Matt Fly

Unless you order the picture, you won't be able to truly focus. What you see on screen isn't even close to the actual picture. I can ask for pictures if available 10 yrs back, or current pictures. You can not zoom in where you can spy on some one online. But the actual picture is worth the money.

I concur with that totally.

Instead of Pond Pro, puddle jumper sounds good. Those are 2 names we refered to the Coast Guard as. After all, anytime the Capt. wanted a depth check, someone would stick a broom handle over the side to see how deep it was. Unlike the Navy, we didn't think the Coasties ventured to far offshore.LOL

DD, every time i see your handle, it reminds me of DD Lewis of the Dallas Cowboys. I too am a bassaholic, there is no ten step program for me. Good luck on your upcoming events and hunts!!!! Hookem!!!

I appreicate the info, I myself, love the weekend tournaments, I fish anything my partner can afford. I have fished Honey Hole, Media Bass, BassChamps, The 2ofUS, A lot of big bass splash tourneys, my favorite was also a club out of Austin, Buster Brown (all of us worked at UPS), Honey Hole affilliated, about 22 teams. I like the competition, and in Texas, there are a lot of trails with guys like ourselves, who have grown up on these waters, tough competition. Its fun to win, but its about the comeraderie. I wish each of you lots of luck and may your next cast be your new PR. PS I have always said knowledge is a terrible thing to waste. I will always help anybody new on a lake with patterns even if I am competing against them. A lot of new people zero at the tourneys, they always look for info at the weigh in, with no help coming from the local tightlips. I believe you don't have to give them your spots, but a few colors and how to rig them will get them started. Payouts are usually figured by the number of teams. The more teams, the better the tourney and more paid out spots. With that being said, anytime someone needs help on a Texas lake, I will always try to help. I spent 14 yrs in San Diego Ca. in the navy. I have had some good water to fish there. But would not give up my Texas waters for the lower Cali waters. I threw my first plug, as my dad called it, on Lake Amistad when i was 6. Been doing it ever since with more passion as I get older, The flame burns strong and long. I can't sleep sometimes weeks out before a good tourney.

So I take it all you guys fish semi Pro or pro. Since you guys responded. THanks anyway. Its not about knowing a pro, its about rooting for pros, as i said. I root for the PB & J guys like my other post said. I wished I was R Clunn. i wouldn't be here. Got to watch you LBH, I see who you aspired to be, Roland Martin, You like to stretch little fish into big fish. Sorry boys, I am Matt Fly and no one else, Nothing to hide. I know some of you guys respond with first names to each and guess they have earned the right to know your names. Dad always said ask, it can't hurt, at least I tried.

Hey flyphisher, you better hope the BASS starts hitting Cali or Mexico if you want a record bass. Those two areas have the longest growing seasons in North america and South America. Can't say about Africa.

Most records would take a little luck or have been lucky. Our state record 18.18 was caught while crappie fishing. If I was throwing a crank and lake record flathead, yellow cat was landed, I wouldn't care how much luck was involved. I still caught it!!!and its still a record and nobody can take that away.

The how to part. Go to an area you can see bottom. Like a swim beach. see what the auto mode displays hard sandy bottoms as. Play with gain to see what kind of picuture you get in man. mode. Find soft mud, like a wash that comes into a lake, see the difference in bottom on the graph, rocks, sandy bottoms and mud appear different on screen. Different cone(transducers) angles at different depths show more. I parallel the bridge and bridge pilings at idle speeds to see how long it takes the transducer mounted on the stern (back of the boat) to show up on screen. May be 3ft or greater past the piling depending on speed. Find vegitation to graph, and timber, brush piles. Find areas you know, What does the dam look like. If its all boulders, what does this show up as. Remember to play with the zoom functions as well, If I'm looking for suspended fish out in deep water, Bottom is a feature I don't care about. 40ft deep, fish suspended at 20ft. I set zoom mode to 15ft-25ft. Knowing what is down there taught me how to read a graph. Just graphing water and guessing didn't help me. Before long, I knew i had grass in 20ft of water growing up about 8ft off bottom. What does the launch ramp look like? You know on the edge of most ramps is a cut or drop off. Knowing what is supposed to be there and what your graph shows is the key to learning by yourself without an expert in the boat to help you. And expeirence is the best teacher.

