lovecranking

Craw, when you wacky rig your senko, what hook are you using?

I was fishing at night on one of my favorite lakes in southern Wisconsin about 2 wks ago by myself. I figured I'd start with topwater since it was about 7:30 pm and I saw birds circling around. I threw out my Sammy 100 (ghost minnow) and watched this one bird circle down towards the water. I thought it would be neat to see it take a fish from the water when the bird took my lure & started flying away. I was thinking here goes $15. I gave the line a twitch & the bird dropped it. I was out with my buddy the other night, telling him the story when it happened again. It was about the same time of evening, same lure & actually the same spot where it happened the week before. I was glad my buddy was there the 2nd time because I don't think he would have beleived me. I'm interested to see if anyone else has ever had something like this happen to them?

I'm looking at which trolling motor I want for my new boat and was pretty much set on the Maxxum Pro. Then RollOnTwo told me to look into the Powerdrive. I really hadn't considered the powerdrive because a friend had it and said that he didn't get instant response when hitting the pedal. RollOnTwo said he pretty much uses the remote and has no problems with the response. I did look on the Minn Kota site and was a little confused about the auto pilot and copilot and what the differences are. I'm looking for any of you who have bought a Minn Kota in the past 12 months, which model you bought and the good & the bad of the unit you bought. Which Minn Kota model is the best. I will be putting the trolling motor on a 18' single console Lund, Alumacraft or Crestliner deep v boat.

RollOnTwo, you said you have the Powerdrive and love it. Do you have the Powerdrive with auto pilot? If you do, how does it perform? I looked at the Minn Kota web page and it's a little conusing as to what actaully comes with the Powerdrive. Thanks, Irishrover.

RollOnTwo, does your trolling motor have a thin cord running to the foot pedal? My buddy had a Minn Kota with the thin cord and said when you stepped on it, the response was slower than the trolling motors with the thick cord. As far as boats, I've been looking at single console Lund, Crestliner & Alumacraft. Thanks for the locator info. I'll look into them.

prlim2000 thanks for the info, it helps. I was wondering if anyone out there has bought the Minn Kota that does the tracking for you once you put in a certain depth you want to stay at. It sounds good but it is new to the market and was wondering if it had any bugs in it's system which I would be better off not buying. I'm fairly certain I'm going with a Maxxum Pro, at least 65lb thrust. Any thoughts on the trolling motor?

Waytoslow, I have been looking at Crestliner, Lund, Sylvan & Smokercraft. All have a four stroke 150hp and either a single console or a dual console with the rear seats changing into a fishing platform. I'm just trying to have a boat that will match both needs. As far as the fish locator, I really don't know what to look for other than a color gps.

I've been looking at new boats, looking to get a four stroke this time and need some help. My current boat is a 94 Sylvan. I need help on the fish locators. I know I want color & GPS. I'm going to have 1 at the console and 1 at the trolling motor. I would like to know if everyone has GPS at both locators? Also what else should I be looking for? I don't want the top of the line models. I own Lowrance now and have been very happy with them. Any other info on what you would be looking for in a new boat. I know I need at least a 150 hp for water sking. I can't decide on a single console or get one with a double console that has the rear seats turn into a fishing platform. When I'm not fishing, my kids (in their 20's) will want to water ski. What info can you give me?

I love the fight in the Smallies. No matter what size, it almost always feels like a whale.

I started fishing a lake last year that you didn't automatically hit the shallow looking for bass. I had to get used to fishing deep (20-30 fow) and looking for depth changes like Chris suggested.

I've learned alot about bass fishing...ideas, products & techniques to try. If I have a question(s), there are plenty of responses & suggestions. I'm glad I found it, it's such a great site!

I thought St. Croix had a fixed price & didn't allow anyone to undersell. If anyone who has already been to their Classic, let us know if St. Croix rods are being discounted. Our Classic isn't until mid March.

RoadWarrior & Rattlinrouge when you refer to unpegged or pegged weights, what exactly do you mean?

As I've posted on this site before, I really love cranks whether it's jerks, topwater, lipless, shallow or deep. Just love to throw them...total confidence. I'm always trying to improve with plastics to the point that I have confidence using them at any time. Now I've used lizards, tubes, senkos, toads, worms & smallie beaver type baits. The techniques I've used are texas, carolina, casting, drop-shotting & jigs. Now I'm thinking that I'm trying too much. I'd like advice from all of you as to which one or two different types of plastics to stick with. And then maybe which type of presentation(s) to stay with. Am I better going in the direction I've been going in or do you think I should concentrate on just a few. I think I need to find the one or two ways to really get the feel for fishing soft baits. What's your advice?

Avid, when you do that technique, are you cranking it down to a certain depth or are you throwing it out and letting it sit on top of the water when you start?

Classic patterns Roland Martin/Nick_Barr - what network shows angler on tour?

I would like info on lake turnover. It's a natural lake and no deeper than about 50 feet. Now once the lake turns, how long does it take the bass to being active again? Once the lake turns, will bass still come back in shallow to feed or will they stay out deep until winter?

I want to thank all of you for the suggestions. I was out today on my favorite lake and after reading the suggestions, I decided to go deep for the bass. With a Lucky Craft Flat CB D20 (ghost) I found them in 25 fow. I ended up with 2-3lbs. and 1-4lbs. Great way to end this fishing season. Thanks again for all of the help.

If you never fish for bass with live bait, is crankbaiting the way to go at this time of year? Do you put the plastics (lizards, worms, horny toads) away because using them is slow and a waste of time?

Another question. Let's say you never use live bait fishing for bass in the fall. Is crankbaiting your best option? Do you think plastics is a waste of time?

Chris..if the lake you are fishing has no cover, heavy weeds and the lake turned over, does this mean I have to fish deep? I was catching big largemouth in 10-20 fow up to about 2 wks ago. Now, I can't find them. If a lake turns, am I going to fish deeper the rest of the fall?

Avid...let's say the lake did turn over. How long does it usually take the fish to adjust? Also, does this mean for the rest of the fall that you have to fish deep? Thanks for the info.

I need some advice. I've been fishing a natural lake (that has no cover but very weedy) the past 3 wks and have been having success catching big largemouth bass (3-6 lbs) using Lucky Craft Rick Clunn 3.5 crankbaits throwing towards shore usually finding them in 10-20 fow. Now the last 3 trips the water temp has been naturally dropping a few degrees every few days (now around 59/60). I have had no luck with even getting any fish or even hits. I've tried stick, topwater, senkos, lizards horny toads & worms either Texas or drop shot style towards shore and fishing straight down (up to 35 fow). Does anyone have any advice as to what to try? My strength is in crankbaits. Any advice would be appreciated. I think if I go out 1 more time with the same results, I will probably close it down until spring. Thanks guys...Irishrover.

The bass have been very active shallow, thanks for the advice.

If you're targeting big bass, try the Lucky Craft Rick Clunn 3.5 crankbait. I've had great sucess w/chart & blk. The only place I've found this lure is BassPro. The cost is about $15 but in the past two wks. I've caught a couple of 4lber's and a 3 lber. If you go to the Lucky Craft web site and read the article written by Clunn, He (Clunn) helped develop this lure for big bass in spring & fall. It only dives to 4'.Good luck, Irishrover.