07Rapala

So I've heard this about drop-offs below sandbars before. Does this mean sandbars that are still submerged (or recently submerged) and water is flowing over them, thus creating a, for lack of a better term, vertical eddy as is found below a dam? Should I look for sandbars that have a downstream edge that is perpendicular to the overall river flow? Seems like many sandbars come to a tapering point downstream. Is it worth fishing where the currents merge or is that shallow? This last trip I was paddling (upstream!) then got out on some sandbars and fished around them. Next trip I'm going to figure out the logistics to paddle downstream a couple miles. If you have any sections you'd recommend for wading, do share! I'm thinking its about time to get some chest waders. My father is coming up to visit this weekend and bringing his 16' jon boat, so I'm thinking of trying to convince him to spend one afternoon on the WI River, but I think we'd go upstream closer to the Dells, as I think the deeper water there would be safer to navigate. With his 40hp motor, I think his boat's draft is too deep to navigate the lower Wisconsin effectively.

I think you guys have it with the interlocking rods putting their combined mass on whatever rod top is most forward when stopping and causing a break. For the record, I WAS using a rod sock with the last one that broke! I will take reels off when putting rods in the tube going forward and add foam to both ends. I will try loading them butt end first as well, but not sure that will work well with the rod socks. It will be a little more work to re-rig, but definitely better than the alternative. Thanks!

I've lived in WI or 15 years, but this weekend was my first time fishing the lower Wisconsin River. I fished rivers quite a bit in my youth and I thought I knew what I was doing. But with the shifting sands, I really couldn't get a read for the water. I couldn't really tell where would be shallow and where it would be deep until I cast my lure out there to feel it out. I really couldn't figure out where the fish would be. I tried to fish what looked like current breaks and eddies, but found most of these very shallow once I cast to them. The only fish I caught was in a spot I didn't expect it. Does anyone have any advice for where to find smallmouth on a sand river?

I built a DIY rod tube out of 6" PVC and it's been working fine for a couple years. However, I've now broken the tips off of 2 rods in the past 2 months. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here but something clearly needs to change. I mostly fish with spinning rods so the reels take up a lot of space and get cluttered. Should I only put rods in the tube without the reel attached? Should I add foam at the ends of the tube to cushion things? Should I give up on the rod tube and carry my rods some other way (that would be acceptable to my wife)?

I wondered about a small pike at first, but when I slowed it down I hooked a bass two casts later in about the same spot. I think it may have been the same fish. Oh, and I also was wondering about throwing a jerk bait, with some long pauses.

Last evening I decided to head down to the lake to casually put a line in the water for a while. I was just straight retrieving a red chatterbait, and at one point noticed that something had nipped the tail off of my trailer. So I decided to slow down a bit, and started jigging the chatterbait off the bottom, and within a few casts got a descent bass. I had several more strikes over the next 15 minutes, but nothing I could set the hook on. I think, for the most part the fish were striking short. So, what do I adjust to get those fish to fully commit. It's still cold up here, water temp is probably in the upper 40's. Should I try a smaller chatterbait, maybe a swim bait with an underspin, or a swimsuit head on a small jig trailer? Switch to a fitness technique like drop shot, ned, or senko... but those lack the vibration to get noticed. I'll have another ~hour tonight so not a lot of time to experiment with a lot of presentations.

Hmm, I decided to try one more time with a different leader… was using Maxima Florocarbon 8lbs, switched to Gold label in 6lbs test. Knot worked no problem.

Ok, so I’m putting more emphasis on cinching it down tighter after every wrap. Now it’s consistently breaking off where the leader enters the knot as I tighten it down (after first set of half-hitches). how hard should I be pulling on the leader down as I tighten down each wrap? Seems I’m less likely to get the looping problem in my initial post if I pull on the leader pretty snugly, but maybe that’s now initiating these break offs? Below are photos before and after I tighten down. EDIT: I realize the knot above has an imperfection, must have accidentally double-wrapped on one wrap, but where it broke was nearer to where the line entered the knot.

