Jeff H

It's true. They go on a binge but where I'm from it usually happens in mid to late Sept depending on how the weather has been. When we get "indian summer" I find the fishing to be pretty hot at that time. The fish have been feeding at will and gorging themselves since the last week of July on the lakes I've been fishing. Thats what the "dog days" are all about. The food chain peaks and the water has warmed, increasing their metabolism and for them it's like being in a buffet house. That means tough fishing, and I find it even tougher around the full moon because they must feed all night under that moon. Some people love that moon stuff, it ticks me off though ;D It's not so easy for them in the fall and the action can get really hot. I'll spend more time on the deeper edges of flats during this time and more shoreline connected stuctures instead of the main lake stuff I fish all summer. I will also visit the shallow, heavy cover more often, especially any wood,reeds or similar cover. I do a lot of pitching in the fall period. I especially like to find and visit beaver houses in the fall because they are stocking up on leafy branches etc and the bass LOVE that cover. Beaver houses have produced some of my biggest fish. Another favorite is undercut banks or floating bog. I'll check any of the shallow swampy looking areas for this kind of situation. So, what do I use?? Jigs traps hard jerk baits 5 3/4" Fin S Fish big bulky worms 5" mega tubes spinnerbaits

It's a medium Berkley Lightning rod. It's an original from the 1st year they came out. 1984 I think, 1st 100% graphite rod I ever had. I really haven't used it in probably 15 yrs now at least for any serious fishing and I'm just keeping it as a conversation piece. It's nothing anybody would really use anymore. Skillet, I'll keep the eyes peeled. A Bionic Blade would be fine if it has some beef to it. I just looked on the BPS site and they didn't list one in the bionic Blade but they had one in the Tourney Special. Maybe I can get somebody to make me a custom?

I have one and never use it anymore. If I could find one in 5'6" MH in a decent rod build it would have a permanent place in my boat. I can cast super accurate with mine compared to my triggers. I'm not sure if it's because of the shorter length or the handle but I love that thing for throwing at tight spots around docks, laydowns etc. Anybody know who makes quality 5'6" MH version??

I apologize if my comment about "sissy sticks" offended anyone. I figured somebody would bristle up about that and I made that comment knowing so. Yep, I was fishing I guess. Kind of a troublemaker sometimes but it's meant in fun. Does "buggy whip" work a little better? ;D (relax, I'm just joking again)

I'll play devils advocate then....I wouldn't want it even if it is a good deal. Avids are great sticks but I have no use for something that light in action. Thats a sissy stick to me and I wouldn't use it. MH power fast action is as light as I'll go. Might be good for panfish I suppose.

Geez Catt...thats pretty cool. You were like 20 yrs old then?? I didn't win my first tourney until I was 31 yrs old. It was the 3rd or 4th tourney I ever fished and I did it from the back of the boat. Never forget that 1st one, always sticks in your craw don't it? ;D

Congratulations More to come now that you've bagged the first.

I totally agree. I'd have tried 4" finesse worms on a 1/16 oz Slider head. It's worked for me many times in the past.

I prefer Producto craws or Larew craws for trailers until we hit the cold water period up here (late Sept-October), then I switch to Uncle Josh pork. I don't think you can ever go wrong with a black jig and a black craw, but my favorite twist on black is to have emarald green flake in both the skirt and craw. Larew makes a black/green flake craw I beleive. Producto used to but has discontinued that color. My #1 craw so far this year has been Producto Junebug/with blue glitter claw. Jet Black has been real close and green pumpkin has worked well with the black/green skirt too.

GMAN's poison tails do the job for me and are the best jig I've fished yet. I'm loving the EWG hook on these things. The one thing I've noticed most is the bass can't seem to "throw" these jigs as easy as others. I've fished a lot of different brands over my 30+ years of bass fishing and these jigs are the best yet.

I have 2 Team Daiwa 7' graphite cranking rods that telescope like that. I really like that feature. Currently, I can only fit 6'6" rods in my locker and it's just kind of nice to have those 7' rods easily fit in there.

I can't "dis" the Dancin' Eel enough!! Most unproductive lure I've ever owned.

Yes, it was a lot better before. It'd be hard to get a fire started with one of these things now. :

Anybody else here subscribe to Bass and Walleye Boats magazine? If so, what do you think of it. I like the content but there is not enough there to charge what they do for the few lousy issues we get each year. When mine runs out I'm done with it.

worst lure....Dancin' Eel. What a waste of good material and MY money. Worst reel....Garcia Ultra Mag XL back in the late 80's or early 90's. Had nothing but problems with these things from the day I got 'em. They both are on the bottom of a lake here in MN. They were so inconsistent in performance it drove me nuts.

