gulfcaptain

I'm sure my club would welcome you in. We all share the love of fishing and each as at a different level. But fishing the club tournaments is how you get to know the members and non-boaters are always welcome at the club. So I'd say inquire into a club, attend a meeting and see if it interests you to join.

#! Do your homework. Find out as much as you can about the body of water you're fishing in. #2 Fish in the present and not in the past. Just because you caught them there before doesn't mean you will again especially if the lake has changed...IE weedbed then but not now, water down or up 25+ feet or more (S.CAL thing....lol) time of year. #3 Have a stratagy, fish what the lake gives you and pay attention to the signs on the water. If you were catching them in one place the day before and you go back and it doesn't feel right and conditions changed.....odds are it's time for plan B. Have a plan B, C, D....etc. Find different areas that hold fish and the baits that will catch them. Find a pattern or two, or three. Also try and have a plan where you're not running from one end of the lake to the other. Have your areas planned out in advance as to what rotation you're going to fish them and if you have a finishing spot what time you need to leave your last spot by to give you time to get there and fish it. #4 You get a limit in the boat, start fishing for the kickers. Yes it's better to show up with 5 5llbers, but it's still better to show up with 5 2lbers then ZERO fish. Once you get that limit in the boat it helps calm you down and lets you fish. Means you're getting bites which will keep you fishing and your confidence up, lack of bites makes you second guess your fishing stratagy unless you know you can get 5 bites on th bait your fishing and are fine with that.....but remember those 5 bites have to count. Most important thing you can do is fish YOUR STRENGHTS. Tournament days are not days to try something new. And remember, If you panic you might as well take your boat to the ramp and go home because you're already out of the game.

Had to modify both my 90's There is a way to correct the spin and have it run a little better. #1 Use the smallest swivel you can on the nose attached to the splitring of the bait. This will help line twist for sure. #2 Replace the back hook and forward hooks. I used a #6 on the back and a #4 on the front. This lets the bait rise faster as it makes the back a bit lighter. Also the #4 hook and also have added a small split ring to help "Keel" the bait and keep it running correct. These small things have helped me cure the issues you are having. BTW, the hooks on the bait are Mustad Ultrapoint KVD 1X Short 2X Strong hooks.

Yes, as long as you are enrolled in that school, have a boat, and enough for a team (a buddy that's willing to fish as well) if the school doesn't have a team you can start one by contacting FLW/Bass and they will set you up. Now this means with the boat you must have insurance to cover you fishing in their events as well which meets their requirements.. If it's a school which already has a team, well then you have a different road to take. But grade average will have to be maintained for sure.

between 5 and 6 lbs. Never the less, nice fish.

I run a 7" HDS unit in the bow, but it's networked from the console units as to give me side imaging and chart and run an Elite Chirp unit attached to the trolling motor for my up and down on the bow. But I'm not familar with the Helix units and if they can be networked the same way.

I would check the cells by popping the tops off and checking the acid levels inside. If the acid is contaminated (IE if there is muddy water in the cells or off color liquid) dispose of the battery and buy a new one. You're not going to be able to drain and save it as there is no way to remove the dirt and film from the water it was submerged in. Now if it looks good and the liquid is clear (shine a flashlight in there to see), be very careful when doing this to avoid any splash back and make sure you don't have it on the charger when you do this. If it's clear and you see no issues but the cells are low, go buy some DISTILLED water. Fill to just above the lead plates, and put on the charger.

The hooks and jig heads that come with the Flash Mob Jr aren't the best. I found although a bit more expensive, the Kietech round heads although they are made of tungsten have the strongest hook to wire ratio I found. Owner 2/0' round heads bent out easier although they did work well but Kietech's kept their shape and if I do hang up will still straighten with enough pull but they haven't straightened on a fish. I fish the Mob Jr as an oversized spinnerbait. I stay with smaller heads in the 1/8oz size, fish 3.5 and 4" Kietech Swing Impacts on them. The 2/0's on the 3.5 and 3/0 on the 4". This gives the bait a lot of movement. Also where I live, we can only use 3 hooks, so fish 2 dumy baits and a 3 wire rig doesn't swim right and feel doesn't produce as well......this is just my opinion on the 3 wire, I'm sure some have great success with it, just not me. My dummy baits tend to be Lunker City 3" Swiming Grubsters which have more of a thump tail kick which works well with the Kietechs.

First off, what size heads and hooks are you using? Next, what line size? When I first started using the A-rig, well I lost a few fish due to pull offs....THESE WERE MY FAULT!!! Yep, I pulled on the rig too hard and puled the hook. Where I fish and how I fish these is I use lighter wire hooks in 2/0 and 3/0 with 20lb mono tied to 30lb braid. Rod is a 7'6"MH Bass Pro Crankin Stick (older model). This rod helped A LOT!!! The tip absorbed the initial strike and helped keep the bass hooked. Being I fish lighter wire for the reason to be able to straighten them out if I get hung up (don't want to loose $30 a set up) my drag is lighter as well. Learned you can't horse fish in on this set up and let them play themselves out. The rod takes the strike which I'm sure you've noticed are quite a bit move agressive. I just keep pressure on them and let my rod and drag do the work. That's my way I fish them at least.

Very nice post Wayne, was trying to put mine in a way to cover it all, but yours did a great job. Best response to the OP's question.

