Josh Smith

Good to see another Hoosier! I'm in Wabash. If you ever get down this way, you're welcome to look me up. Josh

Hello, Panfish I've always kept are around 8" minimum. The ones I'm talking about here are maybe 3"-4". I still feel like I'm shooting a fawn, but I understand the ecology is vastly different. Just was raised in earlier days of fish management as understood by the average bass fisherman when we didn't keep small anything, panfish included. Thanks! Josh

Hello, I've never cleaned fish that were too small to fillet. Never kept 'em. I'm finding myself in a position now to keep a bunch of small bluegill. How does one go about cleaning these? Someone mentioned "fish chips." I assume gut, scale, cut off the fins, and fry? I've never gutted a fish to my recollection; just filleted 'em. I guess I'll watch YouTube for that. Any other ideas, comments, etc? Thank you, Josh

One reason I ask is that there in an overabundance of small bluegill in one place I fish. They need to be thinned out, and there have been folks out there with buckets. I have been thinking about doing this, but I have no idea how to clean panfish too small to fillet. I might make a separate post on that in the "Other Species" section. I also kinda' feel bad about keeping small ones but it has to be done. Signs around the lake advertise 25 daily limit, no size limit. To make it worth my while, I'd almost have to use a bucket! Josh

Hello, What is "bucket fishing"? I first ran into this term here. I gather it refers to catching fish, but how does it differ from, say, using a stringer? Thanks! Josh

A while back I posted a question asking about the Shimano Corsair. The consensus is that it is junk. Now, I can't figure out how it can be that bad. I've never found a baitcaster I couldn't cast well. I'm not all that special; just been doing this a long time now. Can you all expound on why the Corsair is bad? Does it fall apart, or is it simply uncontrollable...? Where are the issues with this reel? Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm the type who likes to hotrod AMC engines and shoot MOA with Mosin-Nagants simply because folks have told me it can't be done. I figure the Corsair reel is the same thing. Thanks! Josh

I go there to stock up on Zoom and Yum plastics that are in the clearance bin, but that's really about it. I did buy my (surprisingly!) favorite rod there, a Cherrywood I've found to be excellent for thick brush and veggie fishing with worms and jigs, but that is an exception. Josh

1. Drain pool. 2. Fill bottom with dirt. 3. Add non-chlorinated water. 4. Stock aquatic plants. 5. Stock bass.

That's pretty cool to know. I always thought Daiwa used block-type buttons and not L-type. Learned something new! Josh

Hello, The Ted Williams looks like it's made by Abu Garcia. I'm not sure of this, but everything looks right. Does it say "made in Sweden" anywhere? The Lew's is excellent. Probably fiberglass. I still use Dad's Lew's Speed Stick from the '70s, combined with a 5500 (no C) for deep crankbaits. Most Lew's stuff from back then was made by Shimano. Regards, Josh

Tag, for when I get to the computer.

Thanks! Will see if it's on YouTube or if I can find a place to purchase it. Josh

Hi Guys, My little girl (~18mos) loves to watch fishing shows with me. Lately, she is taken with Amelia and Hilary Martin since seeing them on a Scott Martin Challenge I stumbled across. Since then, I've found two additional SMCs with Hilary and Amelia. The first two have grown a bit old for Belle, but luckily I just found this third one. She was entranced. She enjoys the Martin boys as well, but not quite as much. She's strawberry blonde, has blue eyes, and identifies well with little girls fishing with their daddy! I'm wondering if there are any others in addition to these three I found. Scott Martin is awesome, making these available on YouTube. (This is one reason I buy stuff he endorses.) Additionally, are there any shows with, say, Roland taking them fishing, or Bill Dance fishing with his grandkids, or maybe even Dave Mercer fishing with his children? Thanks folks, Josh

Hi Folks, I like to carry bait for bobber fishing in my tackle box in the event I run across a mess of bluegill or whatever while bass fishing. I keep a few hooks, sinkers, and slip bobbers in a small Plano inside the large one. Now, the stuff I was carrying was some sort of crappie bait, white pellet type stuff by Berkley. Never did catch anything on it, but I have on worms in the same spots. I bought some Berkley Earthworms, but haven't had a chance to try them yet. Bass have been biting too well, and I keep my ultralight rigged up with a whacky worm to throw in case of a miss with one of the baitcasters. I'm wondering if there's a type of jarred or canned bait you all recommend for sunfish and crappie that works well. I like experimenting with bass lures but when I still fish, I like to just throw the bait out and reel in food with not much guesswork. Thank you, Josh

I still push the envelope and get overruns. When I started, I used heavy brakes and recommended tension. Now I use light brakes and looser tension. Try riding the spool with your thumb for a while. I think that's how I started out 20+ year ago, as a teenager. Lots of yard practice throwing to my German Shepherd. Man, that was fun! Josh

You know, I don't know that I've ever caught a pike. If I did it wasn't too big. Would love to catch some one day. It sounds like fun! Josh

Why? Looks like a civil discussion to me. Am I missing something

Thank you! I'll add that to the short list I'm starting. Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, I tend to like stock reel handles with ball bearings. On my reels that have anti-reverse bearings, I generally run bearing handles from Johnny Morris reels, the ones that have the wide rubber paddles. I like 'em if they're not going to go backwards, In my older reels that have the anti-reverse dog and cog setups, I generally run hard plastic handles without bearings because the short rearward movement of the dog and cog allows me to feel a strike through the reel handle itself, especially with braid. I'd sort of like to have a list on hand of the reel handles that come stock with bearings or that are convertible to bearings. I'd like a straight bearing handle for at least one application, but am not interested in paying the prices for aftermarket handles. Does anyone have such a list? I'm especially interested in Abu Garcia handles with bearings, but I'm not too particular about that. I do have several handles off Quantums and the like that look outwardly to have bearings, but upon opening it's revealed they just have a post and nothing else. Any help? Thank you, Josh

I throw anything from light weightless worms (about 1/10oz) to jigs and such for panfish. Been playing around with tube jigs here lately as well. Regards, Josh

I believe Indiana is advising all carp caught to be killed, common and Asian alike. I could be wrong about the common carp and will have to look it up again. Josh

Looking further, can you get to the inlet (or outlet..?) on the north end? Betcha' lots of fish critters go up that way, especially when the wind is coming from the south. There are three or four docks. Skip jigs and spinnerbaits under those. That lake looks like prime habitat. So does Lake of the Woods. LotW has a lot of docks, so if you have a boat, going there and skipping spinnerbaits under 'em would probably produce very nicely. Josh

Hello, I brought it up on Google Earth. Hit the vegetation hard. Use jigs, frogs, and worms with tungsten. Don't fish; dissect the cover. It looks like you have lily pads I'd kill for here around Wabash. Punch 'em! Frog 'em! Jig 'em! Josh

I generally pick that stuff apart with a blue/black/sometimes bit of red jig with a craw trailer, usually with a bunch of rattles. It works well. Josh

Reeling against the drag?