JLindsey

The weather is putting a damper on my fishing lately, so I got myself a whole mess of components to make spinners with on the days when it’s too cold to hit the lake. I think my first batch turned out alright! It’ll take me a while to get the hang of making barrel wraps that don’t look like garbage, but other than that I’m fairly satisfied. I’ll most likely 86 the split rings going forward as well — they don’t seem to affect the action at all, but I don’t particularly like the way they elongate the profile. I took them out this morning to goof around and make sure they all spin correctly. They do, and I caught a couple decent chain pickerel on them. One thing I’m going to have to experiment with is weight — more specifically, the balance between castability and sink rate. I was able to cast them all a country mile, but there’s a ton of hydrilla in most of the lakes and ponds I fish, and I had a bit of a hard time keeping these above the grass beds. Now all I need is a wire former for my workbench. And maybe a fly vise and some hackle so I can dress my hooks. Some different body styles and some red tubing wouldn’t hurt, either. And a Lee pot, too, and some molds and some powder paint and a heat gun and...

Spoke too soon. ?

I’m not done fishing, but it looks like I may be done catching. It’s been sloooooow here in northeast PA. I saw a bass today — does that count?

- The plant I’ve been calling “that Christmas tree-lookin’ stuff” is hydrilla. And based on how much time I spend shaking it off of my lures, I’m now qualified to be an aquatic botanist. - Do not tie lures near the end of a dock. Do not put your coffee near the end of a dock. Do not bend over near the end of a dock while wearing sunglasses. - When I’m catching dinks or getting skunked, it’s very clear that I’ll never be KVD. But when I split my pants or get a treble hook stuck in my thumb...I start thinking maybe I’ve got a shot at being Bill Dance.

My dad passed over the summer, which is most of the reason why I took up bass fishing. I’ve got a lot of fond memories of watching TNN with him on the weekends — Bill Dance, Hank Parker, Roland Martin. “Son!”

I’m in the Poconos. No stranger to New Hope though, I lived right across the bridge in Lambertville for a few years. Love the Bucks County area. Thanks for the warm welcome!

Howdy! Relatively new angler here — I just caught my first bass last weekend. I was intimidated at first, but I’m solidly addicted now that I’m catching fish. I’m mostly throwing spoons and inline spinners on small ponds and lakes here in northeast PA. I’ve been catching dinks for the most part, but yesterday I got in a wrestling match with a two-pounder. The pickerel bite is phenomenal here and even a novice like me can catch 24” chainsides without too much effort - so even when the bass aren’t biting I’m still catching something. Come spring I’m deeeefinitely buying a boat. Glad to be here! I’ve got a hell of a lot to learn.