Bucky205

Having poor eyesight I like the following, FG for braid to leader - Strong and it cast well, I usually need to tie it before leaving the house. Rapala loop knot for top water - I think you get better action on the lure Palomar for braid - IMO best knot for braid, I sometimes have issues getting the loop over the hooks with poor eyesight. Improved cinch - Good on flourocarbon and mono if I can see to tie it. UNI - Not as strong as Palomar, or improved cinch, but good all purpose knot if you have poor depth perception. I can tie it by feel. You can do most things with it including snelling a hook. If It's braid I double the number of wraps. At night I use it for everything. LOL, My depth perception is so bad I have a needle threader hanging around my neck to thread hooks. What really sucks is at night when I go to clip the tag end and cut the main line instead and have to retie.

A lot of the fish I'm catching here are currently suspended about 20' off of windblown points. Instead of trolling in I've been letting the wind blow me in with sounders, and trolling motor off. I fish what I can hit from there, lift the anchor off the bottom drift a little ways and drop it again. For whatever reason I am catching good fish doing this. My trolling motor makes a lot of noise and requires constant attention on windy days. I don't have spot lock so I am constantly on the trolling motor if I don't drop the anchor. I've been hanging my anchor over the side out deep with about 30' of rode, I let the boat blow in until the anchor catches, fishing all the way. Funny thing about it I was complaining about the wind in another post this spring, and someone posted a photo of an anchor and I thought they were being sarcastic, ended up being good advice. I know I can catch fish as well with the trolling motor, but this seems to be working really well. Anyone else tried this?

Blowing up on a topwater bait is really cool also.

Call Bill at Alabama Trolling Motors. He will know what it is and where to get one if he doesn't have it. http://alatrolling.com/

Fishing with someone else I limit myself to 3 rods and my backpack. Backpack holds 2 utilty boxes, a worm binder, and pockets to store other assorted whatevers. If I am in my boat there is a soft sided bag that hold 6 utility boxes plus the back pack, a few utiltiy boxes, and around 10 rods. My boat stays outside under a cover and I don't like leaving the rods, reels or tackle in the boat, otherwise I would just use a bunch of utility boxes.

Try These "IUNEED Fishing Treble Hooks Safety Covers Bonnets safety Caps Protector 100 pcs", less than $4 with shipping for 100. You can get them to fit some really small hooks by only locking in one side of the treble. For really small fooks or feathers on topwaters split the side and put on from the top. Very few hooks have I been unable to make fit.

Let us know, it is only thing that really makes sense with it going away over 5 mph. I was a tech for Westmarine for 8 years after retiring from the Navy. We saw a lot of weird problems with depth finders from thei transducer location and mounting.

I'm thinking possibly your transducer needs to be a little bit deeper in the water. Air under the transducer will cause lines on the display, sometimes even intermittently as the boat rocks from wave action. The reason it goes away above 5 mph as you accelerate past 5 mph the rear end of the boat squats pushing the transducer farther down into the water. That would be the first thing I would try. If you can't slide it lower in the mount you can test by removing the screws and having someone hold it slightly lower while you watch the screen.

Showed it to my wife who says I buy way to much tackle. Thank you so much for sharing that photo.

LOL, Golden Shiners get big. I would have been tempted run a hook through his nose, hang a bobber over his head, and let him swim around for awhile. That's probably the #1 bait for large Florida bass.

Give us more details. Where is the transducer located? Is it the only fish finder on the boat? Have you tried it with all other systems on the boat turned off?

You should have a DCNR office in your state with a fish biologist assigned to it. They provide some of the best information for questions like this. There are a lot of variables that go into that equation, and they should know the variables. They will even answer questions about what going on with different resevoirs, hatches, and growth rates. They are a valuable free resource.

That's really cool. You guys are gathering a wealth of data, Let me know when the book comes out I want one. What are you guys seeing as the average growth rate per year?

