fish'n Jim

Late to the party as usual, a few words of whizdumb. Finding them takes being on the water and keeping your eyes open and more likely around the pre-spawn and spawn periods. Those old gals will show themselves and you have to be there to observe where/when. I've had many jump/pass next/near to the boat, expose themselves, and then spent time chasing them down. Some I got, most not. ie; fish often at high percentage times/areas. Equipment management; how many times did I miss one after respooling and not know it by forgetting to tighten the spool tension on hook set? Yesterday, one ate the front half of the crawbait off, <1/2" short of the hook, no telling if big or small in 12'. #'s game. You catch them sitting on the couch. I shook one off a jerk bait in a tournament because I thought it was a striper in early light, until it jumped. That's what memory is for - beat you up not to do it again. Long list of other misses, so keep a razor sharp "saw". A home owner on Murray told me he missed a 9, and I told him, we all have those stories. Accidents will still happen. I lost one when the line wrapped around the hook shank and squeezed through the small space between the eye and shank. Left with a perfect knot on end of my line. ODDS? Those things will happen, don't get excited or tore up. Cool under fire is necessary in life. Keep your bait in the water. It could come back to eat again. I think of this as what's big for the area, not in absolute PB numbers terms. Not going to catch a natural 12+ in the north, but a 7, either mouth, is a genuine trophy there. Caught my first 7 at age 13 in northern OH. Keep fishing the area where you observed a "giant" and that increases your odds of a hook up. Add it to your milk run. The big fish baits catch big fish or they wouldn't call them that! Tackle up and hook size/strength up. You can jerk a 3 out of a log pile but a whale won't go through easy. I fished as a co-angler with a guy, he had an 8+ bite his jig, he slept on the set, fish ran out the tree and the 20# line was wrapped up and snapped like a tooth pick. He asked me if I had any place I wanted to fish, and I said across over by the other standing tree. I threw a jerkbait in there, past the tree, and pulled out a 5 in the last minutes, so it ain't over til it's over. Don't underestimate the buzz bait or frog for biggies. Crank it up sometimes. I used to like the ghost DB3 bagley's in Aug. You'll have those 1 or 3 magical days when you catch a whole sack of them too, 30-40#s so don't think small. The 100 lb club exists in the pro ranks. Some BB specialists claim hundreds over 10, that's often the same pool of fish over an over and FLA strain. After this long, I'm in it for the big bites or little ones the act big.

I put the new CHARGEr on when the old monster MK4 gave up one bank and new AGM batts in '22. I had someone else put it in and after one blue tooth connecting hiccup, it's been smooth sailing. The TM doesn't get the mid day "sag" like a regular no charge management system. I'm not a fan of all these e-gadgets, but once you get used to them... I changed all electronics in Dec and added live scope which I had on my last boat. I've been chasing gremlins. Voltage dropping, units shutting down, freeze ups, or not auto booting up. Internet is full of reports, people adding extra Li batteries, extra chargers, etc. I've been tracking these down one by one, investigating and solving them. After talking to the stereo tech support guy, today, he said it sounded like a voltage issue. The newer electronics are stricter on voltage requirements. Same maker, same type, newer model, different supplier as what was replaced. Whodathunkit? Technology mismatches happen when there's lead lag in developments. Been there done that. The CHARGE has a few features I didn't even know it had. Two things showed up today. Diagnostics were clean, no issue w/ CHARGE or batteries. I was expecting a report on the phone app, but it sends the data by email and they run those at power pole. Beats the DVM tests. I guess that's one for AI to take over. The charge priority balance between TM and starting was set 50:50 initially. I didn't even know what that did or you could change it because it was working for the previous set up. I double checked the battery type setup and the start was incorrectly entered as 50 AH, way low(1/2) of the 100 it is. CHARGE was being told it was much smaller wasn't giving it proper access to not over charge. Result the starting battery wasn't getting sufficient charging and was draining down too fast. I'll know for sure next week on the water but I think this is it. Everything works just fine when the voltage is up. Unlike the old prone to overcharge wet chargers, you leave this one plugged in all the time. [Probably saved me $250 for a new battery which I'd have changed first in my "old ways" - learned when batteries were not that expensive, failed often, and had pro rated warrantees. We all used to trade in our WM ones right before the 2 yr replacement period ran out, for new ones, until the policy drastically changed. Check your settings, folks, when you make changes. A little adjustment goes a long way.

