DADAKOTA

Fished around the 43-45mm and must say I thought it would be better this past weekend. Caught some fish, but would consider it much slower than recent years. One here and one there with a couple of multi fish spots. Been fishing the same areas for 25 years. Spawning areas that have consistently produced fish in the past were relatively unproductive. Not sure if they are just getting started and the best is yet to come or things have changed. Water getting real clear may be impacting the shallow bite. C&R several legal fish (9-10.5") that were real thin.

Hoping they will finally be the Blues instead of B lose

Bout time to bust out the C-rig with a lizard on secondary points. Oh yeah.

Nicely done. Littleman seems to be enjoying it all.

That is definitely an option. Hard to do when you are dock fishing as the 100 foot no wake rule is in place. Then again I'm not sure that trying to be a bigger arse is the way to go. Last thing I need is a confrontation with some idiot.

I was brought up to use common courtesy while on the water. If someone is catching fish don't crowd them. Let them catch their fish and go fish somewhere else. Dad always said to treat folks like you want to be treated. As a tourney fisherman I am not going to cut someone off. I'll either fish behind them or come back later. I have been cut off by people just out fishing, crappie fishermen, bass fishermen, and tourney fishermen. I was crappie fishing down a bank at LOZ and had a blue Procraft fish and ski come into the cove and start working the same bank about 6 docks behind me. No problem until he power trolled past me and started fishing the opposite side of the same dock I was fishing. I let him have it a ran up several docks further and started again. Same guy did the same thing more than once that weekend. I have had several tourney guys ask if they could go ahead on by me as I crappie fished. Not a problem. I just love the pontoon boats, jet skis, kayaks, etc. that drive between you and the bank you are throwing to. Some folks have no manners whatsoever or are just plain stupid. Had some donkey in a 25+ foot sailboat named Temptation come through the ramp buoys at Lake Jacomo and drive between my boat and my trailer as I was loading out. Had to reverse hard to avoid hitting the sailboat. You can only control yourself, but sometimes it is hard to do.

Nothing better than getting the younguns fired up on the outdoors.

I roll the flickers, but they have always been outfished by my Bandits. Not sure what I may be doing wrong with the flickers..

I know a good day on the water without counting fish, but to each their own. If I want competition I'll fish another tourney. When not tourney fishing I am not competing, but learning, trying new techniques, locations, baits, etc. When in relax mode I do not want whoever is with me to continually announce how many we've caught and how many they have caught as it tends to put me in more of a competitive mode than a relaxing mode.

I launch all the time by myself. I typically try to pick ramps that have courtesy dock. I give the nose strap some slack, but leave it hooked, back in next to the dock till the boat floats, step into the boat and unhook the nose, back off the trailer, tie up, and pull trailer out. Loading is just as simple. Back trailer next to dock, drive boat on, hook nose strap and tighten, step onto dock, winch the boat up, drive up to tie it down and on the way home. If no courtesy dock adjacent to ramp I back in with tailgate open, step up on rear tire and get in pickup bed then onto trailer where I unhook the boat and crawl up on the front deck, drive it off and wither beach it or dock it. Loading is just the reverse. Still best to take someone along and make loading and unloading easier. While we are talking about ramps and boats. DO NOT leave anyone in your vehicle while loading or unloading your boat unless they are in the drivers seat. At the lake I fish frequently, a father left his young Son in a car seat in the back seat while he went to untie boat and load it. Car came out of gear and rolled into the water. Luckily someone had a tire iron and they were able to smash through the rear window and get the young man out before the vehicle totally submerged. He was fine. Very lucky deal as the water was in the upper 30s. Saw another fella back down the ramp and jump out and put a brick behind each tire. Said he couldn't unload the boat without it creeping down the ramp. More than one vehicle has been drug out of the water by the local tow companies. Have your passengers stand out of the way if they are not driving the vehicle and you won't have a worry.

Love to float and fish. That is a dandy. How difficult is it to work a jerkbait from a yak? No sure I could work one from a canoe let alone a yak.

