CybrSlydr

Well, we were going to go around sun-up but a buddy of mine has a Fishing Forecast app that he swears by that said the fish would be biting better around 11am-6pm ish. So, we left around 11:30am. Drove around for 2 hours and didn't get to fish at all. Put about 65 miles on the car with nothing to show for it.

Don't go fishing on a holiday weekend. There are damned people EVERYWHERE. Went to check out some new lakes on some less traveled gravel roads in the AEP lands today and found 6 or 7 that were very nice - but no shore access. They had boat ramps, but the shore all around was choked with chest-high and higher brush. Nowhere to cast. So we checked out our usual places - nothing but campers. Son of a *****.

I've decided that I'd like to fish for trout sometime, so I'm here to ask you fine folk where good places to find trout are. My internet readings have been the ODNR info which gives a few places that are stocked - http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/fishing/trout-stocking-dates What I'd ask you folks is which of those are good (preferably the South East area, within an hour or two of Beverly [near Marietta]) to find trout. I realize that we're still in the dog days of summer, so it's not a good time to try. The ODNR says they also stock come Octoberish http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/fishing/fishing-tips-by-species/rainbow-brown-trout#tabr4 So, obviously this isn't something we'll be doing soon. Thanks!

Sucks man! My brother's had that happen twice - so he's technically never caught a fish yet. We think his problem is he's so excited he's got a bite, he forgets to set the hook and they get away.

So, my brother and I decided to check out a new lake today, Burr Oak Lake, north of Athens, OH. Reading shows it's a great place to fish with numerous species of fish available. Our goal was to start off at the dam and work our way along a trail that runs along the perimeter of the lake and look for open spots from which we could fish. A friend of mine who fishes there gave us some good hints on where to look for fish. The orange oval is where we parked. The purple line with arrows is the route we walked the trail looking for shore spots. The blue line is showing us walking back. The green oval is the last place we sat and tried to find anything. We found one spot near the first bay from which we could fish, but as you will now hear, it was bad for my brother. So we put my new chrome/blue Red Eye Shad lipless crank on his rod and he cast a few times. One time, he cast too high and got the line stuck in a tree. So, he starts waving the rod to try and get the line unstuck. Wasn't coming off because the lure, which was in the water, was too heavy and pulling it down. So he reels in the lure - which then gets stuck in the tree branch. So he tightens down the drag and starts pulling to try and get it out - couple of little branches on the limb break off and we think we're almost there. Then the line snaps. lol The lure falls out of the tree into the lake, but the line remains hung up in the branch, still attached to the lure. I take my rod and let off a little line, which had a Liv-N-Chrome Rat-L-Trap tied on, and use it to wrap around the suspended line like a grappling hook. Success! I pull the line in, cut the lure off and we decide to find somewhere else to fish. Unfortunately for us, there wasn't anywhere on the shore to fish. The bank was either too steep or the trees were too thick. We were kinda ticked we walked all that way to not do anything and have to trudge back. So we decided to rest on the dam and try some casts and see if anything was biting. Unfortunately, nothing bites. Except the mud, apparently! My brother, casting the same lure as before, manages to somehow get it stuck in the mud so deep that we can't pull it out again. So, bravely, he wades into the lake to go after it. It was about 10ft from shore and in about knee-deep water. He retrieves the lure with minimal issue and returned to dry land. He decides he's going to take a break before he manages to completely lose this lure. I decide we should try over by this large concrete structure to our right and see if we can get any bites there. I rig up a dropshot with a wacky rig Senko 5" Watermelon/Blk Flake worm and try a few casts. We try this for about 45 minutes with no success. Got hung up on a few things but didn't lose any lures. My brother said that this was just good practice for casting for when we go up to Alum Creek Reservoir on Monday to fish with a former roomie of mine and his wife. By now it's around 5:30 and we figure, screw it - might as well go home. We were pretty hungry from all the walking! Just glad we brought 10 bottles of water so we could keep hydrated (thank you, Army!) Before we pack up, I decide we should take some gear shots - so you folks can see the accumulated tackle thus far and some pics of our rods/reels, especially since he just got his and if someone is interested in that Pflueger combo, we can show some pics. My tackle box The President Reel - gotta say, that reel is NICE. Was REALLY confused when we were stringing it because it has an anti-reverse switch which was disengaged. Couldn't figure out why the reel was spinning BACKWARDS. Google is your friend. lol The rod that came in the combo is actually quite nice - we were both impressed. My rod/reel. When we decided to walk back to the car, we walked along the paved road at the top of the dam. I told my brother to take the camera out of my backpack and snap some wide angle shots as it looked quite nice. I also decided to wash my car this morning, so when we walked back, I thought it looked too good to not take a few pics. Then we drove home. I hope you all enjoyed the pics - thank you all for your help in choosing the rod/reel for my brother. He is extremely happy with the purchase! Until next time!

