2 stroke or 4 stroke PJ, and how many ponies?

It's your money, and you can spend it wherever and on whatever you please, but I would advise getting an
Ambassadeur S reel to start. Pretty reasonably priced, and have been building those reels for decades. If you like baitcasting, you can always upgrade to something a little nicer later. I've found that unless you fish everyday, you can get good service without spending a fortune on baitcasters. I have a couple Ambassadeur 6500 reels I use for muskies, and a couple of Lew's Speed Spool SS 1HLA baitcasters I use for bass, and have got good service out of all of them, and they all all well below $100.

Gotta love companies that stand behind their work, and try to please their clientele...

Thanks....

Got a message from my nephew that I fish with a good bit because I haven't had a bass boat for many years now. He and another friend we muskie fish with on Lake of the Woods are headed to Erie in the morning for some walleye.

Never been a winter fishing guy. If it warms up slightly before we have ice again, I may try a couple of my farm ponds...

I had a similar experience with Lew's. I was putting my brand new Lew's spinning rod in the back seat of my crew cab and accidentally broke the tip off of it. I had never used the rod, and wrote a note to Lew's asking to buy a replacement because none of my local retailers had the same model. They sent a new one with no questions asked, and that's not what I was angling for, because it was my bone-headed error that broke the rod. I'll always buy Lew's from now on if possible....

Thanks Calvin. I was primarily interested in Indiana fishermen who fish for muskies up north....

Used to catch a lot of nice pike at Vermilion, but those numbers seem to really be down, from my experience and from what all the natives say.

Ever fish on Vermilion? I went back there 3 years ago for the first time in over 20 years. Used to fish for bass and northern, but muskie fishing there has become a big time event. Lot of pressure, but catch and release, which is what muskie fishermen do is ensuring the population remains. Just makes them a little more difficult to catch....

I just passed my 76th birthday and didn't start muskie fishing until 6 years ago. Have been to Lake of the Woods 3 times, and fished muskie on Lake Vermillion in MN last summer. I'd been to Vermilion many times, the first being in 1978, but had always fished for bass and northern. Got a 48 1/4" and a 44 at Vermilion last summer, and the
50 1/4" in the picture came from LOTW during opening week last summer. The two biggest ones were on a black and orange Rad Dog spinner bait, and the 44 was on a Bondy Royal Orba.

Just curious to know where you fish, what you use, and what kind of success you've had?

We don't have any ice left presently in West Central Indiana. Has anyone ever had any success bass fishing when the water is this cold?

Comments and reports please....