MGF

I have caught an awful lot of bass on torpedos.

I used to ice fish but I didn't have $25K in anything. I pulled my gear on a little plastic sled and sat on a bucket in the wind. LOL. We drilled LOTS of holes looking for fish.

We used to fish the run on the Illinois river and we used a floating jig head with a minnow. The rig was like a Carolina rig but with the floating jig head. The last time I fished for walleyes here locally I pulled out some old fuz e grub type jigs and tipped them with a minnow.

I used suckers once while fishing with a guide. The suckers were closer to 18". The guide kept the boat moving at varying distances from the weed edge. We had two rods trailing suckers behind the boat at different depths while we all kept casting. It just happens that every musky we caught that day was on the suckers. I guess it doesn't always work that way.

Live bait is a lot of work and mess. I'm happy to do without it when I can. I've never used shiners for bass but I've used lots of nightcrawlers and leeches. I've used plenty of other minnows for walleyes and crappie.

We swam with lots of gators while cave diving Florida springs (sinks and sumps too). I was an active cave diver in the early 2000's. Might we have crossed paths? How far do gators travel to visit family?

I hope so because I just bought a white Chatterbait. I've caught more fish on a white spinnerbait than any other color.

My point is that when I fished with a guide I didn't need to look at any electronics. All I had to do was reel in the fish that the guide so expertly put me on. To better answer your question, I think everything could be taken in context. Some equipment sure makes it easier. Some locations sure makes it easier. There isn't anybody fishing the Elite Series from the bank or without electronics, is there? Can contestants bring a guide with them? I guess I don't really understand the question or it's relevance. Traveling is moving from one place to another. A USPS package does it. Who gets the credit the package or the USPS? Maybe it is a good analogy. While it can be fun fishing with a guide is sort of like being the package.

I just think finding them and figuring out how to get them is the hard part. It's all pretty easy if somebody does that for you.

What electronics? When I fished with a guide I never saw any electronics. I never needed to look at a map. You can count whatever you want. In fact that time my dad and I reeled in all those stripers that the guide caught for us a friend of ours took a picture with the fish and told his friends that he caught them. It doesn't matter to me.

I'm not sure I agree. I caught a nice musky a few years back with a guide. In fact my wife and I boated three legal fish that day but we can't take the credit. The guides skill caught the fish. We just reeled them in. Many years ago, my dad and I spent a week one summer fishing for stripers on Lake Norfork. The fish were deep and we didn't do well. We went out with a guide and his trolling a downriggers got us half dozen in just a short time. Those are my only two outings with a guide but in both cases, the guide caught the fish. I just reeled them in. It wasn't at all like it is when I do it on my own. I didn't even have to tie a knot...I didn't have to control the boat, I didn't have to choose a lure or look at map or electronics to pick a spot. I don't see how it could could count the same.

I don't put that much emphasis on it...probably because I've never caught a really big one. LOL Really, every year I catch a handful of 20"+ fish and that's pretty good for public water around here. I don't really get to travel for fishing. I do think the context has to be considered when rating a fish by size. A 22" brown bass is really big here but not everyplace. I've never even seen a bigger bass in person. Who caught the fish? When you fish with a guide who really gets the credit?

I went looking for some Trick Worms today and didn't find any on the shelves. The owner told me they haven't been able to get any Zoom.

I vote Zoom.

I've been picking up some odds and ends all winter. Mostly filling in deficiencies or new variations I want to try. In fact, today I'm picking up some jigs a guy poured for me and maybe have him do some more.

My wife and I get a kick out of Roland's videos. There's a little tackle store I stop in that has a stock of Helicopter lures on the rack. I thought about buying one just to hang on the wall. LOL

I think the fish are going to get tired of senkos.

Whether permitting I might get out this weekend. I have a few dams on a few different rivers where there shouldn't be any ice. I'm fishing from the bank this trip so here's what I'm thinking...a tiny child rig for it's NED like effect and snag-less nature and/or Texas rigged grubs. The grubs could of course be swapped out for other plastics. Brown bass, walleye, white bass and stripers are all possible below the dam this time of year. Another presentation that's popular is a jig under a float. It's not what I'm in the mood for but it can catch fish.

I don't think we're talking about somebody with messed up priorities or being as miserable as when something really bad happens (a death or something). I think we're talking about somebody who is motivated to improve and perform well. Certain types of fishing are skill intensive and sharpening my skill is what I enjoy about it. On a day when my performance isn't what it should be you might get the idea that I'm not having fun but you have fun your way and I'll have fun my way. LOL What you would see when I have a real problem is the same self sufficient never give up attitude. Fishing isn't all that casual for me and I don't know of a law that says it has to be. That old saying..."No try. Do."

When the ice melts and we can go fishing again.

I don't necessarily think parenting was "better" years ago but the world was different. When I was a kid there was no internet or cell phones. TV (we didn't have any cable) was pretty tame and societal norms were even different. Things are being presented to young kids as normal in school that I think is absolutely bizarre. I wouldn't want to be raising young kids today.

But what's wrong with drinking beer? I like beer. I'm over 21 so it's even ok if my grandkids see me drink beer. I don't get drunk but I drink beer.

Not being able to catch fish is like any other "problem". You can cry and stomp your feet or you can do something constructive to address the problem. I guess you can do both as long as you realize that crying and stomping your feet won't do anything to fix the problem.

I'm against censorship but I also realize there is a lot of trash on the net. When I was a kid we had one TV in the house and the folks knew what we were watching and how much of it. It's no doubt harder for parents today but it's the parents job. My daughter has two boys with the oldest being 14. He loves video games and the internet. She strictly controls when and what and how much. She also has all sorts of neat tricks to incentivize other (more healthy) activities.

It doesn't seem like there would be room when tying line to lure/hook, would there? LOL, I never knew it had a name.