nice fish and cool video. My only concern would be that you left the crappie lay on the ice for some time before deciding to release it. That is a decision that must be made when the fish comes through the hole. Frost bite on a fishes fin can cause major damage to the fish.
Carl
minus 5 here in Saukville, Port Washington. Looks like a nice warm up coming for the weekend and even into the middle of next week. 
Carl
g3/8, red line does disappear in the water at about 9 feet of depth, up to 9 feet your line is still red.
Carl 
willie- boy, you answered your question yourself. light and sensitive, light rods for less fatigue and easier handling, sensitive, kind of speaks for itself. 
Carl
Just a note, I use owner deep throat jig hooks. Not sure if this would work with an ewg hook because of the length of the weed gaurd, the gaurd maybe to short.
Carl
Donate, I here ya.
Thomas, here is a more specific answer. I look for a long handle, one that I can put against my body for extra leverage when pulling a fish from heavy cover, fast tip for better feel when the bit is lite, good strong backbone to muscle those fish from heavy cover, longer rod 7’10” for flipping presentations, Fugi guides, and American made. Falcon, Cara is the rod for me.
Carl 
D-nort, tell this someone 
you know who lives only 20 miles from the Chain that I am looking for general early May patterns. I have never been on the water before. I was invited to fish a tourney there, just looking for general info.
Thanks, Carl
Brovarney, that’s a good tip. I used to do it that way for years, but had a hard time keeping the strands from separating which would increase the chance of catching grass. the nice thing about heating them in the oven is that the gaurd strands stay together just over the point of the hook, and you can get a nice even round bend in the gaurd. no shrinkage at 200degrees, just don’t forget them in the oven. I haven’t tried factory jigs, but it should work as well. I will work on getting some picturs asap.
Carl
d-nort, I use fg-30 weed gaurds and dont cut the length until after I have molded the jig. Their are 30 strands in these weed gaurds. After the jig is poured with the gaurd in it, I cut the gaurd to the length I prefer, I then take out about half of the strands before forming the weed gaurd in the oven. You can take out more if one wishes, but their really is no need to. Once you put the twist tie on pull the gaurd towards the head of the jig to give the gaurd a nice bend, you will know what I mean once you try it. Good Luck
Nort, looking for a bigger tournament in May, what about the Sturgeon Bay Open? By far the biggest and best run tournament in the area. Oh ya, the fishing is great.
Carl
Waterfowler99, the bait looks like the right one, but the color is just not right, maybe the color mullet has changed a little over the years. I guess I’ll have to get one to know for certain.
Thanks, Carl
Lenny, not real sure, I will check out their site, the only way I will know for sure is if I see it. Thanks for a start.
Carl
That hook looks like a 5304 Owner hook too me 
To the artist formerly known as “Blue Fleck”
That was funny, haven’t laughed that hard in a long time, just wanted to say “Thank You” still have tears in my eyes.
Now that I think about it, I do remember that he did have some issues. I think they came about when Gary was no longer in charge of the open. I guess its just hard to believe if he is pushing this that he would fish the open and also run his own tournament that time of year. 
Carl
The hardware store in Kewaunee carries a ton of fishing stuff, plus they will know what’s going on on the river. Should be some big rainbows in the river at that time.
Carl
I would asume you are talking about trout fishing. I can’t really think of anything right in Green Bay, but 20 minutes to the east is the Kewaunee River, great trout fishing. You can walk the river.
Carl
Lucky Craft Pointer jerked as hard as you can, moving the bait 4 to 6 feet at a time. Those who have not seen a jerkbait worked this way look at you like “what is that idiot doing” Anyone who has fished smallies on the Bay of Green Bay knows just what I am talking about. I will destroy a good reel each spring jerking this hard, but the smallies love it.
Carl
phishirman, I don’t know I would go as far as saying it is all Gary Nault. I talked to Gary last week at the Milwaukee Sport Show and he is fishing the open this year along with running his tournament for Door County residence.
Carl
My brother who lives in Sturgeon Bay said the tournament brings 1 million dollars to the Door County area
Looks like Ike has handled everything just fine, would be nice to see him finish second, 
behind KVD of course.
Carl
Wow, know that’s a top 5 
Carl
Have to agree with waterfowler, years ago that was my go to bait when things got tough, don’t know why I stopped using it. Mepps in-line spinner for smallies when I was a kid, haven’t used it for 25 years.
Carl
Diesel, red is a stimulant to bass and walleye, orange and green also stimulate these fish. With that said, red is also the first color to disappear under water, followed by orange. Red will disappear around 15 feet or so, red will look like a grey or black, orange around 25 feet. Water clarity does play a role in this as well. Studies have shown that even in darker water red is still a positive stimulant to bass, up to a certain depth. Maybe this will help with your decision Good luck, Carl
Good read Jeremiah, thanks for the post
Carl
Quote:
Chris, if you follow what Bill and wimwuen said you will be off to a good start. I want to add one thing, instead of sending out a resume, send out a portfolio of yourself and information on what tournaments you are fishing. Example, cover page could have a few pictures of yourself, newspaper clippings, etc. Don’t arrange the pictures in any order, turn them at angles, overlap them slighty with the newspaper clippings, etc. The first page after the cover should be a Contents page, which will tell the person reading your portfolio what’s inside. Center these on the page. next should be the Letter of Intent page, which tells that person a little about you and what you are looking for, along with what you can do for their company. Then a Pictures page, with pictures of you fishing, working with kids, etc. Then a Tentative Venue- Competition Schedule page which tells them what you will be doing during the up-coming fishing season. The next page could be a Tournament Expenses page which explains how much you will be spending on tournaments this season, gas, entry fees, motels, supplies, maintenance, etc.
It helps to throw in some information on fishing as well, a Fishing Facts page, popularity of fishing, tournament growth, etc. Show all your sources. If you take your time you can put together a portfolio which people will enjoy looking at, and getting them to read something about you is the first step. Good luck, Carl
Best of luck bassrap.
if your looking for a new motor, you cant beat E-Tech by Evinrude, lighter than the 4 strokes, more power, no brake in time, alot better on fuel consumption, even at idle speed, fewer parts to brake, very quite. no scheduled maintance for 3 years.
