Nick B

I grew up in Fairland, Indiana , fished a lot of lakes, creeks and farm ponds as a kid. When I come back home I try to fish Sugar Creek, Big Blue River, or Geist.

When I lived in South Ga, I would fish multiple gator filled lakes with an 8ft pelican basshunter . I didn't have any issues with gators. You have to do a lot of things wrong to get eaten by an alligator

I fly over Echo Bay often, it looks like a very good area for bass, there is an abandoned marina there, if the water level comes up a bit it will be an outstanding area to fish. I came out here from Arkansas and fished similar waters, and those tactics seemed to translate over. Lake Mead did make the BassMasters Top 100 so there are fish there. There are 2 big things that make Lake Mead hazardous, the fact the water is way down and there are some humps that come up really shallow and the wind.

Fish were still on beds in April this year. Lake Mead is way down like 150 ft ish, so just know that whatever map you study to take that into consideration. The staff at the BPS here are quite helpful. Where are you launching from?

I always trim my outboard all the way down when I park it year round. This allows for draining not only of water, but also of any petroleum products that could get into the impeller. I had an outboard that I didn't trim all the way down and some oil and gas got into the impeller and destroyed it prematurely.

Could be the fuel pump diaphrams are getting weak.

My bilge area was easily accessible, so I put a garden hose in there with the drain plug installed, and the boat level and filled up the bilge area.

I once found leaks in my boat by filling the boat with water, I did this at home after the trailer was dry so I could see where the leaks were a lot easier.

I live in Las Vegas, we get than 3 inches a year. I miss rain. I'm really looking forward to getting out of this desert.

Minn Kota makes a circuit breaker, Cabelas has it for $30. 50 lbs on Pelican bass raider, that thing must move

Did you make sure the shear pin wasn't broke or jammed up with fishing line? Could be a burnt up motor.

Few tips for night fishing, Have fewer rods on the deck Bring a spare battery (saved me a couple times) Fish the areas you can't fish during the daytime (beaches, launch ramps, etc.) If you are fishing during a new moon or the moon is not in the sky fish around lights. And of course watch your speed with the outboard

I fished Sand Hollow over the weekend. I caught over 20 in matter a few hours of fishing.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Several years ago I moved out to New Mexico and took my boat from sea level to 5000 ft elevation. There was a slight loss in power maybe 2-4mph but not much. I did make some adjustments to my carb to adjust the rich/lean on it. When I moved to Arkansas I only adjusted the rich/lean again and got the 2-4 mph back.

I plan most for most trips, except those spur of the moment trips. I have an idea where I am going to fish and where I expect them to be. Of course those plans are subject to change once I get on the water. Water conditions, weather, fish activity, and fishing pressure/boat traffic will usually throw a wrench in my plans. My last trip I planned to fish shallow cover early then work some off shore humps later in the day, but the winds picked up quickly and I wasn't able to fish the humps effectively or safely. So I found some wind breaks and was able to catch some more fish.

I went today. Caught 6 quality bass. Winds made it impossible to really work most areas.

Bass Pro has jon boat covers reasonably priced and good quality

I had a similar problem with an older mercury that had a similar oil tank configuration. I just kept the reservoir level low enough that it wouldn't leak out when I trimmed the motor all the way up. Whether you replace the cap or lower the oil level you definetely want to do something about it. I ran into a problem where the oil that leaked out was drained down out of the head and down towards the lower unit and got into my impellar and ate it up.(Petroleum and rubber don't mix well) I went through a couple of impellars before I figured out the problem. Definetely something to take care of.

I am going to be moving in that area in next few years myself, but I have been fishing Cumberland for several years but have only been fishing it sporatically over the last 10 years. I fished it last year and keep an eye on the conditions. The lake had a major drawdown to repair the dam about 8 years ago, and was just this year filled back up to normal pool, during the drawdown period trees have grown up and created new cover for the fish. As for your creek arm question the black bass seem to stay more up in the creeks and closer to cover, they also have to compete with the stripers for food, but the stripers seem to be more main lake oriented. If you are looking for small mouth, that fishing seems to be better on the dam end of the lake, especially where you are going to be living. Hopefully this helps.

How did your outing go? What was the water temp in the Willow beach area? I am going to hit Mojave for the first time this coming weekend, but still debating on whether to launch from Willow Beach or Cottonwood Cove. I would like to go for largemouth or smallmouth, but am not opposed to go for big striper either. Anyone have any suggestions?

I have Tracker Deep V 16, I find it very versatile and makes for great ride on rough water.

I have a '12 Tracker Deep V 16 and it handles rough water great. I had an aluminum bass boat before and after a ride in rough water with it I felt like my spine had compressed, but with the Deep V it cuts through the waves great.

I work on the base so here are the spots I would recommend for bank fishing. The larger base lake is pretty good. Paradise park is very close and I have done pretty good there. Also you can go to http://www.agfc.com/fishing/Pages/FishingWheretofish.aspx this is a link to the places to fish in Ar according to Ar Game and Fish. LRAFB is in Pulaski county, but is also close to Lonoke county. Hopefully this will help you out.

I have done decent at Maumelle, nothing giant but good sized. There isn't much for natural cover but there are some artificial cover placed all over the lake. As for clarity, it is kinda clear but nothing compared to Greers Ferry. I need to venture down to Ouachita.