# What Do You Think?



## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

I guess I'm demanding too much or maybe I'm getting greedy for more imfo. But what do you think about along with the report picture taking adding one more with the type of rig you used for self explanation. Sometimes I'm a little slow and can relate better to a picture than a write up, even if it's what you use every time.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

There are several post just recently with pics of rigs. Do a search for divers or hellbenders and you will find them.


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

Usually when I post a report I try to include a pic of the rig I used. A good example is S.S. sometimes shows a catch with a bait still in the mouth. These pics help keep me in fashion since I don't fish fresh as often as I'ld like.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

LOL, probably many people look at the pictures of Shadslinger's trips and look at the lures.


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## Kickapoo Duke (May 15, 2010)

Yeah, but are you sure that's really what Shad caught them with; he might change em out for the picture!!!


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## bueyescowboy (Apr 10, 2005)

hey john my john lots of times it me taking the pic of SS and yea I try to get the pic sometimes with the lure still in their mouth just for that. I like to see what others are using also.
also in my case, when I know I am on a school of fish I switch off lures. It has generally been my case in the past once a new lure is used the fish take a few minutes to figure out the new lure then start hitting it. Sometimes with better results. something to try next time your in the fish.


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

Us young guys need all the edge we can get you know.:smile:


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## GoneFish'n (Jan 8, 2010)

same is true for us older guys too!
Thats why we're 2coolers, right?
GoneFish'n
Charlie


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## OrangeS30 (Jun 21, 2009)

Most of the time, if the fish stop biting in a particular spot, we will switch lures to see if they want different colors or shapes. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't work, we go back to the original lure and most of the time they start biting again. I guess that little break between what was working and what wasn't is all that was needed.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

johnmyjohn said:


> Us young guys need all the edge we can get you know.:smile:


 if you're young, I must be dead!!!


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## Jeff G (May 18, 2010)

Whitebassfisher said:


> LOL, probably many people look at the pictures of Shadslinger's trips and look at the lures.


I'm guilty !!!! Lol I have read all of his posts and looking at his pics from three years back ! Some post are extremely informative on various spots and techniques as well as pics of the lures.

The information is on the site but the main thing is just digging through all of the post to find what you are wanting to learn . If your time is short or one is just not wanting to take time to read , then going fishing with an experienced veteran or paying a guide is another productive option . The guides on here are top notch ! Good luck !


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## akw96 (Dec 9, 2009)

Jeff G, Good point, if you printed out all the great information and put it in a folder, you'd have a great HOW TO GUIDE! But having a professional show you the ropes is more informative than anything you will know!


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I have tried to steer clear of this post, it is a tricky subject for a guide.
However, I feel a strong desire to help 2coolers find fish and enjoy their day on the lake.
99% of the people I meet at boat ramps and cleaning stations who recognize me have been very polite and respectful of the guide business that I am in with my son.
Thanks to all who have given us the respect and consideration when we are on the water making a living doing what we love.
I have to say that this part of my life is the cream that has risen to the top.
I worked as a Special Education Counselor for 25 years, and had my own private practice as an Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) that I worked at after the day job.
It was both fulfilling and stressful. When I retired I fished for the love of it for a while, and then the economic realities slammed home and I found I needed extra income.

I still had my LPC license at the time, but no longer desired to listen to people's problems. I was burned out.
So I let it go unrenewed and started guiding, which I had done in the summer for a few years below the Livingston dam in the past.
This time around I have my son to work with me, what a wonderful opportunity to work with your son at something you both love to do.
I have to have help to provide good fishing opportunities for customers ,as my bone and muscle issues make it impossible to lift heavy objects, pull the anchor up and clean a 100 fish for out customers.
Lee never blinks an eye when I say"Let's go and hunt them down", and he has to pull the anchor for the umpteen time that day.
There has been some problems with potlickers following us around and hurting our business, but that is just the one of the obstacles a guide has to work around.
I try to walk a fine line between telling people enough in my posts to help them catch fish, but still not give away too much and draw a crowd around The Mighty Red-Fin.
Taking pictures of a good catch on the lake is the best, the fish look their best as soon as they come out of the water, and the angler still has that, "wow I got a big one!" look on their face. So I don't edit those pictures or hide the lure etc...most of the time. There are tricks I don't give away
So I don't sweat it too much even if others will study the post and fish in that place with the lure they see in the fishes mouth.
It's just part of the 2cool deal, a good thing too.

