LunkerGuy

Bill Dance is not a cheater. He does fish in a tiny pond loaded with his 8-pound pets though which I believe takes some credibility from his show......but then again it is a different show for a different audiance then say Day on the Lake or Bass Pros. How could anyone bash him.....he's hilarious.

I've had gasoline, oil, cigatettes, and sunscreen on my hands at one time or another. I don't see the big deal. Although, I try to avoid the gas and cigarettes at the same time..for obvious reasons!

It could. Look for areas where streams or run offs enter the lake. I'd say you can start fishing as soon as the water is rolling in. The water should be cooler.

a 12-pack weighs....um...about 5 pounds!

If the point of the hook goes all the way through, try and do the same as if you stuck it through your hand. Take a pair of wire cutters, clip the hook in half, then pull one part out one way and the other part the other. If the hook is deeply embedded into the gullet (point and all), the technique stated before would probably work better. I try my best to remove the hook and although I don't hook them like that too often, if I do I will do my best to get them free. Worst case, if I really feel I am butchering the fish I will release them and hope it rusts out. After reading this article, I think I'll try harder next time to get it out first. Thanks, and good ifo.

Put a layer of 20 pound underneath and save yourslef some money. Then again, if its free......

Reading this I think the real word to look at is "resale" which is why a $5,000 Skeeter is a 1982 model. Unless you are prepared to dump a lot of money into it for repairs its wise to look for a 16' or 17' aluminum with say a 50 HP motor and a 12 or 24 volt trolling motor. Livewell pumps are cheap to replace, smaller trolling motors are cheaper than 24V pigs, electronics upgrades aren't real expensive either. I personally wouldn't touch a 20 year old boat that fits into my budget. I prefer to "fish" over headaches. But back to my point, a $42,000 Triton is going to be worth $36,000 in year 2, $33,000 in year 3 and so on. Well how many long runs in 5' chops until its under $10,000? A LOT I bought a 1999 16' princecraft with a 50 HP Johnson with less than 20 hours on it in 2000 for $8,000. Its now 2005, it runs like a top and I've never had a real problem with it. Only thing I've done are some upgrades and a few props. I've done everything stupid with it from banging it on rocks to slamming it into a sandbar at full tilt and I don't have a heart attack if something goes wrong. This year I pondered spending the big bucks but realized for me I like to fish smaller lakes and rivers. I use it in my bass club and most of the bodies we fish are fine for my boat. This year I put it up to a 24 V trolling motor with an 80 pound Minn Kota Maxxum, battery chargers etc... So for less than $1,000 there isn't a whole hell of a lot more I could do if I spent $40,000 (read that the right way). Think about a 20 year old trailer too....UGHHH Unless you are a mechanic with 20 year old parts laying around to put your motor back together every month, do yourself a favor and go aluminum until you can afford a $20,000+ boat. My 2 cents.

I fish shallow water on the northern end of the lake, or areas with good southern sky exposure. Pretty darm good chance there are bedding fish there.

Skeeter/Yamaha

That one on tef left is a funny looking smallie! Nice catches...

Put some monster bait (11" worm, 6" senko, 12" lizard etc..) on a carolina rig and chuck it out there. Bring it back slowly. Its simple and can hook you with some pigs. Bigger Fish generally prefer slightly deeper water. They also like a nice easy meal to fill them up.

Unless you fish for species othe rthan bass it sucks! I end up going to the 3rd option which is the single transducer cone read. Its too narrow at like 8 degrees. I hate it.

That's my choice boat but I have a couple of issues with it. 1. The console is too low and you feel like you will smash your leg on a choppy day. You have to slide under it to drive. 2. Only one position for the seat post up front. Concerns me in bad weather that I am 12 inches from falling in.. 3. Boat sits very low and will have a lot of water over the sides. 4. A lot of backwash over the stern on quick stops. 5. Trolling motor pedal is not recessed. Other than that its the finest one out there. I also like the Nitro 901 and the Triton TR 196. Any are great choices. The Yamah ais the choice motor of the two as the others seem to all be packaged with Merc's.

oh, before you dump it into the fisheries....spray some WD 40 on your fingers and see how long it is until you can taste it. It doesn't take long so it can't be good.

stick to pre-made attractants cuz its much easier. I have heard WD-40 is really only good so that your plastics don't stick to the weeds.