This from the article scares me: “It scares me that, in a recent PEW poll of “journalists,” 55 percent say every side of an issue DOES NOT deserve equal treatment.”
I try to listen to both sides, I really do. But on some issues, like guns, it is almost impossible to hear both sides.
When trying to read Jesse Jackson’s Griffin Daily News July 14 Editorial “Assault weapons are weapons of war” I had to stop in the second paragraph. When he wrote “They are useless for hunting” I knew I was wasting my time.
That proved to me he was clueless about his topic and was just pushing an agenda. Nothing that came after such an inaccurate statement could be relevant. When I read something patently untrue, I cannot keep reading.
First, the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting.
Second, “Assault weapons” are a fake term given to what sportsman call “Modern Sporting Rifles.” One of the most common designs is the ArmaLite Rifle Model 15, usually shortened to AR 15. It is a type gun that comes chambered in more than 60 different calibers. The vary from rimfire calibers like the .22 long rifle, bullets usually used for squirrel hunting, to .30 Remington, specifically designed for deer hunting to even larger calibers.
The .223 caliber is one of the most common in the AR platform and it has been legal for deer hunting in Georgia for years. That cartridge is a relatively small caliber and does not have a lot of powder, so it has much less kick than rifles like by old Marlin 30-30, but it is legal and efficient for killing a deer.
It is a good choice for young hunters and those that don’t want a gun that kicks hard. I am using mine for deer hunting rather than my 7 mm Mag since I have a port in my right shoulder and am afraid to expose it to too much recoil.
It scares me that, in a recent PEW poll of “journalists,” 55 percent say every side of an issue DOES NOT deserve equal treatment. The same poll found that 76 percent of all Americans say both sides SHOULD get equal coverage.
Maybe that is why a recent Gallup poll shows only 11 percent of Americans trust television news and only 16 percent trust newspapers.
Almost as bad is a PEW poll showing 64 percent of US adults approve the recent gun control laws passed by congress, but 78 percent say the law will do little or nothing to affect crime. But 63 percent say they want more useless laws like the one passed that they know will do little to no good.
Maybe the reason they support useless laws is they hear only one side. Most mall shootings are hyped 24/7 for days, but the recent shooting in Indiana got little coverage. Was it because a good guy with a legal gun killed the shooter before he could kill many people?
As long as only one side is pushed by the media, I will adamantly oppose any gun control legislation, not matter how often those pushing the agenda call it “sensible” or “reasonable.”
Their call for compromise always means “do it my way” even if you know it is useless.
A current political ad says the recent “Constitutional Carry” law in Georgia makes it easier for criminals to carry loaded guns in Georgia. I question any law enforcement officer that claims criminals would not carry guns if it was just against the law.
A good example of the mindset of the gun banners is New York Governor Hochul. When the Supreme Court overturned a state law that made it almost impossible to get gun or carry it in her state, she got laws passed to make it a felony to carry guns in almost every building in the state.
Her reason? In response to a reporter’s question if she had any data to prove her claim that citizens carrying guns would endanger millions of New York residents, she said “I don’t need to have numbers. I don’t need to have a data point to say this.”
I will fight “feelings” from gun banners like her with facts and truth, if I can be heard.
The bite for me was mainly about top water as there was times when you could have fished on top all day long and caught top water fish. We had perfect conditions most of the week for a variety of top water baits; results are everything and it proved out fishing over grass.
Baits were mainly about SPRO pop-r’s, buzz baits and spooks working over grass. We did have some good results on Missile Bait D-Bombs and Tight-Line swim jigs. The best was certainly the top water bite, and it really didn’t matter what to bait you fished.
Retrieve Speed and Results
As we approach winter fishing or late fall feed up this becomes a time of year that one of the most critical things that people do wrong shows its head. When you have trouble catching fish this time of year, it has a lot to do with how quickly you retrieve your bait while fishing!
There are many ways to work a bait and certainly many of them require you to work them very quickly to produce the action the bait was designed for; however working that bait certain times of years require you to slow down and we are approaching that critical time now!
Let me give you an example, many of us are successful at fishing a frog when we burn it across a grass mat. Excellent example of when and how to catch fish; burning it does require you to change speeds and tempo many times to be successful. If you’re burning the frog without stopping, slowing, or speeding back up, then you could very well have the wrong tempo required to get a bass to bite. When your best buddy tells you to burn it and they will bite does not necessarily mean he never slows down, or stops the bait to change the tempo, this can be a critical piece of retrieve speed.
All baits we fish with require thought on the presentation; and many times the presentation you use at first light may need to be changed drastically to get the same bite at 11am. Fish are more active many times at 6am than they are at 9am and retrieve speed and tempo needs to be changed many times as the day progresses.
Lastly tournament anglers are a perfect example of critical retrieve speed. Many times a tournament angler hits the water for a practice day and really slays the fish. He goes back to the same spot at the same time of day during the tournament and can’t get his fish to bite; why? He is fishing with a different tempo than he did during his practice time. Not realizing how critical this can be, his body is hyped up and the speed and tempo at which he catches fish in practice has changed! His adrenaline changed his tempo and hence his bite.
