BigAngus752

If I'm in the boat, there is a worm t-rigged on the deck. Size/shape of the worm, the amount of weight, and the hook style will vary by season and weather, but I'm never without one ready to go.

I totally agree with this, or at least can attest that I've caught many, many bass in an area that looks from above like it's between the laydown and the boat. All of our water is so stained that I can't say for sure that there wasn't another little stick-up of something that the bass was on in an area that appeared to me to be "away" from the cover. But my impression is generally that the fish followed the lure out. And of course I've caught fish that picked up my lure and swam it directly toward me...which results in me making funny choking sounds while reeling so hard I break my own wrist... I've thought the same thing when watching the pros. "Seriously?! One pitch to that laydown and he's moving on?!"

I'll be buying one of these this year. I'm 6'4/240. I'm not interested in going fast. I'm interested in outstanding stability. There happens to be a dealer just 20 minutes away and that is a big selling point for me. https://www.nucanoe.com/nucanoe-frontier/

I strongly second the advice that @Way2slow has given you. I started restoring classic cars before I got my driver's license. I am now 50 years old. I have never seen a product in a can that is as effective as the rust encapsulators that are now availbable for sealing up your old metal. You will NOT get all the rust off unless you have the entire frame media blasted. I know they are really expensive, but products like POR-15 or Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator (this is my preferred) will save you a lot of frustration down the road.

As far as the rod specs go you have made good choices with techniques you're using them for. If you stay within the weight ratings of the rods you'll be happy with them. If you find yourself using heavier punching rigs or frogging you might pick up a H/F. If you decide to try some Ned rigs or finesse you might pick up something lighter. But overall these rods will suit you well. As for the brand of the rods, you are going to get a ton of personal opinions that don't mean jack to you until you try out a wide variety of rods and find what you like/trust. You've bought three highly reputable brands and very popular models so that's a great start. Keep trying rods out and you'll eventually settle on what you like best.

I fish a 172 acre lake that about 30 minutes away. This lake has produced several 9lb + bass. If you aren't familiar with Illinois, that is a legendary fish for Illinois. The first year I fished it I started in the spring and as the weather warmed huge areas of lily pads started to grow. I got really excited because I love to frog fish but soon realized the pad fields are just too enormous. They expand a little every year and there is no one that can cast anything far enough to cover even half of the area. I've tried to fish every bit I could reach with frogs and punching. I've tried to chop my way through them (that's a miserable day). Finally I discovered that sometimes bass just aren't in the mood for all the vegetation. I learned to seek out small pieces of submerged structure that are in the uncovered areas and I have identified numerous, very specific spots that are almost guaranteed to hold a bass. I have never been skunked on this small lake because I have taken the time to find these small, unique places and I can go through them one by one and I always catch at least one bass. Usually several. Try looking only at the small portions that aren't completely covered with vegetation and then find the small, little pieces of structure that will draw a fish that just doesn't feel like hanging in the jungle at that particular moment.

MLF sells them on their site: https://shopmlf.com/brecknell-electro-samson-scale

I suggest you get on https://www.ifishillinois.org/index.html and click on the lakes in your area. Scroll to the bottom and you will find a list of every tournament held on that lake throughout the year. You can request info on any tournament. That would be a good way to identify the clubs that are holding tourneys on lakes you want to fish.

Being from Illinois I'm taking this thread (and the new state record) with a grain of salt. It's obvious that's a Michigan fish that got lost...

Oh, I know this feeling. This is one of the worst feelings ever.

For T-rigs I choose weights based on wind speed and time of year. I prefer (have greater success) with worms on T-rigs than any other plastic. Smaller worms are more likely to get a size 2/0 or 3/0 offset worm hook, but I prefer an EWG so if the worm can handle one I'm likely to use an EWG. Spring will be a weightless ribbon tail jiggled and wiggled into the tightest brush I can find. As the water warms the worms get bigger and I start adding weight. Spring = weightless Ultravibe, early summer is a General or Trick Worm with a 1/4 or 3/16 weight. By the time the water is mid-80's I'll be throwing a Berkley MaxScent Kingtail with a 3/8 or 1/2 weight. But as I said earlier, the weight goes up with the wind speed. Also, late summer/warm water gets me throwing my tungsten. The fish are angry in the spring/early summer but the tungsten helps me feel the bites once the water is 80+.

