MN Fisher

They stir up the bottom, clouding water and making it tough for other fish to even find food. They also eat many of the plants that form hiding places for fry and baitfish. I remember back in MA growing up...the city put a 'bounty' of $.10/pound on every carp we removed from Indian Lake in Worcester. One summer, a buddy of mine and I made almost $50 each bowhunting the carp...and this was in the late 60s - a fortune back then. Well, Koi are actually a variety of Amur Carp - basically domesticated Carp...ya, they're Carp too. Far as I'm concerned - all carp should be labeled as 'junk' fish and everything possible done to remove them from any body of water they exist without endangering the other fish.

I'll be trying a few new lines this year. A gift of Smackdown Flash-Green for my finesse spinning rod. Another gift of Tatsu for my bottom contact BC. Some Sufix Advance for a couple rigs. And the last gift of AbrazX as leader line.

International shipments are VERY delayed in some cases because of COVID...which is why I'm not ordering anything from overseas. They may be legit...they may not be - hard to check companies like that as they don't have something like our BBB.

As I said earlier - Koi are as bad as Asian Carp in destroying a fishery. If I found/caught any here in MN - into a trash barrel it goes. We also had an infestation here and they passed on a virus that killed quite a large number of Common Carp. "In July of 2017, hundreds of dead common carp started washing up onto the shores of Lake Elysian near Mankato, MN; the ultimate death toll is thought to be in the thousands." "Each group of fish were tested for a number of pathogens. Ultimately, fish associated with several lakes in the region tested positive for Koi Herpes Virus (KHV)." https://www.vdl.umn.edu/news/koi-herpes-virus-minnesota-wild-fish

Ya - the Laguna with my old President BC is shifting to the bank-beater trio. The other bank-beater rigs are Trion-30 on the 6'6 M/F Aird-X Avocet RZT-1000 on the 6'6 ML/F Avocet

I only got the Laguna last year cause I needed another MH/F rod in a hurry and it's all the local shop had that was A: Semi-decent B: Affordable. It did okay - I definitely prefer the Aird over the Laguna.

Happy Yule! Also, there's a Jupiter/Saturn convergence tonight.

Well, I've already got the spinning lineup for 2021 set - from this point on, it'd be upgrades...which with the Pres-XT LE I got, has already started.

I would consider Diawa spinners except for one big thing...they seem to think we need miles of line. Every reel I consider has the 'D' spools which are 30%-50% larger than other reels of the same size. Pflueger - I've been happy with mine, no issues that I've come across though I'll be skipping the Trions from now on since they've removed the AR switch on those. I also added some Mitchells into my arsenal - got three RZTs on closeout and so far they've impressed me.

The the occasional updates from across The Pond - JohnfromLisbon (Portugal) and Tim Kelley (England)

It wasn't my wife's dad I had to worry about...it was her mom. And I was 'only' 29.

2500 reel on a Light rod? I'd go a smaller reel, personally, but that should be just fine for any bass you catch in Erie. Learn how to work your drag as Sphynx said - save you a world of hurt.

2000 size is plenty. I've got 1000 size on my L/F and ML/F rigs, 2000 on my M/F and MH/M rigs. I only go to 3000 on my MH/F jig-skipping rig. Realize that Pfluegers 'size' is misleading Sizes are approximate Pflueger = Others 20 = 500 25 = 1100 30 = 2300 35 = 3000 40 = 4000

Ya - if they don't get shut down...again. Water Gremlin keeps getting dinged for violating pollution standards at it's plant. They're local (same metro area) as me.

$12 for a jar of 3 frogs.

Koi are an invasive species - they're a type of Carp and can cause the same issues in water bodies that Asian Carp do. 'Wild' Koi that you've seen are either released by people tired of keeping them, or the descendants there-of.

I'm coming up on year 3 here and it's SO much better than other fishing forums I've joined...then left. Friendly people, Glenn and the gang keep it clean and safe, almost an overload of information not just from the articles and Glenn's vids but also the numerous people here. As a retired guy who doesn't get on the water near as much as I'd like to, hanging around here is like hanging around an old mom-and-pop tackle shop. Friendly people with buckets full of good tips/tricks/knowledge.

No - I was using 6# Mono - not braid. Going to braid-leader for the strength over the long-course...8'-10' leader.

I used straight 6# last year and had too many breakoffs. This next year I'm going to 10# Sufix 832 Hi-Vis with a Lo-Vis leader.

Ummm - they haven't. Originals in 07, 09, and 11 are the core of my jerkbait collection.

I never had luck with dough baits in MA. when I lived there. You could try it though. Cheap - our trout stamp is $10, and you have to have it if you fish designated trout lakes...even if you're not targeting them. One of the lakes I fish is such, so even if I didn't target trout, I'd still need the stamp. I'd start with light spinning tackle - it'll double for ultra-finesse bass or panfish if you decide trout is not your thing. Fly tackle is like swimbait tackle for bass...it's specialized and gets really expensive very quickly.

Ya, I think the 28th would work.

It's that time of year - maybe something after the 1st would be better for all.

When I regularly fished for trout it was one of two ways Fly rig with 7x or 8x tippet using streamers or nymphs depending on how/where I worked them. ML rig with #0 or #1 Mepps Comet or a VERY light Mojo rig with #18-#14 hook and redworms.