Thought is everything in retrieve speed!
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Servi
Come fish with me I am booking for the fall and would love to take you fishing call today 256 759 2270. We fish with great sponsor products Mercury Motors, Ranger Boats, Boat Logix Mounts, Toyota Trucks, Cornfield Fishing Gear, Costa, Duckett Fishing, Dawson Boat Center, Vicious Fishing, Power Pole, and more
You never know when or where you’ll connect with the fish of a lifetime
PARK FALLS, Wis. (October 9, 2024) – Sometimes referred to as “a foot deep and a mile wide,” the sprawling Susquehanna River rises in Central New York’s Otsego Lake and drains over 27,000 square miles in three states before dumping into the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Bisecting the entire state of Pennsylvania and containing a rich forage base, the Susky is full of spunky smallmouth bass… for anglers who can get to them.
Shallow and rocky, the Susquehanna is the domain of the jetboat; ideal craft for skimming over and around treacherous rocks and ledges that would destroy an ordinary bass boat. Susquehanna fishing guide, Joe Raymond, bought his first in his twenties and now runs a 300-HP Rock Proof River Rocket. He’s been guiding anglers on the Susquehanna for over 15 years. In that time, he watched his clients catch a lot of big bass. A couple of weeks ago, Raymond caught one of his own.
“For George and me, we looked at this picture and were absolutely shellshocked,” Mike told viewers in his intro. That speaks volumes, given the Acord brothers’ some-50 years of experience fishing on the Susquehanna River, not to mention the hundreds of big smallmouth photos they see from their customers each and every year.
Raymond described the series of events leading up to the historic catch.
“Tom (Mills) and I had talked about fishing a Williamsport Bassmasters Charity Tournament for Toys for Tots,” Raymond said. “We’d only fished up there a couple times and it had been a few years. We remembered both times being a dinkfest, but we decided to do it and have some fun while supporting a worthy cause. There was a big thunderstorm the night before. My roof was leaking and I didn’t sleep at all. We didn’t have much of a gameplan and just headed upriver in the dark to a spot we’d had some success at before. There was already a boat there so we just kept going.”
Raymond says they finally pulled into a spot and started fishing. “The plan was for me to fish for a limit and Tom to target a lunker,” he recalls. “I was throwing a 3” Z-Man MinnowZ swimbait on a weedless jighead and I kept losing fish. Nothing big, but it was aggravating,” he says. When Raymond opted to switch to an open jig, a new sort of misery crept in. “I started to catch a few small ones, but I was getting snagged on almost every cast. I told Tom I was done and we had to move.”
The pair bounced around to a few spots in the largely unfamiliar water without a lot of success. “There was an area up there in one of those pools we had passed… it looked so good,” Raymond says. “We agreed it had to have fish, but we’d never caught anything there during our two prior trips to this part of the river. We decided to try it anyway.”
The pair arrived at the back end of the pool and Raymond started fishing his 3” MinnowZ on a 7’ medium-power St. Croix Legend X spinning rod paired to a 3000 Vanford reel with10-lb. smackdown braid and a 10-lb. Tatsu fluoro leader. The curse continued. “I broke off again… like right away… and had to tie on a whole new leader,” Raymond says. “Tom was throwing a Ned rig in a current seam and he had broken off too.”
Raymond was sick of snagging up, so he tied a fresh EZ Money-colored Z-Man paddletail with a weedless jighead onto the fresh leader.
“There was a log on the bottom in the back of this pool in about four feet of water. I made a cast to it and flipped the bail closed after giving the bait a couple seconds to get down,” Raymond says. “I reeled tight and felt weight and immediately thought I was snagged again… then I felt movement. I hit this thing and it came screaming up and did a backflip in front of the boat. The fish looked huge, but I was still trying to process what had happened and how big the bass actually was. It only took a couple more seconds before I realized what I was fighting.”
“When a guy like Joe Raymond tells you to get the net because he just hooked the biggest smallmouth of his life, you move quickly,” Mills says. “The fish was just digging behind the boat puking up crayfish like crazy. The water was so clear it was like watching the scene in an aquarium.”
“The fish fought so hard,” Raymond says. “I was thinking, is this real life?” Then the St. Croix took a deeper bend and the fish took off downstream.
Raymond snapped out of his daydream and took the MinnKota off of Spotlock to follow the big brown bass that was now peeling line and headed for some rapids. “We caught up and netted it,” Raymond says. “Both of us were staring into the net and going crazy like a couple little kids.”
Raymond weighed and measured the fish quickly before snapping a couple of photos. She stretched the tape to 24 inches and bottomed out at 7.19 pounds. Later, the fish would weigh 7.08 at the tournament weigh in.