There are times when I have to get on the rude side when people come too close to our boat or follow our boat instead of finding fish on their own.
I don't like to be rude, but our customers pay good money to fish with us, and others who come around to simply pot lick have to be dealt with to keep our customers happy and feeling like they are getting their $s worth.

Over all the customers we get from 2cool are just that, 2cool, and don't follow our boat around and try to pot lick on days when they see we have customers aboard.
Thank you very much
SS


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Very well expressed,Loy!


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## RAYSOR (Apr 26, 2007)

That's what I like about loy, I can


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

Easy T-bone, I'm trying that stuff you hear on Opra where if you think it the rest of the body goes with it. I do have to admit, my mind has the ideas of youth but my body isn't cooperating. Maybe I should start listening to Dr. Phil or that Oz guy.


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

As far as you go Loy as a guide you are a class act. I've fished with friends that were or are guides and been with chartered guides but never had a guide willing to give up as much information as you, and that's just on the internet. You've given me an invitation and I'm sorry I've haven't been able to meet up. But you can bet I have it under my hat.
As a fisherman I don't have to fish with you to know you have skills by your write-ups and not to mention your pictures. I totally understand not posting pictures of areas you fish because your customers would like a quite, pleasant afternoon of fishing without and armada crowding you on all sides. I've P.M.ed Loy, Weldon and others to share but for the most part receive information about fishing without any hesitation from them. And for the rest of the people on this freshwater forum I'm still and will continue to learn more about fish from information given to me from you all. 
But I still like lots of pictures.


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## RAYSOR (Apr 26, 2007)

RAYSOR said:


> That's what I like about loy, I can


Sorry did not get to finish with my big fingers and small i phone. Loy is truly a teacher of fishing, and when I go fishing with him I am trying to take on the counseling role so I can help him, so far he has not taken my advice, thank goodness, lol


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

RAYSOR said:


> Sorry did not get to finish with my big fingers and small i phone. Loy is truly a teacher of fishing, and when I go fishing with him I am trying to take on the counseling role so I can help him, so far he has not taken my advice, thank goodness, lol


I would not be sane without my good friends counseling me!


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

johnmyjohn said:


> I guess I'm demanding too much or maybe I'm getting greedy for more imfo. But what do you think about along with the report picture taking adding one more with the type of rig you used for self explanation. Sometimes I'm a little slow and can relate better to a picture than a write up, even if it's what you use every time.


JJ,

After doing over a thousand reports, I no longer do them on each time out....but I'm happy to show you my jigging rig, for what its worth.

This is a rig I have developed over a few seasons on this lake. It is heavy duty enough to catch the biggest stripers and sleek enough to catch 2 big white bass at the same time.

I use it a lot for stripers, but if I get into whites, I will generally switch to just a straight slab without the fly...or better yet, move on to find stripers. I have caught double stripers several times...but that's not my reasoning or intention for this rig. The fly acts as an attractor and with it the slabs get more hits than without the fly....but again, it will catch a lot of doubles on whites and if you are after stripers, which I always am, it can work just too good on whites and then its time to change or move on.

The rig has:

1) a three way...one way for the fly, one way for the main line, and one way for the slab.

2) the fly is attached with split rings and barrel swivel....very strong rigging...and set-up to "hang" out there while you jig the slab

3) I paint the three way black to discourage hits on it, especially from pesky whites

4) I always use flouro for the slab attachment and as a leader from the main line. The lake is more clear this year than normal and the flouro leader is very important IMO for stripers.

5) I generally use a chartruse fly above a white slab and a white fly above a chartruse slab...but let water clarity dictate my exact combo for that particular day. The water clarity varies from day to day and over different parts of the lake and the variations can be subtle.

