T-Billy

I'll often go several trips without retying braid. Never been an issue with lighter baits, but I've learned the hard way, with heavy baits you need to retie a few times a day. I've casted a couple rigs into orbit, and broke off a muskie on 50# and 65# that hadn't been retied that day.

Awe... Shucks... Thanks for the compliment Katie. I feel like I do pretty well for the waters I fish, but hanging out around here will keep an angler humble. This place has more hammers than a hardware store.

The struggle continues... I took my Granddaughter to Piedmont yesterday hoping get her her first muskie. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it done. We found a couple mega schools of shad, were marking muskie in the schools, but couldn't get bit. The lake was murky which really surprised me, it usually has at least 5' visibility and sometimes up to 15' or so. Yesterday visibility all over the lake was 2'. Not good for chucking an A-Rig. On the upside, it was her first time throwing a baitcaster and she did fantastic. One backlash was it, and it wasn't bad. She was getting pretty good distance too. No fish, but we had a ball anyway. It was the first time we've got to spend a day together in quite awhile. Today at Leesville was much the same. I was around lots of fish, but getting bit was a challenge. No visibility issues here, just tight lipped fish. Ended up with the thick, beautifully colored 36" pictured below and had another hard bite that didn't hookup. Also had several deep follows on the rig. I tried deep 8's with it, dropping a 7" tube to 'em, and throwing back to them with a glide but no dice. They'd deep follow the rig to the boat and just sit there about 10' down taunting me.

I fish the MWCD lakes, and the Tuscarawas River. That's what I have available to me within an hour drive. They're 1k - 3k acres. I live on the shores of Atwood. Leesville and Piedmont are my favorites.

54 years young. 😉 @A-Jay The monkey must like you. He uses a different finger when he makes that face at me.

Scored a couple Daiwa Lexa 400 HD's at a heck of a price. They're $329 pretty much everywhere, and I didn't see any on sale Black Friday. Found them for $235 on the jungle site the other day, and after applying my card points to the purchase, I got two delivered to my door for $403. WOO HOO!!! Got 'em spooled up with 80# X9. Hopefully we'll get to tangle with some big slimers on Friday. My oldest granddaughter is coming along. It'll be her first muskie trip.

Drum Alert!!! Paging @roadwarrior!!! 🤣

You're gonna remedy that next year when you start fishing the thick stuff more vertically. No messing around either. H or XH rod and 50# braid. 😉

Yeah, unfortunately that's the world we live in Katie. I was blessed to meet Chad last fall. We had one mutually beneficial conversation at the ramp, and quickly hit it off and became fast friends. He also introduced me to a nice ol fella who's lived on my #1 lake, and has been chasing the muskie there for 38 years. I gained two wonderful friends in one day who have happily shared info and mentored me in this new addiction. That bass does amuse me. I chuckle every time I see that pic.

@ol'crickety those are some gorgeous bass. Glad you included my favorite with the shocked look on it's face. Lol. A 46" is a dandy in my book. I may or may not top that fish someday, but it'll be no easy feat. Getting that kind of girth is only possible for a few weeks a year. That's a late prespawn female who's been gorging on shad all winter.

Yeah... Um... Those aren't minnows @Woody B. Them's some dandies!!!

Get a thermometer so you know your lead temp. I like to pour at around 750. After bringing my 20# Lee pot up to temp on high, I turn it back to around 4 to maintain proper temp. This will vary a bit depending on lead level. Too hot will cause oxidation, too cool wil cause poor fill out. Keep your lead pot at least half full if using a bottom pour pot. I like about a 1/8" - 3/16" gap between spout and sprue. Pour a decent size sprue. I want a little puddle on top of the mold. Frankfort dropout spray is excellent. You want at least 2% tin in your alloy. It'll flow better than pure lead. Sitting the mold on top of the pot doesn't get it hot enough IME. I use an 1100w hotplate turned about 3/4 up. Make sure to keep your mold hinge pins oiled. I use 2 stroke oil. Propane torch works well for reclaiming lead and hooks from bad pours.

My season isn't quite over yet, but it's getting close. It's a pretty safe bet that I'm not gonna top any of these, with muskie being a possible, if not probable exception. Let's see BR's best fish of 2023!!! Got my PB muskie back in March. Super fat, prespawn 48.25". Caught this long, lean LM back in July. Early morning on a chatterbait. 5.85#. My #3 all time. Woulda been my #2 had I caught it prespawn. Again, coming in at #3 all time is this 5.67# SM. Caught in September on a chatterbait, in the wee hours. Finally, this nice saugeye. Caught on an A-Rig in November. Just one shad shy of 6.5#, and my #2 all time.

