nomolites

Don’t know how old the rod was - inside of 12 months BPS will replace the Airstream no questions asked; I had mine break in Canada setting the hook on a walleye and traded for one of the new red ones( they have retaken the label from Browning and changed the color). Mike

Agree with Wrench, 15 and 20 are not the same and 20 is a good day and then some. I have to agree with Mark also that the lower end regularly produces 20# sacks, but of drum and blue cats only, there are no LMB in that deep clear water 🙄. Mike

Like any class of rods not all ULs are created equal...I tend to agree some buggy whips have no place in fishing for larger/stronger fish. There are many ULs that have fast action tips with enough spine when paired with a good reel you can routinely catch large fish quickly and safely. I have seen others that are so limp they could not turn an average size bluegill..... Mike

I think you need a 3 blade and the 21 tempest plus was pitched too high...I went through the same drill on my heavily loaded smaller aluminum multispecies boat(Crestliner) as I run on LOZ in big water A LOT. After doing some research and trying a few props I called an outfit in FL of all places that specializes in props/performance and after describing my issue and the specs on my boat he recommended a larger diameter, lower pitched(17) Enertia. That prop is perfect for my needs; I have all the lift I need to hold the bow in big water at any rpm, mega hole shot, and I lost no speed. Of course the prop was not free.😬 Mike

Caught some nice salmon(Kings) on Kwikfish in AK; have tried a few times trolling for walleye here with no joy to date. Mike

Nicely done! This is the best time of year to put them in the boat, just have to put up with some small waves from time to time 😉. I hope to get out one time before the crowds and try my luck doing the same! Mike

I elk hunt on Red Table overlooking the reservoir(Reudi) and Frying Pan. Beautiful out there; I have only fished it a few times just catching a few small bows on nymphs - lots of private ground and inaccessible stream. There are some toads below the dam but they weren’t interested in my shrimp imitations or anything else I had to throw at them for that matter. Aspens should be changing...it will be awesome!! Mike

They have been down for holidays weekends for a number of years now...glad to hear they are expanding that role! Mike

Fished all that a lot in my younger days and ran trot lines at night out of an even smaller boat. Never bothered me a bit...lots of boats out there and up above at Candy Island and around the marina at the mouth of Dardenne Creek. Just gotta use your head...did go down stream to duck hunt once in pretty good flows and tried to head back in a pretty good sleet storm and motor did not have enough posterior to top the current. Ended up walking out to a Farm house and getting a lift to my truck and retrieving the boat the next day. Yes, I been stupid, but we did get our mallards. Mike

I hear you, I feel my boat is underutilized these days but I have to admit it is because I have become picky. Locally, don’t overlook Hillsboro or Litchfield, small but they have fish and allow big motors. That said, I am drawn to our highland reservoirs and streams like a moth to a flame. Mud puddles in IL just don’t do it for me anymore. My boat actually sits on a lift at LOZ but half the time I stop there just long enough to load it up and head farther south. Saves me trailering back and forth from St. Louis anyway... Mike

I called the hotline yesterday and the message said they were inundated with calls and requests for info and apologized that they were running behind. Could be a contributor... that said, their forecast was below 660 - I do like Wrench and gauge by level on my favorite fixed object(dock piling) and call the number primarily for projected discharges. I like current for fishing. Mike

I think folks with marginal dock approaches do 90% of the whining. My biggest concern involves electricity and docks...people can be stupid...especially at LOZ. Mike

He is a character.

👍🏻 I’ve fished with Don a few times; he knows how the catch them. Mike

Wish I didn’t have to be in Janesville WI that Fri -Sat., this sounds like a great outing. Dang the luck. Mike

Walleye primarily, Northerns and Whitefish as bonus fish. Would like to have worked on some Lake Trout but the weather was pretty tough for boat control with limited gear as this was a fly In outing. No giants - best walleye was 7, had a handful of 5s as well. Mike

Just got back from a week in NW Ontario...worst I have seen. Couple of guys had allergic reactions and swelled up from so many bites...and they were wearing headnets, etc. Black flies and B-52 skeet’s. I hate wearing that crap so I wore 100% DEET and pretty much swatted full time. Caught lots of fish as usual, so it was worth it. Mike

That’s a big’n, fo sho. In a few years we will have some stripers going well above that number...I have been releasing all I catch in anticipation! Mike

Lipless crankbaits like rat l traps troll quite well for temperate bass if you want to go shallower- speed will determine how deep they run. Even a small square bill will get it done at times but a general rule is the shallower the bait the farther from the boat it should be. Early in the year stickbaits can work well...try different things until the fish tell you what they want. Mike

What he said ^^^^. The Glop... Yes, I did have to cheat.

Those look pretty sweet. Mike

Leave a few for seed guys....😉

I have a kicker w/troll master that makes removes any of the above concerns about batteries or speed. If it gets too windy I can use the trolling motor as well for bow control - boat control is now not such a battle. Mike

Trolling with weights is very speed dependent, more than lead core, and only time on the water will give you a feel for it. I’ve never used larger than 2 oz snap weights and typically will use a 1 oz 20 ft in front of the bait which will get you essentially 30% deeper. When I want to go deep I typically use lead core...and that is because when I get snagged 90% of the time I can recover my gear where with snap weights 90% of the time I lose my gear. Mike

3 is pretty fast for crappie, just depends how aggressive they are. You can get a #7 down to 15’ with 100’ of 10/2 power pro out...after that it takes a lot more line to get any deeper. That’s where snap weighrsor lead come in as mentioned earlier. Recently at LOZ the big females were primarily at 21’ although I could catch stragglers on the 15’ lines. On that lake anyway that seems to be the go to depth for crappie pre and post spawn...the most important thing to look for in the coming weeks is clouds of fry on your 2D...the active crappie primarily will be at the same depth. MIke