Wind Knot

I had a dream where I noodled a pike. One of my life goals is to make that dream a reality.

The other day, I was fishing in the evening at a local pond. Activity was average, and it was close to dark. I was fishing off the bank, surrounded by a little bit of woods. Suddenly I heard some leaves rustle behind me. "Oh, it's just some squirrels," I naively thought to myself. As the strange beast continued kicking around leaves, I finally turned around, meeting it face to face. To my surprise, I found two average-size deer about 10 yards back. They were completely still, no longer making a sound. I figured they were just passing through, so I continued fishing. But as soon as my eyes left them, they started moving again. I spun around to face them again, and to my horror, they were about 10 feet closer to me, completely still. I was nervous, having heard stories of deer attacking people. At this point, they were within 15 feet of me, and due to my position on the bank, with trees surrounding me, they had basically cornered me. I naturally began shouting profanity at the two creatures standing before me, but they hardly seemed phased. Living in a suburb, they were probably thinking to themselves, "When is this guy going to throw us corn?" Being a person of a shorter stature I tried to make myself as big as possible. One of the demonic duo stamped its hoof and snorted. Likewise, I began lunging at them and stomping my feet until they got the message and calmly wandered off. This was not the first time I have had experiences like this. My neighborhood has a major deer problem due to all the people who leave food out and the lack of hunters. (It is a suburb after all.) I want to know about any of your unusual experiences with wild animals, dangerous or not!

BS is fun, and even my buddies who don't play cards catch on fast.

I wish I would've learned sooner that a palomar knot is way better than a cinch knot.

As long as the rod has enough backbone to work the baits and set the hooks you're using, its all your personal preference.

I have one Black Max and my only major problem with it is the casting distance. Especially with mono, I can never get it to cast very far.

I can see a new trend in the industry: "Fiber-optic drop shot fishing"

A 4wt fly rod can make a 3lber feel much bigger. I don't usually target bass when I'm fly fishing, but occasionally they'll bite at a little foam dry fly. P.S. Foam spiders are a good multispecies fly in ponds

I've jumped out of a kayak to grab baits that fell off before, but I can't imagine how much your stomach drops when something that expensive falls in.

Haven't really fished one much but it seems like a brown jig with a craw trailer would be a really good imitation in clear water with finicky bass.

I usually choose the same spinnerbait color as I would use for a topwater - usually white or black. I almost never fish them in lakes though. Just haven't had great luck with them except in ponds.

12-foot tenkara rod anybody? Aaaaaaaand the picture's gone.

I have a Pinnacle Perfecta drop shot rod coming in a few days and I'll come back with some results after I get a little use out of it. Last week there was a 50% off sale on all Pinnacle fishing gear at DSG. After gift cards and coupons I got the rod for $16.

Similar principal when fishing jerkbaits. Change the cadence once in a while if you aren't getting action.

A tipptruck? Unfortunately, yes. The itching sensation is unbearable.

I've been reading this thread over the past two days. Easily one of the finest pieces of modern literature. I am a changed man.

St. Croix Mojo Bass. I've had a mh baitcaster for a while and it rocks so I got a ml spinning rod more recently. Works like a charm. I would definitely recommend it.

Mine is easily a squarebill. I get pretty good luck with both the KVD 1.0 and the Rapala Crankin' Rap 3 but I throw the KVD more often so it takes first place. "DB Craw" works pretty well for me in semi-clear to muddy water.

We all know too well that instant disappointment when you feel a lure get snagged on something. I've waded into a scummy pond to retrieve a $5 squarebill that hooked a submerged log... not worth it. Turns out that pond has snapping turtles. I cried inside a little upon seeing that

A lot of Megabass vision 110's. I'm probably gonna try throwing them for smallies, but the places I fish have tons of submerged branches. Its like using a $20 bill with hooks to catch fish.

I just clip off the hook that aims towards the claws and gets stuck all the time. Leave the other two intact. It works like a charm.

Thanks for the help! I'm probably getting the 6'10" ml because I can't find a shorter one anywhere.

I think i'm gonna go with a 6 10 ml St Croix Mojo Bass and a Pflueger President (personal preference). Would that have enough backbone to use small poppers?

I fish at Wallace Lake frequently but the only thing I can reliably catch bass on is a woolly bugger fly. I was wondering who else fishes here and what works well for you.