Scott F

Fantastic fish! Is there a photo where you aren't holding it out toward the camera so we get a more realistic view?

If it were me, I’d look for the warmest water I could find and start there. I could be wrong, but most impoundments have the deepest water near the dam which would warm more slowly than the water at the other end of the reservoir. I’d start on the points and work my way to the back ends of the coves, again looking for the warmest waters.

Differences in prices can also be attributed to the quality of the work. The best taxidermists and those who make excellent replicas can command more money for their work than someone who is not as skilled. "You get what you pay for" certainly applies here.

That style is pretty much what you need, but I’d use much thicker aluminum plate. Find a local fabricator who can make one for you and weld it to your boat.

The weather is finally getting nice so the wife and I were going to cook out on the grill for the first time this season. When we opened the grill, this is what we saw. There was even a little blue egg in the middle of the nest. I guess I ruined some birds day.

If you remove the claws, you'll get more hits.

Tie one end of your leader to a split ring, and the other to a snap (not a snap swivel). Practice tying. That tieable wire leader is very easy to kink. It turns into pigtails if you aren't careful.

When the gear I’m using will not do what I need it to do, I upgrade to new equipment. I was using some Lowrance depthfinders and the mapping on the chip I was using did not accurately show me what was really there. Instead of spending more money on new map chips, I replaced the depthfinder with a Garmin that had high def, accurate maps built in for not much more than new chips alone would have cost. When a reel gets noisy and the parts to fix it are no longer available I upgrade.

Those look more like suckers than bullheads to me.

I'd reuse the 1 inch hole for running the new wires and mount the new Ram mount as close to it as possible. Put screws in the old, unused holes. You could also use the same type of plastic mounting board that is used on transoms for mounting transducers instead of a 2X4. Try to get over the fact that new gear will require you to drill more holes. I just bought a brand new boat and have already drilled almost 50 holes in it and the trailer already!

If you carry a state certified scale, and fish with a witness, (I’ll volunteer) you might be covered.

When a fish is close to the boat, this might work, but 30 or 40 yards out, you just don't have that kind of control.

In the menu, find "Overlay Numbers" There you can select which numbers, Depth, speed, or water temp you want displayed with a choice of sizes.

Ha! I'd love to watch you keep a smallmouth from jumping if he wants to. For me, they seem to jump more in warmer, shallow water but I can't predict it. Some days they stay down and some days they want to go air born. I was on a week long, river trip last summer and was getting a lot of hits on my #4 Mepps spinner. Over half the fish took to the air which nearly every time meant my lure was getting tossed back at me. I replaced hooks, did everything I could but the only thing that worked was switching to a whopper plopper that was harder for them to throw.

I throw crankbaits on a medium light spinning rod. Why would that be uncomfortable? Small, light crank baits that don't run very deep work very well. I can throw them much farther than I can on heavier gear. I don't need stretchy lines, moderate actions, or glass rods. Works fine for me.

Oh, OK. Of course I use it. But mine never leaves the boat.

I’ve taken my boat out hundreds of times and never brought a lanyard with me. What’s so important about a lanyard?

There are a lot of web sites that will resize your pictures. Just Google "photo resize".

I have a Ranger that is a year older. Mine, though not as shiny as it once was, is still a very solid boat. Boats of that time period were very highly regarded but over nearly 30 years, there is no way to tell how it was stored, or if there is any hidden damage. Even the picture itself might be 20 years old. Was new carpeting installed to cover up major defects? Making an educated opinion from a picture posted online is just not possible.

You weren't specific about the river you were talking about. In my area, feeder creeks get flooded too as they feed the larger rivers. Water is over the banks, up into the trees and bushes even into peoples yards. At this time of year, sudden temperature drops shut fish down. Water that was clear that then turns to chocolate milk shuts down the bite. My rivers are generally clear and smallmouth are sight feeders. When things go suddenly dark, they don't feed. If your river is always stained, it may not shut the bite off as much. Trying to get in water or float flooded rivers is pretty dangerous. Another reason to stay home. Going out during flooded conditions isn't a good idea. If you insist, you have to find spots VERY tight to shore or wherever the new flooded shoreline may be and fish areas out of any kind of current. These spots may be inches deep, up against trees, or anyplace the bass can get out of the flow. History tells me it's not a good time to fish, so I stay home.

Stay home until the water levels go down.

Yup, time for a new one. New ones are much better. The computerized controls takes better care of your batteries.

Go Pro cameras work best when shooting close ups. If you want to shoot anything more than 5 feet from the camera, chose a different camera. The extreme wide angle lens is not suitable for nature and travel photography. Chest mount fishing videos are the worst things on YouTube, unless you like videos of hands cranking a fishing reel. A regular camcorder with a zoom lens is much more versatile for shooting a variety of videos that include more interesting long shots of wildlife and scenic views. They also have replaceable batteries, and view finders so you can see what you are shooting. Overall you will make better videos with a more traditional style camcorder and comparable prices to a GoPro.

Rivers around where I live often have runoff from farms or have cows that enter the river. We also have a lot of geese that hang around the river. E-coli is often present as well as other types of nasty bacteria. While getting to the river, we often have to bush wack our way through the brush where poison ivy and ticks are waiting. Few of our serious river guys ever get into the water without wearing waders

What the guys above posted is exactly right. Keep some of each weight on hand so you can adjust. I also keep some weedless heads around. Fallen trees are prime spots for smallies. You can throw the weedless heads into the branches without snagging. Z-Man only sells weedless heads in 1/10 oz so you may have to look around for lighter ones. I've yet to find that color has made any difference for me.