Fishes in trees

Have I ever done anything dumb while driving a boat? Yes. Do I feel like sharing? No. Some things you learn your lesson from and move on. Dumb boat driving falls into that category. Do we really need a thread about who's done the dumbest thing while driving their boat I'll pass.

What do you mean? How do you store them in your shop between fishing trips? How do you store them in the boat? What? You went to Gander and got a soft tackle box & its not big enough. That's ok, bait monkey says you can have more than 1 soft tackle box. They frequently go on sale at Walmart, Bass Pro, all the usual addiction sources. For shop storage, I go a slightly different route. Walmart frequently has the plastic shoe boxes (with attatched lids) on sale. Every time you go to Walmart, buy 2 or 3 of them. Soon you will have many. When shelving goes on sale, buy some of those. There is no end to how much money you can spend on storage solutions.

Senkos tear very easily. I avoid this by putting an o-ring on the senko and ust hooking the o-ring. It works for me. There are o-ring tools made for this or just buy o-rings and with a little bit of slobber thread them on. 3/8" outside diameter x 1/4" inside diameter is the correct size for a senko. Rather than casting overhead, I'd try to use an underhand pitch type cast. Just a thought.

I have a few of these reels and I think that they made me a better fisherman. For sure, they extended my range. I have the 200 size and for the most part I use 14 lb flourocarbon on them. I primarily fish soft plastics, finesse jigs or senkos. If you want one, you should get it, you will like it.

If wind wasn't an issue, I'd probably use a bait caster, but in Missouri in the early spring, wind is frequently an issue, so I go with spinning tackle. Currently I'm using a 6' 3" Medium Light rod with a fast action tip. I'm using a US reel 240, 14 lb Fireline crystal with a fluorocarbon leader of 12 or 15 lb test. A Pointer 100 weights roughly a half ounce. I can throw a long ways, I sneer at the wind. For the most part, you can feel your bait at the end of a long cast and when you give it slack, like you would during a 10 second or so pause, the Fireline works almost like a strike indicator. It is very easy to see. The only catch to this rig is to close the bail by hand and pay attention so that you don't wind in wind knots. This rig is subject to change, I'm thinking about going longer with the rod. The reason I went with the size rod I did was to avoid slapping the side of the boat or the water with the rod tip. So, I don't know, but I do know that if I had to go throw a jerkbait tomorrow, that's what I'd be using. Using a spinning rod wasn't my idea, for a few years I used a baitcaster spooled with 10 pound line. Then 2 or 3 years ago, In-Fisherman magazine published a lengthy article about jerkbaits, going into great detail why they thought spinning tackle was superior. Without going into a lot of detail, it had to do with covering water and dealing with the wind. I'd say try it both ways and see how you like it.

I can't speak to every Bass Pro Store, but the Bass Pro store in Independence, MO, (open for a little over two years) has marine repair on site, they service everything they sell. I don't know anyone who has dealt with they or has had any experiences one way or another.

Isn't this the second time around for the Dancin Eel? Didn't Bill Dance try to peddle this notion in the mid-80's. It sure seems to me that he did. If it was a good idea then, it would have stuck around, but I don't it being promoted for more than a season.

I don't know where I caught the fishing bug. My dad's idea of a vacation or average weekend relaxing was the same - Indoors with air conditioning and scotch.

Another option, nobody has mentioned yet could be Slider worms. Charlie Brewer Slider worms are kind of jig fishing, but different. That's my next choice if finesse jigs or pointers aren't working. Another thing to consider.

I think the rods are OK, it is the warranties I have issues with. I have had the minimum wage front line employees get pissy when I broke one and tried to trade it in without a receipt. They have always replaced them out of stock (3 different times over the past 6 years), but the return manager always had to get involved and it took 30 or 40 minutes before they caved. These days, anything I buy at Bass Pro, I put on my Bass Pro credit card and then they have the paper trail. I don't use that card for anything else. Over the past two years, that has made life a little easier.

If you haven't had a new rod & reel in 10 years, you owe yourself several. Wait until you get to BPS in Springfield. Bring your Mastercard and your Visa and your checkbook and have money in your pocket. Knock yourself out. Bait monkey rules!!!

