ClackerBuzz

^yup i'm all about sheep and ducks. i use all the layers mentioned but wool is a must..along with a down jacket. I'm always running cold but my down jacket has me sweating in no time. last year i became a huge fan of flannel lined jeans. i can't believe how that extra layer of flannel takes the sting off the cold wind when walking in the city let alone when bundled up fishing.

x2. yup i forgot to mention marker buoys. use SI to find bait, 2D to examine it more closely for feeding bass (don't be afraid to criss-cross over bait many times; they won't spook), and finally drop a buoy when ur ready to cast. you'll be amazed how fast/far a 9 mph wind can blow you 150 ft off a spot. Wayne, thanks for the clarification

great boat safety advice. i wish i better documented my transition but i remember most of it. i went from walking the banks to paddling to trolling w/ sonar. a lake can seem like a big ocean at first but after awhile you can rule out 90% of it. w/o addressing sonar i'd say the easiest way to have fun and catch fish is to stay shallow and work the shoreline. you have tons more shoreline real estate from a boat compared to bank fishing. make sure to have a spinning rod w/ a wacky senko rigged. you'll be able to catch easy bass just by skipping docks and overhanging tree branches/bushes. working visible cover is fast and easy. but i would recommend to not fish forward. take the time to troll 1/4 mile of shoreline and then back track to the best spots. you'll save time and 1000's of casts by being more productive. fishing blindly forward, even with 'search' lures is time consuming (although it catches hogs in spring!). working shallow cover along the shoreline will get boring fast so then i'd move to weeds. weeds are ur friend. shallow weeds hold smaller fish. the deepest weeds in the lake hold much bigger fish. you could spend an entire season just learning weeds. the bottom composition/structure underneath is most important. the weed wall that touches deep water produces well. when you catch one bass in weeds there will be more. learning where the bass are holding in the weeds during any given day can be a puzzle in itself. when all else fails, i head for the weeds. i mentioned skipping trees and fishing weeds b/c it's a great back up plan while learning ur sonar units. learning sonar is a multi-season, ongoing process. this is my second season and i consider myself a newbie. my first season w/ sonar i made the mistake of studying structure when in reality baitfish are most important. someone just posted the indian proverb 'to understand the owl you must study the mouse'. bait balls are key so only fish around them when using ur sonar. side imaging makes it easier to find them. i always keep a crappie rod handy so i can catch/identify the bait i'm seeing on my unit. it's easier to catch bass that are feeding on bait balls that are relating to structure. vs it's hard to catch bass that are feeding on suspending bait. now that you have sonar stop blindly casting search lures (http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/139745-whats-the-best-search-lure/). last week every ball of bait in my reservoir was between 13-23 fow. i won't bother trying to fish bait balls suspended at that depth over 40 fow. it's too advanced for me right now. so i found bait balls that were relating to the bottom (15ft). i found several but w/o bass arches. the magic starts to happen when you find bass feeding on bait at that depth. catt talks about identifying the biomass depth and relocating to structure in that zone ie fish 15ft ledges or creek channels even if there is NO bait present. i'm sure it works but i didn't experiment yet b/c i have a hard enough time catching them when bait is around Image Interpretation/screenshot threads are invaluable (including anything posted by Wayne P ). learning how to read sonar is like learning a foreign language. Fish ID alarms are extremely accurate now so make sure you turn it on (I have my HB set at 7). a small fish icon generally represents 1lb, medium icon=2lb and large icon=3lb+. on Humminbirds a blue fish is smaller and orange/gold is bigger. i believe these are Waynes pix where he scanned a brush pile on different days. he won't stop to fish the brush unless the Fish Id shows bass on it. if i was hunting any other animal for 8 yrs i'd be a semi-pro. yet i consider myself at best an intermediate angler. i laughed the other day b/c i realized the reason is you can see deer, birds, foxes etc and immediately learn their behavior. but you can't see bass b/c they're underwater. sonar is a game changer b/c you can see the fish, understand why they are in a location, how they are relating to it, if they are feeding etc. unfortunately it's not a magic bullet that's going to allow you to instantly catch bass. so have fun in ur boat and catch shallow bass with ur confidence techniques while ur learning bigger water w/ sonar. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/127481-screenshots/

