BaitMonkey1984

I do it on all my rods. I have not noticed any negative consequences of doing so other than having more money to buy more crank baits.

Tubes are extremely versatile. Can be used just around everywhere with only a slight modification. I generally use two retrieves- dragging on the bottoming or hopping of the bottom. Slow dragging is a great way to figure out bottom contour. Hopping the lure off the bottom with an internal tube jig head is great, it has an awesome spiral motion on the way down. My favorite tubes are the Berkley Havoc Smash Tubes. They are in fact "smashed" which means their is less plastic for the hook to go through, better hooksetts. For moe fish, put in a rattle and some scent inside the tube.

I don't think any of those factors are to blame. Perhaps, because I saw this video not too long ago and heeded your advice. Marina is looking the trailer over, if they find anything I will be sure to re-post.

Boat is a 2001 ranger r81vs. The safety chains look to be the originals. I have owned it for 5 years now. Where the safety chains attach to the truck it is typical chain material. No issues there as I checked them regularly. However about 6 inches back from the truck the chains transfer into a thick black cable. That is what snapped. Looked beefy almost 1inch thick and I did cross the two chains creating an x. The trailer tongue has some road rash on it I am sure on the bottom of the trailer but other than that no damage. It scared me to death, but am realizing now how lucky I am.

Sad day. Picking the boat up from the marina after they winterized and shrink-wrapped it. Got it about 1 mile down the road and BANG! Trailer loose, safety chains snapped, Trailer/boat separated from truck and the trailers laying now on the road. I was turning so going very slow like 5mph, thank god. Still not sure what happened. Perhaps the coupler went bad. Pin was in it. Right size ball. For whatever reason, it doesn't appear the trailer was locked down. Scariest thing I have ever witnessed boating related to see the boat slowly drift away from me. Checked the boat and trailer quickly and no damage to either. I think I am going to go ahead and have the coupler replaced anyhow, just to give me piece of mind. After jacking it back on the trailer, brought it back to the marina to check the coupler and install new safety chains. Anyone ever have anything like this happen- anyone want to venture a guess as to possible causes? I have had this boat 6+ years and tow it everywhere. No issues. In these instances, I like to assign operator error but really at a loss here.

To each their own. I don't kayak very often as I have two boats. However, I do take the yak out about 5 times a year or so. First year of kayaking fishing I had issues with hook sets and landing fish. Time on the water in the yak told me how to adjust my hook set which is a lot different then when I am standing on the front deck of my Ranger. Problem #1 solved. Onto Problem # 2, not being able to land fish. I always take at least 3 rods out in the yak, and after trial and error, I faired much better with landing the fish on shorter rods. Once I realized this, I kept all of my rods below 6ft in length and was able to land fish without issue. No net required. I guess you should try out different length rods and find what works best for you.

That is an awesome fish. Don't see very much that size up here in the NE. That scenery is also unreal. The second best thing about this picture, besides the awesome fish is that it is caught in an aluminum boat. You don't need an 80k bass boat to catch hogs. In fact, I catch more in grand dads 16 ft aluminum than my Ranger. Can't figure it out but it happens regularly.

This is sage advice. Children are expensive anyhow. Wait till the State enters a child support order and you will see just how expensive they really are. In all seriousness, sorry to hear about your position, but you failed to heed the advice of your GM. He told you what he was looking for, you didn't meet the cut. For right or wrong. As I always say, it is what it is- be happy the guy was honest with you, even if you disagree with his practice. Better than to string you along for the next few years.

I have gone surf casting at Newburyport several times a year, for several years. I cannot for the life of me figure these d**n fish out. Have yet to catch one. I usually end up setting up the rod and giving up after a few hours and enjoying a cold drink and the scenery.

1. Watermelon Creme 5" GYCB Senko 2. Black and Blue JIG 3. Bluegill Terminator Spinner Bait 4. Black back chartreuse storm arashi square bill crankbait 5. Green Pumpkin powerbait 4" Crazy Chigger Craw I would feel comfortable taking ONLY #1 or #5 and still catching a mess of fish. Those two straight out catch fish, in all conditions and in all lakes I have encountered here in the NE.

Shorter rods on the yak. Easier to land fish.

Lost one rod in 10 ft of stained water while I was getting a fish off my dad's line. Threw crank baits for 2 days. No luck, the St.Croix is still on the bottom of the lake.

Wow that is a tough fine. Good thing I am a lawyer myself, so won't have legal fees to add to the fines.

I am probably in the minority here. I keep fish to eat on occasion, including bass. I have skin mounts. However, even conceding that the fisheries biologists know much more than me- I would not abide by this law. With that said, I will not whine, or complain about any fine I get for not doing so.

