Woody B

I was waiting on someone who's actually made that change to comment, but here's my 2 cents worth. When I was looking at trolling motors I talked to pretty much everyone at the landing that would talk to me about theirs. The 5 or 6 people I talked to who had Ghost motors were all happy with them. If you like the boat, and the price is right you can always change back to an Ultrex later if you decide the Ghost isn't for you.

I've been doing OK with the monkey. I have no choice, like @Bluebasser86 I've got Christmas, Mrs B's birthday and property taxes on my home, boat, camper and vehicles. My outboard has 297 hours one it. I just bought everything for it's 300 hour service, that IMHO that's not "fun" stuff.

I keep my spool tension really loose, just enough to take the side play out of the spool. This is on all of my reels. I've got a ($99) Lews I use for heavy stuff with magnetic brakes. I've got several Shimano's I use for most stuff. I use SLX HT's with one brake clicked on, SLX MGL70's with 2 brakes clicked on and DC's mostly on 1. I "can" skip with a DC on 4, but normally use a Daiwa Tatula SV for skipping. For me the Daiwa brakes are very aggressive even on a lower setting, much like centrifugal brakes with all of the brakes switched on. The Daiwa, at least the ones I have is very hard to backlash. It's the one I hand to beginners. I don't normally switch reels around on rods. I keep a couple extra reels to switch out if I get a "professional" backlash, or need to change line on the water for some reason. I keep my line and spooling supplies in my climate controlled house.

You're making it too personal. Business is business. I left a Chevrolet dealership in 2016 after 16 years there. The owner of that dealership called me once a month asking me to come back up until he sold the place a few months ago. I don't follow professional bass fishing. From what little I've seen about Lee and BASS they're following the rules. I think it would have been good publicity both for Lee and BASS to have him qualify via the opens, or whatever. In the social media age publicity = money. Lee could have an "I'm coming back" tour. Instead, BASS and Lee followed the rules as they're written.

I went later today. It was still cold....or I'm not used to it yet.....or I'm getting old. I caught 6 all between 13" and 17". 4 on a shaky head, 2 on a Bandit 300. One is pictured twice. It had a tiny mouth for it's size. The mouth picture fish is the one on the ruler. It was 14" long, with the mouth of a 10 incher. I've got big hands, but not big enough to make a "normal" size mouth on a 14 inch spot look that small.

My Grandfather used to say everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it. I feel for people who can't fish because the lakes ice over. I'm not sure what I think about ice fishing though. I wouldn't be going even if our lakes froze up.

We've got a couple acres fenced in behind our house. That's where Sammy (our beagle) lives. He does like to go to the back of the fence and talk to the deer. Dolly (our Yorkie) has never tried to take my hat off but she will grab my shorts. Dolly goes fishing with my occasionally but never to dog parks. I worry about her picking up some kind of illness at her groomers but we've been lucky so far. I'll ask our vet if we need to take any precautions when taking her to the groomer.

Great article!!! I think noise is one thing people overlook when fishing crowded big reservoirs. I've learned (after seeing Katy talk about stealth over and over) that even though the noise is there, and the bass are used to it my chances are better if there's no noise from me. I see people loudly flop their trolling motors into the lake, dropping stuff on the decks and make all kinds of noise. I've eased over to where they were, right after they left and caught decent bass. I keep my trolling motor hinges and latches well lubes, and well as the seat/pole I sit/lean on. I love aluminum boats, but I believe this stuff is really important as the hull probably transmits more noise that glass.

I caught 7 today in a short, cold windy trip. 5 Spots between 12 and 14 inches bookended by pair of 16 inch Largemouth. All were on a Shaky head. Temperature was in the low 40's with 25 mph wind gusts. I was cold. First and last Bass (the 2 Largemouth) are pictured. 3 of 4 ramps were closed due to low water levels. (I haven't posted a boat pic in a while.....and I like my little boat) The other pic is a deer on someones back patio. Tega Cay has a deer problem. They've been going round and round trying to decide what to do. The city wanted to bring in marksmen to kill a predetermined number of them. Some of the residents thought this was cruel. They've opted to "shoot them with birth control darts". (I didn't make this up) I'm going later tomorrow, probably 10 or so and fish into the afternoon.

