wakeeater

that's what i'm talking about! i haven't had the chance to fish much this season due to work. i'm hoping to crush 'em this fall/winter!

those fishing games are actually pretty cool. i was watching my 8 year old slay the stripers the other day.

i have used guides & charters. it is a little on the pricey side, but well worth it. some of the best memories i have with my boys are from guided fishing trips. if you can afford it, do it. you'll atleast learn something new & spend quality time with family. hell, i've wasted that amount on alot dumber things over the years.

imo, the least educated/careful/respectful are the jetskiers. i've been run over by one while wakeboarding & waiting for the boat to come back around. i've had them almost jump into my supra trying to jump the wake (almost tore off my swim platform). i've even had them almost slam into me trying to jump the triton's wake. the dang triton has no wake! the worst ones are actually men age 35 & up. at least kids can plead ignorance. grown men have no excuse. it's ridiculous & i wish they would ban them like they did three wheelers years ago. they are absolutely useless for anything except being a water taxi to ferry drunks back & forth. after about 20 minutes of riding one the novelty wears off. did i say i hate jetskis?

i have a bps near me. i like the store & the employees have always been super helpful. my thing is i like supporting locally owned small business. the 2 local shops are awesome. C&C outdoors & edgemore outdoors are more in tune with the local scene. they can and have price matched stuff from tw & bps. on some things they have been cheaper. all i'm saying is give your local tackle shop a shot. more than likely they'll bend over backwards to earn your business or help you with any warranty issues and can probably put you on some fish. btw, i dont own a tackle shop

i totally agree with your post. the first one is important, and the second one definitely rings true. dont hate me, but i am an avid wakeboarder as well as bass fisherman. i'm able to see things from both sides of the table. it boils down to this....we are all boaters just trying to enjoy the water, don't let your "good time" ruin someone else's good time. i'll never forget when i was cleaning my wakeboat one day a couple of years ago. a couple of guys in a bass boat were flipping docks. one of them slings a crankbait up on the sundeck of my boat. that's the back part that is covered in vinyl. i almost threw up because he started cranking it back across the vinyl. i was on the dock & couldnt get to it. luckily, it didnt snag. i couldnt believe how inconsiderate & careless they were. it took all i had not to say something, i was afraid if i did that they would come back later & drill holes in my boat. anyways, i'm done ranting......we should all be respectful to each other & try to be safe. ps.. i've also been in the bassboat & had wakeboarders being jerks & coming within 30 yards of me throwing a 3 1/2 foot wake. they suck too.

yeah...it's my favorite. usually when topwater fishing.

i'm with mikey5string, the baby brush hogs are incredible on a shakey head.

baby brush hog & baby super brush hog = the best soft bait around god bless zoom!

nice post! very informative.

scrutch, thanks! i went out this morning & rode around and scanned. i'm on fort loudon in east tn & the bass fishing has been tough for everyone this year. i haven't been using the 2d sonar much. what you said does make sense though....big fish should be easier to spot on it. i didnt have alot of luck finding fish deep, so i wrapped up the morning flipping docks. a couple of decent smallmouths made it a decent day. i guess i just need to do alot of riding & watching until i get this figured out.

thanks for the info. i fish a twra lake so there isnt much of a thermocline. i've been using the all modes of the finder, but just have been struggling lately.

now that summer is here, i'm back to struggling to find decent fish. i have a hb 898 si and now how to read it, but i'm not sure exactly what a "hot spot" looks like. i typically look for ledges & humps with bait and structure. do you look for actual bass or just bait/structure? it's driving me crazy... any tips & links would be much appreciated!

both. there are some good rocky points you'll want to use footballs on, and flipping for all of the docks

bring some 6xds, jigs (green pumpkin & black/blue), and a carolina rig. it's been real tough lately with a little over 10lbs winning the local "tuesday night toad" tourney. the fish seem to be in transition, so keep moving until you find them.

a couple of years ago my family & i went to destin for vacation. later in the week some friends joined us. my buddy & i took my 2 boys and his stepson on a "six pack" offshore fishing trip. the captain & first mate put us on some awesome spots. the boys were reeling them in so quick that i quit fishing & became the first mate's assistant. he goes "man, aren't u gonna fish?" i said "let's keep these boys going, i'm having the time of my life!" we caught a bunch of fish. they clean some right there & threw it on the george foreman. it doesn't get any fresher than that! we took a picture at the dock with our catch. i've got it on my desk right now. it was an awesome day! 2 days later on that same trip we were at one of the pools in sandestin. there was a pond right beside it. the family was swimming & i decided to fish. i caught my personal best...a 12lb largemouth. i freaked out & my boys went crazy. it was my best vacation so far.

i went to set the hook in the dark when i was fishing a shakey head in four foot of water. well, there was no fish & it was too dark to dodge the hook....so it snagged me on the bridge of the nose, right between the eyes.

i have a hard time locating fish in the heat of the summer. i bought a hb with side imaging to help me out.