Junk Fisherman

Is something wrong at Braidwood? When I got to the launch at 6:15 on a nice Saturday morning there were 2 trailers in the parking lot. I was stunned how few people were there on a nice Saturday in April. I know the fishing has been tough compared to previous years and a lot of people are pointing at last year's fish kill but I was still surprised. I had a decent day but things are still slow out there. Caught some nice stray catfish which were fun.

And one of the great things Sturgeon Bay/Door Co is that if the wind is high with rough seas you can always go to the other side of the peninsula. Numerous times the waves were bad at either Sisters Bay or Rowley's but relatively calm on the other side.

I thought this question was going to be about boat color. To answer your question, it usually depends on water clarity for me. Clear water- natural Stained/Muddy water- colors that stand out. Sunny or cloudy conditions play a role as well.

I fish too slow, don't change my lures enough, don't vary my retrieves enough, don't use my electronics enough, and fish too much based on history. I too often grind with confidence baits. I am working on all these things.

I calculated my mileage one time towing with my Tacoma on my old, lighter boat. I never did it again since it was so depressing.

You have gotten some great advice on this thread. I use my Talon much less after getting a spot-lock trolling motor. Overall, I use my Talon more for convenience (at the launch, retying, taking a break, ect.) than fishing. Make no mistake, it is great at the launch. But I do think the Talon is loud and the couple boats I've been in with Poles were quieter. If money were tight I would not get one but it sure is convenient. For my purposes, I would only get one. I definitely don't think getting two at 4K-5K total is worth it.

I pretty much like the looks of all the full size trucks. I don't particularly like the look of the leaked and mocked up 2022 Tundra but I'll end up getting one anyways. Granted, I greatly disliked the redesigned Mercury cowling when it came out but that has grown on me.

As someone who closely monitors and reads a lot of forums about Toyota trucks, I can definitely tell you that you got very unlucky with your Tundra and that is not the norm. Like I wrote earlier, my family has 60 years of Toyota ownership and the only marginally questionable problem whether it should failed or not was a front bearing that I had go out at 95K on my Tacoma. Nothing other than oil changes, brake jobs, and other normal maintenance. Now, on my F150 I needed a new transmission, fuel pump, and I had faulty oxygen sensors when I unloaded it at 75K miles. On my father's Explorers he had transmission issues, expensive problems with the air conditioner, and some other non-maintenance issues. I understand that these are all anecdotal and our individual experiences often outweigh data and the experience from others such mechanics. Like I said, I hope you have continued good luck with your Ford.

I can't wait much longer for a Tundra. If Toyota came out tomorrow and said the redesign was pushed back another year to 2023, I would start looking for a used Tundra. Sounds like you got unlucky with your Tundra. My family has had 3 Toyota trucks, a Camry, and a Corolla since 1989 for a combined 60 years of ownership with nothing but routine maintenance. We definitely cannot say that about the F150 I owned and the 3 Explorers my father owned during that time frame before he finally got a Tacoma. I wish you continued good fortune with your F150.

I have a 2008 Tacoma with the 4.0 L and I have towed my X-190 for the last 5 years all over the midwest. The X-190 is a 19' glass, deep V which Tuffy said weighed 1500 lbs which I now question. I think it weighs more than that. On flat roads, my Tacoma tows my boat fine but on hilly terrain it struggles. I just took a 600-mile round trip a couple weeks ago and it was fine on the flat roads of northern and central Illinois but it labored in the hills of southern Illinois. I've never had an issue getting out of a launch. My next truck is going to be the newly redesigned Tundra. If it was out today, I would buy one. Before my Tuffy X-190, I had a 17.5' semi-deep V Lowe. The Tacoma towed that boat very well so I have no doubt that it would tow any tin bass boat in the 17' to 18' range. I definitely would not hesitate to get have a Tacoma and a RT188. The approximate boat weight is 1240 lbs. The RT178 is only 30 lbs less. But if you were getting an 18' glass boat, I'd recommend getting a full size pickup. Good luck.

Where are you going? It could be a tube, dropshot bait, swimbait, or a TRD depending on where you are going.

Depends- tournament day I stand and don’t even bring the butt seat. Fun fishing I usually start with butt seat in the rear and I might move it to the bow as the day progresses. Prefishing I have the butt seat in all day. As I have gotten older this is something I monitor more. If I am on a multiple day trip, I use the butt seat a lot more. Standing 8-10 hours several days in a row really takes a toll. Wearing plush, high-end running shoes really helps as well.

I can't really help you on Heidecke. I only fished there once a long time ago. I am really curious how the tournament turns so please post a recap. What circuit is it?