Hammered them!

Probably a ghost or a member of the swedish bikini team. What was it that you thought she said?

I take the opposite approach. 1/2 ounce buzzbait in chart. or chart/white. Big smallies can't handle them and just destroy them. Betting a 1/2 ounce chatterbait would send them into oblivion. Or frog should do.

Great looking pies. I assume you can use the same dough for whatever thickness crust you prefer? Got some that like a thin crust and some like a medium thickness.

As a non-facebooker can you provide me additional information on rules, tourney dates, times, locations, etc.?

Those are some dandies.

Around the County lakes up here I see folks back reeling all the time. Bout the only way they get their line in as they hold the pole so the spinning reel is on top.

One of the most satisfying things about fishing is finding fish and spots to catch them on various waters at various times of the year. I also totally enjoy putting family and friends on fish. If they are with me I work very hard to see them catch fish. For some them they only want to catch fish and enjoy the day. Whereas others are more curious and want to know why they are in a certain location. So satisfying to teach them the whys of fishing instead of just the where and what on. It takes a lot of time on the water to develop consistent spots on various waters for various species. I so enjoy finding fish and when possible all the way to a pattern within a pattern. Spent a day dock fishing at LOZ with a family member. The dock bite was on. You could catch an occasional bass about anywhere on the docks that were in water 5 to 15 foot deep. Front corner, back corner, sunny side, shady side, walkways, etc. However, if you found a dock with an old rusty swimming ladder it was almost automatic that you'd get bit. All of our quality fish came off the ladders. Really didn't matter if it was on the sunny or shady side. Once I figured it out I concentrated on docks with the ladders and had a great learning opportunity for my partner that day. I tend to provide information more to family and friends than just blast it all over the internet. I may share specific locations, brushpiles, etc. with family and friends but few others. Marked many a map for folks but won't post said map on the net. I have no problem posting generalities like: fished from the 45mm to the 54 mm, water stained, temp 58 - 65 degrees, crappie 5-8 foot of water in the morning and on the bank in the afternoon. But I am not going to share specific spots on the internet. Small lakes 1000 acres are tougher for me to share information especially if I tournament fish them. Just not enough water. Had buddies fish with me for years on a small lake and then decide they will fish the same tourneys as me. Gets annoying at times when spots and specific baits get used against you, but also a little flattering in a way. Kind of like fishing against yourself. I surely get annoyed by the folks that tend to do their learning by following folks around the lake and watching where and how they catch their fish. Sure wish they would take the time to get on the water and experiment with different baits, techniques, and locations and find their own fish. Bass fishing spots on lakes I tournament fish rarely get shared other than with non-tourney folks that make one trip a year to a given lake. Lakes I don't tourney fish I'll share what I know with about anyone who inquires. Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in his boat and drink beer all day.

I take care of caught fish to the best of my abilities. I'm betting more fish are killed by those who fish natural bait and those that are slow to set the hook using a senko, soft plastics, etc. resulting in deeply hooked fish. In addition today's super hooks are far less likely to rust out than the hooks we grew up with. As such, cutting the line on a deeply hooked fish will most likely result in a dead one.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better eating fish than a wild brook trout.

Ya'll are some serious chefs. Got some beef short ribs in the slow cooker with some red wine, onion, garlic, worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, beef stock, and a dab of tomato puree. Will thicken the liquids with corn starch and serve with a tossed salad, some mashed taters and fresh green beans.

There is an access off of lake road 135-12 called wig wam school access that may be closer for you. You'd be at the 66+ mm. Take 135 out of Stover to 135-12. It is a nice MDC ramp. Can't tell you if current water levels cause any issues however.

Worst thing for that little brookie is the hyper extended jaw and handling it with dry hands.

I have been fortunate to be invites to float and fish the Bourbeuse a few times by some fellas that fish it regularly. Usually won the braggin rights for most keepers caught and released by going old school. J-9 floating jointed rapala chartreuse back. The bass acted like they had never eaten.