farmpond1

X2. Gotta add bank fisherman to the list also. I will make a wide swing around bank guys as well..... Amen, brother. I was with a friend once (not a very bright fellow, really) and my friend was fishing for muskie (one symptom of not being very bright) ;D Anyway, he was making looooong casts and we came along some bank fishermen. One might think my friend would have backed off but instead, he kept casting right up to where the bank fishermen were. One of the bank fishermen read him the riot act. I just shook my head and chalked it up to experience.

Oh, incidentally, by saying I don't net pike I didn't mean to imply I lip them. I'm kinda dumb sometimes but not that stupid.

The first truly warm day on the lake will also be the windiest.

One of the gauges I use for determining if I've had a good day is whether there are little tooth marks on my thumb. So I always lip them. But that's just me. Also, I find a net gets in the way. On a side note for a different species, I seldom net a pike because they spin around in the net and make a big mess of things. It then takes three times as long to release them.

Bass change as the season changes. You've gotta try to change with them. Easier said than done, of course. Try moving out into a little deeper water adjacient to shallow areas. After they spawn, the females leave the beds and move away from shallow water. Also, after the spawn, there is a period of general inactivity. That you can't do much about.

Sorry if this question has been asked before. I don't tournament fish (except one non-descript local tourney) so I haven't visited this particular area much. I understand that in many/most tournaments, participants must stay a certain distance from other competitors-particularly if they are anchored. But what about crowding out non-tournament fishermen? What do the rules usually say about respecting non-tournament fishermens rights/space?

Some things work better in concept than in execution.

"Get a rush with your next flush!"

Well, my dad would take my siblings and I to a pay lake to catch rainbow trout every now and again. That's probably the very earliest humble beginnings. But then, in high school, a friend took me to the middle fork river and introduced me to the ways of the smallie. We only used beetle spins back then (as that was about all we could afford) but I've been hooked ever since.

Each ramp will be a little bit different. Some are really steep and will cause you grief if it's windy or if you are by yourself (the boat will often be pushed or drift off center). Shallow ramps will require that you back the trailor further into the lake and (may) require that you rev up the motor more to propel it up the trailor. Don't get discouraged. Once you become familiar with any given ramp, it becomes easier. Also, don't be afraid of looking a little silly. We're all in the same boat together (pun intended).

You'd better hang on to her!!! Happy anniversary, too!

Huh! I thought I was the only one who had dreams like this! It tells me that the acquisition of lures is lots of fun: hence that darned bait monkey! In my dreams I do a fair amount of fishing but not very much catching! And I always thought we escaped reality in our dreams. Not!!!!

I tend to agree with Glenn on this matter (though I don't entirely disagree with you). The problem with the original question, though certainly innocent in motive, is that rumors are so easy started. I don't believe in suppressing freedom of speech (at least not usually) but when even the suggestion of impropriety occurs, then things tend to take off like a wildfire. I like that this forum remains positive.

Many gung ho tourney guys would say, "get two-one for the front and one for the back." But, in my humble opinion, if you only have money for one, I'd say get one for the back-then drop marker bouy's when you find decent spots so you can work the area/spot more thoroughly so you don't have to stare at the fishfinder to find it again.

Ok, I'll admit., when I first opened this thread, I thought it was going to be lame. Boy was I wrong! Funny stuff! and it only seems to be getting funnier!

Welcome young grasshopper. Or maybe not so young. Anyway, we're glad to have you aboard! I think you'll find that most of us are pretty passionate about our sport (sometimes a little too passionate). ;D Hope you find it as enjoyable as us. Just watch out for the baitmonkey (don't ask).

A friend of mine (who is a real fly fishing fanatic) will try to catch them. I think he uses a fly which looks like cottonwood "fluff". What kind(s) of flies do you use? Do you use a really light tippet?

With all due respect to Fooman and Maltese falcon, I wouldn't draw a conclusion from just two responses. Rat-l-traps, Cordell Spots, and most lipless crankbaits will produce well-if that's what the fish want. Everyone has a personal favorite.

Whichever shoes I put on that day-more often than not, sneakers

Nice fish! Nice goin', though! Now I'm starving! I've always wanted to catch a brook trout. Are they tough to catch? We don't have any brookies within, I'm guessing, 800 miles from here (Illinois). Phooey!

Welcome to the forum! In my humble opinion, there isn't anything wrong with keeping a few fish now and again. The question you are asking is the appropriate one: how many fish can we keep without ruining our fishery. Something a lot of people forget to ask (but a few have mentioned here) is how many other fishermen utilize this same resource and how many of them are keeping their fish? Obviously, the more people who fish and, in turn, keep their fish, the fewer we should keep ourselves. This doesn't seem very fair (and I think it's why some people chaff when they hear about others keeping fish) but it's a hard reality. Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to keep a large stringer of fish from a small pond unless they intentionally want to fish it out. On a side note, why is it everyone seems to treat trout like red-headed step children? I suppose if they aren't wild trout and won't reproduce, then that's a little different. But trout don't reproduce like gang busters and the mentality that they can all be kept is just as inappropriate as keeping all of any other species. (My personal rant).

If the only thing you were ever able to catch were carp, would you still bother? (The answers to this would probably differ if posted on the general bass forum). My answer would be: I doubt it but thankfully I haven't been left with that choice.

I'm spock-logically.

oooooooh, it's so difficult not to write what I want to write! But this is a family forum so I must refrain...... ;D

I not only prepped my tacklebox but also a friends. His looked like a tornado hit it and I couldn't bear to see such a catastrophy. If I'd needed an example for a PhD dissertation on chaos theory, his tackle box would have fit the bill nicely). But actually, it was fun to put some order in that 14" X 7" plastic box.