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anyone here into fishing? (4 Viewers)

Manster said:
I enjoy tying almost as much as fishing.  I am also filling boxes.  Mostly trout stuff for big western rivers.

Haven't been out yet in '22 but I plan on hitting a local river this weekend.....native rainbows, occasionally up around 20".....just got a new 10'  2wt for "Euro" nymphing......I'm stoked!  I used to get out A LOT but kids and ####....
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Where do you fish?

I grew up in Wyoming and montana and have fished most all of the big name rivers out west. I lived for a decade in Bozeman and would fly fish around there 100+ days a year.

 
Manster said:
Do you know if it's a bamboo, or fiberglass rod?  I love vintage fly gear.....I have several old Fenwick glass rods that I still fish today.....slow and low, that is the tempo.

So the thing about fly fishing is there's a bit of a learning curve.  I'd take a casting lesson at a local fly shop if you have one near.
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I loved fishing glass, but you can not cast as far. A decent sized trout on a glass rod is alot of fun.

 
sho nuff said:
Definitely will take some lessons.  The two friends I fish with..we have talked about a trip out west in the next few years.
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Lemme know if u need any help putting a trip together.  I'm in OR but I know a little about Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Cali, and NV.....there's a lot of places to go out here

 
MTskibum said:
Where do you fish?

I grew up in Wyoming and montana and have fished most all of the big name rivers out west. I lived for a decade in Bozeman and would fly fish around there 100+ days a year.
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I mostly fish the Deschutes, Metolius, and middle Willamette now.....amongst other places in OR.....I fished Rock Creek, Beaverhead, and Bitterroot years ago on a road trip.....that was a blast!

I've done Grey Reef on the North Platte.....place was nuts!  and I'm looking to get back over that way to fish the Green in WY....it'll actually be a cast and blast....my buddy and I are due to draw lope tags

 
Manster said:
I mostly fish the Deschutes, Metolius, and middle Willamette now.....amongst other places in OR.....I fished Rock Creek, Beaverhead, and Bitterroot years ago on a road trip.....that was a blast!

I've done Grey Reef on the North Platte.....place was nuts!  and I'm looking to get back over that way to fish the Green in WY....it'll actually be a cast and blast....my buddy and I are due to draw lope tags
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Those are some nice southwest rivers. I usually only fished them(rock and beaverhead) once a year since they were a further drive from bozeman and since there are so many other rivers for me to fish when i was fishing the butte/dillon area: bighole, silverbow, ruby, etc, that made it tough to fish any river more than once a year.

I never fished up by Missoula so i never fished the bitteroot. If i was driving that far i would rather go down and fish the snake or fish in north central wyoming.

In wyoming I mostly fished small creeks(although I fished all of the big name rivers too). We knew alot of land owners and could fish private land there which of course is usually much better than even the big name rivers.

My brother lives in rock springs and has a cabin on green river just outside of Pinedale. Sadly I have never been, i get jealous every time he sends me pictures of his boys catching 20"+ browns. He does that just to taunt me.

So many places to fish, so little time.

 
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ChiefD said:
If anyone is inclined on this Small Business Saturday, fishing lures are for sale through my son's company. Several fellas here have purchased already so thanks a million.

Corbinator Bait Company
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I know his son's spinner baits sure worked for me 2 bass on its maiden voyage. Fishing from a seawall just messing around. Haven't used crank bait yet but it's high quality.

I think we all as fisherman should support a young entrepreneur. 

 
MTskibum said:
Those are some nice southwest rivers. I usually only fished them(rock and beaverhead) once a year since they were a further drive from bozeman and since there are so many other rivers for me to fish when i was fishing the butte/dillon area: bighole, silverbow, ruby, etc, that made it tough to fish any river more than once a year.

I never fished up by Missoula so i never fished the bitteroot. If i was driving that far i would rather go down and fish the snake or fish in north central wyoming.

In wyoming I mostly fished small creeks(although I fished all of the big name rivers too). We knew alot of land owners and could fish private land there which of course is usually much better than even the big name rivers.

My brother lives in rock springs and has a cabin on green river just outside of Pinedale. Sadly I have never been, i get jealous every time he sends me pictures of his boys catching 20"+ browns. He does that just to taunt me.

So many places to fish, so little time.
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No F'n way!  My brother also lives in Rock Springs!  He's a railroad guy......he's been in Cheyenne, Green River, Douglas, Fort Collins, and just recently bought a place in Rock Springs.

