jdw174

I'm not much of a Rattletrap fan. Much prefer the SK and the Spot. I have one old Chrome/Blk Spot that the nose is bashed up and is covered with tooth marks.....but it still catches 'em.

If accuracy is what you're after, the scale they use on Major League Fishing is the one I'd look at. They run a bit more than your budget though......about $75 online. Google MLF Scales for suppliers.

When you have Kentucky Lake practically in your back yard and Barkley not much farther away, you seldom run out of places to try.

If I remember correctly (and Lord knows I don't remember much these days), an east wind usually signifies a high pressure system which can affect the fishing. I've caught fish in an east wind, but then I've also gotten skunked.

I'm going with yes on this one from your photos. The rear of the jaw on a LM will extend back to the eye. You're holding the jaw open in the photo, but it doesn't appear to go back that far. There's also the spot on the tongue. My .02.

And I can put the transducer guard back on the TM.

Received my new Helix 7 DI but didn't want the transom mount Xducer. Called H-Bird and they gave me a customer # and said to ship back. Sent out from UPS store last Saturday, they received it Tuesday. Wednesday I got the email that they had shipped out the TM mount Xducer. Tracking # says it's out on truck for delivery today. Only downside is that the TM unit is a $60 upgrade, but you can't beat service like this.

One of the biggest LM I ever hooked came on a strike just like you described. It was late morning and the lure was a Bomber Long A with tailspinner. I was fishing it on the surface like a topwater and had just paused it with there was a tiny "bloop" and the lure was pulled under. Like the OP, I thought it was a small bream until I saw the line move. When I set the hook, it was definitely no bream!

You can catch fish by just "flinging and reeling". Vary your retrieve speed. Crank and pause with perhaps a snap of the rod tip here and there. The fish will let you know what they prefer.

I just received mine day before yesterday. You should know that it only comes with a stern mount transducer if you order it online. Some dealers sell the unit and will give you a choice of transducers on site. According to the H-Bird website, they will swap xducers. Some are free, but according to their chart, swapping on the Helix 7 DI costs $60 exchange. Why this is I don't know. As I type this I'm setting here with the phone on speaker waiting to talk to someone in their CS department about this. Of course, you can always order the adaptor and run your stern setup on the TM.

My boat is a '98 TR20. I have 3 batteries. It came with a 3 bank DualPro installed. It has remained plugged in 24/7 (except when fishing) ever since it was new and it's still going strong and working properly. If it ever goes sour, I'll purchase another without question.

Some of my best fishing days have come in a steady rain. Not a blowing, sideways rain, but on a fairly still day.

Mine is an 8# that came off of a beaver dam on a double-willow SB.

Pick up a handful of 2oz bell sinkers and put a heavy snap on the eye. When you get hung up, move as close to the lure as you can get, then snap the sinker to your line and let it drop down to the lure before snapping the rod tip. This almost always works for me.

If I remember correctly, at one time you could purchase a full-size bass boat through BASS. Can't remember the brand though.

A cottonmouth isn't the only one that beligerent. Copperheads don't have much of a sense of humor either....

I use a Falcon Carolina Lizard Dragger rod, a hi-speed reel with braided line and a 12# leader.

I'm particularly fond of a Devil's Horse, especially if there's a chop on the water. They make quite a racket when ripped. I'll make hard snaps of the rod, jerking it 2-3'. I'll do that a couple of times then pause.

I never know where I'm going to go until I'm headed out of the marina. Am I going to turn right or left? Often I'll be running to one spot and see a place I've not fished and stop there. It's always a coin toss....

Most of my SB cranks are in some version of Sexy Shad.

My boat is a '98 TR20. I have a 24v Fortrex TM. The boat came with a 3-bank Dual Pro that is now in it's 18th year of constantly being plugged in when I'm not fishing. Last fall I had batteries replaced, and they checked the charger. It's still operating as advertised and working perfectly. If it ever goes, there will be another DualPro set in it's place.

The bait monkey has no standing whatsoever around my house. He doesn't even show up here any longer. I've got more lures than I'll ever use, from cranks to plastics. If I lose something that's been catching fish, I'll replace it. Otherwise I give the BM a half of a peace sign and go my merry way...

If you can hear the thunder, you can be struck by lightning. I was fishing a pocket on Ky Lake near Paris Landing one morning while a storm was passing further north in Kentucky. Without warning, a bolt hit a tree right next to where I was fishing. I got the hell out of Dodge and learned a valuable lesson that day.

KVD, Denny Brauer, Larry Nixon.

I have a couple SK's and one or two Rapalas, but my most used ones would be the Bomber Long A and Cordell Redfin.