Sam

Iowa? I've been to Iowa. Went to a conference at Iowa State. What I remember is that I could look eyeball to eyeball with a hog. Man, were those big pigs or what? And corn. Miles and miles of corn. Had a great time at the conference. Welcome to the board. I don't remember any other guys from Iowa so it is super to have you with us.

Glenn, Keep those pics coming. They are super. Thanks for being there and sharing. Got any of Ike?????

Beautiful work. And yes, that darn weight screw always falls out so if you want it to stay put you need to glue it in place.

DO NOT GET THE JOHNNY MORRIS REEL. GET THE SHIMANO. Purchased a Johnny Morris reel and it blew up on me on Smith Mountani Lake the first time I had it out. Took it back to Bass Pro Shop and the guy in the fishing department told me that they have had problems with the reel and I would do better with a Curado. Purchaed the Curado and love it. No problems. SO DO NOT GET THE JOHNNY MORRIS REEL. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Glad to have you among us. Great site. Good advice above. You do not need a Triton or a Ranger. A jon boat or even a little Tracker will do the trick. It all depends on how much you want to spend and what types of water you fish (lake, river pond, etc.). Half the fun is in the buying of the boat.

Thursday, February 21, 2008 Post About Members On-Line: Most Users ever online was 415 on Yesterday at 9:46pm Most Members ever online was 136 on Yesterday at 8:45pm Fantastic!!!!!

Welcome to the best bass fishing forum on the web. Great guys and lots of information. Just ask your questions and you will receive many answers. Stay warm! P.S. I am a Packers fan, too.

Wow! Great pics and even better catches. And can you walk to the dock to fish? If so, that is an added value to your education. One day you will return for an alumni reunion and show the dock to your wife and kids and tell them some stories about fishing in college. And by the way, any local freshwater ponds on campus that hold a bass population?

Bass Beatdown, Get a video camera and have your wife, girlfriend or buddy make a video of you putting in and then pulling the boat out of the water for us. If all goes well we will be very happy for you, and I expect everything will go well. If things do not go well then you have a chance to win $10,000 on American's Funniest Videos. ;D Let us know how you do. And I would also add that depending on the angle of the ramp you will or will not run into trouble so check it out first to make sure the ramp angel is OK. Now put that beautiful boat in the water and lets go fishing.

Hey BP48, I forgot to ask you. What were you wearing to keep you dry and warm? I bet the river's water temperature is still c-o-l-d.

No, just won't work. Take college football for example. The BCS and AP rank teams from all over the country as to their strength and wins. But when you look at the SEC and LSU and realize that they are so good it makes the northern teams from the Big 10 and Ohio State look bad in comparision. Not to say there is anything wrong with the Big-10 and Ohio State. Saying that the southern teams and conferences are just better. Southern fishing is just better. End of subject. Period.

Fantastic. Congrats from one business owner to another. I know you will do great! Good luck and if and when we ever make it out to California we will have to look you up. Did you get the old Chevy ad I sent to you via e-mail? I thought you would enjoy it. And send us some pics of the store and your stock.

Old memories and friends are great. They will always put a smile on your face, no matter the circumstances. Glad it was not your funeral.

Thanks a million, Roostertail. I saw where the WBT competitors blasted off on Thursday and forgot to change over to ESPN2 to see if it was on TV. I printed the schedule and will tune in this weekend to see Ike win it all.

Welcome. Glad you joined us. What to throw? I agree with the Rat-L-Traps and anything big fished slow, like a creature bait or the Fat Ika's. Just fish slow and dress warm.

I am starting to use the Yo-Zuri as suggested by Road Warrior. Otherwise, here is what I am using: Mono for treble hook baits. Fluorocarbon and copoly for everything else. Super lines and braid for heavy cover and deep water. I like light lines in the 8 to 10 test range for spinnerbaits and the 10 to 17 pound range for baitcaster lures.

Island Bass, When I got my first Loomis I took it home and ran my hands and fingers all over it and looked over like a nurse looks over a newborn. I still look at it every now and then, along with my Kistler. I know how you feel. And it is a GOOD feeling. Enjoy!!!!

Teeth and sharp sissors. OK, just kidding about the teeth. Braid is difficult and challenging to cut on a good day. A sharp pair of sissors is what I use.

