Captain America

Do you guys have any apps that you use for your fishing? Apps designed for fishing, apps not designed for fishing, etc. What are they and how much do they cost?

Why the heck would anyone take a photo of a fish without long arming?? Congrats on the fish, man!

Mepps. cast, reel, cast, reel, etc... it doesnt get more simple than that, and smallies cant resist it.

I like to rig my spinning rods with 10lb braid and use a 20 - 25 foot mono or fluorocarbon leader. I fish rivers a lot, so it is nice to know that i probably wont have to change my leader after losing a few baits to the rocks. It also gives me more sensitivity than straight mono or fluoro, and i like to think it helps with pressured fish. I also like to nose hook Strike King KVD dream shots and fish them like a soft jerkbait when the bite is REALLY slow. It is a little fish magnet, but the big ones will still bite.

Alright. Cabin Fever is REALLY setting in. Lakes are still frozen, and I am just itching to do some open water bass fishing. What are some of your favorite informative youtube channels or videos about bass fishing? Anything pertaining to ice out is gold, but any good information will do to feed my addiction (for now). Looking more for informative content vs just watching people catch fish. I have enjoyed BassResource and InformativeFisherman. What do you guys got?

Interesting. Scratch that about Canada, or Ontario at least. Point is, I believe we should protect Michigan's spawning bass from tournaments... lol

Haha that sounds bad. Last time I was up there I was told the OPP can come into your cabin to see if you kept too many fish. Most of my experience comes from Manitoba fishing for Cats, and the Ontario part of Lake of the Woods in August. I wasn't saying it was ideal, just that it doesn't necessarily keep people away/encourage them to poach. I AM pretty pleased with the Michigan DNR most of the time. They have a good deal of regulation to do before I would be upset.

Not the case in Canada. Heavily regulated? Check. Destination Fisheries? Check. The penalties for poaching are too high for most people to risk it. Obviously, a few knuckeheads will still poach, but less. And whats a few idiots doing something illegal compared to everyone doing the same exact thing if it were legal? That's the purpose of a law.

Shouldn't we do what is best for the bass population? Just because tournament pressure on smallmouth beds "hasnt devastated" the population, doesn't mean its good. I'm glad the MDNR is more concerned with the fish than they are with with bass fisherman. That is how we are going to preserve our resources for future generations.

Where do you guys find these fish usually?

What do you all do to catch fish right after the ice thaws? I usually don't fish for bass at this time, but I want to try this spring. What works for you?

Top secret. Can't talk about it.

I am somewhat in the market for an outboard to put on my 12 ft. alumacraft. Probably a 9.9 so I can run the river... Does anyone have any buyers tips? Things I should pay attention to when looking at a used outboard? Thanks!

I think it is the old one. It had a $40 price tag on it, and I believe the newer ones go for 50.

I work for a junk removal company, and we hauled away a fishing rod that I was told I could keep. It is a bps micro lite spinning rod. UL 7'9" (was originally 8'6" might shorten to next eye at 7'4"). 9" busted off the tip, so I would need to tie on a tippy top, but it seems like it might do me some good. With blank being shorter it feels way more like a ML than an UL rod, and the action is very moderate. So I guess Im wondering what technique(s) might a 7'4" ish ML moderate action rod be good for? I have no issue using it for a technique it isnt totally suitable for, but I am curious.

Caught my first fish on a crankbait tonight. Kind of unexpected. The wind whipped us into this cove and we were ready to call it, but we kind of casted around for a bit. It was a slow enough day to get me to try a crankbait (tried spinnerbait, drop shot, senkos, soft jerkbait). It was not a significant catch whatsoever, but it got me wondering what you guys do to catch fish on crankbaits in weedy lakes? I can never tick the bottom because I just get grass on my first few cranks, and there are hardly any rocks on the lakes I fish. It seems to be all grass and no bass. Thoughts?

