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The fish ate already, when you arrived, or they didn't want what you were offering. Or, perhaps a water buffalo in heat, was stomping thru the area. [Many wade anglers cause too much disturbance, and spook the fish---the fish will move out or shut-down]. Often times, the swimming action, of a lure is too fast. Most fish are lazy, after they've already eaten---then won't chase, but they'll often times gulp in a bottom crawling critter---many times setting motionless, on the bottom. If the fish aren't taking top water, go to subsurface lure, and if they're not taking subsurface lures, go to bottom crawling critters. Fish won't take top water lures, if they're not active. I don't waste time using top water lures, in muddy water conditions. Twintail grubs, rigged weightless, can be fished (swam) along to top, subsurface or crawled along the bottom. A great all around lure. Very productive for me. When fished along or toward shore, shallow water, along weeds, wood, bridge pilings, or the like--- make a cast, close to the object, allow it to slowly fall---allow it to lay motionless on the bottom for a few seconds. Slighly jiggle the rod tip, to impart a slight action to the grub. Pause a couple seconds and slowly move it forward a few inches and pause. The move it along the bottom a foot or two, and pause---repeat the cadence, 3, 4 or 5 ft, then reel it in quickly, to make another cast. Make short casts to start, then gradually making longer casts. You want to catch the fish that are close by, before catching the fish that are further away. I generally start with a 5" size, then downsize to a 4", if they're not taking the 5". Sometimes, I shorten the 4", by cutting 1/2" from the nose end, and other times cutting 1/2" from the curl ends. Cutting of the curls ends makes a slower movement, akin to a crawfish moving its claws slowly, as its crawling along. The full curls of the grub, often times is too much action, like the "c-tail" shape of grubs. On ocassions, I use 4 to 8" size worms. Some worms are of the "c-tail" type, while others have longer curly tails. Oftentimes I cut-off the tip-end, 1/2 to 1". This gives a different action to the worm tail. Yesterday, I started with a 6" worm---after 20 minutes of no bites or fish, I trimmed the tail tip end off. On the next cast to the same area, I caught a 16" LMB. I refished the area, and caught 6 fish, 12-16", in about 30 minutes. Go figure. Hope these tips help. Works for me. PS--- John, Sorry, I didn't get a chance to chat with you the other day. I was bussier than a one-legged cat in a sand box.

John, Sounds like a good idea, give it a try and let us know how it works for you.

Referred to by some, as "wind knots". Some superbraids are very limp---a small coil or loose line forms on the reel spool, after making a cast. When the bail is closed, the line wraps over the loop---then on a subsequent cast, the line over the loop, grabs the small coil, and a knot forms and tangles occur. The small loops can form on the reel spool, when the bail is closed by turning the reel handle. Generally the line is not under enough tension, at this time---sometimes a small loop forms is on the spool. Then the next wrap goes over this loop--- on the next cast, as the line is paying out, it grabs the looped line underneath, and results in a "wind knot" and tangles. The loops can be prevented by closed the bail with your hand vs turning the reel handle to close the bail. Closing the bail with the reel handle, will often times result in loose line and loops, forming the reel spool, whether mon or superbraids. Line twisting will also contribute to looping of line on a reel spool. From my experiences with Cortland MasterBraid, its GREAT! I don't have that problem with MasterBraid, like I had with other superbraids, on spinning reels. Best superline I've ever used. Many problems with lines are "operator/user" related.

Gloves? breakfast? hmmm---wha'd you say was the name of that eatery?

Thanks Jon, A fews ago, while shopping for new breathables waders, I found the Hodgmans--- which were the only pant style available, at the time. The pants style fit my needs to a "T", and I purchased them. There were $99, plus wade shoes. They became very popular with Hodgman. Perhaps Hodgman, makes them for BPS.

Jonn, Do you know who makes BPS wade pants? What were the deciding factors, when selecting the BPS brand. Thanks for your reply.

I used Copolymer 8lb, McCoy and P-Line, for quite some time, on my 2000/2500 series size reels, and had NO PROBLEM with it coiling. Performance was acceptable and better than other mono lines. Leave a minimum of 1/16" from the spool outer lip, when spooling. After the line sets on the reel spool, for some time, coiling is somewhat of an issue. Attach a suitable lure to the line, make 3-4 casts, after allowing the line to get wetted, the tight coils are nearly gone. Worked for me. I've since tried Cortlands Endurance SuperMono (Copolymer) line, and like it much better. The performance is better over P-line CXX and McCoy. After extended use, I experience NO COILING---the line is straight, no waves, as I've even witnessed. Since I started using the Endurance, I switched all my mono lines to Endurance SuperMono. I feel its the best mono on todays market. Since I've introduced the Endurance line to many avid anglers, they've switched from other brands and now use Endurance---and are pleased with its performance---better than other monos they used. On a recent trip to the north country, targeting smallie and LMB, I lost NO fish to breakoffs, while struggle to get fish out of pencil weeds and wood. Pencil weeds are the toughest on mono lines---they easily cause fraying, due their coarseness of the fiberous material. I also retrieved big LMB from little pads, and lost no fish. ADVICE: When using mono lines, and you get snagged and break off, cut-off and remove the line from the reel to the broken tip end of the line. The stretched line has been stressed and will break prematurely. When an angler gets snagged, the angler pulls the line until it breaks. During the pulling and stretching of the line, the line is stressed---a thinner cross-section has developed, and the line has weakened---resulting in premature breaking, because of its thinner diameter. The stretched line DOES NOT return to its original diameter. CUT-OFF/REMOVE the stretched line. Your line is the cheapest link between you and the fish.