“I just kinda lost it,” Raymond says. “Like any guide – or any serious fisherman – I obsess over big fish. I’ve celebrated with so many of my clients after helping them catch personal-best bass over the years. This fish is the first over six pounds I’ve ever caught on the Susquehanna, and only the second over seven anyone I know has ever heard of from the river. It wasn’t a super-fat fish, just thick all the way through and super healthy. I actually know the guy who caught the other documented 7-1 back in 1981. His name is Russell Fuller. I heard the story over and over when I was young and was always suspect until I got the chance to meet him and speak with him later in life. He brought the mount into the restaurant a few years ago and I was blown away when I saw it. He caught his in the spring, basically right behind the house where I now live in Duncannon. It was a 23” pre-spawn fish, so it was quite a bit fatter. Mine wasn’t as deep but was an inch longer.”
Raymond has a few key tips for all smallmouth anglers.
“You never know when or where you’ll connect with the fish of a lifetime,” he says. I certainly never expected to run into this fish in the spot we were fishing. I was lucky that I had just re-tied my leader. We’ve all gotten lazy about knots and leaders and it always bites you. I learned this early as a guide. If you cinch down a knot and it doesn’t feel right, or your leader knot gets hung up in your guides, or you feel some nicks in your leader, take the time to re-tie and avoid disappointment.”
Raymond is also a firm believer in using the best gear you can afford. “I’m not rod heavy; I’m rod particular,” he says. “Unlike a lot of bass fishermen who have a dedicated rod for every specific presentation they make, I’m the guy who has a handful of different rods that I like and trust with a few powers and actions that suit the lines and lures I most often fish. There are a ton of great rods on the market today. For me, it’s hard to beat the quality and performance of St. Croix and specifically their Legend X series. These rods are made in the USA, light, load up great, and are extremely sensitive. It’s the same with the lures I most often use. Z-Man ElaZtec plastics mimic everything in this river a smallmouth eats and the material is incredibly soft with unmatched durability. For me, that means my clients can catch a bunch of fish on a single bait before I have to replace it. The Z-Man MinnowZ swimbait is the best bait ever for guiding. They can be rigged in a bunch of different ways to match the conditions and have a shimmy almost like a spybait on a slow steady retrieve. You will catch fish hopping them on the bottom and burning them through the water, too.”
Finally, Raymond encourages anglers to handle all fish with care and to release the ones with the genetics that make better fishing possible for everyone. “I think most bass anglers are in the same camp about caring for big bass and releasing them healthy, but we still have some archaic regulations and procedures in some states, especially when it comes to recognizing record fish,” he says. “In a lot of states, you just can’t get a record fish certified without killing it. No record or recognition is worth killing a huge, old fish. The very same day I caught my fish here in Pennsylvania, a guy fishing a tournament in New York caught a nine-pounder, which would have smashed the state record. He called the DEC and was told to put the fish on ice until someone could come out and certify the fish the next day. He would have had to kill it to get it certified. That’s a huge problem. To his credit, the angler – Dante Piraino – knew better and had no part of that plan. After it was weighed and revived, he adamantly directed tournament officials to put that fish right back into the St. Lawrence River with all the rest of them. States need more protocols and procedures that make it easy for people to certify fish like this without killing the fish. These are genetic freaks and all of us need to let them continue to do their thing.”
For up-to-date information on fishing in the Susquehanna River, or for tackle recommendations, contact Susquehanna Fishing Tackle at 800-814-7433 or via their website, sfttackle.com.
Get Your Hands On The Best New Rod & Reel Systems For Bass
By The Fishing Wire
Voted Best Rod & Reel Combo at ICAST 2024 just two weeks ago, all-new St. Croix GXR Bass Systems are available to elevate bass-fishing experiences starting August 1. St Croix rods are my favorite rods.
Park Falls, WI – St. Croix Rod exists to give every angler the upper hand on the water with over 800 fishing rod models, engineered and handcrafted to deliver excellence in any fishing technique or presentation.
One year ago, the 76-year-old privately-owned American company introduced SEVIIN Reels, a new brand established with the goal of creating the most dependable reels available, so anglers can enjoy fishing more and worry less.
Today, St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels announce the availability of St. Croix GXR Bass Systems – a carefully curated collection of eight high-performance technique-focused St. Croix rods, precision-matched and balanced with smooth and dependable complimentary SEVIIN GXR casting and spinning reels. Voted best new rod and reel combo by fishing tackle retailers and media members at ICAST 2024, GXR is the first and only off-the-rack precision-matched rod and reel system to combine St. Croix performance and SEVIIN reliability. Four casting models and four spinning models are available at an angler-friendly retail price of $200 to $225. Two-piece GXR models are also available.
GXR begins with a proven St. Croix performance platform – crisp, strong, and responsive SCII carbon-fiber blanks mated to lightweight and durable hybrid stainless-steel guide trains that promote exceptional balance and reliable performance with all line types. Handles are an angler-preferred traditional split-grip design with premium cork grips, blank-through nylon reel seats, and black stainless-steel and nylon hoods. “GXR casting and spinning rod share DNA with several of our most popular bass series, including Bass X and our retired (previous generation) Mojo Bass rods,” says St. Croix Brand Manager, Ryan Teach. “These are proven, technique-optimized rod platforms that fish light with surprising power and exceptional balance.”
