papajoe222

I fish Castle Rock in Wisconsin as soon as the ice pulls back from shore. That lake is considered part of the river system, so there isn't a closed season. The bass aren't very cooperative, but the walleye and occasional Muskie keep my interest until they get active.

They also can be found in good numbers in a healthy lake as the one I refer to is. Good populations of bluegill, crappie, bass and minnows are proof to me that they are not a threat to other species. The only fish lacking in this lake are catfish

I'm sure there are a lot of variables the manuf. use when determining running depth, but I would venture somewhere in the 10lb. range. Remember that a slight increase or decrease in line diameter results in a difference in inches on an average cast, not two or three feet. Some guys may say the only way to determine the running depth of a crank is to tie it on, cast it to the shallow end of a swilling pool and see where it stops making bottom contact. I don't have a pool and my average cast is a lot longer than any swimming pool I've ever seen and that's important because those that dive more than six feet or so take a while to get down to running depth. I prefer to cast them to an area that I know the depth of and try to determine how quickly the bait makes bottom contact. If it makes contact sooner than I expect, it likely runs deeper that the known depth and if it only ticks the bottom occasionally, it's right on and I'll mark the lip accordingly. I was surprised to discover that identical baits from the same company can run at foot or two different.

A mistake I made when I first started using them was retrieving them like a crankbait. Actually, I was fishing an original floating Rapala long before crankbaits, but I'd always used the reel to move the bait. When I read my first article on them and tried the retrireve, I was sure they'd never catch anything worked that way. Needless to say, I was wrong. Give them a try and not just during the prespawn. The have their place all season long.

It's made by Booyah and is similar to an umbrella rig. the difference being the only bait with a hook or hooks is attached to the long arm. the others have spinner blades. You can add any bait you like to it and fish it deep, shallow, or in-between. About the only baits I wouldn't use with them are topwaters and deep diving cranks.It affords you a lot of options and gives the look of bigger forage following a small school. I really like them for presenting small, shallow running cranks deeper in the water column. My favorite the 1/4oz. head, but I believe they come in a number of sizes. If you attach a short leader to the bait you're using I think you'll get more takers on it.

In a word, jigs. I like topwater and stick worms, even tubes which I fish a lot. Bottom line is I catch more fish on a jig/trailer and it only gets 1/3 of the action of the others.

Before your go out and spend good money on deep diving cranks like my personal favorite DD-22, be sure you and your equipment are up to the task. Not all rods, reels, or anglers are up to chucking these things. If not, I recommend using your favorite cranks on a BooRig. It will get smaller lipped baits down deep and is a lot easier on you and your tackle. Just a thought for you and anyone that's budget minded but knows the benefits of deep cranking.

Good question. I keep them separated from everything in their original package, but then again, I don't have to worry about storage limitations. I can always buy a bigger boat.

That's the way I've been fishing drop shots with a leader since I saw Bill Dance demonstrate the technique. No worries about line twist and I trust the two Palomars I use on the swivel more than I do an Albright or Alberto knot as I'm terrible at tying them.

Look at the Albright knot. It's easy to tie and comes through your rod tip easy enough if you reel in the leader. Also as a side note. There is a forum (rods reels line & knots) where you're likely to get more responses.

Just watched a video on how to tie a smell knot for your punch rig. Awesome hooking percentage compared to using a palomar or uni. How many of you have tried this and how confident are you using it.?

I go short for the rare occasion when I use a leader with braid as I don't see any advantage to one over 18-24in. I don't see the benefit of a leader except in super clear water and then only during mid-day when there is little shade.

I've used them for years (5&6in.) on stand up style jig heads. Started using them on the Madison Chain back in the early 80's. Picked up a 22in. largemouth on the 4th of July on that same jig and reaper. I only use two colors, black and bone (off white) the latter is a killer in the fall.

