Jar11591

Just a week and a half ago it was 70 degrees, but the last few days have been frigid and today we get 15-20" of snow. Looks like we still have a ways to go.

I have it, and I have packages coming to my house by the truckload because of it Amazon Prime is one of the best purchases I've ever made!

This happens to me all the time. I will go to a store like you're describing, a large tackle outlet. I'll go there needing a specific thing, let's say it's 4/0 Gamakatsu EWGs. They'll have 2/0s, and 3/0s, 5/0s and then 4/0 Offsets, no 4/0 EWGs. If I need 50lb moss green Power Pro, they will have 30lb, 40lb, 65lb and then 50lb Hi-Vis Yellow, but none of my 50lb moss green. If I go there needing a 7' MH-F? Then they'll have 6'10" MH-Fs, 7' M-Fs but not my 7' MH-Fs. It's incredibly frusrating, and I do most of my tackle buying on Amazon or TW now.

Finally found a sale at Field & Stream for stuff I actually needed. $20 for 300 yards of Power Pro, and $5 each for any Trilene XL. Also snagged this sweet Yeti thermos.

I forgot this was still a thing due to how the time adjusts automatically on all my devices, so I never even notice.

I was unaware of this. Thanks for the heads up. I thougt it was a state-wide thing, since only a couple of years ago all of NY was closed for bass until the third Saturday of June. Youre right, St. Lawrence county has a completely closed bass season from December until the third Saturday in June, even C&R and artificial.

Yeah, on the NY side you can fish bass all year, but only catch & release with artificial until the third Saturday in June. The St. Lawrence is right there and has some excellent smallmouth fishing. Crystal clear waters. When I fished it, you could literally see the bottom 30' down. I also see Brockville is close to Black Lake in St. Lawrence county. I highly recommend fishing this lake. It's one of the top lakes in the state for bass, and offers an incredibly varied fishery. I have only gotten the chance to fish it one time for a week, and we hammered the fish. Excellent lake. Pretty sure you could find a guide for Black lake, and definitely for the St. Lawrence river.

I would say yellow perch and craws are the primary forage in my waters. Bluegill and pumpkinseed are in the bass's diet as well.

When I'm fishing, the last thing I want to hear is music. Even when I'm in the truck on the way to/from the lake I have zero interest in hearing any kind of music. Like @scaleface, I will sometimes listen to a Braves baseball game on a low volume. It's not that I don't like music, I love it and listen to it while doing most other things. Just while fishing, it's the last thing I want to hear. Last year I took a friend out on the boat who is not the fishing type. As soon as we got to the first spot, he pulls his phone out without saying a word and turns on music. I thought he was joking at first. After a minute I realized that he was dead serious. All I could say was "really? Come on guy!" I was very close to tossing his phone in the water.

For me, the first sign of spring is being able to step outside without getting ticked off due to cold/snow/ice.

Pretty much the same here in upstate NY. My hopes keep going up and down. I better be fishing by April 1st!

When using braid, I usually have a leader attached to it, thick fluorocarbon or monofilament. The reason for this however, isn't always due to line visibility. More often it's so I can break off if I'm really stuck without losing $45 of braid while doing it. 15lb mono is a lot easier to break off than 40lb braid. If I'm fishing water that is super clear, I will tie on an 8-10' fluoro leader. I can't tell you for certain if line-visibility will turn off a fish in clear water. But I do know for certain that if bass do get line-shy, a fluoro carbon leader can only help. Dont worry about a leader knot being a weak point in your line---a properly tied one should not fail under normal fishing circumstances any more than the knot to your hook. I have never had a leader knot fail on me....ever. Im sure @Darren. will be here soon to chime in with his leader expertise, or should I say "leader-ship"? lol

I use a 7' MH/F with a 6:1 reel spooled with 15lb Big Game.

Had a 12" fallfish slam a popper like it was a stud smallmouth late last year.

Uh, no. I think you may be in the wrong sport if you aren't at least conscious of how your actions may possibly effect nature. Im not against bedfishing at all. I do it sometimes. But I am against a lack of consciousness from anglers as far as how their actions can possibly* affect an ecosystem. He's not at all in the wrong sport.

I throw a lot of top-waters, usually a big jointed Jitterbug, and also jigs with big trailers, 7" Senkos and T-rigged plastics.

We've had a few freak 70+ degree days the last couple weeks which have opened up most of the lakes and ponds and the river is wide open. But the last few days have been brutally cold and windy, so the lakes may have a thin layer of ice again. Cold enough to freeze solid the small amount of water that sits on the tarp covering my next door neighbor's pool. Last year I was fishing by March 1st, but this year the weather has been so up and down, it may be a couple weeks before the water is 100% open.

Yep, I'm still waiting on a popping Pad Crasher Jr as well.

Love the Pad Crasher Jr.

My Lew's TP1H, but there are a couple more reels that I've purchased over the hard-water season that are yet to be tested.

I saw that as well, so I did a quick google search and found that Costa frames are made in Taiwan. I believe the lenses are made in Florida. Beat me too it.

Sold me. Thanks for the link!

That's insane!

Very cool! Funny, Mike & Mike were talking about Hakarl this morning. Does sound like something!

Rod: Fenwick Aetos 7' MH-F Reel: Lew's TP1H 6.4:1 Lures: Jig & craw, frog, Rage Swimmer