BassinMichigan

2 years ago, in a 18' 1994 Bass Tracker with a 40 hp Mercury. Finished the season as points champion in my division....ah thank you! Upgraded to a 2000 Tr-21 w/ a 225 Optimax. By 2020 I'll be in a 2010 boat.

Michigan's bass season actually does nothing to protect spawning bass. It's closed from Jan 1st until the last Saturday in April. Both smallies and largemouth won't start spawning here until it's legal to target them.

No kids to sell.....But I have a wife I'd be willing to auction off! With that income I should be able to get a powerpole and the 1197! ;D

If I was to add something to my boat as an investment I would have $100 bills wrapped around my rig under a layer of gel coat. Even that wouldn't work, since nobody would want to buy something that stupid. Not really trying to add dollar value, just something that may help it sell faster in a few years when I'm ready to upgrade.

I actually fish St. Clair more than Erie, and spend most of my tournaments on inland lakes fishing for Largemouths.

I want to buy a new toy that will help with my bass fishing as well as adding a little resale value to my Triton. I already have a Humminbird 797 with side imaging, so new electronics aren't a necessity. Just wondering which one my fellow bass junkies would rather have now! I hear a lot of people talking about how the power-pole is only useful for when the fish are bedding, but I tend to disagree. Any input is appreciated.

Beautiful fish and beautiful looking scenery. I'm ready to take a half day.

Drop shot

You can't fish the Canadian side of St. Clair for bass until the fourth Saturday of June. Your buddies and I may be fishing right next to eachother out there.

The smallie action was on fire yesterday on St. Clair. I guess it's almost expected when you fish a world class smallmouth factory at the perfect time of year. 20+ (I lost track around 15) fish in 3 1/2 hours, a plethora of 3 pounders, and the biggest being 5 lbs 4 ounces. Even if you can only get out for a few hours, it's more than worth it. You just tilted your head, didn't you!

I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about this weekend. Good luck to all. Also, I'm hearing there are some trouble areas, floating wood and debris, by some of the launches near the mile roads areas. Crocker to be precise, I haven't seen it personally, but the source is a reliable one.

A-Jay, for the record, excellent post!

Catch and release season begins this Saturday. I'll be there.

Glad to hear it fired right up. I just hope you don't have to explain to any women or kids what a "donkey punch" is!!!

I saw that picture of you on another website and I actually told myself, "The only lake with smallies that tiny is Cass Lake." I did manage a couple nice 3.5 lb'ers while prefishing there last year which made me concentrate on the brown fish on tournament day. What a mistake!

I just finished transforming my trailer tongue into a swing away with the Fulton swing away hinge this weekend. I never really thought about the fact that my brake line would be bending every time I put it in my garage. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with installing a flexible brake line attachment in their trailer, and where I could find one. Thanks in advance.

I guess my main question was whether or not I needed a single battery for the fishfinders. Thanks surfer.

I like craigslist so much I check it even though I have a boat. I have two boats, both from craigslist. I need to start avoiding that site.

I'm wondering how many batteries I need to be carrying in my tr-21. The old owner used only four, but I don't think it was ever used for a full 8 hours at a time. I have a 36 volt motorguide trolling motor, a humminbird 797 in the console, a humminbird 585 on the bow, and a 225 merc that needs to be cranked. Of course the boat has only a three bank charger. Could I make do with only 4 batteries, or is 5 (better safe than sorry) the way to go?

See what happens if I don't visit the site every day. Thanks guys.

Trying to commit myself to learning the shaky head this year. Just wondering what the most popular brands and styles are favorites of the br * anglers.

They make a four bank charger now too. For those of you lucky enough to buy a boat with a 36 volt trolling motor.

I actually have the quantum pt reel paired with the finesse st croix tournament legend rod and it is my go to set up when the bite is slow. I don't use braid with it, so I couldn't help you there. I use 6 lb p-line halo with it.

The competitive nature involved in tournament angling has definitely made me a better angler, in just one year of fishing tourneys. It's not the actual day of the tournament that has improved my skills and knowledge, but the preparation for each event. Before I fished competitively, I never committed myself the way I do today to gaining a true understanding of how bass react and adapt to different structure and cover throughout the year according to water temp, wind, bait patterns, etc. In just one year, I have improved drastically at analyzing lake maps, identifying pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn areas, and finding locations that will be holding fish throughout the summer I also would never spend time practicing flipping and pitching jigs into coffee cans off of my deck until this year. My competitive nature is what has fueled my new found dedication to the sport. It's not the money that I desire, it's simply the victory.

That course is a great idea. I didn't even know they offered such a thing. I can't really do without a bass boat though, since I fish several smaller inland lakes and due to the fact that I just bought the boat this week. When I took it for a test drive, I had one extremely experienced boater that gave me some tips for take off and handling. The only problem is that I learned in two minutes, took off until I reached 60 mph, made a gradual turn at a slower speed, and then just hammered the throttle again. It seemed simple, but I know it's much more complex by doing research and by speaking to other people in different forums. Thanks for all the help so far. I'm so happy I finally noticed that this site has a forum after just reading the articles for the last three years.