CJ

I agree with RW's equipment tip.Don't get the impression you have to have expensive gear to fish them,you don't.7 ft. med action rod and a lower geared reel(actually I like and old Abu 4600)works great. DD22 are fish magnets on the right days.Another good tip I noticed is that most Norman lures need some sort of tuning.I favor the DT16 and the Bomber Fat Free Shad. Don't be scared to throw big cranks.They catch big fish and smaller fish too.Try different retrieve speeds from slow to lightning fast.I have caught more quality size bass speed reeling a big crankbait than I have slow rolling it.I believe I am drawing a reaction strike alot of times,that is something a slower plastic presentation doesn't do as well.

All evil empires will fall! Muddy,your Mets are looking good!My Cards...not so much,as I predicted during Spring Training.I gottta say they had a good series this week,just would have liked to see the last game go to 9 innings.Oh well. CJ

I have no personal experience with roids.I have had friends that have.One in paticular who was also hooked on pain killers is the only one that has had a violent past.I,being a former bullrider,have also felt the effects of pain killers such as hydrocodone.I feel that when this unfolds and/or when the toxicology reports are final,we'll see there were a mix of drugs that helped feed his rage.He was in a bad marriage,his son had a rare form of retardation,which Benoit may have felt was his own fault(don't roids cause birth deffects?).I feel it was more of the situation that made him do it.The man was sick in everyway and that is still no excuse for what he did.And yes Vince M. is sick too!Wrestling isn't a sport but alot is expected from a westler.They are on the road 300 days out of the year.There is a history of drug abuse and domestic problems in wrestling.Vince expects to much from his employees and it shows.In 30 years 60 wrestlers have died under the age of 45.I think I see a pattern there and steriods aren't all there is to blame.

Okay,I am a wrestling guy.I grew up watching it with my dad and now I watch with my sons.Vince isn't dead if you watched RAW Monday you would know.He appeared to break the news and denounce his staged death at a cancelled event. Chris Benoit merchandise,name,and anything to do with him is being erased from WWE.They have even gone as far to start changing DVD covers that have his pic on them. What he done,there is no excuse.Not roids,not fame,not nothing should cause a man to take the life of his wife and definantly not his innocent 7 year old son.Being a father of a few myself,I have no blessing for this animal. On another hand,I won't be turning on Wrestling Monday night.No longer will I get to enjoy watching my sons believe it's real like my Dad did me. Chris

I just got my BassWest mag and saw the article.It was a great read!Nice pics too! Great job to Randall and Mattlures!.....2 cool!

Funny Deb! ;D Nice fish.....now get out of the shallows and get with the bigguns'! :

Loosing bass on any lure featuring treble hooks,is inevitible. However the right rod,line,treble hooks,and the way you may play the fish and set the hook will cut down on lost fish.

IMO,it's the structure that seems to be most important. I fish offshore in the summer months.Never a visible cover or structure.There are brushpile,grass,rockpiles,and stumps all over the lake I fish.It is the structure and water depth that help pattern the fish I catch,such as bends,horseshoes,points,and humps.

Yes,there is never a bad day on the water.Yeah...okay outboard problems suck,but just from the fishing perspective,even a skunkin' will teach you something. You will get a hundred opinions on what could have worked or what you did wrong.I notice one thing you did right and that was stay out there.Hints will help but only you can unlock the answers.There are days that the fish just aren't bitng.Even on days that have good conditions,something may mess them up.Somedays you just go to all the right places at the wrong time.Stay after them.Maybe you got that bad day out of the way! Good Luck!

I fished Monday(April 2),the highs were 85 degrees.I caught fish all day long.Then Tuesday a cold front came through and now the highs have been in the mid 40s.My buddy came by yesturday(highs of 45 and gusting winds at 35 mph),he said,"Why ain't you fishing the Jeta"?(big open tournament).I guess I have turned into a fair weather fisherman.

I have suffered from seasonal allergies all my life.They suck.This year has started very early for me due to the heat wave and they're still getting me during this cold snap cause of all that wind. The best meds for me have been Claritin D and Allegra D.Only problem is those meds give me the jitters,loss of appetite and sleep.

