Fishing Rhino

The most productive for me has been the space monkey and the craw. Third would probably be the toad. The lobster, to me anyway, is a larger version of the craw with triangular "fins" on the body segments. Haven't tried the new models yet, but did pick up a package of the Eeliminator, and a couple of the baby craws. The baby craws for finesse fishing. I've used the Yamamoto Flappin Hog (forgive me Big-O) with good success as a finesse bait. But when they want something smaller I've switched to the Yamamoto crawdad 3 3/4", and done well. I've tried the Rage craw, w/o much luck. I think the baby craw will be just the ticket for the times they want a smaller bait. I'll also pick up some smokin roosters. Just like the look of them. As was stated, it was the videos which convinced me to try the rage tail products. The fishing confirmed my judgement. My experience with the toad and shad is to be patient when a fish hits, or you'll pull the bait from their mouth. I stumbled onto this when I got a backlash while casting a shad. It took several seconds to sort it out. When I took up the slack, there was a bass on the line. Prior to that, they had been hitting it, but trying to set the hook when I felt or saw the hit resulted in bringing back just the bait. Subsequent casts, allowing the shad to settle and rest on the bottom, and on the retrieve, when I felt a hit, giving a bit of slack, and allowing the fish an opportunity to turn the bait produced more consistent hooksets. Don't need to do that with the monkey or the craw. I suspect it may be related to the size of the different baits. I also recognize that there may be times when a quick hookset may work better. It's a pattern you have to figure out on a given day.

While I had a ball with them when my age was still a single number, I ain't goin' back to a bamboo pole, kite string, a cork thermos bottle stopper for a bobber, a can of earthworms and a hook that rusts before it gets wet. It was great in its day, and a great way to introduce kids to fishing, and inexpensive to boot, but it wouldn't excite me today.

I have two canoes. One I would not dare to stand in, the other is very stable, even when fishing with a friend. I cannot speak with authority about kayaks, but I would imagine, having looked at various kayaks, that some are more stable than others. There are several kayak users on here. We have a two person kayak that my wife and I were going to use to paddle around some of the local small waters. I tried it once, and it wasn't for me. Just a case of different strokes for different folks. Find a place that rents kayaks and canoes, or a place that sells them. Tell them what you want to do with it, and let them suggest which kayak and which canoe is best suited for your purposes. They may have some you can try.

Here's my windbag email to Lowrance. I will be getting two sounders for a new boat which I will be getting in June. I was looking at your HDS units, and on the internet found the HDS sounders have a problem with water intrusion. I was looking at your products at the Bass Pro Shop in Foxborough, MA. Three of the units on display had doors that would not remain closed. Whoever designed that method for receiving the chips should be drawn and quartered. I've had 27 years as a commercial lobsterman, and instantly could see several problems with that design. I am familiar with electronics including radar, loran (now defunct), sounders, epirbs, etc. First, the feeble magnet which is supposed to hold the door snug to create a seal is inadequate. Secondly the receiver for the chips could not be in a worse place, on the face of the unit. Heavy spray or rain will run down the face, into the crevice, leaving only the seal to prevent intrusion. The slightest gap or nick, or failure to close the door snugly means that water will enter the unit through those slots. Gravity dicatates it. In addition. merely brushing against the side of the unit can leave the door ajar, rendering the seal useless, if it isn't noticed. How to do it properly. Simple. The receiving ports should be on the bottom of the unit. A rectangular rubber or neoprene plug can be pressed into the recess to create an absolutely watertight seal. Thirdly, a raised ridge around the receivers will act as a drip edge, much like that over windows and doors in a house, that will direct the water away from the chip ports. In addition, its location will prevent the problem the current design affords. Merely brushing against it will not affect the seal. The raised lip around the ports will also serve to protect the plugs from being accidentally dislodged. Now, to my second point. First and foremost consideration for buying any product is not price. It is service. I am a member of the Bass Resource forum, and have read some disturbing things about you losing a customer service rep who had done much to maintain customer loyalty for your product, namely, Linda Colt. As a potential customer, I can tell you that this is a prime consideration in selecting a product. I'm budgeting three thousand dollars for the two sounders, or sonars if you prefer. I felt it important for you to know what will be considered by me when selecting a product.

