billmac

I've been going back and forth looking for a budget depthfinder that I can move between my Pelican bass raider and the bow of my bassboat. The striker gets good reviews but evidently isn't waterproof. The Lowrance also gets pretty good reviews, but those who hate it really hate it. What are your thoughts?

Jig and spinner. I only slow down when I have to.

Fallen trees, lily pads, large rocks. Beaver huts.

My 88 Cajun Maverick has some gouges in the hull from scraping over rocks. What do you recommend for filling those in? I'm not concerned about aesthetics at this point.

The HIN should tell you the year. I just went through something similar. I bought a Pelican Bass Raider off a guy who bought it at a garage sale. I was concerned that I would have trouble registering it, but I had no problems. I just had to fill out the regular paperwork and also a statement of ownership. The guy I bought it from also filled out a statement of ownership, and I breezed through the DMV.

If I'm throwing a Mega-Bass jerkbait, I don't care. I'm using 90lb braid with a barbed wire leader.

I've hooked mussels several times. They feel the line or hook passing between the edges of the shells and simply clamp shut.

I ordered some 3/8oz pencil weights. You can't buy them in NY but evidently you can buy them off EBay.

I would think fondue would be most appropriate for jigs.

If you've got experience dropshotting in the St. Lawrence, can you suggest an ideal weight? Thanks

I can relate to this. I've wanted a bass boat for 40 years, and a couple years ago I bought an old 88 Cajun Maverick. I had never driven a motor boat before other than a 10hp tiller model on a rowboat. Throttling up and getting on plane the first time scared me to death. I thought any wave or ripple would surely flip the boat. It goes about 45mph at top speed and I can't imagine wanting to go any faster than that. I had my wife and grandkids in the boat with me on the St. Lawrence when we ran into thick weeds that choked the motor out, and kind of panicked a little. I still have a hard time steering with the trolling motor and fishing at the same time. Take it easy at first and just explore its capabilities. You will get used to it and you'll gain confidence. You don't have to handle it like a pro. I still don't always back it into the water very well or get it back on the trailer very well. I've also forgotten to put the plug in a few times. You'll get the hang of it.

There are a myriad of jig styles. But like most baits, a lot of them are similar to each other. How would you boil jig styles down if you had to limit the number of styles you carried? For example, does the ball head jig do something that cannot be done by another style?

Not sure.

What about steel?

This sounds silly but evidently you can't buy lead drop shot weights in NY. That reg must have come about while I was on my fishing hiatus. So what's the most cost effective alternative?

I just got a Pelican Bass Raider, citing stability when taking grandkids fishing as a justification. I'm trying to figure out how to spin a fishing kayak purchase, especially since I own two canoes and a couple traditional kayaks.

If you do decide to venture into rapids or swifter water, ditch the waders and just get wet. You have much more range of motion and if you slip and fall waders can be dangerous.

If the fish is hooked deep, one trick I've used in certain hookups is to gently reach in with pliers and pull the lure out through the gills and cut the line. Obviously this only works with certain kinds of baits and you have to be very careful.

That's certainly true. I think perhaps the certainty of fish will keep someone tied to a spot longer than they should. I have friends who, if they get a bite, will pound the water until we drag them away. I know the times I've actually seen fish will keep me on the spot even when they are clearly not in the mood. Sometimes you can entice, but I've found it (usually) best to move on and mark the spot for a future visit.

When I was a kid, you didn't find fish by looking (sonar), you found fish by fishing, and I think that's the difference, at least in the way I fished. Although I'm trying to become more versatile, I still find myself hitting shoreline structure rather than going deeper. Who knows what fishing will become when not a single fish can escape electronics? I'm not anti-fish finder. I wish I were better at using mine. But I'm not enthusiastic about where it's going.

When I was young my fishing buddies called me the "InPatient Fisherman" (a play on In-Fisherman). We fished mostly by wading and I would invariably far outdistance them. I wasn't deliberately trying to front-end them as much as just hitting a spot with a few casts and moving on. It was the same when I started fishing from watercraft. I would often get very frustrated if I was in someone else's boat and we would stay and thrash a piece of water for what seemed like an eternity. I was about the only one using a baitcaster and I liked short, pinpoint casts and they would usually be using a spincast outfit, so they would park far from whatever we were casting to and then just cast a country mile. Even now, I'll stay in a spot if they are biting, but if not, I like to keep moving.

If there are rapids, tie on a Mepps or a beetle spin, get out in the water and hit the calm areas behind rocks or trees. The deeper areas just below the rapids will holder larger fish. Bank fishing is tough unless you've got room to move. Smallies tend to be aggressive so don't spend a lot of time in one spot. The inline spinner will catch numbers. If you use a 1/4 oz beetle or meeney spin, you'll catch bigger fish and it's not as snag-able.

The silver redhorse seems to have the right range for my area. They look pretty similar. When I was a kid we called rock bass crappie.

Crankbaits. I've never been much of a crankbait guy, but I had one rigged most of the time last summer and caught most of my fish on them. Flicker shads to be specific. Although as I mentioned in another thread, it seemed like every fish I caught on the Flicker shad somehow managed to embed all 6 hookpoints in itself.

Is it OK to request to get on the invite list?