MN Fisher

We got a carp-harvest event on Minnetonka coming up sponsored by the Westonka Walleye Program. Gain points (1 point/pound), win prizes. Any legal method may be used to take them, all carp will be destroyed after the weigh-in.

BPS Stick-O and the few Cabelas Action Tails (Replaced by the Stick-Os when BPS bought Cabelas) I have left are my primary wacky worms. Zoom Trick worms are also used here and there.

Fish Grippers - never go fishing without them. Even if it's panfishing from the shore - you never know when a pike is going to sneak up on you.

I like paddletails on my chatters - RI Skinny Dipper or Eco Pro Swing Shad. Tail down if I want them to run deeper, tail up if I want them running shallower.

Dinner is served...some nice ones there.

Looks like a member of the Pondweed family (yes, that's it's name) - there's over 100 species and I can't quite see it clearly enough (even on the larger image) to get more specific.

See that raises the other issue. I'm 'allergic' to the tropics...I'm susceptible to heat-stroke...suffered it before. When it gets 90 and above here in MN - all I can do is sit in the coldest part of my air-conditioned house and wait it out. So 3-5 days a year. How many days would I be 'laid up' in FL? Too many. 6 months of winter - or 6 months of medically imposed isolation....I'll take the cold.

I'll take our 'lesser' fishing over the sauna that is Florida in the summer. Yes, I've been there - in-laws live in Ocala, use to live in Boca.

Well that too - but I was thinking you got between them and a school of something...and your jerks distracted them from real prey.

Maybe they were chasing something....who knows.

That's it exactly...two reasons to use backing. 1: Cheap mono backing saves money in the long run. Since you only need 70yds or so of mainline, why spend all that money on expensive braid where it might even take more than a single 150yd source-spool to fill your reel. Using backing you can get two fills from one source spool. 2: Braid can slip on the spool if tied direct. A backing of mono prevents slippage.

Because bass IS five down from the top...they're not worried about the 20% of game fisher-people...they care more about the walleye/northern/musky chasers and the people who come from all over to hunt down those three species. Plus they're still working off old, outdated data that says 'catching a game fish during their spawn period is bad for the species'. And since they rarely stock bass - a few thousand over the last ten years as opposed to millions of the other three - they keep bass under a tight lid.

If they're standard flooded batteries, take them to the local auto-parts store and have them test the batteries...most do it for free. Could be bad plates. AGM - if you discharged below 10.5v, the charger won't try to charge them. Take them to the shop, they have the knowledge/equipment to regenerate a 'dead' AGM.

Yep - my WPs are tossed on 50# Power Pro currently...just be aware that there is a chance the pike will steal your lure and accept the possible loss. You can always replace the lost WP with a Berkley Choppo - less expensive and seems to work about as good...several of what I call WPs are actually Choppos.

Pray? I've caught pike on WPs, Spinners and lipless crankbaits - been lucky that I've only lost one lure to a pike. Price of fishing in pike/musky waters is sometimes you're going to need to replace a lost lure.

It's a finesse technique that works year-round.

Punch Cards Paper Tape Cassette Recorder All the ways I saved programs before floppies became prevalent. <- Computer literate since 1972

Great until some nit-noy does a 'floor sort'. External drives with sync and 100GB Blu-Rays for permanent stuff. I don't trust the Cloud - as said in the Meme - it's someone else's computer.

Ya - our DNR-EOs have the same rights of arrest as state troopers.

About the only thing that's semi-immune to the teeth of a pike or musky is wire-leaders...and even they have to be replaced regularly if you catch a lot.

Ya - my plans got changed - now it's Wednesday when I 'might' get a chance to go out.

Sounds like you've earned it, sir. Congrats... Now, long as you don't end up like me - my 'retirement' consists mainly of caring for my semi-disabled wife. My chances to go out fishing currently are very limited...we are working to correct that imbalance though.

If it's totally private - like a pond on a farm where the property totally encloses it - and there's no navigable stream running through it...ya. Otherwise no...streams are considered public, and pond with a navigable stream entering, exiting, or both gets included as 'public waters'...and it's navigable if a canoe/kayak can traverse it without needing to be portaged across private property. Ya, the law on 'public' vs 'private' water here is a little convoluted.

Fuji guides are still the upper standard Yes, they're a ceramic. Silicon-carbide or titanium-carbide are the best - if the rod says SIC guide inserts...that's silicon-carbide. Aluminum-oxide or titanium-oxide are the next step down - Alconite is an upgrade of aluminum-oxide - call it halfway from A-O to SIC

Up to you - I cut my own, so I just keep sheets of carbontex material on hand, but some people keep spare washers on hand...just in case. They might just sit in a box forever though.