RipzLipz

At Omnia, also

We never portaged. Lake was right on Canadian/US border. We did a base camp in US & fished in Canada. Just a weeklong trip & was concentrating more on fishing rather than the portaging. We’re lazy & didn’t want to tear down & set up camp every night. Also, had to apply in advance (months) for camping permits & no one was interested in moving around. Still did plenty of exploring & saw plenty of sunset country. Go to Rainy Lake now - dad can’t do canoes anymore. More of a numbers lake but there’s still some 5’s in there, probably some bigger. Massive lake (240k+ acres).

Why am I even still looking at this thread?!?!?

@ol'crickety I was lucky enough to have experienced those same types of trips up north with my dad & many different friends but mostly in canoes. Started out as my HS graduation present & although we no longer do the canoe trip, we still try to get up there every year. Your article brought back so many great memories. Thank you.

Not suggesting or debating anything, just noting my experiences in a summary format with 3 different 15lb test FC from Seaguar used as a main line (not braid & FC leader) on mostly MH or H baitcasting setups: I began my foray into FC with a 1000yd spool of InvisX. I was quite happy with the way it felt & performed on my usual haunts until a trip up to WI where rocks shredded it. I returned from the trip to WI & noticed whenever I’d fish around wood cover it seemed to shred less but it was noticeable to me & concerned me enough for me to try another offering. Got a 1000yd spool of AbrazX. Same lake up in WI, it abraded the line. Was fine on my home waters, which are mostly grass with some wood laydowns. Very little rock. Wasn't looking forward to increasing expenses for FC but I bit the bullet & bought a 1000yd spool of Tatsu. No shredding or abrading on the WI lake. Worked fine on my home waters. I’ve settled on Tatsu as my preferred line. I used each spool until they were very close to being empty or looked to be unable Yes, I was & am aware that once FC nicks, it’s likely to break easier, particularly on snap or hard hooksets on stiffer rods compared to other types of line. Yes, all 3 have broken on me at different times & for different reasons. I feel most of the time it has broken has been when I’ve failed to check my line routinely while fishing, mostly wood or rock cover. For spinning, I’ve only used mono & am fine with it.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! I figured it would be slow given the temps & I’m not a finesse LMB fisherman at heart. Odd, I don’t mind whipping out the fairy wands as some refer to them (no offense intended just having some fun) for smallies but baitcasting latched onto me & I sometimes stick to it when the little angel on my shoulder tells me otherwise. Today I think it was screaming. 🤣 Got to the lake a bit after 12PM - no rush as temps weren’t quite as warm as forecasts but I am usually more concerned with wind when it’s below 55°, plus the Crawdad (boat) is more or less a plastic John boat so a light breeze can wreak havoc with it. Save a few annoyingly loud hikers with dogs not leashed, I had the lake to myself. Started off just like @TnRiver46 would, with the spinnerbug, while I was cruising through the shallow end of the lake. Zero takers. Slight breeze in my face but not a show stopper by any means. Kept 2 casts from the bank, slow rolling. Nothing. This bank has nothing in terms of laydowns so I wasn’t expecting much. Fished some obvious points for a bit with both the spinnerbug & jig with no hits. Decided to move on down towards deeper water (15’-20’ in this lake) & worked the jig slowly through some raggedy small laydowns & still nothing. Plopped the jig in the same tree where I caught the donkey a few weeks back & thump….set the hook & felt good but was a healthy but long 1-13. Skunk was drowned within 60-90 minutes. Good. Tossed the jig around this area for a bit with no more takers. Threw the spinnerbug (hearing @TnRiver46 screaming, “Just put that ungodly thing away already!" with each cast) but nothing. Saw a young guy picking up trash so I pulled the trolling motor up & set it for shallower water & went along the bank & picked up some trash in the water & tossed it up on the bank. Told the kid I threw it up there so he wouldn’t have to get near the water. He thanked me, I thanked him & I moved over to a bank with more laydowns. Had one more bite which I think was either a very small bass or panfish. Grabbed my jig & just immediately took off with it. As soon as I was in a decent position to set the hook, it dropped it. Oh well. Just didn’t bite like a quality fish so didn’t bother me at all. Sun started going behind the hills & everwhere I went the breeze was blowing. If I saw slick water, all I had to do was move to it & the wind would change direction. Remember how it was blowing in my face on the way out? Was blowing in my face on the way in. Fished some steeper banks with deeper water nearby sort of half-heartedly. Hands were chilly & I was just done for the day. Was going to just keep getting colder so I headed back to the ramp. Always better than sitting around the house or raking leaves. Saw plenty of gray squirrels running around & chasing each other & heard a few chipmunks popping up in the woods. Pileated woodpeckers were everywhere it seemed - with the leaves mostly fallen, it’s easier to see all the birds & critters. Saw 2 bald eagles (or 1 eagle twice) & 2 hawks. They were on the move & it’s hard to stop, get the phone ready & snap a pic where you can see their colors while running the trolling motor or while holding a rod. When sun isn’t shining their white heads & tails get harder to see. Long report for a meh day but I enjoyed getting out & not coming home smelling of skunk. The old Family Truckster! Was looking for a GIF when Clark was getting ready to dive into the hotel pool with Christie Brinkley, saying "this is crazy" over & over but couldn’t find it. Vacation movies were classics….well, some of them.