^Steelers country

just imagine the size of the hog that ripped that thing clean out of a unsuspecting child's hand

for weightless peg a glass/plastic bead in front of the senko and it will glide thru weeds easier. or peg the bullet weight as mentioned if you want to slow work it deeper in weeds. stanley top toads are good reaction lures that won't get hung up. and you can pause them. buzzbaits work also but are more advanced in that you have to be reeling before they hit the water to immediately get them up on plane. otherwise they collect weeds if they sink at all. frogs also. i'd focus on deeper water access. where the weed line ends and the deeper water starts. cast to that weed edge. and forget about buying tons of new lures and dozens of rods to deal with the weedy shallow shoreline...buy a kayak and paddle out to deeper water and bigger fish!

also your chances of getting a splash down bite go up exponentially if your casting within the drip line of a tree. 'stupid praying mantis bug thing just couldn't hold onto it's branch...gulp'

^I was thinking about giving buddy a try this season but with 'double hooks'. seems like they wouldn't get hung up near as much http://www.ebay.com/itm/221489584500?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

i got to try norman speed clips last weekend and thought they were junk. i even took Darren's recommendation of working the eye sideways. the wire is so fine gauge that they flex while squeezing and hardly open. and they are too small to accept jig eye's so whats the point if you have to change out ur speed clips while changing out ur lures. they were very hard to handle with my hands in 65 deg water. i already know how things are going to go with 35 deg water on my fingers. chatterbaits come with duo locks and i love them. and i ordered some cross lock snaps to see which i prefer

if the fish aren't biting that particular lure that day all ur going to become is a master caster. yes i'm out there to enjoy nature but i also like to catch fish so why rule out catching possibility b/c of only one lure. i prefer to go with minimal tackle instead. 3-4 strategic rods that will cover fast to slow, top to bottom. maybe a jig, spinnerbait, drop shot, crankbait. i can usually get them to hit one. after that i'm free to 'learn' that technique for a few hours. as opposed to learning that they didn't want a spinnerbait that day. i've even gone out with 2 rods: a senko and 8" swimbait. after i'm defeated by swimbaits i can just re-inflate my ego with a quick senko fish i'm amazed when a guy tells me how much he learned b/c he stuck with a crankbait all day, 8 hours on the water, hundreds of cast, dozens of locations. and in the last hour he caught 4 fish which made it all worth it... 'sticking with his plan'. imo the crankbait bite turned on at sunset and he wasted 7 hrs of his day.

congrats on the success. i love everything about punching/pitching/flipping weeds. here's a great article http://www.***.com/how-to-pitch-deep-grass-with-bass-jigs/

this is the only sentence in this thread that worries me

do it sooner next time. i just posted some advice i got from a lake trout fisherman. how many times have you been lifting ur lure out of the water and a bass smashed it. or he saw the boat first and it spooked him off. the lift/ changed angle of the lure is like a baitfish busting the surface. so he purposefully lifts his rod 50 ft before he's at the boat to instigate a strike. it's worked so many times that I've added it to my toolbox.

yup my 598 side imaging unit is 'portable'. i switch back and forth between my jon boat and canoe. and a friends jon boat. i sawed up an old ski pole and mounted the ducer to one end and a clamp to the other (the ski pole is skinny and has very little water resistance as opposed to a 2x2" piece of wood; and won't rust). it's powered by a 12v battery. i tuck the head unit, mount, battery and cords into a beer cooler. some guys get the reverse lid coolers and screw the mount to the inside...and just flip the top over and slide the head unit on. leave the battery in the cooler and drill a few holes to run the wires in.

