BigAngus752

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...

It's the exact opposite here. We've had over 13 inches of rain in the last 30 days. The water is muddy, full of floating debris, and water temps go up and down 5-8 degrees as it rains, gets sunny, rains, gets sunny, etc. The fish are unhappy.

The only topwaters I ever use (not including a hollow frog) is the Whopper Plopper (or Berkeley equivalent) and a Zara Spook. I have tried the KVD version of the walking bait and found that it doesn't draw near as many fish as a Spook. Unfortunately the summer early morning topwater is not panning out for us here right now. It's just as dead as can be in the mornings. I'm moving to late evenings now to give that a try.

Ammo is slowly catching up also. I order approximately 500,000 rounds of .40S&W, .45ACP, and 9mm every year along with about 100,000 rounds of .223/5.56. We just started a new contract with a vendor on July 1 and that vendor has plenty of .223 and is starting to catch up on .40 and .45. The manufacturers are saying 9mm is still 6-10 months out from recovering but it's all good news.

And did you use one to catch the other?

Textbook:

Maybe we don't clearly understand the question. Are you asking when the fish will be in the same location day after day? Or when you will find numerous fish in the same spot on the same day? Like @Catt said, they are moving in the spring and moving in the fall. Find fish on Tuesday and the next Tuesday they are long gone in spring and fall. But if you are asking about finding a large group of fish in the same spot on a single day then that would be "late" fall. In my area when the water temps get to 50 degrees (air temps around 40 which means a lot of anglers have already put their boats away) I am having my biggest number days by far. Here that is usually three weeks of fantastic fishing just before or right at Thanksgiving. If you are looking to catch the same fish in the same spot week after week that would be during the highest heat of summer or during winter.

1. Learning and diligently practicing fishing a jig. 2. Ultrex. Anyone can say what they want about "technology" and finding fish, but the little-known benefit of the Ultrex is the incredible amount of time it saves, thus allowing me to have my line in the water more. If some smart person did a study of my fishing before and after the Ultrex I would not be the least bit surprised if they told me that I have a line in the water a full 50% more than before the Ultrex. It's not just the spotlock, gentlemen. 3. Bass Resource. I can't quantify this one very easily. It could, in reality, be one or two spots higher on my list.

I will take a lesson from you and do the same.

That's terribly disappointing then. I hope you can get some satisfaction out of the retailer or Heddon.

I have been buying Heddon products for over 40 years. I do not believe that you actually purchased Heddon products.

Can't count the number of times I have said, "There has to be a fish there" and I've persisted by slowing down, using multiple lures, and finally just letting something sit until I'm bored. 85% of the time I am rewarded with a fish. Now, if I'm spending 20 minutes, five lure changes, and 100 casts on that one stump because I have some inside knowledge about it....what about all the other stumps that I DO NOT have inside knowledge about? It's the spot. It's the spot and then the bait, I suppose.

I have a Duckett Terex which is exactly what you described and it is my favorite bladed jig rod. Just 2 weeks ago I contracted Duckett Fishing because I want another and they don’t make them anymore. Their customer service said the Jacob Wheeler series is what I want now. Just waiting for the next sale.

Oh, these days yes you absolutely CAN argue with science. Just go to a school board meeting.

You have multiple senses and you would never rely solely on one sense even if your other senses were diminished for some reason. IMHO the worst thing we can do is get hung up on a single thing. We all want to find “the deal”. There are many days on the water that I have to remind myself that it’s the totality of the circumstances that I have to take into account. “The Deal” today may be a combination of many things. You don’t know until you throw.

This was the "perfect storm" for this to happen. The area has had significant flooding pushing more water than usual over the dam, the boat is all electric, and it's a RENTAL (you should read that as "I've never driven a boat before but I drive a car so how hard can it be?"). If it's predictable, it's preventable.

Salsa, quac, and sour cream.

Yup. I was told to do it as a kid because it would allegedly suffocate the chigger if it was still attached. I learned later in life that this was b.s. but I had already discovered that it helped with the itching so I keep doing it. Can't guarantee it will help you, but it helps me. Good luck

I get chigger bites on my feet and ankles several times a year. As soon as they appear I put one dab/swipe of clear fingernail polish on top of each bite. It dries hard and completely stops the itching. No idea how or why. The nail polish will usually stay on until the bite is better if I don’t scrub hard in the shower or I may reapply once.

I use the K.I.S.S. principle: No stretch = Single hook Stretch = Treble hook (+ "small" hook i.e. wacky rigging and drop shot)

If you want an Ultrex find a Minn Kota factory authorized service center and buy it from them. The Ultrex is the exact same price no matter where you get them (unless they are on sale or not legit). I got mine at a boat repair place that is a Minn Kota service center. They got the Ultrex straight from Minn Kota and installed it for free because they can't offer any discount (Minn Kota sets the price) so they do free installs as an incentive to buy from them. The ebay account you found is just a drop-shipper. I had a buddy that did that for years. He never saw any of the merchandise. He was just the middle man. If there was a problem he would give a refund and then try to get his money back from the distributor he went through. Sometimes he got his money, sometimes he ate it to keep his business reputation good. I hope the one you found is as reputable because they are under no obligation to help you.