slonezp

If hand made were the only criteria, this one would save you a couple bucks

I'd hit it.

On my home water, daybreak, between 12-2 during high skies, and during the crappiest of weather.

40 tops

I keep them all off and use my thumb. It's the way I learned before there was such a thing as brakes.

Crappie normally won't hit something that doesn't move. A bluegill will hit just about anything, although i would say minnows and minnow type baits are on the bottom of their list.

Do whatever you want. No reason to get upset. You're dealing with the general public and not a retailer.

Their gill plates are sharp. Delicious fish. Cut out the cheeks and fry those up as well

On a boat that old, first and foremost you need to have the transom checked and then the motor. The first boat looks like it was taken care of better than the others. See if they will let you take them for test rides and let you have a mechanic chek it out.

Prayers sent BC

Little Johnnie's neighbor had a baby. Unfortunately, the baby was born without ears. When mother and new baby came home from the hospital, Johnnie's family was invited over to see the baby. Before they left their house, Little Johnnie's dad had a talk with him and explained that the baby had no ears. His dad also told him that if he so much as mentioned anything about the baby's missing ears or even said the word ears, he would get the spanking of his life when they came back home. Little Johnnie told his dad he understood completely. When Johnnie looked in the crib he said,'What a beautiful baby. 'The mother said, 'Why,Thank you, Johnnie. Johnnie said, 'He has beautiful little feet, beautiful little hands, a cute little nose and really beautiful eyes. Can he see all right?' 'Yes', the mother replied, 'we are so thankful; the Doctor said he will have 20/20 Vision.' 'That's great', said Little Johnnie, 'coz he'd be in deep **** if he needed glasses.

It's good stuff. I got a free sample mini spool and it's the best d**n leader material I have ever used. I'm hesitant to spool up an entire reel. I've been using Abrazex on bc's and Invisix on spinning reels and have been pleased with the results

My opinion, it's not enough reel. That's alot of weight your throwing on a heavy rod. I'm using a Revo Toro this year but in the past used a C3. Try it out and see how it works and report back..

In my club, the guys normally in the money are out pre-fishing. A few years ago, I was off work for the entire spring and summer due to having surgery. I spent 2-3 days pre-fishing before tourneys. We placed better, and won more money that year than any other. BUT time and time again my "money" fish are caught in my regular spots. The best thing pre-fishing has done for me is help me rule out non productive water. I would rather figure that out pre-fishing than wasting time on T day.

How close are you to Springfield? Local news said they got 18.5". Fortunately we only got a dusting

I hope she gives you as much pleasure as she did in her heyday

They had cars back then? Ask yourself, What caused the battery to go bad. Was it old age, defect, battery charger? Then decide if you're going to replace one or both. If the batteries are over 3 years old and 1 went bad, I would probably just replace both. As far as avoiding any particular brand, I don't think there are any brands with inherent problems. Some are better than others and be prepared to pay more for better batteries. Sears Platinum has 3 year free replacement but it ain't cheap. Interstate and Cabelas are the batteries I have experience with. Aside from a bad charger bank smoking a battery, I have never had an issue with batteries. Make sure you fully charge them after each use and top them off befor going out again. Depending on your fishing habits, you should be able to get 4+ years life.

Supposed to be above freezing every night this week and highs of 50's by Easter.

Agreed, purely from a behavior standpoint, since many lures nowadays are visualy lifelike. So the fact that bass will still try to eat something which may not act naturally says a bass is not smart enough to be conditioned to a lure, OR instinct just overpowers its ability to discern good food from bad food. On a side note, I'd like to thank everybody who participated in this discussion.

I am not suggesting they cannot be spooked. and agree it's a natural survival mechanism. Trout also tend to be spookier than bass. I agree fish can be conditioned to their enviroment, that's not the topic of the OP. Can they become conditioned to lures? The three basic rules for survival are eat, reproduce, and defense. Spookiness is a defense mechanism hence an instinct. Can a fish get spooked by a lure? Probably, but again, is that conditioning or instinct? Conditioning, in this case, as I understand it, is a bass won't hit a bait it believes to be a food source for fear of a negative experience. Now, I won't go to a restaurant where I've been served crappy food. Does a bass have the intelligence and abiltiy to identify a negative food source which appears almost identical to a natural food source???

Anyone worth his weight who trolls for walleye or salmonoids knows the importance of this and would probably tell you this is more important than bait choice.

Riddle me this. Why do bass continue to strike, or ignore lures while in the confines of the Hawgtrough? Please don't tell me it's because of the new magic lure or scent. I realize this is far from natural surroundings, but it's naturat to the fish. They are used to seeing people crowd around them and know they are not a threat unlike Pauls story about having to hide in order to catch fish. Yet time and time again I've seen the bass hit the bait(s) or ignore them. I cannot think it is anymore than the bass either being hungry and not hungry, or bored and stimulated. Nothing more, nothing less. I can't seem to fathom how "conditioning" can overpower instinct

I have used Minn Kota and Pro Mariner with good results.

Like the colors. Enjoy!

At least you got out. Still waiting for the ice to melt