fourbizz

This is the lake record for a lake that is pretty close to me Lake Tahoe has some great Mackinaw fishing, but it is illegal to run a two stroke motor on Lake Tahoe, so I have never fished there. Maybe we will get to fish in Feb, as long as I am not in Reno for the Safari Club International or Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation shows. Chasing linesides with robert on the delta this weekend, stoked!

Well I have been getting real burned out on the whole big bass fishing thing lately. Haven't got any good fish and have been hitting it real hard. I decided that it was time to take a bit of a break before I just got ticked and quit, LOL. Take a break from bass entirely. So brandon and I were both free to fish for once, so after discussing our options, I talked him into going fishing for trophy brown trout and big mackinaw (lake trout). Since my truck has a bad wheel bearing and I am waiting on parts to arrive, we decided to take his truck and boat, " Moley" which is my old boat. He bought it from me last year and has done a ton of work to it. I haven't had a chance to fish out of her since then so i was looking forward to that too. After rigging it up with 2 of my downriggers and one of my trolling motors, I picked up some gear and we headed for the high country at 3:30AM. After about a two hour drive of bouncing and winding through shoddy mountain roads we finally arrived at the lake, about half an hour before launchable light. So we went down to the ramp and threw the big baits around for awhile and then launched. After looking over the topo the night before, I decided that there was some pretty good struture right by the ramp, so we just dropped both of the electrics and started trolling. We ran two 8" swimbaits off the riggers and Brandon toplined a F18 Rapala while I toplined a Trophy Stick in the Kokanee pattern. After about an hour of high speed (3.3 on gps) trolling for browns, we look back to see that my trophy stick is fouled and running on the surface. I start reeling it in only to realize that there is a 6" smallmouth attached to my 6" bait, LOL. We brown fished until the sun was up pretty good and then went deep and slow on the downriggers looking for the giant Macks that this lake holds. I was running a bait that is about $75 in a color that is a VERY limited edition. And I had it 65+ feet down, crashing through the rocks . We stuck to that game plan for about 4 hours, occasionally switching baits, speed or type of structure. No hits >. It got a little stormy on us, so we went back shallow and fast, and this time I was pulling the F18 while brandon pulled a big bait. After about 20 minutes my rod get HAMMERED! I pull it out of the holder and we stop the boat. It spulling kind of hard, but clearly not a giant. I was hoping for a 3 or 4 pound brown. What I ended up with instead was a 2.5 smallmouth, LOL. I try to take a break from bass fishing and the only things I can f'n catch are bass ! So after like 6 hours of incredibly frustrating trout fishing, which is REALLY boring BTW, we finally said screw it. I picked up the dropshot and went to work. I ended up with 5 more of those and we called it a day. Moral of the story kids: Trophy Trout fishing sucks, and bass are in my blood.

sea lion/ seal? those things are getting pretty ballsy out there. freaky either way.

That would be sweet! I'm using it for tails on one of my prototypes.

'>Look Here That ones cheap, this one is awesome

I'm wondering if any of you soft bait guys could cook up some plastic for me and send me about a cup. I will of course pay for it. I am looking for a VERY stiff (lots of hardener), lightly watermelon tinted, with an ample shot of big black flake. Thanks!

his true name is Esca Monachus

i told you, i take paypal

that that literally had me laughing out loud!

I just learned his true identity. For real. I take paypal.

Sweet Russ! Couple quick questions: Are you modeling the new children's line? Did they choose you so that they could cut down on material costs for the cutout? Will it be sitting on top of the checkout counter next to the beef jerky and lure shaped lighters? Are your friends at Keebler introducing a new alpine cookie in conjunction with your new launch? Are you Sneezy....or Dopey? Will your exposure be limited to the small game department? Which mall will you be helping Santa at? I'm sorry, I'm bored. But seriously, congrats man!

