Chilidog

I almost always have a whopper plopper tied on. For me it is mostly an end of the day lure or for sure low light days. There is hardly a lure that can cover water like the plopper. It is a great fall bait for me whether it is the river or the lakes here in Minnesota.

I caught this one this evening on a wacky worm. It measured 20.25 inches.

I agree the swim jig is one of my favorite spring baits. I swim it slow and on the bottom. When I hit any wood or old and emerging vegetation I give the reel handle a quick turn and let it sit a moment before I start the slow retrieve again.

I have a 3 in 1 transducer that is not installed yet. I plugged it in to my HDS 12 live just to test the temperature in the garage. It seems to be accurate. I will know more when I finally get the boat in the water in May. My other two temperature sources are high, so I will not use them. I am unable to calibrate any of my temperature sources which is not a big deal if the 3 in 1 transducer is accurate. I will use it for me HDS live 12 unit and my HDS 9 unit that is upfront. Thanks for your help.

My temperature sources are a NMEA temperature probe, Lowrance 3 in 1 transducer and a Minn Kota US2 transducer on the Ultera trolling motor. This has been a problem since day one. The temperature data is compared to the other boat I own, other boats on the lake and temperature data from the lake associations. I believe they are NMEA networked. This is how the boat came rigged with the Ranger cup package.

I have had an ongoing temperature issue since I purchased my boat in 2019. Since I have recently joined this site I thought I would see if anyone has had this problem. I have a Lowrance hds live 9 and 12 on my boat. The temperature readings on all of my temperature sources are high. They are about 8 degrees high on all sources. However they are not identical as they vary a degree or so. I have been in contact with Lowrance on several occasions but they have never found a solution. Has anyone ever experienced this? I had my dealer work with Lowrance also and they replaced the NMEA temp probe without improved results.

I don't fish the winter season in Minnesota. As far as my least favorite season it would have to be summer. The fishing pressure and boat traffic is quite high where I fish. My success the last few years has been dismal at times. I have been thinking I need another game plan for the summer. In contrast the spring and especially the fall I almost have the lake to myself. The whole experience fishing these times of year better. More of an outdoors feeling.

I drink about 4 - 5 cups a day. I'm a better person when I drink coffee

I like the guppy spin heads from Angler's Workshop. They have a lighter wire and may not be as durable but they are still pretty good. I think the blade vibration is a little better with the lighter wire. They also have some nice skirts. The bass academy skirts are pretty nice.

5" Yamamoto Senko 5" Berkley Grass Pig Rage Craw Berkley Tube Yamamoto Fat Ika

Every few years my top baits change. I basically fish the same waters. In past years its been a wacky worm, swim baits and crankbaits. For some reason those baits drop off quite a bit from year to year. This year it was a little bit of everything with probably a slight edge to the whopper plopper.

I watch quite a bit of You Tube during the winter months. I like Scott Martins tournament videos. I don't tournament fish but it's fun to see what all goes on. Hella Bass has a good channel. He covers a bit of everything and his live streams are good. He is also local which makes the content more relatable.

I own several of the spinning and baitcasting Fury rods. I have owned them for 3 or 4 years and I have never had a problem. I think they are a good rod for that price.

I thought I would give an update. I sent this reel into Shimano and after 6 weeks it was returned. They took it apart and even gave me a call. Unfortunately they could not find anything wrong and they sent it back. They said if it acts up again to send a video and send it back. I have no doubt that this reel will malfunction again.

I have fished the shad rap quite a bit. It is great for walleyes and pike up north. However I have used it a fair amount for bass in the spring and fall because it is regarded as a good cold water crank bait. I have not had good results on this lure for largemouth bass. There are many other crankbaits I would use before the shad rap for largemouth bass. I do think it is more effective for smallmouth bass thou.

Drop shot for me. The last couple of summers have been a struggle. I've tried the drop shot for short periods of time. Next year this technique will get much more time.

I store most of my rods and reels in a garage that is kept at 40 - 45 degrees all winter. I have never had a problem storing them this way. I also store some rods and reels in a shed at my cabin were is gets below 0 degrees. I have never had a problem with those rods and reels although they are used less often.

Lake Pepin.

For largemouth bass I had pretty good fishing this fall with water temperatures in the mid to upper 40's. That's about as cold as I have caught largemouth. As far as smallmouth bass I can be successful down to about 40 degree water. As far as the air temperature I can fish into the low 30's without a problem. You just have to dress for it.

I like to use a hi vis braid to a 25 lb. flouro leader. I like seeing the line. Pike love jigs and a 25 lb leader is enough to prevent a majority of bite offs.

My biggest smallmouth was caught on this years Minnesota opening week. It was 21.5" and I caught it on a shallow shad rap. I was fishing on the whitefish chain.

I have a few months old Curado K. The thumb bar does not want to fully to engage when you start reeling in after a cast. It is an intermittent problem. At times it works fine but at other times the thumb bar only come up half way. I thought I would look for a simple fix before I spend the money to send it in as in it no longer under warranty. I did try to lubricate it but it has not made a difference.