MN Fisher

Yep - bass season opens middle of May - and here's a map showing average spawn times. So we're out of luck if pre-spawn is the ideal time to fish for large bass.

Minnetonka is another. It produces muskies of decent size - including a 54" monster just a couple years ago...and B.A.S.S. ranks it as one of the best bass lakes of the decade for the Central Region... If you're having bass issues - look to something other than muskies causing it, cause time and time again it's been proven that muskies do NOT adversely affect a bass fishery.

Add to that, one lake here in MN not only produces trophy size muskies - including two near-record muskies this past year alone - , it's also considered a top-class smallie lake. Mille Lacs.

That's a heck of a road trip...

I'll take the precipitation as long as you take this.

I know - it's like "Wait...What? Clunn skunked? Who'd have thunk it" Only two of mine even made top 50 today...come on guys, work harder.

Well, besides my Leatherman I've got a Buck 55 in the opposite pocket.

Oh come on now - I KNOW you're mulling over the possibility of making that beast work on the Pro-V. If nothing else, to scare Lynn with the hole-shot.

I'm putting 70yds of whatever I'm using for mainline on my reels. 6# for my light spinning rigs, 10# on the heavier one, 12# or 15# on my casting rigs.

You wanna give me the money to afford an NRX - sure. Or maybe I'd just get 3 Sierras instead...

For the casting rods ya - though even that's not consistant. Spinning rods are more in line. Sure - you're not going to have quite the power to pull them out of the weeds as you would with a 5-power, but you can do frogs with that rod.

Minnetonka produces 6+ LMBs every year during tournaments. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/westmetro/mtka_bass_tourney_summary.html Lake Auburn, which is just a little SW of Minnetonka currently holds the state record, with one close to that being caught just a few years ago. So the Metro area has them...it's just tracking them down in the lakes.

MH/F is the 'Swiss Army Knife' of rods...it can't do everything, but it can do a lot of things. Probably the best rod as a starter. I just upgraded to a Fury 704C this year, but if it's like my Fury 705CB it'll be a good one. That's the thing. Don't go by words - the Fury 704 is the 'true' MH rod, the 703, which is labeled 'Medium-Heavy' is more like most other brands Medium. Tatula CT is a good reel - I have a couple Fuego CTs and they've been rock solid. Only real difference between the Tatula and Fuego is that the Tat has the T-Wing...otherwise they're basically the same reel.

I'll be ecstatic if I can just top my current PB.

I went the 'cheap' route. A pair of Dragon Touch Vision 3s. Deck cam is plugged into a USB port I wired in, shoulder/head cam is plugged into a 10,000mAh battery pack in a pocket of my PFD. Standard memory card is 32gb, which would cover maybe 3hrs of fishing...but a little testing, and now both have 128gb cards in them, which will more than cover a trip. They're not waterproof, but at the price ($50 each) it's not much of a loss if they get dunked. Audio is a little low, but my conversion software (Handbrake - which is free) allows me to increase the gain when I shrink the files from 3gb/18 minutes to 1gb/18 minutes. Then it's into NCH Videopad for merging/trimming/etc.

I use the same one myself...so far it's been pretty accurate when using a line-counter filling my spools.

x2 this - backing of choice for me is Berkley Big Game in 10# - I've got a couple 1500yd spools of it...just in case.

I'm still trying to find a decent and affordable pair of over-the-glasses sunglasses. The flip-ups I'm using currently are alright, but don't cover the periphery. I'm not worried about shatter-resistance as my tri-focal prescriptions are polycarbonate.

I've looked - unless I want to pay, I'm SOL...and being on a tight budget, I ain't got the spare funds to pay extra.

I'll take your temps over mine.

"Though free to download, the app does require a subscription with one of the pay TV providers listed above to stream live games, shows, and other sports content." I don't subscribe to any of those pay-to-watch providers...so still SOL.

I notice on the schedule that those of us who 'cut the cable' can watch everything except Sat and Sun morning...have to have FS1 to see those two periods.

Glenfiddich liker, eh 14yr Bourbon Barrel Reserve - hint of bourbon flavor from being aged in casks that had held bourbon. Right at that $50 mark from Total Wine. Or - IPA Cask - aged in former IPA casks again - right at that $50 mark.

I haven't upgraded any to EWG trebles, and the VMCs have come to me very sticky, so I'm happy. Plus Normark is based here in MN, so buying VMC, I'm supporting a 'local business'.

I'm kind of in the same boat. Most of my round-bend and EWG hooks are EC, and my flipping hooks are Trokar. I do go to Owner or Gammy for specialty hooks, and the majority of my treble replacements were with VMC, but I agree that EC makes good hooks - for the most part. Until their trebles come up to par, it'll be VMC for the most part for me.