Hello all

[mikesgotone]

Happy new year to everyone. I dont know any of you, but I've been reading your posts for about a year or so. Im 29, and I have taken a trip to the flowage every year since I was about five.and every year I go with my dad. It IS my favorite place in the world. I cant wait till summer. My wife is pregnant with our first. and believe me, boy or girl, this child will know the flowage from beaver creek to blair lake.
I live in crystal lake IL. just livin the daily grind. I love reading your posts. and its good to see people lovin it up there. for a while it seemed, that this web site was built for bickering. Im glad to see thats not the case anymore. we all share something, gotta love the turtle flambeau flowage. I might be the only one on this forum that actually likes catchin those snakey northern. you cant blame me though. what else are you suposed to do when you only got 2 days, and there's a damn cold front in june.
anyway folks. keep up the good posts. and I am curious as to how they're gonna get that truck out of there. thank god all got out safe.
I'll leave yous with one fishing tip from the flatland. (I know its winter, but its these thoughts that keep me warm all year long). if your cruzin In from afar, and youre stayin near fort flambeau, or donners bay. stop across the way in some of those coves, tie on a popper, pop it, and I guarantee some dusk fatboy smallie action. man, I love the smallies.

[randyincincinnati]

We stay over in Lake Bastine in late June (smallie season). Where exactly are those spots you're talking about for the Smallies?

[mikesgotone]

say you're comin in from the dam, headed towards lake bastine, the shoreline to the right has alot of little inlets. some of them have rocky points, and most of them have timber. I use a popper there right before dark right up next to shore, and almost always nail a couple before we head in for the day. smallies on topwater. thats the stuff.

[randyincincinnati]

What kind of poppers do you use most?

[mikesgotone]

I like the REBEL POP-R. it doesnt splash as much, and has good side to side action. a good tip I learned a while back is, If youre retrieve method isnt workin. change it up. slow it down. speed it up. maybe just twich it. just try to make it look like an injured fish. the only problem is, eventualy a little northerns gonna hit it, miss, and cut your line. they are funny though. those things will launch out of the water like a missle. good times.

[BlueRanger]

I used to fish Spooks, Pop-Rs and their variants quite often, but now I stick with a frog-colored Tiny Torpedo most of the time. The straight line retrieve gives the fish less chance to miss, and they can't seem to resist the whir of that little propeller. I've been using the same one for at least 3 years without losing it, and that's on a 6'6" ML spinning rod or baitcaster with 4-6 lb. line. Makes a 3 lb. bass feel like a salmon.