MN Fisher

Sometimes, despite the best you can do even with specialized tools - the fish isn't going to make it. You just have to do the best you can and carry on.

Na - just something I found when cruising the inter-webs.

I thought it was the other way around - snakes catch fish?

At my age, I'm done with showpiece projects. The walnut was left-over from a commission job - custom fit DVD-bookcases.

I should really put together a rod-rack for myself. I got plenty of sandalwood and walnut sitting around down in the shop. I think some white oak too.

In order of preference? Hydrilla Lily Pads Docks Rocks Most of the shoreline is developed so deadfalls are few and far between - those million-dollar home-owners want their lake front to look 'pretty'.

Another vote for the President-XT - though if they have a Supreme...I'd go with that instead for the $20 difference. Two Presidents (6920 & 6925) and two Trions (Tri30 & Tri35) in my arsenal...and I'm pretty happy with them.

Ya, well, you got just a wee bit more room in the Pro-V than I have in the canoe. :P

Minnesota - same thing. I do have the occasional Shad and one Firetiger in my crankbait-box...the rest are the colors of the main forage up here. Baby Bass, Perch, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Crawfish, etc.

Any fish that will feed on other fish as its food source WILL eat smaller members of its own species. This works for everything from 1000lb swordfish to 6oz bluegill.

Unfortunately, in my situation 'Tonka is pretty much my only option. I only get 4 hours once a week to fish and getting someplace else would take too much of that time. My two launch points are 5 minutes and 10 minutes from my house. I could do Dutch if I really wanted to...but the couple times I've tried it I was completely skunked...at least on Tonka I can catch something.

Don't forget the KVD - trust me, you'll want it. Without it, YZH is as bad as FC (IMO), with it, it's much better - even KVD couldn't get me to keep with FC.

Minnetonka is 'my' lake - I live within 2 blocks of water and a launch point for my canoe is just down the road. Bass are plentiful if not as large as other lakes. One in my profile pic was caught last year on 'Tonka...3.94#. Not far SW of Tonka in the Carver Park Reserve is Lake Auburn where the current state record was caught.

When I was a teen in northern MN, mom would always ask me to bring some Rock Bass home...she loved them.

Them's good eatin' there...

I don't wear shorts - I burn too easily...but I do wear cargo pants. Until I got the camera mount in the canoe, I just used my tablet that normally runs my contour map app. Timer set for 5 seconds - and this pic was taken that way. Now I just take screen-shots from one of the cameras...either the deck-mount or the shoulder-mount - like this one.

Spinner is always my starter - if it's not producing, then I'll change to a chatter. Both have their place, one isn't going to replace the other in my box.

Uncle Josh is NOT gone - just the pork rinds are...they couldn't get 'quality' pork skins with enough fat on them to make the classic rind. "The issue, explained a company representative, is that Uncle Josh has been unable to get the quality fatback they need to produce durable pork baits." https://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/the-lateral-line/end-of-an-era-say-goodbye-to-uncle-josh-pork-products/ True, they're not producing as many 'Uncle Josh' branded products anymore - but they are still producing them. https://www.acmetackle.com/collections/uncle-josh

Dinner is at Paul's place tonight!

A fantastic bass would be something over my current PB. A very good bass would be high 3's to mid 4s. A good bass would be between 2# and 3# - half those go home with me.

Five BC rigs here and three are 7-speed as that is the most versatile IMO. My 8-speed is strictly for tossing things into heavy weeds - frogs across the top, flipping and pitching into the mess, etc. My 6-speed is primarily my cranking reel with jigs as a secondary option though I rarely use it for those. Jigs, T-Rigs, soft swimbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, buzzbaits - and more - go on the 7-speed rigs.

Nope - until Abu bought out their distributor, Garcia, in 1980, they were separate companies. Garcia had the contract with Mitchell for spinning reels - which is why Abu went to Zebco for the Cardinal. My old 320 was a "Garcia-Mitchell". Garcia had the Abu baitcaster distribution rights - but the contract with Mitchell kept them from distributing Abu spinners until the merger.

Actually, because of a contract between Garcia and Mitchell, Abu had Zebco distributing the Cardinal reels until Abu bought Garcia and could release the Cardinals under the new name Abu-Garcia. "In 1966 Lennart Borgstrom visited Zebco with two new reels, the Cardinals 66 and 77. Garcia was unable to distribute the reels because of contractual obligations with Mitchell. Mr. Borgstrom had obtained permission from Tom Lenk, president of Garcia, to find another distributor." "The relationship between Zebco and ABU marked the first time that Zebco had ever sold a reel which they had not themselves made and for the company it was clearly a turning point. While quality had always been paramount it could be found in Sweden as well."

Originally, the Abu reels were sold under the Zebco name - Garcia was just the US distributor for Abu at that time. Later, Abu bought Garcia and changed their name to Abu-Garcia and started selling the Cardinals under the combined name. So you're both right.

If the hook is deep - just need the right tool. This is what I use for deep hooks.