OhioFisherman

If you look at bass angling in the states it has a bigger following in states that don`t have hard water and have open an open season all year. I don`t know if the message sent out by B.A.S.S. is the best one for the sport. Most people can`t afford a 40,000 dollar plus bass boat, especially to use part-time because of the weather or closed seasons. Just my opinion that keeps a lot of people from being involved. Again my opinion that allowing people in the tournaments here to fish for spawning fish, pulling them off of beds and then saying you are trying to protect the fishery rings hollow. Taking fish away from the lake site, no matter how much care you use in doing so increases the risk of them not surviving, to satisfy a sponser? For media coverage? To increase the cash flow? We have a variety of tournaments in our area, electric motor only, 10 hp or less, unlimited HP, and others. All fill a nicht, who is a better bass angler? The guy that can spend 40 grand or more on a boat or a guy in a tinny that catches fish in a limited area where the competition is equal? The rising prices of fuel may also affect the sport, 100 bucks for fuel for a days fishing will turn some people off or limit their involvement. After all fishing is entertainment, there are a lot of options to spend your money on. The price of a boat will get you a few weeks a year cabin rental on a lake and time with the family for a number of years and the pace is your choice. That probably is the way to get the kids involved in fishing? I like competition bass fishing, but there are limits as to what I would spend to do it. I can just go fish for a lot less.

They old saying "you can`t fight city hall" it just takes more money than most people have, and they know it!

23f here with 30 mile an hour winds, I can barely see the grass. Must be hockey weather?

LOL, Glen! must be you, they don`t get that big here!

I tap mine out from the front using a block of wood and a rubber mallet, set the hub level on a couple pieces of wood. The opening on the front is bigger than the back bearing as long as the wood will fit in the whole in front it should push the rear bearing and seal out. I clean them with a cheap brush and kerosene, it isn`t as flammable as gasoline. Diesel fuel won`t work. There is a method to packing the bearings with grease, put a dab of grease in the palm of your hand, with the other hand force the seam of the bearing race down on it until it squeezes thru the bearings and out the front edge.

LOL douG, we used to do the pig roast with a couple of neighbors here every year. We had someone come over with a cooker made out of a fuel oil tank and cook the pig, it was stuffed with turkeys. Everyone that came brought a covered dish and a tent if they wanted to bon-fire and camp out.

LOL Art, us southern gentlemen get to start the yard work early. I cut most of mine, more of a spring cleaning, I have a bagger on the lawn tractor and it sucks up the junk from the trees. Also had the roller on the tractor already, might make a good beer keg?

A lot of it is access, mine has a splash guard on back, livewell pump in back, bilge pump in back, batteries in back, putting it in from the inside would be a pain. Much easier to rear load! Doesn`t make a difference as long as it stays in and doesn`t leak.

Try to get the names of the people on the town council that support the condos, if most people in the area don`t it might scare them to see their names in the local paper supporting the condos. Voters might make them get a real job. Our area is rural and it seems like most people here want it to stay that way. We don`t have multi-home building, and we have a minimum 3 acre lot size with 200 feet of frontage. Back lots are allowed but must be 6 acres. Moves to get the lot size decreased fail and the people pushing the moves usually get voted out. A lot of back door dealing though, you never hear much about who is making campaign contributions to smaller towns elections, a lot might be from developers.

I don`t use it often, but berkley vanish, no problems with it.

I also think ones used for food are plastic. I have seen people here use home heating oil tanks for a large grill, don`t know if they are smokers also. I also saw a guy selling used stainless steel drums, no clue what was in them, or where you could get them. There are drum dealers in a lot of bigger cities, and industrial supply house might also carry them or know who would.

One of my favorite crankbaits catches eveything, I learned of them years ago from my brother that used them on Lake Erie for walleye. I have caught L/M, S/M, walleye, pike, perch, sheephead and crappie on them. Some do work better out of the box than others of the exact same bait, a better searching action to them I think it is called. I don`t know the reason for it, but the lure can be beat up have the paint or plating gone and out fish a new one. A lot of the lures action may also depend on how aggressively the fish are feeding and how close you come to matching the hatch, what they are feeding on. Had days when the little wonder didn`t work up north, but a longer lure with not as much wobble like a Rapala would. It can pay to mix it up sometimes.

Socks on the docks? be hard to make a redneck out of you! LOL nice fish!

Welcome Bryce, there is only one sport---FISHING, what the heck is hockey?LOL

CH, 74 here today 32 the high for Friday here, LOL it might reach you by Saturday? Dress warm!

Good morning! Last nice day here for a while! Snow? Keep that stuff on the other side of the lake! LOL

Very nice work!

Thanks Spiel! I always like to see the industries claims about the economic impact of them having to take better care of what they are importing into our waters, eg. round gobie, zebra mussels, and now VHS? What about the economic impact on the fisheries? The waterways? Most of that is funded by taxpayers, so it`s no concern to them? Let them use their profits for ballast!

LOL Kerry, just cut the feets off! I was wading a pond by a cement company, they had started to level off the field behind it using fly ash from coal power plants. There was a wash out at the back of the pond that had filled with the fly ash runoff and was cover with dust, sand, and probably cement dust. One step and I was up to my waist and it was like quicksand, had to get out of the waders and pull them out from solid ground. Always be careful!

LOL Phil, once you clear the opening at Tibbel`s start flippin or pitching a worm or lizard at the stuff on shore to the right and work your way towards the mouth of the harbor hitting all the docks. Early season is nice because of less boats in the water and less boat traffic, I think the bass season shuts down May 1st though. Not very deep water, 4 feet is a real plus! But some of those pigs are in a lot less. Junebug or a lighter shade like watermelon in a 6 inch lizard or worm will work, the rip-rap at the entrance to the harbor is also a good spot, deeper water less junk, you can fish a lizard on a jighead pretty easily with snags or texas rig it and drag the edge of the rip-rap in deeper water 6 to 8 feet. I am trying to get up there before the season closes, but it is hard for me too plan. LOL at Tibbell`s I can just roll of the dock into the boat? or water? Not usually hard to get a 4# plus L/M there.

First good size cat I saw maybe 15 pounds was a nite fish my dad got on a sucker at a lake here in Ohio fishing for muskies with my uncle. Day and nite feeders, my opinion it`s a toss up on the best time. Water depth? also mixed ideas about that, both my wife`s fish came in about 8 feet of water on a slip bobber set at 6 feet, but on a flat near deeper water. A buddy got one pushing 40 in a tournament on a crankbait in 5 or 6 feet of water. I have caught some up to about 10 pounds in shallow and deep water, even jigging blade baits. If your fishing a river system try eddys or slack water near them. Big trees in the water can hold them too, bridge pilings and such. Like Art says the bait doesn`t have to stink, just be something they think they can eat, a lot of things will work, and a bigger size may mean bigger fish.

Phil, Tibbel`s?

Trying to embarrass me?, now I might have to catch a fish! Can`t have only one guy from Ohio that gets lucky! LOL Nice job Phil!

Welcome John! I just say no to ice! I can`t walk on water, why push my luck! Seems like some people know how to do it though! Anyone else lurking out there? don`t be afraid to join in! LOL

Just my experiance that some of the smaller shops don`t do the business justice. Some are well run and can compete, some are there because there is nothing else, once some competition come in they are gone. Only one in the Cleveland area I could recommend, the rest are bait stores or small big boxes like Gander Mountain or Dicks.