farmpond1

A wedding shouldn't cost much more than the price of a good ladder.

Generally, I don't have to try to motivate myself. It's just there. In the summer, however, when it's 95 degree's and the only time the fish seem to be biting is a narrow window just after sunrise and 10 minutes before sunset, it's a different story. When the bass aren't biting, I mix things up and get out my fly rod and fish for bluegill. Or, right now, I pursue crappie with my spinning rod. Or chase white bass in the tributaries. But if I had to force myself to go, I probably wouldn't.

We've had a lot of wind this year and I'm finding my braided line is too soft and wispy to fish anything effectively but crankbaits and spinner baits. Soft plastics, unless they are weighted heavily, rarely make it very deep before the wind catches the line and lifts them like they are water skiing. Plus I get no feel or visual cue for a bite unless it's a massive one. Are there any "heavier" or coated braids that behave more like mono in this respect?

I do. Sometimes. They are good fighters and I like how they will repeatedly hit at a bait until they get hooked. Once they committ to something, they refuse to give it up.

Farmpond1-because there is nowhere in the world I'd rather fish than a secluded farmpond where there's no one around for miles, the red wing blackbird sing their silver notes, and the fish are always hungry. And because it's the first name I could think of.

About the only time I buy live bait is when I'm already at a boat dock/bait shop (which is rare). This is just a matter of convenience. I won't go out of my way to find a place-although I will wander around in the dark looking for nightcrawlers. I used to seine for minnows and crawdads. That was often more fun than the fishing trip itself. For me it's more fun to trick the fish with fake bait. And besides, why would I spend a king's ransom on artificials and then turn around and use live bait. But to each their own.

Something bad will happen if you don't sacrifice at least one bait per trip to the gods.

Is your wife going to walk the "dog," feed the "dog," clean up after the "dog" when it craps and pees all over the carpet, etc? Unless the answer is yes, she clearly got the better part of the deal. My sister had a chi hua hua and it was a neurotic, vicious little cuss.

Agreed. I doubt a 13 incher, even on steroids, could ever attain 2.5 -3 lbs. My very biggest, a plump 15 incher, didn't weigh more than around 1.50 lbs. Still, it's a nice fish. Gotta love them big crappie!

I feared I might get a lot of sarcastic remarks prefaced with "Well duh!" Here in Illinois, most of us simply call dammed bodies of water "lakes", so "flowage" always perplexed me. Potato potahto I suppose.

I've tried clearing the zerk of debris with a tiny nail but with no success. Can't seem to remove Zerk as a metal plate covers it with a hole in the center just big enough to allow skinny end of zerk to poke through (I can loosen it but not remove it-thought I could simply replace zerk but no can do). Thanks for advice on removing the bearing buddies. What's a better alternative than Bearing buddies? Any suggestions?

Wisconsinites seem to use the word "flowage" rather than "Reservoir." Is flowage just a different word for a dammed river or is there some distinction? I've been pondering this for some time.

I've very quickly browsed the responses so forgive me if I missed something that's already been suggested. First, does the line weight match the rod weight? It should be close. One weight higher is acceptable most of the time. Second, are you using level line? It casts poorly. For distance, I'd go with a weight forward or shooting taper fly line. Third, be sure to let the line straighten out and load the rod some on the backcast before beginning the forward cast. A weak backcast will also result in a weak forward cast.

Two questions actually: 1) I've got bearing buddies on my boat trailer-one of which won't accept grease.. period. Given up trying. Can't seem to get the bearing off. Do those bearing buddies have reverse threads on them? How do you get them off? 2) Sometimes my grease gun refuses to behave. It's the "plunger" kind where you insert grease cartridges. I remove the old cartridge, pull back the plunger, open a new cartridge and insert it, screw the top back on, and (drum roll please!)......Nothing! I can squeeze the trigger until my fingers numb and I don't get a thing. But I can unscrew the top and grease will come plooshing out. At other times, the grease gun works fine. What gives???????? It's enough to drive me crazy!

Time on the water with Frank Hyla gets my vote. But I'll watch anything except Beat Charlie Moore.

I always thought hawgin' was about as crazy as a person could get. Clearly I was wrong.

Do you run the motor wide open while on the lake? In the garbage can? Maybe you aren't getting good water flow while on the lake. Is the motor sitting low enough on your boat for the inlets to stay submerged? Especially with waves and such. My guess is you aren't duplicating things close enough to get the same results. Try using a different gas tank and fuel line. Just some thoughts.

As far as I'm concerned, Speedo's don't work for any guy!

I can't imagine using the line you described in heavy timber-especially from shore. While I believe skittish bass can (sometimes) shy away from heavier line, it's usually the impaired action of the bait which buggers things up more than the visbility of the line. Also, and you could prove me wrong, I'm guessing with that light of line, you are deliberately shying away from the places where the bass are most likely to be. JMHO

The drain plug is an annual occurrence. Last year I forgot to add two cycle engine oil to the gas until after I put into the lake. Fortunately I hadn't gotten any further than the docks so shut her off immediately. Anyway, I had to bum some (offered to pay 10 dollars for a pint) from another group of fishermen. Then, at the end of the day I backed the trailor into the lake, loaded the boat, and got back into the pickup to start it. Not a sound. What the He**?!!! The same fishermen who I bummed the oil from earlier were there. Though I didn't think it was the battery, they tried to jump start me. At first it didn't start but then it fired right up. Talk about relieved! Later I discovered that a carpet sample I use to keep the carpet dry(er) had slid forward and under the clutch-preventing it from descending far enough for allow the truck to start. Secretly I was very embarassed. Now it's public. :

The bottom of my boat wouldn't get washed were it not for my seasonal drain plug amnesia.

I don't know what it was called but it was a bit like a soft rat only it had a treble hook buried in the back and it had a black plastic mouse tail. It's almost completely weedless and the percentage of hook sets was outstanding. I wore mine out :-[ and have been looking for a replacement.

I was wondering something similar. I was at Lake of the Woods a summer ago and the local bait/tackle shop was charging a kings ransom for everything. I wondered if it might not be actually cheaper to order from BPS (or wherever) and pay for next day delivery. (The resort is just off a traveled highway).

That's funny. Made me laugh out loud. ;D That's why I won't do two shows on the same night!

I wonder if anyone asked KVD where he planned to fish and he replied "None of your beeswax."