BigAngus752

Congrats! Sorry you didn't get to weigh it but that doesn't take anything away from this accomplishment. Fantastic catch!

I would suggest that you both see an ophthalmologist immediately and tell him/her that you can't see the color gray/blue. But my wife says your wife is right. I'm not sure she even looked at the pic. She's just supporting the team.

I'm not sure what you mean by "central" Illinois, but from just north of I74 and everything south we have gotten multiple inches of rain in a short amount of time. Not the good warm spring rain either. The big bass lakes like Clinton and Newton will be high, muddy, and have at least a minor (maybe major) drop in water temp. It's not going to stop me from trying my local lakes but I'm not driving an hour to get to a lake until I know what effect this rain has had. Don't want to discourage you, but don't want you to be surprised either.

I thought the exact same thing. I was CERTAIN I would rip that thing like I was skydiving. Five years later and never a problem. I forget I'm wearing it. I won't go back. I'll tell you this, you must have to pull it like you mean it because I've snagged it a million times getting it in and out of the storage bin, on my coat, etc.

We spent years playing the "DIY exterminator" game with only marginal success and repeated frustration. We broke down and called an exterminator. $75 for one treatment a year and never saw an ant again. Not one.

I completely understand the desire to simplify. I used to double up each rod tube and pack so much tackle on my boat that I barely had room for my lunch. No longer. Max of 8 rods and I leave more than half the tackle I used to take at home. It's much more relaxing! I didn't realize how much I was pressuring myself while fishing. I'm much less about the "catching is success" and more about the "going fishing is success". Ironically, I'm definitely catching better fish than I used to. Maybe a few less (maybe not), but much bigger bass and I've even branched out to other species. I say go for it. Cut out the fat.

Wow. Not for me.

I've heard good things about them. I wasn't aware the prices have dropped so low. I'd be really interested in a 5 year review.

If this wasn't posted by you and was some random post on FB I would be the first to start the "photoshop" comments. Who are these people?

I continue my contemplation of lithium TM batteries. I prefer to buy them from a brick and mortar so that limits my choices considerably. I've heard nothing but bad things about the Bass Pro lithiums. I know the Interstate lead batteries get mixed reviews, including posts I've made about them myself. I had a pair of the lead deep-cycle Interstate batteries last me barely more than a year but my Interstate cranking battery is original to the boat and turns 10 years old sometime this year. Has anyone tried, or even heard reviews, of the Interstate lithiums? My googling is turning up very little. Their specs are good. Interstate has 100ah in a size 24 that has a reserve capacity of 240 minutes and a 10 year warranty. Sounds good on paper, but a lot of things sound good on paper. Please share if you've got some knowledge. Thank you

That makes perfect sense! I just filed that in the spring fishing folder deep in my noggin.

This is fantastic advice. Along the same lines I would like to add two things that are my opinion, but I'm just a hack fisherman so you decide if this is useful: 1. I don't care if it's one of the Great Lakes or a puddle in your back yard, not all of the bass spawn at the same time! The spawn takes weeks and sometimes/places months. I live in the middle of the country and it's not at all unusual to find bass on beds from April to July, depending on weather that year. You don't have to focus on spawning fish. In fact, they won't be your best biters. Look for fish in the midst of transition either headed up toward a spawning area or post-spawn fish headed back out. 2. What I said above I consider 100% accurate under all circumstances. This one I'll give a 60-70% rating. Big girls spawn first. This is one of those things that true, but not always true. You can find huge girls in the straggler spawn but generally speaking I'm finding the biggest fish moving up in water so cold you wouldn't ever think that the bass spawn was approaching. What does that mean for you? Maybe your bigger fish are post-spawn and moving back out. You won't know until you hunt for them.

Yup. We've all been hit many times either freeing a snag or swinging and missing. I've had hooks stuck in my clothes and in my leg. Heck, I had a flying jig take my hat off of my head in a near miss. I wear glasses at all times when fishing. I have some light amber for when there isn't much light.

Well, I answered my own question. I previously posted a thread asking if striper feed up shallow in the spring like they do in fall. I decided to drive to my 'striper lake' and find out. Yes...yes they do. Caught several. This is the biggest at 8-4. The angriest, however, was a 5-4 that I thought might do me harm.

It just looks delicious to me.

We'd be barfing in a ocean liner but @A-Jay would be out there in the Pro-V rippin' lips and making videos like, "Look how smooth my Lund rides"...

Midwest, my brother! Everybody's weather, every other day.

It's pure joy. One of the very few things I could do daily and never tire of it. Congratulations on finding it!

No ice fishing and no fishing during a tornado. Like, in the middle of one. Adjacent to a tornado is acceptable.

Well, that is very good (if not troubling) information. The lake where I find them each fall is a man-made impoundment and I am literally going to the same creek arm every day and wearing my arms out for about 2-3 weeks depending on how fast the water temps drop. Other fishermen are catching them in the summer on the same lake using more traditional methods of fishing deep structure using live bait. I haven't gotten into that yet but I may give it a try this year.

I made a fish pun. See that? 💥 Over the past 5 or 6 years I have found great joy in catching striper on crankbaits in a foot of water during the fall. There is one particular lake where I have them absolutely dialed in, catching up to 10lb striper over and over as they feed super shallow before winter. The lake is a bit of a drive for me and my question is, could I expect the same/similar behavior of striper at any point in the spring? I can find the exact spot in the fall based on water temp, wind direction, etc., but can I find shallow striper in the spring hitting moving baits? What conditions should I look for?

When using braid on a spinning reel I choose 6lb or 4lb and I like yellow if I want high visibility or moss green if I don't. I do not, however, throw any moving baits on spinning gear so you might prefer heavier line, but you may not like trying to fish a Ned rig on 15lb braid.

I'm 6'4 my son 6'7. My sister is 6'2, her daughter 6'5. Our parents refused to discuss our heritage. We suspect that is due to a history of alien abduction. Oh, and German.

I reserve this only for catfish that make be believe for 3 seconds that I've caught my PB bass. I know some people that do this.

Rereading everything I can see that it could be interpreted that I was downplaying the slime coat, which was not my intent. My comment was merely on the quality of the water. It's my opinion that when I touch the fish only in the mouth and only with one hand I am handling the fish more safely than anyone who uses any kind of net and I believe "science" supports this opinion, but I understand if you disagree. Regardless, I am proud to know both of you and support your opinions. The fact of the matter is that we are granted dominion over all manner of beasts and that is the law in every state of the Union. Unfortunately, I see a significant percentage of fisherman who abuse that legal right and act without respect for fish, other fishermen, or the earth. I hope you can understand that we (you, I, and everyone that has responded, I think) share the same principles and I hope you'll try to understand and respect the fact that we approach those ideologies differently. We can't force others to practice catch and release because killing and eating these fish is both legally and morally acceptable. Catch and release is not a higher moral ground. It's only a personal opinion.