Is the TM jerking or just the image? The image has to recompute every time it changes position, so you get those "fuzzy areas" until it stops moving. It's nto like a movey. The sonar signal has to go out and come back before an image and that's a slow speed compared to light. I've used 2nd gen(plus) on two different era Ultrexs and see no issues. I haven't tried it on my spare yet but had no issues before. I rotated TMs during the install. Same on the old boat that had the first gen. Takes a little getting used to. Price of TMs and selection today is suspect. I haven't seen it make any difference in the catch department, of course, I learned pre-electronics and "grew up" with them since the first gen flasher.

Going to trash today.

Thanks for all the comments. I was going to buy chains when I was at the store to get a new hitch. The store didn't have a matched set, I had the new cables so I went with them to get back on the water(crossed). I'm going to change, ASAP. I don't remember why they changed (-$?) as they used to use chains. The last two R's and one Lund had cables. The only issues with chains, if the hook comes off they grind on the pavement. The new ones have spring retainer clips. I'm going to tell the state about that spot on the highway too. I knew it was there but got lane trapped by a semi when I slowed for another bad spot. I don't think it would've come off it not for the rough road, even if it was not properly connected. I made it 20+ miles from home OK. Like all incidents, a compounding of errors. Maybe better it happened, I got concerned/alerted. A good tip for everyone. I also found out backing up to garage, that if I put it in reverse and get the license plate backup camera on - like I use to aligned/back to tongue, I can verify my new hitch connections. I can double check before I pull out. I'll put a note on the dash til it becomes habit. I have a second camera mounted in the outboard, so I have to toggle between cameras, that aids me backing up boat and for cars following too close or approaching from behind to pass. Big blind spot with cover on. I've done that the last two boats, after I quit buying 4x4s, the lower truck makes it harder to see behind. I went to same lake Wed. with no issues, avoided the "spot".

I've owned 9 bass boats and seen about everything towing, well over 1/2 million miles. Last week, going to lake, I hit a dip/low spot in the highway and the boat came unhitched. When I got it stopped, the cables were stretched quite a bit and the trailer was maybe 3' behind the truck and dragging on the ground. The e-brake cable had snapped it was so stretched. That's not supposed to happen! It's supposed to manually lock up the trailer brakes to facilitate a quicker stop. Chains usually support the tongue in that situation. These cables are coiled type and stretchy. Ranger only offers one length coiled cable set(54"), and I'm wondering if I need to make some sort of permanent adjustments here? I can go to chains or add a safety chain to limit fall back. I can install some sort of support under the tongue to support and guide the cables and help elevate it. I can crisscross the cables, like chains, but doesn't change the length much and likely to tangle. I've crisscross chains but never cables. There's no guidance in the manual. The brake book only calls for chains crossing, cables aren't even mentioned. I changed out the hitch, ball is probably worn after 10 years, put in a new different style closure brake actuator assy. rather than repair the e-brake cable. I changed actuator last summer, after it failed, and replaced with the same one that came with it. They only used that style a few years, and I don't like that type. I like the old A60, with the flip cap, the one I've used the most and that's what I put back in. I recall one year they changed to the stamped style, I had issues with it closing, and I put back an A60 and never had any more issues. I'm going to use a pin w/ lock, instead of the detent pin, and keep it in the truck when unlocked, so I'll know it's on there or not, if I see it in the truck or not. I've never had any problem with the A60s coming loose and they survived wrecks intact. Any comments, suggestions, or preferences chains v cables?

Before I throw out my two HDS 12 gen 3s and associated transducers, if anyone needs any of this for parts, just message me. All the xducrs were changed within the last <2 years and everything was working when I pulled it. Apparently, the epoxy never set on the thru hull when I changed it, I think they only shipped we one part, and it popped up and so I thought it had gone bad again, but is OK. There's the TM xducr for side scan, and the two for the other unit, the thru hull and big side scan. There's a fusion stereo unit that works. All this stuff is ten years old and long out of L service.

