clipper

Watching my young son catch his first bass over 5 lbs. We were fishing a small private lake and he was using his favorite bait at the time, a spinner bait. I was across the lake from him and he hollered "Dad, get over here, I got a big 'un"! When I finally got around the lake he had a 6+ lb bass by the jaw in a death grip.

If you could start over again, what would you do differently?

Neither of my grandfathers ever paid me much attention, but I fished with my dad from the time I was 7 or 8 years old. Wonderful memories that I wouldn't trade anything for. One of these days I am going to scan some of my old pictures of him and post them up here. Since I didn't have much interaction with my grandfathers, I am having to learn the hard way how to be a good grandfather. I think it involves time, attention, patience, and being the kind of person I want my grandsons and granddaughters to be. It also needs to be fun for the children as in CATCHING fish, I learned that from being a Scoutmaster. I know I have a lot more to learn in the future. My hat is off to all the guys who take time to make life fun for a little child, whether they are related or not.

You are a lucky man. Make sure that new pole gets bent :)as soon as it gets warm enough where you live.

I've got 2 pair. They keep you dry and are about as cool as anything in hot weather. I have the jacket and pants and they are not real bad to expose your back when bending over.

Back in the sixties my dad sunk a cake of cottonseed meal in a burlap bag on top of a submerged island. He had a catfish trotline close by so I think that is why he originally put it out. That sack of cottonseed meal turned that submerged hump into a real bass hotspot! I guess it attracted bream or shad or maybe both. I don't know if it is legal or not, but definetly unethical for tournament fishermen.

I have the hotspots maps for the southeast. Many of the points I mark on my gps show up on the bank instead of in the lake and my gps isn't off that far because when I am on a major highway it shows my position accurately on the map.

I look for "Made in USA", especially on tools. Won't buy tools made in China. I will pay more to get something made in this country because I think it is made better and will last longer. When I have to, I will buy something made in China but I gripe and belly ache about it when I do. I don't mind buying stuff made in Japan because it is usually good quality.

Authentic Georgia Red Neck! Descended from Dutch, Irish, English, Cherokee, and Scotch (we're thrifty). Been here since before Revolutionary War. Someone traced the family tree back to Henry VIII and decided he better stop before he found anything else.

You can buy a vinyl patch kit at some marine stores. I tried and was never able to match the color. My advice is get a pro to do it.

Anyone notice that the handle was on the right side of that spinning reel? I wonder if that is normal in their part of the world. You can bet they watch American bass fishing shows because they gave it a kiss before putting it back in the water. I also wonder if the lady in the back of the boat was their guide since she lipped the bass and set up the spinning outfit again after the fish was released.

I think children have to learn that there are consequences to their actions, good and bad :'(. If parents don't teach that to their children, a judge will get to try when they are grown. How to accomplish that varies with the child as has been pointed out above. In addition to appropriate discipline, children need love and attention(time with their parents). They also need parents who respect and love each other. Watch your children and see if they don't treat their mother the way you do and treat you the way your wife does. They also need to GO FISHIN' and going to church doesn't hurt either. My thoughts on the subject.

Good advice!

I would take that deer any day, especially with a bow. Congrats.

Had 'em twice >. Made me realize I didn't want to go to Hell and didn't want anyone else to go either. Make sure the doctor has the stone tested so he can tell you what you are eating or doing that caused it. Mine was too many Milky Way candy bars (calcium oxylate) and not drinking enough water. You WILL live to fish again!

When your wife starts calling your boat "the other woman".

It's good to see the site back up. I missed it even though I've done nothing but work on a room addition for the last two eternities. Thanks for all the work you put into the change over, Glenn. I guess I will have to get used to 30 minutes less sleep each night, now that I can feed my habit again .

There is some good fishing on that right side but we fished the bluff wall just south of the bridge, then went thru the pass and fished the rock wall to the left. We intended to fish to the right of the pass as well but ran out of time. I haven't got to fish much this spring so it was great to be on the lake again. We were also surprised that there weren't more folks fishing this morning. Maybe the low temps had something to do with it. I fish an '89 Stratos with a 150 Evinrude on the back. Light cream bottom, dark blue deck. Stop by and introduce yourself if you see me.

My son Tyson has a friend named Dave who just started fishing Allatoona and has fished regularly for several weeks without catching a fish. They went this morning and I tagged along to occupy the back of the boat. Since Tyson loves to fish a fluke we fished the fluke-senko pattern on bluff walls that worked Thursday when I went out with TMike. Dave started off with a trick worm but after my first Senko fish I rigged him a wacky senko. His first fish was a nice 16" spot off the bluff wall at Allatoona Pass. We fished from first light 'til 10:00 and caugth 11 spots with Dave's being the largest. He ended up with 3 total fish and of course Tyson out fished me as usual but I did land 3 from the back of the boat. We caught fish from Bethany Bridge to the rock wall below the pass. They were pretty scattered but we did manage 3 fish on one short stretch of bank in the shade. Fun morning, especially seeing a newcomer to Allatoona get the bug.

You can use fiberglass resin and thin it with acetone so it will soak into the wood. Thin it just enough so it soaks in and keep putting it on as long as the wood will take it. You can also buy a product called CPES from the Rot Doctor, but it is expensive and treated plywood would be cheaper. The CPES is great for treating wood that is starting to rot, it will stop the rot and strengthen the wood. I would go with treated plywood or the thinned fiberglass resin. Don't breathe acetone or get it on your skin, wear heavy rubber gloves and work outside in a breeeze. It will take over a week for the resin to cure and not be sticky, but I used it on an old fishing boat and the deck is still in good shape. Work the resin into the edges real good, because that is where water will get into your wood the worst.

Being on the water. The rush of the air hitting my face as I skim across the lake. The reflection of a beautiful sunset on still water. The splash of a bass on a still summer morning. REALIZING THAT A BASS IS SWIMMING SLOWLY AWAY WITH MY SLIDER LURE!

I've never tried this on bass hitting bugs but it works on spotted bass feeding on small shad. We tie a streamer about the size of the shad they are hitting behind a surface lure with an 18 to 24 inch leader and pop the surface plug so it splashes water and attracts attention. They generally hit the streamer. If they are hitting bugs on the surface you could tie a fly that imitated the bugs behind a topwater lure with an 18 or 24 inch leader and see if they would hit the fly. You could also tie the fly behind a popping cork. It's one way to cast a fly on spinning gear. I would try letting the fly sit still at first and if that didn't work try creating a little commotion with the popping cork or surface plug. We call the rig we use in north GA a Bama-rig and it was developed by Mike Bucca (aka Triton Mike). Good luck and welcome to the forum.

I usually have to pray for my motor to start more than to catch a big fish! I also have to pray for the patience to tolerate jet skis and backlashes >. I once heard my uncle say a real earnest prayer from the bottom of my dad's fishing boat in a bad, bad storm on Lake George, Fla. I guess I was too young to be scared. I often offer a prayer of thanks for a beautiful sunset on the water or that enchanted time right at dawn when the birds are singing, the water is like glass, and the bass are making those beautiful splashes chasing minnows on the surface.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Keep up the good work . You may have a natural born fisherman there. My son has always outfished me, even when he was 8. I think it is in their attitude.

At the last weigh in of the tournament cheaters will be banned from all future tournaments, have their boats and equipment confiscated and given to those they cheated, and then thrown in the lake - and the lake will be on fire.