Man this weather is crazy....too crazy! Last week record highs,this week record lows. :-[ I know alot of us gotta be feeling this.I can't complain,the fishing has been good but this roller coster ride is making me sick!Heat waves and cold fronts causing trends that will keep an angler thinking hard.

Bandit 100 series.

Muddy,I've been busy but have read the Fork saga and all....Thank You!I have had a good day!Just wish the Cards were winning . Anyway,I'm in! CJ

When fishing shoreline or offshore,curtiousy space varies. I don't drop in on anybody or cut off the shoreline they are fishing.I take into consideration the direction they are headed and what feature they're focusing on.When the fishing goes offshore,I won't go within 100 yards but I also take into consideration of their direction and and what features they are targeting.

Rootbeer is pumkin green flake.Zoom makes Gourd Green,which is the same,Netbait calls the color rootbeer as far as trailers.The jig skirt will look like a light transparent brown with green flakes in it.

What did the bites feel like?I fish tubes alot and I get taps and even have fish knock it pretty hard but they are just little junk fish like stripes,bluegill,or little smallmouth.Now I have also had days where quality smallmouth were spitting it out almost as soon as it picked it up.Finicky bass may spit out the lure quickly if it feels you(the line tention).What species and what size fish did you catch?

I lean toward Matt's input.Reagardless of what a bass thinks a jig or any lure is,my main focus is the presentation that relates best to the bass's positioning.Bass seem to love a slow bottom dwelling prey.The bulkiness of the jig and trailer makes for an efficent meal when the bass are postioned on the bottom.With that said,I think a jig will work on any body of water that has bass in it.

Regardless of rod or line,I don't feel for action from the jig.I use a Kistler LTA with 10-15 lb. flouro on jigs from 1/4-3/4 oz with a Paca chunk trailer(has lots of action).The only time I feel the action from the trailer is if I rip it off the bottom or reel in fast.My point is that there is no need to feel for the action of the lure.If the jig is set up right it it will do it's job.A couple things I am feeling for while fishing a jig is bottom composition,structure,cover and a bite.

I didn't know that additives were to calm bass.I have used rejuvinade in the past.I don't think it calms them down,instead it makes them feel good and lively.The problem I have with Rejuvinade is that it causes the fish to puke up most anything they had eaten before they were caught.I have heard that Please Release Me doesn't have this side effect.I haven't tried it for myself yet though.

When I think "selective harvest",I'm thinkin' crappy!

I agree with Avid and Cephkiller.Wind is an important factor for a spinnerbait,you need some wind.Plastics work best for me on bluebird days.

Anybody ever had a lower unit seal go out?It is the main seal,where the lower bolts on to the outboard.It's a 250 Mercury.Any guesstimations?I won't talk to my mech till Monday and this is killin' me. :-[ Thanks Chris

That is cool...to cool!Fish,I admire you for your greatfulness! On another note.I have been away for a little while though I did see your threads and pics!SICK....totally sick man!Those are some awesome fish and what a great story! So I guess the SM WR is in danger from you guys too!

I fished a big open tournament today.It was a team format that went out of Ky.Dam.160 boats,there would have been about 300 but it was cold this morning. I met a forum member last Sunday,Dink.We fished on Barkley and he helped me get some confidence up with a jerkbait.I had a BFL meltdown the Saturday before(3 fish at 13lbs. 5oz.by 11:00am and that was it).I lost the jig bite due to the fish suspending.The jerkbait ended up being the ticket.Thanks Dink! So,this morning I had a "right and a left" to throw at em'.My pattern proved itself,but there were some guys from Tennesse that had the real pattern.I ended up with 20-15.Had a nice 6-3 to help kick it up!Caught her on a jerkbait!New JB PB! I knew I had a good bag,but I also knew there were going to be some better.I ended up 11th.Oh yeah...the winning bag was 27 1/2 lbs.Oh yeah.....RW....they were all brownfish! Overall what a great tournament.Ky.Lake is back!I guess I will be buying a Tennesse license now so I can try to catch a new PB SM! Chris