T-Billy

Brrrrrr, 26 degrees to start this morning, never got above 34. I got back on 'em though. Ended up with five in 6.5hrs. No giants, 32", 32", 34", 35", 42", but check out the girth on that 42". That's one well fed muskie. The 35" was sporting some pretty fresh looking battle scars. Looks like it got T-boned by one of it's much bigger brethren.

LOL. Just watched Chris Lane break two off that would have put him in the lead in a Heavy Hitters replay, pitching laydowns with fluoro. Of all people, he should know better. His response... Tomorrow, I'll have braid on. Better late than never I reckon.

Welcome aboard.

Might be the way to go in the ultrasonic. I'm only planning to use it to clean bearings and degrease gears. In the past I've put a little acetone in a 1/2 pint jelly jar, put gears or bearings in, and wiggled it down into the media in my case tumbler and run it for awhile. It worked well, so I thought I'd go ahead and buy an ultrasonic.

Well... This 13+ pounder took me for a nearly half hour ride after it ate my ned. It was a fun diversion. I also occasionally catch smallies out of the mud clouds carp create when they're rooting. I've only run into that pattern a handful times, but when it's on, nearly every carp will have a brown bass with it. Happens late spring after the bass spawn. Pitch a small tube or craw bait into the mud cloud. Gotta be stealthy and not spook the carp though. If you go wee small, like a TRD Bug, the carp will sometimes eat it and take you for a ride around the lake. The one in the picture and I covered a few hundred yards on 6# XT.

Sounds like a good time to me. Some folks here gripe about the white bass in a couple of our lakes. I'm like, you kidd'n? I can take an hour break from bass fishin and catch multiple delicious meals when they come up, then go right back to bass fishin. I don't get some people. No such thing as a "trash" fish IMO. They all have their place.

I like the way you think!!! That sounds WAAYYY cooler than, I bought it out of season at Discount Drug Mart for five bucks!!! ? Sweet!!! Those things sound like a blast. Do you get into any big schools of them where it's one after another like white bass?

Nice. Are they acrobatic like tarpon?

I like the Yum ultralite for bass and eyes. I've gone to the full size Yumbrella in lakes with muskie. Muskie wreck the fullsize pretty fast too, but they hold up better than the ultralite. A slow retrieve works best most of the time and doesn't take much effort.

Me too. I haven't experienced that issue, but I've heard other say they have as well. Different strokes. Whatever works for YOU is what matters. Edit to add: If your braid's biting into wood, you can go to a heavier braid. Better option than fluoro IMO. It ain't like the bass care about seeing it when buried up in cover.

Yer preachin to the choir sister. I just dropped about a hundred on stuff to make my own A-rigs, and I'm not even 100% sure the design in my head is gonna work!!! Lol. I'm pretty sure it will though, and if so, I'll have quality rigs for a few bucks each. Those muskie wreck em in a hurry.

I'm happy with my Curado and Scorpion 70's for this type of stuff.

It's only as complex as we choose to make it Katie. A T-Rig or jig, and a handful of moving baits are all that are really required. Lord knows I've had a tendency to over complicate it over the years, but that's coming full circle. As I analyze what's worked for me and what hasn't, my fishing is getting more simplified, and I'm a better angler for it. Instead of rotating through a bunch of baits and constantly second guessing myself, I pick up a bait or two I have confidence in, and grind all day or night with 'em. That said, it seems there's always something new coming out that I just gotta try. Sometimes those new baits pay off big and become a confidence bait. The Slugo, Senko, Chatterbait, and A-Rig come to mind. Boy has that A-rig been paying off big lately, just not with the bass. LOL. That bait's still a work in progress for me, but already it's become a bait I have a ton of confidence in when the water's below 50 degrees.

LOL. It's pretty popular at the launch ramp.

Only if the water's cold for the most part. I hardly ever catch 'em in the summer. The A-Rig has been a game changer. This is my best year ever for them. I used to get bit off more often than I landed them. That is no longer the case thanks to the rig.

Thanks. I struggled to find 'em today, but the local guide didn't. His client caught six. He's got me talked into buying a FFS in the spring. Not 100% whether I'm going Lowrance or Garmin, but leaning Garmin.

The wind flipped 180 degrees from yesterday, and so did the fishing. Only had one bite all day, but this obese 40 incher smoked my rig close to the boat and put on a show. No shortage of attitude with this one.

I enjoy watching the pros break fish off and cry and throw tantrums while flippin with fluoro. Happens every flippin tournament. Poor saps gotta use what their sponsors tell em to use. Wasn't so funny when fluoro cost me two PB's in two years because I fell for their marketing crap. #NEVERAGAIN #STRAIGHTBRAIDBRIGADE !!!

