TOXIC

Well, we had a fair day even though we had a super moon and a lunar tide that was off the charts. I had 35-40 fish most all were knotheads. A rogue catfish and crappie also in the mix. Outgoing tide was better. Still waiting on the fall feed bag, water was in the low 60’s. We’ve got a group heading out next Saturday.

Heading back out tomorrow and I will update.

I would have said bubblegum DShad but unfortunately Yamamoto discontinued that color. If you like them, buy what you can. I’m about to try Yamamoto’s new “stealth” colors, so stay tuned.

And I’ll add that on a body of water that small, there are no “secret” spots. 😉

For whatever reason a spot is good, it will “reload”. I don’t believe in educating fish when I have broken off a bait, come back in a short amount of time and caught the fish with my bait hanging out of its mouth. When I was guiding I had a “milk run” that was productive for most clients. I fished it over and over (multiple spots) and it most always produced. If I were you, other than trying not to be obvious on the spot, I would fish it until the bite died. Give it some time and come right back.

The only thing I would add is to look at the future and factor in tax ramifications.

I have Natural Shad in all my dropshot baits and even in 5” Senkos. I got schooled from one of my buddies I fish with in the clear waters of Lake St Clair. He swears by them. Shad Shape Worm is my #1 dropshot bait. I can’t wait for the release of the Shad Shape Swimmer, it’s a Kieteck style smaller swimbait. I release them. My buddy follows VDGIF requests and guts them. They are delicious table fare but you are not allowed to carry or transport them alive so they have to be immediately killed if you are going to keep them. That would require us to bring ice chests and handle them like saltwater fish. Many stores and markets are now selling them renamed as Chana to make them more desirable for consumption.

What are 5 disadvantages of debit cards? Cons of debit cards They have limited fraud protection. ... Your spending limit depends on your checking account balance. ... They may cause overdraft fees. ... They don't build your credit score. While banks are generally obligated to refund money lost to fraud, they may deny the refund if you were negligent or involved in the scam. Whether or not your bank will refund scammed money depends on the bank's policies, the type of scam, and how you paid. But there are consumer protections available. Personally, I do not use a debit card. Too much risk and really no benefit.

@gimruis I quoted your statement that the bank was federally backed. Maybe I misunderstood your statement. There is no bank or credit card that is federally backed. Your deposits are insured. @Tennessee Boy somewhat correct. A credit card charge goes from the vendor to the card company and then to you via a statement for payment. A debit card charge goes directly to the bank and it is the same as paying with cash. A dispute on a credit card purchase is subject to the credit card company policy. A dispute on a debit card is subject to the banks policy which is usually a lot less protective to the consumer. With a debit card, the money is gone from your account as soon as the charge is made.

I’ve fished straight mono for so long, I just factor line stretch into my gear setup and fishing style. I know better than to throw a 5” weightless Senko as far as I can with 6lb mono because I know getting a good hookset is going to be near impossible. I had an elite series angler I worked with at a show hand me the end of 12lb mono and walk a good cast out from him. He had it rigged on a 7ft, medium action rod. He told me to hold the line between my thumb and index finger. He swung like he was setting the the hook and he couldn’t pull the line from my fingers. Taught me a lesson. 😉

Timely topic. I’ve been looking around at them for a few weeks because my daughter has a 300 acre farm and runs a horse boarding business and some of the land is in hay production. She has many times commented on how handy one of these units would help. She has a Kioti DK40SE tractor for moving big round bales, brushhogging, pulling honey wagons, and general farm work. She rents out the hay fields but would really like something like a Kawasaki Mule to use. Man-0-Man are they proud of those things! I’ve scoured marketplace and kept an eye on auctions but they are extremely popular.

Just a little clarification from someone who worked for 35 years at the FDIC……ME. Your bank (deposits) may be FDIC insured but I guarantee you, your credit cards are not. Just because a bank has FDIC insurance does not make them “Federally backed”. That’s not to say you don’t have fraud protection through the issuer (Mastercard, visa, amex, etc.) but it’s not through the bank. Neither is a debit card. I say this just to make sure y’all know your exposure.

@islandbass remember, there are different sizes of both the Scope Shad and Yamatanuki. The Yamatanuki has a little more weight and bulk even in the smaller sizes.

Keep in mind free advice is usually worth what you paid for it. That being said, there are some “givens” in financial planning. First and foremost commit to save. Do what you can afford. I would suggest you get with a financial planner for expert advice on the instruments you utilize. I was extreeeemly lucky and was able to save through a 401k and the governments TSP. My only regret now that I’m retired is not digging into the tax ramifications of drawing those funds out.

