Tennessee Boy

I get what you're saying and I agree that anything we can do off the water to improve our fishing can make a big difference. I bet when you were working on your pitching and skipping in your pool, you were trying to improve your dock fishing. That tells me you were focused specifically on fish on docks. The key word is "focused". I've been there myself. I''ve been on the water catching fish on docks but having trouble fishing way back under some docks where I knew there were probably quality fish. That revealed a specific weakness in a specific situation that needed to be improved. The OP ask for generic lure suggestions without mentioning any specific goals. Are you fishing from a boat or the bank? fishing a swamp or a deep mountain lake? I see lures as tools that I can use in specific situations to catch fish. I've been fishing 40 years and I fish a lot of different lures but I would say I've "dialed in" 3 lures. Would I be a better fisherman if that number was 4? Sure, but I'm focused on the situtations where I'm weak not on the lures where I'm weak.

Welcome to the forum.

+1 for grandfather

Interesting thread and an interesting perspective. I would argue that the best presentation in the world is worthless if used in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's difficult to judge the quality of a presentation unless it catches fish and it's hard to catch fish if there aren't any there. There are exceptions of course. You can learn to "walk the dog" in a swimming pool and you can practice casting in your backyard. To some extent, this is a chicken and egg problem. My approach is always start with location. That starts with a map, then an on the water evaluation of a location, then I start thinking about presentation and lures. For example, my goal for the upcoming season it to improve my fishing in deeper water. I can find these fish on my graph but my confidence starts to drop at 25 ft and I usually don't even try to catch fish I find at 35+ ft. Catching these deeper fish will require improving my technique, presentation, and probably "dailing in" new lures. I don't think it's possible for me to make these improvements unless I spend more time fishing this deeper water.

Welcome!

Well I clicked on the amazon link you provided and then clicked on "other sellers" and this was at the top of the list. Never heard of selling used fishing line. Could this be what you received?

Focus on what you want to build not what tools you want to build it with.

I understand what you are saying but it should be clarified that no amount of experience will make side imaging work with the built in Ultrex transducer. One would need to mount a side imaging transducer to the trolling motor.

The Ultrex built in transducer will not do side imaging. Side imaging with a trolling motor mounted transducer would be problematic due to the constant rotation of the trolling motor.

I just ordered some of that fancy William Sonoma Hot Chocolate Mix because of you guys. Cost me $20.

I upgrade when I need to solve a problem or think I can improve my fishing. "Old" is not a problem and "new" never helped anyone catch a fish. What specifically do you hope to gain with new combos? I've got four identical combos that I use for jigs and carolina rigs. The reels are 25 years old Diawas and are in need a serious refurbishing or need to be replaced. That's a problem that I need to solve. I purchased a two different reels (Diawa Zillion & KastKing Assassin) this year and tried them along side my old reels. Neither performed as well as the old reels. I haven't giving up on finding the right reel to replace these reels but I may end up just refurbishing the old ones.

It was a good victory but I hope this doesn't mean we're becoming a "basketball school".

Looks good if the water level is up over the flat in March. Remember where those ditches are that run through the flat.

Welcome!

Is there a ramp nearby to launch a boat? 4 ft of water is plenty for a bass boat if you can get the boat in the water. It would be difficult to impossible to find it without side scanning sonar. Those units start around $700 and better ones are over $2K. Personally, I would help you out if I was close. I think many fishermen would enjoy the challenge. You just need to find an avid fisherman with the right equipment.

I think his unit is expecting degrees and fractional minutes. N 35 22.1234

As far as the angler's are concerned, I wouldn't expect there to be any hard feelings. The MLF expansion has made pro bass fishing much more profitable for all of them. Now as far as the BASS management is concerned, that's a different story.

Welcome

Congratulations!

oh.... I amost forgot. Welcome to the forum.

If you had the drain plug in then it's not your fault. I would bet it the plumbing but it's the dealers problem to solve. New boats should not leak.

Welcome

Very nice fish. Seems like we're seeing a lot of jerkbait fish on here lately.

Yes it has it's own power connection. Mine is connected to my network switch and can be controlled from the bow or console.

I would love to show up with one of those at one of the electric only lakes around here.