lecisnith

This literally JUST HAPPENED to my buddy and me after a two or three mile run. Just barely got it back to the launch. We're thinking his warranty will cover it since he's the first owner and he didn't hit anything.

I have lost four fish this year that I am certain were all between 5-6 pounds. Three smallmouth and one largemouth. Two came off and two broke off in laydowns because I was too feminine to tighten the drag. All would have been well over my personal best. I know how you feel.

One: it was an even better bargain because I got it at the garage sale of a DNR officer's widow for $25. Two: I don't really notice much difference in performance and sensitivity from my cork grip rods. Three: I'm not precisely sure what the difference in EVA and cork grips other than aesthetics and maybe comfort.

My lightest rod is a Falcon Bucoo. Barely feels like there is anything in my hand. Seriously. Great, super sensitive rod.

I always tied braid with a Palomar until I started using power pro, then switched to the improved clinch and haven't had any issues with it. But if you are having problems tying it, switch to the Palomar. It's super easy to tie and pretty much the strongest knot out there.

I'm sure I haven't found the actual can't-miss way. However, I have figured out that when people say, "wait to feel the fish" it is completely misleading. It makes novice anglers just completely stop what they're doing when they see a strike and that's just as bad as ripping the frog away from the fish. What I do, and it might just be a byproduct of my terrible walking technique, is reel the slack really fast, then a little more, and if the fish is one sweep it back. The last three times I have fished with frogs I think I have missed two, maybe three out of ten or so. So it's working for me, which is really all that matters.

Exactly. I have a 6', 6'6",6'9" for various applications. Two cheap, one not so much. All get a lot of use whether it be fishing a tube with internal jig weight, drop shot, weightless texas rig (T-rig), wacky rigging. I caught my first fish on a split shot rig yesterday evening. 3+ pound smallie. I was pretty excited.

Went 3 for 3 on frog hook-ups yesterday. I'm perfecting the hookset technique and it got me a few three-pounders on the SPRO Glide 65 in pumpkinseed color. And for those that might poo-poo a three pound largemouth, a fish that size in Northern Michigan is, basically, the equivalent of a 5-6# fish in southern states.

I don't see anything for finesse on your list. How about a M or M/L spinning setup for dropshot, light or weightless T-rigs, tubes, things like that? Those are my most effective tactics for the most part.

First time I ever used a senko I started with watermelon/red flake and was only catching sub-legals. Switched to the baby bass laminate and caught four between 2-4 pounds in about an hour. Sold me on that color.

Before I became a little more learned, I probably had just as much if not more success on a 6'6" M spinning rod fishing frogs as I do now with my 7'0" M/H with 50# braid. Not saying I shouldn't be using what I'm using now, but sometimes we anglers tend to overthink things and maybe a medium rod with a moderate tip will help with the slower hooksets we look for when frog fishing. So, yeah, you can use it and have success...

I just bought a Gander Mountain Elite for $80 and paired it with a President. I have been very happy with it. Very sensitive, fast tip on M/L action 6'9. Highly recommend it.

Basically where the big smallies are where I fish the majority of the time is a flooded forest or at least an old logging run. Wherever you cast there is a tree two feet to either side. I think it's user error. I had my drag set too loosely because it was my first time using my new rod which is a medium-light with 6# line. And I've been using 6# line all season in the same spot with no break off issues. I think I just need to not be such a wuss and crank on 'em a little harder. If it works with the cheapest 6# flourocarbon you can buy it should work with 6# P-line copolymer...

I finally had the chance to do as I was told. Caught two with the Rage Craw but lost two as well. Two really nice smallies that decided to play cat's cradle in the laydowns covered with zebra mussels.

My wife and I were at a couple's house this past weekend when the two ladies were discussing perfumes and fragrances when my buddy said that he really liked a certain perfume or scent. They asked me what my favorite fragrance was and they thought I was joking when I said "fish".

Nice fishing. I found myself paying attention to the background, though, trying to see if I recognized the lake...

I've got some tubes where the noses are solid. Strike King and Yamamoto, I think. I've rigged those with twistlock hooks and they hold up just fine.

I have had quite a bit of success rigging Senkos and other stick baits on them this year. And this is the first year I've even attempted to fish with Senkos. So there's that.

I have hollow body frogs from six different manufacturers and they all do it. Just get in the practice of every few casts squirting the water out. Very simple, same as clearing weeds off your line.

The idea of "waiting to set the hook" is a bit of a misnomer of a a phrase. You can't just stop what you're doing and expect to catch any fish. I have gotten a lot better at my frog hooksets and ratios by A: shortening my skirts B: bending my hooks up and out ever so slightly, and C: when I get a strike I don't swing for the fences, but neither do I stop, I reel like I'm retrieving a lure on a steady retrieve. Then, when that slack is up and I feel any resistance, I set. It might not work for everyone but it's worked wonders for me. My frog fishing is better than anyone else I know since I worked on those three things.

Fishing the Great Lakes from the shore is a borderline losing battle. Unless it's a bay known for it's fishing you need to be out in a little bit deeper water. You'd be better off doing some research of the area and finding a spot close by to get a line in in your free time. Or, just do what I do when the fishing is hopeless and practice your pitching.

Boy, I'm sure glad I don't ever worry about having "the best"...

I have been catching them all year on green pumpkin chatterbaits with 5" grubs for trailers and my buddy has been hitting them fairly regularly on white spinnerbaits. Both smallies and pike. The pike seem to be a lot less finicky than the bass this year, too. Last time I was out I was getting a lot of topwater frog action-for pike...which I thought was strange. Northern Michigan is definitely a good mix for the predator fish.

I've had lots of success with the 1/2oz Strike King bleeding white in double willow.

Gotta say, very little makes me feel more B.A. than standing on my back deck, practicing my pitching, with Carl Orf's Carmina Burana (Excalibur theme) playing in the background. Maybe I'm wrong but if that's wrong I don't want to be right...