billmac

What do you guys think of the fish scales that basically hook into the gill opening? I don't really like it, but they are way cheaper than the clamp type.

Being a Yankee, the fishing shows available to me in the 70s and 80s were few and far between. Although I was a huge Roland Martin fan from Bassmaster, I never saw his show. Mostly we had two local shows, Rod and Reel, and Rod and Reel Streamside, which aired on public television. Rod and Reel was (as I remember) mostly downrigging in Lake Ontario. Rod and Reel streamside was more my type of fishing and I watched that quite a bit. Since we mostly got Canadian television, we also watched the Red Fisher show regularly and that was pretty good. I think I might have been able to see a little In-Fisherman but I'm not sure.

I like that channel a lot. Of course you have to be careful to weigh anything anyone says but I've learned a lot from him, especially about using electronics. The best channel I've found for that. I hope he succeeds.

I have one I got last year. Fine so far.

Not an experienced frog fisherman. What's causing the bad hookups? Are they not taking it all the way in?

In your experience, which baits are the most difficult to get a good, consistent hookset with? I'm guessing for many, the answer will be with jigs. That isn't my experience but that's more to do with the fact that I don't use jigs much. I only started fishing chatterbaits last year, but I had quite a bit of difficulty getting a good hookset with them.

For those of you who are experienced in fishing for bass in both the northern and southern parts of the country, how would you boil down the main differences in how you fish? Differences in baits / lines / etc? Since our bass (I'm in NY) tend to be smaller, I'm assuming the baits might be smaller as well. I don't have a lot of southern fishing experience, but I can't imagine any of my fishing scenarios requiring 65lb braid. Everyplace I fish that has bass also has pike in abundance, so that can affect how I fish. What do you think?

I have two that stick out in my memory. First, I wanted to be an oceanographer. This most likely stems from watching Jacques Cousteau. My second one was professional tournament fisherman. But I had no real resources other than a passion for fishing. Back in the late 70s, people from the North just didn't compete at the pro level other than Al Lindner. In the end I went to a local community college and got into electronics, then computers / IT, and finally worked my way into a professor position. I don't regret the path. I've never had a job I hated, and love what I do.

I have lots of baits. But I have a hard time putting down my trusty jig and spinner with curly tail grub.

I almost never used snaps, with the mindset that fish would shy away from extra hardware. The fact that fish will bite a Tokyo rig has pretty much put that idea to rest, so I think I'll be using them more in the future. Anyone use them on non-finesse jigs?

J: Are we talking mid-June-ish?

I've caught crappie in various places as one-offs, but I've never really found where they congregate in sufficient numbers to target them. I know Black Lake has them. Anyplace else in the vicinity where they have sufficient numbers?

I trapped as a boy and a young adult. I don't regret it, but I wouldn't do it now. Unless an animal is destroying property or poses a danger, I don't want to kill things unless I'm going to eat them.

Good luck!

I'm 30 to 40 minutes from most of the places I take the boat to. Other places that I would fish less frequently are within 2 hrs. I can be bank fishing in 10 minutes. I probably wouldn't go longer than 2 hrs unless I had additional reasons to travel that far.

That would be nice.

Looks like the nearest Academy is about 900 miles, so I guess I'm stuck with Runnings and Walmart. And online. You know, when it comes right down to it, other than looking through the bargain bins, I don't really find browsing a fishing section that productive. I find it a little overwhelming sometimes. I think I prefer just picking the stuff out online. That is certainly true for rods and reels. I find the brick and mortar stores seldom have exactly what I'm looking for.

No DSGs near me but I was in one in Poughkeepsie NY and it seemed to have a full fishing section. I have a Runnings near me and that has a very good fishing section, if a little pricey. For an area that contains (according to Bassmaster) the best bass fishing water in the country, we have very few places besides Walmart to purchase fishing tackle.

After much research, I'm pretty sure the trigger on my Mercury I6 115hp is bad. It is my understanding that I will have to readjust the timing after replacing it. Is this difficult to do? I'm fairly handy but without a lot of experience. I know I'll have to purchase a timing light.

I usually just go by feel, but it's often more than a foot of line.

This is really interesting. I was just about to post a question about narrowing your choices to 2 basic colors (or color ranges). I know everyone raves about green pumpkin and I have several lures in that color, but I've never really used red colors, especially in plastics. I've always been a big fan of yellow / chartreuse. Just so I'm interpreting the thread correctly: Bass most easily see green and red?

Break offs are the worst, because then you have left a fish with your lure stuck in it.

I'm most likely to catch pike when bass fishing. Trout, walleye, musky, various panfish, occasionally. Fortunately I like catching pike.

I have a mental block when it comes to crankbaits, especially fat crankbaits. I know they catch fish, I just won't bring myself to throw them. I like minnow type crankbaits, I like lipless cranks, like rattletraps. It all boils down to the fact that they look good to me and fat crankbaits don't. Yes, it's weird.

I think all goals can be boiled down into one goal: To get better. We set goals for the things we don't think we are good enough at yet. While I suppose it can be overdone, I think for the most part it's a good thing.