I haven't bought anything off eBay in a long time. I'm amazed at what people will pay for "used" anything without seeing it in the palm of their hand. I would buy all the #5 Fat Raps(shallow and deep versions) I could in black/silver but not for the prices people are paying for them on eBay. I love those old Fat Raps but not THAT much. What I have bought was just as they described it... so far, but I'm done with eBay. All my fishing needs are met by my local retailer (and GMAN for my jigs)....screw eBay. Most people on eBay are profiting handsomely on shipping rates alone now. My only problem is...how to buy from *** again because I've dumped my pay pal account too.

I'm crying about 85-90 deg temps and you guys are dealing with 100+ I guess I need to feel happy I'm not dealing with THAT!

I have PowerPro 50/12 on one setup that I rarely reach for. I use it for pitching heavy cover or slop. For anything else I hate the stuff. I have not had any "wrapping around the tip" problems with it(or XT). I use the new XT on all my other baitcasters and I love the stuff except I can't throw a country mile with the 17 lb, but then I rarely cast more then 40-50 ft anyway. Except a Trap, I'll fling them for all their worth. I know everyone else has said they hate this line (and I could see that on a spinning reel) but whatever Berkley did to it I like it. It seems tougher, and for a mono, whatever stretch and memory there is doesn't bother me one bit. The last guy I fished with had PowerPro on ALL his reels and he got out-fished BIG time. He was really frustrated and danced around every excuse in the book but his line. I DO think that was a small part of his problem in the very clear water we were fishing. I never brought it up because I know he'd have had a fit if I did. Not my problem so I didn't care.

That's an interesting obvservation. Burley...are you the one who asked earlier in the season about using Slider heads? I can't remember who it was for sure but I thought it was you. Was just wondeirng if you'd had any luck with them.

I've had pretty good luck with clear salt & pepper right after a front rolls through and the fishing gets tough....in clear water. I'm talking worms and grubs here though, can't say anything about a Senko really as I have not used them in that color yet. If I found some I'd try them. I also like clear with silver flake only.

Never used Gulp! but the 7" Original Berkley Powerworms and craws have put a LOT of fish in my boat over the years. My confidence in them is super high again. I set out this year to get rid of my inventory of them and switch to another brand but I've reconsidered and will buy them as long as they make them. This last weekend I had a good bite going(despite "dog day" conditions) and every fish I caught on Saturday came on the Powerworms. In fact, every fish I've taken on a worm this year was on them. My opinion on their baits is....you better pay attention when using them because they will take them deep and if you aren't careful you'll kill a lot of fish!!! Let them have it too long and you'll be trying to pull a hook out of their stomach. I don't think their Powerbait scent in the bottles is worth the cost but their baits sure seem to be. I have no reason to even try the Gulp! stuff.

Ask Bill Dance! I don't think I've ever seen that guy on his feet while he's fishing. He must have developed something with these presentations. I've never seen anyone stress a fishing seat like he does when he sets into a fish. He leans them so hard it looks like they are going to tear the seat base out of the floor.

It's likely carb jetting that is too rich. I have dealt with this in the past myself. If you have no experience with jetting carbs ask your local dealer for advice. Most any manufacturer will sell their engine with richer than needed jetting to maintain a safety factor as a safeguard against warranty claims. My guess is you could probably go a little bit leaner on jetting and still be safe year around if you don't over do it. If you jet on the edge, then be prepared to jet it back when it is cooler out again. I went through this a lot with my 1990 Johnson GT 150. It was a total pig in the heat and sucked a LOT more gas then it needed to.

In all my years of fishing, I have never lost a fish to broken line and I've had ONE knot slip. The knot slip happened early this year on brand new line. I will change my line when I need to, check it regularly but usually only spool up new line each spring before I start fishing. If I was fishing tournaments again I'd go back to my old routine of new line for every major event. The small stuff on the weeknights or the small weekend tourneys I didn't worry about it as much but when there was 10-20 large on the line MY line got changed for those events which was usually 4-5 times a year.

He shouldn't have gone berserk but he shouldn't have let her back it down the ramp in the first place. That was HIS biggest mistake right there. Not hers, HIS. At the very least he should have put the trailer tires IN the water before letting her behind the wheel. I saw a guy dump his 24' cabin cruiser on the ramp just like that except he was pulling it OUT. Apparently he didn't latch his winch and use his safety chain. As soon as he put his foot into the gas, off it came. Had to have a crane from the local Marina come and pick it up. You can get plenty of entertainment sitting on a launch ramp with a few friends and a 12 pack of beer on just about any given day. My favorite time is when the lakeshore owners are pulling their boats and pontoons out at the end of the year.