KU_Bassmaster.

Yes that is true and that is something I am sill trying get better at. You are more than likely to going to have to adjust the grayline feature to take advnatage of that. My previous el' cheapo D/F was just the opposite so I am still getting used to it. It makes more sense the other way to me, but whatever. I have read over that part many times in the manual just to be sure I was reading it right. I believe there is 3 or 4 pics there that show he difference. They are quite suddel and it's just something your going to have to train your eye for.

I don't know if I would go that far : ;D. If I were you I would rig up a C-Rig or something you can feel the bottom well with. That way you can relate what your are feeling with your rod to what you are seeing on the D/F. Well the 480 can only be better the 320 and I am real pleased with mine so far. It's a whole new world out there now

I really wish Cabela's, Bass Pro, etc. would put on some sort of class to learn your electronics. I know how to read the obvious things, but I could definitely use some help on the fine points and how to set it up perfectly. Some advice: Be deteremined to learn how to use it. Take your book out there with you and make it a point to learn how to use it ......... I can't believe I am going to say this, but ................. don't fish as much. Make learning your electronics your number one priority and catching fish secondary. If you are like me, you will probably find that the two go hand in hand. Kill Creek is also a great place to learn. They have all the variables in a small package ... rockpiles, weedlines, brush piles, soft botom, hard bottom, humps, etc. Also... what unit did you decide on?

my 50lb power pro laughs at fingernail clippers then farts in their general direction... I have a pair of scissors in my bag exclusively for braid. AL That's a good way to put it!!! ;D With the fingernail clippers I have used in the past, you would have a better chance using fishinaz's way with a good sharp rock.

In my experience, spots seem to act more like smallies than largemouths. They seem to be more line shy and you have to finesse them more. Triton_Mike should be able to give a better answer. I think he is a spot master.

I agree ..... it's all about the looks baby 8-) All my future rods will have split grips.

Paitence!!!! : Probably not what you wanted to hear. ;D Those females aren't locked onto beds yet, but will be in the VERY near future, for a fairly short time period. That's when they are catchable. It's good if you can get out there everyday and ***** the situation.

Something like "Q & A With the ReelMech" ;D ;D ;D Seems like the past couple weeks are so there has been an usually large amount of questions directed your way and you have taken the time to answer each and everyone of them ....... thoroughly. You take the time to answer each question like it was your best friend asking for your help. That is so admirable. Tell you the truth, I don't see how you get any work done. :) I try to read each one of them and try and learn a little something here and there. I guess I just want to say thanks for being such a nice guy and for being such a great asset to this site. ****And in the words of ReelMech .......... Tight Lines !!

I see that being a problem as well.

I see many BIG sponsorships coming your way!!!!!! ;D ;D Way to take a different approach ............. HONESTY!!!! Oh and BTW, Potential sponsors, my resume reads much like MyKeyBe's but I have 4 friends ...... think about it. ;D

This happens every year so I expected it, but it seems to have occured a little later in the year. Last week and weekend the temps around here were unusually warm. Highs in the 80's and even had one day in the 90's. Well Thursday of last week the bass made a run for the beds. Then by Sunday it seemed that all the males in the lake were on a bed. Now for us fishermans worst nightmare ........ BIG cold front pushes through (on the tail end of it right now). Highs were in the 50's and 40's and lows in the high 30's and low 40's. I went out the first day of the cold front and only saw 5 bass on beds (all of which I had already caught), but last weekend there was a whole lot more in the area. All of those bass were gone. Is it safe to assume that those bass that stayed on the beds through the cold front already have eggs on them?? And those that left, left because they didn't have eggs to defend?? Also meaning they will return here pretty soon?? .....hopefully with a big ole' female