I read alot of posts from you guys who say they have fished on this tour, BFL, FLW, BASS events and etc... As with any local tournament that I follwed, I like to see how my friends are doing. It would be nice to say, Oh, I know of that guy, he posts on the forum I'm on. How come no one wants to put their name out there? What do you have to hide? Some of you guys know each others names already, but most don't. Its kinda like seeing 20 pros on tour from Texas, Most being guides from Fork, I can say I knew of these guys before they made it. I don't think they allow these pros to enter under the name of circle_hook_guy or rod_bender. Just wondering why?

My buds pondered this a few times this weekend. Our conclusion is, a rattle trap emits alot of noise that does not scare fish. Fish the way you feel comfortable. Hardly ever does any of my buddies turn any electronics off during the day. Just chart speed when moving to another spot.

Stump hump! A guy who thought he knew the lake well enough to put his boat on plane at 6am in the dark. When daylight broke, all you saw was the nose pointing up to the sky. You know what was the worst part of this, he borrowed the boat. Most of our NE TX lakes are loaded with timber. So If your asked to go stump humping, let someone else lead the way.

since this post, I have checked six boats for this clicking noise that can be heard. No one has heard it. Chris is right the bass should be on the run. I will say this, I can't find a transducer that is making aloud clicking noise. If we say sonar, My ship in the navy could ping you to death.

I swim under the boat thru the summer months, can hear my CD player when on, livewells and other noises, foot steps in the boat. never heard a clicking noise. Obviously it has to be heard by the human ear. Still wondering what units and models are doing this.

Your trolling motor puts more noise and vibration in the water than graphs. I am curious to know what type of clicking noise you have. May I ask what type of electronics package you run. I am an expierenced electronics tech and have not encountered that with Humming bird or lowrance. I have seen a in-dash flasher emit a patterned noise similar. When one doesn't need depth or water temp readings, I would secure my electronics. At 2-3 ft, even with 3D or cones at a 45degree angle, your cone isn't seeing very far away from the boat. I will add that chart speed and sensitivity play an important role, big factor is boat speed when determining gain and chart speed. I concur with tablerock kid, I can pull up on a 15 ft brushpile with fish under the boat and catch fish if they're willing. Never seems to bother the tempermental crappie either.

muddy_man, I think your on to something, DNA and cloning.

I always research the Core of Eng. They have pictures of before and during the construction. Great source for maps. I have even found good contour maps at the county land offices. Survey mapping is nice also.

I was wondering if anyone every uses satelite photos of your home lakes? Any one ever fly over a body of water and see points, deep grass and humps that you couldn't see if you where in a boat.

I going with big spinnerbaits, pig and jig when the weather holds the bass in the grass, or tighter on the timber and back to big cranks when they are active. As long as the weather continues to hold right now, my baits will be moving until the cold weather hits TX. we still haven't been in the forties yet around Dallas and East Texas. I do like the swim baits and 10+ in worms. Surface temps are upper 70's mostly. Prime time. Top waters early and late and all day on the overcast days like now.

Tipping has nothing to do with being a high roller. He provides a service, just like a waitress. If you think it was good service, you tip. That simple. And if I hooked a 13 lber during 0ct-Apr, That is called a sharelunker which gets donated to the Parks and Wildlife Hatchery in Athens Tex. You get a free replica worth over 300.00 value. So yes, I would tip him for a trophy. I bet the next time out, my trip will even be better. You get what you pay for. And tipping for guide service is common. And a thank you for a trophy doesn't feed his family, a tip helps.

