Bass Dude

Zona's 'that guy' article is great and a perfect time of year to put something like that out on the forum. I would like to add one thing.......what he says goes for everday at the boat ramp, not just during the busy holiday. Get in, Get out....should be the motto at all boats ramps!!!

I would do a search on this site about this topic. There has been a lot written about this topic. It is a lot of fun and it's very rewarding catching fish on your homemade baits, but there are things to consider: If you're looking to do this because it's cheaper....you're better off buying your baits. When you start purchasing colors, glitter, salt, heat stabilizer, scent, molds, plastisol etc.....This can become more expensive than buying your plastics. It also takes up a lot of time, which is also an additional "expense." In the beginning, you will have a lot of mistakes until you get good at pouring, you can reuse the plastic and repour, but you can't remelt them numerous times. Also, until you get good at mixing colors, you may ruin a batch of plastic or two. Which again will cost some cash. I'm not trying to 'rain on your parade' but these are things to consider.

Make sure the 'hole' is big enough for the fish to get through!! I know...you meant whole, but come on that's funny !

Rod straps are your answer. I agree with the post about the dual console. They take up a lot of room and if you use longer rods, they take away some length in the rod storage on the passenger side. On a single console the passenger side rod locker is usually longer due to the lack of that console. Besides...you drive all the time so you will always have the protection of a console. Your passenger isn't paying for it, so they don't get any wind/rain protection!!

x2---not only the greates guitarist, but possibly one of the best musical minds ever.

This is one of the best threads I've seen on here My favorite is Sam Adams Octoberfest. My usual brand was Labatt Blue, 'til I moved south, where it's $8 a six pack!! Now I settle for Miller Lite.

Does this software work with the older GPS models??

I like a rod with some tip action. For me, it seems to help with the little "flick" cast you use for skipping.

Larry Nixon Outside of the fishing circle, I would like to fish with Rod Serling. The Twilight Zone was an amazing show and WAY ahead of its time. Since he was around a little before my time, he remains somewhat of an enigma to me.

The tendency is to go to something smaller...I've found that sometimes go heavier. You'll get that reaction bite..they don't have that much time to see and when heavy jig flies passed them, they'll kill it.

I used to take them out and put them into Plano boxes, but then everytime I would buy more stuff I would have to rearrange them. It got to be a pain, now I keep them in the original bags and store them in larger plastic bins by type.

I vaguely remember the write up in Bassmasters about it....I thought the rules and fees were regarding Biwa, but may have been some other lakes in Japan.

It's the lake where the world record was caught. Tons of big fish in there....they have weird rules and fees you have to pay to fish that lake too.

I saw the repeat of the episode where he goes to Japan to fish Lake Biwa. My favorite part is where he goes into the tackle shop.....you can see the isles of tackle....just makes me want to drool!!! There was a caption at the bottom that said he almost spent that shows budget at that one tackle store. Next time it's on....take note...it's a beautiful thing!!!

msolorio are you using them with that head they always show them on??

With the exception of the two arms in the upper body...it looks very similar to the prowerteam lures I've been having success with.

I have been hearing mixed reviews about the Hydrowave. A few people in our club have recently gotten them and say that it really brings up the baitfish. I don't have any first hand experience with it. What is the opinion of those that have first hand experiences with them...did you think you caught fish you wouldn't have without it...did it keep a school biting longer, etc?

This is worth a try, but I'm not sure that the state biologist would spend time working on a private pond. State budgets for these jobs have been cut drastically and they may need to focus their efforts on state land and water management. But...they may be able to point you in the right direction to get the help you need.

X2---I went to through a fisheries program at a SUNY school. The teachers were always looking for a place to conduct labs and teach the techniques of collecting fish and data, then coming up with management strategies. Find out what schools in your area have a fisheries program and set something up with them. Then you're helping the ponds and the students...win-win situation!

I think they spend too much time on lure presentation in fishing shows. For me, that's the easiest part of the equation. It's totally dictated by location, then you just experiment with retrieve. How many times can they show you the different ways to fish a jig or crankbait, etc. I wish they would show more of what they're looking for on the map, then what that spot looks like on the sonar, and how they go about looking and finding that proverbial 'spot on a spot.' They always show them idling for 10 seconds and saying this is the spot, then they drop the trolling motor and start fishing. Most of the time they don't even show the sonar, unless they are trying to do a commercial for Hummingbird or Lowrance. How do you think they should improve on fishing shows....other than not making them commercials!

I don't break anything...I just let out a string of swear words like the dad in 'A Christmas Story' when the furnace goes out!!

That is so funny, when I moved down here from up north...I was learning the language of the south and was told the true meaning of 'bless your heart'. And the way they say it, you can just tell there is a hidden message in there!!!!

I was looking at the pics from the Douglas lake tourney on the BASS website. On a vast majority of them you can see their tails all bloody and worn. Some are bloody and worn with a huge belly...looks like some of them are in the middle of the spawn. I just thought that was kind of cool....and a good reminder to always look at the fish itself, it can give us great insight as to what they are doing.

You are correct sir. Next time you put a bleeding fish in water watch him closely, you can see the drips of blood 'ball up' as soon as it hits the water.

OCD runs wild on this forum !!!! Good job on the organization...I would go crazy putting the rubberbands on all my crankbaits like bassh8er!!!