The Hunting & Fishing Thread

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Bears Whiskey Nut
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We talked about doing this in the chat one game so I thought I would start it.

I just got into fishing a few years ago. My in-Laws have a lake house in Wisconsin that we go to a lot, and I do most of my fishing from a dock. Full disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm doing and could use advice and direction. The lake is relatively small (48 acres), and gets pretty warm in the Summer. It has large and small mouth Bass, Perch, Walleye, and Northern Pike. I've caught several LMB, but have yet to catch a Walleye or NP.

I certainly enjoy getting up in the morning and sitting on the dock with a cup of coffee and fishing for an hour or two. Right now I have a tackle box filled with all kinds of lures, and a Lew's bait casting rig. Most of my questions will revolve around bait and strategies at different times of the year.

Thanks!
Last edited by Bears Whiskey Nut on Sun Nov 21, 2021 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I have absolutely zero information about fishing. I went fishing in the ocean 12 years ago or so and got horribly seasick. I think I threw a few lines into freshwater a time or two when I was young. Otherwise my family's just never been into it.

Cool hobby, though.
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southdakbearfan
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I fish a lot, all over South Dakota, go to Canada 1 week a summer, have fished kings in Lake Michigan, trout in Yellowstone and rock cod/sea bass in the Peugeot sound.

Mainly I am a walleye, northern, perch, crappie and blue gill guy. I have a boat, fish from shore too and two ice shacks for winter fishing.

There are a ton of different techniques for any species and a lot depends on both what you have available and what the forage is in a particular body of water.
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The Marshall Plan
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I’m not trying to flex but I’m fucking good at this.

Not saltwater. Never done that.

But freshwater, the bass, Muskie, pike, walleye and crappie are my bitch and they know it.

I even taught my kid and at the age of 11 she was kicking ass.

Ask me specific questions and I’m happy to talk about this.

Here are some high level comments.

Braided line is your friend. Switch over to braid. I normally use moss green powerpro with a minimum strength of 40 pounds. Braid has an awesome strength to diameter ratio. The line will still be thin.

99% of lures are a waste of money. Lures work on Muskie no doubt but I can’t catch anything else with them.

Live bait all day long. Medium to large shiners. Not minnows. Shiners. Shiners reflect in the water. The fish see that flash and they go nuts.

Suckers work great. Vary your size based on what you’re going after. Never fish suckers right on the bottom. They immediately try and hide under rocks or logs and you will get snagged. It will ruin your day.

Crawdads work really well if you’re allowed to use live ones. My bait shop only sells frozen and they don’t work as well.

Leeches are fun to use but they don’t produce.

The important thing is to use slip bobbers. Find out the depth you’re fishing in. If you’re in 20 feet of water set the depth to 10 to 18 feet depending on temperature.

Let me know if I’m covering what you want to learn.
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Bears Whiskey Nut
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The Marshall Plan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:09 am I’m not trying to flex but I’m fucking good at this.

Not saltwater. Never done that.

But freshwater, the bass, Muskie, pike, walleye and crappie are my bitch and they know it.

I even taught my kid and at the age of 11 she was kicking ass.

Ask me specific questions and I’m happy to talk about this.

Here are some high level comments.

Braided line is your friend. Switch over to braid. I normally use moss green powerpro with a minimum strength of 40 pounds. Braid has an awesome strength to diameter ratio. The line will still be thin.

99% of lures are a waste of money. Lures work on Muskie no doubt but I can’t catch anything else with them.

Live bait all day long. Medium to large shiners. Not minnows. Shiners. Shiners reflect in the water. The fish see that flash and they go nuts.

Suckers work great. Vary your size based on what you’re going after. Never fish suckers right on the bottom. They immediately try and hide under rocks or logs and you will get snagged. It will ruin your day.

Crawdads work really well if you’re allowed to use live ones. My bait shop only sells frozen and they don’t work as well.

Leeches are fun to use but they don’t produce.

The important thing is to use slip bobbers. Find out the depth you’re fishing in. If you’re in 20 feet of water set the depth to 10 to 18 feet depending on temperature.

Let me know if I’m covering what you want to learn.
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm a nerd with no idea what I'm doing and I have a little of everything when it comes to lures. I can confirm that most of them don't work. The most success I've had catching LMB (normally what I'm aiming for) are live leeches, or plastic on a jig. I'd like to catch a Northern but I'm petrified of getting my fingers bitten off. I am using braided line. Love it.

