OhioFisherman

$ 3.69.9 a gallon and schools not out yet, the new word Staycation, travel will be down? Prediction that summer jobs for students will be at a 60 year record low, too many adults taking extra jobs to supplement their income. Kids with no jobs, no income is not a good thing, way too much time on their hands can lead to trouble.

Depends on the fishing method? Some deals like a spreader or perch rig require snelled hooks. When fishing for pike and stuff up north with live bait I used ones that were snelled with wire leader. For bass here with big chubs I tie a hook to a 18-24 inch piece of mono making it a snell just because I like a ball bearing swivel above it because the big chubs-shiner swim around a lot and can tangle the line pretty good without a swivel. For crawlers I didn`t use one, just a hook tied directly to the line, small split shot about 18 inches above it and a small float.

Size 6 hook seems kind of small, I don`t fish for them on purpose but decent sizes ones have no trouble with a 3/0 or 4/0 3407 mustad. No experience with the octopus hooks. Bigger bait generally means bigger fish. Daughter`s boyfriend got a decent one the other day on ground crappie in a mesh bag.

Thoughts are with you and your family Dave. No ideas on the hospitals up there, I am sure some are first rate. Any options on coming stateside for treatment other opinions?

Just a word on the Plano boxes, get the ones with the pro style snaps, the molded ons have a habit of snapping off in cold weather.

34-year-old plumber Plumbers catch fish?

I went from tackle boxes to tackle bags years ago. Just easier to have the basics in plano boxes in the tackle bags and plug in various other boxes to fit a need.

I used to trade Garcia Fishing Annuals for reels, depends on who is looking for them and how bad they want them. 4 or 5 got me most reels I was looking for, not bad for dollar a box fishing mags at garage sales.

Strawberry must be an Ontario color, back in the day a Heddon Vamp (wood) was the lure of choice in Pointe Au Baril, maybe Kennedy`s and E&E just got a deal on them? Seemed to be the ones they sold most often.

Not positive how their season runs anymore, here in Ohio It closes now the end of April till like the 3rd Saturday in June on Lake Erie, Pa and New York used to be similar. Some good Smallies fishing in PA also east of Presque Isle State park to the New York line. The main thing is to find a rock- gravel bottom just increases your chances of catching them, tubes, drop shot, smaller crankbaits and anywhere from 1 to 40 feet of water usually. Late April was a great time here for them, they move into the bays off of Erie a lot to spawn and 50 fish days weren`t unusual. Fishing for them in the bays was a lot like fishing for L/M, around docks, wood, any place with a harder bottom, sand, gravel, rip-rap. Open waters of Erie a bit different, a good depth finder and look for fish sitting on the bottom, easier in deeper water, a marker was a must have, get a few feet off of them and no hits most of t he time, they can lock down tight on a spot. Tubes, drop shot, jigging a blade bait like a sonar, silver buddy. vibee. They don`t like lizards, if you find them they will smash a 4 inch lizard on a jig or texas style depending on cover.

LOL 40 years ago I used plastic worms a lot, still do, a lot of the names have changed, they still catch fish. Used to do the Rapala thing also, still carry then but not used often. Went from Jitterbug, Hula Popper, Buzzbait at night to jigs and soft plastics most of the time, just better results.

Don`t get caught up or become overly impressed by the number of bearings a reel has, it seems to be a selling point that is very misleading. The old Abu 5000-6000 series reels cast very well with just bronze bushings, the one way bearing is a nice improvement but quality and placement of the bearings is far more important. Shimano controls their products pretty well, sales here seem to be set at one price for all stores, doesn`t seem to be much wiggle room for the retailer. A good product and in demand, why lower prices? They do have a rebate program going on some models till April 30th I believe. Where you cast is usually a lot more important than distance.

Erie is fed by the "chemical valley" through sarnia, That chemical valley ran thru the Ohio rivers here that empty into Erie also. That seemed to be the place to build industry back in the day, just dump the waste into the rivers and let it wash into the lake. Lakers were a native species years ago, never seen one here but my brother who knows a heck of a lot more about trout and salmon claims my dad caught one trolling for walleye years ago. Small 4 or 5 pounds. If a steelhead can live in erie why not a laker? Granted, shallower than the other great lakes but that didn`t bother them in the past, they can migrate to deeper areas and there is a good food supply in Erie. Lamprey are probably still an issue, water is cleaner than it used to be. Odd to me that pike and muskie are scarce here on the Ohio side.

Voted L/M because them and Smallies weren`t combined. A Toss up for me, nice to catch some other species once in a while, but given a choice Bass is the winner.

