Tucson

A 90 foot cast with a flyrod? Yowza! I'd be happy to get half that.

833.33 bags of Senko's! Various colors of course.

I like to find a quiet piece of water with some weeds/structure/shoreline to play in. Usually start with a weightless Senko and go from there, easily spending an hour or more on a spot depending on how it feels. I see a lot of hit and run fisherman burning up the lake and they probably know more about fishing than I do but I like my method.

I gave this a shot today and it worked pretty well but made the coffee taste real weak. ;D

Difficult to imagine any downsides to using a net, tournament pro's aside. I can usually lip a bass out of the net pretty quickly, often unhooking it at the same time. Then it's picture time and back in the lake.

I've been tracking lunar cycles to fishing success this year and haven't really seen any correlation yet. There are so many factors involved in fishing: lunar, barometric pressure, water temp, wave action etc, etc that I think I've narrowed to down to "go fishing whenever you can" regardless. Waiting for perfect conditions leaves you with very few opportunities to fish. If wind/rain conditions allow me to go out, that's close enough. Maybe we're getting a little too analytical in our approach.

I carry a brand new spare hub ready to go on, a spare set of bearings (pre-greased), a hydraulic jack, grease gun and of course a spare tire and the tools needed for repair. Doesn't take up much space and the only thing I've ever needed is the grease gun so far. Seems like the better prepared you are, the lower the chances of needing this stuff. I do an annual tow of 4000 miles so I'm a little on the cautious side. Oh yeah, some wood blocks in case you need to jack it up in soft ground.

The same thing happened to me not too long ago - it was at night and I never did figure it out. Tried senkos, surface lures, Rebel Pop'r etc to no avail. I did not have my flyrod with me but I wonder if they would have responded to some little poppers or maybe a muddler minnow. Hope it happens again when I DO have my flyrod.

OK here's the way I did it (hope this isn't too long). Took a 6" piece of angle (3 * 2 *1/4), welded about 4" of 2" square tubing across the 2" side so it sticks out one side about 4" and is even with the other edge. Cut another piece of 2" tubing about 6" long, cut one end at an angle to match the angle of the hull, and welded it on the top of the 1st piece of 2" angle (wish I had a digital cam...). So now I have a piece of angle iron with a piece of square tubing sticking out at right angles, and a 2nd piece of tubing sticking up from it at an angle to match the hull. Now bolt the 3" side of angle to the side of the trailer frame and the square tubing assembly now sticks out to the side of the trailer. That's the trailer portion, phase two is simpler to explain. Take an appropriate length of 1-1/2" square tubing and nest it inside the angled 2" tubing. Cut a piece of 2" PVC to a length that just clears the 2" angled tubing and put a PVC cap on top to keep the PVC from dropping too far down. The uprights are stored in the boat or truck until you need them, then just slip them into the 2" angled upright (I use a clip to hold them in place). Now all you have is a relatively small assembly permanently attached to the trailer and you can drop the uprights with the PVC rollers into the 2" socket when you retrieve. Hope the instructions are clear enough, if not and you'd like to try it let me know and I'll send you a quick drawing.

I made some out of leftover 2" square steel tubing and 1/4" thick angle iron. This stuff was laying around from another project so the cost was nil. Only had to buy a few feet of 2" PVC and end caps. Real happy with the results but if you don't already have a welder it's probably better to just buy the ready-mades.

As another AZ resident I can testify that the first time you hear one buzz you react RIGHT NOW without thinking - lemme outta here! Must be some kind of automatic reflex action. BTW - what lake are you referring to? Doesn't sound like Roosevelt.

Sounds like you've gotten some good advice so far. Seriously consider heavier line. A baitcaster has a LOT more cranking power than a spinning outfit. Try a weedless spoon (Johnson silver minnow or similar) with a plastic trailer and skitter it across the pads, letting it settle in the open areas. These are amazingly snag-free, but not always! Keep your rod tip up and let us know how you make out.

I've been using an Inspira 30 for a year or so - very happy with it. Definitely get your money's worth with Okuma. Considering a 2nd one soon. You hear an awful lot about Shimano on this forum, a very good reel but the better units are a little out of my price range.

The general rule is 2lbs of thrust for every 100lbs of vessel. Be sure to include the weight of fuel, people on board, fishing equipment etc.

1985 GMC HD 3/4 ton 4WD with 217,000 miles. I pull an 18' Crestliner Canadian on a tandem axle trailer. Not only is this my tow vehicle it's my go to the store vehicle, visit Mom vehicle etc. In fact, it's the only vehicle I've owned in 21 years. Just completed a 4000 mile tow (AZ to Florida) averaging 10.7 MPG. carrying my cat Rascal - and some cat tranquilizers!

Thanks to everyone for the input. They were definitely bass and some pretty nice size (I assume smallmouth) and they were clearing the surface, sometimes completely airborne. Incidentally, I did hook up to something pretty strong on the Rebel popper but lost it at the boat. This activity continued sporadically throughout the night for several nights in succession.

Matt Fly: Started working the popper rather slowly - took a little practice to pop it properly, then tried for a faster quicker series of pops back to the boat. This was after midnight, close to a full moon with a very slight chop to almost glassy conditions. A silver Rebel with white belly and pretty much no cover of any type. This lake doesn't have any weeds or much in the way of brush. Didn't notice any baitfish presence but who knows? Thanks for your input. Next time the fly rod goes with me. At least I could have eliminated one possibility.

I just spent a frustrating 4 days where the bass (at night) were constantly surfacing but wouldn't take any topwaters. Didn't notice any bugs or anything on the surface. I left my flyrod home but sure wish I had it along to try out on these buggers. Do bass ever just pop up to take a look around or whatever? I became very good at working a rebel popper but Mr. Bass didn't show any appreciation. I like jitterbugs too but man, that splashdown is pretty terrific.

Man, you guys are breaking my heart! From Tucson the closest real lake is 3-1/2 hours. I just got back from there this morning. Last month I drove 4000 miles to central Florida towing a boat and packing a cat for a month of fishing. Next year it'll be five weeks. Love AZ but gonna have to move to Tennessee or Arkansas or Missouri or someplace. Hey Vekol - just read your response. Are you talking about Roosevelt?

I've been working on this all my adult life....Oh wait - you're talking about fish. Never mind.

Thanks for the input - isn't this forum great for learning about fishing?

I'm new at C-rigging and was wondering how fast a retrreive to use. I read somewhere to retreive it like a crank bait but it doesn't feel right to me. My instincts tell me to slow way down and work it back like a weightless senko. What are your opinions?

Thanks guys, that helps. I'm going to try it out today.

I'm ok with setting up a wacky rig worm but how do you fish it? I've tried just dangling it, then tried to let is settle on it's own, pulling it slowly to the surface and letting it drop, like a long slow jigging motion. I'm fishing in 6 to 8 feet of water. Any enlightenment would be appreciated. Thanks

The more I read about weather effects on fishing the more confused I become. I carry a barometer in my boat but maybe I'm putting too fine a point on it. I guess the best thing is to go fishing whenever I can and just forget the weather. I'm on vacation on Little Lake Harris all May and I've caught 3 small largies and one bluegill this week. Not bad huh? On the other hand, not very good either. The barometer has been pegged way low all week so I've been blaming it on that. Please fishes, let me catch you, I'll throw you back, honest!