Further North

Hmmm.....nothing....

Yep, the bears and wolves pretty much leave people alone...our biggest worry is really Lyme disease from ticks. ...and the fact that we can't seem to put out repeat offender drunk drivers in jail... I'm not wired for ice fishing...too much sitting...but then I can't learn to enjoy jigging for walleyes, or trolling for any kind of fish either... Duck hunting, deer hunting, turkey hunting...any of those sit-and-wait type of activities are just things I can't get accustomed to. In the fall, I'll chase grouse and pheasant, and once it snows there's cross country skiing and stuff...there's ways for me to stay busy.

Yup, different worlds. I was down your way in June, once...the skeeters drove me nuts. Not sure if I could adjust or not. ...On the other hand...you can fish in January...when all we can do is jump up and down on the ice...

That's what I'd do.

My fishing partner for the trip is from Racine...he's been dealing with the same stuff. That you guys don't have very many lakes in your part of the state isn't helping his attitude... I grew up down there (Elkhorn/Lauderdale Lakes) and on my few trips back just one look at the scarcity of fishable water, and the number of boats on it...I'm never sorry to head back home... There are hundreds of lakes in the county I live in now...

Toyota Racing Development? ?

Hard to say...I don't like night fishing...it's skeeter city in these parts (days don't have a lot of bugs) and I really don't like running across flowages that are part of river systems up here at night. I'm sure our skeeters are nothing like yours...but I've got a really low tolerance and most years I don't have to deal with them more than a couple times.

I'll be very interested in replies. Looks like a good self contained solution for skinny water river fishing for teeth in NW WI. I wish it was two feet longer...but we'll see what shakes out.

That's funny... I have three "confidence" baits: Smokin' Rooster, T-rigged with a 1/4 oz. wt. over a 30# tied-in wire leader (so the sliding weight still works) Senko. T-rigged or Wacky...doesn't matter. #5 Mepps. Color may vary, but it'll find fish. ...and I've got at least another 12 set-ups dedicated to other things*. Why the weird mix? Teeth first, bass 2nd...most days... *In Canada, I've a 4th confidence bait: Dr. Spoon. Colors my vary, but red and white dominates, most years.

I've caught several pike, one musky with a treble hook lure in it. In the case of the musky, it was a lure another guy in the group had lost to the fish two days earlier. She was still eating...

I'm a terrible warm water fisherman...if we had mid 70s water temps, I'd be fine...but this is 10° over what I was expecting...add the pea soup clarity, and I'm way off my game... I like clear, cold water...I may get grumpy... ? Thanks - I've not fished them a bunch. I have one rod I can dedicate to that set-up, I'll have it set up tomorrow, ready to go.

Great stuff...we all love Ned...but how would you fish Ned in the circumstances above?

Thanks - especially on the thermocline. Hadn't thought of that as I usually don't have to deal with bathwater this warm. Thanks. Are you dealing with the same high water temps we are this year? It's just gross... I'm thinkin' rivers...

Interesting thought...where would you fish them?

If the hook is barbless (or de-barbed) the chances of the fish being able to get rid of it go way up.

Scenario: Water temps 80° in the AM, climbing to 85°. Stained flowage (Chippewa Flowage, SE of Hayward, WI). Parts of the flowage are clear-ish, some are heavily stained. Air temps 80° - 85° daytime, 51° - 59° overnight. Weather will be sunny/mostly sunny, not much wind (might top out around 7 - 8 MPH late afternoon). Will be getting to the lake after a day of thunderstorms. Barometer should be steady or slightly rising while we are there, with a dip at the end of the day Saturday. Relatively high fishing pressure for a NW WI lake. How would you fish this?

Wait...you have to put the dish soap in your mouth first? ?

I usually get on the boat, give myself a solid coating of sunscreen, then smear one lens with a thumb as I put my sunglasses back on. Then I'll grab the micro-fiber cloth out of my pocket, making sure to get a good amount of sunscreen on the cloth, then smear everything around on both lenses so that everything is slightly foggy all day, then clean the lenses at home with dish soap... Kidding...Microfiber cloth and whatever the optometrist gives us for cleaning lenses. Works great, costs nothing.

........

I had a 30" musky go airborne on me three times today. Barbless hooks. Didn't get off. Add a half dozen pike, three smallies and five largemouth... ...no barbs.Barb Hmmmm.......... I use a large hoop trout net for landing bass. Works great.

Yep. We all do that when we start, most learn to not to do it. What really makes me cringe is big pike and musky being held vertically...we can do a lot of damage in just few seconds doing that. I've got a picture somewhere of an 18" brown trout that I took out of the water and posed on streamside rocks alongside my fly rod...pretty picture...but odds are good I killed that fish...and that's a shame, because I didn't eat it. I don't do that any more...

If I can get to the hook to pop it out, I don't even bring most bigger fish into the boat. I reach over, pop out the hook and let 'em go without ever touching them if I can.

Correlation doesn't equal causation... Pinched barbs don't loose fish... I've caught two foot western trout that spend half their time in the air when hooked with a tiny, #20 pinched barb nymph (really a tiny jig) on a fly rod (harder to keep pressure on a fish than with gear). Keep the pressure on and it works fine. That's a really good point...there's a video out there somewhere on Vimeo of me catching trout on the Bighorn...there's music playing...and it covers up the sound of my friend Dave telling me to keep the rod tip down... Edit: I found it: https://vimeo.com/user10940546/review/40376808/5256533a16 ...I'm the 2nd guy kneeling on the bank, learning to catch fish... It makes a big difference...the more line in the water helping you add drag and pressure, the better...and when the fish goes up, the rod tip goes down even further...

Good for you. Better for the fish, better for you when you get stuck. Not true. I de-barb all my hooks, from trout to musky and I don't "...lose a high %..." of anything. With a good hookset and keeping pressure on...no, they're not. I wouldn't waste your time. Get a good hookset and focus on keeping pressure on. Those two things will make you a better fishermen.

Great topic, good recommendations. ...I pinch my barbs down as well. Better for the fish, better for me if I get stuck.