No. I have many. But a mechanical scale is always in the boat, and it always is true. Can't say the same for the digitals which need calibrating more often.

I was pulling my boat out one day. Two older people were in a beta up canoe that I was honestly surprised it floated. They threw, and I mean threw the canoe on top of a station wagon. Canoe wasn't registered, didn't see any lifejackets. They had a 5 gallon bucket, filled to the top with fish. Bass. Pickerel. Crappie. Bluegill. Perch. Up in this area we have an overpopulation of white perch, yellow perch and bluegill. Plus there is no limit on those- so I have no issue with those fish kept. But they had way over there limit of bass, and several shorts. I thought they had a tiger muskie, as I saw stripes. I asked to look at it, and they agreed. It was a bass. It had some odd stripes. They had treated the lake for aquatic nuisance vegetation the day before. I kept my mouth shut, and let karma run its course. So yes, it makes me so mad because in my experience its the people who do not even pay for the state to maintain the resource. They don't have fishing licenses, registered their boats, etc. Then they are depleting a resource that we pay the lions share of protecting and preserving.

That is an awesome fish and the best replica I have ever seen. Best mount (replica/real) for that matter. Who did it and how much did it set you back?

Senkos. Crankbaits. SpinnerBaits. Grubs. Jig. Craw. Moving baits and stationary. Covers the entire water column too.

Welcome back. The past 25 years have changed the game in tackle, techniques, etc. I have been fishing 10 years serious and each year there is a drastic change in the game. You should not be nervous, but excited. You get to get back out in nature, and start re-learning how to catch a fish. It is a blast to try out new lures/techniques. I would echo what Darren said. A 5" senko wacky rigged is hard to beat. Cast it. Let is sit. I recommend green pumpkin or my favorite watermelon creme. In addition to these, I would suggest spinner baits (white in fall, red in spring) and small 4" inch grubs on a jog head. Just simply cast and slowly retrieve. Another thing...it is fun under certain conditions to use ultralights. But, you are going to want to go get a 7' mh rod to use for the bass. I have an UL ST Croix that I use for landlocked salmon fishing and use occasionally for throwing finesse applications. When you catch a decent fish, it turns the rod into a wet noodle. Fun, but wouldn't want to do it all the time.

It worked for him that time. I just don't see it as presenting the bait correctly, generally. Moving baits stay in the strike zone and the presentation is the same trolled vs. casted. I don't believe the same is true with a worm. Presentation is different, and the worm is moving too fast in my opinion if it is trolled. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Hop this clarifies my earlier post.

So I have a buddy that is new to fishing (2-3 years now). He was fishing from the back of the boat with me one day and we were hitting up docks on a nearby lake. The lake had an area I wanted to skip, so I got on the trolling motor on high and we were moving pretty good with an 82b thrust motor guide on my 19ft Ranger. He did some research and was all about chartreuse. I dip everything in JJ's magic, but stop short of using a full chartreuse worm. He didn't get that I wasn't tying that worm on. On our way to the docks I thought would be productive he hooked up like 5 times in 10 minutes. Including his first 5lber. It was probably his first fish over 2 lbs too. To this day, he still alway throws the chartreuse worms and trolls when we move spots. It worked for him. I enjoy trolling, do it for salmon and trout on the down riggers quite often, and i the dog days of the summer do it for bass and pickerel with cranks. But I just can't see it working for a worm. To be fair haven't given it a real try. Interested in hearing your results.

I have always used no flake in clear conditions, flake in stained to dirty water. Works for me.

Domestic Relations Lawyer here. Always knew I wanted to be a lawyer, just wasn't sure what field I would end up in. Never expected to be practicing in this area but I took an internship for a firm that specialized in this area my first year of law school and 7+ years later this is all I do. I get stir crazy in the office from time to time, but nothing I can't handle. I actually am ok in the winter because ice fishing once a week and skiing once a week is enough to pacify me. From spring to fall I go nuts tho, because I sit at work and just count the hours until I can leave and get on my boat. Whatever you do, maintain a good work/life balance. Life is too short to waste it working, even if it is something you love and is rewarding.

I have a hard time seeing a 5 inch wiggle when rigged wacky. Based upon your OP and follow-ups sounds like you just got a manufacturing defect on a few. I would rig them up anyhow, because even defected GYCB catch more fish then other top brands.

I have not experienced this, maybe because I am young, fish most days, and always have been one who casts, casts, casts. Fish similar to KVD and Rick Clunn. Stretching couldn't hurt but I do not think it will relieve your pain. I think your best option to avoid any pain is to get a specific casting rod for cranks. This would help you out more than anything, if you do not already have a crank bait specific rod.