blanked

in my In Fisherman bass book it says Al Linder was a guide at Sam Rayburn in the mid 70s. this kind of surpriised me for 2 reasons. one is i was always told when these new lakes came on line in the early 70s like rayburn the fishing was much easier than now due to all the new shoreling brush. you can simply beat the banks and have a hey day back then. and two, when i was growing up in a middle class neighborhood in the 70s, people didnt really have the kind of money to spend on toys like they do now mainly cause it was a one income family back then. so what kind of people would spend a half weeks salary back then to hire a guide to fish a lake that was much easier to fish than it is now?? and there is enough of these people to have a full time guide around to make a living?

i have never been in a tournement but only what i see on TV here is my problem. one is the way the fish are dispalyed and handled out of the water. holding them up and smiling while everyone takes your picture for what seems like an awful long time. weighing them in on the scale waiting for all the fish to hold still. supporting the fish by the jaw. no way can this not harm the fish. they may swim away but how many end up floating on the banks a few days later??? and them taking them off there beds during the spawn for a weigh in.

i am in the same boat. i looked at those spark plugs to replace in mine a month ago and said Oh my gosh. i left it alone for now. i have 60 hours on mine. i am surprised your fouling. how many hours do you have? keep on top of this and let us know

those of you who have met each other face to face, tell the truth, did you have a picture in your head of what that person looks like per there bass resource name? then when you meet are you shocked or not surprised?

I am getting ready for a week on Rayburn but want to find out what the schedule is with tournements that weekend. I am wanting to avoid them as much as possible. At least any big ones

for those of you who claim every thing you do on the water is fun no matter when or how, dont you think you will burn out if you were fishing 7 days a week 10 hours a day. 365 days a year? everybody has there limits and beyond that It is not fun anymore. At least I thought so until I posted this question

Some people go to great lengths to catch fish. I admire them, but some of its going overboard for me to where it is more like work than having fun. Things I dont do but probably should 1. keep a log 2. sharpen hooks 3. change my line every time out 4 use scent on soft plastics every 5 cast or so. ( i do put it on ocasionally ) 5. customize my lures 6 fish in 30 mph wind

which lake??

Wow Catt! 16 a day average and your record keeping is fantastic. Are all 66 days spent on TB??

what do you use for spot cleaning and or the whole 9 yards? i want something that will make it look like new again so that automotive stuff from pep boys isnt cutting it. where did you buy it?

with the exception of fishing during the spawn, what approx percentage do you truly find a solid pattern? what i am refering to a pattern includes lake area, depth, cover, lure, and retrieve how long does it take you to find it? how many fish are you catching once you find it?

for weightless plastics. i use 14 pound test and do not use pitchin or flippin. i would think a 6 1/2 foot medium. seems like the research i did is all about backbone power horsing fish out of heavy cover and suggest a medium heavy 7 foot with 25 pound test. not really my cup of tea.

are you sure his home lake is Amistad? i knew him in college in calif and then he moved to Nevada on lake Mead

Redline Not sure where you live in Cali but all the lakes I went to had a 35 mph limit. How will you keep that monster motor at 35 mph?

anyone have any input on installing one themself with good luck. are there any downsides to using one

i had an 04 SL190 Skeeter. Cart hit the nail on the head. not much room to fish up front or storage. mine had the HPDI 175 horse and it was a rocket. at that time going up another 25 HP was another 2 grand. I had a hard time getting the dealer to fix the leaking speedo. had to bring it in about 4 times to get it fixed.

do you follow the manufactures guideline for maintenance every year exactly? or not quite?

do any of you reach or exceed 100 hours a year?

My home lake is Lake Conroe and I have had zero luck with topwaters. I thought it was me until I aked a couple of guides and someone who has been fishing Conroe for 25 years and they all said topwaters wont work. So why would a basic tried and proven lure or method not work on a paticular lake?

I feel that in winning tournements or any other pro sporting event there is a very fine line in winning. at a pro level these little devices and tricks are what it takes to beat others in a fine line. for a recreational angler these gadgets are not going to be a cure all. its far better to learn and use the fundementals before looking for a cure all answer. golf is another sport to compare this with. that $400 driver isnt didly until you got the fundementals down consistently

for your trolling motor or main cranking? any feedback?

i have a 5 year old Magellan Sport Trak that i am not happy with the accuracy. Are there any new ones you can recommend that will be a big improvement or hand held GPS really havent improved much in the last 5 years. All I need is a basic model

cart i always enjoy your input on boats and boat ownership. you must be in the boat business for a living

i have a procraft 20 ft bass boat that i would like to tow my wife and kid on one of those inner tube tow behind deals. just for a few days next summer. is there anywhere on the boat that can support this weight to tie off to? also what about some kind of a throw over ladder to get in and out of the boat.

procraft??? i bought a new 2005 200 superpro dual console with 200 optimax for 24,000 and havent looked back. the only other bass boat i have owned is a skeeter and i will buy another procraft before a skeeter. yes the $40,000 rigs are nicer but for a weekend recreation fisherman thats too much. i compare it to buying a range rover or hummer to a ford or chevy if you need a 4X4. so since i havent really owned numerous bass boats i was wondering what is the opinion of procrafts around here??