Popeye

T or Wacky rigged Senkos and jigs w/4" tubes would be my choice.

Patience and persistance. I won't leave the water until I absolutely have to irregardless of weather conditions and/or slowness of bite. Please know that I'm not THAT stupid when it comes to bad weather. Dangerous situations warrant "absolutely having to") (i.e. bad thunder/lightening storms, tornado warnings, things like that).

Personally I've had bad luck with Maaco. I'd take it to Earl Scheib's and get one of the better paint jobs they offer before I'd take it to Maaco. BUT that's just MY opinion.

To borrow a famous line from "The Wizard of Oz" and make it our own: "Senkos, and Jigs, and Fat Ika's, oh my!" All those fished weightless and either T or Wacky rigged should produce for you. Drop shot rigs Wacky rigged with 5" Senkos is another good option. I personally like the Watermelon w/red or w/black flakes the best. You might also try some 4" coffee colored tubes on a 1/4 oz. jig head. Best of luck to ya. It's not really a matter of luck as much as it is knowing where the fish are and presenting them with the proper lure and technique, IMO:o)

Welcome to BR - the BEST bass fishing forums on the Net, IMO:o) Many great guys and gals on BR who will answer all your fishing questions.

I just read the news article on Charlton Heston passing away and I am deeply saddened to hear about it. He was one of my all time favorite actors and a man of integrity and honor, IMO! I just watched "The Ten Commandments" the other day which is so strange. His presence on screen was phenomenal. Along with the roles like he had in "Will Penny", "Ben Hur", "Planet of the Apes", "The Omega Man", and "Soylent Green", his portrayal of Moses will never be topped. I vividly remember when "Ben Hur" premiered and then played at the Tivoli theater in my home town for nearly 3 months straight! The Motion Picture industry and we movie fans have truely lost a Silver Screen ICON!

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing forums on the Net, IMO. Do you know the water temperature and some other water/lake/environmental conditions (i.e. murky/clear, structure type, bottom contour, weather fronts)? Those things would help in making suggestions/recommendations as to what type of lure and/or presentation to try. Some days are just plain tough fishing and the bite is painfully slow but there are techniques that can be used to coax those stubborn/inactive critters to strike. If you've heard this before, please know that I'm NOT trying to be a smarta** or anything like that but "that's why they call it fishing and not catching") When the bass bite is near non-existant, you can always throw out some mackeral or stink bait, sit back and relax and the "cats" will usually generate some excitement:o)

Welcome to the BR Forums!! Yo-Zuri is hard to beat, IMO. I use it exclusively on ALL my spinning gear in 8# and 10#.

Mr. Bait Monkey has plenty more. Just call him and see:o)

WOW! "fine" is an understatement! And another tournament fisherman is born!! ) Has she uttered the magic "Ranger" word yet??? Please tell her CONGRATULATIONS from me!!

Ahgagagagagagagagagagagagagagagagagagagaga.......cough, cough, choke, choke. Ya really got me with that thread title. You BAD!!!!

Here's a get well wish from me to you: GET WELL SOON and I will pray that you do!!

Try topwaters in the early AM and close to dark near the shoreline (i.e. Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers, Frogs etc.). Jigs with a variety of trailers fished in the deeper water should work during the day. Drop shot rigs with Wacky rigged Senkos are another option around any structure during the hotter time of the day in deep water. At least that's what I'd try.

SCUBA, a dry suit, and a spear gun might be your only solution with the water that cold.

Hodges still is considered one of the top lakes in the San Diego area. I fished it years ago in a rental with little success. However, now that I've "seen the light" and learned so much from the great guys and gals on BR AND I have a new weapon sitting anxiously in my garage, I am certainly going to be hitting that lake again and soon!!

Ahgagagagaga! Dem's gotta be Big Bubba's shorts!!! Can't really criticize that poor Bloodhound, can ya??

I'm gonna get me some of them TUBES!! they look awesome!

Weird that noone has been able to land that thief! I'd suspect, like the other guys have said, it's a large pike or Musky. Go with the leader and stout line recommendations and even try a LARGE spinner bait/Bucktail and see what happens. I'd say 30 - 50 pound braided in case it is a Musky. I doubt that line less than that is even going to slow that critter down. Hope you also are using a medium heavy to heavy rod. Musky can DESTROY the average bass setups.

Congratulations!!! That's a nice looking trailer and it sure looks like it'll work great for ya!!

619bassman: I take it you live in the Eastlake or Otay Ranch area?? I will have to take you up on your offer, pardner!! I hate to fish alone and now with my new boat, it'll be MUCH easier if I have someone along on most of my trips!

Lower Otay has been HARD on everyone lately. Three of us went out last Saturday and Sunday and only boated 2 bass (a 2 pounder and a 1 1/2 pounder). We talked with lots of others and they all confirmed that the fishing was real slow. It should pick up in the next week or two. I'd be out there tomorrow but I want to familiarize myself with my new bass boat some more before I take it out. I have a trip planned for next Sunday with my oldest son. I think this is the first weekend in over a month that I haven't fished Otay at least one day on the weekend. Bummer. Looking forward to your report AND if you'd like to hook up sometime, PM me and we'll see what we can work out. Best of luck to you!!

Avoiding the "Curse of the Bait Monkey" and now the "Boat Monkey" too:o) I am not experienced with top water buzz baits. I gotta get me some of those and learn to use 'em! Haven't caught anything on large swimbaits either.

When my Grandfather took me fishing in Kentucky all those many years ago and I caught my first fish - a BG I think. It was at a beautiful quarry pond and I musta been around 7 - 8 years old. I honestly can say that it's as much FUN now as it was way back when!

THANKS, guys!! I went to San Diego Trailer Supply and they set me up with everything I need. Seems my Explorer already was factory wired to tow a trailer and all I needed was a coupler harness. My wife is going to help me check it out tomorrow.

As far as "ball height" goes, should I measure from the top of the coupler to the ground when the trailer is LEVEL and then make sure that the top of the ball on the receiver is the same height?? I've read some other posts where the guys are adamant about the trailer being towed LEVEL or as close to level as possible(??)