MN Fisher

Great starter reels - I have the previous gen President XT (still has the AR switch)....none that I'd purchase now. My current line-up of spinners for bass is a Supreme and 4 Miravels.

Almost had this pike in the canoe - bit through the line as I was reaching for the net.

I'll let you and Sean have the eats - I tried pike one time....never again.

Better eat quick - cause that's also the possession limit...between livewell and freezer, can't have more than 10 total in your possession.

For finned bait - all we can use in MN is minnows - no panfish, no cut-up bullheads, no cut-up carp....just minnows.

BP up the street from me does refills as well as Blue Rhino exchange, and they adhere to the 80% rule...like A-Jay stated, it's to allow expansion if the temp increases...don't want to blow the tank.

Yesterday at Coffee Cove between myself and several others - the catch was Dozens of sunnies - about split between Pumpkinseed and Bluegill with a lone Green tossed in. Ranged from yearlings (3"-4") to one 10" 'Monster' bluegill 20 or so Crappie - 5"-11" 6 Largemouth - Largest was 1#13oz, smallest was a 8" yearling 1 Perch - @6" Ya, the perch are rare even where other panfish are congregating.

Sunnies, perch and bass I just broil with butter, salt, pepper and maybe a dash of garlic Walleye I need to do more with - usually blackened Cajun style - to give it some taste.

^ Which explains why @Catt is such an ornery cuss. 🙃 I swap off between finesse (Ned, Neko, DropShot, Shakey) and power (spinners, chatters, jigs, pitching). Mainly depends on what mood I'm in that day. Course being shore-bound until this bloody ankle heals up, it's mainly finesse - got a couple low scorers (12"-14") today with a Ned when I got bored of catching sunnies and crappies with minnows.

Punching, Frogs and Buzzbaits are the main ones.

Spinning rigs - even my panfish rigs - are all braid to leader. Three of my casting rigs have braid on them - and using a leader is technique dependent...most times it's just straight braid.

SO this arrived today - took advantage of ALF's 40% off all (in stock) St Croix. And it's not going into my panfish arsenal - it's gonna be my hair-jig rod with a Miravel 1000 on it...Backup/Secondary Ned/Neko rod as well.

If I had the money, it'd be Smackdown - but it's either Sufix 832 or Yo-Zuri Superbraid...both in Hi-Vis Yellow.

I hate pike - they'd end up in the compost heap, not my freezer.

I do selective harvest of all species that I target - sunnies, crappie, walleye, bass - all (1/2 of the bass) in a certain range go into my freezer. I grew up in 'Al & Ron' country - and they've preached selective harvest since before I first met Al back in the late 70s (he, Gary Roach and Babe Winkleman put on a 1 day seminar, then a one day all species mini-tourney followed by a fish-fry back in....gods was that '77 or '78?...on the lake I lived across the street from)

The 'Gold Key' comics...ya, I had those too.

My spots are probably way out of date - left Bemidji in 1980 when I entered the Air Force....but Lake Bemidji itself - see circled areas on maps below Beltrami Lake, Little Bass Lake and Big Bass Lake...pretty much anywhere on the lakes Those were pretty much my haunts besides panfishing Irving or Grant (in Wilton) and trout fishing the Straight River in Park Rapids....strangely I rarely fished Leech and then only the NE section of Walker Bay.

Ya - punch rig here too.

Swim jigs through the pads and cattails, pitching into the pads, frogs across the top...those are all techniques I'd use if I was still 'Up Nord'. (I lived in Bemidji for 6 years).

There are days I really miss trout fishing - so I have to live vicariously through those that do chase the Salmonids.

42" beam should be plenty stable for a deck on it...I'd worry if it was a 36".

Hostas are almost impossible to kill....kinda like Creeping Charlie...

Powerbait Crappie Nibbles from Berkley? Those things fall apart in the water, and are also easily nibbled off the hook. Try some of the 1" and 2" plastics from Mr Twister, Mr Crappie or Big Bites. Powerbait Ripple Shads and Gulp Alive Minnows in 1" and 2" are also good to try.

I'm thinking Gimruis and Jar have the right of it....I'd go with a smaller hook - #8 or even #10 if you're using one larger than those....then 1" baits if you're using 2"....maybe even try a Trout Magnet set that has even smaller baits and hooks.