TOXIC

Let’s not forget techniques like a dropshot. With a #1 hook, I set the hook with what I call a flick set. Almost like just reeling a circle hook. Just enough pressure to get that small hook to penetrate but not hard enough to rip it through the mouth tissue.

Be very careful with all of this rain we have received. The river and creeks will be rolling and muddy.

Since I’m a finesse guy and plastics are my go to, I use premium hooks and tight line. If I slack line set the hook, I would break off 90% of the time.

Sorry, You lost me at Interstate.? Bad experience with that brand. I can’t add any more than what’s been said but just for reference, I have a Sears PM1 (no longer made) AGM with like 1100 mca’s and 200 RC. I need the extra juice to crank a Yamaha 250 HPDI and 2 units, a gen 1, 8 inch and a gen 2, 9 inch both with downscan and sidescan. Even with the battery being a few years old, I have never had a starting problem.

I get it. I really do. You are just fishing for a different metric, length over weight. So you have to then examine what then takes more skill to catch (which is what a tournament is all about right?) Does it take more skill to catch a heavier fish or a longer fish? Common opinion is that it has always been poundage. I guess I would ask the question….How do you target longer fish? I know I’m splitting hairs because “Normally” a bigger/heavier fish will also be longer. And no one disputes a minimum slot that is measured by length but that’s not tournament fishing. At the risk of being dubbed argumentative, I’ll just leave it alone.?. Fun conversation nonetheless.

Just to clarify, when I say not to go up in the creek, I mean up from Hope Springs. From the train tressel to to mouth is good fishing.

Need more info. What size and type of battery and do you charge off the water?

If your boat is sitting flush on the bunks on the rear as you have said, then the battery weight would not matter. Only if it were hanging over the bunks. Do the bunk boards look like they have ever been replaced? next time you are out, snap a few pics of your trailer without the boat on it. Above and below. No rush, I do not think you are doing any damage the way it is when you trailer. Since your rig is relatively light, a warped bunk could push the nose up. Very few trailers that I have ever seen need wench adjustments unless it was not a factory trailer or a new wench, or had the bunks replaced and not fitted to the boat. When I replaced my bunks, I left the mounting bolts to the trailer semi loose and loaded the boat on it. Then slid underneath and tightened them up so that they fit perfect to the hull. You may be able to loosen yours and do the same thing.

I understand the goal but since all fish, in this case bass, are not the same body shape it is not standardized. Weight is much more standard across all body types. That’s why MLF still weighs them and doesn’t measure length except to set a slot for minimum size. I have personally caught long skinny bass that weigh no where near what a short football shaped bass weighs. Both on the same day out of the same body of water. The long skinny fish is more valuable than the heavier short fish in a yak tournament. I’m just kinda being the devils advocate since I don’t tournament fish anymore and will never fish out of a yak but it just seems like common sense…..

Since it’s an 03 I’m assuming that it’s been through at least few sets of tires. My concern is that normally if your boat is resting on the bunks properly you shouldn’t have to winch the nose down to the roller or if you do it should be minimal. To see how your boat sits on the bunks is what a picture should tell. Is there any abnormal scuffing or wear on the bunks or carpet? Did it do this before you converted to a 36 volt system and added the extra weight of another battery?

Exactly. I have had my current pair of Oakleys for 3 years and I wear them all the time. When they are not on my face, they are in the case. Not one scratch yet. I never lay them down or store them out of the case. Only clean them with microfiber cloth.

How does it act when you are trailering? How is the tire wear? Is the trailer the original one set up from the factory? Does it look like the trailer has been adjusted in the past? Pics of the trailer with the boat on it would help.

While I agree it may be a quicker way and more convenient from a yak, it seems you are rewarding a body shape more than size. If the goal is to catch the longest fish and not the biggest fish then ?

I believe you can get a DC license on-line now but be aware, you need a boaters safety certificate as well. Also I believe what we call Generals Row is off limits. The bank in front of Quantico is also restricted. I never venture into DC water so you will need to check the regs. The only time I ever fished up there was for a wounded soldiers event out of Columbia Island Marina. We normally put in at Hope Springs because I have a buddy that lives 3 miles from that ramp and has a season pass. If we are going to fish Quantico creek, we will sometimes put in at the base at Hospital Point. You need clearance to get on the base right now. My areas of expertise are from Potomac Creek up to and including Belmont Bay. As for Aquia Creek, I have spent a lot of time in there all the way to Arkendale. Don’t waste your time going up the creek. While I’m sure there are some bass up there they are few and far between even though it looks really fishy. We have never had really good luck up there except for Crappie. Maybe it’s time for us to start hitting the river again. ??

While all of the glass lense discussion is relevant, I’m going with with what an optometrist friend told me. Glass is fine for boating and driving and beachwear etc., but not for bass fishing. All glass shatters, all of it, and if your willing to risk your eyesight then by all means get glass. The Oakley poly prescription lenses I have are lightweight and impact rated. They can be worn as safety glasses.

