DaubsNU1

Started bass fishing out of a belly boat back in the 1990's, and all I could do was fish one small wooded cove near the ramp. It was great to get off shore. Caught fish. Met a guy from Texas with a canoe...opened up a whole new world. We could fish the entire lake, but still fished the bank, wooded coves. We were always wondering how deep the water was. In 2000 I got my own boat, and scored one of these... My world changed -- I could now see depth, and locate drop offs...and could see water temp. Two years ago I ditched the Fisnin Buddy, and upgraded to a Garmin Echmap 73SV. Wonderful upgrade. Could I fish without the Garmin? Of course...especially on my home lakes...I know them so well at this point...but I must admit, the Garmin has opened my eyes to areas of my home lakes that I didn't know where there. Do not see myself getting live-view any time soon. The echomap is good enough for how I fish.

@Aaron_H I did this last year, and the spinner bait produced big time. I keep one tied on my 6' medium bait caster with 20lb green power pro straight braid. It just flat-out catches fish.

I'm no boat expert, but the advice from @WRB is very sound. Buddy of mine was big in to walleye boats...his advice: PFD on, everything strapped down, passengers in their proper seats. Always start off slow Always start with your motor trimmed all the way down Once at full-throttle...slowly start to trim the motor up You will gain speed and smooth out the ride When the boat starts to porpoise just a little...trim it back down until smooths out That's the "sweet-spot," best ride, & most speed

If it's rated for 45MPH max, I would recommend following that guideline. If you are above the rated speed, and get in an accident...your insurance will likely not cover damage to your vehicle, or another vehicle. Find a different trailer.

Interesting how much I think about, rationalize, and try to apply logic to fishing techniques, times, days, weather, location, etc., etc., etc. I do the same dang thing when chasing waterfowl, ditch-chickens, deer, & turkey. I keep trying to find patterns, apply logic, piece things together in my attempt to "crack the code" of fishing and hunting. When I figure it out, and "crack the code," I will most certainly write a book and retire : ) Until then, I will keep wetting a line.

When brother and I were young, and fishing in a small john boat with my Dad...my brother actually dropped his fishing rod in the pond(!). Dad remained calm, broke out a huge huge weighted treble hook, tied on his rod and said, "We are getting that fishing rod back boys!" After about five minutes of casting and retrieving, Dad managed to snag his line. The bail was open on the sunken spinning rod...so we just kept pulling on the line...eventually we had all the line off the spool...and pulled the entire rod and reel to the surface. Score!

Best friend of mine worked at Cabela's corporate from the 1980's until just a few years ago. Worked his way up from phones, to web development, to buyer and product development. We had some excellent conversations about Gore-Tex and waterproof clothing. Of course, Cabela's "knocked-off" products of their own that were very similar to Gore-Tex, like Dry-Plus, etc. Other companies have done this as well. He talked a lot about pressure per square inch, how much the waterproof membranes could keep water droplets out, keep you feeling dry, keep water off your skin, etc. He always advocated keeping products clean and protected, very much the same as @A-Jay discusses here. Another thing he advocated was the DWR, or "durable water repellent." Good DWR helps water droplets bead and roll of the exterior of the garment. Without good DWR, water soaks in to the fabric, and while water may not be getting through the Gore-Tex layer, it "feels" wet against your skin. He also advocated getting the best gear you can afford. Cabela's (and other companies) are always looking to maximize profit margins...if they can build something cheaper that is almost as good, and make more $$, then they will. Gore-tex products are more expensive because when a company uses their products, they pay Gore a %. He always felt Gore was expensive because it was worth every penny. Cabela's also have to pay a % to use camo patterns...that's why the started developing their own Cabela's branded camo patterns...saves them $$ vs. paying Real-Tree or Advantage to use their camo patterns. It's all about $$.

Could not agree with you more @A-Jay! I have a lot of Gore-Tex hunting clothing, the Nikwax products are wonderful.

Carolina rig for sure. Tried fishing it when lived in Missouri years ago. Might have caught a few here and there. Moving to Nebraska it's just not feasible in the lakes I fish. Way to much moss, weeds, grass. Same with deep diving cranks...spend waaay to much time pulling off grass and moss. Hate them. ** I do really like drop shot. Maneuver my small boat through the trees, flipping the drop shot next to heavy cover pretty much right next to the boat. Good alternative to my favorite way to fish, flipping jig-n-craw or t-rigged soft plastics. It's a blast! **

** Looks like a good way to get dead real quick. ** Family had a cabin on the Platte here in Nebraska...it's a mile wide and an inch deep. Back in the 70's neighbors were creating big-block-Chevy powered air boats with little to no guards on the props. They would go ripping up and down the river 50-60 MPH. I don't remember anyone getting hurt...but i was pretty young.

