fishfordollars

The grass you can see will tell you a lot. Any area that is thin or looks like a trail has been worn through it could be a slight depression. It can mark a ditch or a bottom contour change of any kind. Start there and work your way in and out. A glance at the land on shore will also give you clues as to what is under it. Look at the points and depressions and follow them out under the grass.

X2. I sold a reel a while back that was spooled with it. The buyer called wanting to know what it was and where he could get it.

I won a tournament yesterday fishing the midlake area. Absolutely no top water bite yesterday for me. First fish came at 9:35am on a LC RC1.5. Fishing a clean midlake point. Next fish came at 9:43am on a watermellon/red senko off the same point in 9' of water. No fish of any size caught for the next two hours. third keeper came on a chartruse/white spinnerbait in 1' of water fishing the green reeds that are growing everywhere in the midlake area. I mean that we were throwing the blade up in 6" of water and slowly working(Dragging) it through the thickest grass we could find. The blade was actually laying on it's side as we drug them through the grass. Damnest thing I ever saw. Keeper three was caught at 12:23. Keeper four was caught the same way at 1:45pm, and keeper number 5 at 2:21 . First time I ever saw a fish hit a blade laying sideways on the top of the water. You just had to be ready when you drug it across any small opening in the grass. I know this sounds silly, but no one was even close to my weight. It was tough and I was the most surprised one on the water. they would not touch a frog, buzzbait, or a white spinnerbait for me. The one i caught on the Senko was the only plastic bite I got from a keeper. Caught tons fishing a wacky worm just no size. All fish were on the points or down the side of one. caught a few out deeper, but no size. Hollar and I'll tighten up the locations for you. Fishing next weekend so I don't want to put too much out over the site.

Great post. Some of my jigs actually weigh 1 1/4 oz. to fish the grass. I like the heavy weight. Not as much time spent trying to work it down through the grass. As Catt said keep it on the bottom. If you are unsure if the fish will attack a jig of that size with a large trailer, well; you just need to spend some time with it and see for yourself.

So why change? If that's what it takes to get bit, just do it. You can out think yourself at times.

Might want to check the hook. Lots of spinnerbait manufacturers cut corners on hooks to save money. Sharpen up the hook or stay with a name brand that uses quality hooks. Either way you need to pay attention to the hook. After you catch one always examine the point and/or run a hone over it.

I fish them. I like them, but the newer rods are no longer made in the USA. Have been trying out a few others. might be time to make a change.

8 on the deck 6-8 in the box I hate wasting time tying a lure on. Just grab another rod.

I hate protected areas. They get hammered and usually there is no activity. If you can find an area that has had the wind blowing into it for a few days you can rest easy knowing that the bait has been pushed in and the fish have not been hasseled by many anglers. Prefer to fish the wind blown areas and like to throw into the wind. Bass will set up facing the wind. It is not natural to bring a lure back with the wind at your back. Sure it's easier to cast, but you won't catch as many. Boat control is a lot easier fishing into the wind to. The wind is a hassel when crossing wide open expanses. Other than that give me a wind any day. Around here, if you wait on a windless day, you won't fish very much.

Dang Mike. when you said you had a few limbs down on the boat, cars and house I was thinking twigs maybe. Little more than that. LOL...Glad you and the family are ok. On a lighter note, I'm pretty sure I have the jackplate located you need. Will call you when I get back from the lake Sunday. Jack

So true. Sounds like the boat will be a $5 grand boat and not a $3,500 one. And I don't believe the low hours story one bit. If the original owner used the thing so much that the boat needs repair on the hull, the carpet is worn out, and the seats are shot, chances are that he used it a LOT more than let on, and that would probably include the replacement engine as well. (How is the guy who put the engine on the boat related to the seller? And how long ago did he do the work?) Also, a sticking throttle cable will need to be replaced and would indicate lack of maintenance and proper boat storage. And why in hell would a seller not fix that problem before he offered it up for sale?????? thats huge! Lots of boats with that engine size available around on Craigslist and many look to be a much better shape. I would rather pay more initially and know that the person took care of and stored the boat properly. And I had no idea what Chine walking was. Found this link http://www.kencook.net/Chinewalk.html Could be the boat, the driver, or the water. Being that it has a replacement engine, I would wonder if the install was done correctly? The first time you hammer down on a rig that will run you will find out what chine walking is. You will need to learn to drive through it or keep the boat off the pad.

