shortbasser

The Shad is a fish catcher. Put a 5 lb. "kicker" in the livewell this past Sun. which gave me a 10 lb. sack that was good for my first win of the year. Still experimenting with the Space Monkey. Awesome baits. Shortbasser

They are different. You want a cranking/starting battery with the highest reserve capacity. I put an Interstate 24M-XHD with 135 RC in my Skeeter in '05 and it is still running strong. For sure your livewell and most electronics run off the cranking battery. If you can find an area distributor you might get a better deal price wise on Interstates. Probably be more than $75 if not. 12 month no cost replacement and pro-rated after that up to 30 months. I have had good luck with them for a good many years. Shortbasser

X2 Comes with a case and reads from either side. $49.99 from *** and Amazon. Free shipping at Amazon and for another penney you get the same deal at ***. Shortbasser

Not many folks that I know fish the Intercoastal. Most of us fish all the creeks and sloughs off of it. Pocaty is full of stumps/structure so you have to be careful running "on step" in there. The Blackwater has a good bit of No Wake areas in it that you have to run to get to the back of it to find good water. You will find that a lot of us launch at West Neck Creek Marina and fish the creek or head south to the creeks off the River. Its brackish water for the most part. Boat traffic on the weekend is pretty heavy on West Neck Creek and the Intercoastal. Lots of skiers and pleasure boats. In the spring/early summer and then again in the fall you will have lots of ocean type yachts running the river. Makes life darned interesting because those fools don't slow down. I have been fishing that area since '76. If you get out that way I'm usually some where up above the bridge on West Neck Creek. Look for a burgundy (red) Skeeter and it will probably be me. Shortbasser

Just recently bought the tool and a supply of O-rings from BPS. Early indications are it was worth it. Those rings don't seem to slide too easy on the Senko type baits. It's a tight fit and I came close to tearing a couple. Shortbasser

2005 Skeeter TZX200 w/200 HP Yamaha VMAX HPDI 14 ft. Blue Fin alum. V bottom w/15 hp Evinrude

I live in Virginia Beach and YES, there is plenty of fresh water fishing in this area. All you hear about is the Salt water fishing but we "fresh" guys are alive and well. Most of the water supply lakes have HP limits so if you have a full size bass rig you can't put in there. There is good fishing off the Intercoastal waterway and that is where I spend my time. I am not too familiar with the peninsula side of the area but if Micro happens to see this thread I am sure he will fill you in on all the areas over there. Once you get down here get a copy of the 2009 pamphlet, Freshwater fishing in Virgina. It is full of good information. You can also find it on the DGIF website as others have suggested. Shoot me a PM once you know when your going to get here and I'll be glad to help you get acquainted with the area on the south side of that "salty" water. Shortbasser

The Palomar is the only knot I use. I find that it is easier for me to run the tag end through the eye of a hook and then back through. Don't have to pinch the line that way. Make sure you moisten the line before you pull it up tight and keep the loops as even as possible. Pull the tag end rather than the main line if you get a mini loop. Shortbasser

Go here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1236724582

Done. Quick and easy.

Yep, Check out the new SmartCull System made by Ardent. You can find it at Bass Pro Shops or get it direct from Ardent. It is a bit pricey but is the best I have found. No more plastic boards and marking pens to lose to the wind. The balls are darned near as big as a tennis ball and easy to see and record lbs. and oz. Shortbasser

Well, I guess you can't get the additional $10 off on the one you just bought BUT, from what I just saw there are a batch of spinning and baitcasting rods that they have dropped to $69.99 and $79.99. Considering how I paid full price for my first 2 I might be able to find just enough room for one more : Reckon you will have to compromise and go with a "general purpose" model. That could save ya $20. They had marked them down to $89.99 when I bought my last one and I didn't notice that the 6'3" spinning rod was the same price. Either way that's a great price for the XML rods. Shortbasser

