Steve S.

NIIIIIIICE!!!!!!

Excellent! Did you get a pic? I was out my first time for an hour late Sunday afternoon. What a great time to shore fish, with limited plant growth and no bugs. It was good to toss the ole' spinnerbait and work off the casting rust. Would've been nicer to get one......or more.

I've also used a Booyah with an Indiana blade, and also a Terminator with a willow leaf type blade that is kind of fluted. I caught some nice bass on the Terminator.

Interested, especially for the DuPage. Could you get the wading ban in Naperville and DCFP lifted for me???

Going down to Shawnee with my daughter in a couple of days. Hopefully the nice weather will hold.

I've used a few options (all Colorado, all willow-leaf, combo) and I don't think the bass have a preference. The willow fall faster and are easier to burn thru the current. I think they're easier to control in the current, but sometimes they sink too fast. I like the combo (Colorado/Willow) better than the all willow. The Colorado blades start up nice and hang in the current, which allows you to keep them stationary longer with little effort if you hit the target area and are positioned "right" (see Eric's previous posts). However, if the current is strong and your position off, I think they sometimes cause your lure to drift by the target zone too quickly without getting down enough. This is when a heavier spinnerbait will help. The Colorado also throws off a better "thump". This helps when the water is high and murky, when spinnerbaits rule! I've used a combo Booyah which has been great for me. White is my favorite color. but I've caught them on black, chartreuse/blue, all chartreuse.

I had the worst weekend ever with my pics. Kansas looked awful yesterday. How do you miss layups? That came back to haunt them big time. Now I really wish SIU would've beat them! I think UCLA looks like one of the best of the bunch. Their defense was the best I've seen yet. I'm still not impressed by Ohio State, but Oden showed if he can stay in the game he can make an impact. And Florida, well nothing would make me happier than to see them lose (sorry Don)! They have some talent. Its too bad Georgetown & NC have to play each other now.

Who is your pick Tim? Two great games were just on (Kansas/SIU & Memphis/Texas AM). Both my bracket teams won, but I was actually pulling for SIU (Texas AM could go scratch). Great game by SIU. Can't wait to watch the next ones!

Might be as simple as improving the seals around the housing? I think water in the housing will gum up any reel, but maybe I'm wrong. When it happened to me, I opened the reel to air it out and added some new grease and it went back to normal. Unless I fall (which used to be rare, but is increasing) or lay my reel unintentionally in the water, it stays pretty dry. However, I don't wade and fish "up to my elbows" so to speak, but some do. I imagine a reel dunking is pretty common then. I've had them bind up, and it is annoying, but it can be remedied easily.

I concur. My next favorite is the NHL playoffs, though we don't see many series around here anymore. Why didn't you start a bracket pick?!? I'll PM you my pick, though it could change from my bracket pick after this weekend! Oh, if the spinnerbait option is offered, that would be my choice!

Hmmm, thanks for the tip Mark. A co-worker has the camera and has not reported any issues (yet). Still, hearing this makes me a little leary. Common to Canon or just this model?

Tim I carried my SLR around my neck last season, and besides being risky, its rather uncomfortable. I'm going to buy this little camera to keep in my gear: http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/a530.htm

Mark I still have my Stradic, and I concur that it did bind up with a slight dunking (I lost my balance and momentarily plunged the reel under). However, after many years of use, I think it performed pretty well. My daughter still uses it.

Congrats Michael! Can you post a picture of the fly?

I thought this looked interesting: Skip Gap Hook The new Skip Gap Hook from Gamakatsu is the hook every dock skippin’ Bass angler has been waiting for. Many soft plastics will slide off of the offset or simply come off when thrown hard against the water in an attempt to skip it under a dock. This is especially true on really hot days when the plastic can get extra soft. This unique patent pending hook is designed to hold soft plastics firmly in place so that no matter how hard you throw it, the plastic bait stays put. Unlike other hooks that have attempted to do the same thing, there is no special rigging required for this hook. Simply Texas rig it like any other wide gap style hook and it’s ready to go. The wide gap is built to handle thicker baits like tubes, but is also ideal for stick type baits and regular soft plastic worms. Sizes: 1/0 – 5/0.

Mark Sorry to hear the news, but thanks for the shopping tip!

that was sweet!

See, I learn something new every day. Thanks Tim.

Jim That sounds like a stickleback. I believe it to be a native species (Tim?) where it is seined and sold with the desired baitfish. I don't know if it is locally native, but I'm sure that will be answered by those that do know. I have seen them for many years, even keeping them in aquariums when I was a kid.

Mark I was going to go yesterday with my daughter as well. When I woke up and saw the snow and cold, I cancelled. Its on my list of things to do yet this winter.

Get in line!

I like the handling of the McCoy better on my casting rod than my spinning rod.

Nice fish everyone. Here is a nice smallie I caught locally several times throughout the season: Successful presentations were a Skitterprop and Skitterpop topwater, Booyah 3/8 oz. white tandem spinnerbait, and Rapala Husky Jerk. I cannot recall if I ever caught her on a plastic, but maybe so. I tried not to target this fish too much. Here is a nice smallie from one of my favorite rivers, the Upper Wisconsin: This bass was taken on a Skitterprop as well. Topwaters are my presentation of choice, and will be again this season.

Don One interesting pattern to note is that it appears you catch bigger bass when you shave.

Good! Now they can put that titanium prop blade on the Skitter-Prop!