T-Billy

Kudos to you and Lynn for your work with the dogs A-Jay. My compliments also for your taste in hats. I'm a fan of the red plaid.

Sorry to hear.

Depending on the day... season, species, conditions, temp, proximity, potential for large or tasty bycatch... Been wanting to get down to my #2 lake to get one last crack at some late season smallies, but muskiepalooza has been going on for a few weeks 15 minutes from the house. Sooo... Going after them big toothy buggers again tomorrow. When they hit an A-rig, they try to take your arm off. Just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Don't sweat it. This applies to life in general. Be grateful for the hard times. That's when we grow, mature, and gain strength and wisdom. The good times are the icing on the cake.

I can't wait to look in the mirror, cause I get better lookin each day...

He's not wrong about that. I use VMC's regular flippin hooks for worms, snelled. Not the HD's, those are heavier wire. Very few get away.

Talk about a mean hookset. Looks like you knocked half the scales off that fish!! ?

I like it, but it needs some fur on it!!! Beaver would be best!!!

LOL!!! After ONLY getting two muskie bites last Saturday and losing them both at boatside, I was beginning to think all the accolades I was getting in the other species forum had jinxed me. Then I realized my hat was the problem. It was too warm for the fur, and the ballcap just wasn't getting it done. ? Oh well, I ended up with 15 last week and lost 5 more. Can't complain about that. I'll be wearing the fur hat when I get back out Thursday though.

Awe... Shucks...?

Absolutely!!! Hundreds of years of experience on all types of waters, freely shared, without pushing sponsors products. You can't beat that.

I wish Livescope was in the budget now with all the sales, but it's gonna have to wait till spring. Iceover's coming soon though, so that'll make the wait a bit easier.

Taught to me by my friend and mentor from Nazareth. Love that guy.?

Humility and gratitude are good traits to have in all aspects of life. So is kindness.

Thanks brother. Nothing complicated about what I'm doing. I'm just throwing an A-rig to outside weed lines, around big laydowns, and ledges that have BIG shad schools around them. Find the food, and the apex predator in the system is there eating it. Then, it's simply a matter of are they up high in the schools chasing, or down close to bottom? Three 1/8 heads for up high, three 1/4 heads for down deep. No problem fishing the 1/4oz rig down to 30' - 35' slow trolling it with the TM set on 2 or 3.

Those things are sweet looking. Never seen or heard of them before. Thank you for the history lesson. Someone should make a modern version. Based on your description, I bet they'd be killer for snap jigging eyes. They seem to me as though they were ahead of their time.

When it gets cold, I think about what Washington's men endured a Valley Forge and realize, we're ALL a bunch of pampered sissies these days.

I like it alot. I find it very easy to be accurate with. It pitches a 3/8 Trig great. The tip is very responsive, and rebounds faster than the 7'6" HF. I've only spent a few hours with it, but I think it's gonna replace the King Cobra as my everyday pitchin stick. It'll be great for froggin too, maybe even heavy spinnerbaits.

Got started at about 8am. By 9:05 I had four in the boat. 31-34-40-43. The 40 and 43 came four casts apart. Had to swap out the hat. I was sweat'n in 26 degrees. At about 11 I had one come off that I would have traded all four of these for. Never got to see it, but it was BIG!!! Hooked it on my 7'9" HF Abu Veracity rated 5/8 - 3oz and it locked up the rod and started peeling drag like I'd hooked a bus, right up till the hook pulled out. Grrr. In comparison, the 43" never pulled more than a few feet of drag. A dozen or so casts later, I hooked another good one, and it pulled off too. Grrr. That was it for the day. Called it quits at 3, after four hours without a bite. Still, another solid day of muskie fishin. Extended forecast is fairly mild. Hopefully have a few more weeks of this fun. Never know this time of year, every trip could be the last. I caught one with prop marks once. These were definitely teeth marks. I caught one the same size last year that was chewed up too.

Those things look like a bunch of fun on light tackle. Then you get to use 'em to catch big stuff. Win, win.

I've lost big fish every way you could imagine. That said, I rarely lip quality bass anymore. They either get boat flipped or netted depending on how big they are and how they're hooked. I've had 'em come off while trying to flip 'em, and I've had 'em come off while trying to net 'em, or lip 'em. Go with what you're comfortable with, you're gonna lose some any way you go about it.

This is a pretty accurate description of Mrs. T-Billy!!! ? I like instructional videos that are detailed and straight to the point. Glenn and Tactical Bassin do a great job of this. I also enjoy videos with hosts that I find entertaining. Love Zona, and I find Richard Gene entertaining, while providing solid instruction. He's a goof, but RG the fishin machine can catch 'em. I like watching @A-Jay catch those big brown bass too. I'm not the jealous type, but brother seeing you haul those giant brownies turns me a little green. ? I never got around to fishing a chatterbait in those frigid waters last spring, but I'm gonna make a point of it next spring. I've stumbled across some chunk rock structure tailor made for it while chasing those muskie this fall.

I'm also a fan of the finesse cut skirt tabs. They give the bait a full look without adding too much bulk.

The A-rig isn't a high resistance bait unless you're burning it. Any decent quality casting reel is fine. Whatever gear ratio that floats your boat is also fine. I throw it on a 7 speed.

Roger that. I left 'em biting with two in the last 40 minutes, but I was cold and hungry. A big pot of deer chili was calling me home. Gonna be a cold start again tomorrow, but it's gonna get close to 50 in the afternoon. I caught all five in a 300yd stretch with a wide 13'-18' ledge that falls off into 30'. The gizzard shad were stacked up on it, and so were the muskie. Hope they're still there in the morning. SLOOWWW trolling the A-rig with the trolling motor on 2, after I got tired of fighting icy guides and level wind. Two off the ledge and three at the bottom of the drop. It's the kind of spot that could keep reloading. High hopes for tomorrow.