Tony L.

I have never fished competitively, but I imagine that you can throw some people off by dropping one or two of your marker buoys in a random location. Others might fish them thinking that it is a productive spot. I read that pros sometimes do this to throw competitors off their trails, but I don't know if it holds true.

I would take a look at the Ambassadeur C3 reels from Abu Garcia. They are real workhorse reels and they cast like a champ. If you get the bigger 6500 model, you can engage a clicker that sounds off as a line out alarm when you are in freespool (very similar to the trolling reel you posted, but you can actually cast with it too). It works very well for live bait applications or even lightweight trolling. I have one and i love it. It is my go-to for general purpose fishing for stripers, catfish, pike, and even throwing the occasional spinnerbait for bass. It fits in your price range and is certainly a versatile, high quality reel.

KCCO

I just bought the same combo during the spring fishing classic, but in the 6:1 ratio. Feels great! Cant wait to give it a try. Best of luck this season!

Try anything brcause i'm sure it just depends on what the fish are feeling that day. I have even read articles about tournament fisherman who position boats near the shore on points and cast outward into deeper water so that they can bring baits UP the slope. The theory is that it gives highly pressured fish something they haven't seen before, especially if they are holding a little deeper.

Treble baits in general. I haven't had much more than limited success with hard-bodied lures of any form. I am more of a soft-plastic/spinnerbait kind if guy, and I would really like to gain confidence in other areas.

Normally you would probably want to avoid dipping your reel at all costs, but that being said, it does happen from time to time and it will still work. Just like Tom said, you would probably just want to take it apart and clean it ASAP if you do dunk it. When it does go under, it is up to you as far as whether or not you should keep fishing with it for the rest of the day or if you need to immediately put it aside until you can take it home and clean it out. I imagine that decision comes down to the water ur fishing too. If it is crystal clear, I personally would continue fishing after I dipped the reel and just make sure to give it a good cleaning that night. If the reel takes a swim in a really muddy pool, I'd probably sideline it for the rest of the day until I have a chance to wash the grit out. In the end, your reel will still work fine if it gets wet- thats what they are made for. It simply runs the risk of loosing smoothness and feeling gritty when you turn the handle. That drives some people nuts if they paid a lot for it, but it ultimately still does its job. Ever consider getting a cheap $5 reel at a garage sale to dedicate to wading? You could abuse that all you want and never feel bad about it. Dip it all you want, it will still work, but might lose some of its smoothness in the handle and drag and save your pflueger from the same fate.

I have always used this rule of thumb when rigging most soft plastics: 4" use 1/0 - 2/0 6" use 2/0-3/0 8" use 4/0 - 5/0 10" use 5/0 -6/0 If there is somewhat of a pattern to be seen here, it almost seems that you just divide the length of the worm in half and you have your _/0 hook size? Haven't figured out a good rule for odd length plastics yet, but it seems safe to say that you can round up when it doesn't divide cleanly??? It's a work in progress....

Check out the spring fishing classic at BPS. I Just picked up the MH/F Veritas for around 80 bucks. It was in sale and actually cheaper than the carbonlite. This week they are doing rod trade ins, so if you have a cheap old one you are looking to get rid of, you could knock another 10-15 dollars off of that. Haven't used it yet, but it feels good in my hand. Seems like it is a bit stiffer than a few of the other medium heavy rods that I've tried, but it is really light and sensitive as far as I can tell. If you read other forums, people are absolutely raving about the *** Black. I have no doubt its an excellent choice too- it wasn't something that they carried at Bass Pro though, so I went in a different direction because I had a gift card to use.

I was once fishing in a pond that my friend's uncle owned. I was standing on the shore opposite of a pier that extended straight into the water and made a really bad cast with my Texas rigged worm. It went over the pier and into the water on the other side, but the line wrapped around one of the poles anchoring the dock. I couldn't dislodge it, and I pulled the line several times hoping that it would come free on its own. I guess that worm must have yo-yoed enticingly while I was trying to jerk the line free---because when I walked all the way around the pond (cursing the enitre way) to untangle it by hand, there was a nice largemouth on the end of it.

A deer. Nothing unusual about seeing that I guess, but the circumstances were somewhat strange. It was in open water roughly 600 yards from any shore. We, and the guys from a few other boats, all stopped to watch it swim right along until it hit the opposite side of the lake. Then it went up the bank and disappeared into the woods, presumably to take a well deserved rest.

Shallow water warms fastest in the spring time. If there are any small streams that flow into your lake, there is a good chance that they are shallow, which means that they are likely carrying in water that is warmer than the surrounding lake. Areas that get the most sunlight are obviously going to heat fast too. Don't forget to look for rocks while you are at it. Just like asphalt in the summer time, any rockpiles, boulders, and riprap that you encounter can get nice and toasty in direct sunlight and heat the water around them.