While I was installing the new units on my boat, I saw they now (since >'22) offer a NMEA connection for the "Charge" units to MFDs beyond just Lowrance. I contacted PP as the Garmin instructions weren't descriptive, but need to add a PP gateway port. Right now they're out of stock, but curious if anyone has connected their "Charge" to Garmin's and if it's worth the $120 and time to install or just tech "jewelry"? I really like the "Charge" but was pricey compared to options, but compared to the clunker MK 4 bank charger, it's a dream. [I'm not a app-aholic though. I lived a long time without, no sense changing now. The newbies can't fish without all this stuff. I see them sometimes on water for these HS and college events.] You get the voltage on the charts, etc. not sure I need to know all the batteries and if I have my iphone I can go to Cmonster app. [I want to fish not play with toys] I have more pressing issues to clear up, too. No longer competing either. I'm also worried about all this electronic "noise" may eventually affect the fish, but so far I don't see much evidence. I did see some issues with forward chasing fish out of docks, but can't be sure if boat or the sonar. I have for years turned off the electronics when the fish were incredibly wary. Those Xdrs click at times and cause sound. The newer ones are quiet, different freq.. ps: I have Talons, not PPs, also. I've been screwing around with this boat stuff since the first portable L fish finder(~'70s). This boat was rigged MK and Lowrance originally. I don't like these "package" boats, per se.. but that's how they worked it out. But today's $$ reality, custom is for pros only apparently. Things change, and then you're stuck. eg: One boat I had was Hbird which was contingent. Next year, tour changed to lowrance contingent, so I got lowrance thru Federation(back then) and the next year they went to Garmins? I didn't change until I got the '06 boat with garmins. I replaced all those units eventually twice. This boat is ten, and the L's were starting to fall apart and no forward, too old to support it.

I put the info in once already, so I don't know why it keeps asking? I'll wait for warmer weather and finish my annual maintenance before I screw with it again...

I dismiss them (OK) per the pop-up, but the reappear. How do you "permanently" delete them? Going to be weeks before I'm back on the water due to cold weather. Do I have to go into the Yamaha screen and look for/set something? It wants to "put full rpms" and I was reluctant when it was running, since I didn't know what that would do, but when off, I put in the rev limit. But keeps coming back. I was trying to avoid trying to call tech support from the water to get this clear up to see if anyone else had.

I converted all my electronics and just got off the phone w/ Garmin tech. They want me to call them from the boat. Motors on NMEA network and shows up on the graph OK. But on power up I get 5-6 engine alarms. Has anyone encountered alarms after you power up and before you start the outboard? They go away after acknowledged but nuisance.

One has to consider not all marine aluminum is salt water grade. You don't want a fresh water grade in salt environments. I don't think I said it couldn't be done. He's talking a 18'+ bass boat here. I have a Lund bass boat and it's welded... As to rivets vs welds, welds are generally stronger, rivets have a crevice and crevices lead to corrosion. Welding fills the seam. Aircraft are riveted, but it doesn't matter it some air leaks in or out and adds to the flexural strength. You don't want your aircraft to crack in half. There are plenty of fiberglass and steel work boats out there as well. These are my preferences, you do what you want. Don't shoot the messenger.

U'll get over it. There's an art to it. Most all small fish have been caught this way since your first fish. For bass, this started not with anti net rules*, but back in the day with the advent of flippin. Short heavy line and jerk them up out of cover. It actually goes back a little further, in the south, they used to jig with long poles (>12') and very short line tied directly to pole(no reel), much like a crappie rig w/ no bobber. I think it was called dappling or something like that. A shallow bayou/oxbow type of fishing around cypress knees/ trees, etc.. I think some CB guys are fearful of the hooks, so they swing, but you still have to hand then in the boat. Plus, the hooks don't tangle in a net. But I never let that bother me, I want a hand or net on them, especially if it's a money fish. Others don't trust the backseat with a net, and I can't blame them. That's a gamble. One needs patience and proper technique here. It's all about percentages, and one has to maximize the landing success ratio to be successful. Inexperience lowers the %. I can say from experience, that ~3# bass is as much as you want to land this way. Heavy fish can rip or pull out coming up and if they unbuckle in the air or hit the carpet, they can keep on going. It's not very good for the fish, worse if it's gut or gill hooked. You can distort the jaw hinge. TV has become a bad example since the demise of sportsmanship. * - (I don't see hitting the carpet being any worse than touching the netting for slime coat.) These anti-fishing people don't realize the damage they've done trying to "improve" things.

Well, yesterday, I HAD TO use my hip waders. I went to a ramp I hadn't been to in a while and it got silted over before they dropped the lake. The truck wheels were in the water, so wade it was. Unfortunately, there was half a foot of red clay mud around the trailer. So I got red mud on everything. Good news, even though they missed the sunny forecast for wet and cold, I put a 5+ over the side. Yes, fish'nkamp, I was over that way for 8+ years. I fished with the Brandywine boys, PA TBF, and BFL(mostly down here; Piedmont, Shenandoah, so I slogged 95 more times than I wanted to). So we forayed into MD a few times. How's my old buddy that runs the marina down at the northeast? Still riding his golf cart? Only guy I met that wasn't upset if you woke him up at 4 AM. I saw him on TV a while ago on some big T out of there. Navigating Turkey Point on a blow in a Ranger, will always stick in my pucker factor memory. Potomac in April, none better - elbow to elbow combat fish'n at it's finest. I'm doing the Catawba and Savannah chains these daze. Lots o water here within <2 hours. The other side of the mountains(TN) ain't bad fish'n either but we have better weather for old farts who also golf. I'm thinking some sort of ramp system like mentioned above, or some other type vehicle. A remote controlled hydraulic tongue extender would be bitchin. Maybe a pop up foot rail like they have for trucks, mounted farther back? I guess I could get rid of the topper, but still need locking cover.

