FlyRod

Not really much help, I realize, but from all accounts you get one heck of a well designed, well equipped, and beautifully made boat when you purchase a Legend. Some might point out the high resale value of a carefully maintained Ranger but, if you plan to keep your new rig for several years, take good care of the Legend, and have paid less for it to begin with, the growing reputation of the brand will possibly narrow any gap in resale value. IF the boat fits you; IF the price v. features is in balance; IF a fair test ride is a positive one; IF the Legend somehow "calls" to you, then your choice is clear. (BTW, be sure to stop the boat during the test drive and make or simulate a few casts, both seated and standing, from both bow and stern. If the boat feels safely stable under you, then you have a winner.) The relative newness of the brand, so well as the absolutely gorgeous look of a Legend, will assure you of an admiring public at every fuel stop and at the ramp. Further, rumor has it that the Legend is a faster boat than a comparable Ranger, for any given horsepower, if that matters. Just my .03 (inflation, y'know?) worth. F.Rod

Season? Season?!?! What is this "Season" of which you speak? We know of Dove, Quail, Deer, seasons but on our planet we know of no fish season. We must be *blessed here on Planet Texas (Fourth Rock from the Sun). Catch a big 'un! Be safe! F.Rod *Well, to be fair, there IS the occasional hurricane.

According to my research, that boat was made by a company called: "Wobbly Old Leaky Vessels, (Inc.)". (WOLV) Seriously, be safe and have fun with it. May you catch many bass in it and share it with good friends. Better yet, teach a potful of kids to fish in it (uh, one at a time.) F.Rod ;D

More years ago than I like to admit (but I will later), I was fishing a lake in Mexico when I saw a raggedy little guy with braided dacron line wrapped on a beer can, tossing an ancient and rusty-hooked plug, an old River Runt. He had three bass, from about 13 to 16 inches, already on his stringer. My partner, who spoke some Spanish, jokingly asked the lad what that "reel" was called, to which Lil' Xavier (Hah-vee-air) smilingly replied..."Miguel 300". We beached the boat, and shared our lunch with him. I wonder to this day what he REALLY thought of deviled ham, swiss, and onion s'wiches, cheese puffs, celery, and Big Red (Tom's drink. I can't stand the stuff!) but I'm fairly certain the Snickers bar passed muster. My buddy somehow gleaned that there were big bass to be had by a sizeable flooded tree some distance from shore, but, alas, the kid said, he couldn't toss his R-Runt that far. We put him in the boat, handed him a rod and headed for the tree. We watched as he got the hang of using a spinning rig with a 1/4 oz. spinnerbait tied on. He then proceeded to boat two bass in maybe seven casts, both decent sized. When we left, the kid was the proud owner of a Fenwick spinning rod w/(real) Mitchell 400 (the blue high-speed version of the 300), an extra spool, handle, and bail springs; A Cardinal 4 on another F'wick (mine), with an extra spool, 300 yds of 10 lb. test, a storage box full of plugs and spinner baits, and about 25 bux in US and Mexican currency. It was worth it! That night, as we swilled wonderful Margaritas at the waterfront cantina, Tom and I could think of nothing but the look on that kid's mug when we pulled away in the boat and he realized the gifts and $ really were his to keep. Tom:"Well, buddy, that was a kinda pricey outing, but well worth it." F.Rod: "Yeah, we needed to start using more baitcasters anyway. You know, like walking the high wire without a net!" Let's see... that kid was, if memory serves, 12 years old and that was an even 30 years ago. I wonder if he ever thinks of the two crazy gringos in the red Rebel bassboat he met that day at Azucar (Sugar) Lake. F.Rod PS: Tom's gone on to fish with St. Peter but I still have custody of the gifts the kid gave us "for luck" ; One River Runt, rusty hooks and all, that was at one time, (I think) a sort of silvery color, and the little carved wood cross he was wearing on a strip of leather 'round his scruffy neck. I hope he didn't become a Big Red junky. f.r.