I been looking at the Fontanelle area for Basecamp for our cast and blast.....lots of cool #### in WY....in my research, Ive been seeing what u mean about the private stuff......man I'd give my left arm to own a chunk of land with sweet trout water goin thru it.

Im gonna need to pick ur brain some more maybe.....

 
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Manster said:
No F'n way!  My brother also lives in Rock Springs!  He's a railroad guy......he's been in Cheyenne, Green River, Douglas, Fort Collins, and just recently bought a place in Rock Springs.

I been looking at the Fontanelle area for Basecamp for our cast and blast.....lots of cool #### in WY....in my research, Ive been seeing what u mean about the private stuff......man I'd give my left arm to own a chunk of land with sweet trout water goin thru it.

Im gonna need to pick ur brain some more maybe.....
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I am not much use for that part of the state. I lived up north in Cody and Sheridan, which is a long ways away from rock springs. I am yet to visit my brother in the 12 years he has lived there. One of these years I will make it there.

 
I’ve ice fished twice a year the past several years and decided I’m going to splurge &  search for my own ice castle style house. Really looking forward to having freedom to hit a new lake any given weekend, without need to reserve one weeks in advance (sometimes resulting in miserable conditions).  Seems like not a ton of hard water talk in this thread, but any tips are welcomed. Leaning aluminum frame since they are lighter and won’t corrode or rust. Eyeing Firebrand.

 
BigJim® said:
I’ve ice fished twice a year the past several years and decided I’m going to splurge &  search for my own ice castle style house. Really looking forward to having freedom to hit a new lake any given weekend, without need to reserve one weeks in advance (sometimes resulting in miserable conditions).  Seems like not a ton of hard water talk in this thread, but any tips are welcomed. Leaning aluminum frame since they are lighter and won’t corrode or rust. Eyeing Firebrand.
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Im just thankful I live in a place where ice fishing isn't necessary!  But if I did live in an area where it was the norm, I'd try to do it with as much comfort as possible.  GL!

 
Manster said:
Im just thankful I live in a place where ice fishing isn't necessary!  But if I did live in an area where it was the norm, I'd try to do it with as much comfort as possible.  GL!
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Well, you have to do something in the winter. I love it, and two weekends a year ain't cutting it. It's so cool to be actively fishing with rattle wheels while you sleep, and stepping outside onto a desolate frozen lake. The ones we rent are well heated, with oven/range/TV. Also you can fish 2 lines vs the one you are limited to any other form of fishing... so usually find a good depth/structure change for a tip up outside the fish house while fishing a line inside. 

 
I used to love ice fishing when I lived in Michigan, we used to always have a pint of blackberry or ginger brandy to keep us warm on the inside while a small space heater kept the shanty warm.

That said, I don't miss winter at all.

I haven't been fishing in a while, looking to get back into it here in Florida real soon, the Sheepshead fishing is gonna be off the hook (put intended) when it gets colder the next couple of months.

 
Wingnut said:
I used to love ice fishing when I lived in Michigan, we used to always have a pint of blackberry or ginger brandy to keep us warm on the inside while a small space heater kept the shanty warm.
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Totally get it. Back when I was a novice we rented over a -25 degree weekend and we had a shanty with exposed 3-hole slats on the floor, and had the wall heater set to high to overcome that. It would have been fine if I understood then how crucial it is to have a small fan to circulate heat that rises straight to the ceiling. Since I did not, temp on top bunk was <> 110 degrees and bottom bunk <> 30 degrees. Pretty brutal.

Our rentals have come a long way since then. Stayed in this one last year, though mostly because we were late to reserving over covid and it was one of the few we could find.

 
ChiefD said:
If anyone is inclined on this Small Business Saturday, fishing lures are for sale through my son's company. Several fellas here have purchased already so thanks a million.

Corbinator Bait Company
Click to expand...


rustycolts said:
I know his son's spinner baits sure worked for me 2 bass on its maiden voyage. Fishing from a seawall just messing around. Haven't used crank bait yet but it's high quality.

I think we all as fisherman should support a young entrepreneur. 
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Awesome - thanks for the update on the lures. I will let him know you caught some fish with them - he'll be happy about that.

And thanks for the post bump.  Much appreciated!   :thumbup:

 
BigJim® said:
Totally get it. Back when I was a novice we rented over a -25 degree weekend and we had a shanty with exposed 3-hole slats on the floor, and had the wall heater set to high to overcome that. It would have been fine if I understood then how crucial it is to have a small fan to circulate heat that rises straight to the ceiling. Since I did not, temp on top bunk was <> 110 degrees and bottom bunk <> 30 degrees. Pretty brutal.