You're not going to see much difference in 18' vs 19'. Pick widest(beam) one. I would be mostly concerned with the construction; gauge aluminum used(not just hull) and if it's fully welded or not. No rivets on big HP. I'd not recommend aluminum, if use in brackish (part salt) conditions, which is a factor in FLA. Same for trailer, need galvanized down there. A flats type glass skiff would be a choice, so you can go intercoastal as well. What you have for home boat storage and lake accesses. Some longer boats won't fit a "standard" 22 -24' garage. Otherwise, it's a personal choice. You can always trade it off. I've owned both. There's places I won't or wish I didn't take my fiberglass boats. They don't get along with rocks, stumps, or sandy bottom and you can't launch a big glass rig in a small lake with no/poor access but I could with the alum and the 4x4. Part of the puzzle is bass boats have gone out of sight on pricing and they're all about the same price on size, making the choice more difficult.

Curse you, fishnkamp! My hip waders were in the truck!!!! Yes, think before you act...pays well. One of those, going through the motions, I thought I could get by senior moments. I definitely use(d) boots, mostly on the Lund aluminum, but since giving up the 4x4, I don't venture far from the concrete any more. I had no choice on the OH river even with concrete. 4X4 or get stuck. Lund's trolling motor powered and ain't no way to drive on, except when I had twin pushers out the transom for the fast get away on the electric only lakes in PA. MD, miss the "tides" and Susqie "flats" but not the 95 traffic.

I fish that lake too. I have some storms in the box but not sure what color they are. Pearl is a color that's universal. like white or black. I use soft and hard pearl baits. I experiment a lot. 90% of tackle doesn't get used but you have to try them all to know which is the 10%. Storm's are pre-rigged if I recall, so they aren't available for adding to a spinhead. I think Davy used another bait (hard?) he cut his teeth on, too, going from memory, during the early years. I don't listen to dock talk, all lies, ego trips, and if they told you the truth, you wouldn't believe it... Right now, I'm catching better on other baits but always looking for an edge and conditions change rapidly.

Ok, yesterday, I figured out I could use a Z-launch. The water was low and I couldn't get the boat off myself without tip toeing down the concrete curb and crawling around the truck. I have a Hamby, so no issue. After I ordered, I realized that's only half a solution. Driving back on, leaving enough room to get out without getting wet, it wasn't deep enough to winch up all the way. So had to repeat sink then straddle the ramp edge to get to the trailer. That's when I slipped and dipped my foot. No one should have to drive home for 2 hours with a squishy wet gas pedal foot or go eat with a wet pant leg. On long trips I carry extra clothes, towels, shoes, and sox, but day tripping I didn't. So if the Z-launch helps me get it off, what helps me get it back on without getting wet? It's (safely) transitioning from the boat to the truck that's a problem for the old man. Trailer has a step platform up front, but you still have to tip toe out the tongue and across the bumper. Normally, I try to launch close to the dock so I can jump, but that's getting awkward too. This dock was off located. I did that a few weeks ago and it was a stretch and thought, boy, fat old man was lucky he didn't slip, hit his head, and drown. This is only a problem on shallow ramps or low water - dual wheel boat trailer. Water was down about 6'. I have some ramps I can't launch at all or need high water. I used to climb into/out of the bed of the 4x4, descend off the tire, but it was higher/but I now have a 2x4 with a flat cover, and I'm aging fast. I had major such problems when I launched from a motorhome. I used to tow with vans exclusively for this reason. In cold weather, just go in and out the rear door... even if it was partly under water. I never launch unhooked, because one day at the river, the current was fast and she drifted off. Thankfully, someone gave me a lift. So I don't advise that unless someones in the boat... Time to invent...robot driver, electric winch, motorized trailer extender, or something. Quitting is NOT an option. All suggestions considered. ps:It was late/almost dark getting cold, and no one at the ramp to assist...or many for that matter this time of year.

Thanks for the Basstrix info. I ordered some from tackle warehouse to try. If nothing else, they "match the hatch". Pricey, but you don't lose many in open water.

