crazyjoeclemens

I've had this little swim bait floating around in my tackle box for years. I'm not sure where it came from or what it is. Has anyone seen it before?

I try to get on the water early, like sunup or just after. If the weather is decent and the bite is good, I'll be out there till 10 or 11 before I pack it in. Then I'll head back out late in the afternoon and fish till dark. My local lake is only 20 minutes away, so it makes it pretty easy for me to be selective about when I go.

I've had a lot more success with Hula Poppers than Jitterbugs, but thats because I dont use the bugs much. I also really like the Rebel PopR and Hopper Popper. I'd be willing to bet Frogs are the most popular topwaters and that Hula Poppers and Jitterbugs aren't far behind.

I think using cover scent and scent-free soap/ laundry detergent can help a lot, if wind isn't ideal, but if they say it's guaranteed to block 100% of all scent, it's probably a gimmick. The only thing that's totally foolproof is playing the wind. Option b is using a ground blind. You can set them up early and let deer get used to them and when you get inside to hunt, they contain your scent fairly well. I have a spot I hunt sometimes, but if the wind isn't right, I'll hunt another spot.

Yes, I think they make special mech heads for crossbows, because bolts launch harder and fly faster than arrows out of a compound bow. If you run standard mech broadheads, you run the risk of having the BH open on release or in flight. Make sure the manufacturer says their head is ok for use on an xbow.

My EWG's are Gamakatsu's as well, but I have some standard worm hooks for more slender baits. I believe they're Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp brand.

Well, what have you already got to start with?

I have a few trail cam pics of the first confirmed cougars in my neck of the woods. Knowing they're out there doesn't bother me - they tend to steer clear of humans, unless cornered, and tend to eat smaller/more helpless game. Plus, I always carry some kind of noisemaker with me. Still, I worry more about meth heads. I don't know why, but the only thing I truly worry about running into in the dark is a meth head. Probably because we have more of those here than cougars.

No northerns down here. At least none that I know of. It sounds like I'm gonna have to try some JJ's and see if that does the trick. I keep hearing about it, but I've never thought to pick any up. If I just get one color, which one should I get?

Lately, some of my soft plastics have been coming back sans tail. What's the most likely reason for this? Hung up on brush, little dink fish picking em off or a decent size fish short striking it? When it happened, all I felt was a light bump, like the bullet weight on my Carolina rig bounced off of something. What's the cure for this?

You're the one who came out of the gates saying that Ugly Stiks were for clumsy people or people who beat up their gear on purpose. If you weren't trying to sound like a gear snob, you weren't trying very hard. If you wanna talk about slinging insults and making generalizations, you were the first to do it. I think we're all on the same page here (for the most part); Ugly Stiks are good durable rods that lack a bit of sensitivity. Great for live bait applications but more like fair to average for bass. I spend a bit of time on one of the archery forums, and there is a fair segment of guys on there that do look down their nose at affordable beginner gear. Its almost like they think they had to spend $1500 on a bow to get into the sport, so you must be some kinda loser if you cant or won't spend that much on a bow - even though there are a few $500 bows on the market now that will give the big boys a run for their money. After seeing that, I do tend to bristle when I perceive someone being a gear elitist. I didn't mean to stir the pot here or set a negative tone in this thread. I'd just much rather see beginners get constructive advice rather than a bunch of guys bashing what they consider a "cheap" or "inferior" product.

Illinois does not allow buckshot on deer, but it sure does put a hurtin on the coyotes. I don't have any objections to using buckshot as long as it's legal in your location and you do everything in your power to make a quick, clean kill with it. If it was me, I would get out a large cardboard target and pattern test it out to the max range you'll be using it at. That way you know where it's hitting and what the pattern looks like when it gets to the target. Do that, and you'll be a lot more confident and successful with it.

Fox pro's are expensive, but they do work.

Don't give up. It took me a while to seal the deal. The things I've learned so far: an erratic retrieve works pretty well - throwing a few pauses in will give finicky fish time to make up their minds. a little weight goes a long way - go a little on the light side and you can fish it slower. If you put on a lot of weight, you're gonna be pegged to the bottom unless you retrieve it pretty fast. And lastly, the leader doesn't have to be super long. In fact, leader length is something you can play with to change the presentation of our bait a little bit. Keep at it and you'll get there before you know it!

I hit the local municipal park pond this morning. Conditions weren't exactly conducive to serious action: We had a cold front push through in the wee hours of the morning that dumped 2" of rain on us. It was overcast when I got there, but skies were totally clear within an hour. Nevertheless, I still managed to catch one little guy (roughly a 12" fish, I think). I was using a Carolina rigged Zoom U-Tale, which is quickly becoming my go-to bait.

No. Pics or it didnt happen.

We're not talking about manufacturer defects here. That is a separate issue and has absolutely nothing to do with product durability. We're talking about fishing rods that don't cost a lot of money and Can take the abuse that's considered outside the realm of normal wear and tear. You say that you take care of your stuff. So do I. I have nicer gear that never leaves the boat. I also have several ugly sticks that go everywhere with me. That includes riding around in my truck 24-7, getting strapped to the side of a pack frame when I go hiking, as well as slipping and sliding down a muddy overgrown trail to get to a fishing hole just so I can say I'm the only one who's ever fished it. try that with your early 90s graphite rod and see how long it lasts.

I tried the Trilene XL, and it felt too stretchy for me. The Stren feels a lot better on hook set, but that's just my uninformed observation.

I've been using the same Abu Cardinal for just about everything, for the last 10 years. As a matter of fact, I just popped it open and greased all the gears with Ardent Reel Butter. Feels like a brand new reel again.

I'm right handed, but all my reels are lefties. Nothin wrong with that at all!

Glad to hear I'm not too far outdated. I'm using 8# Stren on my light spinning gear and 14# Stren on my baitcasters. I figure once I get better with my baitcasters, I might switch them over to braid, but I'm still prone to an occasional backlash. I use 20# Big Game on my catfish gear. Its tough stuff.

There's only one flaw in your logic. You CAN catch fish on an ugly stik. Making a durable product is not a gimmick. If you can't catch a fish on an ugly stick, you probably can't catch one on a $300 St. Croix, either.

Does anyone still use Monofilament, or is it all braid and fluorocarbon these days? If you do use it, what brand and what presentation(s) do you use it for?

Nobody buys rods with the intent to beat them up. Sometimes it just happens, depending on how you fish. Sometimes you gotta blaze a trail to get to a good spot. I'm not gonna bring a super nice bass rod with me, if I'm bushwhacking my way through timber or tall grass to get to some fish. There's also some places I've bank fished that have a steep dropoff, rather than a nice graded bank and I invariably end up lifting fish out of the water with my rod. When I think about my fishing rods, I think of them like golf clubs. Each of them has a fairly specific purpose and Ugly Stiks are what you want to use when you're playing though the rough.

I'm gonna have to put my vote in for catfish. They're delicious!