Questions TMP:

1. What's a sucker? (other than me after buying all of those lures)
2. What's a shiner?
3. How do you cast 15' of line below a slip bobber?
4. Can you fish year round, or is there a prime season and the rest is just wasted effort?
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The Marshall Plan
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:21 am
The Marshall Plan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:09 am I’m not trying to flex but I’m fucking good at this.

Not saltwater. Never done that.

But freshwater, the bass, Muskie, pike, walleye and crappie are my bitch and they know it.

I even taught my kid and at the age of 11 she was kicking ass.

Ask me specific questions and I’m happy to talk about this.

Here are some high level comments.

Braided line is your friend. Switch over to braid. I normally use moss green powerpro with a minimum strength of 40 pounds. Braid has an awesome strength to diameter ratio. The line will still be thin.

99% of lures are a waste of money. Lures work on Muskie no doubt but I can’t catch anything else with them.

Live bait all day long. Medium to large shiners. Not minnows. Shiners. Shiners reflect in the water. The fish see that flash and they go nuts.

Suckers work great. Vary your size based on what you’re going after. Never fish suckers right on the bottom. They immediately try and hide under rocks or logs and you will get snagged. It will ruin your day.

Crawdads work really well if you’re allowed to use live ones. My bait shop only sells frozen and they don’t work as well.

Leeches are fun to use but they don’t produce.

The important thing is to use slip bobbers. Find out the depth you’re fishing in. If you’re in 20 feet of water set the depth to 10 to 18 feet depending on temperature.

Let me know if I’m covering what you want to learn.
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm a nerd with no idea what I'm doing and I have a little of everything when it comes to lures. I can confirm that most of them don't work. The most success I've had catching LMB (normally what I'm aiming for) are live leeches, or plastic on a jig. I'd like to catch a Northern but I'm petrified of getting my fingers bitten off. I am using braided line. Love it.

Questions TMP:

1. What's a sucker? (other than me after buying all of those lures)
2. What's a shiner?
3. How do you cast 15' of line below a slip bobber?
4. Can you fish year round, or is there a prime season and the rest is just wasted effort?
1. A sucker is a live bait that is a bottom feeder. They range in size from four inches to almost a foot. I’ve caught huge bass on the big ones. Bass don’t care. If it’s live protein they’ll eat it.

2. A shiner is a type of baitfish. They’re about the size of minnows, just a bit bigger but the important thing is their sides are a bright silver and reflect in the water.

3. Piece of cake.


4. Depends where you live. I live in the suburbs. I start with the spring thaw and stop when winter hits. People in warm weather climates can go year round. There’s talk about pre spawn, spawn and post spawn but if you know what you’re doing that shit doesn’t matter.

One more thing, always tie a palomar knot between your braid and your hook. The only time this knot failed for me is when something like a Muskie bites through it.



In terms of getting bitten by a northern, walleye or Muskie just buy a hook removal tool. They’re like $10 to $15 dollars. I use one because it helps when I have a fish gut hooked. I can usually get that hook out and save the fish.
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mmmc_35
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So I do bass tournaments with my old man in WI. Send me a pm with your lakes location. Bass tournaments are no live bait but if your sitting on a dock live bait is the way to go.

Weed structure, clarity, depth, and surface are big things. You want to have fun take a top water, like a chug bug and burp it across the calm early morning water. The splash is fun.
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I used to fish a ton when I lived in IL. Fishing on the Mississippi River between IL and IA was almost a weekly event. Mostly bluegill, catfish, and walleye. Did some fly fishing on occasion in Montana and Wyoming with my dad as a kid/teen.

I've lived in Texas for almost 10 years now and haven't fished once. My kids aren't into it, my friends here really aren't either. So I just haven't done it.
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southdakbearfan
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I would also say every body of water presents its own challenges.

Some lakes/rivers I fish are absolutely live bait is best, what type of live bait depends on the target species and forage in the lake. I will also say I am a live bait first fisherman on any new body of water.

Other places I can absolutely outfish live bait with artificial.

Terminal tackle, reels, lines are all subject to personal preferences. For myself if I am fishing ultralites for panfish or ice fishing braid is my go to.

Pulling bottom bouncers/spinners I absolutely hate braid and stick with mono or fluorocarbon. I went the braid route for one season and toe it all off and placed it.

