Tom Bass

I have worked with many police officers on the west coast and the east coast. I work in public transit. I must say that majority of them are good people doing a job that many of us would not do for the money. The officers that I have encountered that were....let's just say "conflicted" were not people that should be in that profession in the first place and they do give cops a bad name. In my younger days (I can't believe I am actually saying this) I was a rebel rouser and a speed junkie (not drugs, motorycles) and in only 2 encounters with police did I encounter unprofessional officers that had chips on their shoulders. In all other encounters I was nice and they were nice. Hey, I knew I was in the wrong. Why fault someone for doing their job? 8-)

Howdy EastMark, It's my opinion that if your happy with your boat what should you really care about other people's opinions? I used to fish out of a Regal 2120 Deck Boat. Expensive, sure, but I had a good time. The wind was a problem but Hey, I survived and had a good time. Enjoy your boat.

Reds, Cast the line out just like you would do fishing from shore and let the boat's forward momentum allow the lure to do it's thing. Fish do not seem to care about boat activity so the close proximty should not be a problem. If fish cared about a boat's presence many pro bass fishermen would not be pros now would they? 8-) Sorry, had to throw that in. I would get a topographical map of the lake and only use lures that dive to a level that should not get hung up or snagged in the areas that you are fishing. All, I get this itching feeling that Reds is going to report back to us in July that he caught a monster Bass while his boat was resting in a cove after trolling a while and they were stpped to eat sandwiches. I hope I am right.

KingKoopa, Your not doing anything wrong. The lures are doing what they are designed to do. The Rapala "Original" is made of balsa and it floats. The diving action is caused when it retrieved and the spoon under the lip helps to drag it down into the water. In my opinion the "Original" is best fished with a wounded minnow retrieve. Cast it and leave it float on the water a while then twitch it....leave it alone....twitch it again. Reel a bit...leave it...twitch it....leave it alone....twitch it....reel it..... You get the idea? The Original can be used as a regular crank lure but you are right. It does not get the depth advertised with heavier line. I have found that the lesser pound test line helps it get deeper but fighting a several pound fish on 4# test line might get interesting. I read an article that was done in either Field and Stream or Outdoor Life where the author tested crank baits for advertised depths. Only the Rapala DT lures seemed to be most accurate. The term Rapala uses "DT" means Dives To.

Yes, it is called Trolling. The boat needs to move slowly though at less than 5 mph at the very most. A couple of miles per hour is more optimum. Crankbaits would do well for slow trolling but the speed must be slow and the baits must match the depth the fish are hanging out at. How will you know where the fish are depth wise? Ask around and experiment. If the boat you are on does not have a depth finder I would recommend you fish shallow crankbaits so you don't get hung up. Have fun.

WEAR GLASSES WHEN FISHING....! Thanks for the video Dominion Dan. Mattlures, Thanks for the video on hook removal. I have done that and a few other methods. The maneuver that is shown in the video is a last resort for me. Usually I try to fish it out with a pair of pliers mainpulating the hook to find an exit pretty much the same as it went in. Once when I did the "hook yank" method shown, sans Maker's Mark, I pulled a small white piece of what I though was tendon along with the hook. It must have been nerve. My index finger was not the same for quite a while but I am happy to say the feeling came back. The one thing that I have found with hook sets in your flesh is the area numbs itself. Either the nerves deaden or the mind blanks it out. Regardless of the removal method. Let the nerves do their job while you do yours but for Godsakes, don't power down a bunch of Whisky to deaden pain on a boat....or anywhere else for that matter. That really doesn't help the situation. Especially if you are the captain or the owner.

ikefan, I went to Walmart and found some cool little clip-on boxes that I use when going shore fishing and I don't want a lot of tackle with me. One box Ia have is a small box that clips on my back pocket that will hold several lures. I did a search on Walmart and could not find it but here's another box they have that might help: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10928126

Last weekend my friend hooked a bass on a Slider Grub and the bass was hooked and fighting hard. As my Buddy got the fish up to the boat the bass dove, came up a threw the hook. As the grub and the bass hit the water the bass attacked the Slider grub again and my Buddy got him in. I had never seen that before. It was a very cool moment. BUT, there is always a "but", It's my belief that bass do learn what to take and not take regardless of what biologists and scientists have stated otherwise. It's called survival and Darwin and a whole bunch of other folks have proved it many times throughout the years. One thing that I have learned that is interesting is I go the "hot hole" at Lake Norman. It's the cooling canal for the reactors at the power station. Probably thousands of bass have hit silver flukes there and a multitude of bass fisherman use them. Usually they fish the lure fast along the top of the water. Many do catch fish that way everyday. Try the same flukes fished slow like a dying minnow and BLAM! You get gangbuster action all morning long. Why? Different presentation of the same lure fish have been conditioned with over time. My opinion is that bass fishing and the biology of it is like practicing medicine. It's a "practice" not a science. If it were science and exact the challenge would be gone and we would be into some other outdoor sports.....like chasing women....but I digress. 8-)

I think pgersumky and RoLo are correct. Slow 'er down a bit. Another thing that I have encountered like ths with flukes and grubs is that the bass see me at the last second and stop the attack. If that might be the case try crouching down in your boat or standing low center. This does help when the bass can see you.

