MassYak85

I've also had some success in that cove fishing worms off the drops. One of my better punching days ever was on that lake but in another spot. There was just a perfect small isolated patch of lily pads maybe 20'x40' a bunch of them were hanging under.

The red X is where he scraped the bottom pretty good. There's an island and point that are really only visible if the water is low.

Shallow enough I wouldn't jump on plane unless you really know the lake well. My dad trashed his lower end a few summers ago there.

Norton is solid. They spray for weeds and after that it can be hard to find fish IMO because it’s so shallow and there’s not much traditional structure. But there’s still some vegetated coves that can be good and a few deeper areas.

All this snow is seriously messing with my desire to get onto the ice as well as my hiking plans lol

That’s good to know thanks!

I don't think early March is in the cards like recent years but maybe late March 🤞

Nope. I fish it till it breaks or stops serving a purpose in my lineup. My favorite rod is still an old OG Tatula with the gold aluminum accents. 7'2" MHR it just hits that perfect sweet spot between fast and moderate that makes it extremely versatile. It's my favorite rod for spinnerbaits and I will be pretty upset when it's time comes.

Generally a jig, jerkbait, blade bait, tailspin, and spinnerbait.

You reminded me I did actually try these one summer but for bringing over and punching through heavy vegetation. I think I used a 6/0 hook as well and let them drop into holes in thick matts. Worked well, if only I had a rod at the time to properly set the hook lol.

I think there's a healthy middle ground between buying everything and trying new techniques. It's important to expand your abilities and learn new techniques just don't go crazy all at once (ask me how I know). If you're trying a new technqiue I'd just do your research on what are some good solid baits that are reliable and get one or two for that technqiue. You don't need 8 different colors of 3 different sizes. If you find yourself loving that technqiue and doing well then you can jump down the rabbit hole and fine tune it. Another mistake I made was trying to find "diamonds in the rough" instead of just going ahead and buying the slightly more expensive but proven bait to start. 90% of my baits I use throughout a season could probably fit into a single Plano box. I've got like 15-20 bags of worms and I might use like 4 frequently. I've got a dozen lipless cranks and I might use 2-3. Spinnerbaits are my favorite lure and I've probably got 50...I might use 4-5 in rotation. The point is yes find what you like but if you're spending more time picking through your lures trying to find the perfect one for that day rather than just spending the time fishing you can get lost in the weeds.

I've settled on like 3. A dark green pumpkin, a golden shiner, and red. Red is pretty self explanatory I fish them in the spring mostly and with a craw trailer. Green pumpkin I just find to be super versatile. You can change how the bait looks with the trailer. A lot of times I like the GP/Chartreuse mixed trailers especially if the water is a bit dirtier and something with more kick. Can also do black/blue or GP/Blue and it still matches up nice to the main bait just makes the overall profile a bit darker. Clearer I'll go to more of a straight GP and maybe a more subtle trailer. If I know they're chasing shiners through the vegetation I'll go to those colors. Personally I'm a bit more of a spinnerbait guy than a bladed jig guy, so if the water is very clear and they're chasing schooling bait or I'm fishing deeper water I'm usually either going with that instead or a tailspin/underspin. So I don't really have a ton of silver/white chatterbaits.

And therein lies the difference between "salesman" and "technical salesman" lol

Last time I went my dad got talking to the guy at the Douglas booth and ended up getting the DXC 805F as a swimbait rod. Got a decent deal on it so it was comparable price to a Dobyns Champion series. I must say I was pretty impressed by it's versatility. Solid backbone and can handle heavy baits, but the tip is soft enough to still fish smaller swimbaits. He's usually throwing 2-3oz baits and it handles them well. I think it would even do well with a Hudd. The 2 piece design where the handle detaches is pretty cool if storage is a concern. He also got a deal at another booth on a Lews 300 reel so he walked out with a whole new setup haha. He outfished me last year for the first time since I was a kid haha.

People have been ice fishing on the Charles river and even some of the brackish tidewaters here hoping for a unicorn...a striper through the ice. It's been forever since that was doable. Seen some pictures of a few guys getting them. Very sketchy but it's been so cold this year it's opened the opportunity. But I always look forward to spring, those first few weekends in April/May where the water creeps into the 50s finally and we get a nice warm front with some wind really gets those fish moving shallow and I can usually call my shot when it aligns right.

I think it depends how that tip loads. A true medium extra fast would probably be good for light jigs, shakey heads, even jerkbaits/topwaters. But I have a feeling it probably won't load great for casting small cranks. But who knows, rod ratings are a joke sometimes.

You probably have the baby. It's like 4.5oz. The adult is a boat anchor at almost 8oz and 16" long with the tail. If we had better pike fisheries I'd be tempted to grab one but would probably need the 908 Dobyns to throw it.

Yea I should specify I only throw the baby one. The adult is a tank.

I've really only used mine in the fall, once the weeds die back I'll target big laydowns in transition areas and try to crank it as deep as I can to get it to deflect off the wood.

Actually a crazy deal if anyone needs to stock up on chatterbaits, jackhammers, EVOs and minis all included in the sale

For sure get the Lo-Float. They can easily be weighted with a few lead strips to perfectly suspend just like a jerkbait. Killer bait in the Fall fished the same way. I've got a couple one is a trout pattern and one is a golden shiner. If I could only have one I'd get one that's a bit silvery and reflective just a generic "bait fish" pattern.

Solomons run narrow. I have a pair for hiking and always end up needing to get a wide. If it's warm I could care less about getting wet, and my ambition for going out in cold driving rain is not what it once was lol. I've been eying the shorter ankle height deck boots that Grunden's makes, but realistically I wouldn't use them much so I haven't pulled the trigger.

I use a spro power swivel, forget exactly what size. You can get tiny ones that are still ridiculously strong, don't get the size 10s for normal Carolina rigging. I'd probably get like a 6 or 5. 4 or 2 would be more for serious heavy duty rigs like 1 1/2oz to a 5/0 hook and 12" worm. Usually if I'm C-rigging it's like a 3/4oz weight with a 10" power worm or lizard. I usually go about 3ft on the leader. I've tried those "Carolina Keeper" stoppers that let you feed the line through it and avoid a knot and swivel but in my experience they always end up sliding unless you use 2 or 3. Not worth it IMO. I don't fish a true C-rig often but I do like a bead, I think the ones I have are the Black Kalin's on TW they're 8mm beads. One tip I have that I also use for T-Rigs is to put a bobber stop against your swivel knot. I just like having it there so the weight/bead isn't slamming into your knot when you set the hook.

I think my sensitivity for what constitutes a sale has shifted over the years lol. Seems like places have 20% off sales multiple times a year that I basically consider that retail and won't place an order until those come up.

Did you ever consider that maaaaayyyybe you have enough vision 110s? 😆 But very true statement there. Organization is only as good as your willingness to put the baits back in there proper spot. Last year I was lazy and ended up with a "most used baits" box that I would routinely just stuff baits into that I was frequently taking out because I didn't want to go through and find their actual box lol.