singingdog

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The flimsy aluminum ladder on the stern look perfectly intact. I don't think the boat was hit from behind.

Nice Pics! Not a European skipper; they don't have the 3 small spots on the forewing. Looks a bit like a Tawny edge, but impossible to tell from that pic.

I have been throwing unweighted plastics - senkos and flukes - with an older Shimano Compre 7' M for years and love it. IMHO, you want something with plenty of backbone, but a fairly flexible tip for good casting: more of a F tip than XF. I like to cast using the flex of the rod, so the slightly slower tip loads easier with lighter lures.

Repairing inflatable is dead easy, with the right materials. Just a matter of being careful when applying the glue and patch.

Texas rigged plastics, with or without a weight.

It's easy to reduce the cost of senkos 10x if you fish them wacky: shrink wrap tubing.

Yep, topwater frogs are exhilirating/frustrating to fish: lots of blow-ups, few hook-ups. I usually avoid the whole "follow up" thing and throw the senko first

I have fished musky with ultra-realistic lures and they just don't produce like traditional lures. I have some absolutely beautiful glide baits and jointed swim baits that just don't get follows. I have a couple of custom painted lures that look like they are breathing. A bumblebee or strawberry (2 of the weirdest paint jobs in the world) believer will outfish them everytime on my waters.

Fair number of average sized smallies. Lots of cottages on that lake, so fair amount of pressure. Lot of better lakes nearby.

Some of the most prolific bass fisheries in North America are open year-round. Bedding bass are not near as easy to catch as folks think they are.

It's not the first time this has happened, and bass are somehow not extinct.

We had our annual musky yakfishing event this weekend. 3 of us have been fishing the same few water bodies for opener for 5 or 6 years now. We aren't chasing giants, just want to catch fish, so we fish smaller, unpressured waters. One of our spots is a very small lake fed by a fairly small, but paddleable river. Couldn't find them in the lake. Went up the river and found loads of fish: 12 fish the first trip up, another 6 the next morning. They were in 1-2 FOW, fairly fast flow, ignoring typical musky lures and hitting bass-sized spinners and body baits. Once we found them, it was a blast: almost like trout fishing. We fished 2 other lakes, and all the fish were on smaller offerings as well. The only thing I could get hit on was a size 5 marabou inline.

It is a bit of a mystery why so many into Barnum and Black, especially Black.

10,000 'eyes into Barnum every year??? Good one ? They haven't put that many 'eyes into barnum over the past decade.

Sell it and get some really good tackle or hunting accessories. Seriously, GoPros are an epidemic.....we aren't that interesting ?

Yep. Water bomber for a campfire.

Then there is the downside of owning a Yeti: having to lock it up. My favorite new ridiculous cooler is the 6 pack sized Pelican soft-side that costs $350 and is......wait for it.......black. Rocket scientists.

Original PPro all the way for me. Why 50 lb test? Good question. For bass, I have never felt that anything heavier than 20 was necessary.

Thanks. I had no idea they were so common. I have an Ontario flyfishing film that has an entire section dedicated to catching big gar on flys. They seemed to be fighting quite hard in that film.

Last June, I was paddling in the Beausoliel area, and saw quite a large gar just hanging out in relatively open water. Surprise to me. Has anyone fished for them in the bay? It's on my list of species not yet caught.

Both Jack and John were great. They knew the fishery, knew where to send a noob that just wanted to feel a tug on their line, and knew when to reward a valued customer with some "inside" information. Once Jack knew I was a C&R fisherman that didn't post hot spots he turned me on to some of the best fishing in the county. I returned the favor by sharing information with him in terms of what presentations were working and buying from him even when it was more expensive than big box or online.

They aren't holding back info....they don't have it. I have overheard some of the discussions they have had with customers while trying to be helpful and it's quite entertaining. I once listened to the husband tell someone that lake X, which is probably the best multi-species lake in the area, "probably doesn't have any fish in it, except where the river comes in." Running any kind of retail shop is about serving customers and creating new customers. If all you have to offer is a tankful of minnows and the same lures/tackle as the CTire around the corner, you better have some other way to turn people on to fishing. Local knowledge is one of those things.

Yep. Folks I know started catching through the ice with regularity about 4 years ago. I caught them downstream of there all fall, in spots where I have never seen pickerel before.