gajpb

Our boat--Pro Team 165--Tracker--is too small for groups. So, we are gettig a pontoon boat as well. Never thought I would, but hey--anything on the water is great. We fishermen must consider ourselves lucky. Cheers and good luck.

Already starting to think about night fishing on my home lake--Sinclair (GA)--and I have a question. I've never spent much time night fishing, but on our lake there are lit docks al over the place. I know these are good to hit. But what other spots are good? I got some discount jitterbugs recently and have thought about using them for point and flat fishing at night? Good technique? I guess my question is--what's good to fish at night, other than lit docks? Besides--everyone hits those docks. Thanks in advance

Buying a sonar unit this month--Lowrance X102c--planningon putting it up front with me, by the trolling motor. My boat is a Bass Tracker Proteam 165 and has only a low end humminbird right now. My question is this--I won't be putting the unit on myself, because I haven't the first clue. But I've heard about transducers mounted to the trolling motor itself? Didn't think this was an option, but seems about right, seeing as how this will be the one I'm watching as I fish. Now, can I do that with this particular unit? does it take a different type of transducer? Help? I have no clue about this--Thanks :-?

I have a few minnow traps i'll chuck in with some bread and let them sit a day or two, to see what I can find. May not be th emost accurate way but it shows me something.

I think the upsides outweigh the downsides. The only problem I've had in the past was near the end of summer, when I took the boat out to clean and having ti get the crap off the bottom. BUt always having it in the water is great because going out just for a few hours is possible without any hassle. And I had no mechanical issues.

I'm making this a spinnerbait year. Have never had much luck with one, so I am making an effort--rather--forcing myself to use one. Same goes with fishing points in general. Thanks.

Thats what I figured. Now, question #2. Crankbait or C-rig? I think crankbait fished slow to medium because its faster.

Ok here's the situation. 50 degree temps and a fourteen mile an hour wind. What's your best bet (in your opinion)? Sticking out the wind and fishing the points where the current will collect the shad, or staying out of the cold in the backs of coves pitching a jog or spinnerbait? Or perhaps concrete boatramps?

Just curious about this. You live on a lake (woo-hoo!) and you leave your boat in the water most of the time, fishing three times a week, roughly. How often do you take it out to clean it up, etc.? I'm thinking of hull marine growth, etc...

While we're on the subject of points, about how long do you folks stay on a single point before moving on to the next. That is, thinking of your own fishing style, how long constitutes "fishing a point throughly," if there are no bites? I tend to become impatient with points, moving on fairly quickly. Maybe that's why I don't have much luck with them. Cheers,.

Wife and I live in M'ville as well. I believe another local club is Baldwin County Backlashers. Don't know much about them but I believe they've been aruond a while. You can also email the newspaper guy Bobby Peoples at the Union Recorder who does all the weekend outdoor articles. He does a lot of tournament fishing. Thought about joing a club myself, but giving it a while more so I can get a bit more experience. Hope this helps and post again and tell me what you find.

Thanks for all the insight. I just want to be sure I treat the motor right--won't be able to afford another one for a while. Cheers, JPB

I have my own opinion on this but I want to see if I am overly cautious. I have a forty horsepower mercury on a sixteen foot aluminum boat. When I first crank up in the morning I let it idle for a few minutes and then run it slow slow slow for about five before going all out. I was told once that letting it warm up for at least five minutes is very important. Now, let's say I make a twenty-thirty minute run to a spot, and then use only the trolling motor for an hour and a half. Is it necessary to let it warm up again, or can I just turn it on and go. I've always let it warm up for a minute or two. Am I worrying too much? Thanks in advance, JPB

And speaking to the high pressure--post cold front conditions, I've always read and experienced the best bites to occur two days AFTER the front moved through. For instance, let's say a front moves through (wind, rain, etc) on a tuesday night, then you can expect high winds and cold temps the next day, then after that the wind lets up so going out on Thursday is ok, and especially friday, just so long as the weather has remained stable. Again, I've always heard the three day rule for stable weather(allow three days of same weather patterns before heading out), but sometimes you can't stay off the lake, no matter what's going on.

Our lake (Sinclair, GA) is down six feet for another two weeks and I was wondering what ideas have worked for anyone in the past as far as brushpiles, fish hotels, or anything they've added to the water, whether it be beneath their own dock or a secret spot. We have roughly forty feet of water frontage and I have gotten several stacks of pallets that I will be stacking and A-framing and anchoring both beneath the dock and just below the water line along the shore. Any other ideas for bass habitat enhancement ideas?

Sorry to hear about your friend's misfortunes. I've heard a lot of good things about Humminbird recently, so I may look into those as well.

I am looking to buy a new sonar (maybe gps? as well) for the front of my boat. Was at BPS this weekend for "research" and asked the guy what he thought the best unit for 500$ or under was and he said the Lowrance X102C (retails for 499.99). Then he said if I could go up another 150$, springing for the Lowrance LMS 332 would be the thing to do because it has all the bells and whistles of the x102c plus GPS. Any thoughts on these units? Or any other units between 500-650?

I recently read somewhere that a two-blade prop on a trolling motor is faster than a three. Not as good with weeds, but faster for general trolling. Is this true? Any other info on the subject?

Just curious as to what folks think the best sonar unit is for the money?? I'm adding one to the bow by the trolling motor (that's right, don't have one there, don't laugh), and would like to get one that is dependable, useful, accurate, and affordable. Hope this is the right place for this question.

One more thing on this subject: I picked up a tip somewhere that has proven effective and saves $$. Go to Kroger and pick up a generic brand can of garlic flavored cooking spray. It stays on the bait (soft plastics in my experience) forever and yes, I think the fish do hold on to it for a while. Also, I'll spray a bit in the particular bag of worms or lizards I'm using that day.

Thanks for the info. I'm in central georgia in a lake with a good population of just about everything. But there hasn't been much "feeding" activity, just the clouds appearing on the surface all over the place. YOu would think this would attract something.

In the cove by our house, there have recently been small clouds of baitfish running around the surface. At times, there have been at least a dozen. Would it be too much to assume that bass are hanging out beneath these rumblings? What should I throw at them? I figure a topwater right through the middle of them would break them up. Ideas?

I live on Lake Sinclair in GA, and in the last day, just this morning actually, the boathouse and dock were overcome with mayflies. My brother-in-law (thanks, Brian!) gave me a book on insects, mainly useful for fly fishing, and I think it is a type of Mayfly called a Leadwing Coachman. Anyhoo I was wondering if a hatch like this would effect the bass fishing in the area. I imagine it would make the topwater bite a bit better than it has been in the evening and early morning. Any thoughts on this? Should I even use this phenomenon to try and land a few large ones?

Milledgeville, GA--Lake Sinclair is my new home lake, as of a week ago. Cheers.

I also think that I have to be more willing to change lures, be less stubborn. I tend to stick with one lure (usually a spook) until it's almost too late for topwater. I plan on switching up a lot more readily next time out, rigging up three rods (buzzbait, spook, pop-r).