corn-on-the-rob

42.5 inch 35+ lb catfish on 3'' inch grub and spinning gear. about a 5lb steel head on a 5'' fat grub in 4 foot of water while fishing for bass. A couple of pages ago some one mentioned buffalo. Seems odd to me because here and there we catch a buffalo but all of them are hooked in the mouth.

getting caught in 7-10 footers (not an exaggeration it was what the NOAA report said they were) on erie. Coast guard was keeping an eye on us when we were heading in just in case. They said they'd see us on top of a wave, then we would disappear for about 3 seconds, then see us again. We made it because my dad is extremely experienced on erie but I required a change of underwear and pants... When we were at the bottom of the wave (between two of them) the water towered over us, one of the scariest events of my life.

I just spent the last 40 minutes typing a long one and nearing the end I miss-clicked and the page refreshed and gone... fitting. So frustrated.

Had a rod in my hand for as long as I could remember because my dad was/is an avid fisherman. He said we would be on Erie for smallies and I would always ask him frequently "what does a bite feel like" as I drag a tube. He said he always knew when I hooked one when I would start laughing uncontrollably. I would say I am a whiz with a spinning rod but this past season was my first with baitcasters and boy have they reset the learning curve after using a spinning rod my entire life.

No such thing as long as you are not impacting something negatively. If you are spending money that was meant for other financial responsibilities then sure. As I see it, no harm, no foul.

Welcome, lake erie guy here too! Where do you fish from shore?

yes. Only about 60 more days until I get my lines wet. Worst part is all of the equipment and lures I bought after the season ended I haven't got to try out yet. And of course all of the reading and videos watched I just can't wait...

-Developing techniques I am not strong in/becoming versatile with confidence -proving to my college club that I can compete with the best of them/win a club tourney -After using a spinning rod my entire life I have trouble controlling fish/landing them on a bait-caster (this season was my first using them) so gotta get better

I bought a bunch of equipment for myself because after my first year of tournament fishing, the bait monkey really gets ya. Just learned a lot about what equipment/lures I wanted to have stock of and improve upon as well. Bought most of it on pure fishing or TW black friday: -Abu Garcia Veracity - 7' 5'' - medium moderate - crankin rod -Abu Garcia Veracity - 6' 6'' - medium hvy moderate\fast - big spinner/chatter bait rod -Abu Garcia Veracity - 6' 9'' - medium hvy fast - Jig rod -Abu Garcia - orra sx 6.4:1 reel -Lews LFS speedspool 7.5:1 reel -Bunch of 3700 pro latch plano boxes -a ton of powerbait minnows for drop shotting, multiple colors 3'' and 4'' -ton of havoc grass pigs/slop craws for trailers -ton of paca chunks -few bags of ISG 2.75'' tubes -few bags of havoc money makers -Storm deep 1 shad 1 bluegill -Storm lipless crank 1shad -Storm jerkbait 2 shad -Storm wiggle warts 2 craw -whotech jigs 3/8oz 3 black/blue 3 craw -roumbanis chatterbaits -3 bluegill 2 shad -handful of assorted hooks/sinkers I am ready to go!... when the ice thaws

Or you are the guy like me, as I don't carry a scale (my dad had one but it broke) but will this year. I would rather significantly under estimate a fish if I'm telling someone than to guess even an ounce over what it actually was so as to not take false credit. Probably an anal retentive thing. I'd rather people think I catch smaller fish and when I bring em to the scale (when it matters) see the truth.

hmm. Im gonna have to say the scale didn't quite get that one right. I have caught a bunch of skinny (almost sickly looking) barely 12 inchers that go very close to a pound (14 to 15 oz) and that fish is well beyond that length and looks to be of average girth (healthy). It has to be over 2lbs with out a doubt and is likely around your initial guess.

Was fishing with 4 people on my dad's bass boat so it was pretty tight, I was on the front deck fishing next to him. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my head and my dad backlashed like I had never seen. On his cast he got me in the back of the head with a 1/2 oz spinner bait. I was playing it down and said no big deal and with the spinner attached to my head I went to take off my baseball cap and it wouldn't budge lol. I gave it a good tug and it came free but man did it bleed. Didn't get barbed because the hook was so big but left a good gash. Just surprised me how stuck it was being in such thin skin after penetrating fairly thick hat material. Just put a paper towel on my head, put my hat back on to hold it down, kept fishing. He had never hooked anyone before in his lifetime of fishing, so naturally I gave him a hard time.

I think it would be extremely hard to "guess" a girth. But based on the length of your fish and in the pictures it looks very healthy and plump, I would guess the fish to be between 6lbs and 6.5lbs. So based on the the guessed weight and length calculate the girth using formulas that are around.

yea Mr. Uhrig I definitely use that stuff too. just wondered if adding garlic knb to the powerbait had any potential negative

1 large red/white bobber

A 3 inch grub. Anytime. Anywhere. Any fish.

I really like using powerbait minnows for drop shotting and do have confidence in the scent but... Has anyone ever added additional scent? as in sprayed something else in the bag to soak. I have megastrike and Kicknbass, was thinking about throwing some garlic Knb on them. Thoughts? Rob

In the spring my dad brother and I were fishing the islands on Erie and hit the perfect day (beautiful weather and constant catching). We each caught around 30 smallmouth each and all were good sized. Caught my pb in my profile was 5.7 lbs. The funniest part was the amount of drum I caught. I stopped counting at 45 and all were drag peeling and at least 8lbs most over 10lbs and caught a few around 15lbs. Also ran into a giant school of rock bass that you could catch on every cast. Never have caught rock bass schooled up.

I hate when they hit super close on anything. Scares me to death every time. If you notice you are reacting too quick to the blow up frequently, train yourself by not watching the bait and use your ears and feel through your hands to react.

Rather leave em the way they came or very slightly modified. Unless I know the guard is impeding the hook set I'll leave it alone. If you go too short they get too stiff and tend to make good hook sets even harder. Too thin and you'll start getting snags enough to reduce your time efficiency and even losing more jigs.

to me its about covering water quickly. So I suppose any bait can apply.

Lol it actually was erie but we were fishing right out side a harbor AND had southwest winds AND the area is wave protected from the islands. You could see the monster waves on the horizon, buffalo runnin'

lol yup, the small pond destroyer = beetlespin

Find a local club in your area, even if it is all adults and talk to them. Assuming your age wont be a problem from them you can learn a ton from experienced anglers. Even if they don't let you participate in tournaments ask them to let you know if any of the members are going out for fun and have space in their boat. Finding another person your age with a boat and in your immediate area will likely be difficult especially if you are strangers. A lot of older/experienced anglers love to help out young guys with fishing as long as the club is relaxed enough you might get a shot. 16 and 18 are typically the magic numbers for tournament angling but either way id advise you to start with a relaxed club no matter what, just do your research and you might find something. Rob

High wind and rain = bad day my best day this year came with 25-30 mph sustained winds with 55 mph gusts. I had to sit down on the back deck because when I was standing with my rain gear on the wind almost blew me into the water (I lost balance and had to lean into the wind to keep my feet). We weren't moving but the rain was stinging like we were going 60. The fish were incredibly active and we caught a ton including big ones.