@ol'crickety I barely avoided a skunk today. I only fished a few hours this morning so I could spend the afternoon with my Dad. The Bass simply weren't active, at least the ones I could find. They were hugging the bottom in 15 to 20 FOW. I couldn't "activate" them with anything. I tried running a buzz bait over them, then following with various lures, no luck. I put jigs, shaky heads, ect right in front of them. No luck. I tried everything except electricity and explosives. (LOL) I was going to have to leave by 12:30. 10 minutes before that I got this fat 18" Largemouth to take a shaky head. I hate I didn't catch more, but was thrilled to finally see a Largemouth that wasn't skinny. I considered my trying my recent "micro bass" pattern, but decided I'd skunk before I'd target 8 to 10 inch bass. I think fishing would be better in the afternoon with the recent colder weather, and water.........but Pat is still catching hawgs before the frost even melts. I've got some firearm training tomorrow afternoon so I'll be fishing early again. I went upriver today. The water is cooler than it was yesterday near the dam and looks like it might be starting to turn over. I'll go back downriver tomorrow morning and see how that works. I'll have fun regardless.

I think I told about this in the latest catch thread, a week or 2 ago I was skipping docks. Across a creek channel, kinda behind me 2 boats pulled up at one of the fake "Christmas trees" installed by the state. (They're marked) They started yelling at each other "I was here first" with all kinds of profanity. About that time I caught a decent size Bass. (I was probably 20 to 30 yards away) I held the bass up and yelled "Y'all either need to fight or fish". The both fired up their boats and left without making a single cast. I guess they were embarrassed because they were acting like idiots.

After Thanksgiving lunch I made it our a couple hours. I launched at a landing up a creek. I caught a few micro bass up the creek, but didn't count them. (when I call them micro bass they're really small). I went out on the main lake a caught 4 real bass on rocky points. All on a shaky head. The lake is still really low. Only one of the four ramps were open at the landing. The recent rain might have brought the lake up 6 inches or so but it's still the lowest I've seen it since the Summer drought ~20 years ago. My Sister in laws boat lift has a couple inches of water under it. Back then it was ~20 feet away from the water.

FWIW BPS offered trolling motor and electronics upgrades when I bought my boat. At that time I'm simply didn't know what I wanted. I needed time on the water to decide. I didn't ask about the prices. I suspect they were high compared to what the changes I made myself cost. They're there to make a profit, and they have to pay the technicians who do the work. I didn't have to pay myself.

I ponder and overthink most things fishing. However, I truly believe the stuff most of us (including myself) ponder the most is the least important. It doesn't matter which rod, reel, line I pick up, or what lure I have tied to it if I don't put it in front of a Bass. Still, I'll ponder all of this equipment stuff without even thinking about where I'm going to make my first cast. (I shouldn't admit some of this) Most of the times when I'm launching my boat I haven't even decided if I'm going up river, or down river. My "top secret" method for that decision is "odd/even" with the time. After unloading my boat and parking my truck....the instant my butt hits the seat at the console in my boat I'll look at the clock on my sonar screen. If the time is odd I'll go up river, if it's even I'll go down river. I'll use similar scientific methods to decide "main lake or creek channels" ect. If anyone wants to go fishing with me, we "might" catch some fish, but I'll guarantee you my thought process will keep you entertained.

I agree 1000%. and I have the boat in the add. I've got a 24 volt trolling motor and lithium batteries for everything. With that said, I have no intention of selling my boat and going to anything else. However, had I known when I bought my boat what I know now I would have gotten something a little bit wider, like a Pro 175. Money wasn't a big concern when I got mine. I hadn't fished in almost 30 years and didn't know what I wanted or how much I would actually fish. It's small by bass boat standards but it's an aircraft carrier compared to my previous boats. I bought mine in December 2021. I've got 294 hours on the motor now.

For the most part I don't care who's spying on me. When I do illegal, or immoral stuff I wear my tin foil hat to keep "them" from finding out.

I see it as an integrity issue. If I'm accepting money from a person, business or company to do a job I feel obligated to do a good job.

