Fishes in trees

I prefer the Chompers and Arkie brands. Arkies are usually available at WalMart.

I like the Rapala and Lucky Craft versions of the popper. 6 or 7 weeks ago I would have said those are pretty much my exclusive choices for top water. These days, not so much. I've been making myself stick with a buzz bait over a popper with decent results. Mind you I've never had a great day with a popper or top water bait. ( A great day would be 40+ fish on the same bait, same pattern)

I'd approach this problem by throwing money at it. Score a boat. While you're at it get a medium sized trolling motor and a battery (deep cycle) and a battery charger. One of those pond boats would be nice, or a 14' jon boat. Then you're not limited to 80 yards of bank. Clear water = longer casts. Throw parallel to the bank or a 45 degree angle to the bank and eliminate water by depth. I'd throw a green pumpkin senko and it would take a lot to get me to change baits. Maybe some top water early or late. Step A to solving this problem though is getting a boat. Go ahead and drop the cash. A boat will get you though times of no money better than money will get you through times of no boat.

I'm just guessing, but a charitable donation of 2 - 2 1/2 bills or so to some worthy organization would cover the Karma aspect, and also account for the Falcon rod and the Mitchell spinning rod, and the older Ambassadeur reel coming into your possession. While that Falcon rod is a good rod, that Mitchell Fulcrum spinning rod was a great higher quality/lower cost spinning rod. I wish I had the one back that got stolen from me 10 years or so ago. That Ambassadeur reel is old enough to be approaching collector status. Like I said, I'd keep the cool old gear, but I would make a charitable contribution the organization I got them from or some other charitable organization, for Karma's sake.

Just a thought, I like 17 or 20 lb mono when I'm throwing square bills, which is a lot . I'm throwing around brushy, wood type cover.

If I'd have been in that situation, I would have fired up my motor and apologized if anyone called me on it. If you still feel bad for firing up your big motor on a trolling motor only lake, you should do some form of penance. For a conservation sin of this type, I would recommend washing your mouth out with beer. If anyone calls you on it, you should recommend the same form of penance, and provide the beer.

Drain plugs are pretty standard in sizes, aren't they? What happens when you call up Bass Pro and ask them what size to get? I would think that they would be able to tell you what size to get.

Back in the day, guys found structures, rock piles, etc with flashers. All it took was time on the water and messing around with the unit - learning how to use it. Right now you got all the tools you need to find whatever decent fish holding structure available on the water you're fishing. All you got to do is get out there and practice with it. You might want to get some structure markers. While you're looking around, you can't be afraid of losing a few jigs. Get out there and practice. The only thing that will make you confident using your electronics is time on the water and practice.

Are you sure those are Owner sled heads? They look more like a Stanley weighted frog hook to me. I thought Owner sled heads looked more comparable to Brewer Spider Slider heads, more of a finesse type hook. I might be mistaken though?

I'd agree with Crestliner, i.e. the Owner center pins are the easiest to align properly when you're rigging. I think it is worth the effort to buy spare center pins and swap them out on other hooks with different spring systems, if you like that hook better.

I haven't fished those particular pork baits in a drop shot presentation. But I've fished other slightly longer pork baits drop shot style. In my opinion, as long as you kept them moving they worked ok, i.e. I got about as many strikes as any other drop shot I was moving. Now when I stopped it in place and jiggled it for a few moments, I found the pork baits got a little "droopy", they didn't stand out from the hook as I would have liked them to. So, I don't fish pork baits on drop shot rigs much any more. However, I think those baits would be a great finesse trailer on a 3/16 or 1/4 oz finesse jig. Just my thoughts.

I didn't know those little boats even had titles. The craigs list said Minn Kota trolling motor, but the picture is obviously a Motor Guide. That Little Buddy depth finder is a pretty cool toy - assuming it works. From experience I know that those are easy to smash up and break. I don't know, assuming that there aren't any cracks in the plastic or stuff like that I'd probably go ahead and get it. I would dicker about the price some, maybe. You'll want to run the trolling motor off the front if possible, on the theory that it is easier to pull a chain that it is to push it. You will want to rig up some sort of rudder for it, but there are threads in this section that explain how to do that.

