Gundog

That is one fat cat. I say new state record @ 45 pounds. Keep fishing.

With BPS buying Cabela's they may be closing the store. Hard to believe with all the stores that Cabela's and BPS have that they have the revenue to keep all of them open.

Yikes, started snowing around 9 a.m. this morning and stopped around 3 p.m. Now its back, only snowing harder now than it did before. Probably got about 4 inches so far and it don't look like its gonna stop anytime soon. I think we might have to cancel spring this year and go straight into summer.

For pitching you just shorten the line out of your rod and don't hold onto the hook. Its basically the same cast pros do when they are fishing fast to maximize the time the lure is in the water. Watch this video from 5:30 on and see how he does it. He doesn't hold onto the bait, just pitches it. And don't worry about getting a lot of distance. You are in a kayak, easier to sneak up on them with.

You don't need to drop a lot of cash for those expensive jerk baits from Japan to catch bass. Rapala Husky Jerks have been my only jerk bait for a long time and I've caught plenty of bass on them. And if you fish on a lake that has toothy creatures (pike, musky, pickerel) you will soon find yourself losing big money on those expensive baits. I can buy 3 or 4 Husky Jerks for the price of just 1 Megabass Ito. Save the cash and put it towards more gear. At least that's what the baitmonkey tells me to do.

Can't wait to see that episode. I too started watching Hank's show in the 80's. It taught me a lot about bass fishing and especially using a bait caster when I was first starting out. I'm sure Glenn's episode will be just as informative as all the Hark Parker shows. And its nice to see Bass Resource getting some air time. Good job as always Glenn.

I cut the ends of senkos into 4's. Gives the lure a bit more action.

Nice hawg Mike. Good to hear someone's catching the big fish while the rest of us dream about spring.

Not that insane @kingmotorboat. I use senkos in heavy cover with a lot of success. Haven't tried punching with them though.

Congratulations.

Yea that freeloader! Who does he think he is? A politician?

Er..a..dats funny.

Why do they have a picture of a tuna with heading #4.

My only advice, bring a towel. Those are slimey buggers.

I noticed your post said you don't want a float trip. There is Lake Augusta above Harrisburg at the confluence of the north and western branch of the Susquehanna. They inflate the dam around Memorial day. Its got easy access in the way of 2 boat launches at the Shikellamy State Park. Plenty of free parking, bathroom facilities, picnic tables and a nearby town with restaurants and a grocery store. Fishing is great in the spring and early summer as well as the fall.

Good luck with the tourneys.

The area I fish is extremely rocky. Jerkbaits are tough to fish in those areas. Oddly enough, crankbaits don't have a lot of the same problems. Maybe because of the jerking action I use to work the jerkbait. I fish from shore so small tubes tend to get stuck under rocks to much. But I know people who do fish from boats who use tubes. I always go by the rule that when big fish are biting, use the big lures to catch them.

I think I can help. I fish the northern branch, from Bloomsburg to Wilkes Barre. First thing in spring is to consider water height and temp. The clarity usually goes with height. The higher the river, the darker the water. For temps I look at the past 6 days of high and low temps. Average them together and you have roughly the river temp. When that temp hits the 50's I start fishing. In the early spring the middle of the day is best. The height of the water is important because you should be looking for current breaks the smallmouths will use to get out of the current. Those places could be slack or "dead" water behind points coming out from the shore, trees laying in the water, wing dams, or big boulders under the water. These dead water areas are always near eddies that the bass use to bring food to them. Just look for foam, dead leafs or other debris that is not moving in the current. Those are dead water areas. Next is the lures. I always start out small with small spinner baits and crankbaits. You want something with vibration because at this time of year the water is stained to down right muddy. The fish need vibration to track your bait easier. If I'm catching fish with small lures I go bigger. I'm talking 4 to 5 inch swim baits like Strike King Shadalicious or a large spinner bait like you would use for largemouth bass. Also I like a 3 inch Cotton Cordell Big O crank bait. Vibration is the key to catching big bass on the Susky in spring. Good luck. If you need anymore advice, this is the best forum to find it. BTW this is my little stretch of heaven...

Now that is what I call a "Road Trip".

100% agree. Spent a week up there and it was amazing. I'm dying to go back.

That's how I put all my reels on. It makes a good excuse why I didn't catch anything.

I know in my area there are a lot of abandoned buildings but they aren't safe to be in. My first suggestion would be to do you searches carefully with accurate info on the condition of the building. Here we just this fall had an old brewery fall partially down on its own. Stay safe.

Just remembered the Great American Outdoor Show is running this sunday so I know where I'll be.

My Steelers ain't in Minnesota this year so I'd go fishing. Probably will just check in to the game every once in a while. Not really an interesting match up.