Junk Fisherman

I think it comes down to whether you are happy with the company. I like the expression "Don't f with happy." If it is really important to you, ask for more compensation. You could also casually investigate if there is another company that you think you'd feel the same about and if so, you could ponder making a move. But I would definitely say you are not foolish if you are happy with your arrangement. Good luck.

I don't think this is a bad habit at all. When the bite is tough, I stick to what I have confidence in. I'll go to Neds or some other type of finesse plastic that I know works. If I'm in a tournament during a tough bite, I'll grind it out with a few confidence baits. A tough bite is not the time to try new lures IMO. That is a great way NOT to build confidence in a presentation. If I'm not catching them I will try something completely different in terms of structure or cover or wind blown areas or different temps of water but I'm going to stick with something I have confidence in fishing. When I'm on a good bite, that is when I try new presentations in order to catch fish on them. Just a thought.

This is exactly what I do. Works great in my Tacoma that has a 5' bed.

Usually a beer and a little whiskey for me.

100% Back when I went through a divorce, I didn't fish for nearly 2 months. Lost total interest. This summer when I had a major mechanical issue with my motor and was faced with a huge repair bill and a lot of uncertainty as to whether Yamaha was going to support me even though the motor was slightly out of warranty, I became depressed and lost the desire to fish. I had offers to fish with others but I had no interest. It wasn't until the issue was resolved and the motor was being worked on that I finally started fishing with others and started visiting the fishing forums again. Hell, for a good month I didn't even want to go in the garage and be around my boat and fishing gear. I know from firsthand experience how depression can sap your enthusiasm to fish.

Great post. I've never really thought of it this way but I think you're right. As I think about using small swimbaits, which I use often and have used braid and straight fluoro, I definitely feel the hits better with the braid however on the bottom bouncing baits that I use straight fluoro for (plastics, jigs, Sleepers) you often get that jolt through the fluoro that you don't get with braid. Now as I am moving the bait through cover the braid is more sensitive but you don't feel that jolt.

This is the case with me all the time. I wake up very early and tired and don't really want to deal with the hassle of hooking up the boat, driving 45 minutes to the lake, and dealing with a crowded lake especially in the spring. But then, once I get there I am always happy. There have been times when I went back to bed and then later I really regretted the decision especially when I am faced with a week of work before I can get out again. I am aware of this now so I pretty much just ignore those thoughts when I wake up and always go. That fear of regret and not being able to go for a week always gets me out of bed.

The number 1 way I unsnag lures is moving back past the snag and yanking them out. Obviously, you cannot do that when fishing from shore. I definitely wouldn't use tungsten in your situation. The Fat Ika was a good suggestion. I like throwing a Ned rig in the rip rap too. A lot of time when you're hung with the Ned, a snap of the line frees the bait.

I used to use straight Gamma Touch 7 lb for small swimbaits on a spinning reel. I planned on changing it out once a season giving me about 4-5 months on a spool. The last year I went this route I ended up going the entire season with it since the line was fine. But I don't consider using the line for swimbaits as very tough on the line. If I was using the line to drag something on the bottom say a tube or a shakey head with a more strenuous hookset, I would definitely change it midway through the season. With my baitcasters that I use for pitching, I always replace my line after a couple months. I was burned once in a tournament thinking I could get one more weekend out of my line. And if you're wondering why I stopped using the straight fluoro, it was because of casting distance. The Gamma 7 lb Touch is awesome line but I could get about 25% greater casting distance with light lures by going with 10 lb braid and a leader. Did a comparison in the yard measuring my casting distance using both types of line using the same rod and same lure.

One of my goals this year was to get back to throwing a Neko rig and try them with my Great Lakes smallies. Because of motor problems, I was only able to get out for the 3rd time this year on Lake Michigan this past weekend. The Neko rig with a 4" Senko was a smashing success and compared well with a Ned rig in terms of success. So do you use a Neko rig often for smallies? While it doesn't seem to be a major smallmouth presentation, I can see how it would fit into my arsenal as a nice alternative to a dropshot. What do you think?

I've got a couple of those TDXs that I still use. They were the best in the game at their time and they are still fantastic reels more than 20 years later. But if I had to say a favorite it would be a Zillion I received as a wedding gift from my wife 14+ years ago. It's still an excellent reel and one of my main reels in my arsenal. It's the 2nd reel from the left on the top row. You can see my 2 TDXs all the way on the left.

I take pictures of anything over 4 and usually the best fish of the day. I like putting a post on Instagram and a little report that my buddies can see. I am interested in A-Jay's Go-Pro setup and will look into that for next year.

TLDW I fish a Ned A LOT and I’ve never had to cut my line and leave the bait in its mouth.

Probably averages out to $60-$75 a month. Most of my purchases are in the winter and then I just end getting some reinforcements throughout the season.