Jig fishing or casting I like fluorocarbon or light braid with a flourocarbon leader.

Ice fishing and northern fishing is all braid for me.

Almost all of my setups are spinning rods, but that is another personal preference as well.

For walleyes and panfish the clearness of flourocarbon really shines, especially in clear water.

I smelt/pour/paint/coat most of my own jigs, some custom, weights and bottom bouncers. Prefer fire line or power pro for braid, berkley trilene xt for mono and berkley vanish for flourocarbon. Most of my hooks are owner or gamakatsu depending on size and style with a few mustads in one particular style.

There is some decent smallmouth bass fishing here, but very few do it with the abundance of quality walleye, perch, crappie and bluegill fishing around. I also do a little salmon fishing in the fall out on the Missouri River and northern in the spring right after ice out. Given my location in the prairie pothole region I probably have upwards of 50 lakes within 50 miles, the closest being 1 mile from my door and the Missouri River is only 100 miles away. Some of the lakes are 100 acres and some are 20,000 acres.
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The Marshall Plan
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southdakbearfan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:34 pm I would also say every body of water presents its own challenges.

Some lakes/rivers I fish are absolutely live bait is best, what type of live bait depends on the target species and forage in the lake. I will also say I am a live bait first fisherman on any new body of water.

Other places I can absolutely outfish live bait with artificial.

Terminal tackle, reels, lines are all subject to personal preferences. For myself if I am fishing ultralites for panfish or ice fishing braid is my go to.

Pulling bottom bouncers/spinners I absolutely hate braid and stick with mono or fluorocarbon. I went the braid route for one season and toe it all off and placed it.

Jig fishing or casting I like fluorocarbon or light braid with a flourocarbon leader.

Ice fishing and northern fishing is all braid for me.

Almost all of my setups are spinning rods, but that is another personal preference as well.

For walleyes and panfish the clearness of flourocarbon really shines, especially in clear water.

I smelt/pour/paint/coat most of my own jigs, some custom, weights and bottom bouncers. Prefer fire line or power pro for braid, berkley trilene xt for mono and berkley vanish for flourocarbon. Most of my hooks are owner or gamakatsu depending on size and style with a few mustads in one particular style.

There is some decent smallmouth bass fishing here, but very few do it with the abundance of quality walleye, perch, crappie and bluegill fishing around. I also do a little salmon fishing in the fall out on the Missouri River and northern in the spring right after ice out. Given my location in the prairie pothole region I probably have upwards of 50 lakes within 50 miles, the closest being 1 mile from my door and the Missouri River is only 100 miles away. Some of the lakes are 100 acres and some are 20,000 acres.
That's impressive about making your own jigs from scratch. With that capability you're not that far from making your own ammo too if you're into that.

All of my live baits setups are spinning rods. Anything for lures is a bait caster.

We haven't talked tackle boxes.

I don't use a tackle box. I use a Lunkerhunt tackle bag I wear as a backpack. It's basically a giant sack. (Ha ha. He said giant sack.)

Then I have plastic storage cases for each lure type or purpose like terminal tackle.

I use Gamakatsu hooks almost exclusively in varying sizes depending on what I'm fishing for.

Smallies don't really get the love for a lot of reasons. Largemouth are just so damn fun. Walleyes are good eating and they have teeth. Then you get into the fun stuff of northern and the beloved muskie.
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southdakbearfan
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The Marshall Plan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:21 pm
southdakbearfan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:34 pm I would also say every body of water presents its own challenges.

Some lakes/rivers I fish are absolutely live bait is best, what type of live bait depends on the target species and forage in the lake. I will also say I am a live bait first fisherman on any new body of water.

Other places I can absolutely outfish live bait with artificial.

Terminal tackle, reels, lines are all subject to personal preferences. For myself if I am fishing ultralites for panfish or ice fishing braid is my go to.

Pulling bottom bouncers/spinners I absolutely hate braid and stick with mono or fluorocarbon. I went the braid route for one season and toe it all off and placed it.

Jig fishing or casting I like fluorocarbon or light braid with a flourocarbon leader.

Ice fishing and northern fishing is all braid for me.

Almost all of my setups are spinning rods, but that is another personal preference as well.

For walleyes and panfish the clearness of flourocarbon really shines, especially in clear water.

