Junk Fisherman

Thermos of coffee 32 oz of ice water if it's hot Fruit (banana or apple) Extra granola bars are always in the boat

IL and IN every year This year I'll be getting a WI license for the first time in a few years since I have a few tournaments I'll be fishing. Undecided about Michigan at this time.

My brother in law and family lives there, and thankfully my MIL👍. We're visiting to go to my nephew's graduation party and my wife wanted to turn it into a week-long vacation. Trust me, I'd much rather spend the week in northern Michigan chasing smallies!

I'm going to be in the Newport area in the middle of June for a week so I'm looking for suggestions as well. Going to either bring my kayak or mountain bike but I haven't really researched the area yet. Not to highjack the thread but any suggestions on cool things to do in the area are appreciated. I'll be there for a family party but I'll have days I can sneak away. Thanks for any suggestions.

Have you ever thought about joining a bass club as a coangler? You can learn A LOT from being a coangler.

Which lithiums?

I bought a couple motion detectors from Harbor Freight for about $15 each. I set them up under my cover when staying at a hotel. If anyone goes under my cover the loud noise will hopefully scare them off and/or wake me up. My rod box has a Basscat latch and lock that would require a crowbar to crack. I have gotten better at not worrying about theft.

Rather than buy another shirt, why not just wear something underneath it?

To me it depends how much you want to spend and if the advantages of the lithiums are worth the money. My last wet cell batteries from Sam's Club lasted 7 years. For under $250 for 2 batteries, that is pretty good IMO. Granted, I'm not worried about speed.

I live in Tinley Park. I just set prices $20-$40 less than what they should sell for and they end up selling. I also make pickup at my house. I've sold 5 Dobyns rods over the last two offseasons.

Spinning- YGK Soul braid and 6 lb Gamma Edge leader for everything Pitching, Worming, Jigs: 15 lb fluoro Topwater: 15 lb Big Game Chatters and spinnerbaits: 15 lb fluoro (braid/leader?) Jerks and medium cranks: 10-12 lb fluoro I have been experimenting with using a braid/leader setup for more casting applications. I had a good outing with a braid/leader setup recently for chatters so that might be a change I make. Going to keep experimenting with that setup for pitching as well.

I've never bought any used rods or reels. I've sold many though. I don't even try to ship rods anymore due to the ridiculous shipping cost. Living in a heavily-populated area, I just set an attractive price and I always end up selling them.

Was that the After Dark podcast? It was nearly a 3 hour podcast with about 10 minutes of atual information that can help our fishing today. Guess I shouldn't complain when it's free.

I had my first outing of the year yesterday and I was trying some different combos with different lures. I have primarily used 15 lb flourocarbon with ch@#$&$baits and spinnerbaits but yesterday I was trying a braid/flouro leader setup on an 892 GLX with a mini-chatter (Tackle Tour suggestion) and then the same setup with my new Steez utiility rod. I was crazy-impressed with the sensitivity and easily feeling the bait. I felt it was easier to understand the action I was imparting on the bait by fluctuating my reeling speed and twitching or shaking the rod to flare the skirt. Now I know I have to back off on the hookset and let the fish completely take the bait so I don't pull it from its mouth but the increased sensitivity offsets that IMO- or at least that is my current line of thinking. I caught multiple keepers and some big hybrid stripers (6.5 lbs). I might have found a new setup for my bladed jigs. So anyways, how say you? Do you like braid for the chatters or are you using something else? Thanks for any suggestions.

Got out on 3-3 to Braidwood. Wind made it tough but I did catch a fat 19"er, several 16"s and other keepers. Caught a 6.5 lb hybrid? caught a few others in the 3 lb range. It was a spinnerbait/ch$%$#bait/crankbait sorta day because of the wind.

At Dick's today- buy 3 get 3 free. $133 worth of baits for $66 The EVOs are for me while the originals are for my HS bass fishing team.

Good for you! How'd you do? As I was drinking coffee at the kitchen table at 7 AM, I was thinking of those guys zipping accross Braidwood at that time. It was 20 degree and I could hear the wind. Sounded brutal!

Thanks for the reply and I agree with you. I exchanged messages with the club president and I completely understand his mindset. He didn't want anyone not to fish. He's a boater and while he's not happy about it, he's going to just deal with it.

Wow- that sounds bad. I've fished 3 in my boat a couple times but just for a few hours and I did not like it at all. Luckily, I was the only boater who was paired with a single nonboater. I would have withdrawn from the tournament if I was given 2 nonboaters.

Just looking for opinions on this issue since it has come up in my club. For our first tournament this season, we have 7 boaters and 13 nonboaters. 4 members who are typically boaters cannot bring their boats for this tournament which is why the numbers are so lopsided. When the draw was done 6 boaters were assigned 2 nonboaters. There is no rule for this and I was surprised it wasn't voluntary for the boaters. I get it from both sides. The club is trying to keep all the new members it has (most of them are nonboaters) and not allowing 6 people to fish would be a major negative. On the other hand, should a boater who has spent thousands of dollars on their boat and are the backbone of a club be forced to take on a 3rd angler in his boat if he doesn't want to? Several guys have an 18' boat and my 19'er is narrower than most. I'm going to bring this up at a future meeting but I'd like to hear the opinions of others on this. Thanks in advance.

Georgian Bay: 1st week of June

I was just listening to a Bass After Dark podcast about Chatterbaits and they were specifically talking about using flat trailers around wood.

What defines me? Husband, father, HS science teacher, bass fisherman, outdoorsman, fitness enthusiast, and sports fan. Besides bass fishing, I enjoy spending time outdoors by biking (mountain biking and road cycling) and hiking. Staying fit and lean is important to me and I blend my exercise with my hobbies of biking and hiking. I used to be a runner but I enjoy biking and hiking more especially considering how much longer I can do those activities. Besides my outdoor activities, watching sports and being a member of multiple hockey dynasty leagues is an obsession of mine. Without question, I'd pick following hockey and my 4 dynasty leagues over fishing. I spend a lot more time watching games, reading articles, anlyzing stats, and listening to podcasts about hockey than anything else. Besides hockey, I follow cycling and Nascar. I am a very casual fan when it comes to all other sports. Personality-wise I'd be described as a cordial, introverted, loner, homebody. I spend most of my time fishing by myself and take multiple solo trips a year camping and fishing. I have been studying stoicism for about 5 years and those principles are the blueprint for how I want to live my life. A little over 9 years of work left till I retire and spend every April to November in Northern Michigan fishing and enjoying the outdoors for hopefully the rest of my life. I also plan to take long winter trips down south to hunt for trophy bass and help shorten the winter when I retire.

Once I started going to bigger trailers, especially boot tail swimbaits, on chatterbaits, I started catching bigger fish.

Pretty much what the title says. I have used Zakos, Spunk Shad, Swimming Shiners, and swimming Flukes with good success. I never really use craw or grubs on bladed jig. My general rule of thumb is to use the Zakos and Spunk Shad when looking for a little more subtle of a presentation and the boot-tail swimbaits when the water is warmer or if the water is more stained. How say you? Any info is appreciated.