Fishes in trees

How are you going to pay for it? Seriously, when I bought my last boat (2002 Lowe 180) I found numerous great deals on 1 to 2 year old glass boats. As soon as my banker heard the word "used", the best they would go was 4 years. When they heard the word "new" they would go 12 years. So it was a no-brainer for me - I went new. I understand that I'm giving the bank some interest money, and I'm OK with that.

So you want to keep your plastics organized? Good luck with that. It is good to have goals. One of the things that separate us from monkeys is that we can speak about our goals. Everyone's system works for a while - and then it doesn't and then we try another system. My current system involves keeping baits in their original bags. Same baits - different colors are put into gallon zip lock bags and labeled. The gallon zip locks are then filed into 1 of 4 medium sized soft sided tackle bags based on size and shape. Bag #1 - Senkos - Senko imitators - big worms Bag #2 - Tubes Bag #3 - Creatures & Chompers Bag #4 - Anything that doesn't fit categories 1,2, or 3 We will see how long this system lasts

What is a good crankbait? That is a very broad question. Where were you planning on fishing this crankbait. Rounded bills fish different than square bills, longer bills fish different than shorter bills. Rounded baits fish different than flat sided baits. And we are just getting started on the differences between various types of crakbaits. On this site, and the *** site and In-Fisherman magazine and lots of other sites there are lots of opinions on what type of crank to fish where. Start with doing your research and try to tie your local conditions into what you read. This will take a while. Good luck with it. Now, my favorite way to fish crank baits is to throw them into and around bushes and trees and stumps. In my research, the best tool for this task is a Timber Tiger.

Mini Bolt cutters - ten bucks at Lowes? Really? Huh. I'm a sucker for tools and those look like a good idea. I'll buy some.

To me, spinnerbaits in clear to lightly stained are a mystery. I have lots of different colors and lots of different styles and some days they work and some days they don't. The past few years, I've had issues trying to get any consistent results using spinnerbaits in clear to lightly stained water. Over the past 5 years, I've had more consistent spinner bait success in very stained to muddy water. I like a "thumper", a 1/2 or 3/4 oz bait with a larger single colorado blade.

Luck Craft baits will not kill your wallet - they will just wound it for a while. If those are too pricey, go with Rogues. Be sure to buy and bunch of suspend dots and suspend strips. Part of the charm of fishing Rogues is getting them weighted right, so they suspend. And after a while, when you can afford some Pointers, you will appreciate them more.

The past few years I've fished Pointers more than all the other brands put together and my best color has been Table Rock Shad.

Did they die out? I bought 2 US Reel 240 SXs this winter. What provoked me to do this was the two that I bought last year, they worked good - no issues. Nobody told me they were dead though. Bummer.

I've fished as co-angler in BFL for a number of years. I've ridden in some nice boats. A few stand out in my memories. At Grand Lake in Oklahoma, I drew a guy who had a brand new Ranger Z series - 21 '. It had a 250 Mercury Verado on it and at 3/4 throttle it was going 60+ mph and you could carry on a conversation while you were moving. The wind noise was louder than the motor noise. There was another guy I drew two years in a row (2 different lakes). He had a newer 20 Bass Cat. Both days were very windy with rough water and we made modest runs both bays (18 to 20 miles one way) Absolutely the smoothest riding boat I'd ever been in. I know in that situation alot of the ride depends on the driver, but still, it was the smoothest ride on 2 to 3 foot white caps I'd ever had. All the major brands are basically good. For me it would come down to which dealer I got along with the best. If the subject turns to aluminum boats, I'd go with Express. They are great boats. The issue with them is a limited dealer network.

To echo what several other guys have said on this thread, be mindful that finesse fishing is more of an attitude than an equipment thing. There will be days when a slow down, finesse approach will work and a higher speed reaction bait approach won't. And visa versa. Consider where you're at as a fisherman. Is this a year where you need to hone the skills you got or is this a year to learn new techniques or some of both. If you are bank bound most of the time, this could be the year to focus your resources on getting a boat. Get a copy of Charlie Brewer's book Slider Fishing and see if that doesn't alter your thinking on what is and what ain't finesse.

Currently, I'm using a 6'3" or a 6"6" medium light spinning rod and a US reel 240 Supercaster. I'm using 14 lb Fireline crystal and a foot or two fluorocarbon leader. The plan is to go for distance and cover the water. I'm thinking about going to a 7' medium light rod or even a 7 1/2 to further increase range, but the trade off is slapping the water when you're jerking the bait down. Further experiments will start next week. The spinning gear makes it easier to fish in the wind - I think. Once your jerkbait is down and out, the Fireline crystal works like a strike indicator. Your bait is 80 to 90 feet away and 5 feet down and you will see the strike as your line moves way before you feel it

Don't buy a cheap tackle box, buy a decent tackle box. Buy one llike you were buying one for yourself, only get the appropriate size. Same goes for rods, reels and other fishing stuff for kids. There is quality, value priced tackle out there. Think about the message you're sending, " Fishing is a sport, a pastime, an endeavor you can pursue your entire lifetime, so we'll start you out with something that is cheap, plastic and breaks easily" I could go on and on and on about the fallacies inherent in buying cheap fishing tackle for kids, but that would turn into a rant and so I won't.

My favorite tackle store finally got some in. I was disappointed, somehow I thought they would be bigger. It weights what, 3/8 oz? How heavy a line did you throw it on and how deep do you think it got? I'm just curious. I think it comes in some neat colors.

