5bass

No,if you hold the bottom lip on a bigger fish,hold him straight up and down,dont try to hoist him up sideways with the lower lip. If you need a sideways pic or something,hold the bottom lip or under his mouth and then under his belly.

Finally,someone else who realizes Dance's game.Or lack thereof. It really kills me when he's floating around in his big fat Procraft on one of his little ponds,acting like he's on a big lake or something. : .....and dont get me started on Roland Martin.Anytime he fishes outside of Florida to get show footage,he's got the best local guide money can buy in the boat with him. :-?

Get yourself a hula grub (spider jig,whatever you want to call it),put it right on the bed and barely shake it every now and then.It must be ON THE BED,not beside it,not near it,ON IT.

All that "book learnin" you got seems to have paid off. Great post Jim,first let me say WELCOME! Secondly I say good posts so far.Lots of valuable info in what you typed. I've been fishing a few hours the past few days and the bite is extremely SLOW.Water is anywhere from 45-48.5 for the most part,in the creeks and on the channel.I agree about the heat/rocks theory......we've had 3 straight days of at least 66 air temps and today was upper 70's and tomorrow upper 70's and I havent caught the first fish near a rock.Every fish I've caught has been on top of or right beside a point,at least 12 ft and as deep as 22. The heat/rock theory (as most people believe it to be) can be misleading.Alot of people think just because the air temps get up a few days in a row,the fish say to themselves,"dang,air is 70,water has warmed 1.5 degrees over a weeks time,lets all go shallow".It doesnt happen like that.Sure you will have a few fish move shallow and snoop around for short periods,but for the most part,the fish need the water temps to rise and stabilize before they fully commit to "move up". Now,once the craws get going,like you said around 55 deg.,thats when the rock pattern really turns on.

How soon are these going to be on your website?

FiveBassLimit, you're right about the decline in good custom paint jobs. When I lived in Sayreville, NJ, I used to mount fish heads as a sideline hobby (saltwater species). I quickly found that the paint job is where all the work and creativity lies. In all fairness though, whether you elect to go with a fiberglass replica or a skin mount, you still have to paint back the colors. Paint jobs aside, in my opinion, nothing can take the place of a well done skin mount. When you look at a fiberglass repro, no matter how talented the artist, the lack of separation between the scales shouts "replica". If I'm not going to get a skin mount, I think I'd be happier with a few high-quality photographs than with a replica. After all, I can go out tomorrow and order a replica of my 15-lb dream-bass, so the significance just isn't there. Just my $0.02. Roger Exactly. A replica is "the right thing" to do but its just NOT the same......and the fact that on the replicas that I've had done,I have sent many pictures with each one and none of the 3 are even close to my pics.Why even take pics if the people cant match the colors?

RW, I have gotten 3 replicas done and none of the 3 were painted like my many pictures sent to them.More and more I keep hearing that the paint jobs on the replicas are getting to be all the same,which I believe.The replica guys think all bass look the same apparently.Well,they dont.It seems they all have one generic paint job to cover every fish they do.All of the replicas I've had done look good,but they look nothing like the fish that I caught. And on my last smallmouth that I fiberglassed,the dude didnt even put the little white spot on the "ear"(edge of the gill plate).Every smallmouth I've ever seen,no matter how big or small,has the little white spot right there.You probably know what I'm talking about.Sure,thats a minor detail but for the price of the replicas,it should look how you want it to and have all the distinct markings.

Slip used to be a big problem with my boat.After getting the plate set correctly,I gained alot more speed.When I first bought the boat,I was in the 35% slip group.

The last one was caught on a beetle spin!! :-?

instinct

1. jerkbait 2.deadsticking 3.8 ft avg 4.points 5.drop/end of point

Yeah,I understand.I'd like to have a 987 too but my pockets arent quite deep enough.

The best deal going right now is at BPS. They have the Eagle Fishstrike 1000C on sale for $499 regular price is $749......that is the big color screen,along with GPS.It really is a smokin' deal.If I could've seen those going on sale,I would not have purchased two other units last week.One color finder and a LCF-1440 FLASHER.I'd rather have just that one Eagle 1000c. I would definitely give it a look.

You got a net on your boat?They help tremendously when you have a big fish on.

If it floats and is 14' long its worth $250.....the trailer,like fluke said is worth that much too.Without seeing pictures,it sounds like a decent deal to me.

That is sweet looking.....no doubt!

It should come back up the way you turned it off.(Manual,hi sensitivity, etc....)

Texas rig a senko and fish all the laydowns.

Avid,tennis elbow is when your tendon is ripped/torn partially from your elbow.Its the tendon that starts on the outside of the elbow and runs down the top of your forearm,straight down to in between your two middle fingers.(You will be able to tell where its at if you get a cortisone shot)My doctor did some easy tests and everytime he turned or moved my forearm/wrist/elbow a certain way I felt the pain in my elbow.If you extend your arm straight out and feel the small indention in your elbow,that is where the tendon starts and where you will feel most of the tennis elbow pain.You will also feel pain in your forearm but the elbow is the worst. I honestly feel your pain.I have tennis elbow as we speak.I got a cortisone shot in mid-January.I havent fished much yet so far but will put the cortisone shot to the test tomorrow.I hope it sticks because spring is approaching fast and tennis elbow will ruin a season. I wear an elbow brace now pretty much all the time and especially when fishing.If you dont let it rest,it will not heal,trust me on that. Now it's back,came back last October and I couldnt effectively set a hook for the last 2 months of the year.A hookset on a crankbait I could handle,a hookset with a jig or worm felt like my arm was going to break off.I had to go to spinning gear for anything other than cranks/spinnerbaits. I wish you well man......I'm in the same boat as you.

I'd buy this one for sure....

Whenever I can actually see a smallmouth spawning,2 baits that will usually draw a strike are a 4" double tail hula grub (Chompers) and a MadMan craw tube.I also like to use a brighter color because smallies usually spawn deeper than largemouth and the brighter colors help me see what's going on.Colors wont matter much to a smallie on a bed. Be on top of things though,a smallmouth is a master at picking up your bait and moving it away VERY FAST.More than a few times Ive had a smallmouth circle my bait going round and round the bed,then all at once,suck it up and spit it.It seemed like the fish was doing circles to lull me into boredom,then BAM!!!....bait gone. I fished over one last year on a bed that was 5# easy.This fish would just nudge my bait with its nose until it pushed it off the bed.I never caught it because it never opened its mouth.Not once. If you know of any places in your lake that have some decent sized flat rocks,go there.A smallmouth will spawn right on top of a rock if its flat enough. Watching a smallmouth on a bed is awesome.You will see the speed they have as they are getting aggravated at your bait.Back and forth,100 mph across and around the bed.It's really amazing how quick they are.

Definitely gotta make a hoodie.Not so sure about that black jacket pictured above.I remember wearing jackets like that when I was like 10 years old. ;D The black jacket pictured above needs to have: 1) a zipper 2) a hood 3) choice of different colors I'm definitely in for a hoodie (they are pretty much universal) and possibly some other stuff,depending on styles.Good idea nonetheless.

That depends on whether you wiped it off or not.

Well said.That goes for me too.

Looks good man.Can I borrow it sometime? ;D