Lookin forward to it!

don't want to speak for matt, but the shad is smaller I think, perfect on a worm/jig rod with 10-15lb test. no idea on price, but remember that you will be paying for a high quality hook in every bait, so it might be a little more expensive!

Haven't picked up the minnows, yet. But the shad are cool little baits thats for sure! Seems like whenever I go to pick that rod up, its not there, my girlfriend is always throwin it!

the brakes off aren't a problem.... as long as you are using 4+ oz baits, LOL. but i'm sure you could probably just set a couple of them on and get used to it eventually. hey those salty old timers didn't have brakes on their old abu's. and they are the cheapest reel i would ever even consider for swimbaiting, but i'm trying to move to all calcutta/calcutta te for the big baits. i do have just one gripe with the cardiffs though and that is the handle. on the 300 and 400 sizes the use the standard handle/paddles as they do on the smaller reels. thats why on the 300 that i have left i have put the handle from a calcutta 400b on it, for the larger paddles and longer handles. a little more grinding power in the longer handles and for me i just like the bulkier knobs. the cardiff is definitely a tough reel though, the 400 that i just sold made it through a year and a half of big bait punishment with no problems.

So I am sitting in front of the tv and my girl was on the computer. I hear her typing away and after about half an hour she tells me to come over and read it. As soon as I sit down she turns on "Rodeo" by Garth Brooks. If anyone has ever heard that song, this is funny as hell. This is what she wrote for me. My chick is awesome! His eyes are cold and restless His wounds have almost healed And she'd give half of her breasts Just to change the way he feels She knows his love's in the lake And she knows he's gonna go Well it ain't no woman flesh and blood It's that thing they call going pro Well it's fish and blood It's wind and sun It's the splash of a big green hog It's the white in his knuckles The pig in the net He'll win the next go 'round It's rods and reels It's fishing thrills It's catch and let it go It's the hooks and the baits And the joy and the pain And they call it going pro She does her best to hold him When his love comes to call But his need for it controls him And her back's against the wall And it's So long girl I'll see you When it's time for him to go You know the woman wants her boyfriend Like he wants to go pro Well it's fish and blood It's wind and sun It's the splash of a big green hog It's the white in his knuckles The pig in the net He'll win the next go 'round It's rods and reels It's fishing thrills It's catch and let it go It's the hooks and the baits And the joy and the pain And they call the thing going pro It'll drive a fisherman crazy It'll drive the man insane And he'll sell off everything he owns Just to pay to play the game And a broken home and some broken bones Is all he'll have to show For all the years that he spent chasin' This dream they call going pro Well it's fish and blood It's wind and sun It's the splash of a big green hog It's the white in his knuckles The pig in the net He'll win the next go 'round It's rods and reels It's fishing thrills It's catch and let it go It's the hooks and the baits And the joy and the pain And they call it going pro It's the fish and the blood It's the wind and the sun And they call it going pro

i just sold my 400 and still run a 300. they are very solid reels and a steal at that price, i do however disagree with catt, NOTHING is as good as a Calcutta . The brake thing isn't an issue for me, cause I open them up when they are brand new, make sure all the brakes are off and never open them again!

i have had ALOT of hobbies most of which I got way too into: BMX Dirt Jumping Elk & waterfowl hunting paintball (woods only) Sporting Clays ( the only thing i have ever been REALLY good at) shotshell reloading prairie dog genocide video games automotive fabrication ( chassis/performance, went to school for it) four wheeling and of course the big two: alcohol and loose women but these days all that is left is bass fishing, and a newly found interest in bait building. i've got 8 videogame systems and a couple hundred games sitting in the closet, the only thing vehicles are good for is getting me to the lake, and I have $10,000+ in firearms that haven't been shot in 3 years > But man, I love bass fishin!

why do people always pull this crap? nobody asked you how big you thought it was. if you don't think its as big as someone says it is, then don't say anything! very nice fish dude!

yeah dude, i thought about it, but drive 9.5 hours each way to NOT get a 6" hudd?!?!? No fn way!

