billmac

That makes sense. It is interesting that these fast / clean water loving fish are considered trash fish while at this time of year (minus the pandemic) the legions and firehouses are preparing feasts of bullhead that people have dragged out of the mud.

I'm pretty well convinced now that I've been catching fallfish. I have seen online that Fallfish can have the bumps, but not necessarily. I have caught very few that did.

It's hard to avoid this, but if you think the fish is sure to die, clean and eat it.

Once nice thing is that I don't hear the term "walleyed pike" much anymore.

I wonder what they call actual brook trout? Do crappie even live in brooks?

Spinnerbaits are clearly more versatile in terms of number and types of blades. I think the meeney spin is better for stop and go retrieves. Most beetle/meeney spin combos come with ball head jigs and a single soft plastic. I think it would be interesting to try skirted jigs and and different jig head styles. An arkie style jig might be more weedless or snagless than the ball jig.

True! That's the Johnson brand name for it. I always called it the Meeny Spin (the Mister Twister brand). (I was always convinced that the twister tail made all the difference).

I agree. But I always reach for the jig and spinner. When should I reach for the spinnerbait instead?

Although I have spinnerbaits, I typically fish a jig and spinner instead. Am I missing something? They are pretty similar and since the two components are not welded together, I don't have to deal with the setup not running true.

This is a spinoff of another thread I started. Did you ever figure out the fish you were catching (or have caught) weren't actually what you thought they were? The first fish I caught as a boy, after ice-out, was redfin mullet. I only found out a few years ago that redfin mullet don't look anything like what I was catching. Turns out I was catching silver redhorse. No one ever fishes for them, but our rivers in northern NY are loaded with shiners and they inhabit the same areas and hit the same baits as smallmouth, so I've caught thousands of them. Turns out that the "shiners" I was catching are most likely fallfish. Although I can tell the difference if I'm paying attention, I have no doubt I've caught plenty of pickerel that I assumed were just small pike. I imagine I've misidentified various sunfish over the years as bluegill. Anyone else?

Unfortunately no. They're considered trash fish. I was just curious. Wikipedia says shiners have bumps on their head and that's not the case with the fish I normally catch, which makes me think they are really fallfish. It's a bit like the fact that I grew up fishing for redfin mullet only to find out a few years ago (40 years later) that they are actually silver redhorse.

I've caught probably thousands of what I've called shiners over the course of my life, but now I'm thinking that they might possibly be fallfish? These are often 8-12 inches long, although smaller is more common. Any surefire way to tell?

Honestly, I'm not convinced that color matters much except perhaps at the extremes (extremely bright or extremely dark). I think colors like green pumpkin are popular and effective because they are kind of middle ground in color. They work in clear water or dark water. I think the angler with 2 colors who fishes the bait well will outfish the lesser angler with 87 different colors. I wouldn't say color never matters, but I think it matters far less than bait companies would like you to believe.

I have a tremendous collection of Rapala stick baits that I've never used. I just like the look of them and they were a big thing when I was a kid.

Well, about 47 people beat me to it, but: tubes. Also curly tail grubs.

We've all talked about our favorite bass fishing videos, but what about those quirky channels for other species? I mentioned this in another thread, but I'm kind of fascinated by the Fighting Fisherman channel. The guy fishes mainly for rough fish in the U.K. He's got a thick working class accent that's sometimes hard to parse through, but his enthusiasm for catching fish like carp, roach (a kind of shiner I think) and tench makes it fun to watch.

I take student groups to Southeast Asia every year (when there's not a pandemic), and it's constantly a 3 location pat down: back pocket, wallet, front pocket, phone, shirt pocket, passport.

I don't carry anything every day, not even my wallet. But my preferred knife is a folding Buck in a sheath.

I have been wanting a craft for smaller waters that I can't take the bass boat on. I have a couple canoes, but I have grandchildren now and I'm not quite ready to try to bait hooks and land fish for the kids while in a canoe. I picked up a used Pelican Bass Raider 10E for a good price, and the guy threw in an old trolling motor also. My only issue is going to be registering it. The guy I bought it from bought it years ago at a garage sale, never got any paperwork, and never registered it. But hey, it's not all gravy.

When it comes to fishing, it's the only way I wade. I don't even own a pair of waders anymore. The only time I've used waders was when trapping in Fall and Winter. In fact, I had to catch enough muskrats to buy my first pair of waders, so I wet-waded in ice cold water for quite awhile before I got my first pair. For wading in rapids, you need good tight fitting shoes and the times I've waded in shorts, I usually ended up shredding my legs with razor grass when walking to and from the river. Most of my wading was done at a time before Lyme disease was a thing.

I watched a video of the first Classic, and it seemed all those guys were sitting most of the time. Maybe standing in the boat hadn't caught on yet.

I waited 40 years for a bass boat. I'm standing. However I haven't mastered trolling motor control while standing, so I usually lean slightly on the mini-pedestal seat.

They aren't free, but many of the Walmart $1 baits are decent.

I hope to pick up a Pelican Bass Raider 10 on Saturday. It comes with a trolling motor, but I've been thinking about maybe getting a small gas outboard. But, I don't want to spend $1K / HP. I see them on Amazon for 200-300 bucks sometimes. They get moderately decent reviews. Anyone with any experience?