gulfcaptain

#1 Triple Trout 10" Floater.....warmer months and when fish are looking to chase #2 Hudd Deluxe 8" ROF 5 & 12......cooler months or when a slower presentation is needed. #3 Savage Gear 8" Line Thru Floater weighted to suspend or slowly rise....has a different action then the Hudd and is more weedless then a Triple Trout. #4 Matt Lures 10" Dead Twitch.......good do nothing dead stick big bait or slow twitch bait. #5 5" custom rat my buddy makes but the original Spro Rat will work as a stand in......Good slow topwater presentation and night time bait. Could include a S-Weaver 168, Hudd 6" and 68 in the ROF 12, but don't really consider those as big swimbaits.

Fished a lake a while back where there were shad everywhere. Topwater.....zero interest, jerkbait....nope no takers, swimbait....nadda, spinnerbait & buzzbait....wasn't happening. So scrambled around and got one on a 3/4 oz SK jigging spoon and then busted out a crankbait I hadn't used in a couple years.....a Heddon Swimming Image in Threadfin Shad color. It was a fish almost every cast. That bait had the right action the bass wanted that day so I'd say look into this little gem of a crankbait and give it a shot.

Newport Bay itself is a good option as well. Pier J is another one. They used to let people fish off the jetty at the base of Shoreline Drive between the Marina and the beach that extends almost out to on of the oil islands. The surf around Belmont will produce halibut with the same lures just outside the surf (what little there is).

Contact BASS or FLW and tell them you're interested in starting a team at your school. Now you will need an adult to drive the boat as you can't do that and that adult will have to be the coach of your fishing team. That's if you want to work towards scholarships and fish for your school, but make sure you can get a team together and a parent to fill in as the coach. Now local clubs are another way to go, but being 16, you can fish but each club has their own set of rules. Mine wouldn't let you operate a boat until you're 18 years of age, but you can fish with a boater or have a parent or family member fish with you as a guest at each event. Couple ways right there for you to look into.

I would suggest somewhere close to Vacaville CA. I have a friend who lives that way. Why there, well close to the Delta, Berryessa, Clear Lake, and many others. The mountains and hunting areas are a couple hrs away at most, and living in the rural areas up that way will give you a less expensive cost of living compared to the bigger metro areas.

First off....welcome to fishing in general. Second, welcome to tournament fishng. Sounds like you went in ready to go but then lost it mentally when conditions changed and you didn't. As for your 2 small fish, if you're fishing tournaments ALWAYS count fish that will weigh or score in a tournament, no matter how small they are.....as long as they are legal. And as you said this is your first season fishing bass, read more articles about seasonal patterns and different conditions as so when you encounter them you can adjust. We all eat some humble pie every now and then, but every day you spend on the water you should learn something weather or not you caught them or didn't.

Mine is an EFI, so I don't choke it, just lower the motor, primp the ball, and start the engine. Then let it warm up.

Drive one before you buy one.

I agree with this. There's a lot more to finding fish then looking at a graph. Knowing where to look and seasonal patterns come into play as well. But for what price range you're looking at I'd say spend a little more and get a Lowrance Hook 5 with Navigation (although now you look into getting Navionics chips which are around $200 but well worth the investment) but then if you're wanting side imaging as well then you're going to spend even more on a Elite TI but with a 5" screen it's going to be hard to see with a split screen and if it were me, I'd spend more on a 7" model which will accept a Navionics chip. The chart plotter is just as valuable as the graph. And detailed chart plotters WILL improve your ability to locate fish on structure since you can survey the body of water prior to fishing and give you a good starting point. My graph didn't help me in a club tournament find fish, but the chart plotter played a HUGE role in locating structure and contours that held the quality fish I needed.

I let mine cycle about every 15min, but then mine also are an open system meaning I have to manually shut my livewell off from the lake before I move at which time I make sure I turn the pump on to add fresh water as well as the re-curculate pump. When i stop, I reopen the livewell to as so I have a constant flow of fresh water from the lake entering. Even in 107 degree weather, ALL fish were in great shape when I released them after some had been in there from 6am till almost 4:30pm.

If I'm running the bank looking for something and have mutiple rods on the deck, I normally only fish 3-4 of them depending on what kind of water I'm fishing. But don't make 6 casts and put it down. Then once I get on a pattern I may have the extra rods on the deck that I may use but will normally stick with one bait and run and gun to spots within the pattern I'm fishing and fish that one bait unless there's a reason such as cover to change up my bait option to something that goes though it better.