A lot of organizations do this mail first - pay later gimmick. Many of the hunting orgs do this as well and it is annoying but I have purchased a few books this way. The ones that get me, and this happened through BASS, was when I recieved a bill for a DVD I did not order nor one that I recieved. We got into a back and forth p***ing contest over it and I am no longer a member. Once in California I had one hunting org threaten my credit rating over books I never recieved but was billed for. Once I sent them a letter stating that I forwarded their threat to the state attorney general and to the post master general they relented and that was the end of that.

Maybe this will work for you...."Hey Dad, can you get me a new one since you broke it?" Just a thought.

Oh, I almost forgot. You know that bonehead move that no good spinning reel fisherman will admit to? You know the one where they cast and forget to flip the bail down? That really helps screw things up regarding twist and line tensions. I am not sure how I know this.....I just do. 8-)

I use spinning gear of all sizes and for all lures and eventually you will get line twist no matter what. I have tried all types of line and the line that seems to get the least amount of twist problems is Trilene Sensation. Because of twist I change my line about every two months but even still I get twist problems, especially with the lighter line weight. I don't use swivels at all except for Carolina rigs and that may enhance the line twist problem but I personally don't like swivels but I do use snaps for quick lure changes. Tossing weightless flukes and grubs can really cause some twist problems. Every once in a while I end up stripping 50 or so feet of line off just to keep the problem at a minimum. Contrary to popular belief the spool does not have to be full to properly fish a spinning rig.

Out of curiosity I went on line to their website. They list no dealerships but here's a link to contact them: http://phoenixbassboats.com/contact.html

I feel for ya Tim Ford. Chalk it up to lessons learned and enjoy your boat. It looks nice.

I'll agree with tennwalkinghorse. Go Interstate for the money. Sears batteries don't live up to their commercials and I haven't heard a lot about Exide. I have used Interstate for years and have had pretty good luck with them.

Keep 'em filled with water and they'll last longer. I had a mechanic tell me I needed to repalce mine last year. I popped the "maintenance free" caps off of them and filled them with distilled water and charged them. They are running hard and strong. These batteries were installed 2005.

I'm no boat motor mechanic but could it be a loose wire somewhere. That would be where I'd look on my motorcycles, trucks and cars.

Cool! I would love to see those photos. Old boats are great. There is a guy hear in NC that has a 1936 wooden fishing boat that is 18' long and has a late 50's "no name" motor that he fishes with on occasion and I think it's the coolest boat on the lake.....Well, except for mine....

Might help if people knew where you are. They might be able to direct you somewhere to get a boat that matches your needs and budget.

Have you tried popping the caps and ensuring it is full of distilled water and acid? Even maintenance free batteries will last longer if topped off and properly charged. Today's batteries are "supposed to last 7 years". I am told that they do if properly maintained. The starting battery in my boat is a 2005. I filled it and charged it recently and it's doing great. Top your battery off with distilled water and slow charge it and things should be okay.

I know this will be hard to do without practice but try counting or saying to yourself "one thousand one" before setting the hook. You may be trying to set to early. The fish is also battling the foliage. Good Luck Tom

Here's what I do. It's simple. Clean 'em and scale 'em. Don't fillet unless they are big enough. Get a frying pan going with about 1'4 deep oil (your choice) Beat a bunch of eggs. Put a mess of flour in a bowl and add lots ofsalt and pepper. Once oil is really hot dunk the fish in the egg and then roll in the flour and then fry. Don't double dunk in the flour if you don't want a thick crust. Very simple yet very tasty.

Hello NCcoach, If you are using crickets or red worms you want a long shanked hook so that if the bream swallow it you can retrieve it without hurting the fish should he be so small you want to throw him back. Try a #1 or #2 "Aberdeen" hook. Eagle Claw makes 'em. If you are fishing a place with little current try free floating the worm or cricket with no weight. Set the hook pretty quickly though as bream will swallow a hook pretty fast I would use an ultra-light rig with 4 lb test fishing line. Also, pick yourself up some spinning lures byMepps or Rooster Tail in the 1/16oz weight. I have always had good luck with the white lures and the silver spoon but get a variety of colors just in case the fish are finnicky. The lures are fairly inexpensive. If you use the spinners with treble hooks you may want to smash down the barbs on the hooks in case you get some smaller bream. They can sometimes get their mouth around the hook and get all three barbs and unhooking them is a bear wiithout seriously hurting them. Good Luck. I hope this helps. Tom

Free floating flukes (silver) twitched on topwater like a wounded minnow. Bass Magic swimbaits on a 3/16 oz 3/0 Eagle Claw swim bait hook. Rapala Orignal floaters. XPS lipless crankbaits for deep water. That is what I have been having luck with this year. Next year? Who knows. Good Luck