UPS just delivered the packages and wow, that President is smoooooooooth. Rod looks really nice too - nice cork grips and all. Now it's time to get ready to head out and break 'er in! Thanks again to everyone for their help!

We ended up going the Pflueger combo route - it was $80, had the good reel and left enough in the budget to pick up two Red Eye Shads, a Liv-N-Chrome Rat-L-Trap, some 3/16oz sinkers for dropshotting, some small snaps so I don't have to tie the d**n cranks on every time and lose line in the process, 10lb Trilene XT and some 5" Senkos in Watermelon/Black Flake. We would have gone the Lightning right off the bat but my Voc Rehab stipend check was half of what I was planning since I'm only a half-time student this semester and it pro-rates for time not in school (school didn't start until the 15th this month). So instead of the $300ish, I got $167. Bummer. We'll see how the rod works out for him (we got the 7ft combo) and if it's not as good as he wants, we'll upgrade him to the Berkley Lightning Shock you folks suggested. Thanks for your help folks!!! We're going to Burr Oak later today to test it out once UPS delivers it.

So, my brother's rod/reel will arrive via UPS tomorrow morning. As soon as we spool it up, we're going to head off to Burr Oak Lake near Athens, OH. It's about 40min drive. I was hoping some of you had fished there from the shore and had some suggestions on where we should look to fish. http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/wildlife/Maps/Lake Maps/PDFs/burroaklake2.pdf Right now our idea is to just go to the park office and ask them where they would suggest. Apparently there are quite a few fish attractors sunk in the lake, so we'd like to try and hit up somewhere near them. Thanks for your help folks!

True enough, we'd probably only go fishing 4-5 times before I'd get paid again and have the opportunity to upgrade his rod.

Well, the Vengeance when coupled with the President is out of our budget. Coupled with the Lightning Shock, it's perfectly within. At the $110 price, I can afford to get us a pack of Yamma Senkos (watermelon blk/red flake), a lipless Red Eye Shad Tungsten 2 in Chrome/Black, some 10lb Trilene XT, a small box to hold the new lures with room to grow and maybe a Liv-N-Chrome Rat-L-Trap. EDIT: Now I'm curious about this Pflueger combo on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Pflueger-President-Medium-Spinning-6-Feet/dp/B005Q4YTWA/ref=sr_1_2?s=hunting-fishing&ie=UTF8&qid=1472616074&sr=1-2&keywords=Pflueger+President+combo I'm just concerned about the rod and if it's a quality item or not - because what we'd save getting this over the rod/reel separate could get us a couple lures/more senkos.

The 3 fish I've caught have been on a Battle II 4000. A catfish in the couple-pound range and two LMBs in a similar range. I really like mine.

How about the Berkley Lightning Shock 6'6" Medium and the Pflueger President? That puts us right at $109.94. I've also been suggested by a customer support person the Abu Vengence2 rod and a Abu Cardinal STX or Lews Mach 2 reel as a combo. Right now, we're definitely leaning towards the Berkley/Pflueger mentioned above.

What would you think about a Fenwick Eagle 6'6" Medium paired with a Mitchell 300Pro? That combo is perfectly within our budget range.

We'll be freshwater fishing - bass is our main fish of choice. I'll check out the other rods you spoke of - thanks!

Hey folks, my brother and I have pretty much decided on the rod/reel we're going to get for him (even though reels are ambi, he's a southpaw). Even though we feel we've been pretty exhaustive in our research, I wanted to run the combo past you folks and see if there's anything else we might want to consider. We're looking at an Ugly Stik GX2, 7' one piece and a Penn Fierce II 4000 reel. This is around the budget we'd like to hit for a rod/reel, $110ish. Thanks for your input!

I think I posted in the wrong thread. lol

Man, I assume that's from all the debris and rocks you've banged them against underwater?

I have a Rapala X-Rap Pop - haven't caught anything with it yet, but it performs quite well on the water. Makes plenty of noise, bubbles, etc.

Sounds like I'll be getting a chrome and gold RES and a chrome Rat-L-Trap. Thanks folks!

I didn't know that.

Looking into my first lipless crank and I'm considering either the Strike King Red Eye Shad Tungsten 2 or the Rapala Rippin Shad. If you've seen my fishing reports, you'll see we've mostly fished in clear ponds/lakes. Which ones do you like and/or have worked well for you?

How do you use those lure stick... things? I've never heard of them and assumed they'd have some sort of grabber on the end - but how's the corkscrew thing work?

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I'm a big fan of the PC I was issued by the Army. I wear it everywhere when I go outside (I'm wearing it in my profile picture too). I would easily suggest an Army surplus boonie hat in whatever camo pattern you like (I'm a multicam fan). They're water resistant, have a bill all the way around to protect your neck from the sun and comfy as hell.

Don't you catch the spoon hooks on that heavy cover?