Loaded up & heading out the door.

@Susky River Rat I knew they wouldn’t be cheap. Then again, what is these days? 🤣

Probably will.👍

Debating on whether I’m going today or not. Here’s today’s forecast for the town where Lake Shantbenamed is located ☹️ Wind laying down but probably little sun to warm things up.

@ol'crickety Boats intended for mostly river fishing. They can go much more shallow, I believe, and therefore less likely to run aground. Outlet on a jet drive outboard is often only as deep as the boat hull compared to a prop driven outboard. Also no prop to damage. Probably other advantages of which I’m not aware. Saw Ott Defoe had one & he discussed it on an episode of The Hunt For Monster Bass a couple of years back. EDIT: @Susky River Rat sorry - must have posted around same time. 😉

I see you know who went straight north & a bit west when he left my house. 🤣

The key to the cypher is…..

@TnRiver46 LOL @ double digit. Yeah, I’m in IN. Live in a subdivision in a small city south of Indy & that silver maple you see in the background has up to 6 squirrel dreys/nests in it every year. There’s a ton of them around the neighborhood. A few are tame enough to feed by hand. The one above wasn’t one of the tame ones. Haven’t seen her since early this year. Hawks & merlins try to get them but the squirrels are usually too quick. They’ll get in areas where branches in trees are too thick for the larger birds to get into. The hawks usually get smaller birds from what I’ve seen. You might be surprised what all shows up in our backyard. Red squirrels (pineys), chipmunks galore. Mallards will sit up on the rooftops waiting for people to go inside so they can come down & eat fallen bird seed & unshelled peanuts. Had 13 mallards back there at one time a couple of years ago. They come from retention ponds around the area & bring their ducklings in the spring. Coons & opossums show up at night. I sometimes live trap the coons & take them out to the rural farm areas a few miles away. Sorry for hijacking the thread with non-deer stuff. I’ll leave you all to it.

Someone came up to the deck wanting to speak to you about something & she didn’t seem too happy. 🤣

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/258182-winter-ned-rig/

No love for the float n’ fly? Too much current?

@NorthernBasser, Was bored today & knowing many were taking advantage of BF sales, figured I’d try & get a laugh or two out of it. Some of it is due to me passing along my rods & reels to my son. He’s under 30 & is just getting started fishing more seriously. He’s busy with work & kids so I try to help him out but it might just be my twisted way of justifying buying new stuff.🤣

It’s too windy & cold to fish here today. I walked in the room to grab my tablet & this is what I saw waiting….. I tried to ignore this vile creature & just get my tablet to check tomorrow’s forecast in hopes of one more day of fishing. Then this happened… I couldn’t stop it. This creature was completely out of control, spending as much of my money as it could. I wasn’t sure what to do. I begged & pleaded but it wouldn’t listen! Finally I shouted, "Enough!" and the creature paused & began shaking, obviously not pleased with me raising my voice. This dreaded beast was not going to continue irresponsibly spending my hard earned money. I dug in my heels & prepared for the worst as it grew more annoyed with my firm demands that it cease immediately. It slowly approached me, never once looking away. It kept its distance & to my shock & amazement it spoke…. "Hey, bruh, if you wanna go, I’ll drop you right here & now! I ain’t scared!" I was about to step forward & I looked over at the toppled monitor & noticed he’d saved 25% on Dobyns rods & that the shipping address was mine. I began to speak in a calmer tone, "I think…..I think….I think that’s a heck of a deal!" We talked through our issues a bit more & I think we’ve been able to come to an understanding. After ordering 2 reels, 2 rods, a dozen Booyah spinnerbaits & 2 Picasso Flashback A-rigs, he collected his shirt & quietly left. Before completely shutting the front door, he said, in a rather knowing but yet snide way, "I’ll see you again around Memorial Day buddy," and closed the door. I’m hoping the weather holds out. I can’t bear another visit from you know who. Happy Black Friday!

Rewards points?

Do you see a crazy looking monkey anywhere near your property? If so, slowly back away from your PC or device & whatever you do, do not look it in the eyes & do not ever say the words Black Friday in its presence! Nevermind…I see him sitting outside on my mailbox, staring at my window, grinning & nodding. 🫣🫣🫣

I’ve used that one many a time. 👍

@Catt, Back to your original 15’ ± 3’ comment & my response above…I was thinking you were originally being sarcastic in that fish can be on the move due to changing conditions throughout the day therefore it’s possible there isn’t a definitive answer for precisely locating them. Now I’m smelling what you’re stepping in!👍 Thank you! Or quite possibly, did they get sprayed by a skunk the day before Thanksgiving??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You sure you ain’t part bass? Every time I think I’m getting to understand where you’re supposed to be, you end up on the other side of the lake. 😉 🤣

Mid-40s isn’t that bad for you is it? I plan on going Saturday if the forecast holds 🙏🤞 🙏🤞 🙏🤞