TOXIC

During a good season of guiding, I was respooling all of my rods every other month. I was lucky because I was sponsored by Bass Pro Shops so my line was very reasonable as long as I used BPS branded line. I got the BIG spools of Excel and had no problem with it. Something to keep in mind, any "store" branded line is made by someone else and if packaged in the name brand box you will pay more for the exact same product offered by the store brand. The trick is knowing who produced the line for the store brand. Try some filler spools of store brand line and when you find one that you like, step up to the bigger bulk spools. That added to using backing and finding special sales will be your best bet. The problem with sales is that you "could" be getting overstock or older line and that is not a good thing.

Used to have a Bass Hunter pvc boat that I used in the electric only lakes around me. It was fun and easy to trailer. There are a bunch of those lakes within a close distance. I sold it because I was guiding on bigger water and just not using it anymore. I still bank fish a few private ponds I have access to but it's rare. I tried a yak and it's not for me. I got bit by the new water bug and pull my 21 foot Ranger all over the country now. It's just so much more exciting to fish new water.

You are correct. In the bigger trails there is a "No Information" rule and now I think for the Elite Series it has been stepped up even more. I have a friend who fished the Elite Series and he used to stay with me when I lived in Florida to prefish the local tournament waters (Okeechobee, St Johns River, Harris Chain) when they had tournaments there. He was VERY careful on getting information.

I fish year round and here in Virginia we do get freezing temps. I have never winterized any boat I have owned. Make sure your livewell system is good so that you can keep water out of your livewells. If I am going crappie fishing and plan on keeping them, I put a 30 gallon cooler in the boat. Always store with your motor in the down position so that it drains completely and no water sits in the prop hub area. I always unscrew the water line on the side of my motor because it holds some water. Always store with the plug out but make sure you put it in BEFORE you trailer to the lake because if there is any water left in the bilge, it will freeze in the plug threads. My last motor was an EFI and my current is an HPDI and I've had -0- problems with winter fishing over the last 20 years.

Not to worry, if this goes off fairly well, I will be back for additional appearances. This shop supposedly has a very large selection of Yamamoto baits. I am also going to be in the Cabela's in Gainsville, VA this summer and will keep updates.

Swing in, pick up some samples and swing out. Just report back on how they work!!

Just a heads up to any of my fellow Virginia peeps who might be interested in learning about Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits and what they offer. I have been asked to spend some time in Hookers Tackle at 7828 Richmond Road Toano, VA on the 23rd of December from 8 till noon. You never know, I might just have free samples of new baits and old favorites. It's nothing formal, just a Q&A and some of my experience with the line of plastics I've been fishing for 20 years. It might just be worth your time to stop in if you are in the area.

I couldn't even begin to give you a good answer because plastics have come so far and are so situational specific. I's almost easier to pick a manufacturer you like because they will more than likely make a bait for all situations. Find what you like and then experiment from there with others that make similar baits. For me, it's Yamamoto. They cover the whole spectrum and water column.

I do what I feel is within my skill set. On my 250 Yamaha HPDI, I have changed the LU oil, Water Pump/impeller, high and low pressure fuel pumps, fuel filters, plugs, poppit valve, motor bushings, steering seals, trim pump, but I need to pull the injectors out and send them off to be cleaned/calibrated since it's never been done and it is a 2005 model with 470 hours. It helps that a buddy has the YDS software for troubleshooting. For the most part, outboards are "fairly" straight forward but I do know when to send it off to a pro.

Too much going on for me. I use the KISS system. #1 EWG hook tied with a palomar and then the tag end run back through the hook eye (always stands straight out) and a premium dropshot weight (Quick Drop) that has a quality harp. No swivels, leaders or extra knots for me.

Men and power tools? What'd she expect? My wife was griping about sweeping the wood floors so I went out and got the gas leafblower and told her to hold the door open. 30 seconds and the floor was clean Never mind the 2 cycle smell. She wasn't happy either.

We can't catch Walleye consistently here in my part of Virginia but if we get on a Walleye bite when we are on St Clair in Michigan, they go in the well. My family does love crappie (Broiled, Grilled or Fried) so I have to meat fish this time of year when they are big and healthy. I can even get my daughter out when I am on some good Crappie!!