Happened yersterday morning before daylight. He told me it ran a path about three miles long in the Tulsa area. He has been without power, cable, and internet so if you need him give him a call. No damage to his home. Large tree limbs were down on his vehicles and his boat. Minor damage thankfully.

I do 90% left handed. Flip, pitch, and cast left handed. I eat, throw a ball, and shoot a gun right handed. That's as close as i can come to it.

Pond is probably way out of whack. Probably a couple of very large fish and a lot of stunted fish to go with it. When the bream get too large for the forage to eat this will happen. Wildlife department needs to evaluate the pond and make suggestions. Owner is probably not going to like the solutions.

Well if it's not binding after you disconnect it, it probably is.

If you don't have a shop check it out and do a compression test you deserve what you get.

PM sent. I never win anything, but decided to give it a shot.

Get it checked by a good, honest marine mechanic. It will be the best money you've ever spent. Problems; Transom: check for cracks and rot Stringers: check for rot Flooring: check for rot Trailer: wiring, springs, axles, lights Wiring: check for rot, replaced wiring(Not good), corrosion Switches: In working order? what about the trim? Electronics: Working order? Trolling motor: Is it in working order and is it large enought to do the job? Batterys: How old and check for a dead cell(Hydrometer will tell you). MOTOR: compression check(Bring it up to operating temps), remove spark plugs, check twice, and if you can do a leakdown that's even better. On the water test. Better yet, go fish it for a few hours. check the livewells, and for any other leaks. Bilge needs to be working to. If the seller balks, walk away. Good luck, offer him $2,500.00- $3,000.00 just to try him out. The worst he can do is say no.

Fish the outside grassline. Spinnerbaits, frogs, & Sammy are all catching fish. You can catch a ton on a wacky worm up on the inside grassline but they are running small. T-rig on the points and creek channel swings will work also. Better fish are on the outer grass and out in the 12-15' water. I'll be there Friday & Saturday, fishing out of Caney Creek ramp. Going over to Veach and Coleman to try to put together a solid limit. Supposed to be cloudy and rain. Stick with the darker colors unless they tell you different. Junebug, junebug/red, grape, black/neon, camo. If the clouds move out try watermellon/red, pumpkin, etc. They have been pulling water and the wind has muddied up the water again. visibility is about two feet. Got me a handfull full of stitches yesterday, so it's gonna be tough for me. We will see how it goes.

If you are fishing Vanish I can understand your problem. Raul made some good selections on what to use. You might also try XPS flouro and see how you like it. You just havn't tried a good, solid brand. They are out there so go try another and keep trying until you get the one you like. I've been fishing XPS a while. I spray it with a conditioner and like the way it works for me. It's your call, go try another. Good luck

Probably a rod with a little more backbone and a little more strength to handle the hook set. Remember, when you fish plastics you many times have to drive the hook through the lure before it makes contact with the fish. Try a medium/heavy/fast tip rod with either 10,12, or 14# test and see if that helps. When you are fishing a frog or something like it, line diameter is not as critical. The fish are not paying attention to line size when they are staged in the slop like they would out off a clear main lake point or ridge. Good luck

That stuff has ruined many a good man. You should have dropped him in his tracks, steped over him on your way out the door alone. If you did it right the other three punks would let you pass untouched.

X2

Run it into everything you can during the retrieve. Vary the speed. Don't put them up after the early bite. Some of my best fish have come midday, especially when you have a little cloud cover. Last year Long Mike netted an 8.19 and a 10.51 for me in our club tournament. The 8 was caught at 2:15pm and the 10 at 3:50pm. It was partly cloudy and hot, so don't just put it down because everyone says they won't hit it during a bright day. Good luck

The squeak is the deal. You can take a pair of pliers and crimp the rivet to increase the squeal. Or you always have the old stand by technique; hang it out the window on the way to the lake.