slonezp

Very important info when tournament fishing. Being knowledgable enough to eliminate non-productive water is as important if not more than finding water holding fish. Look at it as time management.

Send that idea to TicTacs. Maybe they can make it a commercial.

Roughly 15 years in the business. All commercial and industrial work. I specialize in refrigeration.

So, basicly if there are no fish in the water you are casting to you will not catch fish? What makes you certain, on your rowboat resivoir, the first place you tried and got skunked wasn't holding fish? It is possible there were fish there and due to particular conditions at that spot the fish had lockjaw. Have you ever fished an area you're confident holds fish, get skunked, and return later in the day only to catch them? Have you ever been on a bite only for it to shut down, and start back up again? Do you believe the fish are moving in and out or just decided they weren't hungry? Rods, reels, lures, and boats are just tools to get the job done. If the work(fish) isn't there all the tools in the world don't matter. I'm a mechanic by trade and if I don't have the proper tools either I don't work or my job becomes more difficult. Life is much easier if I have the right tool for the job. Same goes with fishing. I agree that the ability to find fish is #1 and catch them is #2 but 99% vs 1% is way off.

It won't affect my fishing but I'll do without somewhere else in my life.

Looks like Megastrike will be another $7.95 richer. Go splurge and get yourself a gallon of gas.

It will position the boat with the bow into the wind. When you press the spot lock button the stern will eventualy swing around depending on wind speed or current. If your dealing with current rather than wind the bow will be pointed towards the current

X2 At least 6-8 feet. I use an albright knot with a dab of superglue.

A month? You lucked out. I had a couple screws put in my ankle in 1999. It was 3 months before they put me in a walking cast and another 3 months before that was removed. Have fun getting fat ;D

I use it for leader on braid and have no complaints.

You're already signed up. If it works don't fix it.

Cabelas has their great outdoors sale this weekend. Not sure if it's local or nationwide. Premeirs are advertised fro $80-190 and Mojos for $100 with a free hat and t-shirt mail in promo.

I hear steroids shrink your egg sinkers.

How early in "pre spawn" are you talking? It is recommended to fish the wind blown shoreline. Here in IL after ice out that would mean the northeast side. That doesn't mean there is food or ideal structure on the NE side. What if the ideal habitat is on the south or west end? That's where I would fish. As the water begins to warm I would concentrate on deeper areas and points near the spawning grounds as well as the "highways" the fish use ie. riverbeds weedlines and dropoffs. Current is always good for something.

Myself. I am influenced by the guys I compete against.(but they will never know that). My partner, who is my son. We push each other to be better.

Never a problem with my Merc. I did have issues with an '88 Johnson VRO. Went thru 2 VRO pumps before I had it bypassed.

When you apply scent, do you apply immediatly before use or do you soak your plastics? Are there any adverse affects to leaving plastics soaking in scent too long? Do they break down or melt? Lastly, do you believe your chances of getting the bite increase because of scent or is it that you are less likely to lose a bite because the bass holds onto it longer because it believes the bait to be real?

Palomar lubed with spit.

I remember my grandfather teaching me how to use a baitcaster in the early '70s. The reel was one of those mentioned with the high tech thumb drag. The rod was made of stainless steel and weighed a ton. I still use some old Mitchell 406 spinning reels casting for salmon. Any of you older farts know anything about these rods? My mother purchased them in the late '50s for my grandfather. She paid over $100 back then. They are pre Browning. Manufactured by Pacific Laminates. The first rod is a 2 piece, and the second has 1 handle with 2 blanks. I think it might be a spinning/flyrod combo but I'm not sure. Does anyone know how old the baitmonkey really is?

That's fine. I need to lose weight anyway.

So I found a 9 year old boat at a dealer that is a bank repo. He's asking $15,995. NADA guide says suggested retail is $18,000. Average retail is $10,100 and low retail is $8,000. The hull and gelcoat are in good shape with minor scuffs. I didn't see any scratches/gouges. Motor is a 200 Merc EFI with 165 hrs on it. According to the dealer, the bank paid him to check compression, lower unit, hull, etc. to make sure it's in good enough condition to sell. Trailer has minimal rust and tires look ok. I will have to buy 3 new batteries, and would be installing new electronics and possiibly swapping my current trolling motor with the one that's on there. I'll add this is a reputable dealer. I understand the bank needs to get a certain $$$ out of it and everything else is profit for the dealer. Is there a general rule of thumb for what I should offer for a repo? Also wondering if I should still have my mechanic go thru it with a fine tooth comb and see what needs to be fixed? I was thinking about starting at the low retail of 8k. Do you think I should start lower than that? Thanks

I picked some up at our local outdoors show and spoke with the guy that owns the company. Gave me his card and wanted feedback, positive and negative about the baits. I haven't tried them yet. The ice is preventing that right now. I'm curious as to why they are individualy packaged. If nothing else, I have some more plastics to lose.

This is true. It also goes on in the PWT Food For Thought: How many of you guys think if given the privliged opportunities that many of the pros have had, you could compete? Not to discredit any of these guys as they are all atheletes. If you came from money and were able to afford to fish as a living could you compete? If you had professional fishing contacts could you compete? If you were givin a boat, electronics, rods, reels, baits, could you compete? I don't know KVD's history but he was born and raised around fishing/watersports. He was able to make contacts at a young age. Alot of these things have alot to do with the success these guys have. I have to work a regular job for a living to support my life. In turn I am unable to become "the greatest bass fisherman that ever lived". I cannot fish 40+hours a week and although I love to fish don't know if I would be able to or want to fish that much. I am good at the job I do and every day I learn more about the job I do. If I fished 40hrs a week I'd be willing to bet that I would learn something new every day which would make me a better fisherman. I had the opportunity to see Iconelli give a seminar last year. I was amazed at the thinking process that goes on inside his head. Things I never had even thought of. Mike has learned all of what he knows by being on the water all the time. KVD spoke after the classic at the press conference and again, he has learned what he knows by being on the water ALL the time. KVD is an exceptional fisherman, as Tiger is to golf, as Jordan was to basketball, as I am to being a refrigeration mechanic .

I'd give you a thumbs up but that might be misconstrued as trying to increase my post count. ;D The in flight pic is awsome.

There is no reason you shouldn't hit the Chain. In April concentrate on the south shoreline of Channel Lake that runs along the north side of Rt 173 The musky sun themselves along the weedlines between the the (2) Rt173 bridges. In addition the weedlines around the perimeter of Cathrine produce. If the water is clear you'll have to make long casts because they will be spooky. Try Jitterbugs or other topwater when it's overcast with a small chop. I've seen them in Spring lake and seen people fishing for them but have never caught them there. I think they're in Spring Lake eating spawning bass and gills because they disappear after the spawn. In the fall guys use primarily suckers, concentrating on Channel/Catherine. Chain muskies are all stockers. They do not naturally reproduce.