Sam

If you took a largemouth bass fishing class, what topics would you like to have covered? The "science" of the various large and smallmouth bass and the sunfish family. The life stages. What they eat. How fast they grow. Basic lures and presentations. The four seasons of bass fishing. Just basic information for the beginner and others so we can learn about our opponent. - How much would you pay to attend the 10 week class? $25 to $50. - What materials, if any, would you expect to receive (lures, books, etc.)? Handouts on the subjects covered. - What do you think would be the maximum class size? 30. - Would you expect on the water dimenstrations or would classroom/outdoor dimenstrations be acceptable? Classroom demonstrations, etc., only. - Should it be broken into two 10 week sessions (60 hours total) or will one 10 week session (30 hours) be enough time to thoroughly cover the material? One 10-week sesson. Second session can then advance to lures, techniques, etc.

I put a Cedar tree in my local pond and have caught a few baby bass off of it plus one 4 pounder who built her nest near it. I was told to use Cedar trees and not pine trees as the pine trees throw off a scent that reples the bass. I have no idea if this is true and maybe some of the guys have more information on this issue. As for doing it again? No way. The tree with the concrete blocks weigh too much to move around and once you let them go, they are not going anywhere. So make sure you drop them where you want them. Good luck and let us know what you pull off your trees.

Found it, finally! Never give up. Keep throwing that spinnerbait at that tree!!!! Go to Google and search for ICAST 2006. It is the fourth or fifth entry from the top. It is the article I had put in my post but you now have to go through Google to get to it. Enjoy.

You can also "search" this site for the ICAST posts, too. Give that a try.

Opps! I tried that link but the ICAST info has been removed. I sent an e-mail to the web master and asked him if he could put it back.

This is what I have done to one of my buzzbaits to try it this spring. I cut the wire in half and attached each end to a swivel. The buzzbait now is in two pieces held together by the swivel. I have no idea of how this creature will work but I can't wait to try it!

Careers in the fishing industry run from research to sales to fishing to advertising. Are you college material? Are you strong in sciences? Do you like biology or physics or engineering? Do you have the funds to obtain your Masters Degree in a fisheries or oceanography major? Is there anyway you can earn your Ph.D. and go into research? Check out "Sea Grant Universities" on the web and then go to the university that is the closest to you for details. Check out a few of these schools to see what they offer, from fresh water to salt water programs. Or, you may want to major in a Business Administration major, such as marketing, management, accounting, etc. Something that the manufacturing or sales companies would be interested. If you are a "verbal" person you can get a degree in English or history and then go on to law school and work for a fishing industry related company in their legal department. And the list goes on. You do not have to fish all the time to be involved in the fishing industry. Check out the ICAST 2006 web site and see the various products and services that were in the show last year to obtain an idea of what is available and what interests you. Then, check out the university programs in your area, or in your region, to find the programs you can succeed. Good luck and be sure to get that college degree. It is worth $1,000,000 to you over your lifetime.

I don't think either Jimmie Johnson or Carl Edwards will win. Mark Martin may do it this year. As for Junior and Stewart and the Bush Boys I think they will give it a good run but this could be Mark Martin's year. But who knows?

Super! But what would be nice would be "Baby's First Cast!"

Probably. But who knows? The Shadow knows.

I have the 7:1 Curado and I love it. I use it mostly for buzzbaits but you can reel slow for spinnerbaits and crankbaits, too. My friend, who is an old pro and now guides, just got two of the Abu Garcia 7:1 ratio reels and he loves them. I guess having a 7:1 reel where you can reel slower is like going outside with too many clothes on. You can always take clothes off when it gets warm but you can't put them back on when it gets cold if you don't have them on in the first place. So you can have the 7:1 ratio reel and just reel slower!

RETARDED GRANDPARENTS (this was actually reported by a teacher) After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child wrote the following: We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida. Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wrecked center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, and do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but in it, they all jump up and down with hats on. At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out. They go cruising in their golf carts! Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night --- early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck. My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out so they can visit their grandchildren. PRICELESS

Muddy Man, And I thought I was an old guy on this site!!! You have made some excellent selections.