A 7’1” medium-heavy power, fast action ALL AROUND model is available in both GXR casting (GXRC71MHF) and spinning (GXRS71MHF). It’s a rod that can do about anything well, from skipping docks to swimbaits to jigs, flukes, topwaters, and more.
On the casting side, a 7’2” heavy power, moderate action REACTION BAIT model (GXRC72HM) provides a parabolic design optimized for crankbaits, chatterbaits, and other swimming lures, while a 7’4” heavy power, fast action FROG & FLIP (GXRC74HF) is the GXR model anglers will want to have in their hands when pitching, flipping, frogging, or fishing other lures in and around heavy cover.
Two additional spinning models round out GXR’s technique-optimized lineup. A 6’10” medium-light power, extra-fast action FINESSE (GXRS610MLXF) is optimized for light-line applications such as drop-shotting, as well as presenting Ned rigs, downsized creature baits, and smaller hair jigs. An additional 7’1” medium power, fast action STICK BAIT spinning model (GXRS71MF) excels in presenting wacky rigs, light Texas rigs, shaking minnows, heavier Ned rigs, and more.
Finally, Teach says GXR’s appeal is further widened by the availability of a pair of two-piece models. “Because not every bass rod lives on the deck of a bass boat full time, two-piece bass rods are trending,” Teach says. “GXR gives bass anglers two-piece convenience for travel and storage and one-piece performance in the unique GXRC71MHF2-C (ALL AROUND) and GXRS71MF2-C (STICK BAIT) models.”
SEVIIN designed complimentary GXR casting and GXR spinning reels from a blank canvas to balance and enhance the performance of these technique-optimized GXR rods. “The goal was to create a new series of bass-fishing systems for anglers of all levels that are ready to fish with heightened St. Croix performance and SEVIIN castability and reliability,” says SEVIIN Reels Product Manager, Robert Woods. The SEVIIN and St. Croix Product Teams worked together to create a series of hard-core bass rod-and-reel combinations with wide appeal and performance that exceeds their retail price, fully backed by St. Croix and SEVIIN warranties and customer service.”
SEVIIN GXR casting reels are crafted on a compact, 100-size lightweight graphite frame. Castability and operation are enhanced by anodized aluminum spools with Japanese stainless-steel spool bearings, magnetic cast control, and 6+1 stainless-steel bearings that support key moving parts. Strong and exceptionally smooth drag comes from a carbon fiber and stainless-steel drag stack, while a versatile 7.3:1 retrieve ratio provides optimal performance in a wide variety of bass presentations.
Lightweight and strong SEVIIN GXR spinning reels feature 3000-size carbon fiber bodies and rotors with anodized and ported aluminum spools. 8+1 stainless steel bearings yield silky-smooth operation, while a carbon fiber and stainless-steel drag stack ensures slick, consistent, and reliable drag performance in all conditions at all settings.
St. Croix GXR Bass Systems Features
• Precision-matched high-performance rod and reel systems (4 casting and 4 spinning), optimized for popular, technique-specific bass presentations • Premium SCII carbon fiber blanks with FRS (Fortified Resin System) for increased flexural strength with reduced weight • Lightweight, black stainless-steel guides with aluminum-oxide rings for reliable performance with all line types • Traditional split-grip premium-grade cork handles with premium EVA accents • Nylon reel seat with black stainless-steel hood and nylon and stainless-steel locking nut • 5-year rod warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service • 100-size SEVIIN GXR casting reels feature 6+1 bearings, durable and lightweight graphite frames, aluminum spools and accents, high-performance carbon fiber + stainless-steel drag stacks, soft-touch rubber paddles, and versatile 7.3:1 gearing. • 3000-size SEVIIN GXR spinning reels feature 8+1 bearings, lightweight and rigid carbon fiber bodies and rotors, ported aluminum spools, high-performance carbon fiber + stainless-steel drag stacks, premium EVA paddle, and versatile 5.1:1 gearing. • 1-year reel warranty backed by SEVIIN • Designed in Park Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.A. • Retail price $200 to $220
St. Croix GXR Bass Systems Models
• GXRC71MHF-C / ALL AROUND – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, casting / Retail $210 • GXRC71MHF2-C / ALL AROUND 2 – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, 2-piece casting / Retail $225 • GXRC72HM-C / REACTION BAIT – 7’2”, heavy power, moderate action, casting / Retail $210 • GXRC74HF-C / FROG & FLIP – 7’4”, heavy power, fast action, casting / Retail $210 • GXRS610MLXF-C / FINESSE – 6’10”, medium-light power, extra-fast action, spinning / Retail $200 • GXRS71MF-C / STICK BAIT – 7’1”, medium power, fast action, spinning / Retail $200 • GXRS71MF2-C / STICK BAIT 2 – 7’1”, medium power, fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $220 • GXRS71MHF-C / ALL AROUND – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, spinning / Retail $200
Put simply, GXR Bass Systems are the right tools for the job – a collection of premium, technique-optimized rod-and-reel combinations designed and crafted to give bass anglers of all levels a series of synergized tools that move them forward towards new wins on the water, including more and bigger bass, and more exceptional fishing moments and memories. Embodying trusted St. Croix performance and SEVIIN reliability… right off the rack… all-new GXR Bass Systems are available at St. Croix dealers and online at stcroixrods.com starting today, August 1, 2024.
