Sorry, just got a chance to write this up. Went to Lake Monroe (Bloomington) last week as part of our vacation. Spent several days there. Took part in the Kids & Co. fishing tournament. This is a kids only tournament. There were over 120 kids and 71 boats participating. This is run by the Hoosier Bass'n Gals club. (I have no affiliation with this organization.) My boy was in the youth panfish division. Had almost eight pounds of panfish (lots of cleaning for Dad). Most fish are either released or kept for the rehab program at Monroe. All bass are to be set free. Entry fee was ten dollars. I did not see a kid leave with less than fifteen dollars worth of stuff - most had more than that. Plus a little breakfast and a lunch was served. If you have kids that want to do this I would highly suggest you look into it. Lots of fun and little or no pressure on mom and dad. How the girls pull this off is beyond me but they are great.
Also, trolled with a poor-man's downrigger we picked up at the FishinShedd. Basically a two ounce barrel sinker on a wire leader with a snap swivel. I attached a spoon to each of our three poles. My wife asked three questions: 1. Will this bait work? and 2. Will the sinker affect the action of the fish? and 3. How will I know when I get a strike? We started trolling near the Fairfax flats area and hadn't gotten much more than two hundred yards when all the questions were answered. First, yes they will hit a big spoon that is shiny like a shad. 2. Sinker works. 3. You'll know when it hits
!!! pics later