For the most part, I don't fish poppers that slow. I think of them as a buzz bait with multiple treble hooks on them. I like to move them pretty quickly, pop, pop, pop, don't stop. The advantage that poppers have over a buzz bait is that you can stop them, which I will occasionally when I'm just past what I consider a prime target. I don't stop them all that much though, very seldom when I'm fishing them in relatively open water. Just for the record, this isn't my favorite bait or presentation. I generally have one tied on, but I'll only fish it in what I consider very positive or pristine conditions. Anyway, I might not be the best guy to listen to on this subject.

I don't think it makes much difference with pork baits. I'd guess that after a short time in the water they straighten themselves out.

I buy on-line some, I occasionally patronize BPS and Cabelas. Liberty, Mo has a very good tackle store - Rogers Lures, that's where I buy the vast majority of my rods & reels. I'm pretty familiar with the Wall-Mart tackle selection. I have a hard time driving by any fishing tackle store and not stopping and seeing what they've got. I guess I've got the fishing tackle buying habit bad enough that I'm indiscriminate about where I buy stuff.

I'm just wondering how many guys here are planning on fishing the Shriner tournament on Truman May 5 & 6? I've got a bud I'm going to co-angler with and I'm going down there a few days early to mess around and try to find some fish. I've got vacation days I've got to use up or lose. I think the tournament is out of Long Shoal, but I'm not certain on that, pretty certain but not 100% certain. My bud paid the entry fees, all I got to do is show up.

I fish a bubba version of a drop shot much more often than a traditional light line version. An 18 inch leader would be long for me and much more often it is a foot or less. That seems to work the best for me.

One spring a few years ago I fell out of my boat into 45 or so degree water. A gust of wind blew my boat sideways and the trolling motor caught a large stump and over I went. It is an interesting sensation looking up and seeing the bottom of you boat and knowing "this ain't good". Fortunately I was wearing Frogg Toggs instead of my heavier Guide Wear rain suit. They fit a lot looser and a lot of air was caught inside the suit and I popped right back up to the surface. Then adrenaline kicked in and three kicks later I was hanging on to the side of my boat. Call me anal, but the first year I got my boat I practiced falling in ( middle of summer in 85 degree water) and then getting back into my boat. I feel like that practice a few years earlier saved me that day. When I got home from that experience, I pulled out the Bass Pro catalog and ordered myself an inflatable life jacket and I'm pretty religious about wearing it now. Other than that, I've stuck hooks into myself a few times and back when I was a bank fisherman I had a few encounters with snakes. While trailering my boat, I've had a couple of close highway traffic encounters, for the most part not my fault. I don't count losing equipment or cell phones (lost 1) as serious, because I figure I've just got temporary custody of that stuff anyway.

I think mine helps me put line on bait casters more consistently.

I'm assuming that you're using a hook size consistent with the size & shape of the bait you're using. As soon as you're aware of a bite, you need to A - take up the slack as quick as you can, B - get in correct position to set the hook as quick as you can and C - set the hook as soon as you can. This process takes from fractions of a second to several seconds, depending. Be aware that you aren't going to catch them all. Focus on technique and executing technique and you'll catch your share.

Ditto on the Flambeau products. I don't think that they are made as well as the Plano ones.

You could always do what I do with my short spools of line, i.e., throw it in the bin with all the other short spools of line. In my 20+ years of serious fishing, I certain I have dozens and maybe as many as a hundred random spools with an unusable quantity of line on them. Just throw them in the bin with all the others. Sooner or later you'll figure out a use for them and when you do you'll have a lot of them.

I've had straight out of the package tuning issues with Strike King baits and that's why I don't buy them any more. Maybe it is their packaging or how they are handled from factory to store. I know I have many fewer tuning issues with Terminator or War Eagle spinner baits.

I come across a crank bait from time to time that doesn't run right. I'll spend a modest amount of time trying to correct it and if that don't work, I just don't mess with it any more. Brands don't seem to matter so much, I've had stinkers from almost every brand. To me, I have some Mann's square bills that just don't seem to want to run right. Just as a random thought, I think this is where the old collectable lures, with pristine paint jobs, come from. If they were a really good lure, a person will use them until they loose them. Just a thought.

I've never done very well on flukes. Don't know why