Congrats Rich! You'll have a lot to look forward to.

Hodgman offers Breathable Guide Pant, stocking foot, waist high waders. I've had a pair for several years now, a love them. Great for wading shallow water streams. They weigh less than 1.5lbs

Mike, The G-Lock has a slight forward overbend---which provides a shoulder that seems to help retain the plastic onto the hook. Try inserting the ""hook-eye"" deeper into the plastic body---1/8 to 1/4", as I've mentioned in my previous post. When I've inserted the plastic, only "up to the eye", I found it to be less effective---the plastic worm, grub, or the like, can come disconnected or torn off more easily, especially with softer baits. Making a slower motion cast with spinning and casting rods, akin to fly rod casting, will put less stress on the joint, and reduce the likelyhood of the grub or worm being "snapped" off or torn away from the hook. Quick "snap-casts", with the rod, can result is plastics coming dislodged prematurely. I've tryed several other styles, over many years of testing and evaluating hooks various hooks and styles, and I've found the G-Lock is the most effective, rigging tubes, worms and grubs. I use the EWG G-Lock almost exclusively, when rigging plastics---never a problem. The EWG suffices as a keel, keeps the hook point in the upright position, reduces twisting and spinning. Stop by for a demo. I do like the straight shank worm hook by Gamakatsu, for some applications/presentations--- but that subject is for another day. I'm not an expert, I just fish a lot.

This topic is in response to the topic, "Parasite Clips Revisited: What We have been Missing". The following comments are offer: Extra hardware catches weed, grass, moss, and the like. A drop of Fishin'Glue, has worked well for me. Install the worm, grub, or the like, on the hook. Place half-drop of Fishin'Glue in the spot, where the hook exits the worm, after inserting it thru the leading end of the plastic. Fishin'glue is of a very thin viscosity, which allows deep penetrate into the cracks and crevises. Fishin' Glue is available in 2 style applicators--- pointed nozel, or brush applicator. Alternate: Gamakatsu ""G-Lock"" EWG hooks, feature an "overbend", which retains the plastics onto the hook, much better over hooks that are straight or with shallow and rounded bends. The shallow rounded bends result in worms easily sliding down the hook. Alternate 2: Insert a round toothpick, across the width of the worm, and trim off the ends. Position the toothpick, thru the worm, so the toothpick rests against the leading end of the hook, at the bend. The toothpick rests in the offset (bend) of the hook, which results in increased resistance to slippage or sliding of the worm down the wire hook. TIP: When installing a worm, grub, or the like, onto your hook, position the hook-eye so its about 1/4" into the plastic. A sliding weight, or the like, will rest against the plastic vs against the knot at the hook-eye. My "RULE of THUMB": Select a hook, that has a throat depth of 2 times larger than the size of worm you're using. TIP 2: Fishin'Glue can also be used to mend tears and holes in plastics. I separate the used worms, mend them at a later date, and return them to use to catch fish another day. When using the fishin'glue, I generally catch several fish on the same worm/senko/grub.

Crawfish are a noctural creature. They're most active at night, (dark hours), when most anglers aren't out fishing, and don't see them. I catch lots of live crawfish, after dark. I walk along weedy or rocky shoreline, shine a light in the water, and sometime see several. They skitter along pretty fast. Ponds craws can be caught during daylight hours, in weedy areas. Rig a gravel rake with a rope---toss out the rake, and drag it back to shore, bringing in the weeds. Sort thru the weeds and pick out the crawfish. Some BIGGIES reside in the weeds. The 2 - 2.5" size craws are the preferred size that most bass eat. YUM's baby crawbugs, and the Yamamoto Baby craw are an ideal crawfish imitator, for smallies. They eat 'em up. When rigging either bait, I prefer the Gamakatsu G-Lock hook. Select a hook size that has a throat depth 2X the thickness of the bait. Shorten the plastic body of the lure, (cut-off some of the tail length), to make it 2.5" long. Works for me.

