EastMarkME

Float tubing is a blast. Never lost any equipment myself. When boat fishing I have an enormous tackle system and 7 rods. In the tube...two spinning rods and a few tupperware tubs with lures specific to the pond and my plan....and a sandwich. Sometimes I'll put a cold one in a coozy to keep it cold to have with my sandwich. Simple is best for tubing. You walk into the water backwards due to the flippers and travel backwards too. Its not really fast but adequate. You will get very good at positioning yourself and sometimes flipper very slowly to hold your place still in the wind while you target an area. My take is it is nice to be out there solo and focused on minimal tackle. Its a real blast reeling in a big fish at nearly eye level ! Downside...as with boating it is a rough if its too windy. Upside...simple, peaceful, easy to focus, and some great casting angles to docks and under tree limbs. Have fun. Mark

What is the white-ish crankbait MBM ? Mark

Partner caught a bat one time night fishing........... ugly little bugger. Mark

Can be deadly fished so slow it hurts at first dark...kind of like a Jitterbug. Keep it on top with a small wake. Mark

So I have enough trouble focusing on the 20 bait types I already have...but I bit. Too much chatter about them to pass. This is what I bought to see if I have interest in throwing these baits...its a 5" baby bass smallmouth pattern. Just how do you fish this RW or anyone ? Like a Rattletrap more or less ? Im gonna try it. Mark

If 2 friends are out fishing...specially non tourney and the one in the front owns the boat...and thinks its OK to even mention 'its my boat' and to not consider giving the buddy in the back first shot at some prime spots on occasion....that guy in the front is pretty lame and not much of a real friend....and really inconsiderate too in my view. Its my boat and I tell my fishing buddys.."If I *** end you...tell me" Anything else is wrong IMO. Fishing is fun. Anyone said to me 'its my boat' by actions or words we would still be good friends...til we got to the dock. Priorities man...priorities. Friends and family first in my life. Mark

Looks like maybe a J13 Rapala. Thats a good lure. It can be fished steady retrieve fast or slow...try both. My fav way is throw it out...wait for all the rings in the water to settle completely then give it a slight twitch and sit again a bit....then reel it trying different speeds. You can jerk-pause-jerk-pause it also. Hope you get the big one ! Mark

On a simlar note....My buddy was reeling in a pickerel 2 weeks ago standing next to me and out of nowhere a huge Osprey grabbed it. He jerked back and it came out of the Ospreys mouth in mid air...it was a trip. We never saw it coming. ;-) Mark

How do you tell bait balls from vegitation Crest? The last one especially looks like a vegitation if you didnt tell me. Thanks ! Mark

Got one on. Geez...am I only one that sometimes gets hits that dont hook up on buzzbaits ? ;-) I always thought it was part of it with alot of topwater bait....and I love it. Mark

Went out for 90 minutes Monday and Tuesday at dusk and threw the Cavitron. Got 5 Monday and 2 last nite...all keepers up to about 3 1/2. Missed a few too. Both nites I had 2 huge brick-like splashes happen in the same cove but not near my casting reach. They were real active til dark. :-) Gotta love that. Mark

Another sweeeet setup. Man you guys are crafty. Really nice job's'.... Mark

Anyone follow the manual and have a 60 amp fuse/breaker on the positive lead ? Not sure how important it is but I bought a breaker that I will install this winter. Mark

Very informative post and it has helped me out big time. I actually had no idea what I was looking at. First impression, I though it was a hump with no fish around. I guess I won't really know until I get my first boat next summer, but it's always nice to get an idea for that little head start. I agree. This is invaluble to me. Id LOVE to see more screenshots from you guys and explaination of what it is. Any websites that have folks that do this? Mark

Great replies. Thanks guys. I can see where the line might be tough to see without the tracer. Glad its OK. Thought I gaffed my selection. Saw alot of good remarks on Fireline but didnt notice the tracer feature on some of them. Sure strange cutting it. Mark

I agree with the craigslist remark. Look for a deal. I used to fish alot from a float tube and it was a blast. They are alot less $ to see if you like it. A light wind wasnt a big deal in a tube. Not sure how that relates in wind to the pontoon style thats up a little more. Mark

Picked up my first braided today. Got some Fireline 30 lb for fishing the messy stuff on the B/C. Realized when I got home its alternating green/green 'tracer' line. Whats the deal with that ? Any drawbacks ? I'll be buzzbaiting,jigging, and frogging with it. I noticed knot tying and line cutting this stuff is quite different. Hope I like it ! Looking forward to giving it a toss. Mark

Got a few good size in shallow cover on a Cavitron buzzbait today including this one. The 2 bigger ones were in 3-4 feet or less with thinning lily pads. It was a small shallow cove. This guy was just over 4 on the digital scale. Mark

Thanks RW. Me too but I wondered what some of you guys were thinking on it. d**n, If this game was easy I wouldnt bother. Mark

RW, Question...your on the lake 15 minutes...throwing a white spinnerbait...you catch a 3 lb LM. He has a fresh craw in his mouth with the bait...do you grab the plastic rod and fish a craw pattern or keep throwing the white spinnerbait or change to a craw pattern spinnerbait ? This is where my decision making really sucks. I almost always catch some fish but I can never get 6-12+ bass days strung together because of it. I know it is partly because Im not recognizing the patterns and modifying what Im doing. Of course 'where' (depth/structure) I caught the first one matters alot too but Im talking bait/technique. Fishing is just like golf...a few good rounds in a row and think you finally got better...then next round you fall back to reality. ;D Mark

Great tip. I will next time. In this case I had my spinnerbaits in a standup rack as always so I was all set. I now decided to condense everything into one tacklebag system instead of the box with 3- 3700 tray plus top storage and a bag with everything else including more 3700's. I hope I can get used to it. Im really good at getting organized but not too good at staying organized. Mark

Sometimes we all see a fish regurgitate what its been eating or something still in its mouth. Craws,Shad, whatever... I never gave it a thought when I was alot less hell bent on being a better fisherman which I now realize was foolish. :'( I was just gassed it hit the lure I threw. I know Ive let fish go and paid no attention to it which was shortsighted I know. Im learning. What exactly do you guys learn and what changes do you make accordingly on what you observe in the bass' mouth besides your lure ? Do you ever change colors, lure type ,fishing patterns ? If the fish is aggresive enough to hit a craw lets say and your lure in a short span do you really know your throwing the right lure and in the right place just because you caught him ? I know Im not learning enough from my first fish of the day whether he has feed in his mouth or not. :-/ Thanks Mark

9 mm. > Just kiddin... 8-) What a wackjob. Good luck. Mark

Thats it ! Thanks. It didnt come up on the search. Hope I can get used to the tackle bag system. Im so used to opening the top lid and throwing stuff in the top of the box and sorting it out at home. LOL Mark

A thread something like "How do you store your spinnerbaits?" Just switched from a box and a carry bag to one large tacklebag and need to getem in the bag. I recall some nice ideas with wallets,etc. Anyone know where that thread was ? I tryed 'search' and nada. Thanks Mark