Trek

I believe if Tundra comes out with a good diesel in their trucks they will rule the truck industry.

My personal truck is an 06 Tundra four door which is a little smaller then the 07 and up. I love that size and wish they still made it. Mine has a button on the dash that raises and lowers the back window. They have brought that back the last two years. Sort of sounds like something you'll never have to have but once you do you'll never want another truck without it. Toyota does make their own diesel but for some reason they keep talking about it but never bring it into the states. When I was in Costa Rica every Toyota you saw was diesel. Cars and trucks.

Used Tundras are very hard to find. New they are about the same as the other 3. They just simply hold up longer and keep their value higher. Plus guys just don't trade them in. Why give up a good running truck ? Even the rust proofing on them is better. Mine shots electrodes through to prevent it from rusting. They say it's good for 10 years. My 06 still looks like new. And 4 WD is worth it. I live in Ohio and when you need it then it's worth the extra.

You forgot the fourth one Tundra. I own three of them. Two for work and one a 2006 is my personal truck. I've never fixed any of them. Tires brakes and oil is all I've ever done. My one work truck is a 2010 loaded down with 1,500 pounds in it 24/7 and two ladders on top and we still have plenty of power and get 18 mpg. But it is a 2wd. The tow packages are standard and their brake system and tranys are unreal. For work in the last 31 years I've owned a bunch of trucks. Most of them one tons. Nothing has even come close to the new Tundra. It's a work horse that just keeps working. At first I was worried they wouldn't hold the weight. They have proven me wrong. Anyone buying a truck today needs to consider a Tundra. In my opinion it is what a truck should be.

I know the bass we catch in tournaments shrink a pound or so from the time we put them in the live well to the time we bring them to the scales. But I have heard that a bass grows the most from the time you release it to the time you tell your buddies.

One thing I've learned over years of tournament fishing is there's more then one lure that will catch a bass. After a while you get to know the guys and are able to talk to them after the tournaments. All the top guys in my area that I know are good at figuring out patterns or what the fish are doing. To many guys today are spot fisherman. Then someone is on their spot and they're done. My advice to a new fisherman is to worry more about what the fish are doing and feeding on and stick to the basic colors. The secret to catching fish is to fish where the fish are.

At Indian Lake a 6.22 is a monster. I was at Clearfork ( my home lake ) yesterday and caught one over six but that's not unusual for that lake any time of year.

If you were my non boater and you told me where you know there were 6 plus pounders caught every year. I would at least go check it out.

I'm a little cheap myself at times. I got to figuring out what plastic was costing me every year and decided to start making my own. Your going to have some cost up front but it's very easy to do. Once you have the stuff you can make your plastics for pennies. I bought a Gary Yamamoto Senko mold from CCM that is the exact worm. Not a knock off. I now make them so cheap and it's the same thing. When they break I put them in a bag and remelt them into new ones.

I keep it pretty basic when I comes to rods on the deck. Always two flipping rods and always one shaky head rod. If I think I can get a spinner bait bite or a top water bite early I'll have them on the deck but when that bite is over I put them away. My flipping rods I use are one carrot stick and one Gloomis. Makes it easy to see which one is which without looking at the bait during the tournament. I guess my thinking is the less on the deck the less I need to think about and more time I have to get the bait where it needs to be.

I'll X20 it ! I hate being out on the water and some dip has his radio turned up. I can see if your out parting in a pontoon boat. Oh wait. No I can't even understand that. If you don't like nature get out of it so the rest of us can enjoy it. I love music. I have a real nice surround sound in my house and some outside speaker on my back deck. I keep it turned down so my neighbors don't hear it. But I love to after a days work to come home have a cocktail and relaxe to some soft music. I even go down to New Orleans once or twice a year to hear some great music. But when I go out in nature then that's my music and I don't want to hear yours.

I just ordered two of the Power Pole Blades for my boat. Been wanting them for a few years now. Can't believe I waited this long. Now we need some warmer weather.

Like it's been said Tommy Biffle and Denny Brauer have done it for years. If all your fishing is local opens then pick and choose your tournaments. If your fishing a summer long tournament trail then you may take a few bumps but at least your fishing your strength. But I'm with ya. If you see me with a crank bait then I'm struggling. I'd much rather be flipping.

My daughter always makes me chocolate chip cookies for Christmas. I always brag and make a big deal that they are just mine and so good. Well one Christmas we lived in a log home with sky light windows and I was sitting under one of them bragging and eating a cookie. I thought a chocolate chip feel off the cookie onto my shirt. My grand daughter was sitting next to me so I grabbed it fast and put it in my mouth. Well it wasn't a chocolate chip it was a lady bug that flew down from the window. You know how they smell ? When I bit it that hit the back of my throat. I was in instant panic mood while my grand daughter was yelling grandpa ate a bug grandpa ate a bug. True story. Trust me don't try it.

Being from Ohio I spend some time on Lake Erie. Some say big waves are just part of it. I got out of tournament fishing it because I want to pick and choose my days.

The stupid tube. I seem to get smaller fish on it and a lot of fish get off. I've learn to hate it.

I think if you want to get on plane faster then put a fin on the motor. The less boat you get out of the water the better off you'll be. Again your motor doesn't have the HP to make a four blade do it's magic. You'll never get a big motor performance out of a 9.9 motor.

Ok may sound like something you don't want to do but try hiring a guide for a day. They will get you in the right direction on the lake your fishing. Anytime I go to a new lake out of state I hire a guide for a day. It gets us on fish the very first day. I think well worth the money.

When I was younger I was like a fart in the wind. I would be jumping all over the place and always wanting to catch another fish. And mad when I didn't. And now I'm older. This year my buddy and best friend have gone to Canada each year for 18 straight years. We always go way back in the bush just to get away from everything. It's normally Wednesday or Thursday we both need a break and him and I take separate boats and head out for a day to be alone. Last year on that day I went out and caught two walleyes and headed up a river to a waterfall that a few years ago my wife and I poured my parents ashes down. I cleaned the fish, had shore lunch and took about a two hour nap. So if you ask me what I like most about fishing. It would be those days just like that. Just me, God and nature. Growing up I spent hundreds of hours in the north woods with my parents. Every trip I go back there is good for my soul.

Anytime a new prop over a used one will work better. What makes a SS prop better then a aluminum one is that it doesn't flex. A 9.9 hp doesn't have enough power to flex either prop. So either prop in the same pitch will give you the same results. You can buy special machined props for the larger motors and maybe the 9.9's too. But your talking a lot of money for very little difference. I think you would be better off to lighten the load and balance the boat better to get more speed.

You will gain nothing with a SS prop on a 9.9 hp. Don't waste your money.

If you get into a situation that you need the batteries charged quicker you can always use a portable charger as well. My old boat had a small on board charger and if I only had a few hours I would do that. I think the slower charge is better for the batteries. Batteries are a pain in the butt. They always go bad in the middle of the lake and when your short on cash.

I love to travel and fish new places. I love Guntersville but there is no place worse for that right there then Guntersville. When the bite is on it is like a zoo all day long. I love the lake but I hate it too. And I have fished other lakes around there and they're not bad. It's just Guntersville. It is the way it is. The pros had to know it going in.

I've fished that area. Your right the sights are awesome. I believe there are more moose then there are people. And I'm ok with that.

Another cool thing I saw when at Midland Ontario fishing Georgian Bay. I believe the area was called Honey Comb. It's between Midland and Perry Sound. I saw a rattle snake. The guy that rented me the house told me there was some around and I laughed. Then Brian that has a bait shop there took me out fishing back in Honey Comb and we had one swim right up to the boat. He wasn't very big but it was a rattle snake.