I smelt/pour/paint/coat most of my own jigs, some custom, weights and bottom bouncers. Prefer fire line or power pro for braid, berkley trilene xt for mono and berkley vanish for flourocarbon. Most of my hooks are owner or gamakatsu depending on size and style with a few mustads in one particular style.

There is some decent smallmouth bass fishing here, but very few do it with the abundance of quality walleye, perch, crappie and bluegill fishing around. I also do a little salmon fishing in the fall out on the Missouri River and northern in the spring right after ice out. Given my location in the prairie pothole region I probably have upwards of 50 lakes within 50 miles, the closest being 1 mile from my door and the Missouri River is only 100 miles away. Some of the lakes are 100 acres and some are 20,000 acres.
That's impressive about making your own jigs from scratch. With that capability you're not that far from making your own ammo too if you're into that.

All of my live baits setups are spinning rods. Anything for lures is a bait caster.

We haven't talked tackle boxes.

I don't use a tackle box. I use a Lunkerhunt tackle bag I wear as a backpack. It's basically a giant sack. (Ha ha. He said giant sack.)

Then I have plastic storage cases for each lure type or purpose like terminal tackle.

I use Gamakatsu hooks almost exclusively in varying sizes depending on what I'm fishing for.

Smallies don't really get the love for a lot of reasons. Largemouth are just so damn fun. Walleyes are good eating and they have teeth. Then you get into the fun stuff of northern and the beloved muskie.
Ironically, I load my own shotgun and rifle ammo as well.

Dad cursed me with a lot of old school hobbies.

I think I have 4 or 5 tackle bags now, 2 backpack styles and love them. 2 very large ones in the boat all the time. Smaller ones for shore, ice and ultra lite fishing. They are definitely a serious upgrade over the hard sided tackle boxes.
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southdakbearfan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:52 pm Ironically, I load my own shotgun and rifle ammo as well.

Dad cursed me with a lot of old school hobbies.
So I might need to pick your brain in the future. I have a few guns that are getting hard to find ammo for. My grandfather was an amateur gun smith, unfortunately those skills died with him. They are a 250 savage and a 257 Robert's. I'm going to give them to my boys and was thinking of making them the same caliber as my boys are identical and so are these old mausers. Because I dont know how to reload I was even thinking of making them a more modern caliber. But I love both rounds. You know anything about this caliber.
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Yeah. I actually shoot a 257 ackley improved which is a 257 roberts with a blown out shoulder. Both those you have are real nice deer rounds that harken to old days.

I would not change or rechamber them, just keep them original. Depending on the origin of the Mauser action, they may or may not take the higher pressures of a more modern round. Some are super strong but others have issues with the action hardening and suffer headspace issues over time due to the locking lugs stretching.

Normally it’s not too difficult to find ammo for either of those, but the past 14 months have been anything but normal as you can’t even consistently find reloading components. I think it will ease in the future and my recommendation would be when you find the ammo, buy 6 or 7 boxes along with an air tight ammo can for each gun for storage.

Reloading dies and brass are available as well.

Try this for finding ammo. https://ammoseek.com/ Everything is expensive right now.
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I was thinking of making both in to 250 savage. I may keep them as is too. Both old chek brno mausers super solid action for being 100 years old. Grandpa sporterized them before I got them. They are white tail killers, to bad I didnt see any this weekend.
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Since the 257 is longer, making them both a 250 would require a new barrel on one of the rifles. You may be able to rechamber the 250 savage to 257 roberts, but make sure the magazine will hold the longer ammo.

250 savage cartridge overall length is 2.515” by the book.
257 roberts coal is 2.775”

Both are based off the same diameter case head, linking back to the 7mm Mauser so as long as the action on the 250 is long enough and the magazine too it wouldn’t be much to convert.

The roberts is a little more versatile and a little more powerful due to the higher capacity case, but both are great, lite recoiling deer rifles that took a back seat when the 243 came out, but really offer more thump due to being able to go to a 120 grain bullet vs 100 gr bullet for the 243.

Factory loadings leave a lot to be desired on both the 250 and 257, due to the nature of some of the old rifles chambered for them limiting both the overall loaded length and power. It sounds like you have some of the good old Mauser actions, we actually have a couple custom built on those same actions as well.
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Just changed the name of the thread to Hunting and Fishing. Seemed apropos.
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The Marshall Plan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:21 pm
southdakbearfan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:34 pm I would also say every body of water presents its own challenges.