I have a 12ft Talon. Use it all the time. It's not just for shallow fishing. Offshore humps in 10ft of water....drop the pole. retying equipment, drop the pole, no dock parking and a rocky shoreline, drop the pole, shallow water and tight quarters to get out of, drop the pole and pivot out. No worries about backing into trees or the bank as long as you have room to spin the bow around on the pole. I have the bracket for a second unit and WILL have one when the finances let me aquire one. Oh, and did I mention current, yep drop the pole. Fold down bracket is used when I store it or need it. Why did I buy a Talon, 12ft vs 10ft, and it's in a 4ft unit where the Power Pole would have been even taller and yes, that 2ft does make a huge difference. I didn't think I'd use it as much as I do, but having it there you find yourself using it more often then not.

I use mine and rinse it with a hose. If I need to clean clean it, a light bleach and water mix wiped on and off works great(this is only if I know I'm not using it for a few weeks and can leave the lids open as so it air drys which removes any toxins from the bleach) and also use a vinegar water mix if I need to clean it and will be using it shortly after as the vinegar water mix won't leave any film or toxins which could kill the fish I put in. But normally it's a rinse and drain.

Okay, ran into this issue with a brand new Merc. Verado. Had water dumping out the exhaust on one motor and not on the other. Our lodge mechanic called Merc and their suggestion and opinion was I had something stuck in the pickup. Their solution, put the motor in reverse and gun it a few times to dislodge whatever was stuck in the pickup. Yeah sounds really high tech, but it worked and the water stopped dumping out the exhaust once I cleared the port. Might try that and see what it does. Also learned if your engines pee-hole stops flowing, shut it down, and take a can of WD-40 and shoot a few shots up the hole. Problem solved. Easy fixes that require ZERO work but aren't always known about.

I've moved from Power Pro to 832, then to TCB 8. 832 is a great braid, but personally I'm liking the TCB-8 a lot better. Use it on both baitcasting and spinning without any issues.

I agree with the above statement and almost all the other advice given. A late payment can cause that 11% interest rate to possibly jump to 29%........almost bet that is in the really small print of the agreement.

You could try a clear coat spray paint, clear epoxy resin, or something along that line. I would use something to test each before acctually using it on the rod. That way you know which one will not cause the ink to run and ruin the signatures.

Use Invisx for my leaders as well. Have spools from 6lb to 17lb for just leaders.

Well go for what you like. I only suggested used as I bought mine (from a dealer) and ended up with a great bottom line, lots of extra's added for the cost of a new 175TX but went fiberglass with a 225 Merc, the electronic's I wanted as well as a shallow water anchor for under 18K. But I did lots of looking before and I would ask if you're buying new to test drive each model as so you know how they ride out on the water before you purchase it. I wouldn't worry about quality of the Ranger either.

My first swimbait set up ran me about $180 and consisted of a Cardiff 300 and a BPS 7'6"MH Graphite Musky rod. Still use the rod although I upgraded to a EXO 300 reel. Works great for all my swimbait needs and is able to handle larger baits in the 6-8oz range as well as throwing 2oz baits. Just an option.

Why are you looking at those models? Is it price? Do you want the aluminum because it's cheaper or for where you're going to be fishing? Next, why not look at a used boat.......might get a model a few years older for A LOT less money or even find a fiberglass boat way under the price you're looking for.

Thanks, I stand behind my opinion as you can see from that pic of how much I fish Quantum, and that's only part of them, there's also the Tour MG and Smoke 150's.

I'll fish a Quantum any day over a Shimano. Sorry, I've fished my friends Shimano's and will stay with my Quantums. Not impressed with Shimano reels.

I throw a Quantum Tour KVD cranking rods. They are a composite but are really light and have nice action. Use the 7'4" and the 7'11"MH's but they do make a 7'11"H. I throw 5XD's and the large 8.0 squarebills with no issues on either one. Might be an option if you're looking.

That looks like bait and probably crappie by how its stacked up. You need to run a split screen with the traditional and DSI or Chirp and DSI as so you get a better picture of what you're looking for. Once you find how they mark you will always know what you're looking at without any question.