;D ;D It doesn't hurt for everyone to see this again. ;D ;D

I posted this last year on here and I think it's something we all should take a look at again. I think these diagrams might be a little better too. I tried this last year for the first time and it actually works as advertised. If I recall right, I think I gullet hooked three bass last year :'( :'(. It worked on two of them. The hook was struggling a bit to come out on the third one, so instead of risking hurting him anymore I let him go and hoped he could work the hook out on his own. (1) With the hook in the gullet, note which side of the fish's mouth the hook shank is toward. Note: For illustration sake, the line is eliminated here in steps 2 through 5. In reality, the line stays connected as this technique is performed. (2) With a finger or two, reach in through the last gill arch on that side of the fish and push and pull down on the hookeye so the hook turns and . . . (3) rolls out below the gill toward the side of the fish. At that point, amazingly, the hook, barb and all, almost always pops free from its hold in the fish's gullet. (4) Reach into the fish's mouth and grip the bend in the hook (which is now up) and . . . (5) lift it free. If the fish's mouth is too small to reach in with your hand, use a needle-nose pliers to grip the hook bend.

I prefer to catch lots of big bass . I would take one big fish over a bunch of peanuts anyday of the week. That being said, I by no means have the paitence to sit weeks with out catching a fish like those true "trophy hunters" do.

That looks GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice work

Throw out some banana peels. It always works in the cartoons. ;D LBH made a good point ....... stay where you can always give yourself a safe out. Sounds like you just might have to deal with ......... but the monkley is saying ....."Need bigger boat!!!!!"

I'll add another one .... The sound of the lake waking up in the spring after a long winters nap.

Ditto!!!! Every fish is different. With some experience yow quickly know what do. That's what I love so much about bed fishing. Every fish you see has a personality and it has certain things that pushes it's buttons. It awesome when you can see the routine of a bass and almost predict when they are going to pick your bait.

Do yourself a favor and spend a little extra money and get a descent one. For the past 5 years I had been using a El-Cheapo Eagle Portable. Basically all that thing was good for was depth. It hardly showed any bottom contour. I finally bought an Eagle Fishmark 320 at the beginning of this year and there is a huge difference and it didn't break the bank either ... $139.99. I am seeing a lake that I thought was contourless with brand new eyes and I can honestly say I have caught quite a few fish because of it.

If I was fishing a tourney .... that would be the case. I llok at that as a challenge though. There is something sooooooooooo rewarding to me to catch a bass that is stubborn as hell like that. That being said, I will only stay as long as needed for a bass that I think is in the 5 lbs. range or bigger.

The 3lber sounds VERY catchable. I have a routine kind of like Fluke's. First get the bass used to your bait being there. You know you get to that point when the bass starts to ignore your bait. Next I swim the bait into them. Most of the time they will swirl violently and take a good look at your bait. If they don't take then.... cast it right on top of their head and if they don't hit it on the way down, give it a big hop right under their nose. I just flip flop between these methods. It REALLY ticks them off you and you can tell when they are at their breaking point and about to take your bait.

I checked on her first thing this morning and to my suprsie she was on the bed . I thought she would have been long gone. So I caught the male and let him go 50 yards or so down the bank. I finally had some one on one time with her, and she made me pay. She ruined my $20 bait!!!!! > It took three cast and she swirled on it and felt her pulling line so I set the hook. She obviuosly olny had the tail and after that she was long gone. I didn't see her for the rest of the day. I think it's over. :'( :'( She definitley won this battle.

Stratos pretty much nails the best bang for your buck.

Sorry to hear that.I was pullin' for the kid. Couldnt they just get the scale that it was weighed on,check it for actual weight variance and adjust Jr.'s weight accordingly? That's too easy ...... :

I have tried leaving my bait on the back of the bed like you have said ...... problem is the d**n male keeps picking it up and taking it off. I've tried catching the male and taking him a few hundred yards down the bank and releasing him to see if I could just get the female one on one. During that 15 minutes or so the female was no where to be found. As soon as the male returned ..... a couple minutes later .... you guessed it, here comes the female lurking around. I have also yet to see the female chase anything ...... The male on the other hand is chasing things off left and right. She is one lazy bass ... letting the man do all the work ;D