Our rentals have come a long way since then. Stayed in this one last year, though mostly because we were late to reserving over covid and it was one of the few we could find.
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Sweet set up...a far cry from my few ice fishing experiences with my Grandfather.  Hole in the lake...his truck...catch bluegill til the bucket is full.  Grandma cleaned them up and fried them and we ate well that night.

 
ok brohans so i have also fished a lot of rivers in wyoming montana and utah and it is fantastic my favorite float in the lower 48 is the green river out of flaming gorge the water is gin clear and you can see trout coming up for dries from 10 feet down it is something else and hard as all heck to not pull the fly right out of the fishes mouth i have fished a lot out of bozeman big sky jackson/grand teton np area and in yellowstone for the past 30 years or so there is just something about ynp that brings me back every year and in fact i have it that id like my ashes scattered at a certain place on soda butte that holds meaning to me and my lady i am like others who prefer smaller creeks to big rivers though i really just like hiking and getting my walk in while i fish and exploring where every new corner means new possibilities even if the average fish is a 10 inch cutty what keeps you coming back is the 14 or 16 inchers that occassionally shows up anyhow fly fishing is the bees knees take that to the bank brohans 

 
I have all kinds of questions about these ice fishing houses. I remember tip ups as a kid but these houses are crazy...

What is a "rattle wheel"?  And what if the fish aren't in the spot where you drill the hole? Do you move the house? Or do you chum?

 
Ron Swanson said:
I have all kinds of questions about these ice fishing houses. I remember tip ups as a kid but these houses are crazy...

What is a "rattle wheel"?  And what if the fish aren't in the spot where you drill the hole? Do you move the house? Or do you chum?
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Rattle Wheel: This is basically a set it and forget it 24/7 line. I'll set it up with a live minnow and it does all the work while I actively fish another line. If I'm eating, playing cards, sleeping... I'll have 2 of them set, or a tip up outside. When you get your bait to depth, there is a tensioner on the wheel that prevents additional line from going out unless the catch of a fish provides enough pull. When that happens, the bb's or bells in the wheel make a rattling sound loud enough to wake you. Take my word, there's few things more exciting than being woke at 3 AM by the loud rattling of a lunker on the line. Because there is no fishing pole involved, you hand pull the catch, which is pretty easy even for larger fish, since its 30-50 # braided line all but the last 6 or so feet, where I use a vanish leader.. 

ChiefD has it pretty spot on when we rent a castle on a lousy spot - though that hasn't happened often because we rent from pros who know where the fish are. More often, its a weather front or something else killing the bite. We drink. Whenever we're not catching in the house, I use Navionics to find depth change and set up a tip up outdoors, sometimes for both my lines. I have my tip ups rigged with an alarm pager that gives me <> 150 yard range from the house. Like the rattle wheel, pretty exciting whenever that alarm sounds.

 
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BigJim® said:
Ice fishing has come a long way since I began.

Rattle Wheel: This is basically a set it and forget it 24/7 line. I'll set it up with a live minnow and it does all the work while I actively fish another line. If I'm eating, playing cards, sleeping... I'll have 2 of them set, or a tip up outside. When you get your bait to depth, there is a tensioner on the wheel that prevents additional line from going out unless the catch of a fish provides enough pull. When that happens, the bb's or bells in the wheel make a rattling sound loud enough to wake you. Take my word, there's few things more exciting than being woke at 3 AM by the loud rattling of a lunker on the line. Because there is no fishing pole involved, you hand pull the catch, which is pretty easy even for larger fish, since its 30-50 # braided line all but the last 6 or so feet, where I use a vanish leader.. 

ChiefD has it pretty spot on when we rent a castle on a lousy spot - though that hasn't happened often because we rent from pros who know where the fish are. More often, its a weather front or something else killing the bite. We drink. Whenever we're not catching in the house, I use Navionics to find depth change and set up a tip up outdoors, sometimes for both my lines. I have my tip ups rigged with an alarm pager that gives me <> 150 yard range from the house. Like the rattle wheel, pretty exciting whenever that alarm sounds.
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Wow. Thanks for posting this.  So different than how I think of fishing. 

 
ChiefD said:
You drink beer and sit there and play cards. 
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This is the right answer. I haven't been ice fishing in nearly 20 years, but I was going fairly often with a couple of friends in that era. One of whom was always wanting to move around the lake if you didn't catch something within 20 minutes. It ruined the beer drinking. 

 
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I have been doing a lot of winter inshore fishing in NC this year. The weather has been crazy warm. I have been here 10 years, but only the last year am I really starting to figure things out. I have been catching some solid fish lately. Stripers are coming in now. Should be fun. 

