Canyon explorer

Best to send it out to prop shop who can fix it and re balance the prop to keep vibration off the seals and motor.

I think you will do fine, Consider the following: Be able to launch and recover boat if asked. When the boater lifts the TM be in your seat ready to go Keep your gear out of his path to his seat Watch your back cast as related to the proximity of his motor Don’t cast forward into his water. (eliminates rear ending) Let the boater set the conversation pace Keep your crumbs out of his bilge. You will know how you are doing by his demeanor as the day goes on. Look at it as an investment in your learning curve. He can, if he chooses, make you a better fisherman

I like the concept but i am concerned about the dilution of spectator appeal that supports the heavy purses.

Breaking State, Club, or unsportsman conduct rules is cheating; not to mention personal pride.

Great opportunity for someone wanting to learn the basics.

Rules or Tournament director would probably disqualify your entry as being unsafe for boating conditions on a big lake, Even "take off". Also keep in mind a proper circulating live well is required. By the time you added weight of two people, gear, battery, water in live well your weight would exceed the boats rated capacity.

St. Louis Bassbusters, the largest Federated Bass club in Missouri, Rule Book states" there can be no trollling with the Big Motor". I favor this rule as it eliminates the grey areas related to actual trolling of the electric motor. Pros use the electric motor all the time to keep their boat correctly positioned to the structure they are fishing.

Couple of opportunities to consider as you are probably concentrating on heavily used water. Move out a little deeper and concentrate on structure such as hard wood stumps & trees, larger isolated rocks, man made brush piles, old channel edges and the deep end of points with larger baits e.g. power worms, jigs, large brush hogs etc. Develop and use a research network for each lake being a personal log or other fishing people that live , work or fish the lake more often than you do. See attached09 update glaze brush.doc

If you are young to the sport you can probably work into the transfer. If you are an established fisherman I would not as I believe it will dilute your concentration over an extended period of time.

KMB, I can't speak for all bass clubs but I can tell you most clubs, especially those that are affiliated with BASS or FLW State Federations welcome new members. They are also eager to find new boaters without boats; because: Many are on the draw system whereby boaters must draw partners that are non boaters from the membership. They can't select another boater as a partner until all non boaters are paired up. This plan maximizes entries and builds the $ pot which is paid out to 20% of the entry field. Gas cost to and from the lake and on the water is split improving the economics for both. Many club tournaments have a purse for heavy boat which supports the team spirit. They are constantly losing non boaters who buy boats in a couple of years. You are usually welcome to attend any meeting, visit with members and see which club is in concert with your needs. There is no mandatory participation. Hope your area has some. C EP

My biggest bass or lost bass hasn't happened yet, but I know it may happen the week of June 11 for both. I fish LOZ on a regular basis. Without question my best week is always seven to ten day after Memorial Day when the big power boats (hundreds of them) push the big post spawn females into the deep brush piles. After a few days to let the fish relax and it is safe to fish at night again we'll drag Berkley 10" power worms looking for the fish of the year. At 81 it is however getting tougher.

I hear ya. When they are on crank baits good I will sometimes switch to a longer rod with a softer and more parabolic bend. You still never win every round.

You already know the things that cause the problem, even when you fix them you still have to remember the line, what ever size, has little or no stretch at the boat. Power Pulled fish has cost me many $ . Little by little I developed patience with age.

My daughter has a three acre pond on her property and I see wounds like this on two or three fish per year. One two pounder had a crooked back and could hardly swim. We found the culprit was a large heron that fed along the shore two or three days a week. I have seen him take large blue gill and bass up to 14-15". Those he cant swallow he drops on the bank and stabs . When the dogs are out he just moves across the lake.

Freshwater/Saltwater

My experience is bass are very wary and will usually not come right back for a second time. An exception would be if you get a good blow up on a top water bait and he misses come right back with a Sinko to the same spot. p.s. many salt water fish will

Depends on the length of the bait casters handle. 6-8" handles are usually on rods up to 6' and are usually cast with one hand. As the casting rod gets longer e.g. 6.6" to 8' the handles get longer and require the left hand to help lever the rod and usually a heavier bait; Unless your pitching or flipping.

You can have a great time fishing a new lake with a kayak, especially one that has boat docks, Run off pocket coves, points and lay downs along the banks. Nor do you need any kind of depth sonar. Learn to pitch plastic creature baits e.g . 5' lizards, baby brush hogs, tubes and gitzet type baits pitched under the docks and ramps. jerkbaits and small spinner baits off the down stream corners and edges. Many of those docks should have man made brush piles sunk under and around them and can be worked with Texas rigged worms and finesse jigs. your kayak is small, very low to the water, and highly maneuverable which will serve you very well.

I too see the same things you do and have the same concerns , especially late in th summer. I also think most of the time a letter or e-mail to the Tournament director will register. If it doesn't, he should not be there. A few years ago I called to the attention of a club Tournament Director culling at the dock was a poor practice even though the clubs limit was one less than the states law. The following year the clubs rules were ammended. :-)

I think a reasonable definition of a " Dink" could be all fish less than the minimum length major tournament association clubs impose on the lakes in the state your fishing. I fish in the Mid West and most bass clubs in the area associate with BASS or FLW and set a 15" minimum on Black bass and a 12" limit on spotted bass. This definition "DINK" can also serve on hook up to advise your partner the net is not needed.

A couple of ideas that have worked for me catching big bass in milfoil and hydrilla are: Rig your 7'-8' casting rod with 50-60 lb. test braided line. Go early in the a.m. and tie on a 5/8 oz. SPRO frog. Cast over the thick cover and retreive very slowly stopping to twitch over any open spots. Be patient and set the hook very hard and do not stop reeling so you keep him on the top coming in. When the sun gets on the surface put on a 10" Berkley power worm with at least a 1/2 oz. to 1oz. (depending on the depth), Texas rigged pegged sinker. You want the weight to get you straight down to the bottom quickly. Fish very slowly just twitching and pausing. Keep moving around and concentrate on any small openings you can find. I also use large heavy jigs working the same pattern. If you check my pics the mounted bass was caught on the bottom in hydrilla as detailed above. This is power fishing at its best. Good Luck

If we are talking quality bass, say 15" minimum" in a large public lake could take hundreds.

I have seen Smallmouth and Meanmouth bass at Bull Shoals Ark. with red eyes. Sweet fish.

You have received some really good advice and options for gettin more involved in creating jigs. I started about twenty years ago with a lead pot and three molds. I first learned how to make good consistent quality jig heads That I sold to help me get started. Pouring jig heads is not hard but there is a knack do doing it with little or no rejects. I also joined local bass clubs tied to BASS and FLW which provided the basis for a good network to market some jigs as I develpoed my skills. I was also able to secure reliable source for lead at little or no cost, which helps a bunch. Good Luck, CE