Yes, that's a Yum product, not sure if its called shad or minnow. About 3+" it's a popular addition for Z-rigs. I'll look for some of these. I fished over river herring, aka skip jacks with the up closing mouths in the OH basin. They get quite large. Bluebacks are southern bait fish more like shad common in the SE river chains of lakes. They actually don't have a blue back, it's more green, but that's what they're called. People use as catfish bait, too. I guess they're in the herring family. I've looked them up and did some prototype hard baits. But they seem to be selective when they're chasing them in open water. Mostly spots and LMB.

As noted, it's a pervasive issue. Every one's problem is different. So you have to get a good diagnosis. You want a second and/or third opinion here. When I was about 40, I was having pain and fished a tournament in 3 footers on a Sunday and was cut on that thurs. A piece of disk broke off L5 and pinned the nerve. It could not stand up or sit, only stay in between. L4 was compressed. My leg went numb. I'd been having problems since injury at 16, so I had investigated and you have to find the best neurosurgeon you can. Three of us had back issues at work at that time. Me and another guy had the same surgeon. His took three surgeries to cure with finally fusion. The other guy, different surgeon, had a permanent limp. I was lucky, no more pain, leg good, and haven't had much problems in the last 25+ years but I still have some "episodes" and the first thing I do is get on my roman chair and get inverted to stretch it out. Only thing that works for me. Inverting takes the pressure of the discs. Minimize sitting. Exercise regularly once your out of pain. Walking usually helps. I haven't heard of anyone that's had any luck with any injections. I fished with a guy that had experimental surgery in the military for a disc replacement and he had poor results after many operations. It's life style threatening. So you can't be too careful managing it, and the pain is so intense so you want relief as fast as possible and that clouds your thinking. I don't know what they use now if they don't use pain medicines. I stayed away from that and used NSAIDS, heat and massage and "chair position" to get it down. So you have my sympathy and best wishes for a good outcome.

I've been using the money bait in a white pearl and some other larger hollow bodies, but not satisfied I have the right colors for under these baitfish*. They quit making the 6" one I had the most confidence in, and Berkeley wouldn't make me any. I changed to a whitish purple hue and it's not producing. Fish'n on a fish head mostly for spots. Any suggestions? I'm going on a buy - I'm running low. I got enough that don't work. * - it's a whole different ball game. I'm more used to all the shad migrations, but these seem to roam and stay off shore in these big lakes.

Don't forget about tying bucktail into rubber jigs as well. I used to make a Brn / brn rubber arkie style jig with orange hair (Ky lake) and white rubber bass jigs with white bucktail (OH river) -> shad imitator The bucktail fluffs up the rubber and makes it look bulkier without weight - different look. I fished them with or without pork frogs or strips or plastic, if I was trying to control fall rate. One of my best all time catches came in Feb (Ky pond) on a specially constructed white bucktail with a core color worm trailer - cut to just past the bucktail. A good slow falling dying shad imitator. I still use this in cold water - shad die off - they're in the boat right now. Bucktail has more "swim action" in cold water than rubber. I shouldn't be giving away info, I'm going back on the BFL circuit this year, but experimenting is half the fun and how you learn. I was fortunate to have a neighbor who poured his own and tied bucktail & maribou and sons are still my friends, so I started early. Good for walleye and crappie too. It's all we had except live bait - until plastic worms came along.

Just get the kraft paper, pencil, ruler, and scissors out and start cutting. No sense making a computer drawing of something your going to do anyway. Start big and trim as you go. Trace an existing lure if needed. You can use drawing tools like curves etc, it's how the whole world was made before computers... If you go the computer route, might as well get a machine that carves them.

I've bought a lot of stuff from Barlow, Jann's, and the other big boxes. Caveat emptor, some of these internet only places aren't very good from what I've encountered. I stocked up on hooks long ago, so don't have the price problems newer guys may. I joke I have 5 lifetimes worth, but that's probably conservative. As far as trebles go, after decades with treble hook issues, I just replace everything with round bend gama's, even new lures. I use some small eagle claw trebles for certain things and the excaliber on some jerk baits, but go with the best/what works and stick with it when it comes to hooks. Ok to be frugal in purchasing, but don't save a few pennies and then have to replace them or lose a good fish. Don't just look at the hooks, look at the split rings too. I've had pricey lures >$15 that had weak rings on them and they failed on fish. I like Daiichi hooks better but they have a limited offering. On lipped CB, I prefer a small front hook and a larger rear hook. They don't snag up as much coming through cover and hook ups seem to be better, and if they take it inside, the small hook will stay lodged better over a larger one, less leverage to throw it. Easier to remove. I over size on small lures as I'm fishing for size over numbers. Tailor your lure to your quarry.