 
Drunken Cowboy said:
This is the right answer. I haven't been ice fishing in nearly 20 years, but I was going fairly often with a couple of friends in thatcera. One of whom was always wanting to move around the lake if you didn't catch something within 20 minutes. It ruined the beer drinking. 
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Largely agree but it definitely can be location sometimes. One outing last winter my brother had followed fish reports and knew walleye bite was at 18 feet, but rented from an outfit that was set in a ‘typically’ decent 12’ depth. He tolerated beer drinking/cards Friday-Saturday, but then Sunday AM said WTH and took his side by side 1/8 mile to drill a hole and bucket fish on open ice where his Navionics showed 18’. Caught a 27”/5lb walleye the first half hour and kicked himself for not doing it earlier.

It’s one reason I want my own house. When you reserve for 2.5 days, and weather front is not the issue, you want freedom to be where the fish are today. Not where they were last weekend. Online fishing reports for top fisheries are more fluid than some outfits manage to. Once they are in a successful spot, that’s pretty much where they stay.

 
BigJim® said:
Largely agree but it definitely can be location sometimes. One outing last winter my brother had followed fish reports and knew walleye bite was at 18 feet, but rented from an outfit that was set in a ‘typically’ decent 12’ depth. He tolerated beer drinking/cards Friday-Saturday, but then Sunday AM said WTH and took his side by side 1/8 mile to drill a hole and bucket fish on open ice where his Navionics showed 18’. Caught a 27”/5lb walleye the first half hour and kicked himself for not doing it earlier.

It’s one reason I want my own house. When you reserve for 2.5 days, and weather front is not the issue, you want freedom to be where the fish are today. Not where they were last weekend. Online fishing reports for top fisheries are more fluid than some outfits manage to. Once they are in a successful spot, that’s pretty much where they stay.
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I have always been open ice, so I would certainly change location day by day if I wasn't catching anything. 

 
Ron Swanson said:
Wow. Thanks for posting this.  So different than how I think of fishing. 
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Very different from how we ice fish in Pa also.

We are allowed 5 lines a piece, if there’s 4 of us we drill 20 holes and set 20 tip ups out and take turns. I know a few guys that like to use jig rods for panfish and trout.

No shanties for us, just lawn chairs and propane stoves  to cook breakfast on. 
Of course we can’t drive out on the ice either, everything goes in sleds

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
We are allowed 5 lines a piece, if there’s 4 of us we drill 20 holes and set 20 tip ups out and take turns. 
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:wipes drool from mouth: That would be awesome. 

On the no-shanty part, I think some regions don't get ice thickness sufficient to support a 1.5 ton truck and 5,000 lb ice house, and are limited to clam houses and sitting on buckets. Some do that in Minnesota also, but I stick to the shelters since I have the tip up tech to do that. I don't hate myself that much to be exposed to Minnesota extremes for hours on end. Also I assume night fishing is off the table for those folks - which is when walleye angling can be the most active.

 
BigJim® said:
:wipes drool from mouth: That would be awesome. 

On the no-shanty part, I think some regions don't get ice thickness sufficient to support a 1.5 ton truck and 5,000 lb ice house, and are limited to clam houses and sitting on buckets. Some do that in Minnesota also, but I stick to the shelters since I have the tip up tech to do that. I don't hate myself that much to be exposed to Minnesota extremes for hours on end. Also I assume night fishing is off the table for those folks - which is when walleye angling can be the most active.
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Right, it gets thick enough some winters but is against the law at least where we fish. 

Some people have the clam type tents but honestly, if it’s single digits or really windy we just stay home. Tending to even 10 tip ups keeps you pretty busy anyway which keeps you warm 

We have night fished with tipups before but it’s been years. We bought little bells and tied them to the flag end of the tipups. Worked ok

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
This is a pretty cool site for you ice guys

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php

you can check local ice conditions and stuff 
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Yes, that's a great site. There's a feed I follow more regional for where I fish. I had written off Facebook, but came to learn there is a 'Leech lake reel Ice fishing report' group that I joined (7,500 members) There are 3 reports in the past 2 hours (and a lot of pictures of catches from the day). I know what bait is working, at what depth, as recently as 10 minutes ago. 

 
BigJim® said:
Totally get it. Back when I was a novice we rented over a -25 degree weekend and we had a shanty with exposed 3-hole slats on the floor, and had the wall heater set to high to overcome that. It would have been fine if I understood then how crucial it is to have a small fan to circulate heat that rises straight to the ceiling. Since I did not, temp on top bunk was <> 110 degrees and bottom bunk <> 30 degrees. Pretty brutal.