Just because you wouldn't use it isnt a reason not to get a musky rod. I live in Missouri, there aren't any muskies anywhere near here and I have two musky rods. I don't know why - blame the bait monkey. You probably ought to have a rainsuit though. If you're bank fishing and tromping through brush, weeds, cattails, whatever, I wouldn't get a real expensive one. Don't get one that you're worried about tearing up. I know that Frog Togs are allergic to thorns and lake side bushes. You could probably get by with a poncho. But, it's not my money, you should get what you want

So how come I have different rods and reels for different fishing approaches? I have two answers. #1 Because I can. Fishing is an individual sport. There is no right or wrong way to approach it. Back in the day, when I was a pond hopping, bank walking, Bush hippie, my gear selection was limited by how much I can carry. Fast forward 30 years and now I cut my hair more often, but I'm still limited by how much I can carry. With an 18 foot boat and an SUV I can carry more, but I'm still limited. #2 Like many other guys, I don't get to go fishing as often as I'd like, therefore, my fishing time is worth quite a bit to me. Wasting fishing time bugs me quite a bit. I don't mind losing baits, that is part of fishing, yet it really bugs me when I have to stop and retie just to change baits. It is easier to just pick up another rod and reel with another option ready to go. When I can save fishing time by throwing money at more rods and reels, that is a fair trade to me.

There are lots of ways to approach this question - and they are all right. For me, I think competence starts once you've achieved a certain level of mastery with your basic tools. By this, I mean get good with your rod and reel. Spinning or baitcasting, it don't matter. Get to the point to where your bait goes where you want it to go. Get beyond just throwing a bait in a general direction and get to where you can hit spots. It took me several years to gain any sort of competence with a bait caster. Just keep at it.

It really depends how big a boat you get. My next boat, I'm going to get trailer brakes. All the guys I know who have them really like them.

I like the clown color for really bright sunshine days and I like Table Rock Shad for all the other days.

The reason that bass boats have nooks and crevices is so that you can have spinnerbaits strewn around your boat. Way under the console is a great place to store your spinnerbaits, as is that crevice between the console and the windshield. Whatever space you choose, make sure that it is absolutely difficult to get to, that way it is easier to throw another spinnerbait on top of the pile than it is to clean it out. Seriously, there are several ways to store spinnerbaits. Some guys I know have racks that glue to the underside of storage bin lids. These are out of the way, yet easy to get to. The Falcon FTO boxes work great. The Plano 3704 boxes work ok. The Flambeau spinnerait boxes work ok. In the past I've tried several soft sided spinnerbait binders and I wasn't happy with any of them.

5 rods - Table Rock - late April. What part of the lake? If I was going to run way up the White or James river, I'd take different stuff than if I was going to stay in the Kimberling City -Indian Point - Dam area. Late April, spawn could be on or spawn could be over, varies from year to year. I've heard about the post spawn spook bite, but I've never been able to make it work. That 's no reason not to try it. For sure, I'd bring a shakey head rod. For sure, I'd bring a drop shot rod. For sure, I'd bring a rod to throw Eakins jigs With the other two, there are lots of options. Really, you could be planning too far ahead. A lot of weather will happen between now and then. It would probably be best to bring a whole bunch of options and not make any decisions until the night before you go.

There are lots of things I can't say I've learned yet, because it is a work in progress. Confidence with a jig, deep cranking, sonar skills, drop shotting, fish locating skills, would fall into this category. As far as a skill I've learned, I'd have to say pitching. It took me most of 2 seasons, making myself pitch when I could have overhead cast or side arm cast, to get good at it. Now, for the most part, If a target is within 70 feet and I've got a lane to it, I can hit it. I went through a couple of service spools of 14 lb Vanish during those seasons, I backlashed alot.

I'm not a big fan of yellow. I never, ever, wear a yellow shirt. Should a buddy have a yellow hat, I'll offer a spare hat of another color. I don't like yellow in my boat. No fish yellow.

Putting different colors into the same bag is a bad idea, unless you want them to bleed into each other or you don't care. Next, I've got to ask, you sauteed your plastic worms in corn oil and garlic? Was heat involved? What possessed you to do this? How did it work out? Did you just want your baits to reek of garlic? Get some Chompers. They reek of garlic and you can find out how much they reek of garlic by leaving an open package in a closed boat bin.

Pull out your Bass Pro catalog, your Visa and have at it.

No, but I always figured that it more to do with being away from home, different bed, changed schedule etc than it did with the tournament. I never considered it a preparation or anticipation issue.

Good question - real answer is I don't know. I am going to try to get better in my locating skills, I'd rather spend more time fishing rather than searching. I'm going to try to keep gear better organized, so I don't spend as much time sorting through stuff. I'm going to try to get beyond local this year, maybe a once a month trip to a larger reservoir - Truman or Stockton or Pomme de Terre.

I'm considering getting a Power-Pole this year. I'd like to hear from guys who have one. How well do they work? How quick do they deploy? How often do they break? Is it possible to get one stuck? I'd like to hear any and all experiences of guys who have power poles.