thanks everyone! i had expected that it was a surface prep probelem. big m, i am thinning because it really gives me a smoother, more even finish. but i think that a heavier unthinned coat will be better as well. so as a quick game plan for a bait i am getting ready to finish. i applied primer to the sealer coat very heavily, the seal coat was wet sanded with 180 and cleaned with alchohol this time. good wet coats of paint (4) applied as soon as the paint had flashed. lightly wet sand paint with 220 and clean with alcohol. one thick, unthinned coat of slow set epoxy, then another a couple hours later. few days to fully cure then i'll report back! i sure am having fun, and its hard keeping up with all the demand from my buddies! moochin, bastiches! ;)

all right guys here is the scenario. I am building large wooden swimbaits. but am having a problem with durability of finish. I'll give the rundown to figure out what the problem is. When the baits are fully sanded, I epoxy all the screw eyes in place and then coat the bait with a lightly thinned ( denatured) coat of epoxy to seal it. after a full 24hours or more, i wet sand the epoxy with 220. i then clean the bait with water and allow to dry overnight. i then prime the bait heavily and allow it to cure overnight again. The paint process is fairly simple, only 2 colors and i space the coats out only enough for the paint to flash. i am rattle canning with boyds enamels. After the paint has fully cured, I coat it with 1 coat of thinned epoxy, let it cure overnight, then another, cure, another, cure, then hang the hooks. thats three finish coats of slow cure epoxy, about 3/32" build now the problem is that the epoxy is almost "flaking" off where the hooks rub, but it only goes as deep as the " wood sealing" coat of epoxy. it doesn't go to the wood. this isn't right. only after 4 or 5 hours of chuckin, the paint is thrashed. the baits don't get waterlogged at all, but they get ugly quick. durabilitly is a primary concern for me with these baits. help would be GREATLY appreciated. i have a couple of ideas, but don't want to lead the topic, so what do you guys think? thanks jay

Mattlures - You must remember, 4 biz is a smart kid... he's already one step ahead of you. its not that kind of ring jack$$$! its a wear this on your middle finger and continue being a great GIRLFRIEND ring! air out my business why don't you! You don't want to be the next guy getting decked in my boat do you? jk buddy, i know that your just bitter that your woman keeps your berries in her purse and i'm a better fisherman :-X :D

set the ping speed high. some graphs max out right where you want it, but some are clearly too fast. as long as it doesn't seem "skippy" then you will be good. even with my graph tuned as sensitive as possible, if the ping speed isn't high enough, it won't pick up a bait that is moved quickly like a spoon. so turn the sensitivity up as high as possible without encountering too much "noise" which will appear as random dots/black bar at the surface. turn the ping speed as high as it will go without scrolling all jumpy/skippy. this is just what i have learned for myself, i'm no expert. but learning your electronics is WELL worth the tim e you put in and becomes exponentially more important the deeper you venture.

randall, i think you have a part of that backwards. arches will only appear if the target or transducer is in motion. the reason it appears as an arch, is because the transducer picks up the fish before the fish is directly underneath, that would be one of the "legs" of the arch, as the fish becomes directly underneath the transducer, it is now as close to the transducer as possible, which means that the transducer will read the shallowest number, or top of the arch, as you and/or the fish move away the distance lengthens, and the leg of the arch will dip down to a deeper reading. the deeper the water/wider the cone angle and faster the object or you are moving, the more pronounced the arch will be now if the boat is still, and the fish stays in one place, it will appear as a solid line, because its depth and relationship to the transducer stay the same. so these are the fish that COULD be the inactive fish IMO. But when the lines go up and down quickly, to me that means that they are actively pursuing bait up and down, or laterally, which would still show up on the graph as vertical movement. a good example would be a real tough crappie bite, where you can't hardly get bit, but you can see nothing but solid lines on the graph. they are there, they're just grumpy.