I enjoy having people to fish with, my boats paid for and we usually split expenses down the middle. I fish pretty regularly with the same people. I fish out of their boats as much as they do mine. If we are flipping or pitching were usually on the front deck side by side, and trying to hit every hole the other guy misses. If they are on the back deck and were cranking something.I tend to throw forward into the 10 to 2 oclock areas. I've never really had an issue with the person in the back constantly tangling wih me, happens occasionaly but not enough to be a concern. If I need to retie or change baits, they can run the trolling motor for awhile and I'm happy for the break. The guy on the trolling motor really has a lot of control over where the back deck is able to fish. LOL, we pick at each other if you get put where you can't fish "Boats outta control". Fishing for fun with kids or people that don't fish a lot I just try to be patient. If it's your boat and you don't like the way the person in the back is fishing, don't invite them again.

Power heads are the big unknown. They last anywhere from 30 minutes to 30+ years, no mater how well you take care of them they sometimes fail. If they are under warranty it's no big deal. I've seen boats that sold for $40K a year earlier go for less than $15K because the motor was blown and out of warranty. I'm retired military and live on a limited fixed income. Being retired, the last thing I want is a payment hanging over my head. Take your time buy a nice used boat that's the exact model you want, garage kept, well cared for, and compression check it. If you have to drive a thousand miles to get it, check the tires before you drive home. If twenty years from now you tell us your on your second retirement boat, it's all good. Just an opinion, I would give you the same advice on buying a car after retiring. I had rather take the chance on several boats keeping me on the water over the years, than to put everything into one. My boat is a 2002 ProCraft 185Pro DC that I bought used that's still in great shape, my harley is a 2007 FLHRSE3 I bought new after a guy drove over me on my old bike. I worked for Westmarine as a tech at the call center for 8 years as my fun job.

LOL If he got an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Round Baitcast Reel he's still fishing it.

Throwing out a marker is effective, marking it with a waypoint and fishing the waypoint works well also. If you plan to fish it later a waypoint with a logical name is the better option. I try to attack from down current or down wind if there is no current. Bait will usualy come down current. Casting within 45 degress of up current and letting the bait drift back seems to provide me with the most bites.

I don't understand all of the super positive reviews. The write ups make it sound like your getting an STX equivalent for $39, that is not the case. I received my Royal Legend this morning and was very dissapointed. I played with it for several hours with different weights on a 6'6" BPS Carbonlite. The reel is attractive but doesn't perform well. It looks like the internal brakes they brag about are no more than nylon blocks they press into the side of the shaft as you click them inward. You can see where the brakes leave friction marks on the spindle as they apply pressure. There is a lot of slop in the reel that is noticeable in the anti reverse system, and the handle. The reel makes noise when casting and the drag is very inconsistent. For what it's worth the casting distance is very good, and it is easy to cast. In my opinion for the same money the Abu Garcia Black Max is a much nicer reel. I may have just received a lemon, I will never know. The label has been printed and it's on the way back Monday, and I have absolutely no desire to try another one.

When I was in my 20s I joined a bass club called the "Interlachen Bassmasters". The club had about 30 members, boaters and non-boaters, and we held club tournaments once a month. In practice I would catch fish, in tournaments I would catch one or two dinks if anything. Several tournaments later and I'm fishing with a guy named Herb and were throwing identical plastic worms, he's catching fish and I'm not even getting bit. I can't figure it out, he looks at me and says, "RELAX". I was like RELAX?, were in a tournament. He told me to quit feeling pressured, and fish like I knew how. I took his advice, relaxed and caught fish. I think we ended up third or fourth, probably the most valuable tournament advice I ever got.

A 7' Medium Heavy, Fast Action is a great all around rod and will cover your weight range. Figure out how much you want to spend, and see what is available in that price range.

Probably not as often as I should. Usually when I have retied and broken off on snags enough that there isn't enough left on the spool to cast efficently, or I see or feel some type of damage to the line. Flourocarbon does not recover from being stretched, so it is not uncommon for me to cut off 10 yards that's damaged and retie.

Military nickname and area code.

Four blade will get you out of the hole quicker, but you are going to lose a little on top end.

Fish like em, but I do manage to hang them up.

Congratulations Casey and Nolan, you guys fished a good tournament. Three of the teams in front of you were Alabama schools. It's always easier to catch fish when you know the reservoir. You guys managed to out fish a lot of Alabama teams that regularly fish Lay. It's impressive for you guys to come onto strange water and do that well. I fish Lay regularly and it can be a tough bite, it's a great day for me when we can occasionly find 10 pounds. Your write up of how you fished the event was excellent. Hats off to you guys, good Job!