don't despair b/c it will pick up again. you can make lots of educated decisions about what to cast. i like to cover the top, middle and bottom of the water column. the more i fish the sooner I call it quits on days like ur describing, especially if it's cold outside. i give it my best for 3-4 hrs and quickly head to my favorite restaurant for a hot meal and cold beer

you can't go wrong with a Dobyns. great advice to buy on sale and buy the right rod for ur line up. i tried tons of rods and settled on 2 brands: Powell and Dobyns. the Powells are just right there with sensitivity and quality but can be had for much cheaper used (about $125 vs $185 for Dobyns Champion). I just can't justify buying a DX. Although they are amazing rods I can feel everything I need to set the hook with middle of the road rods.

I read a ton of comments and this seems to be the best (my mechanic uses fine sandpaper also). although you have nothing to loose if you have bug spray laying around. most people said it wears off in a few days. only sanding works and you have to spray with clear coat or it will get foggy again. Cj Carbone This probably only lasts 2-3 days, then gets worse.. The only correct way is to sand all the clear coat off, Polish the lens, and then re apply clear coat. Everyone has their own "quick fix" like WD-40, that keeps them clear for 3-4 days and then foggy again, toothpaste, coca-cola, bug spray, and anything else you can think of. Heck, if you wipe them with a damp rag, it will look nice and clear for about 5 min. You can buy a good kit, I recommend the Rain-X one. It is about $20 but comes with all the sandpaper, lubricant, polishing cloth, and clear coat. It shouldn't take more than 45min to an hour and it lasts for years.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/145579-using-snaps/

^ that's great advice Justin. I tell my friends "don't fish forward". yes it takes time to troll 1/2 mile of shoreline but realistically you learn alot, come up with a good game plan and probably can skip 80% of the area. so troll ahead, pick the best 20% and fish backward over the water. makes for much better fishing.

when all else fails, head to the weeds. the shallow weeds if ur looking for 5 fish. the deepest weeds in the lake if ur looking for Dottie.

always lip the bass BEFORE you remove the weed blindfold. and make sure you have a firm grip b/c they go ape ship if they didn't get to initially fight. I don't know the science behind why they go paralyzed but i use it to my advantage. from a boat i don't mind picking up my finesse rod and using it around weeds b/c i know even 6lb test is strong enough to get a weed blind fold around their eye's. after that it's lights out and I just troll over and scoop them up.

wow that's spot on retiredbosn. my two buddies are independent mechanics that own a shop. i asked them what truck they recommend for landscape towing/plowing etc and they said hands down a Chevy w/ Allison tranny (7.3 if I could find it). they say Fords are riddled with problems. and Dodge's are an organized pile of scrap. apparently Dodge uses such cheap steel that rusts right out of the gate. they had a 3 yr old Dodge truck on the lift that needed it's break lines replaced b/c they rusted out. few weeks later they had another Dodge on the lift and the transmission pan literally had a rusty hole w/ fluid oozing through. these guys are gear heads that race, ride, repair and own cars, trucks, snowmobiles, harleys, crotch rockets, 4 wheelers etc. They only own Chevy's. You never mentioned ur intentions but I've also only heard great things about Toyota's

the other day I was fishing a quarry and a 12" dink spit up a baby turtle the diameter of a golf ball. the bass belly looked like he was ready to spawn...stuffed full of little turtles

saw a great video a few months back. google John Crews pitching. he was pitching with his reel upside down (casting reel facing down at the water instead of facing up at the sky). it takes the pressure and tension off ur wrist. i already pitch with my reel sideways but it made me more aware that lots of casting reel techniques can be worked with the reel sideways or upside down. it's alot easier on the wrists. night fishing also really helps dial in ur techniques b/c ur more focused on feeling than seeing. i always seem to hold my rods more gently after a night outing. Do you use a fish finder? Your brain is far more effective for locating fish than search baits. I'd much rather work 10 locations thoroughly found via sonar or map than blindly cast search baits for miles and miles. 'work smart not hard' is a moto that def spills over into my fishing