Actually, I looked at the BassLureReviews site, and that raised a question. Does "Dave" EVER meet a product he DOESN'T like? I note, too, that some of the products reviewed are manufactured by site sponsors and that few, if any, products received less than a 5 Star (out of a possible 5) rating. Just wondering how impartiality can exist in such an environment. "Ag 'em, Giggies!" F.Rod San Antonio, Texiz

Wrong! 2.6, rounded. Einstein Rod

"The Compleat Angler" by Isaac Walton. Various bassin' mags. Car and Driver Texas Monthly Tackle 'logs National Porn...uhhh...GEOgraphic Smithsonian Military and Naval History. Anything with a centerfold. F.Rod

I sit up straight! Actually, Dear Old Canyon Lake, my usual haunt, has been less than generous since '05 began. I've had several one-three fish days and the odd 20+ day or three, with only one quality fish worthy of mention. I suppose that constitutes a "slump". Fair be it to say, however, that Canyon is not a big fish lake, notwithstanding the 6+ one of my partners managed to catch in late April (released after interrogation.) This is in marked contrast to previous years wherein 60-100 fish (per two bassers) days were common. We will attack again, renewed in spirit and determination, as Fall peeks in. I'd say that, (other than by good posture ;D,) simply assessing and refining one's lure selection and presentation will do much to improve things, but this must be coupled with patience, a positive belief in success, and thorough fishing of a specific area before moving on. Begin the process by trying to identify whatever may have been "different" from more successful times. In other words..."Is the lake, weather, etc, to blame or is it ME?" F.Rod

This topic has been moved to [link=http://bassresource.com/cgi-bin/bass_fish/YaBB.pl?board=Outing_ID;action=display;num=1130144163;start=0]My Fishing Tournament or Outing[/link] by Chris.

Uhhhh....the last thing modern guides need is a metal swivel crashing through them on cast or retrieve, especially sawing back and forth as a fish strips drag and line is recovered...DON'T do it, no matter how small the swivel is! Next, the braid with leader is a concept I long ago embraced, and still do. For example, I fish light plastics (w/weights in the 1/32-1/8 range,) on 15 or 20 test P-line Spectrex braid, with a 12-15 test pure fluorocarbon leader. When first tied on, the leaders are about 6 ft. in length. so I can retie/change lures several times before I need to go through the nightmare of tying a new leader on with the $&^@! J-Knot (see DuPont Stren website). For this light stuff, I usually use a Chronarch 50MG or a "Rado 100B with a 50MG wiffle spool (drops right in, no hassle.) mated to a St.Croix Avid AC69MLXF. Note: The zilch stretch of the braid compensates for the reduced hooksetting power of the extra fast tip AND afford enhanced sensitivity. So, if you own only a few reels, I suggest you not waste money and time by changing lines to accomodate changes in technique or conditions. Idea: If, as I have done with my 50MGs, 100Bs, 200BSFs, etc, you can acquire extra spools you will have an advantage that is well worth the expense. In my case, since fluoro co-polys and braid won't fluoresce under UV, I switch to spools loaded with P-Line CX, which will fluoresce, when fishing plastics at night. If I need a "mono" during daylight, I switch to P-Line FloroClear. In the case of 50MG/100B reels, you can buy 5 wiffles for the price of one 50MG or two 100Bs. Good luck! FlyRod.

Whatever you do, DON'T eat the fish! ;D F.Rod

Might try: Logging on to Minnie's website and checking there OR contacting their Customer Svc and asking for a quick briefing OR manual. This oughta be easy to resolve. F.Rod

My wonderful daughter-in-law is from Barrington. From we what she tells me about RI, I get the impression that there's not much room in RI for ponds over 1/3 acre. That may explain it! F.Rod Comedian at Large Available for smokers, wedding receptions, bar mitzahs, funerals, hangings, and roasts.

