Native

Great job guys, those look like a lot of fun to catch. Damn do I envy the three of you ... even in your winters finest garb! Have to admit it though that I do enjoy watching you folks suffer a bit when you gear up for the cold there in Cali, hehehe; must of been a bit chilly out there for all the winter wear y'all were wearing. Crap, I'd give anything to catch anything I don't have to drill a hole for to catch, lol. Hell jigging with maggots is a far cry from fishing with my SBs ! And I do like those ("Mighty") Minnows! In my opinion, they are probably the single most versatile soft bait Mickey makes in his arsenal and I've been stocking up on lots of them for first ice out here. Thanks for sharing! Tim

Ok, I think I've got one for you. LOL. Don't know that he's ever done a rat like bait so maybe nows the time? Say a 6 or 8" bait roughly the size of a Wake Jr. or, better still, the size of a 12" BA Arm, with one single or two sections depending on bait size, heavy floating/ss with the head above water, S (wide) - gliding, Prairie Dog, Chipmunk, 13 Stripe Ground Squirrel, or Muskrat pup (you get the general idea) pattern. These critters are very common out west here; for the midwest and back east substitute the Rat, Red Fox or Gray Squirrel. Let's see now ... the "paws" at the side of the body and their solid "tails" could be oriented vertically so the bait would have directional stability much like Shimanos Waxwing lures. No moving parts other than the sections of the bait. Gentle tugs would get the bait gliding in a slow wide "S" much like a surface or slow sink Rapala Gliding Rap. With Mickeys design skills, this baby could be freakin' sick as hell! Tim

Your gonna laugh but the only fishing craft I have is a belly boat and I use a Hummingbird Fishing Buddy 140 (color) with it. It's terrific! Down and forward scan capabilities. Even has an accessory that makes it easy to use on the belly boat. For those of you on a tight budget like me and need a portable that's a bit better than a flasher, take a look at this baby. Works really great on "any" craft it can clamped or be strapped to. Just hope a boat is in the future this summer .... Tim

I'd guess Mickey or Rina started this policy as a result of reports of packages that didn't arrive which had to be resent (i.e. stolen? or unscrupulous customers - orders arrive, then are reported to Rina as not having arrived). The cost of which had to be paid by 3:16. Terrible situation all around. Probably less expensive than insuring every order or risking the odds more orders that didn't arrive. More and more business' are doing business this way despite the added expense, a real shame. Tim

+1, if you have to topwater use a baby wake or a mini slammer in black. Long casts will be key. As the water temp warms then try larger surface baits. Tim I disagree there, respectfully. Cold water warrants large slow moving baits, as bass will capitalize on a larger meals while fattening up for spawn. Smaller baits come out when the water warms up and smaller baitfish move back into the shallows. Not to say you can't catch big fish with smaller swimbaits, but if you are going after big momma, better give her the big one! But maybe 6" is big to some Geoff But of course you're right about larger meal presentations being a better offering if we we're talking about your neck of the woods. Here in Colorado early spring and pre-spawn includes narrow open shallows with large floating expanses of ice. Based on my experience this is the time when the smaller baitfish do indeed move in and I (as well as many others) fish to the edge of the ice and even flip our baits on the surface ice, then dump it off the edge and with it, try to coerce the bigger fish, which are suspended on the deeper water ledges and slopes like rows of fire wood, to hit out baits. I've found using the smaller swimbaits first (6"-8" wake baits and Hudds, K-9's as well as smaller 3:16 Mighty Minnows, Shads, etc.) as a search bait, helps to determine what the fish are interested in, and their location. If they hit the bait, then we go to the big baits. If not, we fish with the smaller baits until either we get a hit, or we can see shad or minnows in the shallows. Oh yea, almost forgot, as young as you may be, I can see how you might confuse 6" with big. If you need a better frame of reference, just let me know. Perhaps when you get a little older, you'll get a better size perspective. Kidding aside, thanks for the correction Geoff, should've clarified things a bit more! Tim

+1, if you have to topwater use a baby wake or a mini slammer in black. Long casts will be key. As the water temp warms then try larger surface baits. Tim

