Super User Further North Posted November 10 Super User Share Posted November 10 21 hours ago, T-Billy said: Then the Muskie managed to catch a sucker when it buried a #1 4x strong treble in my index finger clear up to the bend, then it proceeded to go ape while we were hooked together. That was fun!!!🤬 😂 I'm here to tell ya'll, those Knipex cutters are worth every penny. I screwed up by cutting the point that was in my finger at the shank, thinking I'd just push it through. WRONG!!! It was too deep and I almost lost the whole thing under the skin. I ended up having to apply pressure away from the barb and rip it out with pliers. Lesson learned. I'll be cutting them at the eye every time going forward. Then I can pop 'em out with braid. This is why every hook used on my boats is barbless. So much easier to get out, and almost no risk of having to cut a day short with a trip to the Emergency Room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 10 Super User Share Posted November 10 3 hours ago, Further North said: This is why every hook used on my boats is barbless. So much easier to get out, and almost no risk of having to cut a day short with a trip to the Emergency Room. Different strokes for different folks... I'd rather to keep the barbs and land more fish. I've only been hooked a few times over the decades and haven't had any real trouble removing them. The braid method is pretty painless. Pushing them through sucks but is effective, if it's not too deep. I misjudged it this time and shouldn't have cut the hook where I did, but even pulling it out with pliers really wasn't too bad. Just gotta grit yer teeth and go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 @T-Billy you can get a snag proof glove that will prevent being stuck by hooks. I have one for my left hand and it works pretty well. Made by Lindy. Just have to remember to put it on when removing hooks. Hope you're up to date on tetanus. Dirty hooks are an infection waiting to happen. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 19 minutes ago, gimruis said: Hope you're up to date on tetanus. Dirty hooks are an infection waiting to happen. Actually, I'm not . I should get that taken care of. Thanks for the reminder. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Further North Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 4 hours ago, T-Billy said: Different strokes for different folks... I'd rather to keep the barbs and land more fish. I'm with you on the "different strokes for different folks", and I don't think poorly of people who leave the barbs on, but... I've never lost a fish because of lack of a barb. I've lost fish because I let slack get in the line, or because I did something else dumb...but never because I didn't have a barb on the hook. We pinch barbs on my boats...that's just the way it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Darren. Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 Went out on the creek last night with son #3 in his jon boat. Tide was going out, caught several species: perch, speckled trout, Reds. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Jigfishn10 Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 Beautiful fish @Darren. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 11 Super User Share Posted November 11 Rode the skunk for about 8hrs today. I thought I was gonna ride it home, then I ended up picking up two on a main lake point with a steep break into 30'. Both were right on top of the ledge in about 12'. 32" and 45". Only took a pic with the 45. Raised four others with the A rig, but they wouldn't commit. Crappie rig saved the day again. Guide buddy and his bunch got three today, all on crappie for them also. It's tough out there right now, but I saw some BIG shad schools out deep today. It won't be long now if the forecast holds. 🤞 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzbaiter Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 On 11/11/2024 at 8:24 AM, Darren. said: Tide was going out, caught several species: perch, speckled trout, Reds. That speck looks more like a weakfish. Seems like a fun time 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassBass Posted November 14 Share Posted November 14 This is tiger trout. It's really not a bad fish even though it is so thin. These things are starving when they hold over. They need a plentiful population of bait to eat good and fill out, and I am afraid the pond where they are stocked doesn't really offer that. There was a bite window where I could have caught at least two more but they shook off. Small jerk bait. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 15 Super User Share Posted November 15 I got out for about 4.5 hours this afternoon. This cold front has 'em eat'n. I ended up going 2 for 4. Caught two on crappie, and lost two on the A-rig. I'm 1 for four on the rig lately, so I switched back to a 9' HF rod. I have been throwing it on a 9'5" XH Prorex, and while I really like the way it fishes on that rod, I think it's moderate action leaves it a little lacking in power for good hooksets with the heavy wire 5/0 hooks I'm making my jigs with. Anyhoo... The first fish today was a nice thick 42" and it was #80 over 30" for the year. The second fish today was this beautifully colored 37". I didn't get to see the first A-rig fish I lost, but it didn't feel that big. 30 something I'd guess. The second was a pretty nice fish about 40"-42". I got a good look at it when it shot 4' out of the water and did a backflip about 10' from the boat. That's not something you see a lot in 53 degree water. That fish was fired up! It knocked a few feet of slack in my line when it hit. So... I'm sit'n at 81 muskie with six weeks left in the year and the rig bite is getting underway. I'm off the next four days and still have a week of vacation I'm taking the first week of Dec. + 15 more regular off days. There's no guarantee that I'll get to fish all of December though. Even so, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of getting to the century mark. 