senile1

I don't really consciously have distinct criteria for this, but maybe subconsciously I do. I think Kevin Van Dam is a great bass fisherman for the obvious reasons. I think our own Fish Chris is a great fisherman too, but they both do different things on the water. Fish Chris has the ability to find some of the biggest fish on any given body of water. He may fish all day without a bite to catch that one fish, but compared to most anglers he is extremely successful at this. Whether one's goal is to catch numbers of solid fish or huge trophies, if he or she achieves that goal consistently on different bodies of water that makes them a great fisherman in my book.

Nice post, Kent. I wouldn't say jerkbaits are my most productive either but on specific days they have been. I seem to have the most success with the Lucky Craft 100 Deep Diver, small to medium-sized Husky Jerks, and the venerable Smithwick Rogues. I think I would have more success with the X-raps but I tend to reach for the other choices first and don't use the X-raps as much.

When added to the older Lowrance models, does the Broadband Sounder-1 provide the same functionality as the new High-Def models?

Raul stated: Hey, those Culprits aren't strictly for those in the South. I still have some old packs from way back mixed in with my new ones. I have a lot of good memories tied to these worms as well as some of the other lures mentioned. Here's some of my oldies but goodies. Rapala original Floater Rapala Countdown Rapala Shad Rap Smithwick Rogue Heddon Zara Spook Heddon Crazy Crawler Arbogast Jitterbug Mann's Jelly Worms Mister Twister Curly Tail Grubs Rebel Pop-R Johnson's Silver Minnow Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap

I think you're right, Sam. Just being able to discuss fishing related topics is soothing to the mind to some extent. I'm going to try to stay more involved with the forum, though it won't be a lot for the next few months. It's been very cold here, but we're in our second day of three straight days in the sixties before another cold spell. I really, really want to wet a line if possible.

I was thinking the same thing about the moon phase for you guys with the warmer water.

I should be thankful. My employer is laying off 8000 people at the end of March and my wife and I both work for them. It appears that we will both still be employed after the carnage. I feel for those who have no idea how they are going to make ends meet due to job loss. What is happening to me is the other side of the coin. The hours I am working are ridiculous but we won't hire anyone because of the status of the economy. The work that I do is still in high demand which is good, but there aren't enough of us. Everyone in my field that I know in Kansas City is working crazy hours. I haven't posted in awhile because I basically just don't have time for anything. This year I could see the writing on the wall so I didn't even begin to plan for the BassResource.com trip. I knew it wasn't going to happen for me. I also had a March salt water fishing trip planned for the Gulf with my cousin who lives in San Antonio. I have pushed that back to the Fall. But I really shouldn't complain. At least I have a job and income. Many people have it a lot worse. I'm sure they would give anything to have my problem . . . . not enough time to fish. (Could someone please provide a little cheese to go with my whine.;-) Anyway, I haven't posted anything lately, so I thought I would drop in and say hello.

The book has an agenda as any book does. The facts I googled did not fit any agenda. Facts are facts. And mathematical figures translate into real lives affected. They may not be people you know but they are people that someone knows and are just as important.

BTW, I apologize for bringing this subject up and causing this thread to go on a tangent. Debating the merits of TIF would take pages and I'm not into posts of that magnitude and the intense emotions that go along with them. It is best left for each to decide for him or herself. Again, I'm sorry for bringing the subject up. Cabelas does provide great customer service. 'Nuf said.