Fresh water, looks like a two speed retrieve fighting drag, and possibly a flipping switch near the thumbar? Magnetic cast control doesn`t do anything to tighten the spool, just adjusts internal magnets to help prevent overruns. Knob on the right center adjusts play. If you have the adjustment knob adjusted properly you don`t need the magnetic one too high. All of my older Shimanos have basically the same setup. Don`t think I used any of mine for 1 ounce lures, had bigger heavier duty Abus for larger lures, but even them properly setup are fairly good at casting lighter lures. Sort of rare for me to use anything over about 5/8 ounce down here.

I have a couple Shimano convergence, a couple Diawa heartland, a couple of Berkley lightning rods, a few abugarcia rods, none very expensive all work fine, more a question how it feels in your hand and action than price.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_perch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_bass

No experience on a F-150 but brake work is easy compared to some things. New rotors, new pads they wear in, grooves on a rotor will transfer to a pad. You save 65 to 75 dollars an hour labor, 25 percent or more mark up on the price of parts from a shop.

Most reel brands are no longer made in the country they started out in and developed, a lot are now made in China. I had a couple of the BPS brand Abu imitations synthetic reel seat instead of a metal one and even with some playing around with them casting quality was irregular, so they were sold. The gripe I hear is they don`t hold up compared to say a Shimano, same with the Zebco brands(Quantum). No factual experience with Quantums have bought a Zebco in 40 +years Seeing what the pro`s use is iffy, they probably get new ones on demand for cheap or free. Us folks that buy them want something that is going to last. Just like a car different experiences with each one for a lot of people.

I don't know if the casting is simpler... I have an old shimano beast master that I had in the basement for years. brought it out last year to give it a go and couldn't cast at all. I could have a 1oz sinker on the end of my line and I couldn't cast more than 20ft. However I just had it re-greased and cleaned so I'm hoping that will fix the problem. If anyone knows anything about this real/how it should be set up for optimal casting please let me know so I can add another toy to my arsenal! Just my opinion with out seeing the reel you have the adjustment knob on the handle side too tight, the other side has magnetic cast control?( a dial ) your lure should fall at a slower pace when it is adjusted not to fast not too slow with out tangling the line on the spool. I don`t think I have any Beastmasters? Like 2200 series? Most of mine are older, and decent reels, no problems casting a 1/4 ounce weight 100 feet or more. The grease can harden in older reels, usually much older than the BeastMaster, sometimes you have to soak them in a solvent to soften the grease and get it out. I usually use kerosene, not as harsh as some solvents, then hot soapy water, dry everything out or use an air gun. Over lubing will also cut casting distance, 1 drop of oil is enough for the bearings(hot sauce or such) a light weight grease on the gears and level wind assembly. Reel is 20 years old or more? new line 10 to 20 pound test.

I read that book LundBoy pretty interesting read, amazing some of the things they got away with. It`s just business as usual?

LOL some here pay a buck or more a liter for water here, you should be getting your gas for free?

I have never used them, just looked at the picture from Berkley`s website. Just from looking at it as a trailer on a bass style jig, as a trailer on a spinner bait, on a ball or mushroom(worm nosed) jig, like mentioned drop shot rig, hooked thru the nose and cast weightless thru weeds or lilies. Just depends on what you want to try.

A pretty common species, member of the same family of fish as the Striped Bass, hybrid called wipers cross between the two. They spawn here shortly after the walleye in the rivers off of Lake Erie and are catchable all the ice out season. Don`t do ice so maybe thru it too? Seen White bass caught in the spring run up to about 20 inches years ago, haven`t seen them that big since, 12-14 inches or so and not often. They like to eat smaller minnow and can travel in large schools, day and nite feeder, at nite around water front lights that attract bait fish. As a kid we fished for them with a casting weight that was popper shaped and floated with 2 or 3 white bass flies attached to a leader on the back, simple deal the flys were a hook with a piece of what looked like wire insulation over a couple feathers. Usually some mix of white to imitate bait fish like the emerald shiner found in lake erie. Other methods work though any smaller lure, rooster tail, mepps spinner, small crank bait, eg rattle trap, wiggle wart, small rapala. They will feed on the surface to bottom and usually aren`t far from the baitfish. Not really my choice of fish to eat, but not into keeping fish much anyway. I will take a walleye or steel head over white bass. Fun to catch if they are big enough, just haven`t seen the size or number here like the old days.

Welcome back Rick! Keep the chin up, dogs are easier to deal with.