Lip Ripper 87

I live in ohio and fish all my local waters including: tappan, saltfork, leesville, portage, ohio river etc. each of them present their own set of challenges but once you figure one out it can yield a good day of fishing. Also of course Erie is no Doubt the best fishery in ohio.

Went out this last Tuesday evening (5-815) for our first Tuesday night tourney. 20 boats and 4 fish were brought to the scales. Big girl was 5-05. I caught one fish on a jerk bait but measured just under 12". Water temp is slowly rising. I am going back out this weekend to fish some deep water close to shallow flats that I somehow forgot to fish. Will also check the north end bays. On deck is a jerkbait, crank bait, jig & pig, and tube. Also forgot to mention, this lake has no vegetation till early summer. Tight lines

And the addiction begins. Let me remind you, there is no cure

Always good to have a small honey hole to redeem yourself. I do the same 8)

Thanks guys, ill just keeping grinding it out till I can stay on them. I imagined it would be slow considering it was the first two nice days of the year.

Hi I went out the last two days at Tappan lake in ohio. I fished from 10-5 both days. Water temp at its lowest was 42 and highest 48. Water clarity is stained and visibility of 2 feet. It was sunny with slight winds. I fished everything from main lake points, drop offs, rock piles, secondary points, riprap. Techniques used varied from jerk bait with long pauses, slow rolling spinnerbaits, Carolina rig with 1 1/2 ft leader with 7 inch worm, buckeye mini mop jig with uncle josh pork trailer, and tube baits. I fished slow and methodical with no success. I found huge balls of shad in multiples places and tried to match the hatch and also throw something completely different. Does anyone have any in-sight or advice for my last two days. I'm not discouraged just trying to recap. Thanks in advance

Well saidJigfishn10, you saved me from typing for a few minutes

Pitching to cover with them has been the best producer for me. T rigged with a 1/4 Oz weight. x2

I've been fishing open tournaments all of 2011 and off and on for the past 5 years. I am ready to dedicate myself and my time to fish a tournament series or in a club. Just not too sure where to start. Any experiences or advice? What do i look for in a club and how do i get started? I live in Northeast Ohio. Thanks Casey Hay

Thanks guys! Cant wait for an upgrade!

A few big fish lost will wish you always had a net. Part of my organization right before i hit the water is to get the net set in a accesible postion. Just remember, Any cast can be a fish of a lifetime

I fish a lot of tournaments out of my 17ft Ranger Sport R72 but it isn't big enough for what i do. I can only fit one of my 7 rod combos in my rod locker which i stumble over constantly on my deck. I am looking at a 2002 Triton TR20 Dual Console with a Yamaha 225. Anyone have one, fished out of one or really looked into them? I want a boat that has alot of storage space (biggest rod 7'11") , a good livewell system, is comfortable and handles well. Any opinions, thoughts, or concerns are appreciated!

Look up info on drop shot, it can be fished from shoreline and is sometimes actually easier. The pro senko fished the same as the original can have the same results. I would adjust hook size to fit the smaller worm better and use a spinning combo to throw the light worm better. Results can vary no matter what your fishing. Don't be afraid to try different things.

Sure would be nice if the fish would always bite like we wanted. But the truth is.... they dont. Thats why you need to adapt and overcome tough situations. If your not dedicated when fishing is tough then overall success will be a lower percentage.

If you have a good Sonar unit use it to find something different on a ledge. ( Structure on structure ) You can start by running parrell to the ledge throwing deep cranks to find active fish, when you do slow down and hit with Texas rigs, jig, drop shot, etc. Fish may be active enough to fish the crank baits the whole time. Try different things. Throw top to bottom then bottom to top, parrell, fast, slow. It all takes alot of time and experience to hit a pattern fast and make the constant changes to stick with the fish. Even then sometimes its hard to get bit. Dont expect to be overly successful fast. Just saw you mentioned night fishing. depending on depths, fish will come up and hit a topwater if conditions are right. Maybe not be exact info your looking for but hopefully helps.