Junk Fisherman

I usually have about 10 rigged when I go out but I don't want to have more than 2 on the deck (using one) at a time. Since I am fishing by myself 95% of the time, I put 4 rods or so on the back deck.

Basscat Caracal in about 10 years. I'm going to get a pedal-drive kayak one day too.

I watched KVD fish my honey hole. He was throwing jerkbaits and I was fishing tubes and swimbaits. We both crushed them that day.

You guys should whack ‘em! Haven’t fished those bays in a long time.

From reading through your posts, I haven't really seen a strong reason why you want the kayak other than you want something different. Not being critical- I often just want something different and have had my eye on a pedal-drive kayak for a while as well. I have a non-pedal kayak and I struggle with fishing from it because of boat control. Getting an anchor trolley and an anchor greatly helped but it still doesn't compare with fishing from a boat. There's no getting around the fact that a bassboat will provide a much superior fishing platform than any kayak. It sounds as if the majority of the lakes you fish are all large bodies of water so I would definitely keep your Tracker. You can always get the kayak in the future. I know at some point I will get a pedal-drive kayak but it would not never come at the expense of my boat. Good luck with your decision.

If you are hesitant because you're not used to the longer length, don't. You'll get used to it during your first outing. I went from a 7' spinning rod to a 7'9 and had no issues and LOVED the extra length. Not only is it good for extra distance on the cast but it helps when ***. I caught several stray trout and carp with my 7'9 mL rod and the extra length gave me more leverage. Now if you're wondering because of branches or things like that, I can't help you there. Good luck.

Yamaha F175 I bought this motor because of the reputation of its "Legendary Reliability." Yeah, not so much for me. I definitely won't be going out of my way to buy a Yamaha in the future.

I've heard really good things about a double fluke rig but have yet to try it.

Isn't this the truth? Many people use too heavy of a jig and too big of a hook. Ned stresses 1/16 oz and a #4 hook. I'll be honest, I don't use all of his retrieves and probably should experiment with them more.

I never talked about Ned rigs for a few years but there is no point anymore. I've got a couple other baits I might start talking about in the future but I'm not ready to yet. I'm always looking for the next Ned rig, Senko, Chattebait, ect and hope to get a couple seasons out of it before it blows up.

No shame in a minivan. I knew a fella that had an Asto Van iirc with a trailer for his Hobie. He would camp out of the van and had a really cool setup overall. That guy went all over the place in that setup.

For a 1-day trip, I won't travel longer than 1 hour. My lake choice is due to: 1) lack of tournaments on that day (there are so many tournaments around me that I am always trying to steer clear of them) 2) how the lake fishes at that time of the year (a Powerplant lake becomes very tough in the summer so I never fish there) 3) history with the body of water 4) how the weather that day will impact my fishing (wind from certain a direction makes Lake Michigan) I use the same criteria for my longer, multiday trips but lodging, camping availability, and access to Wi-Fi plays a large role in my decision-making. I often go camping by myself so I like a campground with available Wi-Fi to watch sports, upload podcasts, and read everything going on in the world. There's one lake I want to fish but there is no nearby lodging and the campground does not have Wi-Fi so that is a major drawback for me. I always try to fish at least one new body of water a year. Earlier in my fishing career I used to fish many different places but nowadays I pretty much stick to around 10 different places each year. There's 4 main places I fish around home and several places in central/southern Illinois and northern Michigan I fish.

2022 Tundra I haven't broken in the engine enough to have an accurate MPG when towing but I expect something around 12. Naturally, I'd like this to be higher. My rods stay in the boat. Just ordered a Fas-Top canvas top/Tonneau Cover. Truck has been awesome.

An anchor trolley and anchor with a line holder was a game changer for me. Boat control and getting pushed out of position by the slightest breeze was a major problem. Then I started to anchor and fish a spot thoroughly and I began to enjoy kayak fishing much more.

My wife's 7th grade students refer to the 90s as the late 1900s. That one hits too close to home for me. Hooray old people!

I didn't know that about the allergies. Is it the same for nitrile gloves?

Extra large latex gloves with a hand warmer in the palm does the job for me. Have extras gloves since they often tear. But these look interesting- thanks for the tip.

I'm conflicted with this one. On one hand, more tournaments results in more people being outdoors and using our natural resources which is great. Naturally, the DNR is going to to accommodate groups of fishermen but more tournaments and a lot of boats on the water negatively impacts non-tournament fishermen, recreational boaters, and lakeside homeowners. Seems like the best solution is to limit tournament numbers and sizes, make some lakes Saturday or Sunday-only tournaments, or simply prohibit tournaments on some lakes. This could satisfy everyone. Well, not the people who think they should be allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want but if people had more of a mindset of sharing our resources then it could help alleviate this too-many-tournaments problem. I think we've all experienced the difference between weekend fishing with and without a large tournament being held. There is a huge difference here in northern Illinois. I keep a document of all the local tournaments and rarely fish a body of water if a big tournament is being held. A new DNR rule came out this year that required a usage fee for tournaments at state-run launches. Several circuits stopped fishing certain bodies of water. While the tournament community was up in arms, I loved it. One popular body of water by me used to be completely packed on the weekends in the fall. I went there once this fall on a nice Saturday and it was beautiful with a relatively low number of fishermen on the water. And now with all the HS and college tournaments adding even more events and boaters on our waters, this problem will only get worse.

I am very familiar with the Dark Sleeper but have not tried the Sleeper Gill. For those of you that have used it, what are your thoughts? How does it compare to the Dark Sleeper? What kind of results did you have? How were you fishing it? Any comments are appreciated.

