NBR

I inspect all of them once a year and single plugs from time to time and like Catt I keep a spare set in the boat. Years ago I changed and inspected the plugs more frequently but with my 159 I run it pretty hard or not at all and it is far less prone to fouling.

Get the bass boat. Keep the kids in PFD's which you should any way. If the kids are too young to take directions they are too young to be in a boat and not be on some ones lap.

I have some hooks in my tackle boxes but those have never been tied on. Every hook I fish with has had the barb pinched down. I've done this for over 35 years and I don't think its caused me to loose any more fish than I would have with barbed hooks. It has been a lot easier to get the hooks out of the fish, boat carpet, clothing, boat seats and ME.

The boat is apt to be struck but even more the angler sticking up out of the boat can be struck. If thunderstorms are a part of the equation I head for shore or closer to the ramp or a place of shelter at first boom.

Some years ago at a seminar one of the pros answered this question with, " The first tap is the bass taking the worm(jig), the second tap is the bass exhaling the worm(jig) and the third tap is God tapping stupid on the shoulder for not hooking up with another bass.

Always buy the maximum motor specified for your boat.

Welcome!

I didn't think he had much of a chance and while I feel sad for Skeet I am a KVD fan. Many years ago I bought a boat from an absolutely super nice young man who at the time announced that he and Don were turning pro. Little did I know that the youngster would be known far and wide in the bass world as KVD. More important is the last time I had a chance to talk with Kevin he remained a very nice person. Just a class act in every thing he does.

Senko's, Grubs & Tubes are my go to's . If the smallies aren't shallow go to the first drop off and try deeper. There should be a decent surface bite early and late in the day. Pop-R' and original Rapala's work well.

Roadwarrior's reply x 2. In-Fisherman by so much there is no competition.

Looks like Blue Streak, Long Mike and I are the old timers. I've been at it 65 years.

Be sure tocheck you state regulations. It may be illegal in some places.

Canada is a big place. We could use more specifics on the location. I've fished Ontario for years but don't have a clue as to Lynx Lake.

I use an arbor knot. If you drop the rig over board and are lucky enough to have a floating lure tied on you can retrieve the entire rig without the knot you get the line and lure back.

I'd clean (sand) the contacts on the power cord, fuse holder and fuse hard - to bright metal. If this doesn't work I'd call.

I have a Maxxum with a built in transducer. Long battery life. I fish very rocky lakes and before the built in transducer I was beating the trans to death on rocks. I replaced about every 2 or 3 years. Current built in is at least 5 years old and still works fine

In-Fisherman has books on both LM &SM that are very good. Kevin VanDam's book is reported to be excellent I haven't read it yet so my opinon is just hearsay.

My guess is the fish jush gobbled them up as they floated along. The Creek Chub lure company got it start when a gentleman was sitting on the bank of Dowagiac Creek whittling while waiting for a friend. He threw his whittling into the water and a fish hit it as it floated down stream.

For $12 its not a bad deal. I also dropped out because in my opinion the magazine was not as good as in the years before ESPN. Also I didn't think ESPN treated the former Federation well and I don't fish T's. Years ago I'd read cover to cover as soon as possible after receiving the magazine. Now I pretty much skim through when I get an issue. Grand Daughter had a school thing to get orders for mags so I reupped for Bass Master.

When I started fishing there weren't any electronic depth sounders. We used a map and either an anchor with the rope marked in feet or roughly figured how much anchor rope was out. The rope method is just as accurate as a sounder but takes an incredible amount of time for the same amount of information.

Never had a beer while fishing some coffee and lots of water. Several when the fishing is over. Love the quiet when fishing probably why I like to fish at boat-in camps in Canada. Not much human noise. A guest could bring a music source to fish with me but he would have to be a super super fisherman and great guy to get another invitation .

We have caught many, many smallies we could see. Boat rule is when one guy gets a fish on the other throws a bait right behind the hooked fish. About the first fish I caught on a Senko swam the full length of the boat no more than 2 feet off the side and took a Senko I pitched in front of it.

Being new to bait casting I'd guess you are having some backlashes which can damage your line.

You won't find LMB fishing in any of those states to rival Texas. I'd take him to Erie for smallies.

While it is possible you have a bad spool of line more often than not this is not the case. What knot are you tying? Are you goobering the knot before you pull it tight? Is the line in the range of your rods line rating?