Just to add that with the advancements in electronics, you would not even need to cast to verify if fish were there, you would be able to see them, their size and what they were relating to.

Kudos to all of you that don’t need a prescription pair of glasses. Your options are much, much better. If I didn’t need a prescription, I would have at least 4 pairs of glasses for different conditions. With a prescription, the cost is tripled at least. I was complaining about this very thing years ago on another forum and a guy I used to work shows with at Bass Pro messaged me and told me his day job was making lenses for multiple retail outlets. He gave me a 50% off coupon and these pointers. 1. Poly lenses only. All glass shatters and it is heavy. While the optics may be a bit better, the risk to your eyes is not worth it. 2. Get frames that fit and are comfortable. As long of days as we spend on the water, a bad fit will be torture. 3. Buy from a company that makes their own prescription. Some send their prescription lenses orders to a generic lab and you are paying high dollar for frames and cheap lenses. I went with Oakley prescription glasses in a wrap around style for wind protection. Since I didn’t want to spend thousands on multiple pairs of prescription, my first pair I ordered in dark grey so that I could use them for all things like driving and fishing. They were great for driving but were just so-so for sight fishing. 2 years later my prescription changed a little so I took the opportunity to change out the lenses out in my sunglasses as well. Luckily Oakley still made lenses for the frames. I went with a middle of the road bronze mirrored that I have had for the last couple of years. Better for sight fishing and still good for driving. Just put them to work on our st Clair trip again and they performed well wearing them all day with intense staring into the water. No discomfort or headaches.

I have had an elite series angler stay with me more than once and got to witness first hand how he practiced and approached a tournament. He would use his mapping software and apps like google earth to scan the big areas of the tournament. He then would scout the tournament waters from his boat to find “things that are not on the map” very rarely did he ever wet a line.

While I get the comparison, I always have to chuckle at the notion that a Senko is a 1 fish bait. I understand that if you haphazardly rig a Senko Texas style or wacky rig without a ring or you get into a bunch of smaller fish that have a habit of thrashing more, you will lose some but I have used the same Senko on multiple trips and caught multiple fish with it. When I am trying to conserve a specific Senko because I may be low on the hot color of the day, I have rigging tricks that can make a single bait last a long time and multiple fish. Sure, I have lost them on a single fish as well and I have lost a crank the first time I threw it. Consider it the price of admission.?

I would almost call it my home water since I have fished it and guided on it for over 25 years but it has been suffering the last 4 or 5 years due to sparse grasses. I might be a little spoiled from the good years but it has caused us to branch out and fish some other bodies of water. Make no mistake, there are still loads of good fish in the Potomac but there are also a LOT of tournaments and it has a well deserved reputation of making a lot of anglers huge a-holes for some reason.

My point being weight is the only universal constant not body shape or measurement

Secret spot as in secret body of water or secret spot on an existing body of water? I used to think the chain of lakes I fished in Wisconsin, even though it is fished and even has some tournaments on it, was pretty secret because most of the fishermen were after walleye, musky or trout along with panfish. I used to be able to catch 50-75 fish a day with a dropshot, DShad and Senko. Good mix of largemouth and smallmouth. They sprayed the aquatic vegetation and now it’s a night only bite and I’m not fighting the skeets. I’m not even going to take my boat this year. I had what I thought was a secret spot on the lake I guided on until another guide I know who lived directly across from it told me that it gets pounded every tournament but that he never sees anyone but me catch fish off it. ?

I never understood the formula method for determining the weight of a bass. I can tell you without a doubt that there are many different body shapes of bass depending on where they are caught. For example, in the 18 years we have been going to St Clair, you can easily tell the difference between a St Clair smallmouth and one that was from Erie. Either by tournaments or natural migration, it is fairly common for aerie fish to come up into St Clair. Totally different body shapes with Erie fish being short and round like a football and big St Clair fish being long and wide like a platter. If both weighed the same it sure would skew any formula. Bass are the same way, Potomac bass compared to the Wisconsin bass I have caught are different body shapes and for southern strain, lake Kissimmee fish are different from Okeechobee fish. My recommendation is to get a good scale and test it to make sure it’s accurate if you want an accurate weight.

Working a spinnerbait on or near the surface, we always called it “burning” or “waking” it. The goal was to create a wake behind the bait.

Since you are new to baitcasters, tighten your spool tension knob down to the point where when you hold your bait up by the rod and press the thumb bar the bait falls very very slowly to the ground. Reel it up and give the tension knob a slight click so that the bait doesn’t fall. Cast with it like that until you get the feel for using your thumb to control your spool in addition to the tension knob. Keep in mind there are a lot of factors that go into setting your reel tension and you will be adjusting for wind, line type, lure choice, rod length and type of cast (skipping, pitching, sidearm, etc.) on a regular basis.