why don't we do our get-together on a weekend instead of a weekday? also, I went out afterwork today - very slow day. one decent bass, lost a couple other small fish including a 12" pike that stole a spinnerbait. someone it pulled the spinnerbait off the swivel without unhooking it. I was using a musky leader so it may have had a large enough swivel that the willow leaf blades could slip past it.
weekends might work, but usually we are at the cabin. that is why i was shooting for a weekday. but there are more people on this forum than just me so i guess we can leave it to a popular vote. on a side note carl. my fishing buddy, that i also happen to work with says that you are on his fishing forum. he told me today that he saw some of your pics up on his forum that i had showed to him at work this week.... small world.
Heres a couple pics of the better bass I cought this last weekend, nothing too nice but fun to catch. I hooked a really nice one and got it next to the boat and while trying to net it, broke my line.
What type of line are you using for the bass? I am guessing if they broke your line you are running a mono? I would really suggest using a braded line.... they are made to cut weeds and you have a much higher LBS on you line. This keeps the line from snapping. as well if they lay down in the weeds it might allow you to cut them free or hold on to them long enough to get your arm down in the weeds to pull them out (have had to do this before). just a thought to make sure you land the big ones!
Always down for some walleye fishing around the cities here. My schedule is usually wide open the first half of every week. Only thing is I don't have a boat. I'd gladly pitch in for gas though.
try to make it out for this! MNSubaru fishing event. http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33799
No I use braided spiderwire 15lbs test. I got sick of losing lures in the weeds and this stuff is strong enough to pull it right through them. The fish actually broke the mono line that was attached to the plastic worm I was using.
This is the plastic worm I use. http://www.thewormfactory.com/worm.html I have had very good luck with these.
Well I haven't used the spiderwire but I hear it isn't the best.... but i think that is all opinion.... like most fishing stuff. Mono attached to the worm? Like you used mono to tie the worm/hook to the braided line? I don't understand! Here is what I have had good luck with. 30lb Sufix Performance Braid - used all season last year, two spools worth and never had an issue with it. 30lb Proline - picked it up this year because it was all the local fishing shop had when we were out of town for opener... forgot to bring my sufix and forgot to check my spool. It is actually about 1/2 the price of sufix and I really like it. No issues with it at all I would say up your LB on your line. The difference between 15lb and 30lb should be the same as the difference between 6lb and 8lb mono depending on the line you are using. it is nice because you can even rip the lure free from trees, rocks and even a friend hooded sweatshirt :biggrin:. The only thing that has seemed to break my line is Northerns cutting it with a big chomp and my leatherman to put on a new lure. this is just what I have found ... and it works great for me.
weird I didn't see that link.... maybe we were posting at the same time. I don't know that I would use mono as a leader. That might be a marketing ploy more than something that makes sense. If a northern were to bite that worm or anything with sharp teeth it would be snapped. I can understand a normal leader... however I don't like them. I just tie right to the braided line. I think a good braided line will give you better motion than mono or a leader. Plus you are constantly getting fresh line every time you change up lures, which helps cut down on any weak points. As well most fish (and I stress most because I have lost a few) cannot bit through a strong braided line. It usually takes me 2 or 3 snips with a sharp wire cutter to get through my line. I haven't tried that worm set up, I usually go texas rig due to the environments I find myself fishing in. This is all opinion and what I have found works for me over the years.
pike and muskie easily cut braided line. even very small fish - those teeth are made for cutting. I run 20 or 40 lb suffix on most of my stuff. a few rods are still spooled with spiderwire - i have no complaints with spiderwire, I just like how suffix holds up after a use. muskie rods are mostly tuf line braids, 60lb. I tend to only use leaders on my musky tackle or when fishing large pike. (100lb minimum for leaders. I broke a 75lb on my last trip after the fish was in the net)
I use the 15lbs spiderwire then a ball bearing swivel then a 8" steel leader then the worm setup. (For bass atleast) The worms mono cannot be removed thats how its setup. They work well and for a few northerns I have cought on them as well. The mono is like 14lb test so they're pretty durable. After a few good fish they will get worn out. But they are pretty cheap like ~$3.25.
yeah I am not saying braided line doesn't break... I am just saying it is better than mono. As well I do believe in leaders, but I don't use them unless I am fishing for northern (i never fish musky, I don't have a musky lake.... but i want to). I usually use just the line to the hook & worm. This seems to have the best drop. same thing when i am using spinners/swimbait/top water .... etc. It just seems to have the best action. My lake has hella northern, but I usually fish bass. No matter where I fish I always seem to pull up a water snake (northern) and they usually do not cut my line. That is cool man. I'll have to look for them... where are you picking them up at? hey has anyone tried the Trigger X stuff yet? The 20 million dollar pheromone soft bait that just came out this year?
I haven't seen them down here really and I have not looked much. I have found them at a local bait shop in aitkin. You can buy them from thier web site at a cheaper price than they are in the stores.
Yeah I have seen them in a small bait shop on the way to Taylor Falls... but I have so many plastics to use this summer I didn't buy more. I just wanted to see if they really work as well as everyone said they will. One down side to them is that they don't come in a resealable package.... they are set up for a one time use only!
Hell no just toss them in a box and theyre good for a year or more. I used old ones from like two years ago and cought fish. It would be nice if they came in a resealble pack though. They don't get gooey like other plastics can.
Caught this guy in lake Martha near alberville. Sadly it was the only bass and only a handful of small crappies last weekend.
Friend of mine caught this 50" muskie up near Detroit lakes over the 4th. I need to try for muskies some day..
