Fishin Dad

When we are able to get on the water, fishing is amazing here. We have so many lakes that our pressure is very low, we have incredible numbers of fish, but our size is smaller because of the shortened growing season. Our tournaments typically take between 16-22 lbs. to win and some take more. 50+ fish days happen many times per season. I feel very fortunate………from May-October!! ??. I will be moving that way in a few years to borrow your January, February, and March weather!! The snake thread the other day threatened that thought for a minute however. ??

Lol. It is a horrible separation anxiety for us northern fellas. I am always jealous of the southern boys year round fishing and big bass. I am missing the old gal. She will be in the garage next week so my family can have dad separation anxiety. I will be living in the garage getting her ready.

I love spring fishing. Size and numbers are usually solid. The ice is out just 30 minutes south of me. The boat is coming out of storage next week!!

With posts like that, you should suspend your own account! ??. That is drilling holes and ice fishing.

I have tried the smaller frame reels and don’t like them as much. I am 6’3” with pretty big hands. I just feel I have more control with a bigger reel. I also like the capacity of a little bigger reel. I seem to re-tie or have pike bite me off a lot, so I like the extra line.

I throw jigs under docks, trees, and over rocks. I usually use 15-20# fluoro. I don’t like braid getting hung on wood structures. It seems to cut in and get stuck. I also like the abrasion resistance and slack line sensitivity of Fluoro in those conditions. If I am in heavy vegetation, I like braid with a skirted punch rig or t-rig.

Mine came right away too. I did not get it through Bass Pro per se, mine was a Daiwa deal that everyone was promoting. Received it for buying a Daiwa reel. It is a great deal.

Lol. That was my answer too.

I actually got an email about 24 hours later. It said, “Nice, you earned $30 in premium rewards!” I haven’t tried to use it yet, but it is nice I got the confirmation.

I agree with all of your statements. Most of the guys I watch are great fisherman (I watch mostly pro’s videos). I have learned a ton from many of them as well. They have all obviously done a great job selling as well, I still watch a lot of them to learn. My winter screen time is up and my bank account down. I have also learned to take their confidence with a grain of salt. I have respectfully left out names of some that I watch that take it over the top with very minimal results.

I look at a lot of internet (you tube, etc.) fishing content in the winter as we have around 6 months off from open water. So many of these “Internet Experts” (including pro fisherman, former pros, etc.) seem so confident in their lures, techniques, locations, and knowledge. Do you ever wonder if they know so much and are so confident, why most of them don’t finish better in tournaments?? I know it is fishing and very unpredictable, but with their amount of confidence, it would seem they would be dominating. I understand they are trying to sell their sponsored products and themselves, but it is starting to wear me out a little. “This lure is all you need for spring”, “ Fishing here during xxxx will guarantee fish”, if you use this weight, you will increase your bites by 90%”. Spring must be coming SOON!!

I am just not a big fan of treble hook lures. We have a lot of vegetation around here, not a fan of bass throwing hooks, and handling fish with 6 ouches trying to get me is not my favorite. With that being said, I have been playing with cranks more and have had some success in the right situation. I am also not very experienced with them. I am addicted to jigs and they probably account for 50% of my fishing. I will also throw a Texas rig in heavy weeds and stick baits or finesse worms in many situations. Therefore, since I have soft plastics on my jigs as well as most other techniques, I would say soft plastics make up 85% of my fishing. I should probably be the opposite of @papajoe222 and try throwing more hard baits this year!!

I bought that today. When do you get your $30?

He was actually “moping” most of the tourney. He would throw in a drop shot, Ned rig, and Neko to give them something different when he would see them approach the Damiki and not take it. Definitely a live scope decision. He would have still caught them without it.

I do agree!

Nice to see one of the most liked guys get the big win!!

Viscous makes different braids. They do make a “no fade” braid, but it only co es in 10 lb at the smallest. I like smaller braid for panfish. I haven’t seen “panfish” braid, but I like Suffix Nanobraid and use Nanofil from Berkley. The Nanobraid goes as small as 2 lb braid.

I agree with Jar, if there is a lot of growth and the river is tight, I like a 5’6” - 6’ ultralight or light. If there is more room, I actually like a 7’ - 7’6” to throw light lures farther and take up line on longer casts. Again, I like ultralight or light to load the rod and throw them farther.

I am glad people still like it. It was great bringing my kids to Cabela’s when It was still around. Since the merger, and the disappearance of the true Cabela’s brand, I don’t hardly go anymore for the reasons listed above. I used to drive the 45 minutes a couple times per month and order online frequently.

Yeah, it was cool listening to the guys who didn’t get to fish today. Swindle and Palaniuk were really cool. I still feel stupid for assuming it wasn’t on somewhere.

I brain farted. I saw they were on FS1 for that hour, then I didn’t look at the network channels. Just stupid. Zona cracks me up. He always says he gets nervous still. I met him in Minnesota when he was filming for his show. He is just like he is on tv. Great guy.

Darn it. I looked at all the outdoor channels they are usually on and didn’t see it so I was watching online. What an idiot. Thanks!!

The coverage seems very sketchy for the biggest event of the year. I thought I was missing something. Where is Zona and the crew? Volume stinks. This is not like them.

This has been talked about a lot and would be amazing. I am not sure either side really wants to mix brands. It would interesting to see how the contract would look to divide up the revenue stream. it would be a MUST WATCH and would generate a lot of viewers. I think it would have to be on network tv to generate the viewership both would want and be on equal ground.

Last year I did a lot of slowly dragging a football jig. I would even stop it often and “pop my slack” without moving the jig, It was very successful. I have a tendency to hop or pop my pitching/skipping jigs too much. This year I am going to concentrate on really slowing down and letting it sit longer like Papa and Catt were saying. I need to learn patience, especially in highly probable areas. I am good at slowing down with a shaky head or drop shot, but work a jig or T-rig too fast. Good reminders! Thanks fellas.