flipin4bass

I've been using a Gen 2 Champion Extreme all year and love the hell out of it. I've never held a rod so lite or sensitive. I plan on getting another for Xmas.....Gooooo Bait Monkey!!

I don't know....some of those look like HAWGS. Great video.

Rock Steady First Sergeant! Flipin4bass 1SG, USA (Retired)

It's not Yellowstone, but I like it. Gas powered craft are not allowed on the lakes and it's nice to be able to fish and not have to put up with a big boat flying by you going 60-70 mph.

Cool air, calm water...man, I love this time of year!

As some of you know I lost my Calcutta/Powell combo last week in the lake. Well, I went back to that location this morning and dragged the bottom again and was able to hook the rod! The cork on the Powell looks to be a little water logged, but the reel appears to be ok. Took the reel apart this afternoon and found that very little water had gotten in. Dried it out and lube it with the oil that came in the box, slapped it together and works like a charm. Man, am I glad I got that reel back!

No, I don't think I'll be swimming for it, I do plan on dragging for it again this weekend. I've already chaulked it up as a loss and a lesson learned. I've got plenty of other reels and I wasn't kidding about using a tether. Oh, btw, the lake where I lost it is called Lost Lake....how ironic.

In over 40 years of fishing I never dreamed I would ever do the ultimate blooper. Yesterday morning, while fishing one of the beautiful lakes on the refuge, I went to make a cast and the rod slipped out of my hands. You can't imagine the sick feeling I got as I watched my Calcutta/Powell combo quickly sink in 18-20 feet of water. I later rigged up a size 2 treble with 1 oz weight and dragged for an hour but no luck. To make matters worse, I even have it on video. (Sorry, it hurts to bad to show it...maybe someday.) You can bet before my next adventure I'll have a tether around my wrist!

Hey Fat-G, you're almost right. It's a Dobyns Champion Extreme, DX 704c, 2nd gen made in Korea. I put a Calais reel on it and it rocks. I guess Gary had quality control problems with the rods made in China, but these new rods from Korea seem to be all right. I'll probably pick up another this winter.

Although it was a little windy, the cloudy sky and cooler air made it a nice day for fishing.

Cam across this scene this morning while launching my kayak. The water is usually clear, but in this area of the lake the water had a green tint to it. Is this the result of a bloom? I paddled around most of the lake shore and didn't see any other fish nor did I find any bass that were affected.

Whoa! You can almost put your head in her mouth! That's a HAWG for sure, great catch!

We had a storm roll through from the north here Thursday night and it really cooled things off. I think those 105+ degree days are behind us now. I saw a lot of fish schooling on the surface early this morning and wouldn't you know, me without a spinnerbait or shallow running crank. I did catch a respectable bass on the mats with a frog before the sun came up. The rest of my morning saw bass typical of the second catch on the video.

Were you guys on a monster quest??? That's a HAWG!

An easy 5! Great catch guy, they do grow em big up there.

That's a HAWG! Use a piece of fishing line next time and use it to get the girth, you can measure it when you get home and use the calculator on this site. That girl is an easy 7. Good catch!

Back on track after a couple of weeks in a slump. (click on the link)

Missed the mark on a few nice bass this weekend...oh well, there's always tomorrow. (click on the link)

I gained what little I know about sonar growing up with a an old Navy man/fish biologist. All fish finders, aside from the newer side imaging units, basically operate the same regardless of the cost. The difference exist in the software and how it interprets the information. Fish finders do locate fish as it is a matter of target density. Sound waves pass through flesh and bone quite differently from other objects so, the better the software, the better the returns. I don't have a unit on my kayak, but I have two units on my other boat. I'll use those units when I'm on a lake for the first time and I want to find where the structure is. Once I "know" a body of water I turn them off. Long before the battles began between conservationist and the U.S. Navy over the use of sonar and whales, George (the biologist I mentioned) told me that sonar drives fish down and away from your boat. I've always remembered his advice and even noticed that my catch ratio improves when my units are off. If you don't think those units can be irritating to fish, try swimming under a boat when those transducers are pinging away. You'll be surprised at how much those pings are magnified in water.

Thumbs up dude!

Posted these pics a while back and decided to put them in this format. (click the link)

If we can fund sex education and other off-the-wall education in schools, then I don't see why we can't teach our kids how to take care of the planet. You got to start somewhere.

Nice bass! Man, that lake looks like it would have a world record lurking in it.

She's a nice one! What did you catch her on?

This goes way past the "norm". The premise of the show is not watch the host catch tons of fish on the baits that he is paid to fish. The premise is watch the host/guest angler go through the process of breaking down a body of water that he's never been on. I'd call it a fraud and never watch it again. I watched a few "Day on the Lake" episodes where the anglers were launching their boats on the "lake" without a ramp (barely even a dirt area to launch). I agree with Tyrius, we've all been there, first time on a lake and you're going through a multi-step process to determine where to fish. I would much rather observe an angler going through this process than watching him haul in fish after fish in an area that he already knows produces.