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly crafting the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.
Any shooting like the one in Uvalde, Texas where innocent children are killed is horrible, but do not blame me and other law-abiding gun owners. Blame the low-life evildoer that did it.
Unlike the gun ban vultures that started circling and crying the “do something” mantra before the first body was recovered from the school in Texas, I tried to listen to all the conflicting reports and wait for valid information.
The “something” gun banners always demand is “common sense” gun bans. There is nothing “common” about their demands and if they made “sense” they would not have to exaggerate and tell half-truths to outright lies.
I have been disappointed and amazed, but not surprised, by the bald face lies and stupid comments to uninformed babbling from everyone from personal friends to the president.
Biden’s comments have been weird. First, he said something about the 2nd Amendment not really meaning “shall not be infringed” because citizens could not own cannons when it was passed. When he was told by constitutional scholars like John Turley that he was wrong, in fact you can still own a cannon today, he continued to tell that lie.
He then began babbling about how a .22 caliber bullet would lodge in the lungs, but a 9 mm “big caliber” bullet would blow the lungs out. That is an inane comment by anyone familiar with guns and bullets.
But somehow it relates to banning “assault” weapons, meaning the AR-15. AR stands for the company that developed the gun, Armalite, is in no way an “assault” weapon, no military in the world uses it. And the most common caliber for it is .223, apparently less dangerous to Biden than the dreaded 9 mm.
One TV commentator said it was ridiculous an 18-year-old could go buy an automatic rifle and more than 300 round of ammo without a background check. Fortunately, a guest on the show pointed out the rifle was not automatic, he went through a background check and it is not uncommon, especially in that area to buy large amounts of ammo.
Personally, I have purchased more than 1000 rounds of 7.62×39 ammo at one time for target practice to save money. Shooting more than 100 rounds in one target shooting session is not uncommon. And common .22 long rifle bullets I shoot in my semiautomatic squirrel gun I have owned since I was eight years old come in boxes of 525 rounds.
Calls for extended background checks are another “common sense” waste. The background check in place for years did not work this time so let’s make you get one on your child before giving them a gun for Christmas with an “extended” background?
All guns bought from licensed gun dealers must go through the current background check. The proposed “extended” check would have made no difference since the shooter in Texas bought his gun from a licensed dealer, already covered in the current law.
The sale of over 100 brands of rifles defined as “assault” guns were banned for ten years, from 1994 through 2004. One liberal commentator told this lie: “Mass shootings dropped by 40 percent during the ‘assault weapons’ ban.”
Here is what Factcheck.org says: “A RAND review of gun studies, updated in 2020, concluded there is “inconclusive evidence for the effect of assault weapon bans on mass shootings.” Seems a 40 percent drop would be pretty “conclusive” evidence, if it was true.
It didn’t work the first time, lets lie about it and do it again.
I keep hearing “Nobody needs an assault weapon.” Yet they can’t define what they consider an “assault weapon,” it is a constitutional right and there are many reasons to own one. That is why there are somewhere between 10 and 20 million correctly called “modern sporting rifles” in the US.
One senseless murder is too many, but if these guns were the problem such shootings would be much more common.
Confiscation of all guns is the ultimate goal of some. But if you confiscate all rifles, from my old .22 through all deer rifles to modern sporting rifles, you might somehow eliminate guns that are used in 2.9 percent of all homicides in the US.
The most recent data I can find from the FBI shows homicides by all rifles in 2019 was 364, compared to 1476 by knives, 1591 by blunt objects and 600 by fists and feet.
If you want to have a rational discussion on gun control, don’t exaggerated, tell lies and make up numbers to try to push your agenda. I will rely on facts, not emotions.
If you just have got to do “something,” go spit on the insane murderer’s grave. It may make you feel better and it will be just as effective as all the proposed gun control laws put together.
Poles Down For More Fish, you can catch more fish by using yourshallow water anchors correctly
By The Fishing Wire
By Mike Frisch
Various innovations designed for helping anglers control their boats while trying to effectively present baits has been a part, or maybe better put, a challenge, of anglers for decades. Recently, shallow water anchors, which deploy from a boat’s transom and spike into the lake bottom, have been gaining popularity. These anchors, often working in pairs with one on each side of the transom, do a great job of locking a boat in place, allowing anglers to fish and not worry about boat control. I have been using a pair of Power-Pole anchors this summer and have been very, very pleased with how they help my fishing. Here are some examples.
Bluegills on beds
This past June, our Fishing the Midwest TV crew headed to Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota/South Dakota border to fish bluegills and crappies. We fished with guide Tanner Arndt. Tanner used the side scanning technology on my boat’s sonar to “look” to the boat’s sides to see spawning beds the bluegills were using. When a good number of beds were found, we would “pole down” a casting length or so from the beds and start fishing. We caught a bunch of bluegills and the poles contributed to our successes. Using side scan, we could stay away from the beds to avoid spooking the fish as we located them. Then, with the poles down, we could cast to the beds and concentrate 100% on the fishing and not worry about the boat drifting over the beds.
