Hot Rod

The main cover in most of the lakes I fish are weeds. My most productive time to thow a spinner bait is when the wind is blowing. Throw it over the weeds at any depth when the wind is up and you'll get bit. The harder the wind blows the heavier bait. That way you'll be able to throw it in the wind and the bigger baits have bigger blades for more flash and vibration when there is a chop. I also like 'em in stained water around stumps and laydowns if that cover is available. Try to bump the cover. Too many pointers to relay here. Get yourself KVD's two books. He has a lot of great insight about fishing spinnerbaits. I really learned a lot from them and there is a reason he's the master. It works!

I'd use a 3/0 or 4/0 with all of those baits for T rig or C rig. I'd also base the wire diameter of the hook to the line I was using. If I'm using less than 12 lb line I go to lighter wire hooks. I used to think smaller hooks were better. Maybe for trout ;D When it comes to puttin' keeper bites in the boat a bigger hook is better as long as it doesn't negatively affect the action of the bait or your ability to get a good hook set.

Trst me, if I had a dollar for every time I wished it was an Optimax I would have enough for a new Merc. ;D Yeah, plugs are new and gas new and treated. But thanks for the insight and thoughts. It started doing this last year. I should have had it checked out over winter but most of the places around here shut down once deer season starts and now they are so darn busy I don't want to be without my boat while they take forever to fix it. Aghhh, thats what I get for procrastinating :'(

I have an "04 Johnson 150 that was new in 06. The thing will idle perfect when its cold. Once it gets warmed up and its idling if you touch the throttle it coughs and dies. A few people told me it sounded like it was "sucking" air into the fule line. So I replaced all the fuel lines from the tank to the carb, including the primer bulb and the fuel filter. Am I in for some big repair bucks? The thing runs great once you get if up to 2000rpm.

I have a Lowrance LMS 520C. IT worked fine until a couple weeks ago. Now the GPS won't work. ONe of the "fixes" suggested by Lowrance is to upgrade to newest software. The unit is less than a year old but there is a newer software version available. Why would the unit all of a sudden need an upgrade in software for GPS? Anyone else had this problem. I tried a "soft" reset and also checked all the connections. Its all good. Any ideas? :-?

I didn't even know Shaw had a book until some one gave it to me second hand. Wow, great book! ( I also liked Jay Yelas' book) Powerful stuff!

I use a palomar with mono and braid. I never use a palomar with floro as I've had it fail with floro to often. For floro I use the uni.

I really like the features on the Spirex (I have 4 of them). I have purchased other more costly spinning reels that I don't like as much. Not having instant anti-reverse could be an issue for some but it has never been a negative for me. I guess I'm just used to it. For me the quick bail trip trigger out weighs the instant anti-reverse. My spirex's have been very durable too.

The Zoom flukes work best for me. Thought the gulp jerk shads would be killer but they didn't perform up to my expectations. They just don't have the action that the flukes do. I'll stick with Zoom when it comes to soft jerk baits.

I'd start with some 6" curly tail worms texas rigged w/ a 1/8 or 1/4 oz weight and a 2/0 hook. Use black, smoke or watermellon. you can't fish em wrong as long as you fish them slow. Let em sink then slowly drag them along the bottom preferiblly around cover/structure. When you think you are fishing slow enough, then slow down some more and that should be about right. Second I'd get a top water popper. like a Rapala Skitter pop or a rebel Pop R in natrual shad colors like blue/chrome. Just thow it out let it sit a few seconds then twitch it across the surface to make it spit, chug and splash. It's easy to fish and nothing beats a top water bite! Best morning/evening and all day on overcast days.

My vote is for the Mustad Triple Grips! Fish just can't throw 'em like standard round bends. Use em an watch you bite to land ratio go way up on cranks.

There are many other ways to recreate on a bass boat. Later in the day once the fishing slows and the boat traffic picks up on the lake, I like to use my Stratos to run down as my annoying PWC's as I can! ;D (oh sorry, did I type that out loud?) Just kidding, but a man can dream can't he?

I agree. If you are not going to get the side imaging hummingbird go for the LMS 520. That side imaging is incredible but the sonar detail imo is better on the lowrance. I got a 520c recently and have no big complaints it is an awesome unit. It did take some time to learn all the bells and wistles though. Once you do though it is an incredible tool, especially for deep structure/cover. To get back to your orginally question, I the 520 accepts graphics cards for more detail background maps. Does the 332? That may be the big difference.

