BigEbass

DUDE - casting a baitcaster that easy - she will do fine I would think - my wife struggles at times with the open face still I have only been fishing for 2 years so I think this goes to say with anyone - feeling and reacting to the bite is tough I think for anyone - I mean, how many times are we bit and dont know it??? ANd how many times did we think that was a rock or a log and it wasnt? Alls I can say about how I got a better "feel" was simply through fishing experience.... For me, what helped a ton was to go along with my neighbor to a group of pay ponds in western alabama (triple D ranch) - 75 bucks for the day - and you simply almost always catch 20-30 fish at least - so there is alot of oppurtunities to catch fish - they love the worm there and the jig and after catching many on these baits, it gave me a better "feel" - eventually I got much better quicker - now on a slower bite I think (or hope) I better applied what I had learned. I still set the hook at times when nothing was there - I have a fairly low threshold to do that if I had any "unusual" sensations or line movements - doing this I have hooked up. If I had to describe a common hit on the worm to someone new I think I would differentiate it generally in this way - if she is dragging it slowly over stuff you may feel friction or some resistance at times, but when a fish generally takes it, you will feel perhaps many times a more discrete change in line tension - a "bump, bump" - but still yet, I think the experience of actually "feeling" many bites somewhere where the bite is on will be priceless - at least that is what I am hoping to achieve with my wife's first season of bass fishing this year as well. Good Luck

Spotted Bass - they at first glance look very similar to a largemouth but their jaw only extends to the center of their eye vs. the LM's jaw extends clearly past the eye - if I recall too they have some teeth on their tongue while LM's do not - they are more of a riverine bass - they relate more so to current than do LM's and they are freakin scrappy - they fight WAY more than LM's - I LOVE THEM There are two species of them I believe - the kentucky spotted bass and the Coosa Spotted Bass - cant recall the exact differences there though really..... They are a great fish - I hope to catch one this weekend at Lewis Smith Lake

Here is a few resources that I have read through - perhaps they will help you.... http://www.swimbaitnation.com/articles The above link has a number of good articles in it - I would check them out. http://www.huddbaits.com/2010/02/01/big-swimbaits-and-mental-adjustments/ Huddbaits.com has a bunch of decent articles too including this one you may find interesting. www.bbz.com - check out the videos section as well as articles on this website. Ok, thats all I have - good luck to you...or to us - lets go get that 7, 8, or 9, or 14, or 22 pounder ;D ;D ;D

Yeah, I actually have started as of 1 week ago to fish Lewis Smith. Maybe I can beat the record What is the current standing record? You said Cali right? How much did she weigh? Who knows the next one may come from taiwan or Japan or bangaladesh ;D - we are outsourcing all of our big fish >

I havent personally - heard there was good fishing though - you can as well fish the dam I hear and pull out more striper than you can ever want to catch.....let me know what you find out....I live in Birmingham and will likely at some point get up there to fish wheeler myself - my dad lives in hunstsville and I will likely at some point want to meet him there.

NICE!! I thew my first 4 hours of swimbait the other day - 2 hudds - I think I am gonna look into this bluegill style bait for the beds - seems logical - and it worked for you clearly - way to go Matt!!

holy crap - 12# spot - now that would be a heck of a fight for sure - hope its true - cannot wait to see a photo if it is. Will be a bit sad that it wasnt caught in my homestate though :'(

I had the same question on another site about the splash of big baits, particularly in the shallows - the response I got made alot of sense - I will paraphrase: Splashes are a normal occurrence on a body of water, a bird feeding, a fish jumping etc....it may very well stimulate interest from a nearby fish.....having said that you dont want to land the splash on the head of your target - try and put your cast beyod the target strike zone - the splash may get a fish looking in that directiona and when your presentation gets there - blammo

Fish Chris's comments seems in line with the trophy hunter types (who I am aspiring to become myself). About a big 10 inch bait and such.....you mentioned the loud splash as a problem. Well, I am sure there are certain situations that is a problem, but from what I have read and understand is this - 1) you can catch bigger fish on a bigger bait such as a 10 inch trout - others have and are doing it - hudds are well proven so far as I understand, even some guys in the southeast are tossing them as well and doing well. 2) the loud splash...you assume that this is always a bad thing is an absolute....that assumption at times may be right, but you must also consider the possibility that this noise arouses big bass interest at first - gets them to looking and moving in that direction, then eventually hit the bait. I say dont be afraid of the splash - it may be scaring you more than the fish themselves? I have been advised by people on this site as well as the BBZ.com forum site to perhaps start with the 6 inch or 8 inch hudds for starters and perhaps a wake bait such as the MS slammer etc...get yourself one good swimbait rod - dont make my initial mistake of buying a long nearly 8 foot flipping/pitching rod - they are too stiff at the tip and dont load up nice for easier tossing of these baits - get a long swimbait rod with a fast tip and a good backbone - fish chris may give us better advice on setup - my neighbor gave me an old shimano calcutta 200 for starters - you will need a heaftier reel to handle the abuse of big baits I think - there are a number of options out there that I am not yet fully aware of or have saved for yet...... Thanks Fish Chris for the advice - it corroborates the advice I have recieved so far......take care.

