Sam

Kool. Maybe you can enter it in your state's State Fair next year. It is a winner!

Wow, what guts or stuipidity? You don't mess with our boats or vehicles to tow the boats. I would not mind someone stealing my car but if they touch my boat I would have no qualms about shooting them. Just be sure to use that old Viet Nam trick and put a knief in their hands. My boat has nothing in it at this time and the compartments are unlocked. The trailer has a trailer lock, too. I worry about someone taking the stainless steel prop but you just got to take your chances.

From a marketing concept, you want to sell items that can be given as Christmas gifts. This means the larger, more expensive items such as rods and reels plus electronics and things for the boat. Baits do not have a large profit margin so it is not worth it to put them on sale when you want to attract the females to your store to purchase the higher priced items. Women have no idea about the different types of lines or scents, etc. My wife got me one of the new Shimano Stella's (2500 series) as she got what I told her to buy. She had no idea about the baits or lines or other terminal tackle that I use during the year nor anything about the rods and reels. And from a marketing prespective, the big "pre spawn" sales where the guys are getting ready to go fishing is a great time to sell tackle, rods and reels. In fact, when the big sales occur in late January or February we are getting menatlly prepared to open a new fishing season and our wallets are busting with money to spend. Its all marketing.

One word of caution. Be very careful when removing the treble hooks. If the bass shakes violently you can have one of the treble hooks get imbeded in your fingers. I use a special gadget to hold the bass by the lip and then remove the hooks with a pliers. I had a treble hook removed from my finger surgically when I became laxidasical when removing the hooks. That will NEVER happen again. I am now parinoid when removing those crankbait treble hooks. Crankbait fishing is a lot of fun. Give it a try.

A crankbait is a "search" bait to locate the bass. It is fun to fish and you must always be ready for a strike, even next to the boat or bank. Read, read and read some more regarding crankbaits. There are fat ones, skinny ones, deep running ones, shallow ones, and many inbetween. Usually a crank with some chartruse in it does well, like a shad/chartruse. I do well with the Firetigers and the blue and yellow Bandit 100s and 200s. The Mann's Minus One's are also a killer in the summer. Throw them all over the place and don't be afraid to have them get stuck in a branch or tree. You will be surprised how they bounce off the wood when you think you will get snagged. You may need to throw the crank at the same target 15 to 25 times and from different angles and speeds to entice the bass to strike the lure. There are some great articles on crankbait presentations in the bass magazines and other publications. Go get some bass fishing books or videos that include suggestions on cranking and experiment with them all year. Have fun and let us know of your success.

Gulp! worms can catch bass and they get a lot of hits from bream but they are super for catfish. You will catch any catfish in the area where you throw them. And the tap-tap-tap from the bream can drive you nuts. After you fish a Gulp! product be sure to have a wet rag to store the bait so it will not dry out. If the bait dries out you have a very hard worm stuck to your hook. I throw my Gulps! away after using them and I do not put them back in the bag with the unused baits. Gulp! is a good bait and when the fishing gets tough I may fish one of their worms Texas rigged just to give my presentation a different look. Give 'em a try and arrive at your own conclusions. You may have better luck than me. Tight Lines!

Darn, I just threw them out this Saturday when I cleaned up the attic. So sorry.

Wow! Now I just have to master the doodle. Thanks a million. Sam[pre][/pre]

You need to read about the bass' habits and watch some videos or DVDs on the bass' behavior this winter to learn all you can. The fish does what the fish does due to instinct. The fish does what the fish does on a cycilcal basis each year, starting in the winter, followed by the spring, summer and fall. The bass do the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. There are variations to the bass' behavior depending on the water's Ph factor, temperature, oxygen levels, clarity and changes in structure. But they continually do the same things season after season after season. To find bass you have to be a hunter. But an intelligent and informed hunter. That is why reading about and understanding the bass' habits are a very important elements in bass fishing. I would suggest you follow Fluke's suggestions and at the same time get to know the pond's structure and cover. Also the water depth is extremely important, realizing that the pond should be deeper at the drainage end than at any other place. As for where the bass are this time of the year? They are staging off shore and just sitting there, waiting for an easy meal to swim by. As the water temperature gets colder their metabolism slows down so they are lethargic. But they eat just the same. So where may the be? They may be in any cover they can find that they believe gives them protection. They can be a few feet off the bottom. They can attack a bait fish along the shallows and then dive back to the deep safety of the pond. So how do you seek them out? Crankbaits, pointers, spoons, Carolina rigged baits including crankbaits (yes, you can C-rig a crankbait to get it deep), shaky head, drop shot and doodle rigs. All fished S-L-O-W as the bass slow down as the water temperature gets colder. And remember, a bass' metabolism slows down this time of the year so they take a longer time to digest a baitfish then when they are active. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, it can take up to 8 days for a bass to digest a bream in the winter. I need to double check my Bassmaster University's notes on the bass' metabolism but you get the picture. Read articles on winter fishing. Check out Woo Daves' site and see what he says about winter fishing. Check out the other sites of the pros and see what they suggest. Look on this site's fishing articles and see what is suggested. And read, read and read this winter to learn all you can about your prey. Bigmouth, Bigmouth Forever and The Feeding Habits of Bass are three great videos to secure and to watch. They will teach you a lot about the fish and its habits. Now dress warm and go out and try your luck but don't get too frustrated if you get skunked. Its winter and you are supposed to get skunked a few times.