I'll avoid making a recommendation of a particular brand. Two things come to mind, brakes, and power. Brakes are priority number one. For me, trailer brakes would be a must have. If possible, find a truck that has a hitch and wiring, including some type of brake balancer. I believe most trucks of the vintage you are considering have most of the trailer wiring in place, but it's something you'll need to check. An underpowered truck will have lower mileage than one with an engine matched to the work you will be asking it to do. An important consideration is where you will be towing. Is it mostly hilly, or relatively flat with only slight elevation changes. If it's fairly level, power, other than for acceleration won't be as much of a factor. If however you plant to do any amount of driving in areas with significant elevation changes, you'll need more power. Match the truck to your needs.

False alarm. The seat is still open.

Education, concentration, dedication.

They are definitely better than the mess on the Lowrance, but they could be better. One problem with that seal, and the watertight integrity is gone. Why have it in a vulnerable spot. Much better on the bottom of the unit. You have redundancy in the protection against water intrusion. It wouldn't add any cost to the unit, and would be a definite improvement.

Have room for one more. Two of us will be heading down from Mass, and picking up a third in Maryland. Four door pickup, with a locking cap on the bed. Plenty of room for luggage and gear, and a cooler or two. Looks like it will be a bonzai run. Leave here around 9 - 10 in the morning, pick up a member in Md mid or late afternoon, and motor on. Plan to get there early Sunday morning, maybe before daylight, so we can register and get on the water. If you're interested, and willing to share the gasoline cost, you are welcome to join us. Send me a pm, if you are interested or have any questions. First come, first served.

Two words for your plugs and other connections. Dielectric grease. it will protect against water intrusion, thus prevent corrosion, and facilitate disconnecting and reconnecting. Works great on the base of light bulbs as well. I use it on my snowplow lights and connections. Prevents corrosion caused by the salt that is spread on the roads to melt snow and ice. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=8196

My dream pond is the one a few hundreds yards across the street to the west of our home. It's no match for El Salto, and some of the others mentioned, but it is very special to me. A half mile long, a quarter mile wide, it is surrounded by private property, some of which is farm fields. Once a terrific smallmouth pond, largemouth were dumped into the pond when a truck headed to stock another pond broke down, and a local farmer towed the broke down truck to the pond, and there the driver dumped the load of largemouth bass. I've taken a fellow from Florida with me. He likes to fish, but does not have much experience. I set him up with my T-bone special, one worm hooked wacky style and another hooked through the head and secured at the eye of the hook. When we finished, he said that wasn't much fun, it was too easy. It's a pretty little pond, set in a hollow. Every day you see osprey, herons, kingfishers, a snowy egret or two, and occasionally, a bald eagle. Many days I have the pond to myself. The most pressure I have seen is two or three other boats on the pond. Once in a while someone shows up with a full fledged bass boat. Speaking with them, they usually come to the pond to soothe their bruised egos when they've struggled through a rough tournament. I only fished it a handful of times after July last year. Spent a lot of time prospecting Cape Cod ponds for smallmouth and largemouth. I found one down there that challenges Devol for my affection. But it's about forty-five minutes away. Devol, I can be on the water about ten minutes after I leave the door. I've been told that pond on the Cape has a lot of boating during the summer. Most of my fishing at that pond took place in September and October, when most of the summer folk had gone.

I'm an electronics junkie. I have an Eagle Cuda portable powered by 8 AA batteries to prove it. Hold onto your money. Learn to read your sounders. Get familiar with the bottom of the pond you fish. Work from the shallows outward for starters. Pay attention not only to depth changes, but changes in the echo that represents the bottom. The echo may be smooth and thin. It may be irregular and broad, usually I like that kind of bottom. Pay attention to the changes in that echo. That represents transitions in the bottom composition. You have three types of bottom and they can be found individually or in combination, mud, sand, rocks. I suppose you could also add clay. A smooth thin line denotes no vegetation, no stones, and likely, no fish. That doesn't mean fish are never there. It is the type of bottom that fish generally do not like except when they are moving around. Fish need a food supply, and some place to hide for protection, or to lie in ambush. Irregular bottom echoes are interesting, and worth some fishing effort. When you catch a few fish in an area, study the image on your sounder, and look for similar bottom. Apply yourself to it. It won't take long before it makes some sense to you. Other than for general info, water temps are not critical where I fish. They are relatively small bodies of water, with no significant streams or creeks entering or leaving, so water temps do not fluctuate by more than a degree or two. One end of the pond is usually a degree or so warmer because it gets more sunlight. Concentrate on the bottom changes whether they be in depths or composition.

