Daniel My Brother

Beautiful! Congratulations.

Got this from Hank Parker's TV show: Hank would throw a firetiger crankbait into schooling shad and his partner would throw a shad colored crank. Hank outfished his partner and credited it to presenting a bait that didn't look exactly like the other 40,000 baitfish down there. Makes sense to me.

I like both, but I prefer dusk. At dawn in the summer I know my time is limited, and the bite will eventually slow down, or shut down completely...but in the evening, as it starts to get dark, I get the feeling that the best fishing is still ahead of me.

I have a 14' x 36" jon with a sunken front platform that helps keep my center of gravity low when standing. It's fine with 1 person standing, but if my fishing partner decides he wants to stand, I'll usually take a seat.

After doing the math, I agree with KU Bassmaster. $2,400 9.9hp outboard $2,000 10 foot Welded Jon $1,000 trolling motor $1,000 fish finder $1,600 pedestal, decking, carpet, livewell, graphics, etc... $7,000 Megabass Nameplate $15,000 Total

About 8 of us guys take a long fishing weekend every spring and fall at a favorite Southern Illinois lake . One time one of the guys, Steve, was sight fishing a particularly big bass for 30 minutes...it finally bit, only to break the line next to the boat. Steve got so mad he broke his pole in two and threw it into the lake. My buddy and I went back later that day and were able to fish the pole out of the lake. It now hangs on a wall at the cabin as a reminder for Steve. ;D

Congrats on the find! This is me climbing a tree with a bow saw to retrieve a $3 rat-l-trap in February (When my buddy makes a bad cast he says he "Danned" it) I'd probably go through a hole in the ice for $15 lure. -Dan

Twice this year I've had boat trouble. Both times I got advice that helped me identify the problem and get it fixed quickly! THANK YOU Way2Slow, Ben, and Team Dougherty (and whoever else I missed)! Also, I never fished a Senko before reading about them here. They are now my go to bait. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!! Excellent site. Thank you Glenn.

RW, I've admired that avatar for months! All I catch with minnows are crappie and small largemouth, usually with a bobber and splitshot. You mentioned "free swimming minnow" when lake fishing...is that just a minnow on a hook with nothing else? I buy the "large" minnows, but they are seldom longer than 3"...any advice you have for targeting bigger bass with live bait is appreciated. Thanks, Dan

I think you'll still catch plenty of little ones with minnows. The only big bass I've caught on live bait have been using live bluegill while jug fishing for flatheads. We quit jug fishing on one particular lake because we kept catching bass. :-/ I usually hook minnows under the dorsal fin with the hook facing forward, working under the assumption that the bass is going to attack the head, but my buddy hooks 'em through the lips and usually has similar success.

Too many to count...though most were kids. My wife is the world's greatest girl scout troop leader, and we've got some honey holes with BIG bluegill that we take the girls to. I've got four daughters (ages 4 to 15) and I take turns taking them out in the jon boat, usually with a friend. Then there's the fishing rodeo at Capaha park. We fill the van for that one. As far as adults go, my goal is to convert all of my former golfing buddies into fishing buddies.

Ha! Good one ;D

I like "Trees in bloom, crappies loom"

Here's a little healthier alternative. Just put a little olive oil in the bottom of a glass pan, coat generously with Pappy's all purpose seasoning and bake fillets for about 6-8 minutes at 350. My grandpa used to gut 'em and fry 'em in corn meal, fins and all! Then he'd eat the tail fin and smile and say "it's like crackers"...I have to admit I've eaten more than my share of fried tail fins.

3 Days of guided trophy bass fishing in Central Florida: $1,500 3 Days of guided trophy bass fishing in El Sato Mexico: $1,500 Airfare, tips, meals, lodging, licenses, etc...$2,000 6 days spent hunting double digit bass: Priceless!

When I was just a little rugrat I used to watch my neighbor clean his catch. It was fascinating. Then, when I was 7 or 8 that neighbor had a garage sale and I bought my first ever zebco 202. I used to practice casting into a bucket in the front yard. I was hooked on fishing before I ever caught my first fish. We had 3 small ponds that I could ride my bike to and fish. I kept and cleaned every legal fish that I caught, mostly catfish. The best part was the fish dinners. Mom and Dad always made a big deal about those. Dad never liked to fish, but he'd drop me and a friend off at the river on his way to work on Saturday mornings, then he'd pick us up at lunchtime. It was always great showing off our catch to Dad. While I didn't have parents who fished, I had parents who always encouraged me and supported me, and that's helped me love fishing even more.

You'll probably never get checked, and even then, never be fined...BUT...In all things boating and fishing, if you know the law and follow the law you'll never have to worry about it - and that's worth a lot to me.

One time I thought it would be a good idea to leave the plastic cover on the cork handle of a new rod in order to save wear n tear. Stupid! The first big bass I hooked yanked the rod right out of my slippery hands and into the lake... :-[ luckily I was able to grab it before it sunk out of reach.

Way2Slow, I changed the lower unit oil per your advice. It came out black with no water (or metal flecks), so I feel a little better about that now. Thanks. I talked to my guy at the boat shop and he said they did indeed need to send the prop away. He asked what kind of shape my prop was in and I said "ok", he said I could get a new one for between 80 and 90 dollars if I wanted to go that route...that's about double what my cost would be to send the prop to St. Louis. I'm going to stop by the shop on my way to work, let him look at the prop and give me his opinion before I decide. He's always treated me well and I trust him. Thanks again, Dan

W2S and Josh, Thanks for the input. It's good to have some idea of what's going on before I take it to the shop. When you guys said "spun the hub" that's exactly how it felt. Thanks Again! Dan

Bad night on the lake tonight. I have a 1984 Mercury 9.8 that I use to push a 14 foot jon. I was cruising along as fast as the motor would take me, when the engine reved up real fast, and I lost all speed. I backed off the throttle and was able to run the boat back to the dock at low speed...yet whenever I tried to give it gas, it just reved up real high and went nowhere. Any thoughts what might have caused this? Thank You, Dan PS Worst of all, I got skunked!

The strike zone is the area between the bass' knees and shoulders.

I never lie. btw, I caught this 36 pounder on a mini-marshmallow

Fishn Bear, I'm no expert, but I fish a lot of lakes with 10hp limits, and I see many guys pushing boats much bigger than mine with no problems at all. Dan

I have a 1436 jon. It fishes great with 1 guy standing and one sitting. 2 guys standing is a different story. Wider would be better. I put a deck in mine, but I sunk it to keep my center of gravity low.