I think Perry's record was caught on a "creek chub fintail shiner" - an artifical I believe - floating wood style bait I recall - could be wrong though.

ahh, you have a taste now for the big uns....me too, caught my first 5+ lber and I have undertaken a plan of action that will be solely trophy hunting (well at least to beat my PB anyway). I am taking the big baits route as matt has alluded to - I ordered my first two hudds and fished them for 4 hours yesterday and didnt get a bite after fishing about 15 points and a shallow flat - wife got sick and went home - anyway, I am in my infancy on the topic of big baits - I have heard that wake baits such as the lunker plunker, MS Slammer, or Wake Jr. and good starter baits for newB big bait people - I havent bought one yet - Some folks have suggested for me hudds to start with and I am gonna stick with that for some time (although I am starting with 6 inch for now). I want a lunker plunker next to try in addition to my hudds - I hear if you have striper in your waters as well they love this lure (and the hudd for that matter). Anyway, I wont give you much advice really as I am just picking up on this tactic - I think I may be the only person on my local waters who even know what a huddleston bait is, heh heh, we will see if that proves as genius or stupid, heh heh. As far as catching big bass as "lucky" - I think that is a self defeating mindset - if you set out to do it and committ to catching bigger fish I believe you can achieve it - others do it successfully fairly consistently, I believe if someone else can do it so can I (at least that is what I am going to keep telling myself to keep me going). From my research online and talking with some folks in mr region online about big baits - there will be a steep learning curve - possibly some tough days ahead - but with time and dedication I hope to like you hook a 9 lber or just in general catch larger fish with more regularity. Good luck in your 9 lb quest - hopefully we will get there (or at least start consistently beating our PB's). Again, I am a total newB at this so my comments are only really to add to your post and stimulate some ideas and thinking perhaps.

Personally I think we put more emphasis on lure choice than do we on fishing location, depth, and presentation. I have only been fishing for 2 years and almost every lure I have I have had successful days with (buzzbait, crankbait, lipless, spinnerbait, worms, sinko, jerkbait, pop-r, trick worm, brush hog, jig...............etc etc). Occassionally there is "this one lure" that kills the fish - when I fish with my buddy and one of us "finds" this lure for that day - we always replicate each other - ego is never an issue with me personally. Its silly in my opinion - this is "my color" or "my lure" - that is flat out silly - if you didnt pour that soft plastic then it aint "yours" - and it very well perhaps may not be whats "on the menu" that day - that stubborn egotistical attitude to me makes no sense. If everyone else was catching 5 lbers in a given area/depth, would you choose to keep throwing to a different area catching 0.5lb dinks or getting skunked because it is "your spot"? Lures are just tools IMO - tools that work a certain depth of water in a certain way - I mean, how many times have two different colors or two different lures BOTH produced in the same day from the same boat? Now there have been days for whatever reason that that one color on that one bait just excelled...but in general I think that many things can work - it is where and how we work these tools that is worth mentioning foremost IMO 8-)

Frankly I am not exactly sure of how wide an area is covered with that unit in 10 feet...?? But I doubt it will be anything more than 5-10 feet diameter?? But that is a total guess There probably is some sort of ratio that will tell you the area of coverage.....

I have the 998 which should be essentially the same install...it is pretty strait forward for my boat. As what was said - there are two wires for the power cord - follow the old units power cord - mine was under the console - I cut the old red and black wires and saudered in the new red and black wires. The transducer was the harder part for me - you need to make sure and follow the manual's directions pretty close to ensure you do it right - you need it level and in the right position to give good results - the transducer coard was not all that difficult to route through. There was a couple of panels I had to take off or loosen to get the transducer cablet routed appropriately. Here is a little tip. If your old transducer is still there and runs through a tight spot hard to get through but is movable - you can tigh your new transducer cable to the old one and use the old one to feed the new one through....that helpd me alot personally. It was tedious of a job for me - I am a pharmacists though and not very handy - but if this pill counter can do it so can you I have never installed a stereo, but this should be easier I would think.

What hudd where you using there fish? 6 inch 8 inch - I got my first two ever hudds in the mail yesterday - 6 inch weedless models - ROF 5 and a ROF 12 - I hope to wack me some giants with these baits soon......

They have a new website FYI peeps: huddbaits.com I am getting my first two 6 inchers in the mail any day now - cant wait to try em - they have been used for a while with apparent great success - for fish chris too apparently!!

yeah fish, that makes total since really - if I had to set up my shots all by my lonesome I would struggle I think - I am not sure if many point and shoots have a focus lock feature that would fix this - just off the top of my head a solution to that would be to find an area to focus and tap the button on it and keep yourself out of the frame - still this would be tricky - ......your setup sounds pretty sweet though - My SLR has a remote I can use

Yeah, I have been fishing for 2 years now, and every time you take on a new bait, it is a confidence hurdle.....good job in making it happen!! I am trying big swimbaits now (first time was saturday) and got my first swimbait bite which felt like a victory of itself (fish somehow came off though, I think I was a bite late) - if others can catch on a given lure so can we ;D

VERY COOL GALE - I have my first child on the way - we will find out the sex in exactly 1 week - I hope that he/she will enjoy days out on the lake with "dad" one day too in this same manner - very special - and not an absolute as I understand - enjoy yourself!!