Beautiful fish Adam. Nicely done! Tim

I've used the Alberto for some time now between flouro and braid, put a dab of veg oil on it and carefully cinch the knot with dowels on both sides. Incredibly small not that hasn't failed me yet and casts really well. I trim the knot tight with tags cut at an angle then put a dab of Crazy Glue on both to create a bit of a ramp on both sides of the knot, works great. I retie every new day fishing. Tim

I think I have that same Rapala scale Lucas. It has a backlight on it which is nice for night fishing and also saves the weight of the last 8 or 10 fish in it's memory. I tested it against a few other scales with a 5 pound weight and it was dead on. Light weight too for tossing it in a backpack. Yes, it has the backlight but I'm not sure about it having a memory feature. It could, and if it does, I'm not aware of it. It's a pretty rugged scale too. It's been beat on over the years and still keeps ticking. Looks like this: [attachment=0]scale.jpg[/attachment] +2, excellent scale has backlight, memory for 10 fish plus total weight, 400 hrs per battery, and accurate! Very sweet unit. If you need a scale you could do much, much worse. Tim

It's always a good idea to post those details with the other sale detail so there aren't any questions about it later.

Time to frame that photo with him and the Rising Son. It just rocks! Hearty congrats man, not a feeling in the world like watching a family member succeed at fishing or hunting for their very first "big'un". Tim

Last inning, 3 & 2 count, and he hits it outta the park!!!! Great job Serg!!!

Very sweet Ben. Have you found a good source for the Z? Tim

You might want to consider putting slip shot or some lead thread or lead strips (I've found most frequently at fly fishing shops) wrapped around the hook shanks to start. If that's still not enough there are adhesive backed lead strips that can be applied to the base of each lure section so that you get the weight desired without the reduction in action. Many use these strips to make their lure neutral buoyant so the bait suspends when stopped. Good luck. Tim

For me it's less about tackle and specific SWB's I like or want to fish and more about spending less time on low percentage water. First, going to identify and target high percentage LMB, SMB, and Wiper waters from actual DOW harvest data. Next, Wife and I are going to buy a bass boat with our tax money (use the money for a down payment) so that we can access more of harder to reach structure which we haven't had access to before. Last, spend more productive time fishing high percentage proven producer SWB's and ruthlessly cull the crap out of the tackle which is a waste of time and effort. It's taken me over three years to get to this point but it's time to "give her hell". Here's to everybody else's success on the water!!! Tim

Very nice Butch. Really impressive "rack of big girls" Definitely "The Pied Piper of big Bass". LOL He's truly sufferin' from SWB Psychosis!!!! Turn me loose!! Tim

Hey Serg, Take a peak here at the Daiwa site: http://daiwa.com/reel/detail.aspx?id=437. Also, I mis-spoke, I have the Pluton 200H, the 5.2:1 reel which, in my opinion is the perfect SWB gear ratio! In addition *Not Allowed* Please let me know if you need more info. Tim

Yo Ben, I've got the Pluton 200SH. It's a phenomenal reel, have had zero problems of any kind. Have used it primarily with 300 of 30# Suffix Performance. Casts virtually everything screamin' far with little or no effort. This is the original braid machine if you ask me. You could easily take it to 50 or 65# braid without any trouble at all. I've been using it with 3 oz. baits and less, specifically paddle tails like the Rising Son, K-9, Huds and the like. Tosses Pencil Poppers a mile, lol. Been using it on my Phenix UMBX 700XH-C. Nice combo. It's a very, very sweet reel! Tim

Very nice fish Jo.

Helluva shot and fish Spooky. If that look on your face doesn't say "intense" I don't know what would ... Me? ... still waiting for my first "tenner". Some have said it's very unlikely you'll find 10+ lb. in Colorado and if you do get one, they're few and far between. That's not going to stop me from trying to finding one, especially with a state record of 11-6. Hell, half the fun is the tryin'! Tim

Crack me up Spooky, lol. The site says the baits are made of polyurethane. Tim