Easy answer…..Whatever body of water I happen to be on at the time…. For me, every body of water I am on is a quest/adventure. Catching is secondary. If I ever lose that butterfly feeling in my stomach every time I pull up to a body of water, it will be the day I put all my gear and boat up for sale.

Actually not much thicker, the Ned’s I use are really small, they have trout hooks but the bait has a triangular shape body which I was not expecting. Yes they are, always a favorite color of mine in the Shad Shape Worm. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I have never finesse fished a Texas Rig. For me, that is a bigger bait technique. I also have had good luck with the small Yamatanuki on a Ned as well. Both these baits are offered in multiple sizes to fit your personal tastes. I like the real finesse offerings myself. Rest assured, if it didn’t produce, I would still review it honestly.

Go take a look in the tackle forum for the complete report. Here’s a little taste.

Part of my responsibilities of being Pro-staff with Yamamoto Baits over the last 25 years is to give new baits a real world trial and honestly report back to them my thoughts/concerns/criticisms/complaints and hopefully praise. I have found the easiest way to do this is to go to a body of water I have experience on and a track record of catching fish. Second, I limit myself to only throwing my test bait. Usually I am with my fishing partner who is throwing tried and true offerings and I use him as a control group to see if my test bait does better/worse or equal to his offerings. The place I chose to test out the new Yamamoto 3” Scope Shad was the Rappahonock River here in Virginia. The river has a great biomass and offers an interesting selection of species. In order for a new bait to gain access to my “Don’t leave home without it” section of my tackle, it has had to shine in a memorable way. Currently in this class of baits is the Senko, DShad, Pro Senko, Shad Shape Worm, Zako, California Roll, all in various sizes and colors. To be honest, Yamamoto has opened the floodgates on a lot of new baits that I have not had the chance to put to the test. The 3” Scope Shad earned a spot in my favored baits category. I threw the bait on a custom poured, weedless Ned head, a spinning rod with 6lb mono and a 2500 series reel on a 7ft medium/fast rod. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. I caught Largemouth from squeakers to 4lbs with the total for the day being 40 fish. As for other catches, I was able to catch a 4lb Smallmouth (super bonus on the river), Crappie, hefty Bluegill, and to top it off a Snakehead. All on the same bait. Although I brought other rods, I never picked on up the entire day. I’ll post up pics just to back up my claims. Some of the pics have the bait and some of the pics you can see I am using the same rod/reel even if you can’t see the bait. To be fair, my buddy caught good numbers as well using ZMan Ned’s and baits. Difference being, he didn’t catch a snakehead or smallmouth but he did catch a couple of channel cats.

Since you were a client of Marcels, give him a call and tell him you want to give it a go on your own. I’m sure he will at least give you enough info to get you into the general vicinity or at least the pattern. He’s a great guy.

What changed my fishing? The day I tied on a Senko. It opened the door to finesse and I have never looked back. That was 30 years ago.

When I had an Elite Series angler stay with me for a week to pre fish for a tournament, his opinion was that we get too hung up on color. He had 3 color groups….clear water, stained water, and muddy water. He based his color selection on those conditions and went more with shades than actual colors.

For me, sun, no sun, cloudy, bluebird, are all just more pieces of the puzzle and you have to find out how they fit together to make them bite. For example…..through 21 years of going to Lake St Clair for smallmouth in almost every condition imaginable from 80 degrees to being snowed on and everything in between, for the piece of the puzzle that is sun/clouds, I found that the bite did not change but the color of my bait needed to and it is actually counterintuitive. I’ll use a Senko for example because that’s how I found out the color switch. All other things being factored in, on bright, bluebird or partly cloudy days, a 297 (green pumpkin/black fleck) Senko was the ticket. On cloudy days, 305 (baby bass) produced the best. What’s odd is that the 297 is much darker than the 305 and you would think it would perform better in lower light. Not the case. So it’s my opinion, that clouds/sun affect color more than willingness to bite.

It’s going to be bad. Just talked to my sister in law and they live on Cresent Beach on the eastern side of the state and they are now under an evacuation order.

We call skunks “dues paying days” and everybody’s gotta pay their dues. Just can’t let it get in your head. I posted about my trip to the St Lawrence and the extremely tough fishing it was. Add 6 hour pull, gas, food, hotel, 3 different licenses, etc., and it’s all added pressure. We were close to getting skunked more than once and I appointed myself the driver of the struggle bus. Never got skunked but it was some of the toughest fishing I’ve done in a very long time.

@Zcoker we are always up for a new place. Can you recommend any place in the glades that would be a good option?