T-Billy

I always heard that too, and threw away a lot of good meat over the years. Last summer I tried frying a few without trimming all the red out, and it made no difference in taste.

Fillet them, and just zipper the bones along the lateral line out like anything else. They're delicious. Don't worry about trimming out the red meat. I like 'em better than crappie myself.

Veritas will be lighter and more sensitive than the Fury. Daiwa for the great breaking system.

The Vicious will fade a bit, but not nearly as much as most others. 832 is more abrasion resistant than the Vicious and better suited to fishing wood and rock. I liked the Vicious No Fade, but 832 works better for me fishing in cover, and I prefer Fins Infinity for moving bait duty. Not knocking the Vicious, it's a quality braid, just sharing my experience with it.

I fish a lot of stuff like pictured below. It's all about picking out a little hole that will allow you to pitch or skip deep into the heart of it, and being able to consistently hit those holes. I'm often pitching 5-8 feet back into stuff like this. If you can do this, you're putting your bait where most won't/can't. Having the right bait, rod, and line is just as important. It does no good to put a bait in there that you can't fish through those tangles cleanly. You also need a combo that can pull fish out. For me H is minimum, and XH is better. 40# or 50# 832 does well for me here.

Running shoes work best for me in hot weather, hikers in milder weather.

Got started this morning as the Strawberry Moon was setting over the lake down the street. I started out pitching bushy stuff like pictured below, but only managed three over four hours. No pic worthy fish today. Biggest was about 2#. Decided to switch gears, and started rolling a rage swimmer around all these laydowns. That put six in the boat over three hours, plus had four more come off. I sure wish the MWCD would quit spraying the grass in this lake. There used to be a big milfoil bed on this flat, and it held tons of LM and saugeye. Fishing here can still be decent, but it's a shadow of it's former self. The watershed caters to the sailboaters and pontooners on this lake and sprays the grass most years. Back when they let the grass grow this was one of the best LM lakes around.

LOL. Yep, then wind it out with a device called a deadman throttle!!! Good times.

10-4 Tom. That Quick Silver lower unit is the secret to the speed. 1:1 gear ratio if I remember correctly. Slow outta the hole, but it'll make those little boats fly once you get going.

For all around pitching I prefer 7'4" - 7'6". They're less fatiguing than the longer rods and just generally more comfortable for me. For punching, pitching deep grass, or flippin/pitching brushy stuff where I'll be stroking the bait with my line draped over a limb, I'll take the long rod every time. It's ability to move more line helps keep me in position to set the hook without having to reel down. A 1.5 oz rating is minimum, with 2 or 2.5 being better for all lengths.

Yep Bowfin. They're really cool looking when they're lit up in their spawning colors. Don't get your finger in their mouth if you want to keep it. Once they bite down on something they're not big on letting go.

Sheee's Baaack!!! Congrats Katie!!! I don't think I've ever caught 59 in a day, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever even been close. Those few times I was in that ballpark my average size wasn't as good as yours. Way to go Hammer.

I've never seen top fuelers run in person, but I'd sure like to.

I had a 9' hydroplane with a 20hp Merc Hurricane as a teen. Guy I bought it from claimed it would do a bit over 60. I'll tell ya, it feels a whole lot faster than that when you're kneeling down with nothing but a few feet of canvas and plywood in front of you. It required pretty calm water to open it up though. Twas a fun toy. Bought it with earnings from my summer job at the marina.

Lol. Yep, ESPECIALLY in there Lassie!!! It took me time to gain confidence pitching into the stuff I regularly fish now. Experimentation too, in order to find the right rig. Once I wised up and gave the snelled flippin hook a try there was no looking back. That slow seductive wag gets 'em. Good luck tomorrow. Keep yer britches dry.

Zoom is second only to the baits made in my garage.

49!!!??? That settles it. I'm doing a belly flop off the front deck first thing tomorrow night. That oughta REALLY get the chatterbait bite going!!! LOL. Glad it ended well Katie. Congrats on a great bogventure!!!

Bag and baits be damned, I'd have shot that sucker.

Thanks for the info. I haven't been hit yet, but I've had it raining goose poo all around me several times.

Yup. Geese are buttholes. They absolutely do it on purpose. I've had 'em do it too many times for it to be accidental. I once saw a girl in a bikini get bombed by a heron. She was covered in that nasty crap head to toe, which then caused her to spew like a fountain. It was quite the awful sight. That was 40 years ago. I can see it in my mind like it happened yesterday. ?

Just a head light for landing fish, tying knots etc. I also keep a good flashlight handy.

Works for me. I like being there when other people ain't, and pitching gnarly stuff is my favorite way to catch 'em. Something magical about night fishing as well. When your vision is limited, all your other senses are heightened. Plus you never know when a beaver or heron is gonna make you jump out of your shoes and pee in your pants a little. ?

My #1 lake has a reputation as a dink factory. It certainly lives up to the reputation, but it also has a good population of big fish. They don't come easy though. The lake is small, roughly 1100 acres, heavily pressured, and has lots of cover in the form of laydowns, large pad fields, and weeds that grow out to 15' deep or so. Best odds for the big girls are in the cold, after dark, or deep in the slop.

Richard? I bet he has a fast boat. Our office manager has God given floatation devices and a ski boat named "Always Wet". She's Awesome.

Not in my experience. I've tried turning it off when fishing for spooky shallow fish in clear water. It made zero difference. Trolling motor will absolutely spook them.