mjseverson24

you are definitely spoiled with the Loomis rods you use otherwise, but the compre is a little bit heavy, the paint and the guides make it feel pretty tip heavy. If it had a bare graphite finish with better guides I would think it would feel very different. I do like the rods though... Mitch

In that 100 dollar range I like a few reels... 1) Tatula 2) T3-B 3) Lews tournament MG 4) skeet reese reel ( can get them for around 50.00) If it was me I would get the skeet reese, the big handles and the strong drag make it a good choice for bottom contact... Mitch

I have never eaten a bass, and I never will... Just the same I have never eaten a Muskie, and I never will... these are both sport fish and they are worth more to me alive than in my frying pan... it is interesting to see how many people do eat bass that claim to love the sport of catching them... Mitch

why use floro in dirty water anyway... if you need abrasion resistance use a good mono or co-poly... Floro excels in clear water situations and or in very high pressured systems with moderate clarity... Mitch

I have the tatula 7'1" MH/XF i use for jigs with floro and it is a fantastic rod that you can get around 100 dollars if you look. Mitch

I have a few of these rods, I enjoy using them, I have both the crankbait models and the jig/worm models as well as a spinnerbait rod. I like all of them for the price, they are fairly sensitive and they seem to hold up pretty well. I have heard of people like the guy above who has broken quite a few, and I myself have broke a few rods ( none of the W&M) and every time it was my hookset that was the problem and not the rod. I would not hesitate to buy more... Mitch

anywhere from 800 - 10,000 but most are in the 1000-2000 range... Mitch

I love all of the sporting goods stores, I don't care if they people know a lot about their department, or not I already know what i am there for, and the only thing I ever need to ask them is if they have this reel in the X:1 ratio, or if they have more in the back somewhere. I have not met too many employees that cant accomplish those two tasks and even if they cant 5 bucks for 2nd day air on TW seems to work just fine... Mitch

I always have a plan if it is a lake that i am not that familiar with. In these cases I spend time before the day searching the maps for spots, and researching the weather for the day, and for the last couple days prior to the day. If it is a lake I am pretty familiar with, I sometimes just go out there and decide where to start and what to do when i get there and have a chance to see the lakes condition. I would say however that every time before I go fishing I totally rig up every one of my rods specific for the lake that I am fishing and have pretty much every possible scenario covered. I rig up about 15 reaction type baits and 15 bottom contact and or finesse type baits. In fishing I dont believe there is such a thing as being over prepared, you get out of it what you put into it. Mitch

my PB lake is my favorite lake to fish. its full of really healthy fish, typical days out there best 5 go over 18 lbs... which is pretty rare in MN. my best day on this lake (not the day I caught my PB) my best 5 went well over 25 lbs. I only go to this lake a few times each year though as i like to diversify my fishing experiences... Mitch

I fish jigs and t-rigs often in the situation that you are talking about, typically towards the end of the cast i just thumb the spool and sweep my rod from pointing where i want to cast to almost 140 degrees rotated abound my body. this arc length more than makes up the 10-15 ft distance when using a 7'+ rod. Mitch

if that thing had a belly it would be getting really close to 10 lbs... at 7 lbs that is a great fish congrats... Mitch

Goal #1 ---> Catch fish and have a great time doing it... Goal #2 ---> Do well in tournaments ( winning takes care of itself if you prepare and stay at it long enough )... Goal #3 ---> Learn how to target and catch the larger fish in each system... Goal #4 ---> Fish a lot of different lakes ( 22 so far this year )... Goal #5 ---> Don't fish memories... Mitch

always have rigs set up pegged and not pegged, 99% of the time the pegged rigs out fish the others, but i am usually in some kind of grass. on rocks and or wood i could probably get away with not pegging it, but i like to know exactly how my bait is moving when i move the rod, and not pegging makes it sometimes difficult to tell... Mitch

9/13/2014 22.25 inch weight = ? ( getting really close to 6 lbs ) Biffle bug GP/Chart 7 FOW Mitch

I typically hold it with the trigger between the pinky and ring finger, from the sounds of it you hold it between the ring and middle. you will get better leverage holding it like I do, but if its not comfortable then it is counter productive. A suggestion might be getting a set of fingerless gloves ( like a golf glove and cut off the fingers ) or just take some sports tape and tape the area that gets bothered... Mitch