It's a cold water killer. I didn't post any pics since we didn't have any giants, but the wife and I caught a nice limit of 17-24 inch saugeye on it last Friday. What really excites me is, I'm just getting started with this bait. I never really gave it a fair chance until last spring. Some things I've learned. 1. A long rod is a big help. The long handle provides leverage to lob the thing out there and the length helps with distance. I disagree with Tactical Bassin on this point. You want a powerful rod, but it should be fairly parabolic not a pool cue. They say a MH is good, I say H is the way to go. Think 3/8-1 1/2 oz rating minimum. That said, a big swimbait rod is not required. I like my Ark Tharp Guntersville flippin stick for throwing it, but I like my SLX 7'10" H MF even better. The SLX has a bit more power, and gets a little more distance. It just feels "right" to me. If you're gonna buy a rod for this bait, the SLX is a good one that won't break the bank. 2. Casting mechanics is HUGE when you'e lobbing this thing all day. Don't try to throw it all the way across the lake, you'll get nearly as much distance with a gentle lob as swinging for the fence, and it's MUCH easier on you. 3. Retrieve: The best retrieve I've found with the exception of shallow water is to just kind of keep up with it so it sorta floats along with occasional hard cranks thrown in. THANKS A-Jay!!! The bite usually comes right after a hard crank. 4. Reel: I like a 7 speed. Unless you're burning this thing, it's not a high resistance bait. I'd call it similar to a spinnerbait in that regard. Use whatever you got, no need for a special reel. 5. Line: 40-50# braid is what I like. These things snag anything that gets within 10' of them. Braid allows me to straighten hooks and get my rig back and gives me hook setting power at distance. You're pulling a chandelier through the water. If a fish will attack that monstrosity nobody's gonna convince me they give a crap about seeing my line. 6. Rig: The Yumbrella in all it's variants is well built and durable. There are better out there, but this one does a fine job and the price is right. I use both the standard and the ultralite. Standard in muskie waters, ultralite when just bass and eyes are present. Three 1/8oz jig heads on the bottom and middle positions and dummy's on screwlocks on the top two. This setup works from 3'-15' or so very well. I'll jump up to 1/4oz below that. Three hooks is fine, so far I've had ONE fish hit a dummy bait. 7. BEWARE!!! THIS THING IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!! I haven't picked up anything but the rig and my flippin stick for a month. No need, they're gett'n it done.

Dunno what they weigh. Never weighed one. I don't want to injure one by hanging it on those little clamp jaws. As far as the fight goes, they tire quickly in warm water, and don't take handling well. This time of year, they pull hard, don't give up easily, and they are FAST for a freshwater fish. They're also much more tolerant of handling when it's cold. Water's in the low 40's right now.

Thanks brother. I'm pretty stoked. This was at my #1 lake, that's 15 minutes from the house. I don't go back to work until next Sunday. Could might maybe possibly be an epic week. Fingers crossed. I talked to our local guide at the ramp this afternoon. His clients got six, and a big saugeye today. He's expecting this bite to hold up for awhile.

I boat flip 'em. ?Lol. Actually I have two nets. One has a 20" or so hoop and is 36" deep. The other has a much bigger hoop and is 48" deep. Fish up to 40" or so go into the small net, get unhooked, then into the big net to recoup while I get the phone set up for pics. I landed the 43" with the small net today, but it was a tight fit. System works great, and the fish are rested and ready to go come release time. It gets more complicated with bigger fish that need to be netted with the big net. A- Rigs and nets don't play well together. It can be stressful for both me and the fish when I can only use the big net, but so far, so good, I haven't lost one yet. I give 'em plenty of time to rest and recoup before turning 'em loose. They've all swam off strong. They take handling much better in cold water, and I don't catch many when it's warm.

6 hours with the A-Rig today = 5 muskie between 33" and 43" and lost another. Man I love fishin this time of year!!! All fatties too!!! Stuffed full of gizzard shad. Started off with the orange hat because it's opening day of deer gun season. Wind picked up and I said to heck with it and broke out THE hat. ?

Stick with mono on that rod. Fluoro and braid will groove SS guides.

In the past I've used acetone to remove grease, oil, and gunk buildup, followed by an alcohol rinse to remove the acetone residue. It's worked well, but I'm curious what Y'all use. That reel maintenance time of year is just around the corner and I have a new ultrasonic cleaner on the way. I have several that are in need of a complete teardown this year.