Russ E

I wish Kansas cared as much about Bass as Texas does. they seem to have the hands off mentality here. If they do well great. if not, oh well

I spend a lot more time maintaining my reels lately. there was a time when all I did was fish with them. they work a lot better if you keep them lubed

like most here have already mentioned children are much more susceptible to lead poisoning than adults. that is usually from ingesting it. I have hunted and fished with lead my whole life and I honestly don't personally know anyone who has had lead poisoning.

I would visit both stores, if that is an option, and check out the sales. Lately at both stores, if things are not on sale they are expensive.

we had a lot of trolling motor only lakes in Iowa. after a few times you learn how to get the boat trailered without the big motor. I am surprised how many small water supply lakes, Like Olathe, allow the gas motors. In Iowa if the lake supplied drinking water, you could not run the gas motor.

Unfortunately for some people it is not how much it cost, but more how much they think they saved. I had a friend that tried to lowball everything he bought. No matter the price. If an item was selling for $1.00 he would try to get it for 50 cents. If that same item was selling for $10.00, he would try to buy it for $5.00. He would be just as happy paying $5.00 for an item as 50 cents. As long as it was less than asking price. I never understood his reasoning, but that is how he was wired.

Can you take a bass boat on that lake? I have only used a kayak there. If a bass can fit the trout in its mouth I am sure it would eat them. stocked trout are not the smartest fish in the lake. Last year at, Wyandotte, they were all 12 to 16 inches long and fat.

Manns Jelly worm was one of the original plastic worms. They looked like a night crawler with a paddle tail. We used them as kids in the 70's fishing farm ponds. they were a big deal back then. They are still in production. On a side note I still see some of those original trackers ,around the smaller KC metro lakes. Some of them look a little rough, but they are still floating.

Went to Olathe Monday. water was 39 degrees. caught a couple small fish on a ned rig. could not get a jerkbait bite. water was stirred up. A lot of trash floating around. Fish were stacked up east of the dam in about 20 ft., but could not get them to bite. Hit Leavenworth Wednesday morning. Water was 40 degrees. it was misting the whole time I was there. caught a couple small fish off of the rocks with a jerkbait. Pretty slow . Went to Smithville today. Did not have the boat. tried Jerkbaits off of bridge rip rap. Did not get any bites. lake looked about a foot low. water felt colder than smaller lakes.

From my own experience Wyandotte County lake has a better population of large bass, but the trout they stock there would be too big for bass to eat. If we had double digit bass like California, that would be a different story. Wyandotte opens tomorrow. Don't get caught there without a permit. the deputies do not give warnings. Last year it was a $50.00 fine.

can't speak for the z18, but my Ranger does not get blown around in the wind near as much as the 2 aluminum mod v boats I previously owned. the constant Kansas wind is why I switched to fiberglass. It also handles rough water much better when running the big motor. I have heard the new Lund bass boat does well in the wind.

I saw this video last year. tried it around shallow weedbeds last summer. it does work and if you rig it like he shows, your baits don't get tangled. I had several violent strikes on this combo

welcome to the forum . from your responses to other threads it seems you like the Ned Rig. It is one of the most popular topics on this forum. hang around here enough and you will see plenty of opinions on the bait.

Open water here in eastern Kansas. Was on a cold water lake Monday for the first time in 2018 (no power plant) surface water temp was 38 degrees. fishing was a little slow, but better than ice.

here is a local thread that keeps growing.

the Local Cabelas and Bass Pro, both have a heritage boat in the entrance. they draw a lot of attention. this boat always attracts a crowd. At the price it does not have any competition. Hopefully for everyone that is purchasing one they are durable and reliable.

the argument for best gun or caliber will go on forever. No gun is best for everyone. Go to a range and shoot a few. You may realize a pocket gun is not the best option. I have seen a lot of shooters at the range using small pocket guns that could not hit a silhouette at 7 yards. They would be just as effective throwing the gun as shooting it. My everyday carry gun is a Springfield compact XDM in 9mm. it is identical to the full size XDM, except it has a shorter barrel and shorter magwell. It is extremely accurate. Even with a double stack 13 round mag it is easily concealed at appendix carry or behind the hip. you just need a good holster. this is my holster:

glad you are ok. I am member of a local indoor range. spend a lot of time there when it is cold out. I have seen a lot of brain farts. worst I have seen is a bullet ricocheting off the wall, because someone did not know how to use their gun. fortunately there is a very good range officer on staff. any careless activity gets you banned. one other thing this range has implemented is all guns have to be in your booth. No messing with the guns while behind anyone.

as stated above it is a personal decision. they both will work. I had 2 aluminum mod v boats, before buying my current ranger glass boat. I will never go back. My fiberglass boat is much easier to control in the wind and is like walking around on an aircraft carrier. It has a much drier ride. there is no wood in my boat. it is all glass. an aluminum boat may be more durable if you are fishing around rocks all day, but I have hit a couple stumps and got hung up on a tree, without even a scratch. Modern fiberglass boats are a lot more durable than people think. If you go fiberglass I strongly recommend a Keel guard, because often times you have to beach the boat at weigh in.

Berkley Vanish is, in my opinion, the worst fluorocarbon on the market. as mentioned above it frays and breaks easily. spiderwire fluorocarbon is a close second. berkley 100% professional grade fluorocarbon isn't bad. I use sunline sniper most of the time. it is more expensive, but I have not experienced any problems with it. just noticed this also a 12 year old thread brought back to life

welcome from another KC area angler

just bought 2 spools of the high seas grand slam at Walmart for $7.80 a spool. hope it works. that is a lot cheaper than the $23.00 I spent on a spool of sunline sniper

when I lived in Iowa, Diamond was a sleeper. not many new about it, but it produced a lot of 15 to 18 inch bass with an occasional pig. It was Montezuma's water supply, so they did not allow you to run a gas motor. Hawthorne produced my personal best at 7.5 lbs. Plus quite a few over 5. it used to be one of the few lakes in Iowa that had a real chance of pushing the double digit weight. I know of one that was 9.5 lbs. they may not be that big after the renovation,but I would not count it out. Lake Keomah, east of Oskaloosa, is another sleeper that has produced decent fish.

When I lived in Iowa, catfish would occasionally bite lures. drum were rare. Here in Kansas things are a lot different. Catfish and drum are everywhere and will hit nearly anything you throw at them. a bass fishing trip without a couple drum and catfish is rare. while most of the time they can get annoying, they are sometimes welcome on slow days.

besides sexy shad, I use one of the crawdad colors, bluegill, or chart/perch