There are two types of physical damage insuring agreements for pure risk losses to your watercraft. The first is Actual Cash Value (ACV) and the second is Replacement Cost (RC). ACV is exactly as you have on your personal vehicles. Depreciation will be taken in consideration and the Blue Book value will guide the adjustor as to your recovery if your boat is damaged to the extent it is a total loss or a constructive total loss. Replacement Cost will give you up to your delcared values should your boat be damaged or destroyed, less the deductible. To reduce the premiums you can always assume more of the loss in the form of a higher deductible, let's say $1,000 or $1,500, etc. The more exposure you transfer to the insurance company the higher is your premium. As for third-party liability insurance, may I suggest at least $1,000,000? The cost to upgrade from $300,000 or $500,000 to $1,000,000 is peanuts and the additional limits of liability can be 1) nice to have should you encounter an unfortunate event where you are negligent; and 2) it is good "sleep insurance" so you don't have to worry about an unfortunante event. Make sure your Equipment and Accessories are also insured for their Replacement Cost value. And always remember that even though you or someone else will complain about the premiums, it is almost impossible to pry that insurance contract out of a person's hands when there is an accident or a legal action against them.

In for the money - FLW In for the glory - B.A.S.S.

Just ask. They guys have the answers. Sometimes lots of answers. Some good; some bad. But lots of answers. So don't be bashful. Just ask.

While working on the computer this Saturday morning, I caught the tail end of a Hank Parker commercial for Trolling Thunder trolling batteries on one of the morning TV fishing shows. Has anyone ever heard of Odyssey Batteries or the Deltran Battery Tender? I went to their web site and their PR says that they are a 24 volt deep-cycle system that can be installed in the bow of your boat. They go on to say that they are designed for rough service and will recharge at least 400 times with their Deltran Battery Tender. I was just wondering about these batteries and th Deltran BatteryTender so if you know about them or have any information I am sure the guys would be appreciative.

Dink, I saw Robins and Cardinals on Thursday in Virginia. Spring time is right around the corner. Come on global warming!

Michael had nothing to do with the cheating. It was done without his knowledge. I just hope Toyota doesn't get upset and pull out after this year. Go Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards!

Earrings. Simple earrings. They love earrings. Just as we can't have enough poles, they can't have enough earrings.

Cory, Don't forget us when you have a serious fishing question. As you know, you can't get any better answers and suggestions than on this site.

Check out Ike's Berkley feature in the current Bass Times (February, 2007) for some tips on fishing weeds.

And I get all excited when I turn on the computer and it works!!!!

As I understand the situation, nothing will be done to Iran as we (USA) do not want to destroy the stability of the Middle East. The USA is monitoring the Iran nuclear project, which is years away from making any type of nuclear weapon or having the delivery system to deliver it. However, the USA has to become independent from foreign oil so when the day comes to have the "Fist of God" fall upon our Middle Eastern enemies, the USA will not suffer any problems from the stoppage of oil. Of course, Europe will be devestated without oil, but I doubt the USA is willing to go in to Europe to bail their chestnuts out of the fire once again. As was said by one of our Senators, if Iran strikes Israel, then Iran will be wiped of the face of the earth. As for China, they have their own internal problems. Russia is nothing but a pain in the behind but their bark is worse then their bite. Russia has so many internal enemies that Russia has to watch its sides and behind all the time. Talk is cheap. And there are talks going on in secret all the time. Do you really think the North Korea talks we are now engaged are "just happening"? Nope. There have been many behind the scenes discussions so each side knows what to expect as an outcome. And as governments and economic conditions change so do the anti-American positions, such as with Lybia. If it was up to me, I would drill for more in the Alaska area; stop shipping our oil to Japan; hvae a "plant based fuel program" blitz;and nuke the SOBs. Then, throw the United Nations out of New York. But thats ole loveable me!

May I suggest contacting your state department of game and inland fisheries and ask them when the bass will start moving to spawn in the waters you fish. Remember, the bass, as do other fish, start to move around depending on the water temperature and number of hours of sunlight. I would venture a guess that in your area of North Carolina the fish will start to move around more and begin their prespawn when the water temperature is in the 50s. Then, as the water temperature rises and the sunlight gets longer during the day, the bass will start to build their nests and start the spawning process. Even though you are in North Carolina, we know the state has a very interesting topography ranging from the Atlantic to the Blue Ridge Mountains with hills and valleys inbetween. So check with the North Carolina fisheries department and someone there will be able to give you some temperature ranges for your specific bodies of water.