Zel

Last year I was fishing a recently large downed tree in a fairly good sized lake (for the area anyway). Sort of the same thing happened when a big bass rig pulled up. If the boat would have gone to the other side of the tree, it wouldn't have bothered me at all. But they strategically pulled up right aside of me, edging me out to where I could not fish it other than a small area. Rather than get mad, I made up a story and told them that they should have been here a little sooner. That the fish were stacked up and I pulled about a half dozen bass out of the tree before the bite died off. I then took a texas rigged worm and exposed the hook. I threw it to the tree where I knew it would get caught. I then moved the boat into the tree to retrieve it causing quite a commotion. After I got the lure out and moved back out, they said a few choice words to each other, pulled the TM up and sped off. Yeah the bite stopped which put a bitter taste in my mouth, but revenge sure did taste sweet.

I was tournament director for a bass club for around 10 years. Over the weekend, I'll get some info, ideas, and options together for you, and I'll PM you. Sicne it is on a private lake, you probably don't need to get a permit from your fisheries department, but find out for sure. Second, look into insurance matters to protect your sportsmen club against liability, because they are hosting the event (talk to you sportsmen club's insurance agent).

I'll going to have to give the Cavitron Buzzbait a try. I'm hearing nothing but good reviews about them. And I understand you can fish them real slow, which is a definite plus in my book. So, would you recommend adding scent to them NEVER MIND!

Someone had asked about an article by Berkley regarding smell and scent I think this is it: http://bassbuzz.outdoorsfanmedia.com/br_news_article.asp?thecat=2&ID=43 Now it might just be an urban legend, but I was once told by someone (a chemist to be exact) that the Berkley Powerbait formula and Velvetta Cheese have something in common.

Do you check these out on a regular basis (or any other states)? http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/employ.htm http://www.fish.state.pa.us/career.html http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/jobs.html

Finally go out Saturday morning to a local lake after a month-and-a-half hiatus from fishing. Like you said the temps a few day before were in the 80's. I was hearing catches by several people of 20+ those days. Temp dropped in NE PA a few days before, and Saturday morning it was 40 degrees and windy. All the regular spots where guys were catching them were dead. Nobody we talked to was catching much of anything. We then headed to the channel and also some man-made structure in deeper water. Worked crankbaits and slowly worked stick baits and fat ikas (almost to the point of deadsticking), and came away with about a dozen out of the deeper water. So in my case moving to deeper water, with structure, and slowing down the presentation was key to the cold temps that moved in.

Wow I'm a little south of you and I didn't notice that in The Morning Call online edition (I only get the weekend paper). Thanks for the heads up. Something similar happened to me years ago when I lived in Lehighton, to my oldest daughter when she was 12 and home alone. But the perpetrator never got past the back porch . One bit of advice the police told us to do, which cost almost nothing, was to get ourselves some alarm company stickers and put them on front and back doors (Premises protected by). They said to get the real ones from a real company, not the fake ones because the criminals know the difference. They said every little bit of deterrence helps. I hope they catch him real quick, sure does shake you, doesnt it. And thanks for the reports and pics of bass in the Delaware river. I work 2 minutes from it and don't fish it. After seeing some of those bass, maybe it's time to head down there during the lunch hour.

Welcome! I'll take a different approach. Let fishing be secondary to time on the water with your daughter. I have 4 daughters (God help me), ages 6 to 32 (two still at home). Each one of them is different. Some like fishing, and some couldn't care less about fishing but like the boat. 14 is definitely an interesting age! Dad's aren't cool anymore at that age. Yes, learn the basics of fishing, but more importantly, make the outing enjoyable for your daughter. With me, that means having a daughter take a friend along. Just be there for them, providing some food and drinks, music, doing a little fishing, pulling them on a tube or skis, letting them yak away, reading, sunning themselves, or even talking on the cell phones. You can fish while they are being themselves, just don't make it all about fishing. You might come off a little embarrassing in front of your daughter, but their friends will think you're cool, which elevates you in your daughters eyes (without her ever telling you that until years later). Her fond memories and yours will be quite different regarding the trips, but you both can come away with great stories to tell your grandkids in years to come. When she gets bored, go home. Don't force them into a drawn out trip that they won't enjoy, or the appeal of going out on the boat will soon wane. Good luck. Life is short, it goes by faster than you think. Enjoy.

Muddy, here is the way I set up my son-in-laws aluminum boat with a swivel seat. With the turn of two screws you can take it with you, if you leave your boat moored at the Chunk and are afraid of having someone steal them. I got all three seat components on sale at Cabelas in spring, and the 8 screws at a hardware store. (note: the clamp on the pic below already has a swivel built in, but mine didn't and I had to buy the swivel section separatly, so if you go by just the picture you would only need the clamp and a seat)

Wicked awesome post LBH. There's an old saying that seems to hold true these days in website forums War doesn't decide who's right, only who's left.

Actually muddy, I've got to give Scott Ott credit for that one. And yeah, too much time on the deck my dang body needs to mend faster getting cabin fever bad! Closed the pool, so I can't even practice casting any more.

