Popeye

Maybe I'd better KEEP my NuCanoe after all:o)

619bassman: I sent you a PM (Private Message).

Thanks, LBH!!! I was going to mention that right away. 2 people in a small 10' jon can be a very precarious and potentially dangerous situation. Guys - PLEASE be VERY CAREFUL! What is the rated weight capacity on the boat?? 2 guys with gear and a trolling motor and battery can quicky exceed most recommended maximum capacities on boats like that and with a flat bottom, the boat can be "tippy", especially with 2 guys aboard. After saying all that for safety's sake: that is a nice jon you got there and a great price!

A little TLC and that puppy will have you catching some fish! $300 was a GREAT DEAL! Is that your Monark in the background?

Ditto to what LBH and Big-O said! When I fish with others we ALL consider it a team effort and rarely does "the boat" get skunked. Makes it FUN for everyone aboard. IF I catch just ONE fish on a given outting, I'm happy irregardless of how many my fishing partners have caught. When I do get outfished or skunked, it frustrates me somewhat but that's why it's called fishing and not catching. It's still FUN either way, IMO:o)

First off: WELCOME to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO! Do you happen to know how big this pond is and how deep it might be?? Also, is there any structure and/or vegetation growing around the perimeter?? I assume that everyone will have to fish from the shoreline (sounds like a stupid question but some golf courses have some pretty good sized ponds that a small jon boat or rowboat'kayak could be used on). The other guys have already mentioned three great options for you - the Senko wacky rigged on a drop shot rig, jigs and trailers, and the lizzard. Another lure to try would be a frog. There are undoubtedly frogs/toads all around the pond and they would be a natural food source for residing bass. If the tourney begins real early in the morning, then you also might want to scour the shoreline with a few topwaters for the first hour or two. A smallish pond will allow you to cast pretty much the entire water area. You should do well using a combination of the baits suggested by all. How many rods are you allowed to use (have rigged and ready)?? Hope you do great and win the whole event!!

I've been averaging around $50 per tankful here in So Cal on each of our 2 cars and my Explorer for the past 2 months and that's at the Exchange gas station. My wife filled her Camry last night on the way home from work and it came to a little over $54.00. Guess some OPEC ****** will be able tp put more Rolls Royces behind their many palaces!! Better get my butt back in cycling shape so I can start riding my bike to work if necessary. Good thing I carpool to work with my neighbor. That keeps my Explorer sitting in the driveway until I use it for fishing trips and Otay is only about 15 minutes away.

Certainly NOT that squirrel:o)

Now that's a HAWG!! Great catch! I'd guesstimate, based on the size of the mouth, at least 10 pounds if not more!

LBH took the words right out of my mouth!! A warm rain and the fish are a bitten' - don't get any better than that, IMO:o)

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO! Sounds like you're already an accomplished bass fisherman. We will certainly benefit from your knowledge and expertise.

Yep, dogs and other animals/insects can sense when a quake is about to happen. Scientists think the animals pick-up on the electromagnetic pulses/vibrations given off by a quake several minutes before we humans actually feel it. Kinda like a "quake alarm" if you have a dog around the place:o)

As has been stated, working at a fast food resturant isn't "rocket science" by any means, BUT I can attest to the FACT that it is VERY HARD work!! My wife worked for Foodmaker (aka: "Jack-in-the-Box") for almost 10 years and she had to work her butt off the whole time she was there! Even after she became assistant manager, she still had to sub for missing employees and had to be able to do EVERY single task in the whole place while still performing her management duties! I, for one, don't know how she did it some days!! She used to tell me the horror stories of drunk/drugged-up customers coming in and being abusive to her and the other employees or vomiting all over the place and stuff like that that she had to put up with. I have nothing but ADMIRATION for all those folks who work fast food! Sure they may mess up an order or two every once in awhile, BUT at least they are trying to MAKE a living/working and not on the unemployment roles!! Just my personal opinion!

I gotta email my Mom and brothers and sister in Kankakee, Ill and see if they felt it that far North! We have over 300 quakes a year here in Kalifornia but about 99% of them are so small that you never even know they happened (3 or less mag on the richter scale). It's the BIG one that scientists are 100% sure will happen that I'm concerned about. The Island of Kalifornia - sounds cool, but is it??

Been thinking about getting a couple of those but I've spent so much on my boat lately that I don't have a lot to spend on lures right now. I also am considering some Mattlures. Best of luck to you with the Hud. I know some guys told us that they had caught an 8 and 10 pounder on a Hud in Otay in mid February (the first time we went out this year).

When I go out with my friend on his boat I always get to the lake before he does and I pay his ramp and fishing permit fees before he even arrives (well I have the envelopes all filled out with the $$$s in them and I put them in the Iron Ranger -collection box - after he shows up). I also offer money to help pay for the gas he uses in the boat and his truck (he never takes it though). At least I pay some of the costs. Now that I have my own boat (yippee), I'd at least like anyone fishing with me to offer some gas money or pay my ramp/fishing permit fees, BUT I do NOT expect them to!! I enjoy having someone along to talk with and share the fun of fishing and to help launch and trailer the boat after a long day on the lake (and there's the added safety factor of having someone with you in case of an emergency). I'd be out there anyway, so absorbing all the costs is pretty much a mute point.

The loss of a family pet/friend is indeed a tragedy and a very, very painful thing to have to endure! I feel for you my friend! Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I could have sworn that Mattlures was a BR Sponser?? Am I wrong or what. Has senenlity finally set in for good?? Bummer!!

IF the Ducks even their series tonight..... watch out! Quack, Quack, Quack:o)

I a Flooger guy too. The President is a hard reel to beat for the price. The Trion is also a nice reel and even cheaper.

Armor-All might work. It tends to soften up vinyl a wee bit.

They're what I've been tip-toeing through the last 3 months. I used to call 'em reeds, but now I know better:o)

I'd bet on cats, not so much bass. Throw a line out with some chicken liver on it and let it just lay on the bottom. Might be some carp in there too. If you're fishing early, try some topwater poppers or frogs for bass. IF that pond hasn't been fished much and there are any bass in it, then Senkos should drive them nuts. IMO.

I gotta start hitting some of the other local lakes! It's just that Otay is only about 15 minutes from my place and so easy to access and I know there are some monsters in there - somewhere:o)

Thank goodness it's not just ME experiencing this horrible slowdown here in the San Diego area!! Lower Otay has been a real pain to fish the last THREE times out! Last Sunday 3 of us only caught one dink in 7 hours and we fished almost 1/2 the lake's tullie area. Admittingly the weather was HOT and it was WINDY (more so than any other day this year), but I/we usually do better than that on any given day. When 2-3 people get skunked or nearly skunked, something else is amiss. I think it certainly has something to do with barrametric pressure which is something I need to learn more about and check on before an outting. Take heart, the bite will pick up again. Those giant So Cal bass gotta be getting REAL hungry. BTW: there is NO such thing as a stupid or dumb question, except for the one you don't ask! IMO:o) PS: the fish report for Lower Otay recorded only 33 bass caught and released last week whereas the lake generally averages well over 100 a week!