For those of you wearing hoodies / face mask / buff / shields, how do you like them vs. a big old hat? I sweat like a dog, and have a giant dome (size 8). Wife found me this hat years ago, and it serves me well. @Lead Head, is the Real Deal Brazil tarp hat pretty light weight? Cool to wear in the hot sunny days?

Been fishing the same Walmart seats for 20+ years. Time for new seats. Recommendations? I'm thinking high-back. I will be keeping the existing mounts and pedestals. Boat is stored in my shop when I'm not fishing.

I have been logging my fishing trips since the early 1990's. Looked through some numbers since 2000... Hope to get on the water 25 times this year. Totals through the years...and reasons for gaps: 2022 = 22 2021 = 23 2020 = 12 (boat renovation) ** kiddos playing HS sports ** 2014 = 2 2013 = 2 ** divorced in 2009...primary custodial parent for my two daughters ** 2006 = 1 ** moved from Missouri to Nebraska ** 2003 = 1 2002 = 5 2001 = 9 2000 = 14

I have four bait-caster and four spinning rods. My boat has storage for 6 rods. Don't consider any of them as "technique-specific," although the 6' bait caster normally has a spinner-bait tied on. Most combos were purchased in the early 1990's, still catching fish after 30 years. The XML Ti is the newest rod...purchased in 2005. The Nexave's are relatively new. I'm still catching fish.

Long time waterfowl and upland hunter, as well as big game. Nebraska isn't as far north as some posting here, but it does get pretty cold, windy, and snowy through the winter months. Pheasants are very hearty and can survive in brutal temps. So can turkeys. As long as they have food and some cover, they are good to go. Snowy winters are hard on quail...their population goes goes and down...and has been down for a while. Growing up, we almost never had Canada geese in Eastern Nebraska. Now they are EVERYWHERE! For some reason the migration shifted and you can find them in town, golf courses, in fields, etc. As long as they have access to food and some open water, they will stick around. In the coldest times the geese will stay on lakes and keep a section of water open by actively swimming. Majority of the geese will rest on the ice. It's amazing how the fields can be snow covered, and Canadas will find food. The cold does tend to concentrate them. My brother has access to some small rivers in northern Nebraska that are spring fed and almost never freeze completely. We saw probably two thousand roosting on a small river a few weeks back when the temps were single digits. Pretty cool!

Always appreciate the words of wisdom here! I never would have thought groups of fish would roam and chase meals. Interesting concept!

I've lived in Nebraska most of my life, spend lots of time running the gravel roads. Never an issue with flats (knock on wood). I've run a few different brands through the years...buddy is service manager at GM dealership...his recommendation, BFG AT's. I've been running them on last two trucks...got 65k miles out of first pair on a 3/4 ton HD crew cab. Running BFG's on my 2500HD Diesel now. Tires are one of those items that I will gladly pay more for quality.

Excellent words @Kirt Howe!!!

Not so much as "quit" fishing, as I stopped for a while. Daughters got to an age with school and sports where I simply did not have enough time to Fish. Then in 2009, divorced wife...I was primary custodial parents to my daughters...they were with my every day of the week, and every other weekend. Lots of Daddy-Daughter time : ) Sports kept ramping up as they approached high school, as did the side gig (photography). Great times! Got to be on the field taking pictures as daughter's won three state titles and two runner up finishes (softball). And got to sit under the basket taking pictures at Pinnacle Bank Arena as oldest daughter won state title in basketball : ) #34 Got back in to fishing about three years ago...after the kiddos were well in to college.

Braid.

Hooked a bass on Senko...got him to the boat...and broke off. 20 minutes later caught a bass...boated him...and found my Senko and hook in his mouth : )

I pretty much quit watching television all together. Oh, I'll watch a movie or show with the wife...it's a good excuse to sit close to her ; ) And I watch college football (although watching Nebraska these days is like watching an endless stream of ASPCA commercials) Aside from that, I've got much better things to do. Television is all about one thing...separating me from my money. Networks program to get viewers...advertisers buy time to be in front of said viewers...it's all designed to get people to spend money. Period. End of sentence. I would rather be out fishing, or in the shop working on fishing, or hunting, or projects. Many better ways to spend my time.

Hang in there @A-Jay!

When fishing your "home-lake," do you stick with the spots and techniques you know will produce fish? Do you venture to new spots, try new techniques? Or do you mix it up? I'm probably 80% tried-n-true, 20% something-new on my home-lake. Yesterday I fished for the first time in three weeks...was catching them on spinner-bait working my standard spots. Around lunch time I decided to hit a new spot, and tied on a drop-shot. Had several bites, broke off a few snags, boated three bass, and the best fish of the day, 17" / 2lb-11oz. It was a good fight on the light spinning rig. FUN!