WaskaCrank12

@NorthernBasser I am sending positive vibes, thoughts and prayers your way !! Know that you have an entire community here and beyond that are thinking of you and pulling for you !!! You have been here for us - and we are here for you

I like @MIbassyaker graph - I have only been fishing now for 2 years yet I have kept a note book recording catches - and since it's minus 36 wind chill today I just might crank up the fire place and make a chart.... What is considered "big" is certainly relative to state/location and lake - I believe the heaviest recorded largemouth in MN is 8 lb 15 oz's (23.5 inches long) and largest smallmouth 8 lbs. In comparison the MN Walleye record is 17lb 8oz (35.75 inches) The vast majority of catches for me have been 14 to 16 inches long - with the biggest smallmouth being 18.5 inches and largemouth 19.5 inches....I will make a chart and see what the percentages look like.

Just received the Tackle Warehouse "Mailing List Only" email - looks like the 20% off sale goes now 1/20 until 1/29

I ended up recently upgrading from Lead Acid to AGM - both @gim and @A-Jay were helpful to me in that process.....the charger I have is in perfect working order yet is not compatible with Lithium's....so I chose to go AGM for now

You may want to check out Solar Bat.......the guy that owns/runs it is an optometrist and fisherman. I have a pair of (non-prescription) Solar Bat sunglasses and they have served me well on the water.

The Artic Blast is coming here as well - (Extreme Cold Warning is what the weather service is calling it) It's minus 5 right now (minus 29 wind chill) -- but the sun is out !! Saturday night - minus 19 air temp (minus 30 wind chill) Sunday - high of minus 9 air temp, low of minus 16 air temp (minus 40 wind chill) Monday - high of minus 15, low of minus 20 (minus 40 or more wind chill) I do my best to get outside every day for at least 30 minutes of fresh air/sun/movement -- and I have acquired some decent cold weather survival gear (I grew up in MA, lived in upstate NY/lake effect snow area and now close to 20 years in MN) yet even all geared up minus 40 is challenging - have to fully cover up as any exposed skin at that temp will freeze/frostbite in less than 10 minutes - I have learned to wear ski goggles in these types of temps, otherwise your eyelids freeze shut.......... Who needs a cold plunge when you can just walk outside......

In 2024 - 80% to 90% of my catches were on: 1- Netbait Paca Chunk Sr. on a Core Tackle Hover Rig (3/32oz) 2. Crankbaits (OSP MAX DR/OSP EX DR - MB Deep X100/200) 2a. Smaller cranks (Megabass Griffon MR/SR - Imakatsu WASP 55) 3. Keitech Fat Impact on an underspin (different sizes/colors) 4. Shakeyhead (worms/helgripedes/other) Now that I have a rod to throw them on I am going to try jerk baits -- I had engine probs in 2024 so did not get out on the water until August 10th -- so hopefully in 2025 I can branch out and try a few more lures/methods (topwater/jerkbaits/chatterbaits/NED/Free Rig/ect...)

On the Latest Sale thread it was mentioned Dick's Sporting Goods has Ultegra's for $75 - not sure that will sway your decision making as you stated you can get one for $60 on Amazon I have a Miravel and an Ultegra - they both have their place - yet I would lean towards the Ultegra (I just ordered another one from DSG for $75) With that said a Stradic for $130 would be hard to pass up

@Brian11719 - I have found the OSP Blitz MAX DR (5/8) and OSP Blitz EX DR (7/16) to be consistent crank bait fish catchers for me - a negative is they are pricey, so I look to keep an eye on the latest sale thread for deals on them I would like to see - and it seems more companies are starting to do this - put the weight of the jig head/weight on to the jig head/weight itself

this was at my local lake this weekend (I did not take this picture, it is from local newspaper)

@gim here in west central mn it has been cold and windy, pretty typical January weather - not much snow at all - and the ice is plenty thick (16 plus inches) yet multiple people have successfully found ways to have their trucks go thru the ice (ie, they are not paying any attention to where they are driving)....that is a costly mistake for many reasons

Hello @Alex from GA Thank you for the information and for posting the picture of your rod fix. It is excellent to know that you performed the repair and that it is working out well for you ! Yes, I will need to find a "sleeve" piece that has a large enough inner diameter to fit over the current rod and tip piece. Did you use the U40 Rod Bond or a different type of epoxy ? Thank you.

It looks like the records here in MN are 8lbs 15oz for a Large Mouth and 8 lbs for a Small Mouth - so I would have to travel well south to hook in to a 10+ pound bass........ I am working on catching my first 5 lb bass (I caught a LM that was 19.5 inches yet I just have a measuring board not a scale, I am looking in to getting a scale for this coming summer season) Pretty awesome to see the pictures people have posted !

Hello @Alex from GA and @MickD this is a picture of an upper rod piece that a neighbor had lying around, this piece is about the same length as my missing piece (he is a Walleye/Musky fisherman but his kids fish and they have a few rods that have been broken) -- so I am not sure if this piece could be used/fused to the rod ?

