Rick Howard

Thank you fellas.

Well my local shop ran out of my normal spinner bait choice. So I tried a chatter bait for the interim. I like it just fine but I would like it to run a little shallower. Any adjustments to the bait I can make? Thanks!

Do yourself a favor. Ask permission. Some clubs are pretty serious. You don't want to be arrested over fishing. I've been first hand witness to several arrests of trespassers on a particular country club. The pros only care because their members care. The police are irritated to have to deal with it. The trespasser loses that battle. In NY the laws state that posted signs are not required for land with improvement. Now we might not all agree that a golf course is an improvement to a landscape but by definition it is

It started with my father when I was so young I can't even recall. I do recall from abut 6 or 7 years old fishing in the back of the old mans fiberglass tri hull with a whopping 9.9 mercury. I drove the "big motor" he worked the troller in the front. That boat retired 15 years ago but the old guy and I are still going 33 years later. Different boat and I stand in front now

I listen to music sometimes. Other times I just want the peace and quiet. I keep the volume reasonable and see no negative effects.

That's an extremely unfortunate month. Sorry for your losses.

Thank you fellas. Glenn, my last attempt was 65 spider wire. Before that it was 50lb power pro. Before that 30ld power pro. I just assumed the brands were relatively equal and that the diameter was the real difference. I also assumed the thicker line would not dig in as much. Maybe I was wrong there too. Though, with each I've had the same issue. It's not a constant thing but it happens enough to frustrate me, and I'm a patient fella. I have the magnets at 1 or 2 and keep the spool tension as light as possible. I will turn the magnets up next go round.

I spend a lot of time pitching jigs. I spool the line insanely tight by applying a lot of tension when spooling and used 65ld braid. after a few pitches the first few layers begin to get lose because same tension is not applied when cranking the jig back in. After ripping the jig through some junk or a phantom hook set The next pitch the line pinches and my jig falls short of it's mark. Drives me crazy. So started using 20lb fluorocarbon. for the most part I am happy enough with that. However, The braid seems to saw through vegitation a little better than the alternatives so I am considering giving it another try. I see 80lb braids available and I'm intrigued. Will 80lb line solve the digging in issue? With the 65lb I've tried spooling it tight and using backers. No joy. Is this just something you gotta live with no matter what diameter or will the thicker line solve the issue? Any other tips to remedy this issue?

If I did not have t work, I would hibernate from mid November to mid April.

Spring. It's December first. I had to shovel once. I'm tired of it already and I'm having fishing withdraws already. I want spring.

I don't know. Where can I find the definitions? I spend a lot of time fishing jigs. Which to me requires finesse to Put that jig into the right place and land it softly. Removing that fish from the cover it's buried in requires power though. Fishing a spinnerbait in open flats and retrieving it quickly over the cover or ripping it through the cover I assume is power fishing. But there are times when I'm pitching the spinner bait, similar to a jig, which strikes me as a finesse tactic. i fish soft plastics a lot and vary my presentation. Sometimes working it slowly on the bottom. Other times bouncing it up and down so it rises and falls, even the speeds of this vary. When the cover gets really thick I crash slender baits with a heavy weight through the slop. I sometimes fish a tube like a Jerk bait too. I also have grown fond of Texas rigging a senko and just letting it sink. I like to fish a rapala minnow on the surface and sometimes fish it under the surface as a jerk bait. I also fish a dropshot in holes.

Lol I meant '73. All day long I put the ' and " after the numbers. Habits. I fixed it now. 1971 and 72 were fun to watch also.

I was poking around YouTube a few nights ago. I stumbled upon the 1973 bassmaster classic. Wow how things have changed. Things are glaringingly different. What I found more interesting is how much is the same.

I tie it on.

30 years ago I started. Nearly every weekend in the summer from age 4-15. Then a little less from 16-19. from age 20-30, when work obligations kept me away, I wasn't able to fish ore than a couple mornings a year. The last 4 years has been a progressive incline with each year. Career change and geographic location are helping me catch up for lost time. So 30 years with only 15 of them consistent.