I recently learned the FG knot and thought I had it down pretty good. However, this weekend as I was trying to tie some 8lbs floro onto 8 or 10lbs braid. I was never able to quite get it right. I would either end up with the braid arched around and tied up in a ball of floor, or if I did it so it looked right, it would snap immediately as I tried to tighten it down. Any suggestions?

Come to think of it, I caught my PB on a Slug-Go too!

? Casts, I suppose you have a point! Come to think of it, I caught a pretty nice smallie on a bubblegum punk Slug-Go on a pretty hard day early last summer. I'm trying to take a relatively minimalist approach to tackle these days, but I suppose I have room in my box for a few old friends.

I picked up fishing again last year after about 25 years out of the game. As a result, I have a couple bags of 30 year old Slug-Go's. Wondering if I should bother buying new ones when these run-out. Between flukes on one side and senko's on the other, Is there a niche for the Slug-Go in there somewhere? Little story to go with this post: Its been a cold spring up here in Southern WI, smaller lakes have had ice-off for a couple weeks, larger lakes are still iced-in. Did some fishing at a local shallow lake, and searched all-over looking for fish. I was expecting some pike too, so I had a steel leader. Tried a range of lures; spinnerbaits, spoons, jerk baits, jigs, Rapala floating minnow, and I spent about half my time throwing a white super fluke. Not a nibble. With 10 minutes left I decided to try something that had worked for me in early spring many years ago. I removed the steel leader and directly tied-on a "perch" Slug-Go. Found some well preserved dead standing lotus in a slightly deeper hole (probably 5' deep) than I'd been fishing all day and sure-enough, within a few casts, I hooked a nice 18"er. A few more casts and another 18"er (perhaps her sister). Wish I'd been catching them all afternoon, but at-least I ended the day on a high note. It got me to thinking of why this all came together at the end when nothing was going for the rest of the day. The fluke in particular is pretty similar. Maybe this spot is the only deep-ish spot I came across, and that's where all the fish were... but really, not a SINGLE fish was anyplace else? Maybe the fluke's action was messed-up by the leader. Maybe the white color of the fluke didn't match the forage in the area well. But it's got me wondering if the more subtle action of the Slug-Go is more appealing to a bass in cold water who is not particularly active, and maybe a fluke is a bit too much. But it could have been a lot of things.

WOW! I've got to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed at everyone's response! It's going to take me a while to sort through all this advice. Thanks everyone. To be clear, I'm looking for good at-home storage. Right now I'm looking for a solution for soft plastics, but the old 8606 is not long for this world, so I will need a hard bait solution too. Most of my fishing is in my canoe, and I pair down what I take out with me into a single small Pelican box for the hard baits, and a gallon-sized zip-lock for the soft baits. But I could also use a mid-sized box that I could take with me for a day in my father's boat or on weekend trips. After a quick pass through of all these posts, I'm liking the idea of a worm binder for storing the soft plastics at home (in original bags for sure), and a modular 3700 box based system for home hard baits storage and a small-ish travel box.

I got back into fishing last year after about 25 years of not doing much of it. I am still using my ~35 year old Plano 8606 tackle box that I dug out of the back of my dad's shed last year. It has been getting the job done so far, but it's filling up. I'd like to start my tackle box moderinzation project with a new storage method for my soft plastics. What do you-all use?

I'm a bit of an unfrozen caveman fisherman, but I've always had great luck with the "Original Floating" Rapala minnows in shallow streams and rivers. Size #9 always seemed the best to me.

Can someone explain to me what “SV” stands for? I get that “DC” is ‘digital control’ or something to that extent.

