Popeye

Drums since I was 16. I fooled around with Highland Bagpipes for a few months too:o)

I LIKE Hawg Caller's suggestion!! In fact, I'd be willing to toss in a $25 entry fee on a year long contest to end around October to make it fair to the BR guys/gals who face bad winter weather, the total collected to be distributed to the top 3 in each category! What say ye, mates?? Could be an on going year to year BR tournament:o) KVD has 'nuttin on us!!

Many THANKS, guys!!! I'll let you all know which one I finally get.

Wouldn't surprise me to see a pike eat the JIG AND THE FLOAT too. Seems those toothy critters will eat about anything that's in the water. IMO:o)

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO. There are MANY places to fish in Illinois. A multitude of small farm ponds, reservoirs, and quarrys, not to mention all the rivers that run through the state. I'm sure you will have NO trouble finding great places to bass fish while you're there! Let your brother-in-law know that you want to FISH and have him scout around the area for you.

Maybe Kalifornia isn't so bad after all. 365 days a year fishing:o)

Congrats!! Nice boat you got there. Cheap covers for the seats and better electronics would be my personal decision. I usually stand when fishing most of the time anyway:o)

Guys/gals: I am seeking recommendations for a good 3 bank on-board battery charger. My ProCraft has a one bank charger that I want to replace. I have 2 12v batteries connected in series for the 24v trolling motor and one 12v for the outboard/accessories. I assume I will need to hook each battery to its own bank on a charger (I charged them all individually for last week's trip with 2 different chargers and a trickle charger on the outboard battery after that). THANKS!!! BTW: BPS has a nice 3 bank charger on sale right now: XPS I 5/5/5 - $130 plus $13 shipping. Anyone have an opinion on it???

Offer the guy $3K cash if you like the boat. You can always "haggle" when the seller says "Asking Price". Those Hydra Sports don't look all that bad either! I looked at several of them for sale on Ebay and Craig's List when I was searching for a bass boat of my own. Good luck on your quest. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention: I'd recommend the larger, better equipped boat too. Fiberglass is going to be heavier and therefore more stable than aluminum in the water. However, those 17 Ft Bass Trackers are some great fishing machines and as mentioned there are many, many of them out there for sale.

Hard to beat the deals that you can get on Ebay, BUT after adding in shipping and having to wait until your item(s) arrive can put the cost near what a regular store sells the stuff for (and I hate to wait on something that I really need/want). Hopefully some of the other great BR members will chime in with some other places to buy Owner Hooks at a good price.

So far this year here in So Cal I've had my best success with Watermelon with red/black flakes. I've thrown a multitude of colors and that's been my only Senko producer so far. Still trying to nail #1 on a Fat Ika every trip out:o)

As easy as it is to get frustrated and discouraged, PLEASE DO NOT!! The same situations that you are experiencing happen to all of us at one time or another (even if that is not admitted). I too have been having TERRIBLE success the last several outtings! I felt so bad on Monday that I hadn't caught a bass on Sunday that I was bummed out all day. My wife teases me about it and that makes it worse, especially after agreeing to delay my retirement this July so I could buy a nice used bass boat of my own (that I used for the first time on Sunday). However, after checking the "catch report" on the lake I fished, I see that only 33 bass were caught for the ENTIRE week (Wed., Sat., Sun.). That made me feel a little better and knowing that my oldest son DID catch a dink Sunday helped too (at least the boat didn't get skunked:o) These things happen. I DO wholeheartedly agree with all the other guys who have already recommended that you start using Senkos and other plastics and fish real SLOW. I have been doing that so far this year and I have had some success (3 bass so far, but certainly nothing to brag about). The weather conditions last Sunday were HOT and VERY WINDY! Not ideal in my opinion. I told my wife that I wasn't going to go out this weekend, BUT now I'm having second thoughts. I look forward to going and it helps "get me through the workweek"! Next time I'll probably toss out some cut mackeral and see if I can land a cat or two while I'm after those bass. Don't fret too much over getting skunked. It can take all the joy and fun out of fishing. It is called "fishing" and not "catching" after all. The challenge and thrill of a hookup is what keeps me coming back time and time again (has been since I landed my first fish as a kid:o)

Congrats on the new Champion, HG!!! I really wanted to get one but I figured I'd have trouble getting it all into 1/2 of my garage. Maybe after I sell my HemiBee, I'll look into a bigger boat. There are a LOT of guys who fish Otay who have Champions. I'd say 1 out of every 4 boats that I see launch there are Champions.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Albert Einstein

A hearty welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO. Glad to see another So Cal fishin' gal join our ranks! There are several BR members in the San Diego area. We need to get an outting/get together planned for later this year(??). Have you fished Lake Hodges yet?? That's close to Encinitas and there are some BIG BASS in that lake.

Several weeks ago when we were leaving Lower Otay for the day we saw this guy with an 85 pound cat in a wheel barrel in the parking lot. He told us he had broken the lake record for cats a few weeks earlier with a 98 pounder. Of course we asked him what bait he was using. Cut Mackeral (which you can buy frozen). Might want to try some of that and beef up the rig you're fishing with. Honestly, that 85 pounder he had in the cart had a head and mouth so large that it could easily have eaten a WHOLE good sized mackeral, not just a cut off/up piece of one! He didn't mention anything like that, though (trade secret?? - this guy is well known at the lake for consistantly catching LARGE cats). PS: in my opinion, catching large cats can be as fun as catching bass. It's also a much more relaxing way to fish. Rig up, throw out, and sit back and wait for your line to zing away (chances are you'll end up with a carp or two as well).

When ever and where ever would be my opinion. Especially in shallower bodies of water.

I remember having one of those wood burning art kits when I was a kid (also in the early 60's). I can still recall the soldering iron type burner and the smell of the wood as it charred. I think the picture I burned into the wood block supplied with the kit and "pre-marked" for simplicity (i.e. kinda like connecting the dots) was an Indian Chief with a war bonnet on. Post some pictures of your art. I'm sure we'd all like to see them!

OK. PM me with your phone number. I'm kinda "booked up" with my sons and grandkids for the next several weekends but after that I'm sure they'll loose interest (unless they end up catching some nice fish). Otay has been CRUEL to me the last few times out. I've been throwing everything I can think of with negative results. I have had a few good strikes but failed to hook up with anything. Can't seem to figure the lake out just yet. I know the Harvey Arm is usually a better producer but last Sunday the wind was so bad that we abandoned that area and went around North Point to the Otay Arm. Still had no success.

Good, yes. Great, no. Both sports require a lot of time and concentration.

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO.

West Marine has their regular $200 SOSpenders style PFD on sale for $140! I bought one Saturday. It has 34 pounds of floatation and is either automatic or manually inflatable. I thought it was a great deal.

Sears Craftsman guy all the way. A couple of years ago for Father's Day my wife MADE me go to Sears with her and we bought a complete new Craftsman Rollaway with two matching tool chests on top and a complete set of Craftsman mechanics tools and some other odds and ends (4 ton floor jack, heavy duty jack stands, etc.). I have always preferred Craftsman.

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO. Those are some nice bass you caught. Ever get as far south as San Diego County??

Around $30 for a swimbait and $15 - $20 for anything else. Were I in a competition, then the price might go up a wee bit for the right lures.