Junk Fisherman

That's a big channel cat. I'm angry that my scale didn't work cause that thing was heavy. It was a lot more than 15 lbs. My dog is 20 lbs and that fish was a lot heavier than my dog (who I carry way too much).

Hit up a couple local lakes this past week. Tuesday 5-30 Braidwood: Water temps were anywhere from 83-88. Caught quite a few bass with the biggest being 18". Stupid tubes, swimbaits and Ned rigs did the damage. I did catch one of my biggest catfish ever on a free rig. Caught this on a ML rod and 12 lb braid and 6 lb leader. Helluva fight and I'm happy I got it in the boat. Wish my scale worked. Thursday 6-1 Wolf: Actually forgot my front fish finder so I had to fish blind. Thankfully, I have fished that lake so much that I don't really need sonar. The key development here was WEEDS. The lake has exploded with weeds over the last 3 weeks. I suspect they'll treat it soon. But frogs, topwater, and punching is going to be the ticket until they spray. Once they spray, I won't fish there again this year. Anyways, it was a frustrating day since I had to constantly navigate around big weed patches. Caught all my fish on Ned rigs on dropoffs and roadbeds. Threw the crap out of a frog and a buzzbait but never had any reaction to those baits. Caught a pike and a bowfish too. Caught several bass in the 16"-18" range.

Along the lines of what AJ wrote, I put memory foam inserts in all my shoes and it is an absolute game-changer. It will make a pair of basic $75 leather shoes extremely comfortable. In terms of the OP's question, I wear my most comfortable running shoes when fishing. I opt for the most plush, cushioning running shoes such as Brooks Glycerin and Hoka Biondi. The most comfortable shoes I've ever worn are my Hoka Bondi with memory foam inserts.

Be ready to go up to 3/8 oz or more when the wind blows.

Welcome! Big fan of Cedar Lake as well! Just wish I could fish it more.

14 lb YGK Sol gives me 20% better casting distance than 7 lb Gamma Touch (this is the best casting straight fluoro I have used). That is quite significant when throwing light swimbaits and Ned rigs. Now factor in the sensitivity of braid over fluoro and there's not much of a comparison.

Maybe if you don't fish super clear water. If you are and are not using braid with a fluoro leader then you are not using the most ideal setup. I've successfully used straight fluoro on spinning but there is no question that the benefits of braid to fluoro is a better setup for castability and sensitivity. To the OP- keep working that Alberto. It's a great knot. I'm not good at knots and I've abandoned the FG on 10-15 lb braid due to slippage. But I have no problem with the Alberto. 9 wraps up and 7-8 coming back. And I have really tested out the knot with the stray laker and carp on the big water so I know it can handle any bass I catch. Keep at it.

That's what I do. I fish the big water during the week in the summer and will hit smaller bodies of water on the weekend when all their "derbies" are going on. This has become much worse over the last 2-3 years.

All the d**n tournaments! Multiple circuits that fish seemingly every Saturday and Sunday on my local waters. I am not in favor of the whole "Grow the Sport" mantra.

The majority of my 1-day trips are 35 to 45 minutes away. There's a river 1.5 hours away that I would fish if the circumstances were right. I used to do some 2 hour away trips in the past to southern Wisconsin but not anymore.

Bright yellow YGK Sol 10 lb and a 6 lb Gamma Edge leader. That's the best setup I have found for spinning gear. I fish some super clear water and I do pretty well with the setup.

Only been out for smallies once so far this year! That needs to quickly change.

I'm am 11 years out from retiring at 60. I anticipate fishing in retirement how I do in my summers now which I have off. In the summers, I fish 2-3 full days, or close to it, per week but only during week. In retirement, I plan on fishing with a club and seeing how I do if I fish the entire schedule which I have never been able to do. I plan on working part-time as a substitute teacher, mostly to support my fishing addiction, during the middle of winter. I'll also spend time with my hobbies of hiking, biking, and outdoor photography. Working out every day, when not fishing, is part of the plan as well. Splitting my time between suburban Chicago and a second home in Northern Michigan during the open water fishing season is the goal.

Hope you're better. Hang in there.

Depends if anything breaks or not. I've had days where I would much rather have left the boat in the garage and went to work.

Derby der-be noun : a fishing tournament "I'm looking forward to fishing my first club derby of the year this Sunday." Chewing chu-ing verb : when bass are actively feeding and are easy to catch "They were chewing this morning on the river. Caught 4 pitching a jig and a couple more on a Senko. Hope they're there for my upcoming derby."

lol- It's supposed to be bad luck which obviously is ridiculous. I just like to point that out.

Hit up Newton on Monday. The water was heavily stained and the air temperature had dropped 10+ from Sunday. Water temps were anywhere from 50 to 56. I was not very optimistic about my chances. In my first 2 hours I caught 5 bass that would have totaled 17-18 pounds with a 6.3 lb toad. Caught everything on fast-moving baits- spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Then the sun came out and things really slowed down. The following day I hit up Glen O Jones lake in southern Illinois and caught probably 50 fish but nothing was bigger than 15". While I enjoy the scenic lake and the clear water, they really need to remove some of the smaller bass in that lake. I caught 'em on everything I threw from jerkbaits to spinnerbaits to Neds to Neko rigs. On Wednesday, I hit up Cedar Lake and it was easily the nicest day of the year. While the day started out cold at around 35 degrees, I was down to 1 layer by noon when it was 65 degrees. Water temperature was 49 to start the day and ended around 55 degrees. I was disappointed I didn't catch more but I'd have ended up with a 5 fish limit around 12 lbs or so. Everything I caught was on a chatterbait. Hit up Newton again on Thursday on my journey back home and the water was even muddier than Monday even though it hadn't rained since the weekend. I struggled on Thursday and threw a lot of different baits both shallow and on staging points but I couldn't figure 'em out. Temps on Thursday were anywhere from 52 to 56. It was a nice spring break fishing trip for me. In a couple more weeks I'll be primarily focused on smallmouth for the rest of the season.

I have a rod holster from a while back that allows me to use a rod and keep another on my waist. Doing quick search, I couldn't find the one I have but there are a variety of other options.

1) TRD (Ned) 2) Hula Stick (Ned) 3) 3" Sparkshad (swimbait) 4) Flatworm (dropshot) 5) Baby Brush Hog (pitching) Honorable Mention: 4" Rythmn Shad, 4" Keitech swimbait, Chigger Craw, Super Hog, 3.5 ISG Tubes

A local guide said that late in the season on Lake Michigan that the smallies stop relating to breakwalls and move out and feed on crawfish. He says the smallies smell like crawfish.

In the past, they removed this requirement for the HS Ts. I know a friend used his Legend on Busse for the HS T once.

I would purchase a used aluminum boat to get on the water and then save. I went through 2 beat-up aluminum boats before getting what I wanted. By purchasing within my means and saving, I bought my last boat with cash and am saving now for the next one.

That would be great. Depending on weather, I might be there the next day. Definitely a couple days that week. Didn't you used to be on a couple of the Chicago fishing forums?

Lake Michigan around Chicago- Huge boulders, busted up concrete, steel breakwalls and retaining walls, a little vegetation