🤞 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Darren. Posted November 16 Super User Share Posted November 16 On 11/12/2024 at 8:32 PM, Buzzbaiter said: That speck looks more like a weakfish. Seems like a fun time You are correct. My son was not here when I typed it in as a speck. I read this to him just now and he said "Dad...it's a grey trout/weakfish, not a speck." My bad. LOL. What can I say, I'm mostly a freshwater guy. Both have the fangs, tho. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 18 Super User Share Posted November 18 Tough conditions today with light winds and bluebird skies. Rode the skunk for almost 6hrs, then had this purty 40" follow my rig in. It made one lazy turn through the 8, then turned off and SMOKED my crappie rig. That's the first fish to eat a crappie since last Friday. I was starting to wonder if they'd turned off of them in favor of shad. I had lots of lookers but no takers on crappie over the weekend, but went 2 for 4 on the A-rig. Today's fish is #84. Chipping away at 'em. Big cold front coming through in a couple days. Hopefully the rig bite will be on in earnest by next week. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 19 Super User Share Posted November 19 It was an 8.5 hour grind today without much action, but I managed to add two more to the count. A 42" on a crappie, and a 37" on the rig. I only had a few other lazy follows the rest of the day. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Dwight Hottle Posted November 20 Super User Share Posted November 20 @T-Billy Your tearing them up this year Tim. Congrats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 20 Super User Share Posted November 20 53 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said: @T-Billy Your tearing them up this year Tim. Congrats. Thanks, Dwight. It's been an awesome year already, and the grand finale is about to start. There are balls of shad scattered all over the main lake basins, and the muskie are scattered with 'em. Hopefully this big cold front that's blowing in tonight will be enough to get them concentrated into those giant schools. The A-rig bite will be in full swing at that point. I've learned so much this year, I'm already looking forward to putting the lessons learned from this years failures to work next year. As incredible as this year's been, I'm expecting next year to be even better. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Team9nine Posted November 21 Super User Share Posted November 21 Bass bite was off today, but the crappie bite picked up at dark, and the sunset made for a great ending to the day. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted November 21 Global Moderator Share Posted November 21 @Team9nine, that looks like a tasty sandwich !!! 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted November 21 Super User Share Posted November 21 Uh oh. @Team9nine crappies might be making a return here. Only a matter of time until he starts posting bigger crappies than most bass here. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 21 Super User Share Posted November 21 7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: @Team9nine, looks like a tasty sandwich !!! Whoa!!! I can't agree with ya on that one. The crappie looks tasty though. 😂 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted November 21 Global Moderator Share Posted November 21 Edited for @T-Billy, #punctuation matters 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Team9nine Posted November 21 Super User Share Posted November 21 8 hours ago, gimruis said: Only a matter of time until he starts posting bigger crappies than most bass here. I’m actually having that debate in my mind right now. Already sitting quietly on a few that never saw the light of day last month 😉 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted November 22 Super User Share Posted November 22 2 hours ago, Team9nine said: I’m actually having that debate in my mind right now. Already sitting quietly on a few that never saw the light of day last month 😉 My guess would be the photos also showed your ripped up jeans too. I have no concrete evidence for this theory at the moment though, as all your recent photos purposely avoid detection. It’s only anecdotal at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted November 24 Super User Share Posted November 24 Somewhere in there is my bride holding her 13th muskie of the year. She's a trooper. It was low to mid 40's today and blowing 10-15. She bundled up, came along, and whooped me 1-0. It's only 33" but it's a fat fall chunk. She caught it on the rig, fishing an outside weed edge in 12'. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Jigfishn10 Posted November 24 Super User Share Posted November 24 “It’s only 33”…” Still means that I’m jealous AF! Congrats to the Mrs! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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