Some lakes/rivers I fish are absolutely live bait is best, what type of live bait depends on the target species and forage in the lake. I will also say I am a live bait first fisherman on any new body of water.

Other places I can absolutely outfish live bait with artificial.

Terminal tackle, reels, lines are all subject to personal preferences. For myself if I am fishing ultralites for panfish or ice fishing braid is my go to.

Pulling bottom bouncers/spinners I absolutely hate braid and stick with mono or fluorocarbon. I went the braid route for one season and toe it all off and placed it.

Jig fishing or casting I like fluorocarbon or light braid with a flourocarbon leader.

Ice fishing and northern fishing is all braid for me.

Almost all of my setups are spinning rods, but that is another personal preference as well.

For walleyes and panfish the clearness of flourocarbon really shines, especially in clear water.

I smelt/pour/paint/coat most of my own jigs, some custom, weights and bottom bouncers. Prefer fire line or power pro for braid, berkley trilene xt for mono and berkley vanish for flourocarbon. Most of my hooks are owner or gamakatsu depending on size and style with a few mustads in one particular style.

There is some decent smallmouth bass fishing here, but very few do it with the abundance of quality walleye, perch, crappie and bluegill fishing around. I also do a little salmon fishing in the fall out on the Missouri River and northern in the spring right after ice out. Given my location in the prairie pothole region I probably have upwards of 50 lakes within 50 miles, the closest being 1 mile from my door and the Missouri River is only 100 miles away. Some of the lakes are 100 acres and some are 20,000 acres.
That's impressive about making your own jigs from scratch. With that capability you're not that far from making your own ammo too if you're into that.

All of my live baits setups are spinning rods. Anything for lures is a bait caster.

We haven't talked tackle boxes.

I don't use a tackle box. I use a Lunkerhunt tackle bag I wear as a backpack. It's basically a giant sack. (Ha ha. He said giant sack.)

Then I have plastic storage cases for each lure type or purpose like terminal tackle.

I use Gamakatsu hooks almost exclusively in varying sizes depending on what I'm fishing for.

Smallies don't really get the love for a lot of reasons. Largemouth are just so damn fun. Walleyes are good eating and they have teeth. Then you get into the fun stuff of northern and the beloved muskie.
I just use a small soft-sided tackle bag. Looks like a small cooler with a shoulder strap. I've got three plastic boxes with compartments, and I have one for hooks, jigs and bobbers, another for soft plastic bait, and another for crank bait.
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Let's talk rods and reels. I'm using a baitcaster off of the dock, because I can put the line right where I want it along the shore, or in specific spots around the dock. My fishing rod is about 6'6", medium flexible tip. Any reason why I would want to move to a spinning rod?
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LIttle note about hunting - my boys got some deer this weekend. My youngest (22), got 2 young does and my oldest (28) got a young 6 point buck. My boys are not worried about racks and mounting the deer, they just want to put food in the freezer. It was first shotgun season in IL for the year this weekend.
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Got my boy and daughters hunting with me this weekend and week. All doe tags and the two girls tagged out Saturday. Me and the boy are hunting now on vacation all week. Glad I got the daughters done, oldest is playing college basketball so she had one day to hunt.

Don’t care if I get one as I got a bull elk in October and I have a muzzleloader buck tag in December. Son has two doe tags and we went to a different spot tonight and got a bit of a pattern on them. Fingers crossed for the morning. He is 12.

It’s center fire season out here on the prairie. Daughters shoot 270 Winchesters. Some is shooting my 257 ankley. I am shooting my great grandfathers 1929 model 54 Winchester 270 that is still a tack driver.

We also get to take out my 82 year old father with us all week. He has a buck tag but won’t shoot it unless it’s big. We do work off and on all summer for 3 farmers and they let us have permanent permission and put up 3 heated box blinds.
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I've never gone hunting before, but would be interested in it. I watched the series "Meateater" and was really impressed with the respect that hunters show the animals that they have killed, and the emotion and reverence that was displayed. That is the hunter that I would want to be, and if that is the general consensus of hunters, then I have a lot more respect for the sport.
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I have used baitcasters but I prefer spinning reals. Partially ease partially money. A good bait caster is expensive and needs some skill.

I generally use monofilament, I use braid on slop or is fishing musky.

I really like a wacky worm set up all year all types of fishing from slop to deep dragging. A Mephs spinner with a shad is always a good all fish bet. Lots of lures are fun to fish.