What lakes are you fishing? I have found that fish (largemouth anyway) up here relate to weeds more than anything else. Our lakes are usually quite weedy with little rock, no wood away from shore. Fish baits that you can work through or around the weeds. Look for points in the weeds, weed edges, spots where the type of weed changes, holes in the weeds etc. Experiment with fast and slow presentations, but I have found that fish up here (even fairly active fish) will be more likely to hit finesse style bait than something else (just my experience). FISH WITH A SENKO For michigan largemouth a gary yamamoto 5" senko is unbeatable. Most of my fish come on this bait and I know a lot of successful michigan fisherman who almost exclusively throw senkos. I like to rig it weightless and just let it sink to the bottom, and slowly twitch, reel and let it sink back down until its back to the boat. The fall is where most strikes come. Wacky is my preference, but a weightless texas hook will get the job done in thicker weeds. I fish it near docks, dropoffs, laydowns or anywhere there are weeds in like 1.5 - 20 foot of water (4-10 is a good starting place). Yes, other baits work, but this will catch them on pretty much any day. One thing to keep in mind: A guy from the dnr told me that michigan largemouth's primary source of food are bluegills. We don't really have giant balls of shad stacked on the thermocline in most of our inland lakes, so those fish are keying in on those gills. Green pumpkin, and other colors that could imitate a gill are king here. Take some time to observe the bluegills. https://www.bassmaster.com/vandams-6-season-bass-guide This is a good seasonal guide from KVD.

If it were me (I actually don't own electronics,) would get a topo map of the body of water you want to fish. Either electronic via the navionics app, a paper map, or if those are not available, a satellite image from google maps or google earth will give you some helpful information. This way you have an idea of the depth you are in. For temperature, they make little thermometers that are similar to pool thermometers -- usually found in a fly fishing section. They go for around 12-15 bucks. Now you have surface temperature. As far as cover types go, it does not take long to learn that there are weeds or rocks at the bottom by dragging a jig or something down there. You won't be able to spot isolated pieces of cover in 20 fow, or balls of schooling shad, but you're still doing pretty good and saving a good deal of money.

It is kind of a weird angle. It looks narrower than it really was. It is definitely a drum (we usually call them sheepshead). Maybe they look a little different in great lakes systems. These channels are littered with them, they are a blast to catch and they eat absolutely anything (ie my tube). People even target them up here with little cleos, though they are still considered a junk fish.

I would use any of the mentioned plastics on a 1/8 oz jig head. (I have been experimenting with T rigged plastics for fewewr snags with good luck, and I am about to buy some shakey head jigs for the same reason). I like to tick the bottom of likely spots. (above and below snags and rocks, holes, eddies, etc.) I fish a smaller river and that always produces. Caught 10 out of a hole that guys were bow fishing right into bouncing a double tailed grub on a 1/8 jig through it. I usually let the current dictate my action unless i throw into an eddie where I will retrieve. One tip I have is that smallies love to hit on the swing (when your bait isn't dead drifting anymore, but the current is pulling your line and your bait "swings" until it is completely downstream of you). I like to let it sit at the end of the swing and twitch it for a few seconds too. Probably half of my smallmouth bites come on the swing.

My family went to a super busy beach town in here in Michigan (boardwalk, shops everywhere, most popular beach for people in my city etc.) and I decided to try my luck in the channel. I was hoping for some smallies, but I ended up with a whole bunch of freshwater drum, a sub 14 inch smallie and a nice largemouth. I had a boat coming in from lake michigan stop to watch me land the LM and another crowd of people watching behind me on the pier. I havent measured a fish in a year or so, but I believe that this is my PB bass.

How far into the weeds can a boat go? It seems like I see people on TV ride right over top of large patches of lillies.

You could always wade. I wade for smallies all the time in some of our smaller rivers. Otherwise any kind of 12 foot semi v will probably get the job done. I would imagine that you'd be able to find one pretty cheap on craigslist.

Hey guys, I just bought myself a flipping rig (7'6, heavy, extra fast tip, 50lb braid etc...). I am hoping to get out and fish super heavy vegetation since I fish a lot of lakes that have large sections with emergent vegetation. Do any of you have any pointers/tips/stories for this type of fishing? I'm not quite sure how to approach a "field" of emergent vegetation that all looks the same.

I made a fishing log last year. I like to keep record with pen and paper. It's how we do it when we troll lake Michigan. I do spend less time at the log when I bass fish, but I try to jot something down. It stays pretty dry in a 3 ring binder stashed somewhere. This is the log that I made. FISHING LOG.pdf