Wind with a cable drive ==> SUCKS!!! Wind with a minn kota + I-Pilot ==> EASY FISHING!!! Wind with dual shallow water anchors ==> PERFECT!!! ( soon i hope ) Mitch

This time of year in MN is probably the best time for bass fishing... once you figure out the pattern it can be just incredible. that being said the patters at this time of year can be very odd especially during the turnover period. typically this time of year the north east corner of the lake will be the warmest and get the best sunlight, so the vegetation will stay healthier the longest (which will keep the baitfish around longer) also at this time of year in MN i notice that the steeper the breaklines and dropoffs hold more fish consistently than the more gradual sloping areas. I also seem to target lakes with cleaner clearer water at this time of year as the fish tend to be on the deep weed edges and since the weeds are depleated the fish zone is fairly small and concentrated. I approach this time of year with a combination of finesse, searchbaits, and powerfishing tactics depending on the pattern of the day. Crankbaits on the outside weededges in fall is a pattern that is as consistent as any, so if you are hiving trouble finding fish look for the healthiest weed edges you can find then grab your favorite crankbaits and locate the active fish, then slowing down with a jig/T-rig or a dropshot is a great way to catch tons of bass in the fall in MN. if you have dirty water and muskies maybe a squarebill in the shallows will work well as the bass are sometimes reluctant to go into the deep water for fear of the muskies. good luck in your search. Mitch

Never can have a complete box, unless you have everything in every color available and multiples of the most productive ones... I have my select few confidence baits and colors, but I am always looking for my next confidence baits as they typically out produce the previous ones... plus it is just fun to organize and reorganize them in the off season... Mitch

october 2013 Weight = ? length = 24.25" ( mn state record went 23.5" long and a girth of 18" and weighed 8 lbs 15 oz) squarebill Released!!! very next cast caught a 5 lber on a jig that looked like a dink, I almost didnt get a photo of it. Mitch

W&M Skeet reese 7:1 reel (50.00) and a falcon bucoo micro (100.00 or less) i like the 6'10" H but the 7'MH might be good for your application. Mitch

I typically fish from 8-12 hrs a day, and an average outing is between 40-50 bass. some lakes I target larger fish so maybe 20-25 fish is average on those, and others I just want to catch a bunch of fish so 65-100 is pretty common on these lakes. Mitch

I dont keep a fishing journal as i dont want to have more influence than i already have to fish memories. I fish 3 days a week for at least 8 hrs a day and an average day is usually around 40-50 fish caught, and the time between finals were done till june 1 i fished 6 days a week, so i went like 15 days in May. Some days have been well into the 100+ fish category and the worst days have been like 10-15 bass ( which i can count on 1 hand except for 1 tournament i only caught 2). MN is an amazing bass fishing state ( when the water is soft ) the fish density is probably among the highest in the country as far as bass/acre, and though their are not many DD's swimming our waters, the number of 3-5 lb bass is incredible. But it sounded like it was a great season for you so congratulations on your year as well. Mitch

T-rigs and jigs are probabily my favorite baits to fish especially in deeper water, but honestly i like to do everything except C-rig ( i do it i just dont like to ) spybaiting, and dragging a tube, oh and I dont like big swimbaits either, as pike and muskie love to tear them up. Mitch

Its been a long time since I have been skunked ( probably 6 years ago small reservoir near san diego ) the key for me is being prepared for the unexpected. I have a pattern in mind when I go to the lake based on the time of year, weather conditions and type of lake. so the night before I rig up about 30 rods with all different types of stuff some to go along with the expected pattern, and some that would be considered plan B-Z to ensure I have a successful day on the water. sometimes it is something so small as the type of line ( floro or braid ) that makes all the difference, or the difference in fall rate between a 3/16 oz weight and a 1/8 oz. I try not to fish memories, but sometimes its hard especially if it is a lake i usually do well on, these are the times when the skunk becomes a possibility. The biggest thing for me has been the multiple rods ready to go, it is great to be able to pick up a rod make 3 casts with it and put it back down without having to cut and retie because most likely if i only plan on making 3 casts i wont make the switch if i didnt have a rig ready, and not switching can lead to a lot of missed fish. Fishing from the bank on the other hand it is pretty common to get "skunked" i know it happened a lot to me growing up, and i am sure if i went bank fishing today it would still happen regardless of how many rods i brought... Mitch