Chemlight

Caught three bass that beat my personal best on Saturday, using a 1/4oz North Start South Paw, black and blue. In order of catch: 20" 24" 21" Don't have a scale, so no weights, but the 21" felt like the heaviest of the three.

Just bought some of their jigs this year, thanks to all the glowing reviews on the forums here. Caught a 20", 21" and 24" bass on opener, all three beating my previous personal bests, all on the Southpaw black and blue. Love these guys, will definitely be buying more (my brother already lost one in a tree).

Thanks! I didn't realize there was a boat launch there. Pretty obvious looking at Google Maps now. I will definitely be spending some time down there soon.

By the 494 launch, are you talking about the one at Lions Levee Park? Or a different one? We've never caused trouble, been noisy, problematic. We always clean up after ourselves (and often times others), so that isn't really a concern. Unfortunately, the cop driving by doesn't know that.

Hey guys, was hoping maybe someone could help me and my brother out. We've been looking for a decent late night shore fishing spot along the Mississippi river. So far, everywhere we've been has been city land, and they close the parks around 10pm or so (and the cops drive by to make sure we leave). I even contacted the lock master at Lock and Dam #2 to see if the concrete pier was managed by the city or them - it is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, but they also verified that it is closed after 10pm. So, in short, we are looking for a spot, either on the East side of the river between the 494 bridge and Hastings Bridge, or on the West side near said bridges, that we can fish all night when the urge strikes, where we don't have to worry about breaking any city ordinances. So far the cops have been nice about it (we usually stay until they roll up), but we would still like to stay out longer some nights. Any ideas?

If I was lucky enough to own property and a dock, I would place a sign on the end of the dock that read: "Please remove any hooks, bait or line that you lose on the dock." With another sign: "Please send all pictures of fish caught from this dock to xxx-xxx-xxxx" But that's just me.

I take my kids out fairly often - if you want to contact me with some information, I'll consider volunteering.

My oldest daughter is six, and she just got the patience/love for fishing this season. I bought her a spincaster, and it was the worst thing I ever did. She had so many problems with it, that had it been my pole, I would have given up in 1/10th of the time she spent on it. Before we went out again, I picked up an open spinning reel and an ugly stick for her. She cast it on her first try, and hasn't had any problems, and was finally able to start catching bass. The only thing I would change is getting a medium/light rod instead of a light. Pretty much like everyone else has said.

Personally, I'm liking the bobber sonar. I fish out of a canoe, or off the shore, and the concept seems like a nice one. Are there any products out there right now that offer the same type of interface (remote viewer with a throwable/castable sonar)?

Not a hog by any means, but it was my oldest daughters first bass!

Just thought I would share a story that happened to me yesterday, that made my day, and likely my summer. I've grown up fishing with spin casters. Since I got back into fishing a few years back (a long story for another day), I kept hearing about how great bait casters were. Being the type to always try something new, I picked up one on sale, and tried it out. After just a few casts, I had such a bad birds nest in the reel, I realized there was a lot more to bait casters than spin casters. I took a break from it, and eventually got back to getting it respooled, and did some research on the internet. Found some good videos on how to go about practicing in a way that doesn't screw up your spool, and went out yesterday and started to practice. I thought I was doing fairly well. I was getting casts out to 20-30' without getting a nest, but I was taking it slow because I was still getting them every so often, and I didn't want to burn up another spool of line going to fast. Fast forward a bit, and I've packed up and am leaving for the day. A few people are walking past, obviously coming out to fish, and we start talking. I let them know what I did and didn't have luck with, what we were catching, how, and where, just something to maybe give them a starting point. One of the guys asked me what type of bait caster I had. I just shrugged my shoulders and said 'I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out how to cast it!' Well, that was probably the best thing I could have said. He perked up, took a look at the reel, commented that it was actually a pretty decent one, and then proceeded to show me how to tune the reel to the bait, explained how each of the settings affected the cast, and so forth. After he was done, he took his baitcaster, and put a bait on it and said 'Tune it up, and go cast it as far as you can.' I was sure I was going to mess up his spool, and told him so. He just smiled and said I wouldn't. So, I tuned it, went down to the water, and cast. I didn't put quite as much 'umph' into as I could have, but I definitely let 'er rip. And much to my surprise, no nest. I had cast tuned and casted a bait caster, and been provided with a valuable confidence boost in the reel. So while there are plenty of posts about ramp rudeness, overreacting and such, I thought it would be good to remember that, most of the time, the community of fisherman in Minnesota is a good one. This guy took time out of his fishing day to teach me how to use a bait caster, and I can guarantee my summer will be a better one, and I will definitely be looking for an opportunity to pass it on.

I just looked at Navionics - do they have maps of a lot of our local lakes? Or is it more the major bodies like the Mississippi? Just figured I'd ask before I dropped the money. If they have a list of lake maps they have, that would make the decision easier... Eidt: Nvm, I found the list at http://www.navionics.com/en/marine-lakes-usa

@BartmanMN http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boatwater/boatingguide.pdf Go to page 44.

Quote:I just had this talk with a fishing buddy of mine this morning.....Call me nuts but I think the average Flathead in P2 is about 6-8 lbs. There are a tremendous number of small fish in that pool, and honestly not very many "Big" fish (40+ pounds) For as much as I fish P2 it has to be 25 or more in the <15lb range for every one over 30 pounds. Has anyone got a legit 50 pounds Flat from P2? I do not know of one. In the last month I've personally seen 2 x 30lb channels, and one 45 lb flat, caught on pool 2. There are definitely some big ones in there. But the majority of what we catch (and see others catch) is in the 3-5 lb range.

Took my daughters out shore fishing the Miss. this weekend in Pool 2. They had a blast, caught a bunch of Redhorse suckers.

Only time I ever got upset was when I was fishing a small pond that I didn't think had any big ones just to pass some time. Caught a bass that was right around 18", didn't have the net ready...ended up breaking my line while it was on the dock, and going in the water with a nice crankbait still in its mouth. My wife was with the kids at the playground about 20 yards away and thought I had broke my pole with my reaction.

Just in case anyone runs into one of these: I did pick up the canoe. Its somewhat heavy, and plastic. 11'9", but definitely wide. The gunwales wrap over and down again, forming an upside down U to the inside of the canoe, which is interesting, and has actually come in handy as I've gotten a trolling motor and fish finder; It makes mounting them a lot easier. Other than that...it floats. It looks like its been through a lot already (scratches and such) but is holding together really well.

I'm looking at buying a used canoe. It is made by a company called 'Sinterplast', out of Monroe, WA. No model number seems to be on the canoe (according to the seller). I can't find anything online other than a listing that says they are out of business now. Was wondering if anyone had any experience with them, and what a good price might be for a used one in good condition?