I understand Congress is considering issuing a formal apology on behalf of all people of Italian ancestry for the devastation caused by Christopher Colombus' tragic discovery of the so-called New World. And it is my understanding that all those who enjoy the great benefits of Italian blood must also share the blame for the bloodshed sparked by that misguided Italian, as the voyage of Columbus lead to the foundation of the greatest oppressor nation the world has ever seen. They might also introduce legislation next week creating a new tax on pasta, pizza and certain sausages with the revenue going to pay reparations to the indigenous people of this formerly magnificent land.

Gotta put a plug in for Taxi and Gilligan's Island

Although I don't get to fish it often, when it comes to the Schuylkill River, my top two lures have been a Green Pumpkin Tube Bait rigged on a Eagle Claw Shaw Grigsby HP Hook (because of all those rocks), and a double willow leaf white spinnerbait with gold blades.

When going to a new lake, I often use yahoo maps (satellite) in conjunction with a contour map. You can sometimes see key spots and structure from the aerial map you might not pick up on the contour map.

NJfG just funnin with ya. I looked back on some tourney notes from the 90's, when I fished the lake much more. Here are a couple of things I got from what I had noted. Water is clear here. Smallies are willing to come up from depths of 15-20 feet to get topwaters. Use topwater baits and spinnerbaits if there's a chop on surface. If the surface is calm you get lookers at the top water baits. If you get lookers at a topwaters, either 1) lay rod down, letting bait sit on water, and follow it up with swimming a 4 finesse worm. 2) Move the lures faster, so they don't get a good look at them. 3) give up, as the rule of thumb usually is: if you can see them you can't catch them (and that's why I like fishing deeper here). I've noticed you need to move flukes, jerkbaits, cranks and spinnerbaits faster here as a general rule (probably because of the clarity, and a fast retrieve doesn't allow them to get a good look at it and the reason they grow up to be cowbass). All bronzebacks here think they are 8 pounders, or at least they fight like them. If you hook one of the big ones, and you feel it rocketing to the surface, stick your rodtip straight down pretty deep into the water and get that bass turned, and it will save yourself some frustration cause they will throw the bait jumping. I've already netted those jumping smallies 5 foot in mid air for my coanglers (no bull) in tourneys. You probably won't get the numbers here, but the ones you get will be quality fish. It's my second favorite lake in Jersey, after Spruce Run. You'll probably get to see some deer, black bear, muskrat, and weasles on the shoreline. Maybe even a cyotoe here. Loolk for bald eagles, herons and loons also. The place is amazing for wildlife. One more thing I almost forgot, there are a lot of trout in the lake, and the bigger smallies feed on them. So, having something that matches the color might be a good idea.

What's up... you don't trust my advice? LOL Good luck, let us know how you do.

Pretty cool LBH! But what do you use to fix it if you happen cut too deep when carving the pic? A pumpkin patch maybe?

I wish to thank the Avidemy for this honor. Although I am not a fan of Ms. Jolie's politics, I find her humanitarian efforts commendable. And she's pretty easy on the eyes too! In honor of her compassionate nature, I wish to donate the prize to Muddy, for his dedication in helping those less fortunate. As a sponsor, he teaches guys the pleasure of fishing in the outdoors, as part of a structured format to recovery. He often provides them with rod, reel and tackle. And he does all this with limited resources. I hope this helps just a little in his worthy efforts.

Because I'm meeting my buddies out on the lake we're headin out to a special place we love that just a few folks know there's no signing up, no monthly dues take your johnson, your mercury or your evinrude and fire it up meet us out at party cove come on in' the waters fine just idle on over and toss us a line (Song: Craig Morgan - Redneck Yacht Club)

So Avid... who won?

I kind of liked those Philadelphia throwback jerseys but then again, I like amebic dysentery also.

For those who like the Charlie Brewer 4 Slider Worms, the company is having a closeouts sale on some colors, in bags of 10 for $1.00. They also have some Spider Web jigs on sale. http://www.fishingworld.com/Slider/Details.tmpl?ID=1094755767122875&Cart=1191358063123962073&SKU=4%22%20Slider%20Worms%20CLOSE_OUT

Although I have been fishing since I was a little guy, it was April 21, 1991 when I realized I had became addicted to bass fishing. I had been fishing primarily for bass since 1989. At the end of 1990 I thought my skills were good enough to try bass tournament fishing. I joined a local bass club in January of 1991, and looked forward to my first tournament. When that day came about (April 21, 1991), the tournament was on Greenwood Lake on the NY/NJ border. The air temperature started out at 20 degrees, and it only got warm enough that day to get freezing rain. The rod eyelets kept freezing up on every cast, and I broke two rods. The deck was a sheet of ice, and we wore our life jackets all day for fear of slipping off the deck. We couldn't even feel our fingers after an hour on the lake, and with no feeling, tying a lure onto the line took about 5 minutes. When we went back to weigh-in at the end of the tourney, we found out everyone else quit about 4 hours earlier than us, and had gone home. The tourney director was the only guy left, and only because he had to wait for us. My boat owner caught his limit, and I blanked, but I learned a lot. We both ended up with mild frostbite on our fingers and toes. And the only thing I could think about on the ride home (other than hypothermia and escaping death) was fishing in the next tournament.

Don't know if any of these are close to you, but you can check them out. http://www.pabass.com/districts/district.php?d=1