So I have been giving this some thought: What is the purpose of me buying a baitcasting set-up? I need something more than just trying something new and expanding my skill-set to justify spending $300+ on a rod and reel. So what will a baitcasting set-up do better than, say a 4000-series spinning reel with 20 lbs braid on a 7’ MH rod? From what I’ve been reading baitcasting reels allow for more accurate and longer casts. So, for one thing, I would say I’m good at accurate casts to structure (rocks, downed trees), but I could be better. So accurate casts and flipping/pitching should be my focus, I think, and around here fishing shallow structure also means you’re working though weeds as well. So I’d like to reframe this around what is a good first baitcasting set-up to accomplish something better than my spinning gear can. Please correct me if I’m off-base.

I was initially interested in the SLX DC, but some reading I had done suggested it was not good for beginners. These sources never said why. Perhaps it’s like learning to drive an automatic and never learning to drive stick?

To put a dollar amount to my budget, I would go up to $300-350 for the combo. Again, my main interest is something that works well and is easy to learn on and that will be happy owning for a while. The spinning reels I like are in the $100-200 price range, currently I have all Shimano. I like St. Croix Premier spinning rods, great rods and made here in WI! I also liked my Fenwick HMX rod until it ended up on the bottom of the lake. I have a Fenwick Eagle also, which I don't like that much, it feels a bit 'dead'.

I'm looking for a baitcasting reel and rod that will be easy to learn on, and will also be a good quality combo that I will be happy to own for a long time. I currently have 3 spinning rigs, essentially: medium-light (6-10lbs line), medium (12-15 lbs line), and medium heavy (30lbs line). I'm looking for something that will compliment these. I'd like to support my local tackle shop with this purchase, and it seems he can get most of the major brands. Here are my questions: I'm thinking I would want to use this baitcaster set-up for early-season pike fishing and..., perhaps the best use for bass fishing for me would be flipping and pitching and fishing in slop. Are these good applications to focus on considering the gear I already have? I'm thinking I'd like something 'medium-heavy', fast action for these purposes as a compromise that should do several things well. Or would 'heavy' be better? Leaning towards a 7.x:1 gear ratio. Good choice? Since I'm basically sitting at water level in my kayak (and can't stand) I like a longer rod, is 7'6" a good choice? I'm left handed. I hold the rod and cast in my left hand and reel with the right. I assume I will want a 'left handed' reel, or does that mean the 'handle' is on the 'left'? Lastly, any particular reels/rods you all think would fit the bill for me?

Well, since you haven't gotten any replies in a couple weeks, I throw in my two cents, though bear in mind that I am not the most knowledgeable or experienced with Lake Michigan smallmouth. Most of the fishing you year about on Lake Mich is on the bays, so in WI that's Green Bay. These warm up a bit more, tend to have better habitat, and I suspect the lesser wave action is better for small boats too. I have caught a few smallmouth in the main lake, but I think the good fisheries are in the bays. In the case of Sheboygan, it looks like the north side of town has a rocky point and some abandoned piers that would make good structure. In June, you'll probably be fishing prespawn conditions. I was up on Grand Traverse Bay last 4th of July weekend and was struggling to find fish. Until I talked to some other guys who said they had seen several bass on spawning beds... in July! I caught more when I moved into shallows areas around where they would be spawning (personally, I don't fish spawning beds). So if I was in your place, I'd be fishing relatively shallow rocks, around 5' of depth. But really, if you can afford it, a guide would be the way to go. Nothing beats local knowledge in those waters.

I'll be heading to Chicago this weekend to visit some of my wife's family, and I'm thinking I may be able to sneak-away for a few hours. We'll be very near Montrose and Bellmont Harbors. Is there any point to throwing in a line to try to find some smallmouth? What approach should I take. The Great Lakes are always a mystery to me, I never know where to start to find bass. I'm guessing that, this time of year small baits that imitate minnows are a good choice... but where? How deep?

You can post the exact location of a catch, and that may be the default condition, but you can definitely set it to mask your location, and anything else about your catch such as the lure you were using. Most people have it set to record the body of water they are in, but not the location, leaving you to try to guess by the background of the photo as to their rough location.

