billmac

So now we have Livescope, Down Imaging and Side Imaging. What do you think is next? Now that you can literally see the fish and your bait as it moves through the water, what is the next big thing, besides just incremental improvements to these technologies? The only thing I can think of an infallible way of distinguishing species. What do you think?

I don't have anything particularly against treble hooks, but I swear every fish I caught on a Flicker Shad last year managed to embed all 6 hook points in it.

Don't be hard on yourself. While I have caught bass on jigs, no one could accuse me of being a jig fisherman. I know they work, but it's just not a confidence lure for me. I'm going to try to give them more of a fair try this year, but I'm hoping to spend more time on the St. Lawrence and that means drop shotting.

I must watch the wrong youtube channels, I can't say I've ever seen what you describe, but I agree with you that I wouldn't like it.

Having to go home.

I watched a documentary that showed that this kind of thing is pretty common. From a distance, a cat silhouette looks like any big cat you care to imagine. Not so much anymore, but I used to hear about "mountain lion" sightings quite frequently. And believe me, no one wants to be told they probably "didn't" see a mountain lion (or a wolf for that matter). And don't get me started on "coydogs".

For some reason I had a vision of Dwight Schrute.

Many times when I was younger. In fact I added significantly to my existing tackle by finding lures others lost.

I remember the characters from "Harry n Charlie" calling rods "bassin' sticks".

He's trying to make a living doing what he loves. I can't fault him for that. None of us work for free.

I like his stuff. There are always more variables than you can control for, but you do the best you can with what you have.

None, but I've broken two. I got my first bass boat a couple years ago, a 16 footer. That sounds huge to a guy who never had one, but it's quite small once you start navigating the front platform with multiple rods. One I stepped on, another I opened the rod locker and the door just swung down and broke one. While I suppose I would lend a friend a fishing rod, anyone I fish with has rods of their own and it never comes up.

What are the baits you simply aren't going to try anymore? They may work for others but just not for you. For myself, I can't really think of any. My problem is the opposite. I need to give more baits a decent chance. I tend to stay locked into my favorites.

I wouldn't say I am stressed when fishing, but I don't know that I would call it relaxing either. I enjoy nature and fresh air, clean water, etc. But I'm out there to catch fish, so that's what I'm doing. Unless I'm in a school of something, I'm always on the move. I usually regret when it's time to stop. If I'm fishing with someone else, usually their call to quit comes before mine. I don't like to stop for drinks or food. I'll get them in the car on the way home. I sometimes think I might have made a decent tournament fisherman. That said, catching or not catching, I love fishing. I enjoy it thoroughly. I've often come home wishing I had caught fish, but I've never come home wishing I hadn't gone fishing.

So I'm in upstate NY. I mean really upstate NY. I'm near Massena and Potsdam. When the ice leaves, where can I go to get crappie? I mean enough crappie to make a meal, not just isolated fish. Is Black Lake my only option?

Thanks. The statewide minimum in NY is 40", with a 54" minimum in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. I've caught several muskies, but never a legal sized one. Although I have hooked several, I was always fishing for bass or walleye and they broke me off.

Dwight: Your Musky weight seems a little light. Can you elaborate on that one? In NY, 25lbs would likely only be a little longer than the minimum legal length. Of course, just catching a legal sized musky is pretty rare, so perhaps that's where you are coming from.

Part of my reason for going with Roland is sentimental. He was my fishing hero growing up. I don't know who follows hockey here, but I would compare the Roland Martin vs KVD debate to be like Bobby Orr vs Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky put up phenomenal numbers, but Bobby Orr changed how hockey was played. In my opinion a big part of the reason professional tournament fishing is even a "thing" now is because of Martin.

I've gotta go with Roland. I put AOY on par with the Classic. If I had to choose between KVD and Clunn, I'd have to go with KVD.

One of our favorite memories is when my friends and I tried to cook a shiner over a road flare.

3 hrs north.

Welcome Fred, good to see another NYer, although it is always interesting for someone near Massena, NY to hear Albany described as "upstate".

Didn't weigh it, but I'm guessing about a 3lb smallmouth on a Berkley flatworm.

I don't know what the range of sauger is in NY, but I doubt I would know if I caught one unless I was specifically looking for it. Kinda like pike and pickerel. I can tell the difference, but only if I'm paying attention. Update: Evidently sauger have almost been eliminated from NY state.

I was just reminiscing with my family a few days ago about my first bike, a banana bike called a Cheater Slick. There was a little opening behind the seat that a rod handle fit into perfectly. The bike greatly widened my fishing range.