SnowBass23

I towed just under 2000lbs with the exact model of Jeep you are talking about. I never had a problem with starting OR STOPPING even under heavy rain. I'd just go easy on it, don't gun the engine to get started, and start slowing down early. I went to the dealership and had a tow package installed. It cost just under $600 but they also added the cooler. They also cut and added the molding around the big plastic bumper so everything is clean and neat.

One other thing to be concerned with is the oil in the plastics to keep them soft. If you take worms with that oily coating (say, Culprits, for instance) and put them in a plano tray. After a few weeks the tray will start to be warped (sometimes faded looking, too) from the oil. It'll warp the dividers inside and keep the lid from closing properly also. If they are dry worms I mix them like this, no problem. For all my others I just use ziplocks. I have one with a bunch of similar colored senkos in one, similar colored pitching worms in another and so forth.

I think it is just one of those eventualities. I'm sure there are all kinds of people looking into the impact it will have on pleasure boaters, especially those with such a huge stake in it, ie. All the outboard and boat makers. It sure sounds like it will suck for those of us that already have motors though,...

Bingo! That sums up the experience of buying my PT 175 TXW last year. I looked all over and at every tracker dealer anytime I pulled the ready to walk attitude the response was 'have a good one.' After a LOT of searching and checking around I finally paid their sticker price (including the freight and dealer prep charges as listed on the tracker site). Good luck. I do know that depending on the time of year they have better 'extras'. If you buy during fishing season (now!) they give a $450 BPS card, but in fall or winter that same purchase gets you something like a $700 card.

Welcome to Lower Alabama, Vixen. When I first started fishing here (I'm about 2 hours NE of you) compared to back in Ohio it was a change for me too. I personally don't like fishing any of the streams that get a lot of pressure. Just like you've said, I seem to be the only one that doesn't keep every tiny bass or bream I catch. We've done some pretty long trips on the Blackwater with VERY mild success. I'd focus on smaller creeks (the ones everyone else avoids thinking they are too small for bass) I usually clean up on those. As for the lakes, it gets so hot that my best luck comes right before and after sunrise, and about 2 hours before dark. Right around 5:30 or 6pm the bass just turn on in the lakes for me. We go from not catching a thing to suddenly getting strong strikes on every cast. I've never seen a salt kit for testing the streams, but I'm sure there is one out there. Personally, I wouldn't get wrapped around the axle with it, as long as you are in a fresh water stream (as opposed to out in the bay!) I think you'd be ok. Good luck.

I have been in the same boat for years (rimshot, please! :). Anyway, I fished from the back of my buddy's boat for a long time and could not buy a bite. I think our problem was that I'm big on S L O W finesse presentations and he always had that boat moving, so it is easy to armchair quarterback and point out other's mistakes. As far as fishing behind someone else... I went out with that same guy and a friend in his boat, and my wife and I in another. We literally fished 25 feet behind them following the shoreline (it's a smallish private lake and we were all in gheenoes). The first boat would catch a couple here and there, but I was killing them! My wife was even doing really well, so I think it came down to right presentations and the right time, and the front/back of the boat wasn't a factor. Take whatever you can get and learn to use it to your advantage!

Hi all. I was looking at NADA values for my boat, a 2008 Tracker Pro Team 175 TXW. They have it listed as dealer list price for roughly $11K with a 25hp outboard. How much of a difference will my 50hp 2-stroke make compared to the 25 hp? Thanks in advance. SnowBass

Just a side note; for the parts that you order for the aquarium, although it is fun buying in the store (and that is probably what you want for your little girl so she can experience setting it all up) you can get great deals online. I buy the majority of my aquarium stuff (lights, heaters, filters, fake plants, etc) through Big Al's Aquarium online store. You can do a search for it and find their site. They have some phenomenal prices on different things.

If you do a search on bass in aquariums you should be able to find a bunch of slugfests where this topic comes up every once in a while. ;D I also have many years of experience with breeding different fish and I too kept bass for a while. I'd agree they are far more pain than they are worth. In no time they will have outgrown any size tank you put them in (anything that a novice could reasonably expect to use anyways ) . Bream, or even tropical fish are far easier to keep and just as enjoyable. As others have mentioned it is illegal in many states to keep them for home viewing because of their sportfish status. Can you do it? Sure. But, is it a good idea? That's up to you. If you really want to expose her to fish and their habits, I'd look into some of the smaller cichlids. They are tropical, so readily available from pet stores, and have a lot of the personality that bass will exhibit, just on a more manageable scale. Good luck.

I work with a guy that always thinks it is hysterical to run around with an empty stapler. He'll go up to a female and say, "Hey, watch this!" and then he smacks his arm with an empty stapler. The girls all squeal and get grossed out. So one time, right after doing his stapler trick he turned around to answer the phone.......we put staples in. I'm in the military, and for the first 5 years or so I was always around dorms. Young enlisted guys do some pretty stupid stuff, and it was common--no, it was EXPECTED to Tango Bravo somebody that passed out early. Is it pleasant? No,... but you'll never fall asleep around a bunch of soldiers again. And the memories last a life time rofl. A kid I went to school with would do a #2 into a ziplock baggie and squeeze all the air out. Then he'd lay it in the middle of a street and watch a car run over it. You just know that driver won't even think twice until he gets home and gets out... If somebody leaves their computer logged on, we'll run over and change the video settings. Most pcs give you the option to invert the screen, or set it sideways. When they go back you'll see them screwing around forever trying to fix it. Put a piece of tape under their laser mouse. It still works, but very poorly. Go into settings, you can reverse the mouse buttons, so a left click functions like a right-click and vice-versa. Also, while you are there sloooooow their cursor speed down. When they move the mouse the cursor will barely move. If they use MS word a lot, you can go in and change the autocorrect options so that it will automatically change a normal word into something else. So everytime they type "the" it will instantly autocorrect to "teh". Plenty of irritating things to do.

