beardown07
Upstanding Member
MontanaGorgeous. Where is this?
MontanaGorgeous. Where is this?
Montana
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You never get used to how beautiful it is here. The first two are my backyard. 3rd pic is the Northfork of the Flathead river. Ostensibly the west boundary of Glacier National Park. We float it multiple times a year.
Got any pics of that fat bastard?I caught a 5.4lb LMB at Lake Arthur last Friday around 7:45PM at the 528 Upper Boat Ramp that almost ripped my rod out of my hand. I was using a Strike King Tourney Spinner (white/yellow) with trailer.
I never take pictures man. I don't know why really? iPhone in my pocket constantly. I need to start doing that. You say fat and that's no joke. 20". About a pound heavier than it should have been. Unless my scale is off.Got any pics of that fat bastard?
BTW, heading north tomorrow for the 4th. Bringin all my fishin gear with me. Float tube, kayak, etc. Heard the small mouth population has boomed on Lake Cascade, along with the Trout populations. They drained the lake last year to get control of the perch population that had been running rampant.
Hoping the wife lets me do nothin but drink beer and fish on the lake for 4 days straight... Livin the dream! God bless 'Merica!
You pick up some Senkos yet?Good stuff, thanks. I had looked at those things that crimp an O ring to the bait, then you hook through the ring to save the bait. Looked like too much work but you have convinced me to try. I like spinners too for obvious reason. But there isn't the feeling of accomplishment of feeling the tap tap of a plastic and setting the hook at the right time. With a spinner often they hook themselves.
You pick up some Senkos yet?
I've honestly been fishing them a lot lately. When nothing else works... Senko.
Found some small zip ties the other day and decided that would be worth a try wacky. Just cinch up a zip tie in the middle (a little offset) and then work your hook in from the side. The change in orientation of the hook will look odd but it doesn't really affect hook up ratio. Same thing as the o-rings but cheaper. You can get 100 zip ties for a buck practically anywhere. I caught four bass on one Senko before having to replace it and honestly I think if I was more careful getting the hook in there it would have been fine for a few more.
Also did some frogging last night. Nothing like a top water strike!
Even if I missed all three strikes I had... FML.
I don't know if it changes the look in any meaningful way. It's a small black/white band in the middle of the worm. The hook is sideways doing it this way so that looks different. But the action of the worm is unaffected and I've not noticed any difference at all in hook-up ratio despite the hook looking weird going sideways instead of through the body. If there is any issues with this setup it hasn't revealed itself to me yet.Haven't had the chance, I bass fish at my buddy's house in the Poconos. Locally It's smallmouth in the upper Potomac where I use small spinners, tubes, Rappala.
Doesn't the zip tie change the look and action of the worm?
I don't know if it changes the look in any meaningful way. It's a small black/white band in the middle of the worm. The hook is sideways doing it this way so that looks different. But the action of the worm is unaffected and I've not noticed any difference at all in hook-up ratio despite the hook looking weird going sideways instead of through the body. If there is any issues with this setup it hasn't revealed itself to me yet.
Going out frogging again tonight. Gotta have more of those top water strikes. I may be addicted.
Yeah. I trim it up so it's just a little black band around the middle. Then I feed the hook through length-wise in relation to the worm.Nothing better than a top water hit at sunset.
Do you cut off the long end of the zip tie?
Yeah. I trim it up so it's just a little black band around the middle. Then I feed the hook through length-wise in relation to the worm.
I think I need better frogs. Yes. I'm blaming the equipment in an effort to protect my fragile ego. Missed another two last night. I'm getting them to hit the frog and they're hitting it hard, pulling it under. But when I go to set the hook I'm ripping the frog out of the water and usually getting smacked in the face with it (lol). Might try to bend the hooks up a little. Will hurt the weedless nature of the frog but screw it. The ones I have are cheapo $3 baits.
Also ordered 5 River 2 Sea Bully Wa 2 frogs after watching some reviews. A little pricey at $10.99 EA but the consensus seems to be that they are the best walking frogs on the market. Right now I don't need a dedicated setup (just using my go-to 7' MHF) but I'm probably going to need something heavier if I starting throwing into cover and working the pads at Yellow Creek/Lake Arthur. Looks like Dobyns/Shimano will be getting some more of my money.
I'm gonna try to do something with the hooks. They've been blowing them up left and right but I'm just not sealing the deal. It's still enough to keep me coming back though!Oh man we had one magical night where these frogs were hitting, we counted 18 big hits in a few evening hours. We found the same thing, we only hooked less than half. I finally figure out the hooks being buried in the frog (like a Texas rig) was the problem. So I flipped it and exposed the treble hooks. It's no longer weedless obviously but at least you got a hook up. I can't remember what kind they are, got them at the local bait shop, looked kind of like this
Are you the same guy from KFFL? I seem to remember that handle of yours.
I'm gonna try to do something with the hooks. They've been blowing them up left and right but I'm just not sealing the deal. It's still enough to keep me coming back though!
Yeah. Same Schmuck from KFFL.
Forgot to mention to you that I no longer live in PA. Moved out to the Pac NW almost 2 years ago.I never take pictures man. I don't know why really? iPhone in my pocket constantly. I need to start doing that. You say fat and that's no joke. 20". About a pound heavier than it should have been. Unless my scale is off.
I've never fished Lake Cascade. Looks like it's a little north-west from Lake Arthur.
If you want smallie action fire up that kayak/tube and head to Avonmore PA. Drop it in at their launch and float down to Roaring Run in Apollo. The Kiski River is the king of smallies. Gorgeous scenery too. You might end up gawking view instead of fishing haha.
My son just caught a 16" smallie last night at Crooked Creek Lake too. Was punching above it's weight-class. I thought it was going to be bigger seeing it bend his rod. Crooked Creek is WAY underrated. VERY good fishery. Lots of LM, SM, Cats, and Muskie/Pike. That's my go-to lake now.