garry77

As others have stated above, bang it into stuff,vary you retrieve.Also if you have nothing to bump into shake the rod tip every so often,this makes the blades flutter and the skirt flare.Also keep the rod pointed at the bait when fishing cover,it helps it come thru easier sometimes.

Don't overlook a trick worm on a c-rig either.

Green pumpkin or watermelon/red flake trick worm fished weightless.That's what works around here in the green water.

I've been doing well with the strike king red eye in sexy shad and the chrome sexy shad(not sure if that's the right color name).

First fish was probably on a roostertail,first bass was on a rebel teeny wee craw crankbait.

I'd like to try painting some of my own cranks and was wondering what paints some of you use. I'll be using an airbrush for the most part.

I haven't done so well with the shads but the frogs work awesome.And the craws and chunks are what I use the most for a jig trailer.

I drove by Umbagog while I was up in maine bear hunting.Didn't get time to fish it though.From what I saw from the road it was beautiful.

I'd fish lake #1 obviuosly. As for your second question Paul, I would tend to think that relating to humps,laydowns weedbeds,etc, is an instinctive trait and you would probably find them holding a fairly equal amount of bass.

When I "florida: rig I just peg the weight with a toothpick.I guess I'm cheap. ;D

Yamamoto swim senko

Bass have big egos.They'll hit stuff three times their size sometimes.The only problem you may have with those lures here in FL is keeping the weeds off those trebles.

2 new trolling batteries 2 Mattlures Ultimate Bluegills Several packs of senko swims Variuos other soft plastics Bass Pro sweatshirt Columbia fishin' shirt

It really depends on what line I'm throwing.Down here I throw braid alot so I don't retie very often. With my mono lined pole I check it about every other cast by running it between my fingers for about 2 or 3 feet.If I feel any roughness or flat spots I'll retie. Now that being said,sometimes I get lazy and don't retie when I should.

Try asking people around you where to catch speckled perch.Sometimes when you ask about crappie they look at you funny and scratch their heads,lol.

Here's a pic of my brother with a suwannee bass. Note:I'm not a photographer. http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/gjw77/100_0047.jpg

The Suwannee are a separate species ,I was just saying they have similarities.Mostly their shape.The colors are pretty different though. They are both pretty good fighters for their size. I was just wondering how far north I would have to travel to catch a true smallmouth again,lol.

The swim senko works good for me.

I like to throw a junebug colored terminator jig(basically black and blue with a couple other colors) and trailer it with a junebug baby brush hog.

What are some of the southernmost waters you can catch smallies in?(on the East coast). We have a few fish here in Florida that are similar like the Suwannee bass but that's about it.

Nice fish and congrats! Oh nice iguana too,lol.

Welcome aboard little brother just now found you on here!

Ok thanks for all the info. So to make this simpler on myself,lol,what kind of battery will give me the longest run time per full charge?With my standard onboard charger? I have no issues with maintaining the battery.I have an interstate deep cycle now and it is getting a little tired.I used to be able to run all day on it no matter what.Now if I have to run on high or through a little weeds I can only get about 6 to 8 hours on it(if I only run on low). What I want to avoid is having the extra weight of carrying a spare battery if I can.

Anyone here use the optima trolling batteries?Do they work like they claim? Thanks for the feedback.

my boat has a small bungee cord on the side of one of the compartments.Don't know what it's for,but my golden rule fits in there great.