basmastermatt

Does anyone know a good reel repair location or guy in the west or south west metro. I have a calcutta 400 I need to have repaired. I used to go to Minnetonka Outdoors but as we all know they went out of business. I think there is a guy in bloomington but I don't have any contact info for him. You can respond here or send me the info to my email... matt@fishwithmatt.com. Thanks Matt

I agree with everyone of you guys. Waconia is a unbelievable fishery and really has a lot of different stuff you can fish. Whether you are a shallow guy or a deep guy you can catch jumbos on this lake. 30 pounds on 6 is capable any time out there and could happen in less than 10 casts when you find them. 26 1/2 pds won on five fish out there last year and 25 plus was second. Two bags of fish like that to come on the same day is pretty amazing. Not to mention both of these guys threw back 20 plus fish in the 3 1/2 to 4 pound range through out the day. Growing up on the lake I have been very spoiled. This lake has been a diamond in the rough for years. I also believe that becuase it is so close to Minnetonka, for years people have just gone to Tonka. This lake is a perfect example of how effective slot limits can be. For more than 15 years the lake had a slot on all bass. 16"-21" had to be immediatly released. That did a couple of things. It kept many anglers from going there and it kept all of the tournaments away. As we all know the slot was lifted three years ago and ever since there has been many tourneys out there. The weights brought in at these tournaments show how healthy of a fishery it is. I speculate that with more fishing pressure and more tournament pressure we will see the fishery decline a bit. The lake has great vegetation and great spawing grounds. If we as anglers continue to manage this lake we will have a GEM for many years to come. I will not be able to fish Big Marine. Next time you guys make it out this way I hope to join you all. Until then, Fish On!

When the water gets warm it has a hard time holding oxygen and this product helps a ton. I also agree with the ice, ice helps cool the water, in turn that allows the water to hold more oxygen and also slows the amount of oxygen the fish is burning. (Note from Admin,Please read forum policy before posting again, Thnk-you.)

It was 6 fish from what I gather, that math breaks it down to the top bags being 3+ average. It was supposed to be for funnies, come on fellas. Just wanted to make your blood pressure rise. We all know what potential Waconia has. When 5 fish tourneys take 23-25 pounds to win out there. Actually 25 pounds was second last year, on five.

Why such low weights? Fishing must have been tough!? Glad to hear everyone enjoyed. Would have loved to join, if it wouldn't have been for Tonka practice. Oh, yeah that reminds me. There were two huge bags out there in yesterdays Super 30. 32 and 31.3. Neither of which did I catch. We ended the day with 21 pounds.

Why, cause it runs good! Would sooner fish alone any who.

Well if the "West Side" is looking for some more firing power I suppose I could lend them a hand?! Did you guys get the 15 boats you were shooting for? I think one of the "team Shady" boys is going to have to fish with me. I am planning on being on Tonka bright and early to pre-fish for Mondays Super 30. But a day on Waconia is hard to pass up.

Braid is good for some aplications. Like fishing heavy cover (lilly pads, milfoil, docks) But there are times when mono is good. For example: Crankbait fishing. Mono does have stretch and that can be good depending on your fishing technique. There are also times when you have to down size or finesse fish to get them to bite. When fish have received a lot of pressure they are a bit leary of the braid. Bed fishing for example. If that fish can see your line he usually won't bite. Typically if you are fishing a braid you can get by with a lighter action rod because the line doesn't stretch. If you run braid on a heavy rod, and the fish turns to make a run there is nothing left to give. So check that out, pair your line with the right action rod.

Gotta agree with you guys on the Maxima! Stuff is as tough as it comes. Not as soft as some of the others. It is low stretch and very strong. If you typically run a 10 or 12 lb line you can go to a 6 or 8lb Maxima in either the ultragreen or chameleon and have more strength and abrasion resistence. It has been designed and marketed to the steelhead and trout fisherman. Hence why it is so abrasion resistent. The P-Line is as good as it comes for finesse fishing and when you need to down size to get them to bite. I recently fished a tournament on Table Rock in Missouri and the lake is very clear. You can see down 20 feet. If you didn't fish 6lb flourcarbon you could not get them to bite. P-Line has a lot more stretch then others, so run it on a heavier than usual rod and it will compensate for that. I fish over 200 days a year and have used many of the lines offered. One hting I do recommend is respool often. It is the only connection between you and the fish!

Quote: Maybe we need to put a ban on bunk trailers!!! People have the $25,000- $30,000 for the boat, but I guess the roller trailer is just a little tooo expensive? Next I can here some say that a roller trailer is not available for my boat. Powerloading COSTS all of us more for maintenance of our landings. Use your brain. Get the right trailer not just the cheapest trailer. I would like to see the DNR ban powerloading and ENFORCE it. At least then the people wrecking the landing would be paying to repair the landing. WOW! You mouse jocky's crack me up. I own a Z20 Ranger and a 621 Ranger and you wouldn't want them on any thing but bunks. They don't offer your "more expensive" roller trailers for a reason..!

She really sneaks up on'em.

Dave, That guy would be me. I have your vexilar FL-8! I picked it up out of the road and you can come get it from me any time. I actually went around it and thought, boy that looked a lot like a vexilar, backed up and picked it up. When Andy and I were at Red Lake I told him, I had found it. The unit does work, but the case is cracked. Otherwise it is in pretty good shape. Andy had sent me your info yesterday regarding this unit but I was in Alabama for the Bassmaster Classic. Just got back late last night. Give me a shout. matt@fishwithmatt.com (612) 251-5245

Nice post River Rat!!

Spoke with Mark yesterday afternoon and by NO means are the DNR in any way trying to come after him. Like it says in the article they want to celebrate his catch. Being that Mark is so big in the industry and he works very closely with the DNR and very often. Mark and the DNR get along very well and will continue too. What you have here is a case of the (liberal) media here in MN trying to stir the pot and dig something up that just isn't necessary. It's thanks to Mark that they are looking into changing the laws to help us fisherman here in MN. Matt Peters

For all of you with the dream of catching a state record largemouth it just got harder. Today the MN state record LM was shattered (caught) by Mark Raveling and has been certified by the DNR. It weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz. It was a awesome site to see. It will be all over the news in the next few days. The news stations were everywhere when I stopped to hold this beast. For a guy who has fished tournaments for over 20yrs, won more tournaments in MN then anyone ever and now this. Congrats Mark this is the best win of your life. My hat goes off to you and hope everyone can say CONGRATS. Matt Peters I have a few pictures of this freak of nature if Mark will give me permission to put them up, I will by tomorrow. (Rick what do you think?? Ya)