Tennessee Boy

Probably not the case with a golf course but some pond owners will only let you fish their pond if you promise not to throw anything back. Overpopulation can be a big problem in ponds.

Yeah. One February in the 90’s I was fishing below Wilson dam and they were releasing a lot of water. I was fishing 16# test and had my drag locked down. I caught a smallie over 4, then one over 5, then I hooked a monster that jumped and then headed into the current and broke my 16# line. I’ve set my drag regularly with a scale ever since. That fish still haunts me. When it’s on at Pickwick it’s special.

I think you’re forgetting one thing. You can backlash a baitcaster. That’s hard to do with a spinning reel.

If we’re talking February, then definitely Pickwick.

Interesting. I’m also a developer (that’s how I know you’re a “nerd”) and I think about fishing in much the same way. There’s the brut force approach where you fish every inch of the lake with every technique and every lure in every color. That’s sure to find them but can take a couple of million years and there’s a chance that conditions might change before we’re done. So we have to find a more efficient search algorithm. It’s very similar to developing software algorithms, just a lot harder.

Real dogs are better than signs ?

I’m with @scaleface. If I’m having a bad day, I start looking at my map not my tackle box.

It’s that time of year again when we find love in our hearts for those we usually hate. No I’m not talking about Christmas, I’m talking about Bowl season. The only time of the year when I love every team in the SEC. I’ll be cheering for LSU to win the National championship, for Georgia in the Sugar. ROLLL!......well I can’t actually bring myself to say it but I’ll be pulling for Alabama in the Citrus Bowl, even though it makes me feel dirty. Good luck to all eight SEC teams playing in a bowl this year. I can’t wait for it to get started this weekend.

Thanks for posting this. Like a lot of people I only use ethanol free gas and add Stabil. I don’t really do it to protect my engine, I do it because it helps me sleep better. The manual says my outboard is designed to use E10. I’m not convinced that Stabil makes that much difference if you use the fuel in a reasonable amount of time. I know plenty of people that run E10 and I’ve never heard of any of them having problems. Come to think of it I can’t think of anyone I know who’s had serious problem with a motor that was less than 15 years old. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry right?

Of the rods I use regularly, the cheapest cost $20 in the 1980s. The most expensive cost $400 two years ago. By my estimate, the $400 rod is $50 better than the $20 rod.

Yep. Me to.

It’s very important to a lot of guys that their rod and reel be perfectly balanced when held in horizontal position with no lure attached. Adding a piece of tape with some ink molecules on it will throw off that perfect balance.

The day is coming when you will have to choose a company based on their electronics, networking, and trolling motor. It’s already true at the high end and I expect over time the integration of the electronics and trolling motor will be included in lower cost systems. In that world I wonder if Lowrance can compete with Garmin and Johnson Outdoors.

Thanks for sharing your great news. Merry Christmas

I bought 40 gallons when I went to the grocery yesterday (that’s all they had). I might be willing to trade for a few loaves of bread.

I have the same battery as you and like you I have a lot of stuff running off of it. I don’t have room for an extra battery. When the battery was new I could fish 12 hours on it no problem. As it’s aged, the voltage has dropped a little and some of my electronics don’t like it. I have two Solix and they are very sensitive to low voltage. The bow is going to have slightly lower voltage due to the voltage drop in the longer wires. That’s probably why you’re bow unit is shutting down first. Bigger wiring can help with this. The easy fix is another battery if you’ve got the space for it.

Don’t you need a $600 rod to detect strikes? ?

What’s happening? After several hours on the water are you unable to start the motor or are you having problems with your electronics?

Yes the search is what we’re all obsessed with. The search for fish when we’re on the water and the search for knowledge when we’re not. Welcome to BassResource. It’s a great community and a great place to learn.

Keep in mind that it’s always “mucked up” when it comes to fishing. You’ve asked good questions and it’s good to seek answers but a complete understanding of the seasonal patterns and weather will never allow you to just evaluate the conditions and determine exactly where the bass will be. It will hopefully allow you to eliminate some water and refine your search. Bass don’t always follow the rules and every lake can be different.

That’s true but I was feeling a lot of pressure to make all my sentences rhyme.

Yeah... I learned a long time ago you can make fun of people’s car, job, wife, but be careful what you say about their college football team.

Great post @DanielG. Just to be clear, just because the bass can’t see yellow doesn’t mean they can’t see a yellow lure. It just looks off white to them. Dogs can’t see any colors (that not 100% true but let’s pretend) but they can still see and they still eat. It’s just that everything they eat is some shade of grey. I agree that colors are very effective at catching fishermen. Take a look on the Bill Lewis website. 185 colors of 1/2 oz Rattletraps. That’s crazy.

In Tennessee we call that a blizzard.

For the anglers I think it will be difficult because you now have two different goals during each tournament. So do I focus on catching the most total weight to win the tournament or do I try to catch a big fish to help qualify for the Heavy Hitters Tournament. There's enough prize money in the Heavy Hitters that I could see some of the guys making qualifying for it their top priority. Especially those that are struggling with the new scoring system. I know some people believe that there is no difference in strategy if you're fishing a BPT scoring tournament or a five fish limit tournament. I don't buy that. It's much harder to catch a five pound fish than it is to catch five one pound fish and I would fish very differently depending on which is my goal. As a spectator, I like it.