Walleyes on the rocks
Earlier in the fishing season, I fished some lakes that have off-colored water and shallow walleyes. These fish often relate to rocky shorelines or rock piles along shallow to mid-depth flats. In either case, holding the boat out from the rocks to be fished and casting to them is usually a good technique for targeting these fish. With the poles down off the boat’s transom, a partner and I would share the front casting deck on my boat and make casts to the rocks and hopefully the fish. Once again, we could concentrate fully on fishing and not worry about boat control. This came in handy for presenting jig and minnow combinations or slip bobber rigs, particularly on windy days when this bite often peaks. The poles were especially advantageous when a fish was hooked because the angler with the hooked fish only worried about fighting the fish and leading it to the net, while the other angler could concentrate fully on netting the walleye.
Bass on the docks
Dock fishing for largemouth bass is often a move down the shoreline while skipping, pitching, and flipping baits under and alongside docks coming out from shore. When targeting docks as a right-handed caster, I like to keep the docks to the boat’s left side and present my bait to the dock while slowly moving along. When a bit past the dock, I angle the bow of the boat to the shoreline and use roll casts where I skip the bait along the lake’s surface and under the dock. From this angle I can target the face of the dock and the entire length of the dock as well. Plus, an angler fishing off the back casting deck has good access to the dock too. If a fish is caught, or I know a dock is a “good dock” from previous fishing trips, I will often deploy the Power-Poles and hold in place while making multiple casts the entire length of the dock.
The above are just three of many examples of how I use my shallow water anchors to help me better present my baits. After all, better presented baits, often lead to more fish in the boat. And more fish in the boat usually makes for happy anglers!
As always, enjoy your time on the water and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series available on the Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, and more. Visit www.fishingthemidwest to learn more.
I try to listen to both sides, I really do. But on some issues, like guns, it is almost impossible to hear both sides.
When trying to read Jesse Jackson’s Griffin Daily News July 14 Editorial “Assault weapons are weapons of war” I had to stop in the second paragraph. When he wrote “They are useless for hunting” I knew I was wasting my time.
That proved to me he was clueless about his topic and was just pushing an agenda. Nothing that came after such an inaccurate statement could be relevant. When I read something patently untrue, I cannot keep reading.
First, the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting.
Second, “Assault weapons” are a fake term given to what sportsman call “Modern Sporting Rifles.” One of the most common designs is the ArmaLite Rifle Model 15, usually shortened to AR 15. It is a type gun that comes chambered in more than 60 different calibers. The vary from rimfire calibers like the .22 long rifle, bullets usually used for squirrel hunting, to .30 Remington, specifically designed for deer hunting to even larger calibers.
The .223 caliber is one of the most common in the AR platform and it has been legal for deer hunting in Georgia for years. That cartridge is a relatively small caliber and does not have a lot of powder, so it has much less kick than rifles like by old Marlin 30-30, but it is legal and efficient for killing a deer.
It is a good choice for young hunters and those that don’t want a gun that kicks hard. I am using mine for deer hunting rather than my 7 mm Mag since I have a port in my right shoulder and am afraid to expose it to too much recoil.
It scares me that, in a recent PEW poll of “journalists,” 55 percent say every side of an issue DOES NOT deserve equal treatment. The same poll found that 76 percent of all Americans say both sides SHOULD get equal coverage.
Maybe that is why a recent Gallup poll shows only 11 percent of Americans trust television news and only 16 percent trust newspapers.
Almost as bad is a PEW poll showing 64 percent of US adults approve the recent gun control laws passed by congress, but 78 percent say the law will do little or nothing to affect crime. But 63 percent say they want more useless laws like the one passed that they know will do little to no good.
Maybe the reason they support useless laws is they hear only one side. Most mall shootings are hyped 24/7 for days, but the recent shooting in Indiana got little coverage. Was it because a good guy with a legal gun killed the shooter before he could kill many people?
As long as only one side is pushed by the media, I will adamantly oppose any gun control legislation, not matter how often those pushing the agenda call it “sensible” or “reasonable.”
Their call for compromise always means “do it my way” even if you know it is useless.
A current political ad says the recent “Constitutional Carry” law in Georgia makes it easier for criminals to carry loaded guns in Georgia. I question any law enforcement officer that claims criminals would not carry guns if it was just against the law.
A good example of the mindset of the gun banners is New York Governor Hochul. When the Supreme Court overturned a state law that made it almost impossible to get gun or carry it in her state, she got laws passed to make it a felony to carry guns in almost every building in the state.
Her reason? In response to a reporter’s question if she had any data to prove her claim that citizens carrying guns would endanger millions of New York residents, she said “I don’t need to have numbers. I don’t need to have a data point to say this.”
I will fight “feelings” from gun banners like her with facts and truth, if I can be heard.
Easy-swimming Z-Man® Guppy GrubZ™ sports serious longevity in its genes.
Ladson, SC – It’s the question all anglers eventually answer: If you woke up on a deserted island and had to pick just one bait to catch fish for the foreseeable future, what would you choose to cast?