Look for brushpiles, stumps, rocky areas ect along with the geography you're looking for. Look for ledges too. It's my belief that some bass are nomadic, and just travel around all the time. Other bass tend to stay in a general area. If you can find a stumpy point near a ledge with some brushpiles in a channel below the ledge there's probably some bass in that area. I need to learn more about the habits of bait fish. If I'm struggling to catch bass I can usually find some by following balls of shad around until something attacks them. Usually the action/attack occurs when the bait fish get near a brushpile, rockpile, or stumpy area. The bass are waiting at this cover to ambush a meal.

@Susky River Rat It doesn't sound like you were the jerk. The other guy was.

Taking it seriously, even to the point of an obsession is not an excuse to be a jerk. Just like Pat, I take it seriously but I also enjoy every second I spend on the water. I'll guarantee you can't find anyone who would say I'm a jerk while fishing. If I'm not catching Bass I'm learning. (I'm learning when I'm catching them too, but that's even better) I don't and won't fish for money. However, fishing for money is not an excuse to be a jerk. The nicest guy on Lake Wylie also happens to be a guy that wins almost every tournament there. Basically there's no excuse to be a jerk, while fishing or doing anything else. I think we're all doing society a favor if we refuse to tolerate jerks.

I almost didn't go today. I had a family function and would only be able to fish until 10. I don't set an alarm to go fishing, and I slept until after 7 (gasp). I caught a 18 inch Spot on my 3rd cast at 8:13. I went fishless for a while. I had already decided that I had to leave at 10, or first bass after 9. I caught a 14 incher at 9:39 and headed back home. Two isn't great, but it's a bunch better than not going, even if the trip is short.

I have 2 Lowrance units at the console and 1 on the bow. One on the console is for maps, the other I use for various sonar functions. The bow unit has Active Target on it 99% of the time. Screen size, and space available is important. My console units are 9" and 7". The bow unit in 9". Bigger screens would be "in the way" when going down the lake at times with my boat/set up. I haven't been in a boat with modern Garmin stuff. I have been in a boat with 'birds, with Mega Live and Mega 360. I loved the Mega 360 but don't want to clutter up my bow anymore. The Mega Live didn't have the resolution or clarity that my Active Target has. The 'bird guy even helped me with the settings on my Active Target, as I had just got it when we were looking at each others units. Everyone is going to have their own preferences. My Lowrance stuff works, and I'm familiar with the interface so I'll be sticking with them. My Motorguide Trolling motor interfaces with my Lowrance units. If you get a chance before making a decision get in some boats and look at different brands and types. You're welcome to get in my boat and look at my stuff in action, but I'm a few hours away. Go hang out at a ramp and talk to some people about their electronics. I've had several people look at my stuff. Some went with Lowrance units, some went with other brands.

I caught 6 today in 3 hours.........kinda. I launched my boat at 7:15. I didn't get the skunk out of the boat until after 10. The lake was crowded with a catfish tournament, as well as a kayak bass tournament. I rode around some, then decided to go up the lake. I got the skunk out of the boat with a 14" Largemouth under the I-85 bridge. I followed it up with a tiny Spot. The next was a 14ish (didn't measure it) Spot at the Mountain Island Dam. Back toward the landing #'s 4 and 5 were a double on a Little John 50. At first glance in the water I thought it was a LM and a Spot but they were both Spots. The best 2 of the day. One was 17" the other was 18". I decided to fish until the first bass after 1. I caught a 16" spot on my last cast at 1:13. The bass were scattered, but I wasn't fishing the part of the lake I'm familiar with.

Most of the launches around here are open 24 hours. The ones that aren't have gates, you can't get in during closed times, but the gates are designed to let people out who are in after dark. Find out your local and state laws. Be careful. I see boats on plane on really dark nights. This just doesn't make sense to me. There's no way you could see hazards in the water. I just putt around at night. ~40 years ago myself and a friend got lost one night. It was cloudy with no moon. We had been on the trolling motor for quite a while after dark. When we decided to head back to the landing we couldn't figure out where we were. We just stayed on the trolling motor and fished all night. As soon as it started getting daylight we knew where we were. This was way before GPS and charts.

I suspect muscle cramps, panic, or both. Decades ago myself and a bunch of my friends were at a local lake skiing , swimming ect. My cousin, a very good swimmer jumped out of the boat, then got a muscle cramp, probably due to the cold water. He didn't panic, and yelled for help. We pulled him back into the boat. Added: I meant to include. We were at a lake in the mountains (Lake James) in early April. The water temp was probably low to mid 60's.