stinkychzman55

It’s been very slow on all lakes I’ve fished the past week or 2. Hit Loon Lake on Saturday and caught 3 bass with the biggest being just over 2.5lbs and 1 small pike Was out last night on Diamond Lake in Mundelein and only got 1 in about 4 hours Getting real excited for cooler temps and quieter lakes!!!

Ive got braid as a backing on some of my baitcast reels....i always make sure there is enough line before the knot so that i don't end up casting the knot through the eyelets...that messes ups casts and can damage the knot. As long as your knot stays buried in the spool and doesn't see any action you should have no issues... 2 things to consider.... 1) 15-20 Lb braid is a VERY small diameter...it has a tendency to dig into itself when casting making a backlash almost impossible to get out....try upping your line size to 40lb braid, it will be thicker in diameter and will help keep the backlashes down 2) Be extra careful when using braid as a backer on your reel it has a higher chance of slipping on the spool if not put on with enough tension good luck!

Wow thanks for all of the info! hoping ill have a chance to put it to use later in the week!!

Thanks for the response! I guess my main questions are.... 1) Are they schooled up during summertime? Is it more of a find a group of them and you can catch them? or have you found that covering lots of water is a better tactic? 2) Having only really ever spent time on the northern half of the chain (Lakes Channel, Catherine, Marie, and Bluff) do you have a preference on fishing northern half vs southern half? Any lakes that just aren't worth it? Any lakes that are standout better than the rest? 3) Have you had more luck in the summertime fishing deep water or shallow cover? Im ok if i only catch a few fish per time out but i want to catch good quality fish. Have you had better quality historically in deep water or shallow water in summertime? 4) Main Forage? Shad? I know there are shad in there from the few times i've musky fished the chain. Will bass key on shad like they do on other bodies of water? Or do they tend to gravitate to the other options like small gills, craws, and worms? I did not see much of what i would call good craw habitat (ALOT of muck and mud) and i really had a hard time finding other types of baitfish up shallow. Kinda stumped on what they eat in there? Thanks again for taking the time to help!!!

Hey All! new(ish) to the forums. located in northern IL. Fished the fox chain yesterday and only managed 2 over 4 hours. 1lber in about 6" of water on a frog, and a 3/4lb squeaker in about 16' of water on a drop shot. Ran all over and just couldn't get anything going. Ive not spent much time there. I typically don't fish the fox chain due to pleasure boat traffic and its a bit of a hike from my house, but i was offered a boat launch pass for the rest of the year at a great bargain so i couldn't pass it up!! I have no idea how to dissect these lakes, i was out yesterday and so many areas looked good but just didn't produce anything. Any help or tips would be appreciated (not asking for secrets spots or baits obviously ?)

Now i know why Ike seems so stoked on the lowrance TM....it might actually muffle the sound of him yelling!! i would have never expected such a big difference in noise!

Big worm on a shakey head!

10/10 ❤️ me some vulfpeck

My fishing partner was my wife until we had our daughters. That woman was a dang hammer. I Never came back to the dock with the biggest fish....she just had a knack for tempting the big ones. 2 years of fishing out of a small aluminum with a 9hp Johnson outboard she was the one who finally said "were buying a new boat" I miss fishing with her For now its just me and my dog. I cant say the word fishing without him standing by the garage door where he knows the boat is kept. Hopefully my daughters take to fishing and the outdoors like their mother did.....it will give me the perfect excuse to buy a bigger boat!!

What a fight! Awesome video!

I have had multiple mornings on home lake where I’ve caught a 20lb limit in an hour on a 3/8oz BPS pro model dragon shakey Head and a 6” Yamamoto Senko in green pumpkin green/purple flake in 10-12ft water. Also have had great luck on a drop shot with a 6” straight tail Roboworm in Aaron’s Magic when they got a little shy. And since i can’t help myself.....every time I come across a mat or lily pads...I’ve always got the trusty Terminator popping frog tied on. I like the Black Camo color....it’s caught me quite a few this summer as well. But that big senko....it’s worked like magic this year for me

A lot of people around me use “cross their eyes” as a different way to say set the hook hard! Sorry for the confusion. I usually don’t mess with my hooks on my frogs at all. Steel leaders are great for pike fishing, but for bass fishing in pike waters this is the stuff I use...https://www.rapala.com/terminator/leaders/single-strand-titanium-leader-wire/single-strand-titanium-leader-wire/Single+Strand+Titanium+Leader+Wire.html its super flexible with ZERO memory and can be tied directly to the main line (I like to use a 20-30lb swivel to my main line just personal preference) like I said in my last comment. It’s not the best for frogging really thick mats as the junk will get caught on the knot or the swivel (I like to use about 8” to my main line for most applications) but if your fishing more around the stuff in your video like lily pads and reeds it might not be so bad. Otherwise...65# braid all day on all my frog rods and hope for the best!

I am by no means an expert, but what works for me is counting 1 one thousand while reeling up slack and dropping my rod tip down slightly after i see the blowup and my frog goes under ....and then just as bluebasser86 was telling you.....CROSS THEIR EYES. use a long sweeping hookset to really drive those hooks home. You did everything right in your video...it just looks like you didn't follow through on your hookset. As a fellow northerner....pike are fun with the right gear but gosh darn if they aren't the most efficient little bait stealers out there....i've taken to using 20lb tie-able titanium leaders if i am fishing with an expensive bait like a jackhammer, or vision jerkbait. When done right you wont lose another bait again! Sadly i've found that it really doesn't work well on frogs too much junk gets caught up on the knot. i keep my eyes open for sales at my local dicks sporting goods. a lot of the time they have a buy3get1 on certain brands (i've loaded up on booyah frogs and river2sea frogs many times) or look at the end of season/offseason sales bins.....i'm always buying frogs and always looking for a good deal on them since i seem to buy them by the 1/2 dozen!

I cannot understand how one of these TM companies haven’t realized this yet. I’m willing to pay a very fair price for what I am looking for in a trolling motor. Motorguide seems to at least have made some sense with the pricing of these new models coming it at an even price point as Minn Kota. As nice as the Lowrance and Garmin models are, I think the price tag is going to really limit sales.

Being new to these forums and just reading/watching all the recent mike long press... i must say i am very happy that he was never put up on a pedestal on this site as the "big bass guru" he worked so hard at fooling people into thinking he was. Good Riddance. Those videos of him snagging fish made me sick.

Look for jigs with a screw lock keeper!! i use a lot of 6th sense divine jigs, as well as a company local to me named Dem Jigs! I found the screw lock kept my plastics in place WAY better than the traditional lead knuckle or even the wire keepers. I used to play with superglue, even modified jigs to have a bigger, beefier wire keeper and i've found that a soft plastic threaded properly onto a screw lock keeper outlasts any of the other options!

Zman Razor Shadz, or Yamamoto Zako's are about all i throw them with anymore...and i only buy the zako if i cannot get the Razor Shad, Razor Shad is much more durable if those aren't an option....everyone, everywhere will have a fluke style bait available!

a small finesse type swimbait that gets CHEWED like crazy in pretty much every water i've ever fished it. super small gap in the hook. i've lost way too many big fish with this bait. love to throw it but it seems to always lead to dinks.... or heartbreak when i hook a good one.