Osprey39

The water temp has been over 60 there for about a month, I just assumed most of the fish would be done spawning. I found a long flat just around the corner from that cove. I'll give it a look see on Friday. It looked like mostly mud bottom but I'll investigate it further.

I've been fishing quite a bit this year and I've caught several largemouth but they have all been right around the size limit + or - an inch. I went down to Texas and caught a couple good ones down there but here at home, I've been struggling. Saturday was more of the same. Got on the lake about 11am after the 2.5 hour drive to get there and caught several small fish. Lost one that was probably around 1.5 to 2lbs and then this one hammered my bait (sorry, I was by myself so no posing for me):

I hit the lake this weekend where we are having a club tournament next weekend. My goal was to find a few more spots to fish that are nearby my normal holes. Saturday I pulled into a little cove that looked like it had some good transition from deep (50ft +) water. I'd never been in that area before and it is basically the head of a rocky canyon with a few stick-ups here and there. There were a lot of vertical rock walls in there and it looked pretty good. I idled into about 20 foot of water, shut the motor off and dropped the TM. On about my 5th cast, I hooked a fish. It came up to the surface and I could see it was a non-keeper and then it threw my lure (hooks were dull, I fixed that and didn't lose another one all weekend on that bait.) I proceeded to catch several other fish that size throughout the day and Sunday morning but I only caught one of any size (3 pounder.) I lost another one right at the boat that probably would have gone 1.5 to 2 pounds but that fish I hooked pitching a fat ika into some brush in about 3 feet of water. Most of the fish I caught were in 5-10 feet of water. Obviously this area is holding fish but where are the bigger ones? I'm thinking I'm going to have to go deeper but the deeper water in there doesn't have the good looking structure that the shallower area does. The shallower area has lots of nice secondary points throughout. I didn't see much on the graph when I was idling through the deeper area but honestly, I didn't really search thoroughly. Some other factors: Water temp was 62 in the morning warming up to almost 65 in the afternoon. Lake level is rising quickly. I would guess it is up 2-4 feet over where it was two weekends ago when I was down there. Thoughts or suggestions? I am not good or knowledgeable at fishing deeper water for bass. If my deep diving cranks can't hit bottom there, I avoid it so don't assume I know anything about it because I probably don't

Stories like this are one of the reasons I hate trout. Freaking game and fish departments act like they are some higher form of aquatic life just because the rich yuppies like to fish for them. Always, always special regulations that people have to adhere to that couldn't give a d**n about catching a trout. I say eradicate the trout!

Lefty reels are not cheaper, they cost the same as right reels. Maybe when they are selling at full price but when they put them on closeout sale, you can bet if you're left handed you will have plenty to choose from. Not so for us normal people

Yep, he freaking blew it big time! lol

Guys, I have a spot on the front deck of my rig where the glue has come loose. It's not that bad right now but I'm afraid it's going to spread across the whole deck. Is there anyway to fix it short of pulling all the carpet off and re-gluing it?

Those inserts look like the answer to my dilemma. Planning on hitting the lake this weekend, hopefully I can find some of them locally before I go.

I don't follow. Are you rigging it like shown in the diagram? http://www.***.com/guides/texasrig.html Yes but I'm talking about hollow tubes and there's no meat to stick the hook into and the tube slides over the hook eye. I was using 8lb diameter braid with 8lb flouro for a leader so you may be right. Never tried that but I will in the future for sure.

How do you get the hook to stay in the tube? I tried that and it kept falling out.

How do you do it? I see these tube jig heads with the fiber brush guards but I don't see how you can put that inside the tube. My dilemma is that I have really good success with tube jigs but the lakes I fish in are really rocky and I end up getting them wedged in the rocks eventually. Last trip I lost 3 jigs on 3 casts and I decided there had to be a better way. Please enlighten me with ideas.

What do you do, hold the bag open for them? I've never thought of putting fish in a bag as a 2 man operation.

