I won’t go fishing without them, particularly in areas where there is either very little structure, or where there are lots of people fishing the spots closer to structure. I’ve seen it take a half hour for fish to find them but once they do, a few fish draw even more. My BIL and I fished ten feet apart, same action/bait and with reel weeds the difference was dramatic. I’m sure there’s time they don’t make a lot of difference, but I don’t think there is a time when they hurt.

I saw an ad in Wisconsin Outdoor News right after reading your post. I don’t think it’s identical but pretty close. They also have a working website. The video is pretty thorough.
http://www.augersidekick.com

Hope this helps.

So much for getting ice making weather! With rain tonight and a temp of 42, it sure seems like a recipe to rot ice in a hurry. All of the slop on top, the chance of snow again Saturday night, and then a few days of temps near freezing…..what a mess.
I’ll find some ice, but probably be pretty shallow underneath just in case. There’s a holiday deer hunt only about five miles from me so maybe the shanty will become a blind. Anyone know how to make venison taste like gills?
I’m thinking the harder part will be to figure out what color jig those bigger bucks like!

What’s it going to take to ‘heal’ these spots up? Many of them are probably covered by snow unless the wind on Sunday cleaned them off. Certainly the cold weather is going to help, but all of that snow….I just don’t know. I’ve never encountered this before and now I’ve got to block IDO Fishing so the wife can’t see these posts or I’ll never convince her to go ever again!!!! She warned me Saturday and I hate it when she is right!
BTW- I did pretty good on Saturday but it wouldn’t have happened without ReelWeeds holding some finicky fish by my holes—they were just wandering otherwise. 19 keepers feed my family who is now all home for the holidays.

I moderate another bulletin board/forum so I’m probably far more appreciative of what moderators are going through. First, make sure you understand that there is no such thing as free speech on a private site. You have absolutely no constitutional right to free speech here or any other privately owned and operated site. Using this site is a privilege. Second, moderators miss things and moderators are human, accusing them of bias and “selective censoring” (kind of a redundant saying since all censoring is selective) is non-constructive criticism.
If you want a site where you can make all the rules there are lots of bulletin board scripts and websites for you to set up and run anyway you like.

As for “What’s Next”- more fishing and hopefully tolerance from users.

I’ve been a fan of inline’s for years, particularly the largest of the Worden’s Rooster Tail type. I’ll use 1/4 & 3/8 oz a lot in yellow, chartreuse and black.
I’ve also started making a lot of my own in-lines. I got into making these when I was making large Muskie bucktails.
What I like about making my own is the greater selection I can add to my arsenal.
On the Mississippi I will single hook some inlines with a twister tail and bump the blade over rocks and wood.
The only problem I’ve had with inlines is the more fragile nature—bend the main shaft and it can be tough to get them tuned to start quickly. Another reason for making by own- multiple blade selections and a big ole colorado blade will almost always start upon retrieve.
I wouldn’t ever leave my inlines at home because they definitely can be another tool on a tough day.

Brian:
Are you going to have some Reel Weeds there to sell? If not, any chance you could bring some with for me to buy? Send me a PM.

Keyword–DECENT. Isn’t funny how you can almost always tell just by how someone approaches things. I’ve met some great people on the ice over the years and then I’ve met a few of the, well you know.

I agree, why not just fish the open holes, but more than once I’ve seen someone sitting thirty feet from an open hole go over to someone that drops a line into it and say “did you drill that hole?” and claim it’s theirs.

Once a guy did this to me and I was at least fifty feet away from where he had been fishing, my reply, next time you leave …pick up your hole and take it with you.

Just a sign of the times I guess, too bad.

Traffic doesn’t seem to slow down much through there regardless of people or vehicles…glad you didn’t get hurt. No matter how you hear it though the traffic that won’t slow down will blame it on the fishermen parked in the area.

I hear they are now writing $138 tickets for illegal stopping in the area between the guard rail and the white line. We got a warning back around Christmas but I heard they are writing them for real now. The law says, according to the fella writing our warning, if you have to go into the lane of traffic to access your vehicle it’s illegal. Best bet, don’t park within about 6 feet of the white line with your door open.

Two good things- you didn’t get hurt and you had your fishing equipment with you!