Yea. I wonder why I even bother painting them. If you think it matters, it does. I don't, so it doesn't

You could also try using a straight shank hook with your bullet weight pegged. Just remember to hook the worm straight by entering the nose on a downward angle. Peg the sinker and add an oil based attractant. That should help. The other thing you may want to do is try braid. 20 or 30lb. will cut through the pad fairly easily with a steady downward pull on a MH rod. The downside is if you hook the stem, then I'd wrap the line around a stick and pull it put stem and all.

You may be planning your trip for April, but unless it's toward the end of that month don't expect water temps to be much above 55. Also keep in mind that stocked trout, especially immediately after stocking, tend to follow the break lines closest to the stocking site. Notice I said the break lines. Find the stocking site on a topo map, look for the nearest depth change line and follow it. The bass will be more active and willing to move shallow the warmer the water temp. I'm not familiar with bass activity levels on lakes that trout are stocked in, so I can't say if a stocking will draw the bass shallow or not. The only reason I mention this is because the stocking of minnows that we do up north is done from shore in very shallow 40-45 degree water so as to give them a chance to disperse as the bass don't move up that shallow until the water temps. are in the 60's

Welcome to the board. As a newbie, you have no Idea the can of worms you just opened. So sit back and enjoy. BTW, for me it's Culprit for worms, Rage Tail for craws, and BPS for their Tender Tubes.

Check your personal messages

And here I thought you were going to ask why there isn't a Lunker Club on this site. Silly me.

The only time I use a stinger hook on a hair jig is if I'm tipping it with a minnow and then only if there'sa light bite going on. Otherwise I make sure the hair of the jig doesn't extend much past the bend of the hook. You can make your own stingers with heavy mono and your hook of choice. Just snell tie the hook and add a loop on the other end to pass over the hook point, or if you make your own leaders, you could crimp a few x-tra short leader/hook snells. A little side note; White hair jigs with a pink, red, or orange head work great on the big lakes of central Wisconsin. Just sayin'

I have yet to make a claim, but every few years, I do a photo inventory of my gear. What I keep in the boat is videoed as I do a 360 so I can include all the equipment in the compartments, electronics, etc. I don't need to empty the compartments as the audio records what I say, so I just vocalize what's there. I'll likely do the same for my rods, reels, and tackle I keep in the house as it's actually easier for both me and my agent to go over. You don't realize how much you have invested in tackle alone because it's purchased over years, eg. I have eight crankbait boxes with at least 125 cranks. That's almost $1K just in cranks. Without some inventory or visual proof, it would be difficult to file an accurate claim.

White or pearl colored baits work all year around here and I often wondered why no one ever uses a whie jig. I can't even find them at my local shops most of the time. They're a killer alternative to spinnerbaits in the spring and more so in the fall.

That's because you didn't stick around last year's road trip. I use them in the spring for extra lift and action, plus they hold scent which I normally don't use on a spinnerbat as it ruins their skirts. I rely strictly on Kalin's Lunker Grubs. Once the bass are into the nest building stage of prespawn, the trailer gets tossed and the spinnerbait goes into storage for a while.

For hard baits, I would get at least one of the following in a natural color (shad, silver, gold, etc) spinnerbait, crankbait, topwater popper/chugger, and an assortment of worms and craws for soft baits. Once you become confident in your ability to catch fish with those, you can experiment with different sizes and colors as you budget allows.

Last week, while still on heavy medication, I casually mentioned to the wife that tackle wise I was ready for the fishing season to begin. Rods,reels, boat and tackle, with the exception of needing some purple worms were all set to go On Sunday my kid shows up and I tell my lovely wife that we're heading to Bass Pro with my grandson to do a little shopping. She picks up her néw iphone6 and I hear myself making the above statement. She follows up with "You got 100 purple worms in the mail on Friday, you'd better not come home with anymore fishing gear." She knows I can never come out of that store without dropping at least$100. SPOILED BY THAT STUPID PHONE, I left with my tail between my legs. When I returned home with a new tent, I got the : What did I tell you when you left? To which I whipped out my iPhone and let her hear her own words! I may be old, but I've been playing this game a LONG time.