Welcome! I recently moved back to Indiana myself, and I've settled near Indianapolis too (Avon/Brownsburg area to be exact). Always nice to meet another Hoosier angler. I grew up fishing Raccoon Lake in Parke County, but now I live just a couple miles from Eagle Creek--- so I look to give that a try this spring. Glad to see you on the forums, and maybe I will bump into you on the water someday.

The newest systems are the PS4 from Sony and the Xbox One from Microsoft. Both are very new and don't have many games out... yet.... They are still selling the previous generation of each of these (the ps3 and the Xbox 360) and these two have quite the game library built up by this point. They are dirt cheap now too. The problem is that they will only be making games for these consoles for a few more months because the new and improved models are out. If you are looking at purchasing either the new PS4 or the Xbox One and having trouble deciding between the two, I would suggest going to cnet.com to compare them. They had a really good article about picking which system is right for you. Ultimately, both are fantastic gaming systems, so it just depends on which ends up being the better fit for your needs. The article is a great resource to help you decide.

What size spinning reel are you guys using for the majority of these applications? I realize that the sizes aren't standardized accross manufacturers, but in general, do you suggest the size 30 or size 40?

Tough to weigh out. How much do you drive your primary vehicle? If you put in a lot of miles in your normal commute, it may not be wise to trade in your fusion for something that will ultimately cost you a lot more because of constant fuel stops. The other thing to consider is the cost of insurance and plates on one vehicle vs. two. Granted, if you bought an old truck outright, you do have the option of liability only coverage, and you can choose to insure it only during the summer months....

If you google it, these places actually exist. I dont suppose i could convince you to open one? As cold as it has been here, that would be such an awesome option. Spring is just too far away.

Today's high in my part of Indiana will be -14; windchills in the minus 40's. I realize that some of you members from states even further north deal with this every year, but this is unheard of for us. I have never seen a complete shutdown of every government office accross the entire state because of the weather. Motorists in my county (and several others) are under the highest level of travel restriction. Non-emergency travel through the day is not only ill advised right now, but has officially been made unlawful.

I think it all comes down to confidence, of course, but a big piece of this puzzle is your personal style of fishing. The unique action that you are able to impart on a lure with your retrieve speed/rod movement/etc. along with the way you choose when and where to fish might enhance the appeal of one type of plastic while also hurting the effectiveness of another. I think that is why everyone seems to have a different confidence bait. Its not that other baits like senkos don't catch fish, because they do, and for some they catch more fish than anything else. It is more that the way you think and fish makes you well suited to be a master of the plastic lizard and work it better than a lot of other anglers. Stick with what works for you. As time goes on, you might develop confidence in other lures in different situations, or you might put even more faith in the lizard. Its all good if its productive for you.

I happen to live in central Indiana myself. I am intrigued by the idea of fishing in a heavy snow, but I don't know that you could possibly have much success in the conditions they are talking about for us tomorrow. The snow could be fun, but the temps and wind are the problem. Last I heard, they were calling for the high to be between -4 and zero and the low to be between -10 and -14 with windchills to significantly drop temps on top of it all. IF (and that's a big if) you are able to find a spot to cast to that isn't covered in solid ice, I foresee serious problems with keeping your gear and your extremities from freezing over. If you want to do something to boost your bass fishing success that day, stay inside and take inventory of your tackle box or shop for some new lures. Maybe you'd like to start carrying ice fishing gear and a portable shelter with you on the road...

Bass are pretty ambitious, if not outright greedy. I second the comment above. We all have stories of little bass on big baits. On many an occasion, I have landed fish less then 10 inches on a spinnerbait that is well over 4 (I am also an Indiana angler, so I feel your pain with the lack of 10 lbers) . Bass around here will regularly try and digest prey up to 1/3 of their size and snap at at things much bigger than that if they are aggravated enough. Go for it, even if the fish don't see it as food, they will see it as a threat.

I would most definitely add senkos to your soft plastic arsenal. They were by far my number one producing lure this year.

Also consider wearing a nice suit or dress outfit underneath of an old coat and some baggy sweatpants. When she has her back turned and is goin through your tackle box, you can peel off your outer layer and be dressed for the occasion. The key is to wear shoes you can kick off in a hurry. She will love it, and all of her friends will be turning to their significant others to say "why don't you ever do something like that for me?" Good luck, man. Let us know how it goes. Congrats to you both!

Is the rod designed for a spinning or a baitcasting reel? My first thoughts are large, heavy swimbaits or umbrella rigs--- but those are two techniques that I don't know much about because I am just not outfitted for them. Maybe you could also use it for fishing heavy cover and lily pads. You have heavy power, but I am not sure what action your rod tip has. It could also be useful for live bait rigs or catfishing. What about stripers? Do you have any of those behemouths cruising around your local lake?

I've seen a walleye caught on a tiny panfish popper while fly-fishing near some cat-tails. Weirder things have happened... certainly not a method I would use as a go-to for catching them, because that was probably a once in a lifetime thing. I could see maybe having some success with a larger topwater at night if they are moving really shallow, but I dunno.