I guess you guys are going to drag me into this. RW, do you know how many smaller retailers and mom and pop restaurants have gone out of business due to these TIF districts in KC. I do. Granted, there are some TIF districts that have been good for the economy and the average citizen, but most hurt the economy in the long run. The developers of all of these large retail centers you speak of aren't paying taxes for years. The taxes on the workers pay don't make it up. I mean, geez, workers making 10 dollars an hour at Cabelas and Nebraska furniture really pay a lot of money into city coffers. These guys aren't paying property tax nor are they paying sales tax. They keep it. This year KC is facing an 84 million dollar shortfall in revenues. The city doesn't know how they are going to pay for police and firemen. Drastic cuts are going to have to be made. Why? The large TIF districts are paying no taxes for another 20 or 30 years. The small businesses that used to carry the tax load are going out of business because everyone wants to shop at the big and beautiful centers. Wonderful. It translates to more jobs in the short term but an economic calamity when the birds come home to roost in the future. The cases that you and Muddy mentioned are anecdotal evidence. So is mine. But I've read cases from a number of cities and almost all are the same: Big subsidies based on big promises that never come true.

Hamburg is actually one that I studied. I don't want to hijack the thread. I'll send you a PM.

Tokyo Tony stated: Well, I hate to be negative, because I have also received great customer service from Cabelas, but here goes. How do they afford it? Everywhere they open a store they receive tax increment financing for 20 years or more. The small stores and, you, the taxpayer, pick up their load. Most of these companies of this size make claims that the economic benefit they provide outweighs the cost of TIF. I've studied a number of cases and it appears to be rare that this is so. Sorry, I don't want to hijack the thread. Now back to your regular scheduled programming.

I've found that I do better at reaching new vistas by setting goals to improve on the basics. I'll continue to strive to improve at locating productive areas, and at fishing the right structure at the right time. I think these will be my goals every year. The main goal is to enjoy what I'm doing.

Catt, at least you know that the next time good weather comes around it won't be two to four months down the road and, hopefully, you'll be available to scratch that itch.

I can't help you with your question but I did want to welcome you to our forum.

That's nice that they would understand your situation. Good deal. 8-)

I completely agree. I've never had a bag of trailers fly open and juice go all over like I have when I used to use pork baits. I never liked the extra work involved in making sure the hole was big enough to pull them off the hook. Otherwise, you would waste even more time trying to remove them.

I used to be one of those who thought that pork trailers were better in the Winter because they were more pliable in the colder temperatures, but plastics have come a long way over the years. The plastic trailers that I use are very pliable, even in the Winter, and they are more user friendly than pork.

lknbassman, there are a lot of good comments here and Catt covered everything in his two posts. The definition of fishing really, really slow is to crawl your jigs a tiny bit at a time. I barely move my rod tip because it translates into more movement at the end of your line. As GMAN stated, patience is key when you're crawling a jig an inch or two at a time. So make sure you dress for the occasion. It's hard to fish slow if you are freezing your buns off. If you take the time and crawl your jig you'll eventually place it in front of a feeding fish, but don't be surprised if you go a few hours without a fish in the Winter. The thread below started by paul. is a good example of this. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1229136003

That's a pretty fish Paul, and not a bad trip for a fairly cold day.

I use tackle bags but I have a couple of tackle boxes that I'll use for trips that do not include my boat. These are handy for fishing in tiny tin boats or from the bank.

Wayne P. and Jig Man: So do you guys prefer the Hot Spots maps for these reasons that you mention.

My Fall has really been bad as far as time on the water goes. I spent seven weekends in Lewisville, Texas, including some days during the week, performing an upgrade of an enterprise network so fishing days have been scarce. Unfortunately, I was working around the clock much of the time I was there so I didn't get to check out any Texas water. However, when I have been on the water fishing has been good. Water temps are around 40 and heading south fast but the black and blue GMAN jigs are still catching fish, though at a much slower rate. 8-)

Good answer. I can give a good estimate by September of next year.

I have heard that Navionics, while more detailed, requires a lot of extra button pushing on the Lowrance sonars, as opposed to the Lowrance Fishing Hotspots. It is also my understanding that Navionics can show details down to one foot increments while the best that Fishing Hotspots can do is five feet. I'm willing to do the extra button pushing for the improved details, but I wanted to confirm that this information is correct. Also, how much extra button pushing are we talking about?