The OP didn’t list mapping so I just threw it in there. I agree with you fellas on its importance for navigation. Granted, we probably could use an app on our phone in a lot of instances.

I'll easily take a spot-lock trolling motor first and foremost. I don't have Livescope or 360 yet so I can't comment there. I could easily do without a shallow-water anchor but it sure does come in handy but not really for fishing. I use it every time I launch or if I am retying. I'll never have 2 PPs or Talons since I can do everything I need it to do with 1 for half the cost. SI/DI are great and I use them a lot. If I had to rank them in importance for me I'd go spot-lock troller > SI/DI/Mapping > shallow water anchor

We have a few in the Chicagoland area. I used to be a member of one. It had a membership that was about 4K which you could sell and yearly dues of around $200 per year. It was nice in that about half the members only belonged so they could duck and goose hunt. Unless it was a beautiful summer weekend, you'd have the lakes to yourself. I sold my membership since it was an awkward 45 minute drive for me and I bought a new boat for fishing bigger water.

This is perfectly stated. My decision as to where to go and how to fish is always determined by the wind. On the Great Lakes, wind direction and speed are everything. But for inland lake fishing in strong winds, you have to position the boat into the wind. Like BigAngus said, a spot-lock trolling motor makes all the difference. It truly is a gamechanger. Many times I have sat out on a reef fishing in 2' and the occasional 3' waves for hours while spot-locked. Without the spot-lock motor I would either fight the waves like A-Jay mentioned or use a drift sock. If you have a shallow water anchor, you can obviously do that as well. Before I got the spot-lock motor, I often would put my Talon down and fish an area thoroughly if it was windy. Another thing you have to do is change up your tactics. Heavy winds is when you powerfish. I'll still throw some heavy dropshots, C-rigs, and jigs in the wind but my first thought is to powerfish. I tend to cover more water and fish faster than I usually do. Put the Ned rigs and senkos away unless you go find some protected water. I would say that the biggest thing I have learned since when I started fishing from a boat is how to fish in the wind. It used to ruin my day. Nowadays, I put up with it and let technology work in my favor. Good luck.

If you are used to fishing out of a bassboat there is a good chance you don't like fishing out a kayak compared to your boat. While I enjoy fishing out of my kayak, it doesn't compare to fishing out of my boat. I view fishing out of my kayak as just messing around, enjoying being out in nature, and enjoying the day. Kayak fishing is more intimate with the water and nature- if that makes sense. Catching fish is more enjoyable since it is more of a challenge. Boat control, mobility, the ability to pitch baits and pick apart cover are all more difficult in a kayak compared to a bassboat. I had a pretty steep learning curve but the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it. I have to fish a lot different than in my boat. I'll never choose to fish out of my kayak over my boat when I am looking to do some serious fishing but kayak fishing is a nice change-up and a good way to spend a few hours if you are looking for something different to do.

It comes down to how specialized you want to be. I don't throw chatterbaits and spinnerbaits nearly as much as other presentations so I use my 7' MH Sweeper St Croix rod for both. I'll also use that rod for buzzbaits. I look at it as a slightly slower action which helps with those single hook applications.

LOL- I don't touch my lips to the fish but for bigger fish I will hold the fish up the my eyes and blow it a kiss. Yeah, it is weird.

Just bought my Indiana license and it was $3.98 in processing fees.

I fished Newton this past Monday. 58 degrees on the cold side. Water was stained. Weird day- caught 'em shallow and a couple deep on just about everything I threw. I couldn't really establish a pattern. Biggest were in the 17"-18" range. Talked to a couple other anglers and they said basically the same thing. I fished Glenn Jones lake in Southern Illinois on Tuesday. Caught a bunch on finesse stuff but nothing bigger than 16". That lake is known for small bass and I caught a bunch of them. 58-59 degrees. Very windy. That's a pretty lake and fun to fish- just wish it had some big fish in it. I gotta figure that those lakes are really going to turn on with this warm weather.

That is quite ridiculous. It nearly makes buying a small boat and trailer not worth it. I was considering getting a little tin boat for the forest preserve lakes but I'll stick with my kayak and the bed extender on my pickup. While I am not one to endorse illegal behavior, I would completely understand if a fella had a couple trailers to just swap the plate to whichever one he was using.

HP 742C and a Curado 70 MGL. Plan to use for the first time this week.

For a long time I thought I was going to get a Crestliner Fish Hawk so I did a lot of reading about them. Crestliner has a good reputation and their owners are very satisfied. They are not in the same tier of boats as a Lund but they are right there in that next tier along with Alumacrafts and G3 while higher in quality and craftsmanship than Tracker. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Crestliner.