OperationEagle

Slow start but found them where there were weeds instead of open shallow shoreline. A few on senkos but most came on faster moving baits. Mainly squarebill for me. Largest was 20”. She was fat. 5.65lbs. Turned out to be a great day on the water. Plenty of pike but didn’t lose any baits which is good.

My clock say 12:09. Season starts boys. See you on the water. Stay safe.

Cold weather or not...always wore a PFD when in my kayak. You just never know.

When I fished in my kayak I would wear a wetsuit when the water was cold. Protection if you turtle. Hypothermia is no joke. Faster than you think.

What’s up w our long term forecast? After Saturday, 10 straight days of showers? Well at least it will be a steady weather pattern around opener.

Any Ranger RT 178 or 188 owners. I have a like new bass boat technologies dash mount for a helix 9 or 10. let me know if anyone is interested.

Was out on tonka Saturday. North arm parking was darn near full. Maxwell bay dock was not in and was half full. Saw at some ice on the edges of Crystal Bay but outside of that it’s all clear. Beautiful day to break in a new boat and motor. See you all on the water...Opener can’t come soon enough!

I gave mine up after my fourth season as it was he%$ on my back. My Jackson cuda was just shy of 70 lbs, so not exceedingly heavy. It had a great seat. But after my average 6-8 hour outing plus lifting and loading onto my car, I had enough. My ortho/sports med doctor told me their kayak back cases have risen dramatically over the past 5-7 years. I think the advice above above on getting out to move around and stretch is a good one...but that takes away from fishing. Lol. I also got got tired of fighting with or being kept off of the water due to winds. Anything above 10-12 mph and it was not enjoyable. All that hat being said, I do miss it as it got me in areas the boats were unable to get to, resulting in some big fish. Good luck.

Looking at the weather, ice melt should accelerate here very soon. Open water here I come!

I’ll make it if I can. But I am out March 19-24.

Ok with the water levels expected to be high this spring, let’s share how we will be changing our approach to opener. I will start. I will be watching water temps closer if there is a late ice melt. Maybe try some jerkbaits?

Who else is checking temps for the week seemingly by the hour. Expected to touch 40 a couple of times this week. C’mon spring!

Those closure clips suck. Are always falling off. I switched all of mine to Plano from Walmart.

yes for $500 it is worth it. I did this update and the spot lock is amazing compared to the old gen.

Under a bobber.

I was in Monticello a couple of times this winter. Insulated waders not necessary but you obviously will be warmer. I wear my full waders. There is a runnings near there that you can pick up live bait at. People fishing with live bait out fish non live about 5 to 1. I will bring live next time I go.

Being “up north” anything 6 lbs and bigger is considered a big’un.

Just an observation ....in 23-25 posts only one was caught on a jig. I’ve always considered the jig to be a big bass lure and I have caught some big ones with jigs....but not my biggest.

Yep, I got into my mega si with chirp. Do I love it’s images? Yep. Got it due to the improved images over the gen 1. Thought the improvement of gen 2 over gen 1 was meaningful enough to upgrade. Am I still on the learning curve? Yep. But I feel as if I am at the point that there are other factors I need to work on (to put more fish in the boat) than getting even more laser sharp on my graphing skills. You might have a point in terms of diminishing returns on people’s willingness to invest the time to learn. This might be an indictment ,on the lack of user friendliness of the interfaces to increase the probability of max benefit. This might be, in fact, the next biggest breakthrough. Apple did it with their phones...maybe someone could break in with a breakthrough GUI so that the people buying it can actually take advantage of all of its value. Thanks for your encouragement to “do a little research” on CHIRP. However, I do already understand and enjoy it’s benefits in this gen 2 unit. The OP asked about gen 2 vs gen 3 where CHIRP is standard on both with gen 3 being “dual spectrum”. My diminishing returns comment was made mostly on the extended range of the SI where, for most, the existing range should suffice. Also on the dual spectrum CHIRP....well, I will just wait to see people post the additional detail before I determine its true usefulness even if time is invested to learn to use it. Finally I agree with your statement that the vast majority fish for pleasure and enjoyment. I perhaps should have said...A very small minority would value the benefits of gen 3, for the rest of us the benefits represented in gen 3 might be approaching diminishing returns.

Gotta wonder if this stuff is reaching diminishing returns. Hope this will mean price compression.

Merry Christmas everyone. Best wishes into the new year. May we all have 2-3x the number of 20 plus inch LMB this coming season. OE

To all my Minnesota BR online buds. Happy Thanksgiving! One thing I am thankful for is the sub community we have built here and our willingness to share information. Here’s to good friends and close families. OE

Frydog you had a great year. Congrats! Winterized my boat just last night. With an earlier start to winter (compared to last year) we will be rewarded with an early spring right? Time now to switch to trout.

OK...almost a perfect match for your question. State:MN Boat: Ranger RT178 Engine: Merc 4 Stroke, 60HP (I think you have a 75HP?) Year on Both: 2015 Insurance Company: Progressive Policy: Total Replacement Cost (NOT Replacement Value) Policy Cost: $132/yr Cant remember details on what else I added in terms of gear value, etc. but this should give you a close (enough) ball park. Used Worldwide Marine as the agent. Bob Luellen

Wow nice fish boys! Turns out seeing these pics makes me ill. Might need to take a sick day as well. Lol! Frydog, same pattern for you?