I fished all season with with a GPS, 2D in the cockpit and a CHIRP/DI unit on the bow. I did upgrade to a better Navionic's Chart, purchased another HDS unit and in the process of linking all my HDS units (3) together as so I can run different screens as well as have the Navionics and side imaging on the bow to compliment my Elite 7 (use for DSI/CHIRP ONLY) . But botom line, THESE ARE ALL TOOLS. Just having them doesn't catch you more fish if you don't use them. There are units available today under $1000 that offer all of the above and adding a Navionic's chip increases their effectiveness. A mechanic isn't very good if he doesn't have the proper tools of the trade. Depending on what kind of angler you want to be, IE weekend fun fisherman, club angler, serious tournament angler......well then I would look into the tools that will propel you to the level you wish to aspire to. But I have found just like fishing rods, you're better off buying something in the middle price range then at the lower end because as you become better you'll want to upgrade your electronics which will have you spending more money in the long run when you tried to go less expensive.

I second this. If you're seeing large groups and schools of shad and nothing feeding on them, then there isn't anything around them to fish for. Better bet would be to try and find fish on structure of cover somewhere else or close by. Now if you're seeing active fish feeding on the schools of shad then by all means fish them.

Try them out, see how it runs.

I put Mustad KVD 2x strong 1X short on mine. The front hook is a #4, the back is a #6. Did this for one main reason, to help prevent the bait from rolling. The #4 hook up front keeps the bait level and the #6 in the back lets the bait sit a little higher which also helps bring it up quickly. I tried using a #2 up front and a #4 in the back, sunk the bait. Tried 2 #4's, bait rolled badly. Went to the above set up and it worked better then it did before I swapped them. Also added a small ball bering swivel to the split ring up front to keep line twist down as well. Hope this helps.

I believe so. The only ethanol at most stations around here have that stupid green leaf pump stating that it's ethanol.....and unless it's printed on the pump that it contains ethanol, then it is ethanol free. And being that you have to refine corn to get ethanol, I don't see our state passing any new laws letting them build a new refinery for that when they won't even let us import gas from other states. Yep gotta love those high gas prices we pay.

Most of California doesn't sell Ethanol gas. Yes they have it but our everyday gas we buy is Ethanol free as California does not import gas from other states and must refine the gas used in CA in CA. That's why we get to pay such higher prices for our special summer and winter blends.

Those will work. I'd probably fish a swim jig on a different rod, but I'm sure it would work. Like a more Med Fast or Fast action rod myself for swim jigs. Look into shallower running cranks (0-4ft) such as wakebaits or shallow runners such as SK Shallow 1.5.

A rod with that rating I would look at using it to fish Squarebills(up to the 2.5 size) , lippless cranks (up to 3/4oz), and some medium diving cranks. Possibly even a heavier bladed bait such as a 1/2 oz or larger spinnerbait or chatterbait.

No pitchforks and torches needed.....lol But you have to admit, it's really hard to crawl a bottom treble hooked hard bait across the bottom of a lake at slow speeds which is what Hudds are ideal for where hard baits aren't the best choice. But might follow you with a snorkel to retrieve all those hard baits when they get snagged up trying to fish the same bottom I can fish a Hudd.

I would rate that most likely as a MH.

Well what are their rods rated for....IE, lure and line weight.

this but the action of the rod is what is different. Extra Fast, Fast, Med, Fast, Moderate are all actions. Medium, Med. Heavy, Heavy are all power ratings of the blank in question. Moderate action rods are mainly used for cranking and reaction baits, although some "Punching" rods are also a moderate action to compensate for the lack of stretch in braid.

Here's a bit of advice for all............WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR WAKES. ANY DAMAGE TO ANOTHER VESSEL CAUSED BY OUR WAKES WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. Yes this is a rule in the CFR's. You wake someone or they wake you and brake something, you have their ID numbers off their boat or they get yours, guess what you/they are financially responsible for all losses. Local law enforcement should be notified and yes Jet Skies fall under these rules too, as do those useless wakeboarding boats that throw huge wakes. The two jet skiers that caused your brother to be thrown out of the boat could have been charged with other violations as well for their actions. People forget their are rules on the water, which 95% of people have no clue about when they buy or operate a vessel which still does not exempt them from the laws on the water. I've almost had words with the LA County Lifeguard boat on Castiac when he almost threw me off the bow of mine as he drove by. So be respectful and courtious, I find asking someone as opposed to screaming at them much better line of action and if they continue to operate in an unsafe manner, then a quick picture of their vessel ID numbers and a quick phone call to local law enforcement works great to report their unsafe actions. Let me add to my above post, any loss of personal items, person overboard caused by another vessel IS AN ACCIDENT. Be happy you don't have to deal with a CG Form 2692.

Trying to understand your question. So are you looking for a MH Moderate action cranking rod? And not sure what you're asking about a power crank......your post is a bit confusing. What are you looking to do and fish with which will give us more info on what you're asking about.

Depends on the weather, if they have stocked trout in the lake yet, and the water temp and level. With most lakes connected to the CA Aquaduct the lakes have been on the rise, some up greater then 25ft, so lots of shoreline that was exposed for a few years is now flooded. But Paris isn't very big and if they have stocked trout by that time, then the swimbait bite should be good, otherwise it may be a dropshot bite. But still hard to say.