Ohio Archer

I've started using these Mustad Fastach Clips on the end of my fluorocarbon leaders. Easier to use than the heavy locking clips needed for throwing big baits. I tie directly to the split ring on smaller lures to keep the action from being deadened.

I picked up two more 8' Shimano Sojourn rods to round out my muskie set. For the price they can't be beat. Also grabbed a couple walleye crankbaits and Storm 25' deep divers.

Yes, the radio can be distracting. We are taught, and teach, in Archery that the human mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time (and there are a lot of things to do to send a pointy stick into the middle of the bullseye). Concentrate on one thing and you're better off. When I get back home and start to back my boat trailer up into our driveway, the seat belt comes off, the windows come down (no matter how cold it is) and the radio gets turned down/off. That's just the way it is...

Watch your water pressure closely if you're running the big motor in the grass. If you don't have a gauge you need to constantly check the tell-tale hole for adequate water flow. We used have that problem in the canals that got clogged with pesky water hyacinth. Reversing the engine helped but most times we needed to hang over the back and pull them off.

Best I can figure I'm around 30 days give or take a couple. Got a slow start but picked up in June. Then got a new boat in July. Trying to get a few more before it gets too cold.

Been fishing since the late 60's. Fished for bass exclusively starting in the early 80's. While not my current target species I still go after them. I keep a couple of bass rods in the boat so I can switch up when I want to. Fishing for bass up here in OH in the reservoirs is not like south FL or LA. To me, the deeper lakes are much harder to fish, harder to find the bass and harder to get them to strike. The numbers aren't here so I imagine they are more selective in what they will eat.

I need to spend more time on the water (don't we all?) but and spend more time using my side scan sonar to ID underwater features that will hold fish. Blindly beating the banks or the same dead stretch of water is unproductive around here. Going to spend some time getting info at seminars this winter. Regardless of the species you're fishing for you can learn a lot from listening to the guys that do it for a living. I need to learn when and where to throw jerkbaits. My patience level is low when it comes to letting something sit for a while before moving it again. So, I guess I need to learn to slow my retrieves down when needed. Love throwing crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms. I'd like to throw more swimbaits. I also need to learn how to fish deep, 25'-40' deep. I've seen large schools of fish on open water humps after the turnover but they are way too deep for anything but a jig. Everyday you learn something is not a wasted day even if you get blanked.

Plan on being out all day. Bit cool (33-34) in the morning but 50's in the afternoon. Going to take a variety of tackle for bass, crappie, saugeye and Muskie. Taking a friend who hasn't been out on my boat all year.

Kinda funny that when I was fishing exclusively for bass after moving up here I would catch or hook an assortment of fish, more so than bass. Hooked and lost several big muskie. Now that I'm targeting muskie, the opposite is happening. Caught one on my largest Ohio bass a few weeks ago. This past weekend I had a 3-4 lb bass follow my musky spinner to the boat. So, I will try to catch anything that will swim and eat the lures I'm throwing.

Having just returned from Milwaukee via Chicago, how do you deal with the traffic while pulling a boat, especially your Predator? Granted, I was on 294 both directions three times this year but the traffic is heavy everywhere we've been in Chicago (family in Cicero). I have a hard enough time dodging all the idiots and their lane changes with just my wife's Subaru without worrying about someone taking out my boat as well.

The Demo doesn't appear to be working. If it is an online map only then you may have issues when out on the water if the cellular service is weak unless you can download the map to a phone for use off-line. I have the Navionics Mobile App (was $9.99) that allows me to download lake maps for use off-line. Comes in handy when not in my boat with my GPS/charts. When in my boat I use Lakemaster on one unit, Navionics + on the second.

Watch this video on how to setup your transducer. Also, with SI you do not need to run directly over an object. just to the side. Find a known object, mark it with a buoy, move past it with your SI and DI split screen on. Make adjustments to your Sensitivity and Contrast. You may need to change the Palette colors as well. SI and DI are very sensitive to water depth compared to 2D, meaning as water depth changes your setting will need to also. There is no "automatic" setting. Your chart speed must also match the boat speed. SI and DI are usually good up to about 5-6 mph only. Do a search for Doug Vahrenberg and watch his videos or posts on other websites. His info will be extremely helpful to you. The attached chart settings are applicable to Helix as will. I have a & SI and love it for the detail it shows.

I'm curious. How does using a transom saver cause a lower unit to come loose? Trailered my Champion with a XR2 for several thousand miles that way and never had that happen. My aluminum bass boat with a Merc 75 is trailered the same way. Doing the same with my new boat and a 115.