Unfortuantely, most of the resevoirs you named are closed to fishing as they are small resevoirs for drinking water purposes run by local municipalities. The exception is Canoe Creek Lake, which is a state park. A great place to fish but it is devoid of smallies but does have a decent numbers of green fish though. But it gets pounded with pressure and is difficult to fish at this time of year from the bank because of heavy weed growth. The best spot from the bank would be around the dam but it is a little bit of a hike from the parking area. The steam that runs into/out of the lake (Canoe Creek) is mostly just a put and take trout fishery but by this time of the year it's running to warm to support any trout. If you do want to fish that lake from the bank try throwing toads or frogs up on the matted grass. There are also two small ponds right next to the lake. They are easy to fish from the bank and I always caught largemouth there but you really have to finesse them. Try small straight tail worms in dark colors with very little or no weights. My best suggestion for close by smallies would be to head North on I99 to Tyrone (about 12 miles from Altoona). Take the Tyrone exit and head South on SR 453. 453S basically follows the Little Juniata River. Its more like a stream than a river but it is a good bet for some smallies. Though most of them will be small, if you can get into some deeper water that's were the bigger fish will be. You can also catch an occasional brown trout as it holds a self sustaining population due to the many springs that feed into it which provide cold water. In fact it is often noted as one of the East's best trout streams in publications. There is also a skinny section of "the Little J" you can fish off old Route 220 near Bellwood just north of Altoona. Which would be a little closer but I never did as well there. Haven't fished it for a few years but it used to be you could count on catching brown bass there. I used to live right on the river and fished it about everyday. Try gold bladed undressed Meps spinners, black curly tail grubs on 1/8oz jig head and early/late small Pop R's in any color are killer! Good Luck!

I use a BPS Finesse rod in medium action. This rod is awsome. I wish they made the same rod at the same price in a MH action. Of course then I guess it wouldn't Be "Finesse".

Hold the rod out in front of you parrallel. Tighten the spool tension so that when you release the spool the lure you are thowing just barely falls from the rod tip. It is best to tighten the tension down all the way, depress the thumb bar then back off the tension until the lure starts to fall. I like to back the tension off just a little bit more once I make a few casts this way. Then turn down the magnetic brake to about half or less. You'll be amazed at how much farther it will go with less effort and better control.

I prefer the gel type but it will harden after a couple weeks or so and it is more expensive though easier to apply. If you go to wallyworld in the home repair section they have a no-name brand of the liquid type that is sold in 5 tube packs for $1. At that price I don't care if a tube hardens after one trip.

I like Vanish and Transition. But I had problems with breaking off right at the knot until I started using a uni-knot exclusively. No problems but I only use it on my baitcasters. I use the Trilene 100% for spinning.

Welcome aboard! What type of river? It's different if you are fishing a backwater area of a large river or if you are fishing in a section with more current. Usually for largemouth you look for the slack water areas. So those baits would be good choices depending on numerous other conditions of course. But if there is more current I prefer to throw jigs with grubs or crankbaits to eddies and to the downstream side of current breaks.

Sorry for the confusion. I didn't make my point very clear. I just meant that I have a similar size boat with a 24V TM and sometimes I wish it were more power wise in strong current/wind especially. Therefore with a 12V system I would want as much battery life as I could get. I did not mean it to sound like I was equating the power and amperage of a 24V system to a 12V with two batteries system.

I like a 6'6" M or MH cranking rod for my topwaters.

I was taking my rods out of winter storage a week or so ago when I dropped two from the rack. They fell about 3 feet and the end of the rods hit the floor. The reels never touched the floor. For a second I was afraid the rods were damaged because the tips slammed around as they fell. Well on closer inspection both rods were fine but both of the graphite reel feet were busted. One was a cheap old $50 reel but the other was a quantum Accurast PT that was about 3 or 4 years old. There goes a $120+ down the tubes. (The new Accurist PT's have metal feet). I would never invest in a graphite reel again IMHO.

Here is a great one from Bassmaster Rewind. http://sports-att.espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/bassmaster/video/v_Mar6_06_DepthFinder_large.wmv

IMO if you are going to through a bait like that I'd recommend the SPRO Frog or upgrade the "rat" hooks to the new Gammy frog hooks. Sharp hooks that are snag free are the most important part of this kind of bait since the fish can't really see it that much through the thick cover.

I always make sure I leave the lids on my boxes open after any fishing trip where they could have even got moist to dry out completely. But the best thing i have found is to spray them lightly with Reel Magic right in the tackle box. It will save you a lot of money replacing rusty hooks. I bet other line conditioners (KVD) or WD-40 would work as well.