Our rentals have come a long way since then. Stayed in this one last year, though mostly because we were late to reserving over covid and it was one of the few we could find.
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Never had much interest in ice fishing, but this looks awesome.  :thumbup:

 
My nephew is buddies with a guy that has one on those travel trailer ice fishing campers.  Looks like a lot of fun.

 
Got a mess of speck today at Lake Harris. God it feels good to fish. Its good for what ails you.

We have had 3 nights in the 40s in a row. So I thought maybe they are starting to move shallow. Little early but I was right at least in Harris they're starting to go shallow. Love Speck best eating fish there is.

https://imgur.com/a/yttKI0B

 
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rustycolts said:
Got a mess of speck today at Lake Harris. God it feels good to fish. Its good for what ails you.

We have had 3 nights in the 40s in a row. So I thought maybe they are starting to move shallow. Little early but I was right at least in Harris they're starting to go shallow. Love Speck best eating fish there is.

https://imgur.com/a/yttKI0B
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Funny, I was wondering what a Speck was and clicked your photo. They are called Crappies in my area, and a much sought after fish for the reason you mention. Nice catches... those would be considered very nice size around these parts.

 
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BigJim® said:
Funny, I was wondering what a Speck was and clicked your photo. They are called Crappies in my area, and a much sought after fish for the reason you mention. Nice catches... those would be considered very nice size around these parts.
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Yea I've always called them that but I think they are called crappie by most folks.  I think it's a Florida thing.

 
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rustycolts said:
Yea I've always called them that but I think they are called crappie by most folks.  I think it's a Florida thing.
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Around here in the Tsala Apoka lake chain they be "stumpknockers". I've seen folks around here refer to every panfish as a stumpknocker. You got your bass guys and you got your stump guys.

A buddy of mine grabbed two huge bass out of a lake by my house. He puts dogfood in a fish trap, catches mammoth shiners, tosses them out live around the lilly pads and comes home with pics of 12lb + largemouths! With big gators waiting nearby for throwback opps.

 
Joe Mammy said:
Around here in the Tsala Apoka lake chain they be "stumpknockers". I've seen folks around here refer to every panfish as a stumpknocker. You got your bass guys and you got your stump guys.

A buddy of mine grabbed two huge bass out of a lake by my house. He puts dogfood in a fish trap, catches mammoth shiners, tosses them out live around the lilly pads and comes home with pics of 12lb + largemouths! With big gators waiting nearby for throwback opps.
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Takes big ones to catch big ones.

 
BigJim® said:
I’ve ice fished twice a year the past several years and decided I’m going to splurge &  search for my own ice castle style house. Really looking forward to having freedom to hit a new lake any given weekend, without need to reserve one weeks in advance (sometimes resulting in miserable conditions).  Seems like not a ton of hard water talk in this thread, but any tips are welcomed. Leaning aluminum frame since they are lighter and won’t corrode or rust. Eyeing Firebrand.
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Are the Firebrand cheaper than Ice Castle? 

 
BigJim® said:
Funny, I was wondering what a Speck was and clicked your photo. They are called Crappies in my area, and a much sought after fish for the reason you mention. Nice catches... those would be considered very nice size around these parts.
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My dad fishes a ton, west of the cities (Lac qui Parle) and he doesnt keep a crappie less that 11.5 inches. I've thrown back quite a few that would be keepers in the cities. It's hard to do, but out there, its the right thing. 

 
Cjw_55106 said:
Are the Firebrand cheaper than Ice Castle? 
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Nope. What I'm seeing is a <>$8000 increase for the same age used. I've actually chilled a bit on Firebrand after joining their private Facebook group and seeing repeated complaints about their unique electric lift system malfunctioning. Last thing I want is to get stuck on the ice, and I wouldn't want to pay a premium for a brand I need to modify with hydraulic for $3500 out of the gates. I'm pretty focused on Yetti now. 

My January outing was a stinker due to 3 wind changes while we were there. No one on the lake had much success fishing the depth we were placed at from reports I read. Sort of validates that I'd have wanted the freedom to set my own rig 4-6 feet deeper. Hoping to have better luck when we head back up on the 24th.  

 
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i told my lady that i was wearing a new shirt and she said i was just fishing for a compliment but what the hell i figured id tell you brohans about it take that to the bank 

 
Lots of spotted (speckled) sea trout biting today near the Sanibel Causeway here in Florida. None were of any size though. Used live shrimp for bait.

Pics

 
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