older 2 strokes going for $2,200. I think $2,400 would be fair.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about color in very stained water. They’ll locate your bait mostly through vibration. Bladed jigs, spinner baits and crank baits will get their attention. If they are feeding, they’ll eat regardless of color

We’ve got June bearing, ever bearing strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, bell peppers and tomatoes this year, along with the perennial and annual flower beds. With some of the nice weather we’ve had already, we’ve been cleaning up the beds, laying out areas where we’ll put a new bed, getting all of them ready to add compost. We may be rushing things a bit but we are anxious to get things going. Last year, we started planting some annuals and bell peppers too early and a late season hard frost wiped out some of what we planted. We promised ourselves to be more patient this year, but I don’t know if we can stick to it or not. These are our strawberry and raspberry raised beds that still need to be cleaned up. That 6’ white fence keeps out most of the critters that would eat up our plants.

Does it clean off? Looks like residue from dirty pond water that wasn’t cleaned off after using that is causing it.

Do you get water in the bilge too? You may have to do some experiments to find out exactly how and where the water is getting in. Put some newspaper in the compartment covering the whole bottom. Close it up and spray the cover with a hose. That should reveal where the water is getting in. Mine used to get some through the handle and compartment latch.

I’d never run any sonar type units off the same battery as a trolling motor. Motors can cause interference that shows up on the screen. Also, if your batteries start getting low on charge, often down to just 12 volts, the motor will still run but the depth finder will just shut off. What about hooking your livescope to your starting battery?

It keeps the worm from sliding down the hook

I’ve fished both places. Huge bass like the kind Lake Erie produces are special. But, I’m not a fan of big waves and seasickness. My planned week long trip to Erie, turned out to be only 3 days because of windy conditions that kept even the big boats off the water. Ontario lakes provide me with the small water, target casting, multiple species trips with pine covered islands, rocky points and bars that I prefer.

I do frequently, especially if I’m floating a river. One of my favorite patterns is to float a shoreline that has a lot of overhanging trees. I’ll float with a slow current and skip a Texas rigged, weightless Senko in the shaded area under the tree branches. It will drift along at the same speed I’m moving, and I’ll twitch it along. Smallies will generally be spread out and love those shady shorelines.

I used to fish the old, balsa floating Rapala and did quite well. Ever since I discovered suspending jerk baits, I haven’t tied one on since. Suspending baits catch so many more fish for me, there is nothing that the floating versions can do I can’t do with the suspending models. I’m sure an original floating Rapala will still catch fish but my Lucky Craft Pointer will catch more. Same thing with some plastics. I catch more with a Ned rig than I do with a jig and twister tail, so those twister tails stay in my closet. On the other hand, probably the first artificial bait I ever used was an inline spinner 60 years ago. I still throw those on a regular basis for smallies.

I used to use those all the time. It brings the line roller back to the top. Pulling the trigger opens the bail and holds the line for you. It has nothing to do with closing the bail. Using the reel handle to close the bail does not cause loops and birds nests. Make sure your line is tight with no loose loops before closing the bail, either by closing by hand or cranking the handle, you will minimize birds nests.

Not that I would trust the results of an AI search, but I asked Chat GPT about lawn mowing costs in your area for a 1/2 acre lot and it came up with about what you are suggesting. Professional lawn services have taxes, insurance, fuel for mowers and the vehicles used to transport equipment, labor for workers, equipment costs and profits to consider. Do you have any idea what he was paying the people who were doing it before? I think you might be a bit high priced, but that’s just me. I’m a cheapskate!

As you can see from the posts above, tools are easily lost overboard. Whatever tools, or cameras you have. Be sure to tie them down whenever you can. I have retractors on almost everything I can drop, especially if they are expensive.

Does the bait not staying horizontal matter more to you or the fish? Before you give up on the idea, fish it with the tail floating up. Maybe, the fish won’t care and eat it anyway.