LUNKER

Im a big believer that scent has a lot to do with turning fish off more than on. Gas, oil or anything that is foreign to water is a bad idea. Certainly, you can wash your hands after gassing up but I can still smell it. So I think you really need to consider gloves prior to fueling. My 2 cents.

I love to skip. Sometimes even in open water because I feel it does not spook the fish as much. Just a different presentation. I like the idea of the shorter rod technique. Very interesting. Can I get you guys to elaborate on the lines used? Many lakes around me are clear, so I use 8-12lb test for skipping. I know others who use braids. On senkos im a real fan of the Octopus Circle hook.

Salem Bassmasters are looking for non boaters for the 2005 season. Visit my website below and contact me or check out our website and see if it interests you. http://www.salembassmasters.com

Got a link to the Football head jig? Thanks in advance.

Good point about leaving them alone. Just one problem with that. Tournaments are normally scheduled around spawning times. Its a choice you have to make for yourself. I am sure this is a hot topic. Its the DNR's job to manage and mine to catch the fish. I personally believe that the advent of Catch and Release will keep a healthy habitat and survival rate. Have a great day.

WOW!!!

In Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin I was nailing the smallies with a Rapala natural shad jerkbait. They were on the beds and I would cast past the beds. And used a jerk jerk pause jerk long pause retrieve. Normally getting the kill on that long pause. The next tournament day, they wouldnt hardly look at the jerkbait and had to resort to a tube and a plastic crawfish. A lot of guys were doing well on the white tube. They could see it was on the nest and just pump it up and down until the fish got mad. I made 50 casts to a bed that had a male guarding and a female on it. After the 50 tries it finally paid off. I got the male. Vaulted me into third for the tournament. Just some of my tactics. I like the drop shot idea. I think I will paint some of my drop shot weights white. Then I can see the location better. As long as the weights on the bed, the lure will be above it. Good Luck, I look forward to hear more ideas here.

Brown Senko without a doubt. Clear and stained water. Black buzzbait, Chart and white spinnerbait. Black and silver rattletrap. With these combinations, you can really fish throughout the united states. 95% of baits are for the fisherman and yes I like others based on where im fishing. Although if you take everything else away from above, I could still seriously compete.

Depends on the state. In Wisconsin, I cannot fish them until the first week in May. In Michigan, its not til Jun 1st. Each state varies. Best to go to google.com and type in a search for DNR in the state you wish to visit and check out there rules. DNR Department of Natural Resources. Good Luck and I hope this helps.

I come from Lawton Michigan. While in the Navy I lived in Florida, Virginia, Maryland. I currently live in Winthrop Harbor Illinois. I fish mainly Wisconsin but would be interested in learning more in the Illinois area. If any of you Illinois fisherman want to share some secrets or local clubs with me, it would be greatly appreciated. I can return the favor. Let the ICE thaw!!!

Excellet question. I have had 4 MG's. I will never own another one unless Motorguide buys it for me. I got a minn kota, hit the lilly pads and tried to make it quit. It is truly weedless. Im not saying you can never get it stuck but it takes a severe combinations of weeds and lillys to make that happen. Even with the Machette prop attatched to the MG, I was unable to get this kind of performance. I do believe you have a speed advantage with the MG over Minn Kota but that simply can be resolved by buying a higher LB thrust. Spend the money, next to your outboard its the best thing you always use on the boat. If the outboard breaks, its your best friend. Good Luck.

About 1994 I was fishing a small pond in southern San Diego California. The illegals would move across the border from mexico in droves. I could see Ten pound bass regularly so I got myself a small boat to dump in and try and get after those lunkers. Then after a few trips a local Border patrol agent told me about a pond that was a little deeper in the thickets. I loaded my trusty little pond jumper up in my pickup. Somewhere along the way, I took the wrong trail. Found some heavy Sand and got stuck. Oh boy! A mile deep in the middle of nothing and no way to get out. I hiked it back to the road, found a phone and called my wife for help. She gathered a few friends up and we went back to the truck. Apparently just in time. I could see the CB antenna dangling. The hood was popped. The illegals had already started stripping my truck where it was stuck. When I went to close the hood, the grill fell onto the sand. lol A few pushes from my friends got it out of the sand with some good old fashion manpower. I gave up on trying the pond and came back toward the road. Engine still attatched. They had created a hill to keep people out of the area which I had entered. So you couldnt see traffic coming over the hill. I pulled up on the mound and saw traffic so I braked. I got the truck hung up on the mount on its frame. No tires touching the ground. lol Saw some illegals running bye but did not dare ask them if they had my hood ornament. Nor would I ask them for help to push me off that mound. Everyone that helped earlier had already left. The border patrol final came by and laughed of course. Then gave me a friendly shove. It ended well but its funny how far us fisherman will go for that Lunker. I called it a day. Unfortunately, I never fished those ponds again. Surely there are some nice fish in that Otay Mesa area. Mark