senile1

I was thinking about gators when I looked at the pics of you and your buddy standing on the bank. That's a nice hawg you got there! It sounds like a great day of fishing and exploring.

I don't mean to harp on the trim/tilt of the motor if that isn't the problem, but since you say that you know how to trim the motor are you sure your trim is working? When you look back at your outboard with the trim all the way down, the top of your outboard should appear to be tilted slightly away from the boat as in the diagram below (See the vertical line showing the tilt of the outboard). Once it comes out of the hole and goes on plane, then you trim it up which tilts the top of the motor back toward the boat while moving the prop away from the boat. Again, sorry to keep emphasizing that if you are sure your trim is working properly.

The OP is struggling to catch fish from the bank. Before I give the number of fish I typically catch from the bank I think it would be good to know what size of reservoir, pond, natural lake he is trying to fish. Why? If I fish a small 50 acre lake, at some point while traversing the bank, I should be able to occasionally find a spot where bass have structure and what they need close enough to the bank to catch some fish. However, if I am fishing a lake the size of Lake of the Ozarks with 1150 miles of shoreline there will be a lot of miles of that shoreline that do not have any fish. Only certain spots will have access to structure that bass use. There are some places on huge reservoirs where you can fish from the bank and never catch a bass.

Very nice fish, Jeff!

Nice report! You still caught some solid fish in those pics. You're right though. As soon as we think we have them figured out, they prove us wrong.

Nice! You gotta' love that topwater bite.

That may be but she is still a nice looking fish. With the girth she has, she doesn't need any exquisite markings. Very nice Fish!

People choose the one pair they have used in polls like this. You don't really get a comparison between all the choices. I suspect all of the high dollar glasses are similar in quality. My eye doctor sells Kaenan and Maui Jim glasses so I wear Maui Jim prescription polarized sunglasses. I like them, but it doesn't mean they are the best.

I have a 2000 Stratos 295 Pro Elite. It has been a very good boat.

I have experience with Dobyns Champion Extremes, G.Loomis GLX, and NRX rods. I would rate them in this order: NRX, GLX, and then the Extreme. Keep in mind that I use these rods for jigs and soft plastics where perceived sensitivity is a key factor in making my choice. Someone else might have a different viewpoint based on the use of the rod. With a $200 discount I think you have the right idea to go for a high end rod.

Stratos boats are good boats, but there's a lot to check before you buy one used: Check the boat deck for weak spots, check the transom for flex and weakness, take it for a spin and see if it leaks, have a mechanic check the compression and motor for $150 bucks or so, check steering free play, etc. An Internet search will give you plenty of checklists on what to look for. I wouldn't skip any steps when purchasing a used boat. Some owners lie and some owners don't have the knowledge to know when a boat has problems. I wouldn't take my Mother's word on the condition of a boat.

When I am catching fish and doing well it is all a result of my extensive skills. When I have a bad day on the water, that is due to bad luck. Chance plays a part obviously, but like anything the more you learn and the more skill you acquire the better you are able to determine where fish are and how to trigger them to bite. A-Jay's signature is a perfect encapsulation of this axiom.

Very nice fish! Congrats.

That 4 lb'er is a nice looking fish!

Nice fish, Steve!

Like most of you I want to treat the fish with care and I like to keep them off the ground, but I've found that getting self-righteous about it without knowing the situation a bank angler was in when they placed a fish on the ground is sometimes an unfair attitude.

Nice bass!

Nice bag of fish!

Those are some very nice sized fish. Congratulations!

Congratulations! Nice fish.

Thanks for the good wishes, Dwight. I'll have to fish out of state more often to raise my chances for one of these babies. Wow. This one was on the Grand Glaize arm as well. Too bad he didn't return it to the lake.

Very nice looking bait!

That's a nice one!

Nice fish, Paul!

Yep. Go to Nitro's site online, choose 2016 Z18 and then click on "Build a Boat" on the menu bar at the top of the page. You will see it listed under the "Functional" options.