Awful. Sorry to hear the news.

Funny but sad. Are you sure this isn't LBH's bass boat???? ;D

Thanks guys. Glad you all still have your sense of humor. I loved each response. I will give the doodling a try and if it does not produce I will go back to the productive shaky head presentation. I will also try to get some of those glass beads but I already have faceted glass beads from a local bead shop and will give those a try, too. I am more interested in the brass weights so thanks for the info. Everyone have a great Christmas and I hope you all get your fishing wishes under the tree. I have already given the BPS catalog to my wife with the two items I want for 1) anniversary and 2)Christmas. I hope it get both.

Just wondering if many of us have doodled or plan to doodle next year. I purchased some clear faceted glass beads from a bead shop to use for Carolina rigs, drop shotting and doodling. By coupling them with a brass bullet weight (held on with a small "O" ring for the drop shot) I am wishful that the sound will be different from the other setups. So what is going on with doodling, guys?

Thanks for sharing.

Welcome. Best forum on the web.

To add to my post, on Thanksgiving morning I got up and turned on ESPN looking for the fishing shows. Also tried Versus, too. When I don't go to work it has to be a Saturday morning with fishing shows. Duh?

Thanks guys. I will take everyone's advice. Sam

Started motor to move to another spot. Gave it full throttle and only got a lot of water splashed on me from the front of the boat as the boat tried to get on plane. Seems I forgot to take the trolling motor out of the water. Lucky for me no one saw what a dope I was.

I am thinking of going with the fluorocarbon lines 90% of the time in 2008 and am now using the clear/gold Vanish Transition in the 8, 10 and 12 pound test when fishing with fluorocarbon. Any suggestions as to what brands you guys like? I also want to try the Yo-Zuri Hybird lines. Are they fluorocarbon or monofiliment lines? Thanks for the input.

I have the Stradic 2500 MgFA and I love it. Smooth as a baby's behind. Will get another one or two next year as the fishing sales begin in January and February. Only problem is that you do not get an extra spool with the MgFA. I have no idea why Shimano does this.

Thanks to Jig Man and Avid. Great post. I will give it a try.

The pros test their baits in swimming pools. I want to do the same but I belong to a health club and have not worked up the nerve to ask if I can cast into the pool to test my crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Great idea. Go for it! And let us know which lures need the most tuning.

Please don't do it. There are too many artificial baits to select among and that is the great part of bass fishing...figuring what to throw and what techniques to use. If you want to use live bait, use Nightcrawlers. You will catch something on almost every cast with a live worm. The challenge of trying to locate and attract the bass is what makes bass fishing challenging. That is the fun of bass fishing and when you catch a bass it is very rewarding. No reason to injure or kill another live animal, other than for a worm, when you fish.

No. Too many good places to fish within 50 miles of Richmond, Virginia. Even more as you go out 100+ miles from the city. Easy day trips and you don't have to run your boat for 10 miles at 70 MPH to get to a place to fish. Just look for wood along river banks and creeks in the lakes and let your trolling motor and current do the work. Now, for the baits and techniques to use.........

Thanks for the tips. We fry about 20 to 25 birds and pork roasts each year at our LSU Alumni Chapter Turkey Fry and LSU-Alabama football game view-in. Only once my friend, Joe (Ph.D. in chemestry; heads up Afton's research department; has degrees from Rice, Notre Dame and LSU) and I burned a turkey. Seemed the football game was close so we went inside and forgot the turkey as we watched the Fighting Tigers pull out a win. The turkey was black so we threw it away and went to Food Lion, got another one, and fried if for the guy, who thought the entire ordeal was funny. One more tip to add to your list: The ground under the pot will become very, very hot. Be sure there are no leaves or other flammables under the burner. When cooking over grass, be ready to have the grass under the pot get burned. We never had a fire. It seems the Cajuns know how to do this and so far we have been very successful. But thanks for the tips, especially the one about using two thermometers. Great idea. Have a great Thanksgiving.