The bank account didn't like it much. Last new boat I bought was in '86. Guess you can say I went a little overboard with my fishing and the bait monkey...

Usually because a Joker shows up...

Well, the bait monkey got me hook, line and sinker...pun intended. Started last Sept at the end of target archery season. Decided not to hunt but fish which meant getting my boat out of the storage lot. New tires, new prop, hydrofoil started it all. It gets better (I have a BPS 12 miles from me, a Cabelas 5). Decided I "needed" a new fish finder. Was going to get a basic Helix 5 but ended up getting a 7 SI. Then added a 999 and moved the Helix to the bow. After fishing in the fall/early winter winds decided I "needed" a new TM so ordered a Terrova 80# 45" w/Link. Didn't get to put it on until spring. Now, here is where I fell for the Bait Monkey big time. A friend got me started on Muskie fishing (still love bass fishing). In the process I broke my hand and couldn't shoot archery all summer. I started thinking about a new boat since my wife was interested in fishing with me but not getting pounded or wet in my flat bottomed bass boat. Figured Jan/Feb next year. Nope! BM showed me a new 2016 Lowe deep V that had everything I wanted for far less than I could get it if I waited. So, now I have a new boat to go along with all the other new gadgets (moved all the electronics over). But my Terrova was too short...so I had a shop in Arkansas replace the shaft with 60" version. Works great. I also have two TMs since the new boat came with one AND I have two boats now. Adding insult to injury, Muskie lures cost 3X what I was paying for bass lures and I now have 3 tackle boxes/bags to take with me when I head to the water. Add a set of rod holders and new fishing tackle for my wife (did you think she was going to be left out?). Damm, you Bait Monkey!!!

Cold weather can be a good thing to fishermen. First, in scares all the pleasure boaters off the water. No jet skis, skiers, cabin cruisers doing nothing but running circles. Second, it can start the fall fat-building frenzies that fish do to make it thru the winter which allows us to catch more of them. Third, we can actually enjoy being on the water without being scorched or dehydrated...feels nice to put a couple of layers on in the morning and peel them off as the day goes on. Lastly, when winter finally comes in and shuts us down, spring is not far behind.

Yeah, KVD might never be known and all the Bassmaster tournaments would definitely not be the same.

We had one back in the day. Sunlight reacts the same way in all waters and clarity so the color portion was suspect. But the pH and temp readings where interesting to see. Drop the probe and look for the fastest change in temp. I think they said to target fish near that point. Could also point to areas that had a pH that was bad for fish. Used it on Okeechobee a lot, especially during the stagnant summer months. But that was 30 years ago...

How old are you? J/K!!! I was only 6... Wish someone had told me not to get into Musky fishing. WAAAYYYY more expensive than Bass fishing. I still love to catch the green fish but in the lakes around here they are almost as bad as the big toothy critters in terms of casts required to hook one. Use heavy enough line to cast, pitch, punch, flip into the nastiest stuff you have on the lake. The easy ones are easy to catch, the old, smarter ones are in the deep stuff.

You need to stop hanging around the stripper pole...and save your $1 bills for your new boat payment. (sorry, couldn't resist...)

Yep. Like anything else you can get burned out by too much of it. It becomes more of a chore than a recreation. Little things that you didn't notice now annoy the hell out of you. You spend all your free time on it and feel like you're getting nothing out of it. Time to step away from it, do something else that you like (or get caught up on all the things that you've put aside) and then reevaluate what is you want to do with fishing. Better to do it now that try to push thru it and end up getting completely frustrated and ticked off until you drop out of it completely. The fish will still be there...

Would be better if they gave the measurements in motor diameter than in volts. Interesting design, though. Does this thing move or rotate back toward the transducer when you hit something?

I recently purchased three AG reels...one C4 and two C3's. I have almost a dozen late-80's Shimanos that I'm still using and would have gotten their round reels but no one here stocks left-hand models. So I picked up the three AGs. So far I've been pleased with them.

I watched the wind to determine if I'd go out and then pick what lake I would fish. My flat bottom bass boat would beat you to death trying to cross the larger lakes around here. That was before I got my Lowe. Now, with the deeper sides, windshield and deep V hull, I don't think I will need to worry about that (unless it is a gale). As far as wind affecting my casts, I adjust. Shorter casts, slightly heavier lures. Wind can pile up baitfish on windward shorelines and points...a smorgasbord for the larger fish. And a big plus...less boats out there getting in my way.