Wow! I had no idea. It's nice to know that such a small and faraway island has bass! Say "Hi" to Zorba for me! F.Rod

San Antonio current temp: 94F. Humidity: 96% and you're asking about WINTER FISHING? Are you crazy? A liberal? Smoking something? A WrongWhorn fan? Other? None of the above? ALL of the above? Jes' funnin'....sorta. F.Rod Pro Deo et Patria et Sooner Football! PS: To my esteemed friends here on the Forums...I have a few bags of new and unused commas, periods, capital letters, colons (semi or otherwise,), etc, which I will give away to all who want them. All are guaranteed against defects and the bags are autographed by Gary Yamamoto, Monica Lewinsky, Jerry Springer, the cast and crew of "The Simpsons", SpongeBob, and/or Jeff Foxworthy. I'm sad to say there are none of the exclamation marks left (Iaconelli bought all of them.) ;D

S'about time to delete this entire thread. It's providing little or nothing by way of intellectual stimulation or useful information. Besides, my monitor is running low on ink! ;D F.Rod

Ya' gotta expect casualties in any big operation. However, the hooks that were recommended will help. You didn't mention what style hook you use, but if it's a straight shank, there's the first problem. The glue idea is good too, and many use it. Other than that, you might try the worms/flukes made of CyberFlex, like the Strike King 3X brand. Once you learn to rig them, they'll last a loooooonnnnnnggggg time. BTW, a tiny drop of Pros Soft-Bait Glue, rather than regular "super" glue, will serve better in repairing a worm. Plus, that stuff will not dry out on you after opening. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Good Luck, F.Rod

LBH, There are several ways to accomplish this. If it's a do-it-yourself project (or, better yet, with the help of some buds,) you might approach your neighbors and ask that any of them that use REAL Christmas trees save them for you post-holiday. If you wait until all the needles have dropped off the carcasses, so much the better. You can use cinder blocks to weight one, or a bundle of, say, 3-4 trees. If it's safe, then the ice idea is a good one. (However, for some reason, we Texas types don't often encounter frozen lakes.) If the ice is too thin, wait until thaw has occured, then try to enlist the aid of a pontoon boat owner. Load a safe number of blocks, to be attached just before "launching" the tree/trees, onto the boat, along with the trees (or, you can slowly tow some trees behind the boat.) Simply haul a tree alongside, tie the block thereto, sink tree, log GPS data. The PVC idea is a good one, affording more permanence. Our Parks and Wildlife Div. recently sank some in Canyon Lake. they made up several metal tubs of concrete and inserted a few lengths of PVC in each, then dropped them at preselected locations after the concrete hardened. This provides permanence that smaller trees don't. Snags are less likely, and a tree is more likely to be dislocated than a PVC contraption. If you are feeling creative, you might try constructing PVC "Trees" that actually have a "branch" or two. Also, if you have a friend who is a qualified SCUBA diver, he can assure proper placement and orientation of the attractor. Good luck! F.Rod

Yep, being ready to open fire on 'em so soon as the trollmotor hits the water is essential. Plus, there's nothing good about trying to fumble about for weights, worms, hooks, or other lures in the dark or near-dark. Don't even mention tying a Palomar with chilled fingers in poor light. I carry 6-10 rods, depending on location, season, and anticipated tactics. Not to be boringly detailed, but here's a sample menu from a typical trip, the first few in order of use, pre-rigged! Curado 100Bw/wiffle conversion/6' Lowrider M w/ Tiny Torpedo OR Pop-R. (Switch to 1/8 spinnerbait if no action OR up to 1/4 oz small crankbait.) 8 lb. P-Line ES Amb. PGS3600/6'3" Cabela TWS w/ Super Spook or larger Pop-R. (Switch to medium crank OR ?) 12 lb. P-Line ES Curado 200BSF/Castaway 6'10" with Buzzbait OR Frog (Switch to 3/8 oz or larger spinnerbait OR 5" Senko/Tiki.) 15 lb. P-Line FloroClear OR 12 lb.ES Curado 200BSF/Team AllStar 6'6" M w/1/8 oz soft plastic (Worm, 'dad, or weightless fluke.) 10-12 lb P-line FloroClear OR 20 lb P-line braid w/15 lb. Fluoro leader. Curado 200BSF/Same (different soft plastic from above. Possilbly 3/16 oz. Possibly larger crankbait.) Same lines. Chronarch 50MG/Avid 6'6" MH w/3/16-1/4 oz. soft plastic OR jig. 12-15 lb FloroClear OR 20-30 P-line braid w/ 15-20 lb. Fluoro leader. Chronarch 50MG/Avid 6'9' MLXF w/weightless 4" Tiki OR 1/32-1/16 4" worm, 5" finesse, or small craw. 10 lb FloroClear OR 15 lb braid w/ 12 lb FloroClear leader. Another, same as above. May use "Stalker" jig with one of these combos if spinning rig is in use w/dropshot OR 1/8 crankbait. CastaicSF/AllStar T38x "Reef Walker" for flip and pitch (Weird, but works well.) 30 braid w/20 Fluoro leader. Rod is rated 1/8-1&1/4! Go figure. Quantum Ti 2000/Allstar 6'6" L (Spinning) with 10 lb P-line CX OR 10 lb. Floroclear OR 15 lb braid w/12 lb Fluoro leader. (Dropshot OR "Stalker" jig OR weightless-1/32 oz 4" Tiki.) Some of these are deleted OR replaced by different rigs depending earlier-referenced factors. I rarely use a Carolina rig or crankbait, but those creep in now and then. Night fishing: Usually no more than 6-7 rods, and mostly P-line CX or Hi-Vis braid 'cause the other stuff won't fluoresce under the Nucli-Eye UV. "Danged boat looks like a porcupine!" (Quoting a bank fisherman as we drifted by him.) Well, you asked! F.Rod