Hypotheticals and shipwrecks aside, you’d likely want something versatile, proven and universally appetizing to a wide range of fish. (All the better if said fish tickled your own tastebuds, in turn.) Like many anglers, you might opt to tie on a good old curly tail grub and cast away. But which grub would grab your attention?
On make-believe islands, casting a bait that holds up to dozens of fish is a matter of survival. In the real world, softbait durability means more fish in your livewell, less time rigging and fewer baits in the trash can—all of which highlights the new ElaZtech®-enabled Guppy GrubZ™, the newest softbait to join Z-Man’s trending Micro Finesse system.
The new 2″ Guppy GrubZ offers exceptional swim action and durability for days.
While traditional curly tails made from PVC plastics catch fish aplenty, the baits’ unfortunate fragile nature means they’re equally likely to sacrifice their tails after a mere strike or two. It’s why cutting-edge crappie and panfish anglers continue converting to Z-Man’s Micro Finesse baits and a radical, made-in-the-USA superplastic known as ElaZtech.
“The new Guppy GrubZ is anything but just another curly tail bait,” notes Z-Man brand manager and multispecies angler Ryan Harder. “Not only does this bait swim and tail-spiral at the widest range of speeds, but it’s also designed to withstand numerous bites from toothy critters and those little machine-gun tail bites from smaller panfish.”
For its 10X Tough ElaZtech durability alone, the 2” Micro Finesse Guppy GrubZ might be the most valuable crappie-sized curly tail bait ever made. (Picture limits of crappie, perch and sunfish, all on a single, game-used Guppy GrubZ . . .)
Next-level details begin with the bait’s purpose-driven, paper-thin curly tail. “The Guppy GrubZ’ softness and expanded tail surface area empower it to activate and corkscrew at even the slowest retrieve speeds,” notes Harder.
“Foremost in designing the bait, however, we first addressed several common curly tail issues. To bolster its soft, razor-thin tail, we implemented a slightly thicker, semi-rigid ‘spine’—essentially a thicker slice of ElaZtech, which extends into the initial (dorsal) section of the curly tail.
“You might not even notice it’s there, but this seemingly minor enhancement serves two functions,” Harder explains. “One, the little spine helps prevent the tail from fouling during faster retrieves, which is often an issue among traditional curly tails. And two, to reinforce and strengthen the tail section, the specialized spine prevents it from being prematurely cut or sliced, allowing you to deploy a single bait for hours of fish-catching action. That’s a huge bonus when you’re catching and sorting through dozens of fish in short order.
“Just caught over a hundred white perch on a single Guppy GrubZ this morning. That’s pretty incredible for a curly tail grub—or any softbait.”
Further empowering the bait’s allure and water-thumping action, the Guppy GrubZ’ natural minnow torso and head boost the bait’s physical presence among crappies, perch, trout and all panfish. “We built the bait with a flattened face, which matches right up with either a Micro Finesse ShroomZ™ or Micro Shad HeadZ™ jighead,” adds Harder. “The result is a clean, seamless profile that presents fish with a totally natural target. Alternatively, try rigging it on a ChatterBait® Flashback® Mini for incredible underwater action.”
Creating extra fish-attracting visuals, the Guppy GrubZ is imbued with bulging eyeballs and accentuated ribbing all along its torso. “The rib cages produce subtle vibration, but also generate micro bubble trails that predatory fish easily detect and track back to the source,” Harder explains. He also suggests adding dabs of scent, such as ProCure Crappie & Panfish Super Gel, which adhere especially well to the bait’s 3D ribs.
If you happen to awaken on a random island, pray your pockets include a pack of Guppy GrubZ. Or, slightly more likely, for impromptu outings to your local panfish pond, this is one grub you can’t live without.
Landing at fishing tackle retailers in November, the new Z-Man Guppy GrubZ delivers freewheeling action, lifelike buoyancy and the toughness to survive countless panfish attacks. Crafted with care at Z-Man’s South Carolina based bait labs, the 2” Guppy GrubZ features ten alluring crappie/panfish colors, including glow and high-vis hues as well as earth tones for tricky bites. MSRP $4.99 per 8-pack. For more updates and intel, check Z-Man’s website or social media.
About Z-Man Fishing Products
A dynamic Charleston, South Carolina based company, Z-Man Fishing Products has melded leading edge fishing tackle with technology for nearly three decades. Z-Man has long been among the industry’s largest suppliers of silicone skirt material used in jigs, spinnerbaits and other lures. Creator of the Original ChatterBait®, Z-Man is also the renowned innovators of 10X Tough ElaZtech softbaits, fast becoming the most coveted baits in fresh- and saltwater. Z-Man is one of the fastest-growing lure brands worldwide.
“I’d rather be lucky that good.” Kenneth Hattaway, one of my mentors in the bass clubs back in the 1970s and 80s, used to say that a lot. He was one of the best club fishermen in the area back then and did well in bigger tournaments, too. In many ways he was both good and lucky.