Today, I was thoroughly disgusted by what I saw. I am considering what fish finding devices I will get for my new boat. It really boils down to two brands, Humminbird, and Lowrance. I am considering the HDS8 and the comparable Humminbird unit. The technology is great. The images are great. The magic they can do with navigation, side imaging, down scanning is great. But the packaging leaves much to be desired. I've read horror stories about the Lowrance units not being watertight. I now know why. The Humminbird is better but still below par as far as I am concerned. For those who are not familiar with me, I was a commercial lobsterman, who owned his own boat, for well over twenty years, so I am well versed in the havoc water can wreak on electronics once it finds entry. Salt water is exponentially worse than fresh water because it is an electrolyte capable of conducting and creating electic currents. The problem with both units, particularly the Lowrance are the ports that receive the chips. On the Lowrance the door to access these ports has the unit designation of HDS10, or 9, or 8, etc. This door is held closed by a strip of metal on the door and a magnet on or in the case. At the BPS, two of the display units had doors that would not stay closed. No doubt this was due to customers looking at the units and pushing buttons and pulling doors. On the back side of the door was some type of rubber or neoprene gasket. The seal on this gasket is dependent upon the feeble pull of the magnetic device that holds the door closed to ensure a tight seal. The door is situated horizontally on the face of the unit and is about two inches wide. Rain, and spray that lands above this door will run down into this crevice. It then is up to the gasket sealing tightly against the area around the ports to prevent water from entering the unit. I have zero confidence that the gasket will dependably perform this task over a period of time. I wouldn't trust it. The magnet cannot provide enough force to make a trustworthy seal. The Humminbird is better on two counts. It is oriented vertically, so the smaller of the two dimensions can allow water to get behind the door. It also has what I consider to be a better seal. It is tubular or nearly so. In addition, there is a tab on the top edge of the door that fits into a notch in the case. At the bottom is a thumbscrew-like fastener which at least provides adequate force to produce a much better seal than that on the Lowrance. However both are terrible designs. But the Humminbird is better. So, what is my solution. Put the chip ports on the bottom of the unit, and have rubber plugs, which press in to the receiving area to seal them. If there is some type of plug failure, gravity is on your side. In addition, a slight ridge of plastic, that protrudes from the case by a quarter inch or so, will shed any rain or spray that runs down to the bottom of the case, before it can reach the sealed port. With that method, you have three things working in your favor. The plug, the ridge, and gravity. Plus, the ports and chips are out of the way. That doggoned door on the Lowrance will open if you brush against it because it's on the side of the unit. Will it happen often? Once is too much. Murphy's law. If something can go wrong, it will go wrong. And it will go wrong at the worst possible time. I will likely end up with one of these units. But everytime I install a chip, I will seal the crevice around the door by applying 3M electrical tape over that gap. Not very esthetic, but esthetics aren't worth much if something doesn't work.

Apology accepted. Be sure to read the last paragraph when you gave your opinion of the type of person who fishes from them. You know, the guy who has his license hanging from his hat, that completes the picture. Your post was absolutely fine to that point, until you alluded to the type of person who would own such a vessel. Yours was not the first comment about the license thing, and I find it funny, because I do not take myself seriously, nor am I easily offended. Good thing you haven't seen me with my RI license. Printed it off the internet and carry it in one of those hang around your neck, thingies for displaying tickets or whatever. RI requires the license to be visible, and it works for me. Fashion is definitely not my forte. As an aside, I've seen the environmental police checking licenses at boat ramps. They ask to see a license, but they have never asked for mine. They cannot know if whats in that holder is even valid, but they see me loading or unloading and don't even ask to look closely at it. Welcome. Be sure to read the rules carefully. The mods on here can be without mercy. They sometimes strike without warning.

I have made a living since I quit lobstering working with fiberglass. Here are two of my products. They are not painted. The color is all in the gel coat which I spray with a cheapo, under a hundred dollars, Binks mini sprayer, that uses paper cups to hold the gel coat. I've made several with metalflake. Some have laughingly referred to them as bass boats.

