Jar11591

Glass worker.

Caught this guy in a torrential downpour....I AM A BASS FISHERMAN i swear. But the idea of a 10+ lb carp is too good to pass up occasionally.

I see you got a couple Rebel Pop-Rs. Great baits. The only surface lure i prefer over over the Pop-R is the Storm Chugbug. You should add a couple of those to your box. You wont be disappointed.

Wacky-rigged 5" senkos are my most used bait. I use it throughout the year during morning, day and night hours, it doesn't matter. When I'm fishing heavy cover or thick weeds I always use a weedless hook. And when I'm going for smallmouth I'll usually downsize to a 4" senko. And for night fishing, nothing beats a black senko.

YCB Hulagrubs and Storm Chugbugs have caught me more smallmouth than anything else. I fish the Hulagrubs anywhere there is a rock pile or drop off, and the Chugbug I fish early morning and as soon as the sun starts to set.

Fluorocarbon doesn't have anywhere near the elasticity that mono does. Is it possible you're using to much power? When is it breaking, on the hook set? And I know its not the knot that's the issue but I always use a clinch knot and never/rarely have break offs.

Great looks like I'm in luck. Can't wait to spend all my tax return money.

What date does it end? I'm going March 8th so I hope it is still going on. I haven't received the flier for the Spring Classic, just an angling catalog about a month ago.

Dottie was a 18-20 lb bass that was caught several times and people thought it would eventually become a record. But it washed up dead on the beach one day. It had a dot on its face which is why it was called "Dottie"

Lol I believe there is a Squirrel Invasion Survival Guide app. I'm gonna study up before the EMP!

Dottie was an incredible bass. I'd rather see it go naturally than in someone's kitchen. Can't stand that.

"Don't spend it all in one place now!" - Says "the Man" What would we do if the Govt didn't take all this money from us then return a fraction of it? I don't know what I would do! (Besides spend it sooner)

My thoughts exactly. Rain or cold seperately I can deal with, especially if I'm catching fish. But combining the two makes my patience run VERY thin.

I use my weather app

Girl-Lily Boy-Spro

lol good one. That's gonna be me in a couple weeks.

I have noticed the same thing, and I always figured that smallmouth were just more catchable on topwater. But based on the answers here, I guess that isn't the case. Gonna try some new approaches this year with surface lures.

I know Dick's always has St. Croix t-shirts for sale.

A "flat" is any area withouth depth change. You can identify those on contour maps by looking for the areas with no lines. And you're correct as far as I know about points. Just pieces of land that jut out I to the water...but points often continue under water for some distance and they usually drop off on either side.

Looks like I'm giving no leader a shot first then. Thanks for the info.

So how often do the hooks get caught on the line, enough to cause a problem or just occasionally? Thanks

I have never used braided/fused line before, always fluorocarbon or monofilament. But I decided to put 10 lb Fireline on one of my reels. Now I'm wondering, when I fish topwater like poppers and jitterbugs can I tie the Fireline directly to the lure, or should I use a monofilament leader? I'm new to braided line so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Jar

You're right, it could be an unlisted species. But I would think that a non native shad would be killed by the harsh winters, no? I know down south they have shad-kills if the temperature falls too low. And DEC actually states the only herring found inland was the gizzard shad. I'll post a picture as soon as the lake isn't under 2 feet of ice. Lol

A few months ago I was fishing in a small 50 acre lake in upstate NY and as usual in this lake, the surface with alive with baitfish schools and bass chasing them. I wanted to know what baitfish these were, so I tossed my jerkbait into a school and snagged one. It was some type of shad/herring as it had the black dot on its head. The NY DEC does not list any shad in this lake and the only shad inland in NY is the gizzard shad. Im pretty sure this was not a gizzard shad because it did not have the overbite, and gizzard shad prefer clearer water.(this lake is slate-colored and has a visibility of 1.5' feet on a good day). Also I know it wasn't an alewife because this is basically a big pond. Can anyone help ID this fish? Thanks

Thanks a lot.