There's a lot of red flags in that ad that I would have to check out. Powerhead AND Lower unit replaced within the last 2 1/2 years? No idea on hours? Major rebuilds of carbs, lines, etc? If I went and looked at the rig and the price was right, I would take it to a mechanic I trusted to go over the motor and give it a clean bill of health before any $$ changed hands. With that being said, XR6 motors are cold blooded and most of the guys that I know have a "procedure" they go through every time they start them. Throttle position, number of times choked, etc., and once they figure out what works they do it every time.

Great Topic!! Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to parents who both left the country to come to the "big city" My mother from a farm in Morehead, IA and my father from Missouri Valley, IA. So, while I lived in the "city" I spent my summers with my Grandparents on the farm. I was joyfully co-raised by Great Grand Parents (dairy farm, Turin, IA) Great Aunt and her husband (row crop farm with a side of chickens and dairy, Castana, IA) Great Uncle and his wife (3 Sections of rotating row crops, Morehead, IA). My Grandfather was the outdoorsman and went to Canada every year with my Grandmother (Lac La Ronge, Saskatchewan) and I tagged along. Since striking out on my own I have had a farm in Fremont, IA and lived in big cities (Kansas City, Boston, DC) and for the last 25 years a smaller town in Virginia where the big city is finally making it to my backdoor. Time to retire soon and I will go where winter can't find me and my boat will be on a lift year round.

Any of the water biologies, sports marketing, sales. The problem is that "most" of the fishing related careers, you don't "fish". You study them, you enforce the laws relating to them or you make, market or sell the equipment used to catch them. Direct jobs like "professional fisherman" and "Fishing Guide" while directly related to fishing, are not what I would consider viable career paths (and I've been a guide).

Good list. I assume you are talking about ski, pontoon and wakeboard style boats for #6? Because in my 21ft bassboat, I throw a much smaller wake on plane than I do at a slower speed. A lot of guys in Yaks get nasty when I buzz by them but I am actually doing them a favor by keeping as much of my hull out of the water as possible. Don't forget to teach the proper "on the water fishing" do's and dont's as well because common sense isn't so common anymore.

There are 2 "limitations" you need to know. Your limitations as a boat driver and the limitations of the boat you are piloting. IF you are a seasoned captain, you can probably get away with a smaller boat. Seeing that you are in WI and there is some pretty big water on the Northern trails, that would be a consideration. By you saying this is your first boat....I would stick with a 20 footer. There's a reason "most" of the seasoned trail fishermen (and women) are in 20 foot and bigger boats and it's not an ego thing, it's a safety thing. You pay big bucks for a season or tournament on the trails you mentioned and they regularly head out in downright nasty conditions. Conditions can deteriorate quickly out on the water after takeoff as well. Finally, as a boater you have a co-angler who is trusting that you wont drown them during the tournament.

Shhhhhhhhhh............ A Senko with a screw in bullet weight cuts right through the Potomac grass mats. I caught a lot of fish on that bait this summer.

Just a note of caution that depending on how you store your boat, leaving rods in the locker full time can invite mold and mildew on them.

I'm in Virginia and will be retiring soon. I am not staying here but I live closer to DC than I like and the cost of living is terribly high. Rural Virginia is much better. I am looking farther South. I want to go where I can hide from winter, live on a lake and have some privacy. PS Sooner than later now that they have made RT 66 a toll road.

If you notice, there is a buzzbait on one of my frozen rods. That's what a nuke cooling lake in winter will do to ya!! Nothing like catching topwater bass in a snowstorm. BTW that was the WORST and most DANGEROUS conditions I EVER towed in. I left my house for a 60 mile tow to the lake. It was clear and dry but very cold (that's why the rods were on deck). When I got 10 miles from the lake it started "misting". The road became a solid sheet of ICE. I was towing a 20ft boat on a dual axle trailer. I had come too far to turn around and I knew that if I could get to the lake, everything would thaw once I launched. If I even as much as touched my truck brakes, the trailer would try to come around the truck. I IDLED the last 5 miles past over 40 cars and trucks in the ditches.

Yes, I fished anyway.

Original SPRO LittleJohn. Cell Mate color. I hated crankbaits until I threw this one. Tungsten coated rattles makes a different sound. More of a thump.

In cold water, spring fed, ponds I have always done best if I know where the springs are located. Stable water temps and usually a tad warmer than the rest of the water.

Dock Talk = Donate. Go practice and if you can't practice surf some web sites that cover the lake you are going to be fishing. Not for "canned" reports but from everyday fishermen who are out on the lake. Study your maps and use what you have learned about bass behavior to scope out some likely spots. The only locals I trust are the locals I know personally. Good Luck