Neil McCauley

For cutting deep hooks, seems like some of the ortho surgery instruments could be helpful, like the Ruskin-Liston bone cutters below. Anything better you could think of?

In the interest of not losing $100+ worth of hardbaits this season I'm in the market for a lure retriever device. I've seen a lot of different ones, and different designs. Seems like the most common is the weight with two rings and a rope that slides down the line. Has anyone found one in particular that works best, or that there are different types for different situations? How often do you still fail to retrieve a stuck lure? Traditional sliding weight style: Chain type: Spiral stick type: Most of my hangups are from lures wedged between irregular basketball+ size rocks and boulders. I can get about 90% fo these back by backing over the lure and pulling it free backwards. If that fails, I can get another 5% of them snapping the line from tight to slack by tightening the line as much as possible, pointing the rod tip at it and releasing the bale. If a few times doing that doesn't work they're usually goners. I'm hoping a retriever/knocker would help get more of these back.

NOT bad...

There needs to be a hickok45 of fishing. I have yet to find one.

My old Quantum SX3 finally broke down, no longer locks reeling backwards. It has been such a solid reel for me for almost 20 years I'm considering getting the same one, but it is on ebay for >$70 and I have a feeling bidding will be over $100, which is a little absurd since I think I bought it for $30.... Are there better modern ones anyone could suggest? In the $100 range... Should be light spinning, rear drag, trigger casting. Thing I will miss most about my old reel is the balance of the reeling handle and how solid it just was reeling against heavy resistance. I could use it with very heavy tackle if I wanted. I am afraid they "don't make them like they used to" in this regard. Hopefully I'm wrong.

I like that navigation light/visibility flag. On my to-get list.

I used to change mono every other trip when I used it. It seems to fray, twist, absorb etc very quickly. It is rewarding to change it frequently. I now only have it on one spool and don't use it much, change once a year.

After years slathering on 50spf sunblock I think I may get one of these buff thingies. I have a few patterns picked out but let's see what you are running. Also, anyone ever see a sonar fish finder pattern buff?

There's a pond on the street I grew up on that is only about 3' deep max. It is spring fed and usually freezes over only a few inches thick if at all. A few bass are able to survive every winter. The issue with freezing over is snow covers the ice eventually and blocks sunlight. Weeds without enough light start to die off and don't produce oxygen. The water also doesn't get aerated from the wind/waves. Can kill off a whole pond this way if it's small and winters are long enough. You could also use a bubbler to keep it open- the kind used to protect permanent docks from ice damage- if your pond freezes over regularly. Depends how much you want to invest in this project.

.... w- what is a "crate"?

I put mine on fastest possible. I want to know what's going on underneath by the second and when I'm moving don't want to miss anything. Why do anything other than fast chart speed? So you can look at a longer term record of it on your screen? I don't really care what happened 10 seconds ago or what I passed 10 yards ago. I want to know what's underneath at the moment, or have a decent graphical representation of the bottom and the things I pass over at 3-5mph.

My hardbaits get shredded from the hooks but not while stored, from getting used. Can see a clear wear pattern on the sides where the hook shanks vibrate against them and wear the paint through to the bare body material. Biggest concern with storage for me is the hooks themselves and keeping them sharp. The tip of a very sharp hook is the most vulnerable spot to rust and obviously the most important for sharpness. Any moisture whatsoever and air exposed to tip will dull it, as will clanking against other hooks and lures. I put use moisture absorbing dessicant packets and blow dry the box with a hair dryer every trip. Store them with hook covers. Over the winter put a dab of grease on hooks that you didn't get to use much, replace the ones you did. You will lose 100x more fish to slightly dull hooks than you will to an ugly color/finish.

If they're going to be kept I don't see the big deal, just seems kind of sloppy. I kind of cringe if it's supposed to be released. Admittedly even my own avatar pic is questionable handling, laying on pleather boat cushions. Fish depend on their "mucoprotein" coating for a lot of things and aren't adapted to deal with anything dry coming in contact with it, it strips the coat right off. Grass and dirt probably aren't as bad as modern materials, boat carpeting seems like it'd be the worst. I don't know what difference all this makes on fatality rates after release though, maybe none for an otherwise healthy fish if it was quickly released after a clean hook. What we really need for the problem of how to take pictures alone is a waterproof remote control camera people can mount on their boat's bow or wherever. Yes.. kind of like a "selfie stick." Has to be able to be ready to go all the time though, I do NOT have the time to set up a timer and fiddle around with stuff when I'm trying to release a fish safely.

Fished LG again this weekend focusing on Lakers but caught a surprising # of SMB with some decent sizes, 16" range. Felt like babies compared to the trout though. They were right alongside the lakers feeding on smelt at stream mouths and spawning areas. It would have been a great day if the wind wasn't out of the North and whipping the lake up into whitecaps.

Would be interested in seeing that. I have seen a few skeg set-ups. I gave up on the fin underneath mine for now, it is just too much of a PITA trying to launch from shore with it.

<50 F is still too cold imo. Should be much better this weekend.

I'll start- Lake George, NY 50°F

Ruins everything imo. I refuse to fish on waters with heavy carp infestations. I say, if legal, bring a suppressed .22LR and kill them all.

SMB tend to be around the rock reefs and sunken humps in the southern to middle half of the Northern Basin, LMB are concentrated in the weed beds at the very northern tip of the lake. Though you can find them pretty much anywhere that time of year, 25-30 ft depths are key.

Anyone on LG or Champlain? What're the water temps like?

Carp "making a comeback?"

No bass here, water is 41°F. Still a great weekend. April Lakers are like kind of like catching July smallmouth.

"In laboratory studies, smallmouth fed very little at temperatures below 50°F and lay motionless on the bottom at temperatures below 40°F." If the water temp is below 50 you are absolutely wasting your time. Period.

What is a NED rig?