These are not a new idea. A while back, 5 or 7 years ago, Lucky Strike plastics had a very similar bait out, i.e. a tube with a long tail. I recall buying a couple of packs, but I don't remember any great success. It seems like Gene Larew has better colors than I remember the other brand having.

I used to have a similar sized pond boat and I would run 3 batteries. It made running out of power less of an issue. Minn Kota makes a 50 lb thrust trolling motor (12 volts) with a variable speed ( instead of several fixed speeds) that will help you save battery power.

It depends on what feels right on the rod. If the smaller one feels better, go for it. BPS catalog shows it holding 110 yards of 6 lb test. So you could probably put 8 on it, for sure you could drop down to 4 lb test, or go up to 20 lb braid, that would be a hoot. If you can catch a fish that will tear up that reel, you could be a hero. It comes with a spare spool. Go with 6 on one spool for your genuine finesse stuff and put 20 lb power pro on the other spool - then just dare the fish to try to tear it up. You might bust the rod before you tear up that reel. So what, St. Croix has a good warranty.

I have an alumaducer and I don't feel like I'm losing much imagery. You probably lose some and the real answer is I don't know. When I got the Alumaducer, I was upgrading electronics as well, I got the Lowrance X-135 for the console. What I like most about it is that I'm not busting off a bracket every so often, and every second or third bracket, you end up wrecking the transducer. I was several hundred dollars into the bracket/transducer replacement mode when I decided to solve the problem once and for all with the Alumaducer. If you've got a tin boat and you've smashed up several brackets and transducers, the Alumaducer will solve that problem.

I picked up some heavy ones ( 12/ & 3/4 oz) at Cabelas on close out this winter. I haven't gotten them wet yet. MY plan with these baits is to either put a big shad body on it (like a Berkley Powerbait Saltwater swim shad) and just swim it back in shallow to medium depths or put a smaller grub on it and jig it deep, like you might fish a Little George. I think they were invented as a sort of schooling fish lure, but I'm not sure.

I fell in once. March - windy - 40 or so degree water. No life jacket. It got interesting. Looking up over your head and seeing the hull of your boat you understand "This ain't good." Fortunately, the first summer I had my boat I practiced falling out of it, I had a plan to get back into the boat and it worked. I went back to the ramp, changed clothes and kept fishing. Buy the time I got home that evening, I realized a few things, that I hated wearing the regular pfd and I had to do something different. I bought an inflatable. I wear it all the time. I had it go off once in my truck. I think it went off due to excess humidity inside the truck, windows up, inside a metal shed during the middle of summer. I don't know exactly how it happened, I just went out to the truck one day and it had deployed and then deflated. I still wear it. I think it is the best option for me. Last year I did buy one of the better ones, with the HIT inflation and now I wear that one. I bought the HIT just because I felt it was better, not because I was afraid of using the other one. If I ever fall out of the boat, and it doesn't deploy and I drown, at least my heirs will know who to sue. Other than that I try not to think about it. I do wear it all the time, and I'm getting to the point that most of the time I don't even notice it.

When I first saw these redi-rigs I thought they were a great idea. After 20 minutes of using them, I didn't - for all of the reasons listed previously. These items now have an honored spot in the "box of bad ideas" in my shed.

Those jigs look OK. It isn't a spank brand new idea. *** sells jigs with a similar set up - both skirted and unskirted. Critterbaits out of Olathe, Ks. markets jigs with a similar set up - where the trailer in effect becomes the weed guard. I've seen maybe a dozen other companies who market jigs with similar set ups, while surfing different tackle companies, wouldn't you know I can't remember any more right now. It comes down to what do you think is a better brush guard - the fiber in front of the hook or the soft plastic trailer. For me the jury is still out. I don't know. I'm sure there are different opinions out there.

After a heavy rain, the water is probably more stained than usual (whatever usual is) I'd start out looking for a reaction bite - either a "Thumper" style spinnerbait or a chatter bait, and I'd stick with it for probably an hour or so prior to switching baits

Check your state regulations, there might be some stuff that you've got to carry - and different states are different. Years ago, I had a buddy get a ticket from water patrol because he didn't have a throwable flotation device on board. It doesn't have to be easy to get to, it just has to be on board. Other things, like a fire extinguisher, it is a good idea for that to be easy to get to. I carry some structure markers in my boat, but I don't think I got them wet last year (not counting getting rained on) I'd say just start out with what is legally required and after a few trips stock what is necessary. 18' seems like a lot of boat now, but if you carry everything you think you might need sometime, you'll fill it up pretty quick.

I've had an Alumaducer installed on my aluminum boat for two year now. It works good. I use a Lowrance X135 sonar unit. I am not handy with this sort of stuff, getting someone who had experience installing them was a challenge. You can find out all about the Alumaducer at the Vexilar web site. www.vexilar.com. No one in the Kansas City region knew anything about them or had any experience installing them. I found a place in St. Louis - Tri-State Trolling Motor Repair to install it for me. They did a very slick installation job - I was pleased. If you've got an aluminum boat and you are tired of smashing up transom mounted transducers, check out the Alumaducer.

As I understand it, American Rodsmiths is now owned by the guys who used to own All Star prior to selling it to Shakespeare. I thought the older All Stars with the lifetime warranty were great rods. If any one any where near me sold American Rodsmith rods, I'd probably buy some.