Hope you find this helpful. It works for me.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Okay, I will answer, but it may not be worth much. When fishing for whites this time of year, I basically always fish with slabs I make, or Rat-L-Traps. Everyone knows Rat-L-Traps, and everyone knows slabs. If they are on the surface, it is Rat-L-Traps. If they are not on the surface, it is a slab I made. When using Rat-L-Traps, I found out years ago to remove the back hook; the fish hit the front hook 99% of the time, which leaves the rear hook to get YOU. Also, if you net fish, it is one less hook to tangle in the net. I am sure some slabs out fish others, but I tend to think the main thing is to find the fish. I am just weird about something I make catching fish, I get a kick from it. I make 2 sizes of the oval slabs, but you get the idea. I personally have not had a great difference with chartreuse, white or yellow. I quit making yellow just to keep things simple. I have purposely switched colors when catching fish and did not see a big difference on whites. But, chartreuse does seem to catch more accidental blue cats. 

By the way Meadowlark, I like your set up. Years ago I used teasers some with slabs, but I used a length of mono, and they always tangled. With your way and no mono it may not tangle so easily.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Seeing Meadowlark's terminal tackle made me decide to add this. I am not good at tieing line to line like 25 or 30# to 14# for leaders. However, due to my hobbies I buy many split-rings. Oval split-rings, just by their design, are stronger than round split-rings of the same diameter wire. The manufacturer claims that the oval rings shown below test to 65 pounds. I don't know about that, but I did just test them to 40 pounds with out a failure. These are small enough to pass through rod guides. Typically what hurts the integrity of a split ring is to open it too far. But, there is no reason to open them at all to use them as a joint between main line and leader. They are much easier to work with if you put them on the hook of a wire coat hangar while tieing the leader material to. Also, several oval rings with only a length of leader material already tied to them can be put in a zip lock bag and ready to use in your boat.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Like WBF I use slabs and a couple of crank baits for white/stripers, mostly slabs, 90% of the time.
I used to not worry very much about getting gill cut by stripers, if you get them turned quick and not let them go straight away from you and use 20 mono it did not happen much until this year.
I provide all bait tackle lures etc...because the customers would show up with the wrong tackle/lures if we did not and the catch rate would go way down without the proper tackle. 
The slabs we use are hard to get and I consider them to be top shelf in all ways. It hurts to loose even one.

This year customers and both Lee and I have been gill a lot. Sometimes in the classic style, when you go to set the hook it's like you pulled against a razor, you feel nothing, the line is cut so quick.
This year it has happened when very big stripers are well into the fight and have made tight circles just to cut your line I believe, it breaks your heart when it happens because you have felt the fish and know it is big.

So I use a trick Meadowlark told me about that helps in two ways, I use a length of heavier mono for a bite tippet. 
I started using 30# mono, but his year that has been cut many times so I started using 40, 50 is too heavy and impedes the action of the slab too much.
The other advantage is you can grab the bite tippet and swing the smaller stripers over into the boat and not need a net.
I make them 8 to 10 inches long and tie the two lines together with uni knots, be very careful when you tie them and smooth them down slow to make a strong connection. Have both knots almost drawn tight in very small loops before the final snug down.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Whitebassfisher said:


> Seeing Meadowlark's terminal tackle made me decide to add this. I am not good at tieing line to line like 25 or 30# to 14# for leaders. However, due to my hobbies I buy many split-rings. Oval split-rings, just by their design, are stronger than round split-rings of the same diameter wire. ....


Pretty cool WBF. I've never seen oval rings...will have to look for them and try them, however in my experience rings almost never fail unless they have been previously "sprung". Knots will fail more often(especially if carelessly tied or not wetted before cinching).

I always use a ring on my slab also because I like the action it gives the slab. My theory( or crazy idea whichever you prefer) is that these fish, especially as summer wears on, have seen it all and its the little things that may make your presentation appear more natural and/or at least not like everything else the fish have been seeing their friends yanked out of the water with constantly...which is why I'm also concerned about use of fluro and leaders.

I've become a big fan of flouro leaders, especially after seeing many of the top striper guides around the State use it and swear by it.

Yes, also to your comment about getting tangled...with that rig tangles with the line are minimized....but you still have an extra hook out there to grab things such as your shirt when you walk by.

Very nice slabs WBF. Excellent finish and workmanship. Anything that gives you an edge on the fish is worth the effort.

Double uni-knots are good for that joint, but they just take me too long to tie out on the water...and my hands aren't as dextrious as they used to be...so I use a compromise knot, a triple surgeon's, and very carefully tie it and wet it and cinch it. It isn't as strong as the double uni or even ALbright, but it is fast and I can tie it very easily on pounding waves.


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