corn-on-the-rob

I loooved the "sealed" plano boxes while they lasted, but they do not use a strong enough plastic on the latches, and with enough cycles, they WILL break. Hopefully they redesign it because it really is awesome.

Just bring a tent! If you just google sandusky ohio hotels; you can find stuff within a reasonable drive. April/May you can definitely catch smallmouth in the bay, but you still will be catching a mixed bag with plenty of largemouth. The later in the spring and into summer, the less smallmouth. The frequency of large smallmouth is much lower in the bay than on the main lake. I would use the Bay as a back up if at all possible when it's too rough, if you can get out on the main lake, do it. If you don't have "spots" to fish on erie, I certainly recommend fishing the islands (bass islands, kelley's, mouse, rattlesnake, green) on the main lake. You can fish immediately around them in 5ft to 30ft water and do pretty well just junk fishing. But if you go out of huron/vermilion/lorain, its gonna be a crap shoot unless you happen to run over some humps/piles if you don't have coordinates for spots.

East harbor state park. Electric sites are less than $30 a night, great place with a campers only boat launch into the harbor. This puts you directly south of the islands and great may fishing smallies around the islands, or largemouth in the harbors if it is too rough.

There are multiple people that are active on these forums that have both the legal experience through their own endeavor AND in the field of interest, I got my answer just fine.

I throw yellow braid on nearly all of my set ups. My spinning rods get a FC leader. The yellow is amazing for line watching and detecting bites.

Okay, very cool. I guess I have not been very up to date on my information, thanks for clearing that up. I still believe that when the moonlight is significant, they do utilize it to feed on more active and visible bait. Although anecdotal my experience has correlated with these cycles enough times to make me consider its impact.

The more full the moon phase, the greater the light, the more active crawfish/baitfish, the more active bass. That being said, if it is cloudy it will have less of an impact but if there is more light to see bait at night, they will take advantage of it. Just because we may not notice an increase in light if the moon is bright but pretty covered up, for nighttime feeders with sensitive eyes, I'm sure it can make a difference. Many fish including bass seem to utilize this same affect when spawning as well, many people will relate fish moving onto beds with a full moon. If I recall correctly, baitfish and crawfish also spawn around full-moons multiple times throughout the year. So knowing that bass were really active over night, you can take advantage of a potentially very active morning bite while they are still active. Conversely, if they are focusing their feeding efforts during night because it gives them the best opportunity, they may be less active during the day while they wait for nightfall, so really slowing down and understanding they may not be very active can be very advantageous. If you time it right with a crawfish spawn or molt, a craw bait fished shallow can be lights out.

Depends. Tournament fishing isn't for everyone, but if you got the competitive itch, give it a try!

I am more of a Pepsi guy myself... Back on topic: I would agree that many fisherman spend a decent amount of money yearly on fishing, but there is a big difference denoting it as an "expensive" sport. As others mentioned, most of what we buy isn't truly necessary and can be expensive. The big difference is here is that those who do spend the money probably don't treat this as a hobby, but more of a passion. When you truly have a passion, you make it work. This isn't something we do because we have money and time on the side. We do it because we live and breath fishing. We do whatever it takes to be in a position to pursue this passion at the expense level we want. If you are being responsible about it, you can't put a price on passion.

If you look a little further down in the tournament section here, you will find quite a few posts with similar questions which also have some great responses! Goodluck!

There we go! Okay, as mentioned, there will be a mix of largemouth and smallmouth. In April and May is when the most smallmouth are in there, but you will catch largemouth too. Most other times of the year, it is predominately largemouth in the bay. Target water from 2ft to 10ft around any rip rap in the bay which is plentiful, and the marinas (especially all the back!) get loaded this time of year, not so much the docks, the interior rock walls in the marina. If all you threw was squarebills and tubes, you will have a good day. It is pretty hard to identify where smallmouth will be vs largemouth, most of the times you'll just fish each area the same way but some areas hold SM, some hold LM, and some hold both so don't get stuck on species. The big marina inside johnson's island will be more likely LM and crappie but a great area. The rockwalls inside Venetian marina, cedar point marina, or sandusky bay marina are hot and do hold SM at times. Other than if you target any of the bridges, stay shallow, throw the two baits I mentioned, and you should do well. I will mention that often times just because one marina was not getting bites, other ones in basically the same conditions can be on fire. goodluck, if you have any other questions let me know.

what month...

What time exactly in the spring?

The BFL is $230 a tournament for boater, $115 for non-boater.

SM: 4.7 lbs on 3'' watermelon grub LG: 4.2 lbs on 8'' Havoc Juice worm

So basically flapping vs non-flapping, for me: Flapping - Active fish, heavily stained or muddy water, low fishing pressure, when I'm hopping/swimming it often its a great addition then too. Non-flapping - When I want a more realistic presentation, less active fish, high pressured fish, when I am mainly dragging. I generally stick with that approach, and sometimes the opposite! depending on what the fish want. The flapping craw has become such a staple in the modern day fisherman's arsenal and it does work, but is the exact reason I throw a non-flapper behind most people.

Go to the FLW website, find the division in the "tournaments" drop down you want, go to the bottom of the page and select "register for a tournament". If you don't have an account you will have to make one to get past this point. Then you should be able to fill out or at least look at each region, the costs, dates, and rules. You don't have to commit until the end where you pay, but you can see all the info you want this way.

Thanks a bunch cadman, definitely cleared that up for me. With out any great options right now, I may just pour in the basement. It isn't furnished or a high traffic area so I should be able section off space where lead contact should not be a problem. Going to have to create some sort of hood or suction system to provide adequate ventilation though. I think in the end, this will be the safest route.

Thanks for the reply. I figured as such, just wanted a firm answer. I was more concerned about the skirts mainly because of the name of the colors, it almost feels like stealing if I offer a skirt color called"Carolina craw" or "perfection craw" that the supplier made and named.

The copyright thread reminded me of a question I've been meaning to find an answer to. Say I make a jig using components that I did not make, what must I do to to sell my own creation using their stuff. For example let's say I make a jig using gamakatsu hooks and boss skirts, can I sell it as is as my own? Must I mention their use in the listing and on the packaging?

So, I have recently moved residences, and I want to make sure my new jig making area is safe as well. I do not wish to pour inside the house due to poor ventilation and risk of contamination. The biggest issue is I do not have a garage. Would pouring outside on the back porch be safe? Plenty of ventilation and it obviously won't be very wise to pour during precipitation even with overhead cover. My main causes for concern are humidity and temperature control. Would it be safe to pour when it's humid outside? Also if I pour during the winter, will a cold ambient temperature cause the lead to cool too quickly while pouring? Thanks for the help!

Got 27 nice ones in mid december in 42 degree water in 15-30 ft. Tubes, grubs, dropshot, blade baits, jerkbaits.

^

great logic...

There is certainly a benefit to having a FC leader when it comes to abrasion resistance (compared to braid), line visibility, and to conserve mainline braid when you break off. A red flag is thrown up in most people's minds when they hear "connection knot", they start losing confidence in the approach since more knots are necessary. If you find the right knot, and learn how to tie it proficiently, having an "extra" knot won't even cross your mind. I highly, highly recommend the alberto. It's fast, simple, and one of the strongest knots for any diameter of line in the "fast/simple" category.