Hot Rod

Stay at a campground to save on hotel costs is one way. Also if you take your food with you or prepare your own food don't consider that an additional expense. Because even if you were not traveling you have to eat/pay for food. So I don't figure my meals into a trip's cost unless I'm going to be spending more than I normally would by going out to restaurants and such.

Big bass indeed. I think I've fished out of some boats that were smaller than the "bump board" that things pictured on. ;D

How's the trim fluid level? I'd check that first cause it is easy to do. But it sounds to me like an electrical issue. Remove/Clean/re-connect all connections and try again. The last time I had a crankin' battery go bad, my first indication was that it would barely raise the motor when it wasn't running even though it cranked the movor over just fine. Based on that I think the trim draws more than the starter but I'm not certain.

I've ran into this too with other baits. Two things I have found helpful is that if you look in the catalogs they often will provide details like weight, length, dive depth that they don't on line or on packaging. the other thing you can do is go to the manufactures website. Sometimes they'll have the "specs" for each bait available listed. Also in the catalogs they will often have a chart/graphic that shows the approximate size of of different number hooks/blades/split rings, etc.

I try to keep it simple when it comes to colors. If you don't you can drive yourself crazy. I used to think I needed every bait in every color. I rely mostly on 3 or 4 colors for soft plastics and about general 4 colors for hard baits. Listen to what some of the touring pros say about it and you'd be suprised. Most of them rely on a handfull of colors. That being said however there are some exceptions at certain bodies of water where specialty colors tend to work better. For clear water I try to "match the hatch". See what forage is in the water (shad, bluegill, crayfish) and thow baits that mimic the color/size as close as possible. The clearer the water the more criticle it is to match the forage. In more stained water I like dark lures like black or black with fleck or chartruese. Something that makes it more visible to the fish. The muddier the water the more criticle lure visibility is in general. Don't beleive the hype, all those different colors are made to catch fishermen, not necessarily fish ;-)

This sounds like the "set up" for a Foxworthy "punch line": Like the one about the husband getting fasion advice from his wife before heading out to the deer woods... "Hey honey! Does this Realtree shirt go with my boots?

I would recommend fishing it fairly shallow, say 10' or less while you are getting the hang of it. Also as mentioned earlier throw it where you know the fish are, especially at first. Nothing helps the learning curve like catching a few fish on a rig. Even if you have to break some of the "rules" of the rig to do it (i.e. "drop shots only for deep water"). Once you get the hang of it and build confidence then you can start using it around the deep off shore structure when the bite is tough.

I use a 2/0 Gammy all the time.

Here's two of my favs: After a good day on the lake I always boast "WHEWIE, I caught the far (a.k.a fire) out 'em today boy!" My fishing partner from NE PA calls fishing contests "Towaughnaumants".

I caught about a 5 inch bass on a big zara spook. As I was reeling it in just as it got over a drop-off near the boat in deep water a giant mouth of teeth flashed up out of the abyss like an ICBM and swallowed the bass and the spook. Managed to get the 45" nothern pike in before it chewed thru the spook as it was cross ways in his mouth. I felt bad for the fate of that poor little bass. Also caught a big bull frog once on a spinnerbait.

Tungsten being so hard I don't like to use a toothpick for fear it will cause extra wear/abrasion on the line against the sinker. I like the rubber T pegs, the Tru-tungsten pegs or a rubber band.

Gee, if I went and let the cat out of the bag they wouldn't be underated anymore now would they? :-X

"strokin" refers to a technique where you rip a fairly heavy jig (could also be a tube or other plastic) up off the bottom in fairly deep water to temp a reaction bite. Usually used in summer time on off-shore structure. So I'm guessing that rod is pretty stout. Would probably also have an action suitable for a jigging spoon or blade bait or as a shorter heavy flippin' stick especially for close quarters like standing timber or for those that don't like the longer flippin' sticks.

I have several BPS cranking sticks in different sizes. They are servicable and do a fine job for cb's and topwaters. They are a great value for the $ and they work for me BUT... I also have a Falcon Cara reaction rod that at the time I got it retailed for around $180. It was $80 on clearance! Let me just say the old cleche is true when it comes to rods; "you get what you pay for". That Cara is so light and sensitive. You can feel exactly what the bait is doing much better and it is less fatiguing to use all day long. You can tell when its working its way over rocks/wood/grass/etc. really helps you get two treble hooks thru thick cover. There are times when the bass are taking a cb but not smashing it. That's when it makes a difference. For example if they push it from behind and move at you with the bait the bite is more subtle. Also if you plan on fishing a swimbait with it, like I do with mine, you will really appreciate the extra sensitivity and better action of a higher dollar rod.

Depends on what your budget is. But I've been looking at some of the dealers that have brand new "hold over" models from previous years that didn't sell. Some have some big discounts on them so they can move 'em out in this bad economy.

X2

Personally I wouldn't worry about the boat fenders on a bass boat. I bought some when I got my new Strat and used them exactly twice. Hauled em around the boat the first season then threw them out when I realized all they did was take up space in the boat. Thats space that could be filled with more tackle!

Dang it if I can't catch a thing on those red eye shad. Been throwin' em under appropriate conditions for a couple years now without a fish to show for it. I've caught the fire out of fish on a half dozen other brands of lipless baits during that time period. Like my ol' grand daddy use to say, "I must not be holding my mouth right!"

Yep, works on braid. It makes your line much easier to handle to where it at least seems more supple and you can cast farther due to lubrication effect. I always have some in my boat.

Cloudy days and/or muddy water.

1. I can't say on a "family site" 2. Killing big whitetail bucks with a bow and arrow. Such a rush to arrow a big 10 point when he's only 10 yards away especially when you work all year long to do it.

Trust me you aren't misshing much. I was so disappointed in that "day 3" show. It was two hours long but they showed the same fish catches and other footage over and over again. There was probably less than 1/2 hour of new coverage. All the coverage was only of the top 4. There wasn't a minute about anyone else. At the end for the weigh-in and champion crowning they only showed the top three. What a rip. I'm sure they'll show it all again in the "wrap-up" cause there really wasn't much there. JMHO

Yeah I remember that article. My manual says I should only run 87 in my '04 150 Johnson. But my certified mech told me I should never run less than 89. I asked what gives. He said :"the reason the manual says that is that most people don't want to spend more on fuel than they have to spend. Therefore, the manufacture recommends 87 in the manual so it looks like it is less costly to operate". I don't know. Mine seems to run much better on 89 or higher but most times when I'm topping off I'm adding it to a half a tank of "stale" fuel so its probably lost some octane and balances out somewhat.

If you plan on fishing tournaments make sure the policy covers you while in a tourney. Some don't. I have progressive and my policy covers tournies. Its a good price too I'm thinking of adding protection for my gear too, which is an optiong with progressive. I added up how much my gear cost that I've accumulated over the years.... Dang! I hate to have to replace it out of pocket, ouch.

Nah, I'm too busy puffin' up a fat J or runnin' a few lines of coke Are you serious? In a vehicle capable of speeds over 60 mph? There is no place in motorsports of any kind for impared drivers. Its dangerous enough out there on the lakes I fish. Now if you are floating around a pond or something of that sort its a different story. Personally the only time I crack a cold one open in my boat is when it is in my garage and I'm in there organizing tackle