bobbyg

I grew up fishing with my dad or grandfather and my brother in a 16 foot aluminum v hauled lund fishing boat. It was nothing fancy, but it started as just a basic bench style boat as slonezp posted a picture of, just a bit deeper. My grandfather covered the front area and made a fishing deck in front with a chair in the front and it worked great. I have always felt the v shape were better for kids. moving around in the boat doesn't make it feel like it will tip over as much. Yes, Craigslist is where I would go to find one at the right price. I have seen many on there for less than a grand that with a little elbow grease would be perfect for your situation.

We all need a little pick me up from time to time!! Glad I could make you smile!

Here you go. . . Our 5th child born last year. . .11 lbs. 10 oz. Is that big enough for you??? Bigger than any fish I've ever caught!!!

Had an unforgettable weekend with my dad at Dale Hollow Lake! Just the 2 of us, no kids, no cell phones, no emails, just the 2 of us on a boat for about 30 hours in 3 days. We didn't catch a bunch as the weather turned cold the day we got there, and had trouble figuring out where to get them, but did catch a few decent fish. The one with the spinner in its mouth was the biggest bass in the boat, it was almost 4 pounds, and only 18.5 inches. Chunky little girl. Also, caught a 9 pound cat that sure was fun wrestling on a medium/light spinning setup. But I do have a great, the one that got off story, or a terrible one depending on your point of view. I hooked a huge smallie fishing with shiners one night. I won't venture to guess the size but it was the biggest bass I have ever hooked. It rolled down and then jumped and spit my hook out as if to say, "better luck next time, sucker!!" But what a rush for those 10-15 seconds!

That sounds like a great day!!! 15 years from now you will be sitting around saying, remember that one day. . .

I owned a Smithwick Suspending Rattlin Rogue jerkbait that I got from Bassmaster a few years ago. I had never used it until this weekend. I threw it a few times and really liked how it moved in the water. On my 5th cast I caught a 3+ pound largemouth on a rock wall. I thought to myself, I am going to use this thing all day as I thought it was perfect for our conditions. The next cast on the second jerk, the bill broke off!!! Now I am torn, do I buy more of them, and hope this was a fluke thing and not an overall quality thing with this particular bait, or do I try a different brand? Does anyone have experience with the Smithwick Suspending Rattlin Rogue? And do you recommend it over any others? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

At Dale Hollow where we just were this weekend, you can only keep one smallmouth over 21" and one under 16". And only a total of 5 black bass a day.

That's what I like to hear!!

So how was Dale Hollow? Any luck? I notice that this weekend they are calling for snow for us on Saturday. . . So I am not really sure what to do about that. Wear more clothes, for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going on a 4 day trip this week. Taking 2 casting setups, 2 spinning setups.

It depends on if you are catching bass in that one spot. . . .If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

For somebody new to fishing I think it is easier to fish something that is out and back. Crankbaits are good, most topwaters are easy to fish, spinnerbaits are very productive, but I would say use a trailer hook(some guys don't like using them, but they help catch more fish for a beginner). There is less skill involved in catching a fish. I have limited experience with fishing plastics, so therefor, I am less productive with them. It is actually very hard for me to tell when I get a bite. With spinners, topwater or a crankbait you know immediately when you get a bite. As for specific baits, I like strike king or booyah spinners, they are like $5-$7, however I have caught fish on the Walmart $1 also. I have always been a fan of white. Lipless crankbait, the Cotton Cordell super spot is actually a very good lipless especially if the water isn't clear, and walmart has them for less than $3. And for topwater you can get a generic buzzbait for less than $2, but my go to was always a hula popper, by Arbogast. They are like $6 and you basically just cast it out, hold your rod tip low and jerk it a couple of time, let it sit, and then reel it in. Change up the stop and jerk pattern each time, it has always been productive for me.

I am a big hula popper fan. . .just bought a whopper popper and the new toad runner from booyah. Going next week to try them both.

I think that a lot of times the bass strikes are a sort of "get the hell outta here" kind of action. I don't necessarily think that all of their strikes are based on eating. So you either have to give them a "food" option that entices them to eat your lure/bait, or tick them off. Either way it gets fun after that!

Sorry. . . that was not my intent. I was just curious to see which "inexpensive" fishing items most people would pick as a go to.