Man that is one nice fish - likely gave that yak a nice tug

Called them a few times, always got through to "heidi" who was very nice and helpful so far who agreed to send me a packaging label - I am sending my unit back in for replacement.....so far they have been helpful - Ill keep you posted - I would just call them if I were you.

I cannot imagine seeing so few fish ever on a depth finder on any given outing. The principles discussed are spot on so far - ie the very narrow field of view you achieve with a sounder - so there could be many fish in an area and you may possibly miss then in your narrow cone - the more shallow you are, the more narrow the field of view....having said that, I am not sure why exaclty you are not marking any fish or so very few fish - I am guessing you are running on auto sensitivity - but even at various sensitivities I cannot imagine not seeing very many fish EVER?? Gobig is right about verticle presentations, I have read about it and will one day learn this technique - just got my new HB unit that will likely be able to do this, but I am just not there yet. But at the moment if you can find good points, creeks, flats, humps etc and fish em top to bottom you cant go wrong - the fish will be there....I think...

the no GPS fix just happened to me and I have an external antenna - my first time on the water with my 998 on saturday and no GPS - nor probs with my side imaging, it worked beautifully - curious that you have the same no fix issue......HB told me I need to send in the unit and the reciever for they to fix or replace - 3-5 day turn around they claim - what a bummer of a start, sorry man, they should fix the issue quickly and get us to funcitonality - hey tell them you want them to send you a mailing label pre-paid if you do have to send it in, otherwise they may try and let you pay for shipping to them - I complained about that and they are sending me a label

yep - your flash is too strong, but it also has to do with the background. See in auto mode, your point and shoot with the flash on say at twighlight time - your camera will choose a shutter speed to expose for your flashed subject - perhaps it will choose for you a shutter speed of 1/200 - in auto you are telling the camera to freeze the subject and light it with the flash - in this mode, the background becomes unimportant and is NOT exposed for. Solution - again use some available light if it exists to fill shadows (reflector or simply turn your subject) or if too little light is available pop your camera in night mode or slow sync mode - in this mode it will first expose the scene properly as if it were NOT using flash - this gives a balanced background exposure - that same exposure shot without flash though would come out very blurry due to the low shutter speed - but the camera at the end of the exposure emitts the flash and that flash basically creates another exposure on top of the background exposure which turns out usually to be very sharp or acceptably sharp (depending on how dark it is) - a tripod in this mode is advisable due to the low shutter speed it must use. But if you want to get creative you can shoot in night flash mode and handhold it, even shake it - you can get some cool results - like a bright blurred background and a sharp subject with light trails - now that would be a cool fishing pic - thats the kinda stuff that I love about photography - ok I am getting too much into it

Paul, flash is a complicated topic. You will hear people talk about natural light as looking better than flash....what really should be said is that good lighting is good lighting, bad lighting is bad lighting, no matter what the source. People that do alot of flash photography can make beautiful images - and I am a big propent of using strobes - but realize that the little flash on your point and shoot does tend to ruin photos in lower light situations - giving you the "flash light" look - with as you said perhaps the fish and you bright and the background too dark. Most of my comments/suggestions I have made so far have assumed a pretty decent amount of background light - so balancing flash becomes less difficult. For example - if it is very very sunny casting hard shadows, that point and shoot flash will not really affect the exposure much at all (unless perhaps you are up really really close for a head shot) - but for many daytime shots "fill flash" with undesirable shadows is usually helpful and will give a balanced exposure in that scene - you can hit someone pretty hard with flash in the middle of day and not get too "unnatural" of lighting. Flash is a tricky subject - balacing flash with available light is too much to get into for this thread - it really requires a more advanced camera that is able to adjust flash value or the direction of the flash (ie a detachable flash head which I have two ). Let me step back and say this - if it is fairly bright outside, I think that in most cases use of flash will only help (in most cases). Now if it is very early in the AM or late in the evening - flash will produce the flash light appearance...my suggestions for these lower light scenarios are as such: 1) if there is some sun during such times on the horizon, position your subject facing this nice golden light - it will in these cases not be too harsh of a light, then shoot WITHOUT flash. 2) Another thing to try in lower light scenarios is to use the camera's version of "slow sync" flash photography - this is usually termed "night mode" on your camera - it is good for such low light situations in which you want to use flash perhaps, but not get the flash light look - what the camera does is use a slow shutter speed to get the background exposure - then it fires a poof of flash at the END of the exposure to light the subject and also freeze it. Another problem with flash during the golden hour is that the flash is not "golden" - it is white - so if you are a real nerd about theses golden hour shots - you can buy some CTO gel (clear to orange) or even some form of clear orangish material at party city and tape it over your flash on your point and shoot to match the available light to the flashes color - but again - this is getting into more detail, heh heh