Bob, I tow my Pro-185 with two vehicles. The first is my wife's Jeep. The second is my Volvo sedan. It is funny to see the vehicles and trailers parked in the parking lot after I put the boat in the water. The count goes.... Truck, truck, SUV, truck, SUV, truck, Volvo sedan, truck, truck, SUV.... I do not think you will have any problem towing your tracker with your set-up. I have had people pass me on the highway and give me a funny look or smile or laugh when I pull her with my Volvo. I just wave and smile back.

T-Rig, It is about time you caught something! Smile in your next pics, too. ;D Keep 'em coming as we are not going fishing in Richmond due to the ice storm on the way and it is great to see what the other guys are catching.

Super pic. Super fish. Welcome to the forum. You have to get in touch with Avid and George Welcome as they fish in Florida, too, along with a bunch of guys. Keep sending those pics. We are due for two inches of ice tonight and into tomorrow up here in Richmond so no fishing for us for another week.

Turtle. My cousin. My thumb. My left hand finger. I usually avoid all other critters.

Plan of attrack 1. Throw a spinnerbait right along the weedline. Catches feeding bass. 2. Flip a jig or a tube into any pockets. 3. Pull a frog, trick worm or a Zoom finesse worm across the top of the pads, allowing it to fall in any open areas within the pads. May consider a buzzbait over the top of the pads early in the AM or along the pad line. The active bass will be on the pad line, feeding or looking for a nice meal. And I would look for any wood within the pads. There should be an opeing adjacent to the wood and you can drop your bait into that opening.

Let's see. For all these years we have used balsa and plastic and caught fish. Now, for some reason, it is better to have fish skin on a bait to help us catch fish. I am not buying into it until it proves itself. And at the cost of the lure (hey, it is a Lucky Craft) I will let you guys buy them and try them and let us know if they improve your catch ratios. With the money I will save I can take my wife out to Ruth' Chris Steak House for dinner.

Dumbdog, Easy question - difficult answer. First, it all depends on you and how you feel when you are fishing a specific lure. If you have confidence in the lure based on the water temperature, water clarity, the wind, sunny or overcast, baitfish in the area, cover/sructure, the time of year and your past experience then you will stay with it longer. Now, with that said, let me add my two cents. First, you can fish a specific lure many ways. For example, you can fish a spinnerbait fast, slow and slow-roll. You can bump it through brush or pull it along grass lines and throw it at structure. And you can change colors, styles and weights. So you can fish a spinnerbait (and any other bait) all day long and in many, many ways. Second, you have a favorite technique when throwing your baits. For example, do you like to fish shallow, boat docks, grass lines, creeks, river channels, deep, rocks, lilly pads, cyprus trees, under bridges, etc. So add that to your formula. You have to make a number of presentations to everything you throw to in a "fan" pattern. That is, you come upon a fallen tree in the water. You set your boat so you can fish the outer areas of the tree first from a number of directions and if necessary, a number of baits. You then fish the middle of the tree the same way. Lastly, you finish by fishing the base of the tree where it enters the water. All the time you are throwing different baits from different positions and directions. So how many times do you actually throw a biat? As Uncle Homer said, ten times. As I say, a lot more. And I mean a lot more. Sometimes you have to aggravate the fish into striking the bait. So how many casts do you make? Who knows? Really, who knows? 20 with your spinnerbait; 15 with a crankbait; pitch that jig into the same area about 5 times; then follow up with a wacky-rigged Senko for about 10 times; then try a Texas-rigged Zoom finesse worm thrown about 15 times; maybe a Drop Shot about 10 times. Who knows? If no bites after doing all of this, in a fan pattern, then there are no fish on that structure and you move along. So, you do not get a bite. What do you? Change colors? Bait sizes? Present other presentations with each bait? You can actually drive yourself nuts. We will have to put you in a mental institution. So try to keep it simple based on the conditions and when you do catch a fish look all around. Take in the depth; how far from shore; what was the bait doing when it got hit; couldy or clear; water clarity; water temperature; type of cover or structure; and anything else you can see to form a pattern. Then fish that pattern, interrupting it now and then just to see if anything else will work. Remember, you have two goals. First, to find the biat, presentation and pattern that is working; and second, not to go crazy. First goal is a lot easier than the second goal. And we say the bass have small brains and we are smarter. Go figure. ;D