Tritonbass

I run one here in Michigan every year. Our charity of choice is the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. It has grown in popularity every year we've done it. So if you're in Grand Rapids, MI area on June 19 feel free to join us!

Do any of you drop shot? What type of baits do you use in early april? Drop shotting is my bread and butter, and not to brag but I'm pretty good at it. I'm a finesse fisherman at heart... though I own a slew of crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and jigs. Mike

Thanks a ton guys. I'm really looking forward to my trip!!

17 lb mono on my spinnerbait rod. EVERYTHING else is braid of various strengths, many with floro leaders. You couldn't pay me to put mono on a spinning reel these days. I only use the mono on my spinnerbaits because I think the stretch helps let the fish EAT the spinnerbait. I have a pretty quick hookset and found myself jerking the bait out of the fishes mouth when fishing spinnerbaits on braid. I fish a LOT of tournaments... and I fish against one certain guy a lot. At nearly every tournament it seems he "set the hook, fought him to the boat and he broke me off." Trilene XT is so stuck in this guys head from the 80's that he refuses to change. Fine with me... he more often than not finishes well behind me. I can only remember losing two fish in the last several years due to breakoffs. Both of these were due to zebra muscles... which will cut thru 50 lb braid like butter so you just don't stand a chance no matter what line you are fishing.

Home waters? Hmmmm.... just about any inland lake in Michigan.

The Humminbird SI units (no matter which model you chose) are WELL worth the money! I've found structure I never knew was there on lakes I've been fishing for 30 years or more!! I know for sure it's improved my catch rate. I love being able to drive past structure at a great distance and mark it on the gps without driving over it and spooking the fish. I'll probably have a 797 for sale here fairly soon as I will be upgrading to a 997 some time this spring.

. Another vote for the BPS gear. I bought some last year and fished some nasty weather in them this past season. Stayed dry every time.

P-Line exclusively here. It's never let me down so I see no reason to experiment with anything else.

Spring storms? I understand. I used to run one of them "cigar" boats and we made many trips to Lake of the Ozarks in years past. Used to watch the tornadoes from the balcony of the condo we rented!! Steelhead are a ROIT!! Nothing fights harder in fresh water. If you ever head up here let me know and I'll put you on fish. The Grand River here in Grand Rapids is a world class steelhead and salmon fishery... and almost never dissapoints. There are even some streams that are considered better. I used to target them in the fall/spring but since I started back into bass fishing (specifically tournament fishing) about 5 years ago I just haven't spent much time chasing river fish. Too bad really... my friends say this season shaping up to be one of the best in years.

I'm a newbie here and will be making my first trip to Table Rock Lake the first week of April. That being said... what color McSticks do you guys like to throw? I've been told to go with "shad" colors... but there are several variants of "shad" offered. A little help would be greatly appreciated as I'd like my first trip to be a great trip. Thanks, Mike

Yeah, that's what I heard. Thanks for the great tip!

We're staying in the Little Aunts Creek section of the lake.

So I'm making my first trip to Table Rock Lake on April 4th. I'm heading down with some friends who've been there before but I like to search out my own information so I can ADD to the trip rather than always be the one asking "where, what, when" after we get there. So, I've done some reading (some here, some elsewhere) and it seems I better bring a box of stickbaits for sure. Jigs and tubes too. But if a guy were to pack a tackle bag full of Plano boxes (I'll be fishing from the back seat most of the time), what you you make sure to bring? Colors, styles, etc... would be appreciated. I'm not going to ask for any honey holes as I can read a map pretty well and read a lake (I fish a lot of tournies here in Michigan). I just don't want to forget anything or pack a bunch of tackle I won't need. We'll be staying in Little Aunts Creek by the way. Thanks a LOT for any help. Mike

Well, I'm going down with a couple friends to a resort they have stayed in before... not really sure where it is honestly. I'll have to ask them... it's some creek arm but not sure of the name. We're coming from Michigan and staying a week.

You should be able to use the old cables to run the new ones. Tape the ends together so that when you pull on the old cable you draw the new cable thru the same path. Recently did this and it was quite easy.

I've never been to Table Rock Lake, but will be making my first trip on April 4th and will be staying a week. If you were to pack a single tackle bag of about 8 plano boxes, what would you put in it?? Colors? Baits? I won't ask for anyone's honey holes. I'm pretty good at reading maps and lakes so I'm sure I'll catch some fish, but a head start on what to throw would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot for any and all help. Mike

Hello. My name is Mike and I live in Grand Rapids MI, where at the moment it's snowing! Anyway, I work for West Marine and fish a minimum of 3 days a week during our short season. I'll be heading down to Table Rock Easter weekend.