Off season to do's

[ikeslayer]

Since hard water is probably in our near future I am wondering what most of you guys do in the off season as far as fishing goes. I don't ice fish because it is not A.D.D. enough like bass fishing is. i read a good article by Agape last year on how he winterizes all of his stuff. I mostly just loosen my drags on all my reels so that they work really good the next year and build some new rods and purchase some anglers edge and in- fisherman vids. that it the extent of my off season. Wondering what the rest of you all do.

[Ray Esboldt]

Ike,

I'm totally A.D.D., and I love ice fishing. Now the sit in a permanent all day with a minnow down route might be tough. But, get yourself a one-man Otter and a Marcum depthfinder and you're portable. Be on the move, find the fish, and get some excercise.

Deitz is A.D.D. as well and he digs ice fishing. You can make it your winter activity.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Dude.. I am the poster child for adult A.D.D. and I LOVE ice fishing. I run and gun more ice fishing than I do bass fishing. My poor auger drills a ton of holes in the winter. I would like to think I save a basses life every time I drill a hole.. help keep the lake aireated.

[ikeslayer]

i have found a couple of open water spots that produce cats all winter and also my buddies and i have dreamed up what is called "full contact tip ups" you can probably guess what this is. We sit around and wait until we see a flag and then it is every man for himself to get to that sucker. We have acutally never done it because we just dreamt it up this summer but i am pretty sure there will be some exercise and some battering of people going on. give it a try and let me know how it does. Speaking of A.d.d. back to the topic of what do you guys do in the off season? ike

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I take my reels off the rods, loosen the drags, pack away all my open water equipment and dont even think about any of it until shorline ice has broken up.

[delmuts]

i'm one of those guys that; clean and lube all his reels,check all the kine guide eyes with a Q-tip for nicks and cracks,takes all old mono off the reels,sorts and organize lures , and sharpen the hooks!

[Slyster]

I bought SO much last winter that i am already all set for next summer! I too have never ice fished.. but would like to try if anyone wants some company... let me know... but geeze I already miss the open water... even though I was out 2 days ago... really miss the HOT sun... warm waves... and the whistling rod guides in the wind... and the deep blue swells... [PoorWordUsage]!

[big musk411]

Some of the metro rivers offer good bass fishing all winter long. Don't put all the tackle away

[RobertELee]

Thats a great picture big musk. I sure hope I can get out to the river this winter. Speaking of A.D.D., I also fish alot like Dietz, I don't think I can stay at one hole for 10 minutes if there is no bite. All I need now to make me more mobile is a 4 wheeler or snowmobile. Last winter I was fishing a private 20 or so acre lake for crappies. I was lucky enough to have use of a snowmobile for the weekend and by the and of the weekend there had to be 200 - 300 holes all over that lake.

[croixeyes]

Even though there is still open water to fish I am making the transfer from open water to ice.Its a very tough time of year for me,I store my boat outside so I know if I dont get it winterized this week its gonna be difficult to get it done when the cold weather stays.

Got all my tackle and rods and reels back into my fishin room and organized for once.Drags loosened and such,still need to reorganize lures and jigs,and resharpen hooks, but I save that for late March.Breakin out the ice fishing gear now to make sure everything is in working order,but still not super excited,that will take a coating of ice.Big musk is right,there is some good bass fishing through the ice to be had on the rivers.By the way Big Musk,are those goose tracks in your pic or do you have some new boot that I havent seen?

[sicheneder]

i like to clean the reels and go over my takle to see what needs to be replaced and what i can add. i also go over videos and get up to date on some of the bass magazines from the summer.

[big musk411]

Quote:

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By the way Big Musk,are those goose tracks in your pic or do you have some new boot that I havent seen?

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Snow Goose Boots, they help me swim when I fall in the water and make it difficult for others to track down my fishing spots!

[Daze Off]

Now that all my tackle is out of the boat and into the house I start my annual inventory. I go through all my tackle and write down what I have so that when I start hitting the catalogs I have a quick reference so I can avoid repetitive purchases. While I am at it, for insurance purposes, I take digital photos (including reels and sticks) in the event something tragic happens.

Once I am done with the tackle I do pretty much the same with my sticks and reels that everyone else does.

I also gather up all my maps from wherever they have been flung all summer and file them. Then I review the waypoints and markers in my handheld GPS and transfer them to the hard copy maps if I have them. With a handheld it is easier to get the whole picture on a hardcopy map and use the electronic version to zero in on a spot.

Along with lots of others I review and read lots of articles in print and on-line, search around for new baits/tactics/tips, etc. and watch lots of TV fishing.

This year I am going to paint up a ton of lead for next season and I hope to learn how to make my own spinnerbait/buzzpait/jig skirts and make a bunch of those as well.

Finally - by February I am still on the verge of total mental collapse so I try to plan a trip south to either fish, attend a Bassmaster University session, or just go to BPS in Springfield, MO for late March or April and then the first "event" of the new year is always a couple of outings on Pool 2 in late April/early May...

I have decided not to fish with my BASS Club this year so will likely investigate which other tournaments I might want to enter and plan that out as well once the schedules have been posted. Time to try something new.

By then there is little ink left on the pages of any fishing catalogs in the house....

Daze Off

[EBass]

Psst - Daze, Try P4 before P2. Ask BigMike, he'll tell ya:)