Great topic. 1) I fish too slow. 2) I don't change lures enough. Granted, I do think there is something to be said about fishing the baits you have confidence in. 3) I fish too often in the spots that have been productive in the past. (this goes along with #1) 4) I don't fish fast-moving baits enough. 5) I don't fish topwater enough.

The fish in my avatar (6.6) and my local PB were both caught right at daylight. If I am going to take the time to go, I want to be out there right at daylight especially during the summer. Fishing locally, I need to wake up by 3:15 AM in order to be on the water at 5. There's something special about being on the water right as it gets light. I enjoy dusk as well but it's not the same. I do enjoy fishing till dusk in the fall when you're often the last one on the water.

I completely agree. To fish from my boat it is simply a matter of raising the garage door, hooking up and I'm off. I keep my rods usually rigged up, ready to go and I try to keep my boat organized. It's considerably more work to load up all the fishing gear I am taking plus loading my kayak, seat, console, ect in my truck when I want to go kayak fishing Granted, if I kayak fished more I would streamline it.

I bought a kayak because I planned on using it on local small bodies of water that were underfished and as a way to get away from all of the heavily-fished tournament places. Turns out I haven't used it enough to get my money's worth because I simply don't enjoy kayak fishing as much as I thought I would. Over the 8 years that I've owned the kayak, I always opt to take my boat rather than the kayak. The times my kayak have gotten the most use was when my motor or trailer were out of commission and during the pandemic when a local lake was open for kayak use. Kayak fishing is better than wading or shore fishing but it pales in comparison to fishing from a bass boat.

What is an adult permit? Each person has to pay to fish in addition to the launch? Is this a public lake or private? Around Chicago, the places I fish have either a launch fee of $25 (Lake Michigan), $20 (private launch on a river leading to Lake Michigan), or $10 (city-owned launch on a river). There are a couple state-owned launches that I use on inland lakes which are free. I think Illinois has the 2nd-highest gas prices ($5.39 yesterday). I never really calculate how much gas I use since I'm fishing locally regardless what the gas costs and my Tacoma gets horrible mileage so I don't really want to know. The distance I drive to fish varies from 25 to 40 miles from my home. Things have become a lot more expensive but they have just made me fish closer to home. Driving 200-300 miles to a lake for a couple days to fish and camp has become almost too expensive.

100% location since you can't catch fish if they are not there. BUT in many cases you have a lot of fishermen that know where the bass are. Around me, the pressure is so intense that everything is mostly a community hole. In Lake Michigan, we all fish basically the same stuff. Then it becomes a matter of lure choice, presentation, and fish catching abilities. Many times, I have come in right behind someone and caught fish they didn't. Yesterday, I was a coangler in a tournament and we fished an area about the size of a football field all day. My boater won the tournament and there were many other boats around us that struggled. My boater had his limit before I caught a single fish. Simply put, I wasn't using what he was and the buzzbait, frog, pitched baits, Chatterbait, and Ned rig wasn't working. After I stubbornly took one of his baits, I caught a couple. Then the sun came out and the bite died.

Nice fish. If you are only catching small fish with a Ned then I would bet it's the location where you are fishing or the fishery itself. While there are definitely better lures at times to consistently put big fish in the boat, I know from experience that the Ned will catch big fish.

I drink A LOT of coffee. My Dad drank A LOT of coffee. I drink it everyday, all day long and can drink it an hour before bed, I usually don't, and still fall asleep. Hell, I am drinking coffee right now at 7 PM. My wife says I am a coffee who**- any time, any place, anyway. But I do prefer my coffee hot, black, and strong. Never an issue related to health. Now if it's hot and I am fishing, I won't drink much coffee in the boat. I bring 64 oz of ice water and a frozen Vitamin Water Recharge. I make sure to drink those throughout the day even if I am not thirsty. If I am fishing the next day and it's 90+ degrees, I will make sure to have more water and another Vitamin Water once I get home. But what's the first thing I do in the truck with the AC cranked on the way home? That's right- I pour myself a cup of hot coffee.

Depends on how confident you are, the quality of the fishery, and the quality of your competition. Keepers then kickers is usually my game plan. Granted, I am more of a finesse guy so that is my strength. But I like getting that limit early because it takes the pressure off and then I look to upgrade. But numerous times I have caught my big fish on a Ned so I never get out the jig or start punching in order to look for a big fish. On the other hand, I have a good buddy who is an excellent fisherman and he's always fishing for big fish. But if I were as good as him and won as much money I'd probably do the same thing.

I have a Miller Battery 12 V 33 AH for my Garmin 106 only. I have not been impressed with the battery. Last time I went out I had forgot to charge the battery from the day before and my unit shut off after a few hours. I thought I could get more than 10 hours or so of run time. I would not purchase the battery again.

Both my personal best smallie in Michigan (profile pic) and my biggest local smallie were both caught right at daylight when you were just able to start seeing. Michigan fish was caught on a tube and my local smallie was caught on a swimbait. If I have the chance, I'll be there before daylight.