@Alex from GA and @MickD I am going to attempt to post some pictures of the rod break area and outer diameter that I measured with calipers This is a pic of the outer diameter of the rod (I am not sure if I did this correctly or not) @Alex from GA and @MickD

Thank you for the replies and the humor I am going to give @Smokinal suggested gloves a try (Kinco-Hydroflecktor Lined/Waterproof) - at under $20 it seems worth giving them a chance - and @Smokinal is from Maine - which has Minnesota like weather (not as cold, although interior northern ME might rival MN, yet ME has more moisture in the air with it's proximity to the ocean and that can make it bone chillingly cold) I have choppers and ski gloves which are warm and can be used for driving the boat around, but you really cannot hold a rod/reel with them - so I was looking for something with more dexterity yet reasonably waterproof - if the Kinco's don't work I may try the Fish Monkey gloves or some of the other suggested gloves - Thank you !

Hello - wishing everyone good health and positive days ahead ! Looking towards the "spring" here in MN - I am curious to ask what gloves people may be using in cold/wet weather ? I have some Celsius Neoprene gloves - they are not very flexible - so I am looking to see if people have recommendations for a cold weather/waterproof glove that might make fishing in the "spring" and "fall" a little more comfortable. Thank you in advance for your recommendations (I live in Minnesota - land of the wind that chills you to the bone)

@Alex from GA and @MickD - thank you I am going to borrow some calipers from a friend this weekend - is it better to measure the outer diameter in mm or inches ? Probably a naive question yet this will be the first time I have encountered a challenge like this. In the article @MickD provided it mentioned a specific type of epoxy (RodBond ?) - should I seek that out or are there other more generally available epoxy that I could use ? If I am going to do it I want to do it correctly yet it also seems to make sense to see in there are alternatives as well. Thank you for your willingness to help - and your time - and your efforts.

Hello @MickD - thank you very much for the link and information. The first example in the article (Number 1) is very similar to the rod issue I have - so the picture and description of how to approach the repair makes sense to me. I have not ever repaired a rod so this will be a new challenge for me. The fact that you have done this with a favorable result gives me the confidence to give it a try. I am not a tournament fisherman and I do own another rod that has similar power/action (medium/x-fast) so if the performance of this broken rod is diminished a bit that is ok. I fully appreciate your offer of sending along a rod piece - yet what I will try first is going to a local (30 minutes north of me) tackle shop to see if they may have an appropriately size piece lying around (maybe from old/broken rods) - if they don't have a piece then I will definitely message you with the outer diameter information. Thank you again for making the time to send along the link and information. Things like this are what make Bass Resource such a fantastic community.

Hello and Happy Holidays to all ! I bought two rods online, thru a private seller - price was great (too good to be true ?, yes it was) - one of the rods was new with tags and in new condition - the second rod looks like it had never been used yet upon unwrapping it I found the top 3 inches of the blank were missing (it's supposed to be a 7'4" rod but it is now a 7'1" - it's missing several inches of the blank plus the tip/top guide) - shame on me for not requesting more pictures, specifically of the top portion of the rod - yet it is what it is.......live and learn..... So, my questions are: (I have searched and watched some videos yet none seem to address an issue like this) -Should I just live with it and fish it as a 7'1" rod instead of a 7'4" rod ? -It would involve more than just buying a new tip and putting it on - I would need approx. a 3 inch piece with the tip/top guide to make it work - Is this realistic ? (ie, finding/buying a 3 inch or so piece with a tip/top guide ?) -If you have ever had a rod with an issue like this - How did you solve it ? - Did the rod work ok after the fix ? The rod is an Evergreen Combat Stick - 7'4" Medium/X-Fast Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.

Due to motor issues in 2024 I did not get on the water until August 10th -- once I finally got on the water the engine ran well (proud of myself, as a non-mechanically inclined person, that I did all the work myself - help of course from Bass Resource people/motor manual/YouTube videos) -- so for 2025 I hope to be on the water in April/May (crappie/bluegill until bass season begins in May) -- if all goes well I am looking to be on the water 40 or more times in 2025

@jejenkyns - thank you for asking this question as I have just purchased a (gently used) Windbuster and am looking into reels for it as well - although I will most likely be looking at a Stradic/Vanford level reel - I am looking forward to replies to your question

Hmmmm.....last year was a record early date for Lake Minnewaska (March 13th)..........the latest in the 118 years of record keeping is May 13th........so for 2025 I will go with April 23rd.....we have had an up and down swing in temps so far (minus 34 wind chill to plus 33)

Lures that caught the most fish: 1. OSP Blitz Max DR (#1 - American Sunfish, #2 - Cress Gill) 2. Netbaits Paca Chunk Sr. on a Core Tackle Hover Rig (#1 - Green Pumpkin, #2 - Sun Gill) 3. Keitech FAT Impact 3.8 on a Dirty Jigs underspin (#1 - Morning Dawn, #2 - Electric Shad) Largest fish (including 2 PB's) were on: 1. Netbaits Paca Chunk Sr. on a Core Tackle Hover Rig (19 plus in. largemouth) 2. Megabass Griffon MR (GG Bass) multiple 18.5 small mouth 3. OSP Blitz EX DR (Sunny Gill) caught a 30 inch plus Carp/Drum/Buffalo ? fish I had, what I believe was a 20 inch plus bass (would have for sure been a PB), at the boat, lifted up, an inch or less from being in the net, when the back treble o-ring failed on the OSP Blitz Max DR - UGH !!!!! (pictured below) -- I will for sure be putting new hardware on those lures this winter

The Hook Up Tackle has 20% off of their Gift Cards until December 28th