The secret: Weekdays Unfortunately, the lake is 3 hours one way from my house. The resort catered to large corporate, weekend outings. Many lake locals got their guide licenses just to accommodate the 2 resorts there that specialized in those corporate weekends. It was an easy $100-200 for 4-8 hours work. Most of the clientele would need a 1/2 hour primer on how to cast a Zebco 33 if you get my drift. How well I know. I've had a license for years and refuse to let it go. I have not had a paying customer in the boat in years and I hope I never have to resort to it to make a living. I do have a story about a customer's wife and no top, but I don't think I'll post it up here. Can you PM it? ;D

What do you guys like to use for trailers on these baits. I like to use Berkley Power Frog trailers for swim jigs but I can't find anything I like for spinnerbaits. Looking for some suggestions.

Aw, I didn't mean to make you tear up lol. You were right though, if it's a jig, they likely have it there. Quite a selection.

Wrong webpage addy man. I entered it and it didn't work. The actual address is: www.northstarbaits.com

Definitely go with a saltwater tackle store. Been too long since I fished saltwater so I can't recommend any but heavy weights are pretty common for saltwater. edit: I got thinking after I made this post that if you're using it for a marker buoy, you could probably use the weights they use for duck decoys: Decoy anchors

Better than last year for sure. Last year was the first time I had fished in almost 17 years. Lakes I used to know had changed dramatically and I fished several for the first time. I didn't do very well, only catching a few fish. This year I've been catching fish almost every time out and I'm starting to get a feel for what the heck I'm doing again plus learning some of the new baits that are out since I last fished. I've caught a few smallies, several largemouth, 3 real nice crappie (in a bass tourney, lol) and a few catfish. Only thing I wish is that I could get out more. 110 miles to the nearest lake that isn't no-wake makes day trips a chore.

Well, like in any law enforcement, they probably needed the time to gather enough evidence to be sure they had a bust. Also, catching them with a few over the limit they could claim ignorance, get a small fine and some inconvenience and sent on their way. By waiting, they proved them to be poachers and total scum, thus justifying the harshest punishments they can give. All said, I still think they should line up guys like them and shoot 'em... Or at the very, VERY least ban them from any fishing or hunting anywhere for life as already mentioned by others here. I understand "meat hunting" and I understand having to feed your family, but that is just plain greed and ignorance. Guys like them affect every other fisherman and outdoorsman. I would add, most of these morons just flat out don't care what they do to our fisheries. There needs to be much more Harsh penalties handed out. And I though we had a problem here in Cali..all we can do is call the DFG, but in most cases, they don't have the resouces to nail these clowns.. > You know, in New Mexico I've never even had my license checked when bass fishing. The only thing the Game & Fish Department cares about here is this: 1. Elk poaching 2. Deer poaching When it comes to fish, they don't care about it except for trout on the San Juan River. They pay attention to that but that's about it.

141 fish over the limit? Seriously? What the hell were they even going to do with that many fish? I hope they throw the book at them.

Well that is an awesome idea sir and I am blatantly going to steal it from you

What kind of wire are you using?

A 75 on a 190? No offense, but I bet that thing is a dog. None taken. I bought it used and that was what was on it with only 11 hours. I'm planning on getting a bigger motor if I keep the boat but I just got laid off from work Friday so it's gonna have to wait either way. It does about 36 mph and gets me where I need to go so it's fine for now.

It idles slowly, almost borderline stalling during the summer, a little faster when it is cool. I suppose I could bump up the idle a bit. My 75hp Optimax does the same thing. It doesn't like slow idle much at all but runs like a champ when you give it any gas at all. I'm not going to mess with it

Matt, you're 100% correct, intellectual property is property. From what I've gathered reading this thread, the guy's suit has merit. Part of the problem with our society is that people that would never go into a store and steal something have no problem downloading an MP3, software or movie that they don't pay for. They think it's no big deal.