BigAngus752

I'm gonna need 15% off of my kid's college tuition bill for this semester if I'm going to buy any fishing stuff.

Let's talk about this now that the other has been discussed. 3/8 is definitely not a 'heavy cover' weight. If you are punching with a 1 ounce weight that is one thing, but you should try experimenting with a faster rate of fall than just 3/16 or 1/4 ounce will get you. If you aren't getting bites these with light weights and you feel that you are in the right place for bass try putting on a 1/2oz to speed the fall, especially in warm water. Sometimes they want something falling fast past them. The don't always like slow.

This guy?

I'm sorry to be negative, but I really think you are asking too much of one rod. I'd pick a M/H with a strong backbone and moderate tip for large spinners (and bladed jigs, large treble lures like a big Whopper Plopper, etc.), a M/H with a fast tip with good sensitivity for dragging a jig and craw, and I don't know what for a Musky rod but it would be hella heavy... Your Cabela M/H that is rated 3/8 to 1oz seems like it might be a good rod for big spinners if the tip isn't to fast? How about just investing in a good jig rod?

I saw this the first time at 4am in the fog headed to the lake. Took this pic about 8hrs later on my way home. I have no idea what happened but I think we can all agree that it was a bad day for someone. I feel their pain. Also, I will reluctantly admit that when this thing materialized in my foggy headlights I briefly stabbed the brake as my 4am brain thought I might be driving into the lake...

X2 Always have at least one jig rod on deck. Usually two if you include a bladed jig. Doesn't help much right now though. August is slooooooooow fishing.

I buy 10+ bags of Zinker Zs every year and I buy only Coppertruese. It's ridiculously good.

Bluegill spawn is my second most successful time of the year for numbers. Once you find them up on shore to spawn start looking for nearby ambush points. That is where the bass will be. Laydowns, grasslines, shade lines, an extra large rock in a pile of riprap, docks. I've even caught them just holding up against a metal seawall about 10 yards from the riprap where the gills were. Don't throw at the BGs. They are highly territorial right now and will nip at everything that comes close including big bass. The bass won't be mixed in with them. They are looking to ambush single bluegills and they hold at ambush points on the perimeter. Oh, and bridges are awesome if you find bluegills spawning close to the corners. There will be huge bass in the deep water holding close to the pilings and corners that rush up and snag bluegills. Fish from the top down there. Don't be surpised if you get a hard slap but no bite. Keep throwing and change the speed of retrieve faster or slower until you find what they are expecting. A spinner with a paddle trailer could work as mentioned above but my two best lures for BG spawn are a dark-colored bladed jig with a Netbait Paca turned sideways or, if they want something slower, a blk/blu football jig with Rage Craw. This year during bluegill spawn I caught more bass on a blk/blu @Siebert Outdoors Fogy with the stainless bubble blade than anything else. Even when the bites were slow I could start using the bubble blade and catch bass. I love the BG spawn. I'm jealous that it's over where I am at. Happy fishing!

Unfortunately you have accidentally trained her to poop in the house. Now you have to wait her out. You are going to have to stay outside with her until she can't hold it anymore. @roadwarrior has given you excellent advice to walk her legs off. Walk her until she poops and then praise her like she just saved your life. If you "food train" your dogs (I don't and I don't encourage that) then the first couple times she poops outside an immediate treat would be in order. I also suggest that you make a code phrase for going to the bathroom, such as "go potty" or I use "take a break". When you take her out the very second she starts to pee or poop start repeating your code phrase. Pretty soon you can take her outside and get her to go on command. She's a beautiful dog!

An SMS message is just a text message. If you have any money held anywhere other than your mattress (bank accounts, mortgage, credit cards) or if you have a credit history on file, or if you pay taxes to the government, or if you have public utilities at your home and you don't have a cellular phone capable of receiving texts then you are at incredibly high risk of being defrauded. Almost all companies that deal with money and/or credit use SMS messaging to confirm owner identity because SMS messaging is the last form of communication we have that is (nearly) unhackable. People worry about their savings and investments being stolen when, in reality, tax fraud, utility fraud, and identity theft (stealing your credit) are thousands of times more prevalent and profitable than trying to steal your money. You are correct, you will soon be required to provide a means to receive/send SMS messaging to access nearly any of your accounts, taxes, and utilities. Do you own a computer? Perhaps one of the computer geniuses on here can tell you another way to use SMS messaging through a computer? Or you could get a cell phone and a horseless carriage and maybe stop writing in "Eisenhower" on every voting ballot? Just having fun with you, I applaud your self-discipline. Most days I hate my phone.