Loctite® Thread Sealant "BLUE". This adhesive will allow removal of the threaded fitting. 1/2 drop will suffice--- placed on the leading edge of the threads. Works for me. NOTE---Superglue, or the like, may result in permanent adhesion, and may result in permanent damage to the threaded fitting(s), during removal.

A muskie can be held to make it look longer--- hold it verticle, fish head positioned closer to the persons body, with the tail end held "out" and toward the camera. a 35"r can be made to appear, like its a 40"r

I've had great success, on a recent trip in Michigan, fishing the Swimmin Senko's, (fished weightless), targeting SMB. Also caught LOTS of LMB, in the 2.5 to 5lb range. Some BIG LMB were near the smallies. The tail's vibrating action seems to really get the fishes attention. TIP---shortening the 5" lure to 4", was more productive---(I caught more fish on the shortened version).

Wisc is for the anglers, who don't fish Illinois.

Here's my solution--- Remove ALL treble hooks from lures---(reduces likelyhood of injuring those presious SMB). Treble hooks ARE NOT necessary to catch fish. I discontinued using hardbaits, with treble hooks. I've been using plastics, for some years now--- I catch more fish on plastics, vs hardbaits. For top water presentation, I use Senkos and twin-tail grubs, rigged weightless, using a single EWG hook. There are a variety of plastics, on todays market, that can be fished "top water". Yamamoto's Kreature Baits, and the like, plastics with several appendages, are very effective when fished on the top. The twin-tail grubs and the appendages on kreature type baits, create lots of surface disturbance, when retrieved at a slow or moderate speed. The beauty of this, is when fishing around weeds, wood or heavy cover, there are NO treble hooks to get snagged. Works for me. Treble hooks can be real nasty to remove, and your chances of getting a treble hook stuck in your hand, is highly probable. (Been there, done that). ps---awesome after dark/nighttime fishing---feel the pull before setting the hook.

2.5" clousers---blue/white, black/white, chart/white---with a hint of flash or sparkle. Muddler minnows---browns wooly boggers---green, brown and black bead head wooly boogers---green, brown and black rabbit hair/fur---green and black smelt fry (minnow imitators) crawfish patterns---browns and greens. Olive Zonkers Leech patterns a hint of green or chartruse sparkle/flash helps on some days. Works for me.

Yamamoto Kut-Tails worms, fished weightless, are more effective.

Kevin, Wishing you the best in your endevours. It was nice meeting you. Thank you for shopping at GAT's. May the forces of the "green fish" be with you.

Lakes, ponds, streams and rivers, use to have a larger population of catchable fish. As meat hungry anglers got educated on where to fish, many have havested 5 gal buckets of fish, form many bodies of water. Most places have been harvested of sizeable fish. IDNR is doing nothing to stock catchable fish in the Chicagoland area lakes, ponds and streams.

Eric, Some useful info can be obtained from: Fox River Fishing and info guide, Kankakee River Kishwaukee river, Rock river, Dupage River, just to name a few. Info booklets can be obtained/ordered from the IDNR, thru their website. Hot Spots Fishing maps are available for the Kank---good info. Obtain maps of the local areas you plan to target fishing. These maps will show towns, the streams, street names, dams, parks, etc. You'll want to become familar with your way around, vs just driving aimlessly. When you obtain the maps and info, study them---get an idea where what is at. This may seem like a lot of work, but it'll be worth it. When I find potential fishing places, I target the areas for earily am fishing. Later in the day, go driving around an become familar with the area(s). Then go back fishing in the pm. Mark your maps---make notes, like where to park your vehicle. Take a camera, take pics and make notes---make a log book, make notes, diagrams, etc---any and all useful info, for furture reference. All this info will be very valuable for subsequent visits. After a few scouting trips and making notes, you'll learn more from that, than someone giving you a spot. There are many shore access areas, along the Kank. Momence, Aroma Park, Kank river from downtown dam and a few miles downstream, Wilmington area. Fox River: Elgin, South Elgin, St Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Aurora areas. You could spend a day at each area, to learn it well. Do your wading during low water periods. Make notes and take pics of high water marks. Make notes and take pics of objects, such as downfalls, rocks, walls, bridge piers--- all "fishy" looking spots or objects that a fish will use for cover, and objects that provide current breaks. So when the water is up, you don't have to stay home and watch tv, you can go back to those areas and catch fish. Works for me.

Impressive!

--> QUOTE(jim b @ Jun 14 2007, 10:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I learned recently that one in every one million cicada's have blue eyes. I thought this was pretty interesting...I haven't looked for any but if you do see if you can find one. Jim hmmm... up 'til now, I thought it was their blueish colored intestines, that were splattered on my vehicles windshield. Glad to hear it was only "bug eyes".

Don, There are digital cameras available that feature "image stablization".