Airborne, I have had the exact same problem as you, so you are certainly not alone. I am working to get better at reading my ff.

I've looked at lunar tables but never put much faith in it.

I think a lot of the reactions around snakeheads is largely knee-jerk. Sure, they are invasive and have no business being in the US. But, as to how much damage they will really do I don't think it is as bad as originally suspected. I'd still kill anyone I found and call game and wildlife officials to be certain. Bowfin are very similar in the deep south. Nasty mudfish with a mouthful of teeth. They can destroy a fish they catch, but there are plenty of LMB swimming right alongside them in our rivers and lakes.

I have 2 of the Dancin' Buzzbaits, one in black and one in white. I've caught several bass on them with no problems. I like them because the bait hangs below and behind the buzzer. Does it work anybetter than a regular buzzbait? The jury is still out on that one....

Haha pretty funny stuff, but isn't it just easier to say "violently shaking" instead of "twitchin' like a crack sleeper"? We use: Pokin' stick: a stick for poking anything you don't want to touch with your bare hands- could be a dead bloated fish, a snake, a dead body...whatever floats into view. The older obligatory ones: Grass Bass: reeling in a big old clump of grass Limb Bream: reeling in a stick instead Rock Bass: snagging into some rocks

I'm sure stuff like that happens. It is tv after all. When I was a kid I was amazed that whenever I'd watch a fishing show, in the space of 30 minutes (with commercials even! ;D) the ycould catch back to back big bass. Then when I got a bit older I realized how the time of day/clouds/conditions all can change through the course of a 30 minute show(clearly several hours of fishing). It's never been the same since then!

I haven't played many of the modern fishing games on consoles (not since SNES). But I do like Pro Fishing Challenge on the original Xbox. Aside from having an unrelated picture of a girl in a bikini on the cover, you actually fish tournaments and have a decent selection of equipment. You start off in something like a pond prowler with a 5hp motor. It takes forever to move across big lakes! As you win tournaments pretty soon you are in full blown fiberglass rigs. The fishing itself is pretty interesting because you work the rod using one of the joysticks. This is necessary to give the bait the propper action. Once you hook into a fish you have to pull back on the stick to set the hook, and then move the stick to put pressure/play the fish. It's a fairly entertaining fishing game.

Dead horse = beaten. I can imagine this thread closing down in 5, 4, 3, 2....

I wondered the same thing (and still don't know fully how it plays into fishing) but in a very general manner, low pressure fronts are going to be when you have rainy weather, thunder storms and the like. Fishing seem to bite better at times during this weather. A cold pressure front is when we suddenly have a couple of days of bluebird skies and cooler temps. The sky gets blue (and sometimes windy) with little precip but the associated front often brings cooler temps. I'd imagine that the sudden change in either front would induce lockjaw as the fish adjust. I've heard many people claim to just slay the bass right before a storm and right after, but when it is blue-sky and cooler the fish stick tight to cover.

Thanks to everyone who's given me tips. Btech, I don't even mind the dinks, it's just the consistency that bothers me. On other waters (where the fish are generally trapped!) I can fish dusk to dawn and slay them. But, on larger waters where it might require switching to a different bait as the day progresses my luck is just hit or miss. I can't wait to get out tommorrow and try some of this out.

Thinking just that, I've tried to drag a c-rig a few times, but it just 'doesn't feel right'. It's probably my lack of confidence in it.

Momma' didn't raise an artist ;D

I had a big description of the lake and lost it... Oh well, it is all flooded timber in 5-8 feet of water in the north half, lillies and grass on east and west side. Main lake depth is up to 15 feet average with a 30 foot creek channel that runs the length of the lake. All my fish have come from within arms length of the bank usually, in or around heavy grass and lilly pads. Never any deeper than 5 feet. Thanks for the inputs.

Hi all, I've been bass fishing for a while but I'm hoping you all can provide some insight or direction into something I'm doing wrong. When I go out fishing if it is the last few hours before dark I can catch bass without a problem. You know where you hit that magical hour where it seems every cast is a bass, or at least a great strike? I have no problems catching/feeling bass at that time. Also, if I fish smaller creeks, streams, and ponds I can usually clean up pretty well. The problem is if I go fishing on a lake during the daytime, say just after sunrise throughout the day, I don't catch hardly any fish. I can go out all day and might get a couple of strikes at best. The lake I fish is 660 acres, depth is usually 15 feet or less (to be honest I prefer fishing right up on shore). I usually throw soft plastics, in fact that is the only thing I have any confidence in. I have caught random bass on a crankbait, spinners, and an occasional buzz bait. But, anytime I throw those lures I feel I should be using the worm. I think my problem is more of an issue with locating bass during the day, than it is with presentation. What do you guys think? I absolutely love it and would never dream of stopping. But, when I read posts of guys having great or even consistent numbers compared to all my skunkings it is frustrating. SnowBass

It sounds like that is what the majority of posters here do! ;D But, since the OP asked our opinion of him, now is our chance to vent! I'm sure he has accomplished a lot, all on his own, and that in and of itself is something commendable. But, creating something out of nothing is not a reason for me to watch it, or to like your 'persona'! I can't stand how he acts, as others have said, dragging bass through the grass, throwing stuff, acting all over the top. I'll give him a golf clap for his accomplishments, but if it came down to it, I'd rather stick a hot soldering iron in my mouth than watch his show...