Tpayneful

Last summer I went down to a feeder creek for my lake with four rods. I guy was fishing with shrimp and striking out. He had been their for quite some time. I show up and catch 10 fish in 15 minutes. After I throw back a 2lber, he comments that "He can't get anything to eat his shrimp but I am throwing back dinner". I told him that he should try a rubber worm and told him a good color. The next day he was wearing out the spot with the worm. Most evenings after that, he was there. One evening I took my kids down to fish. They were bluegill fishing and I was bass fishing. I made a cast and my son started screaming that he hooked a fish. So I dropped my rod and ran over to help him with the fish. When I got done removing the fish and baiting the hook I turned to go back to where I was fishing and "the guy" was standing next to my rod on the ground fishing from my spot! My line was even in the water and he was fishing around it! I didn't make a scene but I did leave. I haven't seen the guy around this summer luckily.

Starting last fall until early this spring I sank bundles of brush and made 7 brush piles. I used branches from a few trees that had been cut down to make the bundles. Each bundle was approximately 18" in diameter and 4'-5' long. I sank them in water 7'-10' deep on a sloping bottom. I used 1/8" nylon cord or bailing wire to hold the bundle together. Do not use twine, it will break and or disintegrate. When you tie the knot make sure that you have an extra 2'-3' left to attach one or two cinderblocks. Some bundles need one and some need two. I load all of the bundles and cinder blocks seperately on the boat. I find the spot on the water and ancor the boat front and rear. I tie the cinderblock to the bundle and toss it overboard. When I am done, I mark the location with my hand held GPS and draw a picture of the orientation of the piles and their location to docks, trees, poles, etc. I have caught fish off of 5 of the 7 piles. I will add more bundles to the good brush piles in the fall. There are too many people on the water during the Summertime. I have had multiple people question what I am doing and if it is allowed. I tried Alhuff's suggestion of using black drain tile last fall. The main problem is that it will float until you can get all of the air out of the tubing. You have to puncture it or get the type that has holes in it. You have also got to submerge the whole thing to get it to fill up with water. It was more of a problem than it was worth in my opinion. I used cinder blocks. They cost $1.25 each at Lowes and I can afford them. Making cement blocks is cheaper but takes time. I have not tried to do it yet.

I will get a fiberglass reproduction of the first 8lb or larger Largmouth Bass that I catch. I just hope that my first isn't my last ;D Bass Pro does fiberglass reproductions for $220 to $250.

I fish creeks and culverts that enter the lake immediately after a thunderstorm. Just about any lure that you can think of will catch fish. The fish are usually so active that I start throwing lures that I have never caught fish on. Once I catch fish on a lure under those conditions I am more likely to use it under other conditions. It is fun fishing and I find out what other lures work.

My fishing partner used to give me hell for not having a net. I told him that I didn't catch big enough fish to need a net. Well he kept on me and I finally bought one. It came in handy when I caught a 4.5lb fish a short time later. We fish tournaments together and net just about anything over 14 inches. When money is on the line we use the net and I don't know why anyone would not use a net in a tournament if it is allowed. Of course BASS does not allow nets and that is why you don't see them on ESPN.

The Next KVD, My lake is usually clear but after it rains the lake might get a slight stain. This weekend was the first time that I actually stayed with the green pumpkin jig. Do you think the black and blug jig is acceptable in clear water during low light conditions?

I tried jigs years ago with pork trailers and had no luck. I gave up. A couple years ago a friend of mine fished a jig and did pretty well. Early last year we fished together and he out caught me two to one on a jig. I was fishing a worm but he was schooling me. He also caught a 3 lb fish to boot. So I gave in and asked him exactly what he was fishing with. It is a black and blue 1/4 oz bitsy flip jig by Strike King. Every Walmart under the sun sells them. The trailer is a 2.5 inch black and blue swirl craw from Gander Mountain. I started catching bigger fish with the jig last year. I caught a 4 and 5lber back to back in March on that jig! I started throwing the same jig in a green pumpkin yesterday and caught one decent fish. I am not convinced that I should throw the green yet.

In 1990 I got my first boat and it was a 1965 Sears game fisher, 12' v-hull alluminum. It had a trailer and nothing else. My grandfather gave it to me. I was in college and really couldn't afford to buy much for the boat. I used the oars and rowed the boat the first summer. For Christmas I got a depth finder and a trolling motor for the boat. I used a car battery to run everything. The next year I built a casting platform and carpeted the boat. The next fall we renovated the trailer. The last thing that I added was a trolling motor for the front. In 1995, I bought my second boat and still have it. It is a 1980 Skeeter SS-1 Fisherman, 15', 6" fiberglass trihull. The boat had a 115 HP Evinrude and a 28lb trolling motor on the front. I paid $2500 for the boat and financed it with a personal loan. I think the payments were $100 a month. The trolling motor broke after a month. The lower unit broke the third year that I owned it. Last year after 11 years, the engine cracked a ring and I replaced it with a 70 HP Evinrude. Each year I have done upgrades like trolling motors, depth finders and this year I completely renovated the boat with new carpeting. I would say on average I end up spending about $200 a year fixing, upgrading and replacing things. My boat is by far the oldest, slowest and ugliest in our weekly tournaments but I usually place better than guys with $25,000 boats. I plan on purchasing a Stratos 285XL in a couple of years when my wife graduates from college. I really could get the boat today but I have to put the family budget first. My experience has been that I just need something that floats and can get me to the fish.

