punch

me!! I was about to buy a Clam hub light for my ice shack.

Wow, they didn't give me such an option. They emailed me just a Canadian address. This was last summer.

Yeah, it REALLY sucks. You get a "free" replacement on an Aetos but gotta spend like 50-60 bucks sending the old rod to them. They will not reimburse you either. Pure fishing has offices in the USA, but their warranty program is run out of Canada. This is literally the reason I'm not buying anymore Fenwick in the future.

There's just WAY too many quality rod brands these days. It's really difficult as a consumer to pick something. My only complaint about Fenwick is IF you send back a warranty rod.. they make you ship the busted rod to Canada. Shipping a tube to Canada is expensive.

I'm sure every year hey will come out with a slightly different size and a new color or two. Gotta keep hooking the fishermen!

We need to start calling these YASB... yet another swimbait. Everyone has to have one now. Can't let Keitech keep making all that cash.

Anyone using the trapper dropshot hooks?! Got a pack to try out this year in 2/0

Who has them?!

I had one of those epic ice fishing days on Saturday. I've been chasing a school of crappies around all week after work and on lunch breaks on a smaller north metro lake.. I kinda had a good idea where they were roaming around. Once I got on them I could blast crappies for a good chunk of time. I went out Saturday morning with my kid and I found the school within about 20 holes.. we setup the hub and drilled them for like 2-3 hours (catch & release of course). I had to go back home at lunch, but I talked my wife into letting me go back out solo later in the afternoon.. sure enough the school was still in the same area and I kept catching them for another couple of hours. I'll admit next to bass, crappies are probably my 2nd favorite species to fish. I manged a few largemouth, a pike and like 40+ panfish all day jigging tungsten. It was so much fun. It's funny how some days on the ice you drill dozens of holes and can't find a single bite.. and other days you're just on the juice and can wack them. I'm getting more confident as an ice angler this year, but man it's a hard sport. I've learned that mobility and not sticking to dead water is key. Lotta folks drill, setup, and sit there for hours expecting fish to magicly appear. You gotta be willing to dump a spot and fish the fish, not the location on a map.

All 4 of my pairs of Costas have come off eBay. You can get some great deals.

I got a giant walleye last year drop shotting a green pumpkin erie darter haha.

There's WAY too many good dropshot baits these days. I'm glad nobody has mentioned my favorite yet... ... ok fine Power Team Lures Finicky Tickler.

The NW sports show is basically 20% off rods/reels/tackle at all the dealers. It's all MSRP with a 20% haircut. You can get bigger discounts on more expensive stuff like electronics but rods/reels are pretty much 20% off across the board. One nice thing about the NW sports show is most of the vendors are on-site with their promo's.. and you can double dip! Like last year Daiwa had a "free jersey with the purchase of a tatula product" and they had jerseys there on-site. If you walked over to a vendor, bought a rod, then walked back to the Daiwa booth and showed them your rod & receipt they gave you a jersey. Then you could go home and mail in the same promo rebate, and get another jersey in the mail. I did this and flipped the 2nd Huk jersey on ebay for like 45 bucks haha. So if you buy rods/reels/tackle with the 20% off discount, and take advantage of in-show promotions (some of which can be replicated online when you get home)... you can snag some good stuff from the NW sports show.

I'm so going to buy a pair of those polymer bearings to slap in my white reel. Just to try it. Heard they are going to be around 30-40 bucks?

It's REALLY busy on the weekends. It's gotten quite popular if the temps over 25-30. I'd go during the week if you don't want to be shoulder to shoulder with people.

Yeah I hear ya! I do the same for panfish. Tungsten jigs or small spoons with spikes. I just never seem to luck into a largie when i'm targeting crappies/bluegills. I only seem to get bass/pike on minnows with deadsticks & tip ups.

How did you get the bass? Tip ups?

Very sad. So, FLW basically said the tournament is on BUT the weather on a certain part of the lake could be dangerous? But they let people decide for themselves and didn't postpone? Is FLW going to look bad after this is over? Seems to me like they are not going to come out of this looking great.

Any cheap snowpants will work with some layering under. If you're a hole hopping type ice guy, having some proper ice fishing bibs with reinforced knee's are good because you'll be on your knee's a lot. You don't need such bibs though if you're a casual ice fisherman sitting in a hub/house. I'd say the most important thing when ice fishing is good boots. You're feet will get cold before anything else. Layer up the wool socks and make sure you got some good waterproof insulated boots. Keeping your feet warm is easy to screw up and make for a miserable day.

If I could only fish on lure for the rest of my life it would be a popper.

I'm embracing the ice season this year... even got a proper thermal 8x8 hub. I've dabbled in the past but I'm all-in this year. It's a heck of a lot harder than open water fishing that's for sure! We hit medicine lake last night and drilled probably 50+ holes, then when we finally found fish they weren't active. It's like asking 50 women out on a date, and one finally says yes.. then she doesn't like you.

Nice! I got out on the ice last Friday and hammered some crappies on the new "brand that can't be named" ice tackle. Hopefully get out some more this week. I don't LOVE ice fishing, but it's something to do. I've gotten more serious about it in the last few years. @rascalP we should hit some hard water sometime. You got a shelter?

I caught a LOT of fish with the black & blue flake TRD. Gotta mix that one into your rotation.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/rock-bottom-deals/mens-clothing/pc/105591780/c/105642180/sc/105643080/cabelas-mens-guidewear-neck-gaitor/2485514.uts?slotId=1 $5 neck buffs with free shipping. These ones are really nice. Huks as well.. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Huk-Mens-Kryptek-Trophy-Gaiter/2203222.uts?slotId=1