I'm looking for a good catch logging app for my phone. I have looked at many apps and do a quick review alone, but really none of them is perfect, or even near perfect. I would like some input from other folks as well. Here are the features I think are important: Quick and easy to use so I can get back to catching. Data can be downloaded from the phone so I can review the results in a spreadsheet. Include a mapping features so I can see catch locations. Ideally this map would be a bathymetric map, showing water depth and other features. I would also like to be able to add points and draw areas on this map, which is a bit beyond what one could expect from a basic catch log, however, it would make for one fishing app to rule them all. Here are the Apps I have evaluated so far: Fishing Smart: (★★★★) Seems somewhat crude compared to flashier offerings. A little slow to set-up with new lures and such, but probably pretty smooth once you've used it a while as it remembers the data from your previous catch (so if you're still using the same lure and catching the same species of fish, no need to input that). You can Export data to a CSV file! Does have a mapping feature, but it only shows google satellite images, and cannot be drawn on. With a bathymetric map and the ability to draw on it, this would be an absolute winner. FishBrain: (★★★) Focuses on the social aspect, but you can choose to make your catches private. Good for getting to know a lake that you are unfamiliar with, but seems to be most popular among shore anglers and young users. Though its great to see kids getting into fishing, its not always the most useful information. Has great Navionics maps on the phone, but not on the website, so not great for planning. Very easy to input catches, you can even do it from a photo, and it will get the location and time data from the photo's metadata for you. This means you can just photograph your fish when you're on the water and log the catch later. It even has a feature to ID the fish species, which I don't find necessary, but its pretty neat, especially for people learning. In addition to your catch points being on the map, you can drop points, but not draw areas. Cannot export data, so that's a deal breaker for me as a catch logger, but the app has other uses. Fishing Spots: (★★★) Another social app. No way to download or review catches, no bathymetric map. Oddly, it can capture the catch time from the metadata of a photo of fish, but not the location. Nice set-up though, well designed, automatically captures weather data for the time/location of the catch, and has a pretty good list of lures to choose from rather than having to build it from scratch. Has an automatic fish species ID and includes a 'fish forecast'. Add maps and data downloading and this one could be great. Angler's Log: (★★★) Would take a while to set-up with every lure you might use, lake you might fish, species you might catch, etc. But it does allow you to capture useful data. Nice interface. Pro version ($12/yr) allows you to back-up to Google Drive, which I assume means you can access and review the data in a spreadsheet. You can see your catch locations on google maps, but that's about it. Fishidy: (★★) It seems the developers have abandoned this app, but its still somewhat useful. It does have an accurate bathymetric map, with Fishing Hot Spots info, and you can drop points, but the map can be hard to read, especially in the sun. Clearly meant to be a social app with good mapping features, not a catch logger, but user-base is waning due to lack of recent development. Fishaholics: (★) Similar to FishBrain, and free, but less well developed and lacks bathymetric map, limited user base. Catch Logger: (★) Seems underdeveloped. No map feature, however a premium account allows you to "online sync". Catch: (★) Very limited data you can enter, so not particularly useful. Angler: (★) Hybrid fishing forecast and catch log. Not much details, no map, no data export. Fishing Plus: (★) Doesn't seem to offer anything these other apps don't and also looks like a chore to set-up. In conclusion, unless anyone knows of any better options, I think I will be recording my catches for now with FishingSmart, and using the mapping and social feature on FishBrain for planning and navigation. Its unfortunately that I would have to double-enter information if I would like all my catches to be on FishBrain, but if I really want to, I could just take photos of my fish when on the water and enter them in FishBrain at a later time, which may not be so bad.

You guys got me looking into this now, funny how its hard to find underspin with smaller hooks, I read one place that recommended a 2/0 for the 3.8" Keitech. That flashy swimmer is one of few with smaller hooks. The options in my box are a 2/0 with no flash and 4/0 with fast. I'm guessing the former is probably best used slower and let that tail move, and the latter faster with a tighter tail wiggle.