DDbasser

Sweet !!!!! My next rig will be either a 21ft ranger or a 21 ft Triton

I'll second these!!!! ;D They are great for fishing crankbaits and topwaters. Also the little spring type line keepers, water gremlin bull shots, and a Pair of Fiskar scissors for cutting my braided line.

Redtail, I've been searching for guides on some lakes here in Oklahoma. Most have been between $125 and $200 per person for a full day. The way I have located them is searching for a web page for the lake I want to fish. Most lakes have some kind of website with guides, hotels, gas, food etc. advertised on them. Hope this helps.

WOW!!!!!! Thanks Glenn!!!! My wife is greatful that the forums are back up. She was about to run me out of the house!!! ;D

Welcome aboard bigbear!!!! I've been told that Hefner and Overholster were pretty good bass lakes, but I've never fished them myself.

If I plan on using my boat for the majority of the winter, do I need to winterize it????

I would ask to be taken out on the lake in a used boat before I seriously considered buying it. I may be a little biased ( I own a Triton Tr-186 with a 150 Johnson) IMO, the Skeeter will be faster, but the Triton will ride better. Both are good boats but I agree with the others, the prices seem a little high.

Advanced Bass Fishing by John Weiss is a good one, it covers habits and habitat preferences for both LMB and SMB. It also covers techniques but it is an older book and some of the techniques are out dated although they work!!! You'll have to find a used one as this book is no longer in print. I found mine on e-bay for $6 plus shipping. Also any of KVD's books are really good I have a couple of them. You can order them from Bass Pro or some of your local tackle stores may carry them, if you have an Academy close by they carry some the KVD books.

I have to agree with chicobass and avid, stick with lighter jigs in brushy cover. And round heads are better for fishing through laydowns. Be careful, jigs will be your go to lure before it's all said and done!!!

I saw some gloves at Wal-mart this weekend that were made by Rocky, they were deer skin with thinsulate insulation, they weren't real thick and they were waterproof. I have some neopreen gloves that I use for putting out and picking up duck decoys, they keep your hands dry, but not very warm. I also use the glo-mitt it's a fingerless glove with a pull over mitt and a slot to stick your thumb out of, you can stick a hot hands hand warmer in the mitt part. It will give you some temporary relief, just pull the mitt down over your fingers and rub the hot hands warmer for a bit. You might also try a fleece handwarmer that buckles around your waist and has a pocket to put a hot hands warmer in, gives you a little temporary relief also, just stick your hands in the ends and rub on the hot hands warmer.

IMO, The most important piece of equipment that a fisherman owns is right between his/her ears!!! People collect all kinds of things, tools, antiques, toys, we just happen to collect lures, rods and reels. A certain lure may work better or it may not but you'll never know if you don't try it. That IMO is the driving force behind the baitmonkey. There is no cure, just temporary relief. LOL!!!!

My wife is my favorite fishing partner. Even though she usually gives me a lesson in fishing. I also like to fish with my son. I do my best fishing when I'm fishing alone, I tend to concentrate harder when I'm not trying to get someone else bit!

I'm sure not laughing!!! My very first boat (using the term loosely) was a water scamp that I bought at a garage sale for $25 I used to haul it around on top of a 1978 Ford Fairmont.

sweet boats guys!!! anyone running a camoflauge boat??? I'm looking for a 14' to 16' camo jon with a 15 horse for duck hunting.

I'll throw one in!!! How about BR.C Bassin Brothers

On new water the first thing I look for is what type of cover is in the lake, if it's weeds then I look for a break line along the weed edge or a spot where the weeds drop off into deeper water. Also I look for a secondary weedline within the weeds. If it's wood or stucture then I look for those same attributes that I look for in the weeds, breaklines, dropoffs, something different. I have found a topo map is a priceless piece of equipment on new water as well as water that you are familiar with. Look for long points that drop off into the creek channel, there will be fish somewhere along those points. Also don't overlook bridges, the pilings as well as the riprap.

Fortuneatly for me my financial advisor (wife) loves to fish more than I do!!! She's the only woman I know that would rather have a fishing pole for Valentines day than flowers.

Thats an awsome idea LBH good luck and keep us posted!!!

I think I'm way in the hole to start!!!! $2500.00 in rods, reels, and tackle $15,000.00 boat $21,000.00 truck Thats just this year!!!! and I haven't started fishing tournaments yet! Won't fish my first one until March 06!!

I agree with the lighter jig, i use mostly 1/4 oz. I also use flurocarbon line and I really like the zoom chunks and swimming chunks for trailers. i have also found that threading the trailer on seems to work better than just hooking them like you would a pork trailer. I just started catching fish with jigs late this summer, and what I found was that I was always getting hits I just didn't recognize them for what they were. I read the following on this site and it helped greatly: If it feels different set the hook. Also something else that helped me was learning what the jig feels like that way when it does feel different you'll know it. Good luck and don't give up on them. They are an awsome lure!!

Recreational for now, but aspiring to be a tournament fisherman.

Depends on the conditions and on what the fish are doing. Bright sunny day with little or no wind I'll fish deeper water , more than likely I'll be throwing something t-rigged, c-rigged, pitching jigs to shady spots, or weeds next to deeper water. If it's overcast with a decent wind I'll fish shallow cover, weeds, wood, bridge pillings and shady pockets. I'll try lures that cover a lot of water. Spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits, buzzbaits and topwaters. I try to fish the conditions and cover more than just picking a lure and start chunking and winding.

Understanding the habitat preferences of the species you are targeting.

I wish I had his money!!! LOL Thanks I'll give an update on how my Black powder season went when I get back on the 30th.