Originally this was suppose to be an 18 gallon tank. But it appears someone swapped it out somewhere along the way.

I have 4" of snow on my boat. Will probable have 6 by morning. I'd normally say it's over but It was 73 degrees here Friday. I can't tell.

Well... I could be off on my estimations. And I'm not 100% certain on the tank size but I think it is 12 gallon. I know that might sound crazy but I've never pulled it up to the pump. I fill up using 5 gallon tanks.

That looks perfect. Thank you.

isn't there a better alternative? My boat stays in the water most of the season. Covered or not the carpet is wet in the morning. Everything has dew on it. Seats are no problem because I Towel them dry. No wet britches then. But I always have wet knees when fishng in the morning. Summertime it's not such a big deal but come fall, the days are chilly enough with out adding the wet clothing element. Come on bass boat making tinkerers. How about rubber matts or something?

So my boat is old but I love the ol girl. It's a 79' glastron hpv 160 with a 115 Johnson sea horse. Grey and white with silver flake. Ooo she is sweet. Well... maybe not comparatively to the rigs of today but I love it anyway. In August I replaced the transom. I also did some patch work on the the stringers to get her back on the water so I could fish the rest of the season. I babied her just to be safe but I'm sure I didn't have to. In the spring I intend to do some work in this department to get he ship shape. A few other things and some motor maintanece are on my list also. I'm way off topic to start but this brought me to thinking about something else. From my estimations I'm getting about 30 miles out of a tank of gas. I run 93 octane ethanol free gas. I'd rather run 87 but I can't get that minus the ethanol. I also have been using stabil marnie with every fillup. This mileage has been fine for me as I don't normally need to travel far to fish. However, id like to do a little traveling this summer and see some different water. Does this sound like enough mileage to fish lakes like the NY finger lakes and Oneida lake? The motor deffinatley needs a tune up. It's due for new plugs, wires, and some carb work. I am sure this would improve my gas mileage a little and would extend my range to 35 miles. Sound right? It may be possible to find a tank with a large pr capacity that will actually fit but is it necessary or worth it? I know there are a ton of variables here. But consider a normal day of fishing. Some wide open, some idle, and average conditions. How many miles on average is reasonable?

I forgot you were hunting with him so yhe u have first hand knowledge. They do act different in the light. Sometimes they still come screaming into the lights too. But I think more often than not the lights waving around cause them some alarm. Especially older ones that have been around long enough to have been duped but still only missed or been around when a compadre got whacked. I think the thermal picks up critters you might not see with the lights too. I know that might sound strange but sometimes they are looking the wrong way when the light goes past and leave before you ever knew they were there. Or you might just miss the flash of an eye shine bioremediation they duck in and out. Using lights I've had several show up at 50-100 yards and it was like they appear from no thin air in that spot. Also have had them come by at Mach 8 and never picked up the eyes until they stopped and looked back. I heard them run past but never saw them until they'd slowed down and looked back. I'd like to get thermal for scanning and night vision for scope but it won't happen. I'm still happier hand calling in the daylight. So I'm not sure I'll ever take the plunge. When I was a kid I hunted at night and we had to lug around a car battery and a spot light with a red cap. Gun lights were wired. Constantly fighting battery life and wires got old quick so I quit night hunting and only hunted daylight for awhile. I went back to the late night a few years ago when a forum member showed me the pmack light. They were my price range and worked way better than the old spot light Andy car battery. Now I use Kevin's head lamp and t20 gun light.

Nice. Seems thermal and night vision is the future of predator hunting. You will see things you've never seen before, from what i hear. I still prefer the daylight though. Less productive but I don't have to bother with lights and batteries so it's more enjoyable for me.

Makes a fella keep waiting to buy one.

I am a turkey addict also.