'Borg, Remember that a fly rod is like a Bazooka or 106mm Recoiless Rifle...as deadly behind as in front! ;D Always look behind, in case a curious spouse or kid is observing from an unsafe location. I once nose-hooked a cousin! My largest Largemouth, 8 lbs, 4 oz, came on a fly rod. Whatta hoot! F.Rod

Allllllllllriiiiiight! Congrats! Better start saving for college and that first rod and reel. (With the trend in tackle prices, college may be cheaper!) I hope mother and child are doing well. F.Rod

And...Yamaha's musical instrument line is well-known and highly respected as well. Beside guitars, pianos, and organs, their brass and woodwind line ranges from excellent student grade horns to top-notch professional-level goodies (and they aren't cheap-$$$$$). I recently sold a Yamaha YTR6335 Heavy Wall, silver plated trumpet that played as well as any of the many other pro grade horns I still own, to include Bach and Kanstul. My late lady love, who passed away at age 34, played their top-of-the-line clarinet and it was the equal to the famed French-made Buffet R14 clarinet. Now, if they only made fishing reels! Still, nobody, no matter how hard they've tried, has ever been able to duplicate the "voice" of the famed Stradivarius violins...never will. (And they ain't makin' those no mo'!) FlyRod

SEE? Another satisfied Gnorbesian! F.Rod

Here's a great depthfinder that is inexpensive, dependable, and never needs electronics repair. Ask someone what the maximum depth of your favorite lake is. Buy a length of thin nylon cord a few feet greater than maximum lake depth. Tie overhand knots, exactly one foot apart, in said cord. Attach 3 oz bell sinker to one end of cord. Practice counting knots (feet) by feel, as the weight seeks bottom. Deluxe Model: Dye every fifth knot a different color. Memorize..."Green is 15 feet..." etc. Now...since you don't want your buds to find your honey holes, don't use one-foot increments. Instead, learn to think in a different scale, let's say...uhhhh..."Gnorbs". Select a measurement per Gnorb, such as 14.43 inches. Tie your knots, one per Gnorb, every 14.43 inches. Remember, only YOU will know the length of a Gnorb! As you learn Gnorbese, you can take your notes referring to a certain depth and, if another guy sneaks a peek, he'll go bananas trying to convert Gnorbs to feet. OK, what if some guy insists on asking where you caught that lunker? You simply whisper "Look for a ledge that drops from 12 to 20 Gnorbs." Then say to the amazed angler, "You know, that spot exactly 3.9 FLEENS from the dam." Tech note: I calculate a Fleen as exactly equal to 4,720 Gnorbs. Well, gotta go. One of my fishing rivals left his notebook at the bar last night and I'm gonna find out just where he's been nailin' dem basses, IF I can figure out his codes. (Anyone here know how many Gnorbs to a Zerfpop?) F.Rod Ward 8, Room 14.43

Since you mentioned that the boat would mostly lurk on "big water" (Mead, etc) I'd recommend you try to buy so "large" as budget will allow. In particular, the deep hull versions of the big Tritons might be good choices, since they are designed for safer trips in wind and wave. Safety is Job One! FlyRod Pro Deo et Patria et Sooner Football!