fishfordollars

You will have a boat if you will give me a little advance notice. I'm about 45 minutes from the lake, so just let me know and we will set it up.

I have two of the Diawa Team Advantage 153 HSTA reels. Fished them for about a year and have had no problems with them. They are smooth and dependable.

Agreed. Although knowing what the presure should be is better. The 10% rule is very effective at noticing problems. The chance of all cyclinders having the same amount of damage is nil. Usually one cylinder gets damaged at a time. It will stick out like a sore thumb in a comparison compression test. If one cylinder has 10% lower compression or worse it is usually representative of a scared cylinder wall, broken piston ring or other similar damage. There is never an easy fix. X2, and it usually will run you 500-600 a hole to repair it. Get a qualified mechanic to check it out. It is money well spent. Good luck.

I have it. Fished Lake Conroe Saturday and Sunday. Caught three on it Saturday, all undersize(11-15"). Lake Conroe is a mininum 16" legal lake. Did catch one 17 3/8 largemouth early Sunday morning on it along with another that was just under the legal limit and four more from 8-13". Bite slowed way down after 9:00am. Put it down and finished off the day out on the river with a C-rig. Nothing large to report. It was pretty tough. Who is next in line? PM me and give me an address and I will send it to you. Sorry for the delay, many things going on that kept me away from the lake for several weeks.

1.82 here in Houston this morning.

I am attending the cermony today. This is one event I refuse to miss. It is pouring down here today so the crowd will probably be smaller. Shame everyone else lets the weather keep them away. The weather never stopped us from our recon duties.

I have taken out several over the years. Never sheared one off, but damaged them so bad they were trashed. It will ruin a transom too.

Plastics

I try to locate the laydowns, or any other structure or cover that are out away from all the rest. The results seem to be that the better fish will hang around the isolated areas as they seem to get less pressure. It works for me. Try it and I hope it helps. Good luck.

I was up there all weekend and it was tough for me also. The few decent fish I caught(And there were very few) were on a c-rig out off the river.

Muddy, I stay amazed at the thoughts that fly out of your mind...LMAO

Man that sucks. Sorry to hear the story. Too depressing.

Fish it.

Check out www.tabconline.org Most of these are in the Austin/San Antonio area

Well, I think that's just personal preference, I'm completely opposite. I'd rather catch one 8 lb fish than a boatload of "tournament bass". 8-) Me too if I am just fishing. Tournaments for me are a different deal entirely. I go for a limit and then try to upgrade. My tournament philosophy used to be the same, get a limit then try to find a kicker. Not any longer. I fish to win every tournament. I target winning fish because I know EVERY tournament has good sticks and someone is going to catch them. Personally, I'm not satisifed with just acheiving a limit if a paycheck does not go with it. It has worked for me, may not be for everyone, to each his own I guess If you do your homework the kicker usually comes with the limit. Long Mike was in the boat with me last month as I was trying to squeeze out a limit. I did not get it; however, my two largest weighed over 8 and over 10.

It is usually the locals that will pop a large sack the first day of a tournament. History shows that they fade down the strech on days two and three. Again, they fish memories and wear out their fish, have not done their home work, and do not have enough fish to sustain them for three days. Exceptions are rare. I'm am in no way refering to the Tommy Martins or David Whartons, these are traveling tournament pros. I am refering to the local jackpoters that jump in and only fish a large tournament when it comes to their home lake. If you notice even the local guides seldom finish up high in these.

Well, I think that's just personal preference, I'm completely opposite. I'd rather catch one 8 lb fish than a boatload of "tournament bass". 8-) Me too if I am just fishing. Tournaments for me are a different deal entirely. I go for a limit and then try to upgrade.

Yep, they do bump up the winnings.

Look in the back of the manuel. My Lowrance had an example of what several things should look like and one was an example of a thermocline. If yours does not let me know. Is yours color or grayscale?

I'll take a limit of keeper bass every day of the year and wear out the guy that catches a big fish every now and then. What makes you better is hours of map study combined with on the water observations, learning to detect patterns, knowing when they are changing, being able to break and run 15 miles on a whim to fish for one fish, and having the time and money to stay on the water.(Just a few).

You just answered your on question. It is the location, not the lure. If you draw a partner that is on fish you should be asking the question why here, now, and what next instead of lure choises. Lures are nothing but tools. I see here plentyof people asking what is their favorite lure or technique. I have no favorites, what ever the fish want that minute is my favorite and it can change quickly and often.

It may hurt an angler more than it helps them. Without the basic understanding that you discussed an angler would be better off hiring a guide to put him on the fish. The old saying "Catching is easy" holds true. It is the finding and developing of patterns that seperate the men from the boys. Probably half of the participants in larger bass tournaments have no business being there. They fish memories, and that is a killer. These bottom dwelers as such will never be a player and only when hell freezes over do they ever have a shot at drawing a good check muchless win one of the things. Most of them cannot win consistantly in their own bass clubs, but still they throw their money down dreaming of winning the big ones. They have no idea how hard it is to travel, fish lakes they have never seen, and still they wonder what happened. All they need to do is take a look at themselves for the answer.

Cart7t nailed this one. Way under powered. Worst thing to do to a boat. Good luck selling it when someone figures out it won't perform. Any 18 ft. boat should have either a 150 or 175 on it to get it up on the pad and keep it there without straining the motor. Bet the gas milage will suck also. Going to be plenty of unhappy people after the new wears off with this one.

I sure hate to see him go. They probably won't be a pushover for long. Was hoping he would hang around. Maybe he can find a nice retirement home somewhere in Alabama.

It went back up from 1.89 yesterday to 1.99 here today.