Great article!

He was asking for hooks cheaper than VMC. I wasn't suggesting that they were Superline hooks. I was suggesting that he not buy no-name Amazon or Walmart hooks.

Cheaper than VMC in the 25 packs? Go cheaper than that and you are asking for problems IMHO.

I'm glad you love your RT. I have a 2016 RT188 with the 115 4-stroke. With upgraded electronics and a 24V Ultrex I just can't imagine ever getting rid of it for a different boat. I suppose if I find myself with piles of extra money I might, but I can't find a single thing to complain about with my boat. It suits me perfectly. Congrats on your solid buy.

The best answer is fishing early or late but sometimes I just can't do that with my schedule and the only chance I have to fish is when the sun is high. This has been my skunk-killer since the water got warm. Some days literally the only thing they will bite. I rig it on a 3/0 worm hook (could go 2/0 easily) with the lightest @Siebert Outdoors tungsten weight that I can use depending upon wind speed. I peg it (manmade lakes with lots of snags) but I'll keep the bobber stop a few inches up when I can. It's Gary Yamamoto's Fat Baby craw. It keeps me catching fish in two different lakes using any green pumpkin or watermelon color. The blacks/blues don't seem to work quite as well, which is surprising for my waters. I find the fish on docks and laydowns in 4 to 8ft of water. Good luck and keep your skin covered!

It's funny, 10 years ago I would have asked the same question. Now that my son is 18 years old I am very pleasantly surprised that not only can he change a tire, his oil, his brakes, and install all sorts of upgrades on his truck but so can most of his friends. We tend to over-generalize when we talk about generations of humans.

Okay, so you've heard the horror stories. We live in Illinois. We are gym rats and do a lot of "cardio". We went to Colorado and did several day-long hikes and some 12 and 14-ers. 7000 isn't that tall but you will certainly notice. You may or may not get altitude sickness. Some do and some don't. I've never heard of a way to predict it. Here are some things to do: You have a couple month so when you are doing your walks here start using a high altitude mask. You are going to hate it but it can help immensely. I have a good friend who does Ironmans in Colorado and his mask is his best friend leading up to the race. When you get there just slow down your pace. My wife and I never get above "mosey" speed even though we are avid trail runners. Carry LOTS of water. Think you have enough? Put more in your pack. We would go through 10 bottles of water on a day hike in cool weather. Take water. Relax and have fun. Take a break if you need to. You aren't going to die (I'm gonna feel bad if you fall off a mountain now.) It's not that bad unless you get altitude sickness and if you do then go see a doc for some drugs. Oh and they guys are NOT kidding about the sunblock. I sat down at 14,000 feet and took my hat off and in the amount of time it took to eat a PB & J I had a burn on my forehead that peeled later.

Hallelujah and Amen! "Why am I always fishing on a slope? Where are the flats?"

There are few things on the water more satisfying that someone cutting in front of me so I can catch fish in their "old" water while they troll along and skunk.

So do I dunk the Ned rig in the wine before every cast? I'm willing to do whatever to catch fish...

And they stop at 9:29pm.

I totally buy into this, Tom. I know I'm missing fish on slow presentations. I have a related question for you. I watch the great jig fishermen "feeling" the fish on the line before they set the hook. Greg Hackney will talk about it as he is gently moving his rod to "feel" the fish. I'm trying to get better at that but presently I'm only feeling for pull-back or weightlessness. Other than the "weightless" feeling, what is a clue that I need to put some pressure on the line? Or should I be doing that randomly/regularly? Am I feeling ONLY for pull-back and/or weightlessness or is there something else? How much pull is too much? I guess I have more than one question but you called for school to be in session so I'm going to take advantage. ?

So they are a completely different color that usual? If that is the case then by all means follow the advice you are getting here. If you are fishing "stained" water that is always stained then throw whatever you feel like throwing. The fish have no idea that the water is "stained". I fish a lake that, on the best day of the year, has 6 inches of visibility. Usually there is less. I can fish a green pumpkin ned rig and catch fish there. The fish are used to the water.

^^^solved^^^

I'm going to have to pass on your Jurassic mosquitoes...