Hmm... First time ever quoting myself. Seems odd, LOL, but @A-Jay liking the above post made me realize how much of it applies to those giant brown bass he and @Dwight Hottle spend so much time seeking out. Catching some smalljaws is no great feat. Catching giants with the regularity those two guys catch 'em is a whole nuther story. Props to ya, y'all are a couple hammers. I always enjoy seeing those big brown sows.

It was a grind again today, but I managed to boot the skunk out with this thick 37.5". Lost another that felt about the same size, and had three other hits that I didn't connect on. Two of them smoked it from behind and knocked a ton of slack in my line. By the time I caught up they were gone. The other miss clobbered it, loaded the rod up, and came unbuttoned a split second later. These warm fronts in the late fall really bugger things up. The giant shad schools have broken up, and the fish are scattered and suspended all over the main lake basin. Five days until I can get out again. BOOO!!! This working for a living thing really gets in the way of my fishing.

I hear ya @Fishlegs. The challenge is part of the addiction. It really makes you appreciate the good days. Muskie are harder to find and get to bite than our other fresh water fish, and they come unbuttoned more often than other fish thanks to their power and bony mouths. They'll teach you patience and how to handle rejection that's for sure. LOL. But brother, when you get on a hot bite... There's nothing else like it in fresh water. Having a four footer rocket up from the deep and just absolutely smoke your bait in the 8 is something every angler should experience. I'm going back out after 'em here in a bit. The number of trips left in my 23 season is very likely a single digit number.

Not today. They mocked and laughed at me. I think I was the only person there to get skunked.

Yeah he does, but with or without it, the guy's an absolute hammer. Sure glad I met him and we hit it off last fall. He's a super nice guy, and he's really helped me out a lot. You can check him out on FB. Ohio Muskie Guide Service.

Too many things to list, but the first couple that popped into my head are... 1: If the water's not hard, it's not too cold for a chatterbait. Thanks @A-Jay. 2: Bass can't survive in water below about 39 degrees because of too much dissolved oxygen. Thanks @WRB. For years I knew my shallow wood flippin bite would completely die at 38 degrees but never knew why. Thanks to Tom, I'll never beat my head against that wall again.

Solid day today. 3 for 5 and a 28"ish dink . Second one I lost was BIG. Set the hook, loaded the rod clear into the butt section, and thought CRAP, set into a log, then a few BIG, SLOW headshakes, and gone. 🙁 CRAP!! Muskies make me say that a lot. Lol. Ended up with a 36.5", a 38", and a 41". Best day in awhile. Rain coming tomorrow and the winds are supposed to lay down some. Hopefully they'll still be chewing. My buddy's clients got 12 today, including a 48" and a 45". Father and son each got their new PB.

Interesting video on the subject from Milliken.

I actually had taken a layer off just before catching that fish. I bought a Striker Ice, Trekker series coat. They make ice fishing coats and bibs that are super warm, light weight, and provide floatation for up to 2hrs if you take a dunking. The trekker is the lightest they make and it's PLENTY warm for my excursions. I bought the coat last week, and really like it, so I ordered the matching bibs this morning. Edit to add : https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrFNJDf1GdlctMDjUhx.9w4;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1701332319/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fstrikerbrands.com%2fcollections%2fice-fishing-suits/RK=2/RS=ugugWYvFCn7CrntGth.TL2JsQlw- Anyone who fishes cold water might wanna look into these. They provide protection from the weather and also keep you afloat should you take an unintended dip.

I tell ya folks, fishing in 18 degrees, with a nice 10-15mph breeze blowing, is every bit as fun as you would imagine it to be!!! 😂 I was actually comfortable, my reels... not so much. Level wind locked up on one, and the other was getting close to that point when I left after four hours. The first had thawed out in the pocket of my bibs by then, but I'd had enough. I'm off the next four days, and temps will be at least a bit above freezing most of the time. I'm gonna put in a full day tomorrow. Ended up with this fat 34" and lost another about the same size.

Lakes, stocked fish. They can't successfully spawn in our lakes due to a lack of early weed growth, because of winter drawdowns. Our reservoirs were built for flood control. My apologies to @gimruis for getting side tracked here. And now... back to your regularly scheduled winter programming.

Dang, that's rough. My guide buddy said the three today put him at 305 on the season. I'm at 51 and didn't really start fishing for them till August. We don't grow many of the monsters that the big waters up north produce, but we're pretty spoiled numbers wise, and a 50" is a legit possibilty.