LOL. I'm one of those guys with his license hanging from his hat. Harkens back to the days when the law required you to have your license prominently displayed. To facilitate that you got a "waterproof" plastic holder red, with a clear front and a pin to affix it to your clothing. I must not be a serious bass fisherman because I have been fishing from a canoe the past two years. And horror of horrors, to make matters worse, I'm going to be getting one of those tin cans before the summer. Funny thing is, the times I've chatted with guys who have the big fiberglass rigs at the ramp after a days fishing, somehow or other, I've outfished them for the same period of time we've been on the water. And, I've less time on that particular body of water than they. When I was a commercial lobsterman, most of the guys had better boats than I did, yet I managed to catch more lobsters. One who was a good friend of mine commented that I did pretty good with that old Novi boat. I said to him, "Milton, it's the man in the boat that counts, not the boat the man is in." His response, "OUCH!" My philosphy is that a boat is nothing more than a platform to get you to where the fish are. Fiberglass boats are nicer than aluminum, but, they neither make one a better fisherman, nor a better man.

It's in the mail. It will be enroute today when the mailman picks it up. After that, it's out of my hands.

Well, is my face red. I misspoke. I put it in the mailbox this morning, and when I posted the above message, I thought it was in the mail. Until, I went to the bank to put some papers in the safe deposit box. As I drove up to the bank, it was closed. Then I realized it's Martin Luther King Day. When I got home, the red flag was still up on the mailbox. Is being in the mailbox the same as being in the mail?

The check is in the mail. Honest. It really is.

Purple is fine. I've had good luck with Junebug on some days, very good luck. Watermelon with red/black flake is the color I use most. My favorite color which consistently out produces the others is coppertreuse. Why do I not use it most? Because it's not readily available. The Strike King elaztech series are the only baits I've seen that have it. It has caught many fish on a Shaky head and drop shot. What makes them even better is that they are indestructible. Never had one tear, or pull from the hook, no matter how many fish it has caught. If the hook comes back, the worm comes back.

As for power. Less power than you need is worse than more power than you need. What may be ample for the boat when you first get it may not be sufficient when you begin adding gear. Will you use the livewell to hold fish? If so keep that in mind. Filling it can add a couple of hundred pounds that needs to be toted around. It is good to have power in reserve, just in case. A motor than can do the job at half or three quarter throttle, rather than being pushed to its limit will last longer, and likely be more economical to run.

Let those with the glass boats sneer. There is nothing wrong with a glass boat, but I'm going with aluminum, most likely a Tracker. For me, a boat is nothing more than a platform to get you to the fish. Whether is sparkles like a gem, or is a plain Jane does not matter to the fish. Here's what matters, in the order of significance. 1. The man in or on the boat. 2. Electronics, provided you know how to use them. (See number 1) 3. The baits that the fish want. (Again see number 1) 4. Dependable gear to deliver the baits. 5. A platform to get you to the fish. (unless you are a shore fisherman) The top priority for being on the water should be safety equipment. My list is for the equipment that is directly involved in catching fish. My reason for not choosing a fiberglass bass boat. I'm not the type who will be diligent enough to put in the time necessary to keep a boat spiffy. For me, it's take it home. Let it dry. Vaccuum the carpet. They really belong in the hands of a meticulous individual. That lets me out. If you're not going to keep it looking like a jewel, why spend that kind of money.

I've been surprised. Didn't get cabin fever last winter, or this one. I do get in plenty of fishing during the season, four to six days per week, so I get a pretty good "fix" between March and November. Years ago, when I was lucky to get out twice a week, it was a different matter. The ponds are frozen around here, and ice fishing doesn't appeal to me. Get caught up on things around the house. Looking forward to the races in Daytona. We'll be heading down in three weeks. Then either the third of fourth week in March, I'm going to our younger daughter's place in Temple, GA with a buddy for a week's fishing. Bringing my canoe and will hit some small ponds in her area and plan to spend two or three days on Varner. Should be catching them on jigs around here in early March. April is a pretty good month, then the road trip in May. Enough anticipation to keep the cabin fever in one of the dark corners of my head.

You can find all the fliers and catalogs on their web site. While the catalogs appear to be the same across the country, the fliers are not. There is a place where you enter your zip code, and then the fliers for your areal will be displayed. Sometimes they have a stack of those flyers as you enter the store. As others have said, print the page with the sale price of the item you want. Never had a problem with them honoring it.

The ShakE2 jig head is darn near weedless, It does not have the typical eye. It's more like a verticle slot with a bar across it. The knot fits nicely into the recess, which keeps it from snagging things.