Last Friday I caught two LMB on one crankbait! Here is the picture!

I have a pond behind my office that has the floating mat of slimy vegatation. It covers most of the pond except when the wind is blowing hard for a couple of days. The wind will blow it to one end or the other. Yesterday I was fishing the edges with a footloose crankbait and a fluke. While I was fishing, I saw a bass try to eat a dragonfly twice. So I picked up my horny toad and cast it into the hole. I got bit immediately and caught the fish. It was about 2.75lbs. Another guy in the office catches them on a fluke. So I would say fluke, frog or maybe a chatter bait.

I went to two seminars that Ike taught and Bassarama this year. Later in the day I asked him for some advice on fishing my lake. He got out a pen and wrote down his breakdown on my map. I really apprecieated the fact that he took time to help me out. I found him to be really nice and helpful.

I printed out copies of the fishing log in the tacklebox and 8X11 copies of my lake map. I fill them out on each trip and then slide them into a sheet protector. I store the sheet protectors in a 3 ring binder. I write down all the information about conditions and fish caught and then I mark the locations that I caught each fish on the map. The number of the fish in the log matches the number of the fish location on the map. I have been doing it for 4 years. The last two years I fished alot more. I noted that I caught fish on 26 outings last year.

Guy Eaker gave a seminar at Bassarama in January and he talked about red hooks on crankbaits. He put the red hook on the front of his crankbaits last year. He believed that he hooked more fish on the front hook than the back hook because of the change. I just changed all of the front hooks on my crankbaits to red. By the end of the year I might have an idea of whether they work or not.

Last June, I was fishing a 4" Berkley power worm with a 1/0 EWG hook on 8lb line. I broke off on a fish. The very next afternoon I caught a nice 2lb LMB with a 1/0 EWG hook in his mouth! It is good to hear these comments. I usually thought that I had no chance of catching a Bass once I got a hook in him. I will have to reconcider my thoughts on the matter.

Nobody has mentioned "A day on the lake". I like that show.

My six year old caught his first bass on Labor day 2006. He was fishing for bluegill but a bass was under the dock. Well my son got him to bite his nightcrawler! He was so excited to catch a bass! I got a great picture of him with the fish. The next week when we went out on my boat, I tied on a zoom C tail worm for him while I fished a brush hog. Well he caught three fish before I ever got a bite! The next week he picked up my spinnig rod and started casting with it. Now he will only fish with a spinning rod. I had to buy one just for him! He can't wait for us to start going back out again.

You need to put more of the trailer in the water. If you want to get specific, with the boat in the water, measure the distance from the water to the point on your hull where the roller touches. Then make sure that your trailer is in the water until you have the same distance from the water to your roller. Depending on the angle of the launch ramp you have to put more or less trailer in the water.

After I spool my spinning reels I go one extra step. I tie a snap swivel on my line, snap it on a chain link fence or branch and walk off the whole spool. Then I reel in the entire spool under pressure. The swivel at the end allows the line to untwist itelf.

I have two of the ETX10SLC which is a 5.4:1 ratio with left hand retrieve. I have had one for 6 months and like the performance. It took me a little while to find the right magnetic level setting that I liked but once I did it performed great. I really liked buying them for $45 last fall. I did also buy a Rick Clunn RCX10HLB at Christmas on sale for $79. I have been comparing the performance of the Extreme to the Rick Clunn and I really can't find any difference in performance. Next Christmas I will buy a Johnny Morris reel on the end of year sale and see if it performs better than the Extreme or Clunn reels.

I attended a Mike Iconelli seminar and he talked about flourocarbon. He stated that you "had to use an inproved clinch knot with flourocarbon". He repeated it multiple times. Some pros mention that you "do not use a palomar knot with flourocarbon....it will break at the knot". The palomar knot abraids the flourocarbon. The improved clinch knot is a modified fisherman's knot.

That is about it. Mecury89, your boat looks alot better than mine. Mine never really had a gel coat to shine. The white fiberglass is really dull and flat. I will use this boat for another couple years and then buy another one. It has been a really good boat to me.

The livewell always bothered me so I sealed it, screwed it down and installed a hatch door in it!

With the lid.

Wet storage compartment.

Here are the hatches.