jbmaine

In my opinion, stick with spinning, it's easier to use right out of the box. Pick a rod that will throw 3/16-1/2,5/8 lures. Many people have setups for every type of bait. That's great if you have the room, $$$, etc. But to catch fish you only need one setup. I've been fishing for over 60 yrs and for the first thirty years I only had one setup, and caught fish. As you grow into fishing, and develop an idea as to how far you want to go, you can expand your arsenal of fishing gear.

with all the new, great, topwater lures out today I still use a jitter bug. I've been using them for over 50 yrs. and the gurgle sound they make brings back so many memories, and is still effective.

I love river fishing but have nothing but ponds, lakes around me, anywhere from 40 - 100 ft. deep.

I can't comment on the boat, but I have a Lund Fury XL Sport ( full windshield ) with a sun top ( think big sail ) and my 80 lb thrust trolling motor moves us against the wind at a good clip. I wouldn't think you would ever need more than that.

100% spinning for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We fished a lake, middle of summer, hot as all get out. Big cove that screamed LM. Couldn't get a bite until the middle of the afternoon. One stretch of shore line the shade started coming out from shore. Caught fish after fish casting under any bush, anything hanging over the water. Caught them all within two feet of shore, in about one foot of water. Caught around twelve LM in a hundred yards of shore line.

I choose aluminum because Lighter to tow. More comfortable ( for us ) to be in all day. The wind does blow it around more, but we have a TM with spot lock so moot point.

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/plastic-lures-hook.html

My wife doesn't buy shoes much but when we are out buying fishing stuff she always says " are you sure that's enough, shouldn't you grab a few more, I know we'll use them". I love her.

If you are using soft plastic baits slide them past the eye of the hook and use heavy mono to push into the plastic, thru the eye, and out thru the other side of the plastic. Trim flush. Another tip I saw from Glenn.

If you don't mind me asking, I grew up in southern NH ( Rye ) and know live close to Kittery ME. Are you close by?

Display of Registration Number & Stickers The registration number and validation stickers must be legibly displayed on each side of the bow of the boat; painted or permanently attached in a contrasting color to provide the highest degree of visibility. The number must read from left to right, be not less than 3 inches high, and be vertical block character capital letters and Arabic numerals. The registration number should be displayed on both sides of the bow as shown below. A person may not place or operate a motorboat or personal watercraft (PWC) on the inland waters of this state unless a valid lake and river protection sticker, issued annually, is permanently affixed to each side of the bow, above the waterline and approximately 3 inches behind the validation sticker. These stickers are nontransferable. (Title 12, Section 13058)

See if it shuts off just when you start the trolling motor. A momentary draw on the battery could be all it takes

The environment might dictate how dark or lite the green or brown color. but LM are greenish in color and SM are brown in color.

Last week I would have said I was done, but as we just got back from the KTP with more plastics and hooks, I guess not.

I know how to go thru the gills, and I'm not sure how you wacky rig a swim senko. I've never quite seen anything like this. Out of the last 25 SM, 22 let go before getting to the boat and 3 were deep hooked. A fellow member here fishes the same water and is having similar results with a different bait. We use the same setup for LM and almost always get the fish in the boat with a good lip hook up.

Hi all, I hope you can help me figure this out. One lake I fish the SM are going crazy for 5" swim senkos T-rigged with a 4/0 EGW hook. We'll run into a school of 1 lb- 1 1/2 lb SM and have hit after hit. Most of the time it's short strikes. Fish will be on for a minute then let go. But sometimes we'll get a fish that swallowed the bait real deep. I can't figure out how to keep this from happening. I'd rather hook more fish and get them in the boat, but not at the cost of killing them. They always hit during a steady retrieve. Any thoughts on different hooks, or size hooks that I can try to get better hook ups with out having them swallow it so deep? Thanks Jim

Thanks, that's good to know

So here's another " maybe I've got too much time on my hands " question. I'm going to be putting a Ninja grass cutter on my trolling motor. My wife asked what they were, so I pulled up some videos. Here's a guy running his TM thru the thickest stuff he can find. He makes it, no problem, and behind him is a clear path thru the weeds. My wife asked me, doesn't it hurt the habitat cutting all those weeds? I said no, I don't see how. But then I got thinking about it, and I'm wondering, does it? I know it is nice for us to be able to reach more spots to fish, but the habitat? I mean if people keep going thru a weed bed, cutting it all up, it can't be good, can it? What are your thoughts? Jim

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Glad I'm not alone in doing this.

I'm trying to break my self of this bad habit, but it still happens. You fish a body of water and something's changed. A few days ago you fished it and could do no wrong. You fish it again and the temp, weather, whatever is different. The fish have moved, aren't hitting the same bait, short strikes , things are just not the same. This is normal, it happens. You change baits, fishing style, location, whatever it takes. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. At the end of the day, your driving home, eating supper, etc. , but your mind is still replaying the day over and over. And then it all comes together, The AHH HAH moment when all the pieces fit into place, and you know why you didn't catch more fish. Things like, I should have been fishing this type of water, not that type, Why didn't I throw this bait, I certainly bought enough of them. And the list goes on. I keep telling my self I need to be quicker to analyze, adapt to changes, try different things, but for the life of me I don't seem to be getting any better at it. Anyone have any ideas on what I could do to improve in this area. Thanks Jim

Our pre-season plan is turning into our season experience. I developed some health issues ( non life threatening ) towards the end of last summer that spelled the end of my work career, and has led to an early retirement. With These circumstances,my wife and I made the decision to up grade our boat to allow us more time on the water. Our old boat was just no longer comfortable for us and aggravated my health issues. So with that in mind we took delivery of a multi species ( Lund Fury XL Sport ) boat this spring. I have to say, that for us, this boat has exceeded our expectations in every way. It is so much more comfortable that we can stay on the water all day with out feeling sore and wrung out. The casting deck is small, but as I sit most of the day it is plenty roomy for me. The back is large enough so my wife can fish or just sit and enjoy the day. The best options we got for it are the sun top and the Ulterra trolling motor. We were amazed how having a full windshield and sun top increased our comfort level. We can zip across the lake with out windburn, and on a hot sunny day you can't beat having lunch or just stretching out in full shade. The Ulterra is just awesome. No more sore back and dropping an anchor every time we stop. For us, well worth the money. So I guess you could say our season is meeting or exceeding our pre-season plan. We have already fished more this year than the last two years combined, and now we look forward to the next trip instead of wondering if the pain and discomfort is worth it.

I have A shorelander trailer with the center light and use the extreme max transom saver. It comes with a bracket that attaches to the existing bolt on the trailer and " twists " into place. To attach or remove, turn the TS 180 degrees. No crawling under the trailer. It also adjusts for length. I have a 50 Mercury and am very happy with the TS. Here's a pic of how it attaches. The end of the TS spirals into a slot on the bracket.

I've fished for just about everything in this neck of the woods, both fresh and salt, and I have to say my first fishing "love" is fly fishing rivers for trout. In an ideal world that's all I'd do. However in the real world I fish for bass because, bass waters are numerus in this area, good trout rivers, not so much. My wife loves to fish but because of disabilities can only use a lite rod, so fresh water bass fishing is a good fit, salt water not so much. We can bass fish from ice out to ice in. Bass fishing is fun and it's easy and convenient for my wife and I to do together.

For all that you are carrying I'd look at a fly fishing, or hiking vest.