FryDog62

A very close second for me would be Caffeine Shad on Owner Twistlock light 3/32 oz hook. Had such good luck skipping this under docks last year, biggest fish of the year easily.

I just ordered what Ajay posted above, so maybe that becomes my new favorite... ...but over the past 5 years hands down has been a 5 inch wacky worm for smb. I use Kalin’s WAC-O-Worm in baby bass color, or Berkley Maxscent General in Copper/Orange or June bug. If I could have only one lure, any of those would be hard to beat...

Try using the Owner Twistlock Light hook for Senkos, similar to what OE mentioned above. Weightless or with the 3/32 oz belly weight, experiment. Use 5/0 on a 5 inch Senko - that keeps the weight near the center of the Senko so it falls horizontally (like a wacky worm fall) but then you can twitch it, swim it better than a wacky on the retrieve.

I had an order going in to TW so added some of the Provider and Dry Creek Tubes mentioned above... (guy said they are fresh out of fallopian though Croakhunter ? )

Good suggestions above. I’ll throw out another I had good luck with up here in the North last year: Maxscent General wacky style or drop-shot wacky style. Best color was the orange - very close to the crayfish color on Mille Lacs, Rainy, Vermilion, etc.

I like both yellow and ghost... prefer ghost on sunny days when it’s so bright the yellow seems to almost glow and is harder to track. Either are good IMO.

What brand, size, etc...? And why do you like it? Profile, color, fall rate, taste, scent, etc...

Check out Jason Sealock on *** video... talks about how the Owner has good hook up ratio. Apparently it’s the only hook Gary Yamamoto uses on his Senkos... I don’t know... it just seems to work for me on a lot of plastics but especially the Caffeine Shad. My daughter too, who is 90 pounds and doesn’t exactly set the hook very hard...

This is all you need for the 5 inch Caffeine Shad - a 4/0, 3/32 oz. Fantastic action, especially on the fall: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Weighted_Twistlock_Light_3pk/descpage-OWTL.html

Awesome looking boat Punch!

What’s the latest prediction for “ice out” date?

Reason I ask is that I’ve never had a rod get damaged while in the rod locker Tubes. But I had a long trip to Canada 10-12 years ago and bumpy roads. The rods were fine but the reels clanged together the whole way. A couple had major repairs and all of them were pretty skunned up. Bought new stuff since then and always cover them now when traveling but the old style reel covers I have are a pain. I look forward to looking into the options above. Thx everyone...

I bought some Cabelas casting reel covers about 10-12 years ago. They never really fit that well and are a pain to get on/off. Has to be some new product since then that is much improved. What’s the best out there for ease of use (beside a Crown Royal bag ?!?)

A favorite of mine in colder water in the spring is the Wiggle Wart. A classic tight wobbler...

Could be that fishing opener gets cancelled for many parts of the state. That’s twice in 5 years - so much for global warming...

It’s hard enough to stare out the window for 6 months of winter thinking about everything you want to be doing the next 6 months on the water. It’s even harder staring out the window in years like this for 7 months wondering how the heck you’re going to fit all that into only 5 months now!

Yes it’s the Buckeye mop jig. I just bought 6 variations of the standard jig and the mini size and plan to use them this summer. I’m looking at putting it on one of two different rods. One that has a reel I feel comfortable skipping and one I don’t. So if it’s not a realistic option to skip a mop jig it makes my decision of which rod/reel easier.

Thx for the responses. I kind of thought that was the case... but I saw Davy Hite do ansegment on Bass Pros and it looked like he skipped one about 30 yards. Of course, he’s a tad more of an expert than I am.

Anyone have much luck skipping a mop jig? Too bulky, or stays aloft better to skip?

Unfortunately could be at least a couple weeks before I can trailer my boat out of here...

I drove from Minnesota past Kirksville, MO several times per year while taking my 2 kids to college in Columbia... I think I even saw a sign for Hazel Creek at one point. I always thought if I drove from here to Mo that I had to keep going past Columbia down to Table Rock before I could find good fishing. Dang, now they’ve both graduated and I won’t be going that way any time soon. But great looking fish Blue! I showed it to a few of my musky-snob friends that think the only place in the world to catch both bass and muskie is Minnesota/Wisconsin. We are in the process of getting about 30 inches of snow this weekend, if I could somehow hitch up the boat on these roads I might just drive straight South to Kirksville ... or anywhere at this point. We may not have ife off our lakes until June at this point. Oh my... but a great report to read. Thx

Agreed. I don’t go below 30 (equivalent diameter to 8 lb mono/fluoro) with the exception of the shallow spool of an SV then I routinely use 20 lb and it works well. Although any time you land a big fish, or for sure if you really get snagged, be extra careful the line isn’t buried. If necessary pull a bunch of line out like you have a backlash and reel back on before you cast again.

Use Hook-Eze as shown above. If you need bi-focals, using your teeth and seeing the line is a non-starter. Hook-Eze all the way...

Conventional wisdom is that fluorocarbon stretches less than mono, but reality is that it actually stretches more. However once wet, monofilament soaks up water and stretches more and eventually stretches about as much. But not more. I did a stretch test a couple years ago with about 30 different lines (you should be able to do a search for it on this forum) and the one line that stretches the least was Yo-Siri Hybrid. It is a blend of mono /fluoro and stretches less, and doesn’t soak up water either. It is a little thicker in diameter, but even the 6 pound test stretches less than any 8 pound fluorocarbon. Fluorocarbon is marketed hard to be a lot of things - some true, some not. Perhaps in part because it is 2-3 times more expensive (and profitable) than mono. Dont get me wrong it has its place (when you need a line that sinks, when you need a leader to add stretch, etc. abut again not because it stretches less or is significantly less visible than mono.

I think there’s a natural evolution many fishermen go through and I’m no exception: Like a lot of people I tied the uni-uni for years - Then I switched to the Modified Alberto/Albright after seeing it beat the uni-uni on Knot Wars and because it’s smaller in diameter - - Then after just a few too many failed Alberto/Albright knots (okay way too many - a flawed knot IMO) I switched to the FG Knot. The FG Knot is a little harder to tie and overkill - but it is smaller and stronger than the above knots... and once you master its not that bad to tie. And anything that is that strong at your weakest connection point is worth the extra effort. A Lot of people don’t like tying an FG Knot because they have to hold with their teeth, so use a Hook-Eze tool: