WV Bass

Thanks for the info guys. I'll give it a shot the next pretty day we have. Doesn't sound as bad as I thought it would be.

The directional arrow on top of my 55lb thrust bow mounted minn kota tollowing motor quit working. Instead of pointing to the direction you are traveling or turning it simply points in the same direction all the time and doesn't move. Otherwise the trolling motor works great. I don't know where to start to fix this problem. No warranty. Don't want to tear into the top of the trolling motor until I have some idea what I'm doing because of the cost to fix any screw up I might make. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone have any tips, ideas, or advice about how to fix it? Thanks in advance.

1. KVD 2. Horton 3. Duckett 4. Clunn 5. Hite 6. Reese 7. A. Jones 8. Jeremy Starks 9. Evers That's one of the nice things about Bass Pros. Unlike a lot of other sports, Bass Pros are good role models. No criminals or "want to be" criminals. No drug users, wife/girlfriend beaters, or murderers.

A few bits of advice from a Prosecuting Attorney: 1. File a police report. Your insurance company will require you to do this and if you don't have insurance it's still a good idea. It may keep you from being a victim a second, third, and fourth time. Criminals like to target people they think are easy or they can get away with robbing. 2. If your jurisdiction has a Crime Victim's Advocate get in touch with this person ASAP. The Victim's Advocate will keep you informed if the police catch the person(s); ensure you are consulted prior to any plea deals; let you know about important court dates; and may help find a way to reimburse you for your loss. 3. If your state has a Victim's Compensation Fund (like West Virginia) you can apply to the Victim's Compensation Fund and request that the Fund reimburse you for your loss. This doesn't cost you anything except a little time to fill out the paperwork. If you have insurance then the Fund may reimburse you the cost of your deductable and pay for any loss or damage not covered by your insurance policy. Again this is a public service and free. In West Virginia you simply have to be a victim of a crime, file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency, and pledge to cooperate in the prosecution of the criminals if they are caught. 4. Most crimes are committed by someone you know or someone who knows you, such as a neighbor down the street that you may have never met but has kept an eye on you long enough to learn your daily routine. 5. Check local pawn shops, garage sales, and classified ads. You may find your fishing equipment. Based on my personal experience, these types of crimes are difficult for police officers to solve unless either someone saw the thief in the act or you stolen property turns up someplace. Even if your property turns up you will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the particular tackle box or fishing pole is yours. I hope you saved any identifying information such as serial numbers or your name was engraved on your equipment. In any case I wish you luck.

I'm a lawyer. Hours are long and the job is stressful (everything a lawyer does has a deadline). Most of the time I enjoy it. If it wasn't for jerk judges and clients with unrealistic expectations I would enjoy it all of the time. Right now the practice of law is one of the most competitive businesses anywhere and it is only going to get more competitive. It's a difficult way to make a living but it does pay the bills and when you are able to help someone it makes you feel good about what you do.

I've tried several fluke style baits and IMO Zoom is the best. I will fish the original slug-go it's ok and as some have said it has a smaller profile so when the fluke bite is winding down you may be able to sneak an extra fish or two. Now I'm getting into pouring my own plastics. The first plastics I poured were flukes. I hope my own creation works as well as the Zoom flukes.

Thanks for the info. Regarding the epoxy thinned with alcohol: what type of epoxy do you use and how thin do you make it by adding the alcohol? I assume you are talking about isopropyl alcohol and not denatured alcohol? And finally, do you brush the epoxy on the mold or do you wash the mold with it like the Elmers glue and water?

What are the pros and cons of treating homemade plaster paris molds with a product like Mod Podge opposed to simply treating your molds with high gloss engine enamel paint? My lure making book says to treat the molds with high gloss engine enamel paint to get a high gloss finish on the plastic lures but I've read here and other places to treat the mold with Mod Podge.

Food, beer and a case of bug dope? The food doesn't worry me. My concerns are: 1) What kind of beer; and 2) What brand of bug dope and how much. Canada does have a bug problem. At times during my last trip I thought I was going to be carried off there were so many bugs.

Hunting, getting ready for spring bass fishing (cleaning out the tackle boxes, re-spooling my reels, etc.), trout fishing, musky fishing, read fishing books, watch fishing shows, and this year I'm trying my hand at making my own lures. I'm starting with soft plastics and, if successful, plan to move to wire baits and lead molding, then to crankbaits. This may be a multi-winter project. This year we're also planning a trip to northern Canada in early June to do a little pike and walleye fishing as soon as the ice is out. So I'm doing some trip planning and getting together the life's necessities to survive a week in the boondocks of northern Canada.

Here in central West Virginia (nearly the same weather patterns as in Maryland) my partner and I usually start bass fishing again in late March. It seems like the larger tournaments start-up again about that time. Although last year the first major tournament of the season featured snow changing to freezing rain which changed to rain. After the rain quit the sun came out and shortly thereafter the weather cycle repeated itself. That cycle repeated itself all day. Made for a tough, wet, and cold day of fishing. Seemed like the fish preferred to bite during the snow storms. At times it was snowing so hard that we experienced white-out conditions.

I'm looking for casting tips for fluorocarbon line. I tried using fluorocarbon line during the spring of 2006 and quickly got discouraged. I like the alleged benefits of using fluorocarbon line but can't afford to waste spools of it and valuable fishing time while trying to learn to cast fluorocarbon. What's the secret? I tried it on both my bait casters and spinning reals. Same results with both: knots, professional overruns, tangles, etc. I was using newly purchased 10lb Vanish. One of my fishing partners tried a different brand in 12lb test this past spring and had the same results.

Since we're discussing draining water from batteries and we're all concerned about water quality and wildlife conservation What is the proper way to dispose of the acid contaminated water you drain from a battery? Pour it out onto the ground? Flush it into a septic system? Pour it into a street drain? Dump it into a nearby lake or stream? Seriously, what is the proper way to dispose of the water from a battery? I'm not trying to be a butt, I've never thought about it until now and am curious about the answer. I've never drained a battery to make room for an additive or for any other reason. Normally, if my batteries require any maintenance at all I'm adding distilled water or cleaning the terminals.

JB Weld is a good short term fix. The nice things about JB Weld is that it's easy to find, can be used on the same hole more than once, and is cheap. A good welder is your best fix.

I've used both moth balls and fabric softner sheets in the past. I haven't had any trouble. So I could say both have worked. Moth balls will also keep snakes away, for what that's worth.

Jon Boat = Heavier, safer in big waves, more room, more casting space. My jon boat doesn't track well when using the trolling motor. However, I like it because it has plenty of room and lots of casting space. If you have a friend you fish with they will appreciate the extra space and casting room. My biggest drawback to the jon boat is the weight. You may have to build or buy a wheeled cart if you can't drive into or near the water. Weight is not a big issue if you have a good fishing buddy. My wife likes to fish and goes with me a lot so I end up using a home made wheeled cart to get to the water so she doesn't have to lift and it's easier for me. Getting it in and out of the back of my pick-up is a pain. A trailer is nice. If you don't mind the weight you can customize a jon boat, something not so easily done with a small plastic boat. Customizing a jon boat is the way to go. Get some nice pedestal seats that swivel, you'll experience fewer leg cramps and be more comfortable while fishing and motoring. The wider the jon boat the better. Wider jon boats are more stable although they are heavier. If you fish rivers wider boats are harder to get through shoals during float trips than more narrow boats. If you plan any overnight trips with your jon boat you and your buddy can easily fit in the boat with all you fishing and camping gear. That's a big plus if you ever do a weekend float trip on a river. A good jon boat should last you a long time. Plastic boats are lighter and, as a result, will be faster with your trolling motor. A 2hp trolling motor is too small in my opinion. Something I would consider upgrading with your new boat. I have a 55lb thrust trolling motor on my 14 foot jon. I did have a 35lb thrust motor that did well until it met a huge rock in the middle of a river I was fishing. My 55lb thrust motor may be a little too big; it uses a lot of battery and adds extra weight. I fish almost exclusively rivers with my job boat so the larger trolling motor helps me get up stream faster and through swifter water. The larger and wider the boat the better the boat will handle big waves on a lake. But whether you get a plastic or a jon boat neither handles waves as good as a bass boat. We also gig out of my jon boat, something that's a lot harder to do from a small plastic. Overall, a jon boat is more versatile. Hope this helps.

Cut a wide rubber band into small pieces. This works good. You can also cut the rubber band into a longer piece and double it. The plastic hook gard that comes on some new spinner baits work good. They're hard to get on sometimes but work. Just cut to the size you want. Really any soft rubber will work. You can buy rubber or plastic tubing at most hardware stores that will work. Using pieces of old rubber bands it the cheapest and easy.

My brother has an 18' pleaure boat that I planned to use as a bass boat. It has a fishfinder but no trolling motor. My brother lives in Clifton, TX, just north of Waco but I can travel within a 1 day trip. 2 days if the fishing is really good. Thanks for all your help. If any of you guys ever have the opportunity to travel to WV let me know and I'll hook you up.

I'm planning a trip to the Waco, Texas area the last week of December, 2008. How's the bass fishing in Texas that time of year and where are the best places to bass fish? Thanks for your help.

Here in WV the West Virignia Division of Natural Resources sponsors a 2 day Hunting and Fishing Days event. They usually have a bass pro that puts on 2 or 3 seminars a day for about an hour each. The pro uUsually cover the same topics in each class. However, they do give the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Davy Hite was the last pro I saw. He did a good class and stayed as long as there were questions. He even made one on one time with people interested in meeting him afterward. He was a class act.

Silver Buddy. Take a few extra, like most spoon style baits they have a tendancy to hang-up.

I use snaps/swivels on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and the like. I tie directly to all hooks and some top water hard baits. With jigs I go back and forth. I'm thinking about trying speed snaps this coming year. A friend of mine started using them recently for Muskie fishing and says he'll never use regular snaps or swivels again.

2 suggestions for finding the HID: 1. Contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles or whoever in your state that is responsible for registering boats. They should have someone that can tell you or at least they do in my state. 2. Contact your local State Police. When they find boats that they suspect are stolen they check the hidden HID to verify ownership. They have someone that can tell you were to look. Hope that helps.

Thanks guys for all the ideas and info. Looks like I may have to stick with the ole hand held spotlight and figure something else out for fishing. How does everyone like the black lights? How do you see where to cast?

I may need to check into the legality of it running headlights. However, I suspect that they are legal since a lot of boats on the lakes I frequent use headlights or hand held spotlights. I just don't want to drill holes in my boat to install headlights. More imporatantly I want to be safe. And that means not blinding other boaters and avoiding floating logs and trash in the lake. Which is one of the reason I'm asking the question here. Alot of people on this forum seem to have a good answers to problems and have been there done that. I appreciate all the replies and advice. Headlights or lights other than Nav. lights may be one of those laws that isn't enforced on the lakes I fish. A lot of boaters use the black fishing lights and other lights at night. I'll check one way or the other.