How old is the line? I once tried to get an extra weekend out of some fluoro line and it was a bad decision. Broke off multiple times on hooksets because the line was old.

Ned rigs are my bread and butter and I've used a variety of rods with the presentation. It comes down to light or medium light. I see some guys use a medium action rod for Neds and I know they are missing some of the most sensitive bites. If you are getting a Ned-dedicated rod and you use 1/16th and a TRD the majority of the time, go with a light action rod. Sensitivity and casting distance will be enhanced with the light action. If you are using 1/10th or heavier the majority of the time then I'd go with a medium light action. The medium light is much more versatile and you can use it for most finesse applications besides Neds. Personally, I rarely ever use heavier than 1/10th. My general rule of thumb is 1/16th in shallow water and 1/10th in deeper water or if it is a little breezy. In terms of rod, the longer the better. I absolutely love my 761 Steez for Neds but that rod is over $500. Before getting that rod, I used a 7'4 light and medium light action Dobyns Champion HP. I've kinda gotten away from Dobyns so I would not get those rods today but they definitely did the job for me. I'd look very closely at the 7'6 Tatula Elite If I was wanted something more reasonably-priced. Good luck.

My fishing year in a grade was a D+. The year started off great for me. I recovered from a broken wrist in early February with a fantastic March. I finished 4th in a very competitive club tournament on a local lake in which I had big bass jump off just a couple feet from the net. That fish would have given me a 2nd place finish and some cash but I was still happy with my performance. I then took my annual late March southern Illinois trip by catching my PB largemouth and a bunch of other real quality fish. Followed up my March success with a 2nd place finish in a local club tournament with a big bass (5.7) on a heavily pressured body of water. Once again, I had a big fish get off but this time it cost me the W. At least I got the cash and the prestige of catching a great fish. So my spring was a solid A and then my motor blew up. 20 days out of warranty with 191 hours and my starter or flywheel went (techs didn’t know which went first) and the resulting damage caused the block to need to be REPLACED. Techs said it was a 1-in-a-million malfunction and they had never seen it before. I contemplated trading in the boat rather than pay for the repair. This happened on the first day of my summer vacation (I’m a teacher). This malfunction effectively ruined my summer. Needless to say, I fish a lot over the summer taking multiple trips up north to premier smallmouth waters. These trips are the highlights of my year. I still took a June family vacation trip to Grand Traverse Bay using my 9.9 kicker motor to limp around but it wasn’t the same. The whole uncertainty of whether Yamaha was going to offer me any support for an 11K+ repair was a constant negative. It took away my motivation to fish and was a source of depression. Plus, I couldn't get an answer and was checking my phone constantly to see if the marine shop or Yamaha called. Last summer, I lost 2 months to pneumonia and Covid and this summer my motor broke down on the first day of my summer vacation and it wasn’t repaired until early August. I was only able to get out twice before I had to return to work. So not only did my motor issues take away the heart of my fishing season and sap my motivation to fish but my trip to Grand Traverse Bay resulted in the worst fishing I’ve ever had there. I was SKUNKED 2 of the 5 days I fished. I have an area that is my favorite place on Earth to fish and something was wrong. I have been going there over 10 years and am dialed in during June. There was a major alewife die-off which I suspect was the culprit. I talked to other fishermen and locals said they had never seen anything like it. I had a day with a 22 lb bag and caught a couple over 4 but the trip was a major disappointment overall. So eventually Yamaha came through after a lot of negotiating and they agreed to supply the head and I only had to pay for the labor. But even once I got my boat back, I’ve only had one real good day since. Lake Michigan in August has been great for me the last few years but this year it was a bunch of small fish with only a few quality fish mixed in. After writing this it reminded me how depressed I was over my motor. I would tell myself that not having my boat was a First World problem and that I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself but I just lost my motivation to fish. Then our 8-year old beloved dog died suddenly in a painful episode of what we suspect was a brain tumor. I also had to go wrap up my father’s home that we had been holding onto since he passed away in 2020. That was a painful reminder of the loss. So yeah, my summer pretty much sucked and my fall fishing has been disappointing. But I’m getting out tomorrow hoping that the big ones turn on with the cold front!!

Air temps: I've launched when it was in the high 20s before but I don't know if I would do that nowadays. Mid to upper 30s is a good lower limit for me. Water temps: I'll fish for lakers in Lake Michigan as long as the marinas are ice-free. For bass it is low 40s.

With that exposed hook, Ned rigs don't require much of a hookset. Are you breaking your line? Are the fish jumping and coming off? Is it small fish just grabbing the tail?

35 to 45 is the coldest I'll fish and I know what I need to stay warm. I prefer multiple thin layers that allow for a maximum range of motion. Bottom: 1) Polar weight Cabela's thermal bottoms 2) Medium weight Marmot thermal bottoms 3) Cargo Pants 4) Cabela's Guidewear uninsulated bibs Top: 1) Thin Duofold mock turtleneck 2) Thin Adidas thermal top 3) Polar weight Cabela's mock turtle neck 4) Hooded sweatshirt 5) Columbia Ultra Heat vest (added this a couple years ago and it made a big difference) 6) Soft Shell Marmot Windblocker Jacket Stocking Hat, face mask if I have a long run, latex gloves with a hand warmer in each palm, and insulated hiking boots with wool socks. Naturally, I have acquired this assortment of clothes over the years but I have done so much cold weather, open water fishing over the last couple years that I know this will keep me warm in 35ish degree temps.