I have 3 XML rods all baitcasters. Two 6'6" MH and my latest addition is a 7'6" flippin stick that I haven't gotten wet as yet. Put the balance kit on all three and really like them. I caught the last one on sale and now I see where they knocked another $10 off the sale price. What is that tugging on my Checkbook ? Surely not that dreaded "monkey" again ! Shortbasser

My buddy and I started fishing the Buzzjet Jr. late last summer. It is a fish catcher for sure. A lot of action on top. The Olive shad and Mossback shiner colors produce for me. Also have Blue citrus bone and Bluegill. You might want to go one size bigger on the rear hook. It seems to help and it doesn't change the action. My PB so far is a 6 lb. last Sept. No action yet this spring. Shortbasser

All I know is that when someone suggested in a thread on here that the new formula smelled like garlic that Bobby at Megastrike said it had no garlic in it. It does have a different smell than the original. He isn't about to give away all the ingredients in it. Website says amino acids and proteins and some "secret" ingredients. It works for me. Shortbasser

I got the Berkeley digital lip grip scale a couple years ago as a gift. Not too impressed with it. The scale is erratic and I have had a few ornery toothy critters come loose of the grip. Also had the pin that holds the release mechanism come loose and had to beat it back in place. I don't have any experience with any other lip grip but suspect you get what you pay for. The Boga grips are up there $$ wise. I recently upgraded my scale to a Berkeley Tec digital scale and I am quite happy with it. No problems with fish flopping off and it reads from either side. Good product. Shortbasser

There has been several threads on here recently about that product. Bobby even ran a special discount for us folks. I got mine but really haven't had a chance to "test" it as yet. Pretty much a toss up on pro's and con's. It does have a garlic smell to it but that is from the amino acid formula. NO garlic in it. I'm sure you will find a thread with a search. Shortbasser

Simple. Get a second pair when you get your glasses. Polarized lenses and tinted to your specs. Oh yeah, they are going to be expensive or can be that way. I have been wearing polarized tri-focals for years. Only 1 set of eyes per customer and I like being able to see. Shortbasser

PM Sent Shortbasser

Mend-it works great like he said. It WILL NOT stick to your fingers like super glue. I use it on all the high dollar plastics. Dries quick too. Not impressed with the Skipjack hooks. Plastics still slid down the hook. Parasite clips solve that little problem. Shortbasser

PM sent. Shortbasser

My buddy was out today here in Virginia Beach and caught 1 white perch. Several swirls at cranks but no hook-ups. Don't know what the temp. might have been. His gauge is shot. About a month ago when we had the warm spell for a few days we found 60+ degree water. Then the North East winds and rotten rain showed up and blew all the water out of our creek (West Neck) and god knows if there will be any fish this weekend for our first tourney. Next week looks good for warmer water with upper 60's forecast during the day and 50's at night. It's pretty green and trees are starting to bloom. Pretty typical for spring around here. Northeasters make life very interesting if your a fisherman. Shortbasser

I would say probably not unless they had a marine dept. If you have a marine store like West marine or Boaters World you can find it there. Probably find one at a boat dealer too. Shortbasser

At the top of this subject, (fishing rods,reels, line,leaders and knots) there is a section titled "Important topics". Look for the thread titled "baitcasting casting problems". Scroll down the first page and you will find a thread by Reel Mech titled: Basic Baitcast reel setup 101. It is a link to his instructions for setting up a baitcaster. It will help you get all the bugs out of your reel and get you to casting like the rest of us. No more backlashes, just "professional over-runs" . And just in case you miss it.....one of the most important words in that whole set of instructions just happens to be....Practice, practice, practice. Another key helper that I use is a product called KVD Line and lure conditioner. There is several threads on here about that stuff. Use the search function and you will be sure to find it. Shortbasser

I have used plenty of different brands of Fluorocarbon including P-line. Started using Spiderwire Ultracast 100% fluorocarbon last year and it is the best of them all that I have used. Gamma Fluoro wasn't too bad. Spiderwire is smaller in diameter and less memory than any I have used. I use a Palomar knot all the time and have no issues with line breakage or knot slippage. Shortbasser