MN Fisher

Only if you give the hull a good kick.

Yes, against gravity on the upswing, with gravity on the downswing - however with friction added in...and no matter your oil on the bearings there's going to be friction...not having to 'fight' gravity at all is easier. Yes, I took college physics...yes I passed.

It does, but again gravity comes into play. With the centrifugal brakes vertical, the brakes are working against gravity when they're moving 'up'. With the brakes parallel to the ground, they don't have to work against gravity pulling them 'back' on the 'upswing'. Back to the bucket experiment - it's easier to swing the bucket around your head than up-and-down like a Ferris Wheel.

Most of my arsenal is inexpensive. It would help to know what type of fishing you're planning on doing. Between my 5 rigs I can handle anything except heavy punching/swimbaits/topwaters...though I can do the lighter ones.

The finesse rig I have, I load with 8# test. It'll handle those 5 lbrs, though you'll have to work them in rather than horse them in. Lots of larger fish have been caught on the smaller lures you use on a finesse rig. Added benefit - makes a pretty good panfish rig if you want something different.

Doesn't matter if it's a large lake or a farm pond on your private property...the season is the season.

I would go with a finesse rig before a swimbait one. More techniques available with a ML finesse rig.

I am weak - wife gave me a 'budget' for the BR-MN get together that was held earlier this eve. Since I only spent a little over half of it at The Local, I stopped by my local baitshop and spent the rest 3 Strike King Swim Jigs in 1/4 oz 2 Strike King Slither Rig weights in 1/2 oz Pack of size 1 Finesse hooks Senko ring tool "Somebody Stop Me!"

I'm with Scott - being in a canoe means I don't have much rod-room. So my five rods all multi-task.

Depends on the tactic your using. Light Ned Rigs use 1/20 oz to 1/5 oz mushroom-head jigs in front of the worm. You could also rig short worms Neko style - Wacky but with a light 'nail' weight in one end (not both ends) That's just a couple examples.

Seeing progress on Minnetonka - 10'-15' of clear water followed by about 10' of dark ice. It is happening.

They're just worried you haven't had your rabies shots...

Either that or out behind the wood shed.

All depends on where in the water column I want to target. Given that I'm a Rapala fan, my go-to cranks are Jointed Shallow Shad-Rap DT-4 DT-6 Original Shad-Rap Lipless Rattlin' Rap Colors: Mostly natural - baby bass, bluegill, crawdad, pumpkinseed, perch. Though I do have a couple others - firetiger and bleeding olive shiner.

I don't know about other states, but here (at least on Minnetonka), there's DNR Officers at all the major launch points, checking the boats, trailers, live-wells, etc for compliance with the regs. Sunrise to sunset, there's someone there making sure people follow the law.

We can't even do that in MN - all unused live bait MUST be put in the trash unless you're taking it home. Then Minnows must have the water in the bucket replaced by bottled water.

I always try to get within 25 yds of where I'm casting to...so 25 yds max.

Here you go - image from Feb 8, 1998 (I have G-Earth Pro on my desktop)

Wow - I even put the Lat/Long into I-Boating and it showed a blank space. Guess they're still 'surveying'.

My Medium-Light rig is my Finesse rig - Ned, Drop-Shot, Split-shot, etc. Anything that's within the rod's specs can be tossed. Since my rod is rated to 5/8 oz lures, I could even toss 3/8 spinnerbaits with a trailer if I wanted to...though that's usually on my Medium rig.

Check I-Boating's maps - I've yet to find one that isn't in there...even one's that Navonics ignores I-Boating has. http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html#3.82/39.82/-95.96

Glenn, it's nice that you supply these maps for free. I only have one exception to them - no launch point locations. Great that the topo is there - but having to go to a different app to find where to launch makes it a bit of a pain. I-Boating's app shows launch points within...no need to look someplace else for them.

I-Boating's web app has topo maps of just about every body of water in the country. Zoom in to your area and find your lake. http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html#3.82/39.82/-95.96

And now watch the ice disappear Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night A 40 percent chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Saturday A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Partly sunny, with a high near 64. South wind around 10 mph. Saturday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. South southeast wind around 10 mph. Sunday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. South southeast wind around 10 mph. Sunday Night A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. West northwest wind around 10 mph. Monday A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. West northwest wind around 10 mph.

This has always been my best producer Original Rapala Floater - size 11 in Silver