I take an empty water or soda bottle, drive a screw halfway into the lid, secure the screw in the chuck of my Milwaukee, tie the line around the middle of the bottle, and spin until the spool is empty. Then I can just throw the bottle away. Looks like with the Berkley version you can just pop the end off and slide the line into the garbage. That seems smart.

Yes! Exactly right! I can imagine that someday I will be completely retired and I will be able to fish so often I can try following the calendars. Right now it's "free time=go no matter what".

Whatever app you use for your horoscope. It's just as useful. Ohhhhhhh...yes I did!

This ^^^ And this ^^^ I don't consider wacky-rigging to be finesse. For me a wacky is for skipping under something like a dock, tree branches, a picnic table that some drunk idiots threw in the lake (yes I caught a fish under one of those) or following up a miss on a moving bait. And a Ned rig is seasonal for me. It's fantastic when the water is cool to nearly frozen but it's a big zero for me once the water temps are above 80 degrees.

I have a four wheel drive truck because I must have one to use on my job during our winters in Illinois. My truck also has traction control. I've found that even on a steep, slimy, wet ramp I never need 4wd to pull the boat out as my traction control and electronic locking rear axle easily gets me out of the water. An adequately equipped 2wd truck should do you just fine.

Generally, the less expensive "heavy" rods are more of the broomstick that you are describing and the higher quality rods still have the appropriate feel that you want. I'm sure there are exceptions. I don't know anything about the St. Croix, but you said that they run heavy? If you are worried about that you could try a Dobyns as they tend to run softer. I use a 7'6 Powell that's rated to 2oz and I absolutely love it. It's strong as an oak but I can still feel everything on the bottom when I'm dragging something. Plus the length allows me to hurl a light, hollow-body frog a country mile on 65lb braid. Don't be afraid of a "heavy" rod IF you are going to use it appropriately.

Gosh, I caught so many fish on techniques I had never tried before in 2019! I did great with wacky-rigs, Ned rigs, and drop shotting. I had never caught anything on any of those before. I guess this year I should start paying attention to those electronic thingies on the bow and console. I really only use them for water temp and depth. I've heard they are good for a lot more than that...

Are you going to put Power Poles, an Ultrex, and upgrade the electronics on the Triton if you buy it? If so, factor the cost of those in while doing your comparison and then decide what the best value is. It may be the Ranger after you see them side-by-side...or maybe not. If you don't care about any of those things then why not get the newer boat?

I fish when the water isn't hard. I am an expert at getting skunked in any season or weather!

I understand why you are asking all of this, but you are overcomplicating it just a bit. You keep mentioning Illinois so lets talk about an Illinois lake. Newton Lake is a cooling lake for a coal-fired power plant. I went there in October and caught my biggest bass of 2019. I went there in December and got skunked. The water temps were in the low 50's, but it was December and the bass were in "winter mode" just like all the bass everywhere in Illinois. I will go back to Newton in early February because they will be in pre-spawn to spawn mode depending upon where they are in the lake and what the weather has been like. The other lakes I fish won't get to pre-spawn/early spawners until the mid to late March. My point is that the bass are all acting the same. You have to adapt to the water you are fishing. As for you question about how long it takes water temps to change, I have a pond across the road from me that I have permission to fish. I've posted about it several times because most days if I make five casts with a Ned rig I'll catch four bass. I can catch bass on that pond anytime it's not frozen BUT the max depth is about five feet and even when the water is at it's coldest (not frozen) the bass will congregate in the only place where there is rock and cattails. So it's literally fish in a bucket. That pond is usually muddy and it's shallow so a single sunny day will raise the water temps. Conversely, a gin clear strip mind lake that is 40+ feet deep outside of Mahomet, IL will need a couple weeks of sun to see much temp movement.

You are my brother from another mother.

The new place has a 1932sq foot detached garage that has a 93% efficiency furnace, A/C, a bathroom, and 12ft ceilings so I can have an asymmetric car lift. I already have a bay set aside for the boat and all my fishing stuff. But I'm gonna need more fishing stuff!

I was planning on going to a cooling lake on Xmas Eve, which is one of the magazine's top 25 lakes, but it turns out we are closing on our new house on Monday so I'll be starting some remodeling on Xmas Eve instead.

I read the article the day it came out but, since this thread was resurrected, I read it again today. THIS time I noticed that he was fishing a Z-Man Ned rig (presumably a ShroomZ) and was using 14lb mono! I guess I can strip that 6lb off my two Ned rig spinning reels...