T-Billy

Thank you my friend. Right back atcha. You for sure know how to catch 'em yourself. It doesn't get much more simple than the way I go about it. Big rod+braid+straight shank+the gnarliest cover I can find to pitch into. The main alternative to that is a chatterbait at night. I fish it over submerged weeds, along hard weedlines, and crawl it over rock structure. My recently acquired A rig addiction is paying off in musky lately, but I'm sure it's gonna produce some big bass for me at some point. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to that rig, but I'm making progress.

Says the young and not yet senile man. Lol. That actually seems like a great app Aaron. I've reached a point where numbers don't mean much to me. It's all about biggins anymore, and for some reason I don't seem to have a problem keeping track of those.

I would forget to use the counter at least half the time. Maybe I should get one and just multiply the final count by two? ? I MIGHT be able to put up some @ol'crickety numbers once in a while that way. Or not. ?

Id wager, it won't be your last one. Edit to add: DANG IT!!! Went to S/O after reading this thread and found the Invokers still on sale. 7'4" Mag Heavy on the way. Too many is never enough. Lol.

I pretty much agree with this. I'm going to spend some time throwing 4.3's and 4.8's in cold water though. Those bigger keitechs wag at a REALLY slow speed.

Nope. Don't see the need. All my casting reels except for BFS have braid on them. I'm not unspooling then respooling all of those.

I hear ya. I'm bowhunting after work tomorrow, then fishing Wednsday. Weather will determine what I do Friday morning. Good luck hunting.

You might oughta try it brother. I love fishing this time of year. I'm jacked up and focused all day long because every swing could be a new PB, whatever the species, bass, muskie, eyes... The biggins come shallow before ice over. Especially on calm, sunny days. Last week the surface temp was still 49-50. Big cold front is just moving out. I expect surface temps in the low 40's. We have skim ice in the shallows. When I hit the water Wednsday, it'll be the third day of sunshine with highs back in the 40's. I have HIGH hopes!!! I'll be after 'em daylight till dark. A-Rig and a Flippin Stick all day long.

TRD Bug on a 1/8 football head on main lake basin structure has been my #1 producer right after ice out, especially for brown bass.

I take them off for tying knots etc. Too bulky for that. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Fish_Monkey_Free_Style_Custom_Fit_Gloves_/descpage-FMFS.html They're nice gloves. I have a pair, but I don't think they're worth the price.

Fish Monkey. This brand doesn't have seams sewn in at cutoff points like the FM gloves do. These are cut resistant insulated work gloves that just happen to work well for cold weather fishing.

Yes it does. Half finger gloves also help keep your fingertips warm to a point. That point for me is in the 40's if it's not real windy. There comes a point, which will be different for each of us, that insulated full fingers are a must. The gloves in my OP are the first that I've found that kept my fingers truly comfortable in fairly windy 30's, allow me to operate a baitcaster without issue, and give me a rock solid grip. All at a price anyone can afford. I thought they were worth sharing, but I'm also interested in seeing what has worked for y'all. I don't quit fishing until icy ramps shut me down, and I get back after it at ice out, so good gloves for the task are definitely something that interest me.

Crazy Alberto.

Mine live in my unheated, uninsulated garage year round in Ohio. Never an issue.

I've tried a bunch of different gloves over the years for cold weather fishing, and they're either not warm enough, or warm but lack the needed dexterity and/or grip. These Ninja Ice gloves from MCR Safety are the best I've found. I fished all day in 'em last Wednsday with temps in the 30's and my hands were toasty all day. They offer good dexterity for gloves this warm, and provide great grip, wet or dry. Price is right too at less than $10 a pair. I ordered a couple more pairs online, and while shopping, I came accross the fully dipped version below and ordered a couple pairs of them for cold and wet days. I'll report back on the full dipped after I get a chance to fish in them. If y'all have some gloves you like for fishing in the cold, share 'em with us here.

I don't understand?

Gotta go into that cover with a flippin rig. Smack em in the face with your beaver. They'll eat it.

Yep. I find braid to be plenty abrasion resistant, especially 832. Cut resistance is a different story. I've been cut off by rocks while fighting fish before, and musky teeth slice it like a hot knife through butter, but for me, the pros far outweigh the cons.

No experience with the Vicious no fade, but I've been VERY happy with the Fins Infinity. It's colorfast black, slick, and super quiet through the guides. Quieter than 131. It's on several of my moving bait rods now, and will be going on the rest of 'em. I'll be sticking with 832 for bottom contact and pitching cover. I've tried a bunch of braids and I'm 100% happy with these two.

That Carolina spinner rig is interesting. I could certainly see it being productive. I've considered doing something similar with an original floating Rapala, but never got around to it. I should probably give it a go one of these days. Same as last year, a Sweet Craw on a flippin rig is king, with a green pumpkin chatterbait coming in second. Honorable mention goes to the Yumbrella rig. I've been hammering the muskie with it lately, and catching a few bass on it as well. Still learning this one. It's gonna take awhile to really realize it's full potential for me, but it's a cold water must have rig for sure.

Welcome aboard.

Ark Invoker Pro series. Outstanding rods that'll leave you with some cash left over for other stuff. You can easily spend a lot more money and get less rod than these.

This is why, possum get released, coon get lead poisoning.

Yeah they cut it easily. I was just surprised one got it in it's mouth on the rig Population density is about one per acre on my #1 lake, and not far behind on #2.

LOL. The machine is down for maintenance today. Two days of Alab..... Uh... Umbrella rigging has the tendonitis in my elbows on fire. Going deer hunting this morning. LOL. Lots of 'em move shallow when the water's cold. My best day is 9 on, 7 in the boat. We have a local guide. I was talking to him last week, and he told me his best day was 14. I know another guy who caught 17 one February day vertical jigging a bait he makes that's basically an oversize Little George. Speaking of braid, I actually got bit off on the rig two days ago. The fish smoked it from behind and knocked a bunch of slack in the line, when I caught up to it and swung...... whiff. I barely got any tension on the line and it was gone. I sure wasn't expecting to get get bit off throwing this thing. Not something I expect will happen often. Nah. It's a seasonal thing for me. I collide with 'em when the water's cold mostly. I don't get many in summer. The Yumbrella rig has increased the number of collisions though, and greatly increased the percentage of bites that make it in the boat. I live 15 minutes from the best lake in OH for numbers, and 45 minutes from another good one. They're my two favorite lakes for bass too.