Nick, its the other way around in "my opinion". Some of the all time money leaders in BASS were guides first. Being able to find fish fast is what a guide does everyday. I'm not going to go pay entry fees and expenses hoping that some guy (pro) whos competing against me, will teach me or show me how to beat him. Hopeful, I could catch fish before I joined the tour..Yes you might learn somethings. Just because you are a guide, you think the tour is gonna give the secrets away to a competitor. My point above about hiring a guide is. If he is somewhere else for six months instead of fishing where he advertised, I don't want him. I want a dedicated guide and theres plenty where I am from. Kelly Jordan is a well known Guide on lake Fork. He didn't go pro to learn how to put clients on fish. He could do that just fine. If that was the only way to learn, going pro, why do we ask so many questions on the forums, especially when it may be a prospective client answering the question and not a pro. l Let me add that most guides that have proven them selves have boat sponsers and tackle sponsers that give them baits to test run. So there are other ways to stay sharp besides becoming a pro.

Gene Larew makes the 11" . I do not know of any floating worms that size. I find it very easy to make my own with a soldering iron. takes a minute and his easy. I have found 18" at BPS, black only. If you are interested in making a lunker bait, just ask, and i'll give you some pointers on making 16-18 inch worms.

Guides who are professionals, that make a living 365 days a year at it, know the pros and cons of them out catching their clients. If they have done their job, you will become a repeat customer or will strongly recommend them to someone else. Different times of the year and changing weather patterns cause fish to be transitional. A guide will aid you in finding the current pattern as quickly as he can, by testing the waters with a slightly different colors or another method. You hired him to put you on fish. Don't handcuff him by assuming he shouldn't fish. The guide also knows that his tip is resting on the success of the client or clients. I will always tell the guide upfront, If I catch a 10lber, thats an extra 100. If I get a sharelunker, 13 lber in Tex. that is a free replica during Oct-Apr, thats an extra $300.00. You would be surprised at the effort they give to earn that tip. Now i get to see the spots he thinks will provide the lunker and what baits he thinks will get the job done. You never know who he has booked, he might have a return customer flying in from out of state that has been coming down for years next day. He might have had some holes saved for this guy becuse of his repeat bookings. This guy never tips even when successful. Now your guide is thinking of his tip. You might see the mother lode of all holes. A good tipper that comes back will always have the red carpet treatment.

reaction_strike 1. The guides i have used are all licesed with the state. They make a living at it. Over 250 licensed guides on Lake Fork. Dedicated, stays on the fish. 2. The guide I choose is one that is not chasing the tourney trail half the year. He is on the water 300 days a year on one lake. Not advertising for 4 different lakes. I feel he would be using prior knowledge that is no guarantee on catching fish. His last trip to that lake could have been weeks ago and i feel that a guide stays on fish to put clients on fish. 3. My weakness at one time was drop shotting. What better way to learn, from a professional. 4. I do fish tournaments, love to travel, the best way to learn a new lake quickly is a licensed guide. 5. Some guides specialize in TROPHY BASS, not quanity, but quality. The going rate for a full day trip in Texas is $300 for one or two people. 6. Bait shops or tackle stores don't always give accurate info. He may tell you that the fat free shad in the tenessee color is tearing them up, just so you can buy some of his overstock. 7. Most guides that advertise will say one on one instructional trips available. Alot of guys wives have never bass fished. 8. I always tell the guide weeks before going what my goal is: A trophy Bass, or I have a tourney coming up next month in may, where will the post spawn bass be located, what will they hit, show me the places I'll need to be to put a 5 fish limit together. If bad weather arises then, what do the fish do, what baits, colors and etc...I take notes, or make notes on my topos. Its my money, I ask 100's of questions. 9. asctec- is right on also. I love to stripper fish once in awile. But I'm not going to put down riggers on my bass boat. A specialized guide is already rigged for your type of fishing. It might cost me more money to buy the right tackle with no guarantees of catching fish.

Only if he's showing (demonstrating) techniques or searching for the pattern or was asked to. One key element is to talk about what you expect from him before the booking. Most people are afraid to tell the guide how they feel about him fishing. If you mention that your friend booked a guide last week and was upset that the guide caught 15 and him 3, Ask him is it going to be that way with you? He will get the message.