Me and my boys struck out opening weekend. Buck only. Saw a couple does. Had signs of a good buck in area I think the neighbors got him.

I like shooting, have quite a few guns, but fall short of being a gun nerd though I maybe working in that direction. My absolute favorite is our home defense gun a 870 youth 20 gauge. (Well its tied as my favorite with my old man's 30/30 marlin, cowboy guns are so fun). Its the perfect length for my wife and my first gun I personally bought. It has a slug barrel so it's short all around, and you can not miss with it. It puts down deer and center punches targets at 50 easy. Old reliable.
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mmmc_35 wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:38 pm I have used baitcasters but I prefer spinning reals. Partially ease partially money. A good bait caster is expensive and needs some skill.

I generally use monofilament, I use braid on slop or is fishing musky.

I really like a wacky worm set up all year all types of fishing from slop to deep dragging. A Mephs spinner with a shad is always a good all fish bet. Lots of lures are fun to fish.

Me and my boys struck out opening weekend. Buck only. Saw a couple does. Had signs of a good buck in area I think the neighbors got him.

I like shooting, have quite a few guns, but fall short of being a gun nerd though I maybe working in that direction. My absolute favorite is our home defense gun a 870 youth 20 gauge. (Well its tied as my favorite with my old man's 30/30 marlin, cowboy guns are so fun). Its the perfect length for my wife and my first gun I personally bought. It has a slug barrel so it's short all around, and you can not miss with it. It puts down deer and center punches targets at 50 easy. Old reliable.
Love the lever guns. Got a marlin 39a the kids just love. It is so smooth and so accurate. A new Ruger/marlin may be in the future when they get up and running.

People would call me a gun nut, I have over 30 in the safe, but I have only bought 6, have no AR’s or pistols as they don’t interest me. Lots of shotguns and lots of old inherited guns that get shot once or twice a year. I reload for everything possible.

My guns are Purty and are for hunting, a softball bat resides under my bed for home defense while the guns sit in the safe.
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 6:58 pm Let's talk rods and reels. I'm using a baitcaster off of the dock, because I can put the line right where I want it along the shore, or in specific spots around the dock. My fishing rod is about 6'6", medium flexible tip. Any reason why I would want to move to a spinning rod?
It all depends on how you're fishing.

Spinning rods are best for live bait. With the way baitcasters have to be calibrated I wouldn't want to use a baitcaster for live bait.

Baitcasters are best for lures although you can certainly use lures on a spinning rod.

For bass you typically want a medium or medium heavy rod with fast action. The rods I get are at least 7' because I like the extra casting distance.

I would imagine your current setup casts very accurately.

Now for live bait.

Get something like this and keep it at home. It's a fish tank aerator that plugs into the wall.



Then this would be your bucket and bubbler for the lake.



Make sure whatever bucket you get that it's insulated. Basically a foam liner. If you're going to start using suckers buy a bigger bucket. That bucket is good for shiners. I've had several dozen in one of those for most of the day with no issues.

The fish tank aerator keeps you from burning through D batteries like water. Get your bait at the bait shop either the night before or if you want to keep your leftovers alive for the next day.

Then with a setup like that a pair of D batteries (always keep a spare pair in your tackle bag) will last a long time. You'll know by the sound of the motor when it's time to change them out.

Edit: @UOK Please help, the links I pasted aren't showing. Thank you.
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The Marshall Plan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:41 am
Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:21 am

That's awesome. Yeah, I'm a nerd with no idea what I'm doing and I have a little of everything when it comes to lures. I can confirm that most of them don't work. The most success I've had catching LMB (normally what I'm aiming for) are live leeches, or plastic on a jig. I'd like to catch a Northern but I'm petrified of getting my fingers bitten off. I am using braided line. Love it.

Questions TMP:

1. What's a sucker? (other than me after buying all of those lures)
2. What's a shiner?
3. How do you cast 15' of line below a slip bobber?
4. Can you fish year round, or is there a prime season and the rest is just wasted effort?
1. A sucker is a live bait that is a bottom feeder. They range in size from four inches to almost a foot. I’ve caught huge bass on the big ones. Bass don’t care. If it’s live protein they’ll eat it.

2. A shiner is a type of baitfish. They’re about the size of minnows, just a bit bigger but the important thing is their sides are a bright silver and reflect in the water.

