punch

I don't see what the difference is between casting a crankbait or dragging it behind the boat. Bait still goes under the water and wiggles around.

I've always wanted to fish Devils.. on the ole lake bucket list. Sounds fun! Surprised you're on this forum and haven't used a texas rigged worm! That's like bass fishing 101 haha.

Dang, didn't notice that. Guess I'm doing two orders!

Dicks has a flash sale going on right now, and one good item in it is a Duckett 300 series reel (right and left) for $65. I had a $10 off $50 dicks coupon laying around so I ended up getting one for $58 shipped. Not bad at all! http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/f/up-to-50-off-reels-flash-sale-2017#bazaarRating:&facet:&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:5&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

Is there a "best"? Seems all the major brands make pretty fantastic boats these days. I think you should narrow it down to what are my best options in XX,XXX-XX,XXX price range.

I find this very hard to believe.

I've been fishing deeper the last few years, especially in the late summer/fall. Basically drop shots, deep cranks and swimbaits on heavier heads. I know how tempting it is to go bash the banks every time you go out, but everyone does that.. sometimes you gotta go where people aint.

The ice is melting, the temperatures are rising and the season is almost here! I think I'm going to grab my boat this week because we're going to be well into the 50's this weekend and next week. I'm going to get out and chase some crappies very soon! Here's a question for the MN folks to start the thread off: What new techniques & baits are you going to try to learn this year? Personally, I'm going to give spybaits a whirl this year. The last few years I've learned that I really enjoy finesse fishing and I've added a few spybaits into my arsenal that I'm excited to try.

I got to play with all the Tatula Elite rods at the Diawa booth at the Northwest Sports Show this weekend. They are all very interesting rods. The fit and finish on them are very impressive. I was smitten with the Cody Meyer 7' ML dropshot rod. I can't afford the AGS version but I did pick up the "regular guide" version for 150 bucks at the show. Can't wait to try it out. I'm going to use it for dropshot, light shakey heads and probably hair jigs. Might even be a good NED rig rod. One thing I like about the rod is the extra long portion of grip ABOVE the reel seat. This lets you choke up on the rod when you're fishing vertical. It's super comfortable. One thing I didn't like is that the spinning rods do NOT have a hook keeper on the neck.. only down in the grip. I wish they had both. Luckly I have some fuji's laying around.

I'll give them a whirl for kicks.. might be a good thing for my kids to toss as it's "turn key".

I don't think I could commit to fishing the entire series (camping and kid activities taking up weekends), but I'd love to partner up with someone here and there. How do people find co-anglers?

This actually sounds like a lot of fun. What's the start/stop time on the Wednesday tournaments?

How's everyone's ice fishing going?

The pike in MN sure love the S-Crank for some reason. Every time I toss the S crank I get some kinda monster pike by accident. The bait has quite the wobble. I like em.

I saw the BassX line in the store the other day and they looked pretty impressive, and boy are they light. The guy in the shop said they are the same blank as the Avid line? I think he's incorrect because the Avid's are SCIII and the BassX's are SCII right?

I love Cabela's. We have two great stores in the Minneapolis area. I frequently score discount gift cards off ebay (like $85 for $100) and then stack them with the X off 100 coupons they regularly do. When you stack coupons codes + gift cards + points from your cabela's visa + sale items... you can rack up some really good deals. I've gotten ridiculous prices on rods/reels/clothes/baits and electronics over the years if you time it just right. Plus their "in store employee pricing" sales are awesome.. they usually do them twice a year. You really have to be a hawk and wath over their website's sale items because the good stuff goes really quick.

For me it's listed as an add-on item, which means you have to buy something for $25 or more to get the price. Can't buy it alone. Likely not a price mistake, they do deep add-on discounts pretty regularly on random things. Socks for like 2 bucks.. etc.

In person only?

I don't think there's really a wrong rod for chatterbaits (well obviously not a light setup, duh). Seems most people toss them on 7' MH's or M's.. and OF COURSE now the rod industry see's a window to make a few more bucks by coming out with longer glass "chatterbait rods" which just look to me like a rebranded deep cranking rod. A rod you already have is likely just fine. Try a 7-7'2 MH, if that's too stiff try your favorite crankin rod, if that's too bendy try a 7' M fast. Do what works for you. It's such a simple bait i don't think it requires too much thought put into the gear. Just look at the replys in this thread, everyone does something a little different. Can't wait to see an entire series of chatterbait rods from one of the companies soon. Honestly all those rods would be perfectly capable of throwing a chatterbait. I'd probably start with the 7 MH then try the 6'10 spinning.

Got my Aetos rod in the mail today.. REALLY NICE!

Skinny Dipper & Little Dippers are great. Skinny dipper is fantastic for smallmouth.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/fishing/rods|/pc/105591780/c/105740280/sc/105742080/duckett-whiteice-casting-rod/1419201.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Frods%2F_%2FN-1102769%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105742080 Cabela's has some Duckett White Ice rods on sale (White Ice 2's are coming out), and they have a $25 off $100 and $30 off $150 coupon right now (check your mail or ebay). You can get one for like 125 shipped to store! Not bad. I grabbed the 7'4 cranking.

I grabbed two rods for 145 shipped, thanks! Great deal. Easy to return too.

I didn't have a lot of confidence in the chatterbait over the spinnerbait or the swim jig, but in the last few years i've forced myself to toss it more and more and i've been rewarded. It's probably my second favorite search bait in stained water next to a squarebill. I find myself using chatterbaits in dirty water and getting bites all year long. I slap a paddetail swimbait on it and rotate between a bluegill/brown color pattern or a white/chartreuse. I've gotten bites on chatterbaits.. everywhere. Shallow, deep, around docks, over weeds, open water.. it's really a "toss anywhere" bait for me. The biggest downside is that northern pike LOVE it.

This guy is sponsored by St Croix so it's about the most biased review you're ever going to see. He's basically a paid advertiser for strike king and st croix. Not really any different than most of the youtube fishing channels, but these video's should really have some kind of disclaimer. It's more of a commercial than a review.