Next time any of you guys go to whaletale again let me know if this area is still hot..... on the deep side or the lake RIGHT AROUND the corner to the left of the channel used to be really hot for bass, like every cast out you would come back with either a decent sized or a monster.
Bass Finally got my pics off the camera and here is one of six largemouth I caught on the 4th weekend. This one was 19". Hoping to catch a few more this weekend.
Why? I am not saying I know best. But what is the point? If the fish is going to look the same on the wall.... why not let someone else catch it? You don't want to eat a fish that big.... I guess I just want to know the point of keeping it.
to be fair, you can pretty much always pick out a replica as a replica but they are damn close to the real thing. I guess a skin mount is cheaper . sorry, i feel strongly that trophy fish need to be returned to the water unless it is obvious they will not survive. muskies should be catch and release only or the minimum length should be 54" or 55" on all lakes.
Has anyone been out on Tonka in the last few days? I've got a Pike/Muskie tourney on Wednesday (on the west side of the lake) and won't have any time to prefish. Our spots have not been on this year yet. word.
Let someone else catch it and keep it? It's personal choice, that is why. Is there a law that says you can't keep a fish that is within legal limits? Nope. It really bugs me to hear people put others down for keeping a legal fish, regardless of the reason. I totally understand selective harvest, and I practice it probably more than the next guy. I've thrown back more walleyes this year than I care to even think about, lakes around here are mostly catch and release for me. I don't like to eat fish out of Tonka or any other metro lake really. Up in the north woods, different story, and I'll gladly take home a limit of eyes when I get the chance.
hey to each their own. i can't say that i know best.... but there is a reason why these monster fish are so rare now. example: my friend has the benefit of living on a smaller lake in the park rapids area... his lake is 5 minutes from my lake. There are only 9 cabins on his lake and everyone on the lake only takes a very small amount of fish a year.... all the big ones go back. on his lake we have caught bass that are within ounces of the Minnesota state record... check out the pictures on this thread. we catch 10lb + northers and always, always, always have a good fishing day. my lake does not produce. there are good fish in my lake but there is a lot of effort and time that goes into catching these fish. I have the option to fish the open water and tons of little bays and other lakes via a chain of rivers and streams. still the lakes do not produce like his. in these cases we have similar water conditions (they are actually connected via a stream/river chain of lakes). we have the same geographic conditions. my lake is actually bigger and deeper to allow for a higher volume of fish and more habitat. the only major difference is public access. the public access = people taking a ton of fish... so I am all about catch and release... A giant fish like that is not good to eat. the only thing that you can do with it is put it up on a wall. that is my point.
Well obviously he wasn't keeping it to eat it hahah. I'm not saying keeping all fish is a good thing, what you do is great for the lakes, and for the people that want to keep the fish that they catch. I have a personal slot limit for walleyes that I will keep, that is 14-17, IF I am keeping them. But I'm not going to rip on someone because they want to legally keep a fish. Trust me, I agree with you that the big ones should all go back, but it's not like he's going to go out and keep every muskie he catches, guaranteed that is his one and only he keeps in his lifetime. Who wouldn't throw a bass back? I don't know anyone who keeps bass, or hardly northerns.
I have seen a lot of people keep bass, has anyone ever ate one of those? I couldn't imagine eating a fish that spends it's time in warm shallow mucky water all it's life. I keep what I'm going to eat. I don't get the people who have pounds and pounds of walleye from 10 years ago and they still want to keep more.
I caught a northern last night. And two sunnies. And about five 6" bass. and one that measured 50" on the tape. Wanna see it? scroll down the pic is below this one:
I eat many bass I catch but the lake the come out of is not mucky, shallow or warm. Good eating I think, no bones for you to worry about when eating.
I took my IT/website/computer co-worker out on Tonka on Sunday and we were two species away from "the cycle". I was an idiot and left my tackle on the garage floor so I only had 1 lure- a #5 jointed perch. We were trolling for Pike, but picked up: 2 Sunnies 1 Crappie 10 Bass 4 Northern 1 spotted Muskie. This was my first spotted Muskie. It's a baby, but because it was a first, I thought it was picture worthy. I didn't get a measure on it as it took me a while to pick up and I wanted to get it back into the drink. And a fun 29" that fought like it was a 40" :biggrin:
Do most of you guys troll or cast, or both? We trolled all day on Sunday and I would stop the trolling motor for 10-30 seconds and more than half of time, upon re-starting the troll, we had a hit. Also, my standard 1.2-1.175mph troll wasn't doing anything so I cranked it up to 2.5mph and that's when all of the Pike, Muskie and bigger bas hit.
i like to cast.... however, I have trolled the lake the last 2 weekends. I have a 30ft diver that I wanted to try out. Pulled a few northerns out of 30ft of water.... man that was weird. I usually fish for bass but due to the huge northern population in my lake I usually hook up with both. Here is my theory on this.... northern pick out the weakest fish. i often find that when I am reeling in if I stop then start again it attracts more notherns. This symbolizes a injured fish, since it is falling. It is the same idea behind the "bleeding" lures or red hooks. I fish this method almost exclusively with my chatter bait and I usually out fish the people I am with.... unless it is their lake. I always seem to pull more northers this way than bass. It is also useful with swimbait, to let it sink a bit and then keep reeling. :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
Had a great time fishing Turtle last night. 22 bass/northers between 2 poeple in about 2.5 hours. I also caught the 3 smallest northerns I have ever caught in my life :biggrin: I love the Bass picture because the Sunflower Seeds make me look like I am missing teeth!