Over the years I have come to believe what he meant was you can be good consistently, but when you are lucky you do even better. Anyone can win a tournament with the right luck, but it won’ be consistent over time.
All the pro fishermen on the Bassmaster Elite Series are good. I have fished with more than a dozen of them and they have all the details and mechanics of fishing down pat. They can skip a jig under a dock into places most of us never reach. They can read electronics like a printed report. And they keep all their equipment in top condition.
But to win an Elite tournament when competing against 87 other fishermen just as good as you are takes some added luck.
Boyd Duckett sitting on the porch of his cabin after the first day of a tournament, seeing fish schooling and going there the next day and winning is mostly luck.
Leaving your bait in the water while eating a sandwich for lunch, and your boat drifting over an unknown rockpile and getting a bite, then winning the tournament on those rocks is a lot of luck. My partner in a BASS Regional in Kentucky did that.
When I do well it is a lot of luck. To do well one day of a two-day tournament is luck, to do well each day takes some skill. There have been multiple times I have done well one of two of the days in our state top six, but I have done well both days only five times, making the state team each time.
Sunday I got lucky enough to stop first thing on a bank with a little current moving, and caught six bass in the first two hours. The next six hours produced only two more fish. Stopping on that particular bank was as more luck than skill, and the current died before 8:00 AM.
In the Flint River Bass Club tournament Sunday at Sinclair, eight of us fished from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM to land 18 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 28 pounds. There were two five-bass limits and three people did not have a bass.
My five weighing 10.42 pounds was first. Niles Murray had three at 6.45 pounds for second and his 3.34 pound largemouth was big fish. Doug Acree had five weighing 6.22 pounds for third and Lee Hancock came in fourth with three at 2.83 pounds.
My first stop was on a deep bank with docks and grassbeds and I started casting a buzzbait. When I came to a shallow seawall a cast with a weightless Trick worm produced my first keeper, one that was very skinny and barely 12 inches long.
A few minutes later I skipped a wacky rigged Senko under a dock and landed my biggest bass, a 2.94 pounder. Then another good keeper hit my buzzbait between docks. Another dock produced my fourth keeper on the Senko at 7:00. I was pleased with the fast start.
A few docks later I caught another good keeper, filling my limit, then, right at 8:00 caught my sixth keeper, culling the small bass. I was happy with my catch and started trying to find something else that would work.
At noon I had not had another bite, then I caught my seventh keeper on the Senko on a dock and my eighth, my second biggest of the day, on the Senko on a shady seawall.
Other than hooking a 20-pound blue cat on a shaky head near a dock at 1:00 PM, I did not get another bite until weigh-in.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST CAD DETAILSHave a Great Weekend! We Hope to See You Next Saturday, June 22 at Customer Appreciation Day!In-person or online, CAD is a win for anglers and fishing families2024 CAD Rod & Combo Deals – Available In-Person & OnlineOver 40% off original retail pricing on Tundra Series ice rods!40% of original retail pricing on select retired Avid spinning rods!Flat $75 pricing on all retired Mojo Bass and Mojo Bass Glass rods!Flat $60 pricing on all Retired Bass X rods!50% off original retail pricing on retired Avid Inshore VIC70MHF casting rods!50% off original retail pricing on limited quantities of Legend Xtreme International rods!50% off original retail pricing on special 75th Anniversary Edition Legend Elite casting rods!25% off already discounted in-stock B-Stock rods!Flat $125 pricing on select Retired Mojo Bass casting combos!Flat $150 pricing on select Retired Mojo Bass spinning combos!Flat $175-$195 pricing on select retired Avid Inshore spinning combos!Buy a SEVIIN GF casting reel at original retail price and get a select retired Mojo Bass B-Stock casting rod for $50!Buy a select Panfish Series spinning rod (current series) at original retail price and get a FREE Daiwa QC750 spinning reel!
2024 CAD Apparel Deals – Available In-Person & OnlineLimited-Edition CAD Caps just $10Limited-Edition CAD Tees $10 and $20Limited-Edition CAD Hoodies under $40Other St. Croix and Stormy Kromer Apparel 20% to 50% off2024 CAD Tackle and Lure Deals – Available In-Person & OnlineIncredible deals on a wide variety of luresFree line and line winding on all reel and combo purchasesNew CAD deals are being added daily! FREE shipping for orders over $50 inside the Continental US. Special additional deals are available for in-person CAD attendees.CAD Fishing Seminars – Available In-Person and OnlineAll seminars livestreamed on Facebook and YouTubeFREE Johnsonville Lunch!We’re always working to deliver our anglers the upper hand, and a full stomach! Our friends from Johnsonville will be here to help celebrate our anglers with premium Johnsonville brats and hot dogs! In-person only.Plan Your Trip and Stay Up to Date
Anglers can learn more and stay up to date with St. Croix’s 2024 Customer Appreciation Day event by following St. Croix on Facebook and Instagram, or by checking back regularly at stcroixrods.com.Let us know you are coming in person! Pre-Register HERE.
For all kinds of great ideas, information, and assistance in planning your travel to Northern Wisconsin, visit the Travel Wisconsin website.