3. Piece of cake.


4. Depends where you live. I live in the suburbs. I start with the spring thaw and stop when winter hits. People in warm weather climates can go year round. There’s talk about pre spawn, spawn and post spawn but if you know what you’re doing that shit doesn’t matter.

One more thing, always tie a palomar knot between your braid and your hook. The only time this knot failed for me is when something like a Muskie bites through it.



In terms of getting bitten by a northern, walleye or Muskie just buy a hook removal tool. They’re like $10 to $15 dollars. I use one because it helps when I have a fish gut hooked. I can usually get that hook out and save the fish.
Dude! Great videos. Thanks. I've heard of the Palomar knot, but never knew how to tie it. Also heard of the slip bobber, but didn't understand it. Now I can see the advantage of using live bait and a slip bobber. So cool. Can't wait for Spring to try it out!
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Oh yea!
This is my kind of thread. Sorry for the barrage of hunting/fish pics to follow. Besides music, it's about all I do.
Tennessee is the perfect place to live if you like the sporting lifestyle. I have a pickup truck, a kayak, and a dog, and do most my hunting on public land.

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southdakbearfan wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:55 pm
Love the lever guns. Got a marlin 39a the kids just love. It is so smooth and so accurate. A new Ruger/marlin may be in the future when they get up and running.

People would call me a gun nut, I have over 30 in the safe, but I have only bought 6, have no AR’s or pistols as they don’t interest me. Lots of shotguns and lots of old inherited guns that get shot once or twice a year. I reload for everything possible.

My guns are Purty and are for hunting, a softball bat resides under my bed for home defense while the guns sit in the safe.
I'm half way there but all my guns are generally purpose guns. I have only 2 that I cant put in a general purpose category. I have my 2 work guns an sbr and 9mm. My off duty pistol. My woods camping 10mm. My hunting rifles and shotguns. Really only my custom 1911 doesnt have a purported purpose. It's the most accurate pistol I've ever shot but to expensive to fuck with. It will go to my daughter one day.
Like you I've bought only a few of them, g-pa was a hobbyist gun smith.

@Burl
Looks like you are having to much fun down there. I would like to get a fishing kayak.
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mmmc_35 wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:04 pm
southdakbearfan wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:55 pm
Love the lever guns. Got a marlin 39a the kids just love. It is so smooth and so accurate. A new Ruger/marlin may be in the future when they get up and running.

People would call me a gun nut, I have over 30 in the safe, but I have only bought 6, have no AR’s or pistols as they don’t interest me. Lots of shotguns and lots of old inherited guns that get shot once or twice a year. I reload for everything possible.

My guns are Purty and are for hunting, a softball bat resides under my bed for home defense while the guns sit in the safe.
I'm half way there but all my guns are generally purpose guns. I have only 2 that I cant put in a general purpose category. I have my 2 work guns an sbr and 9mm. My off duty pistol. My woods camping 10mm. My hunting rifles and shotguns. Really only my custom 1911 doesnt have a purported purpose. It's the most accurate pistol I've ever shot but to expensive to fuck with. It will go to my daughter one day.
Like you I've bought only a few of them, g-pa was a hobbyist gun smith.

@Burl
Looks like you are having to much fun down there. I would like to get a fishing kayak.
I've always wanted a lever gun. Mine are more various handguns (wheel and magazine) and rifles of assorted calibers mainly 7.62 and 5.56. Couple shotguns.
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Burl wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:49 am Oh yea!
This is my kind of thread. Sorry for the barrage of hunting/fish pics to follow. Besides music, it's about all I do.
Tennessee is the perfect place to live if you like the sporting lifestyle. I have a pickup truck, a kayak, and a dog, and do most my hunting on public land.

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Dude! You are living large man. No apologies on the pics. That's awesome. You bagged that buck with a bow? Nice work! Love the pic of you with the Northern in the kayak. Oh and your dog is adorable.
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The Marshall Plan wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 2:02 pm
I've always wanted a lever gun. Mine are more various handguns (wheel and magazine) and rifles of assorted calibers mainly 7.62 and 5.56. Couple shotguns.
I've never owned a revolver, shot a few. You ever use a red dot on a pistol? Recently purchased one for mine. Once you get use to it, its amazing. Expensive, and it takes practice, but its impressive. It actually has helped me with my non red dot pistols. You literally can see your fuck ups in the sight.
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