retiredbosn

Nope far from the only one, my buddy is the one who talked me into a burb, my brother in law bought one after driving mine. He figured why drive a mini-van for the kiddies when he could have the burb. Here is a link to real world drivers who report 17.6 and 21.9 for a 2002 4WD burb. Mileage is all how you drive and the quality of gas you use. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=mpgData&vehicleID=18276&browser=true&details=on

Looking to get a new to me boat. I've been running an old hydra sport for a couple of years. Didn't want to put alot of money out there until I was sure I would use it enough to warrant the money. I fish rivers and lakes, and think I should get an aluminum hull so I can put it in the river some. Been looking at the Trackers, I have a bad back and would like to have a centerconsole boat so I can stand and drive or at least have an elevated seat. It is hard getting down in the cockpit. Right now I have removed the driver's seat and sit on the aft casting deck. I also looked at the Tracker Pro Guide, seems like a decent set up, but the aft casting deck is none existent. So does anyone fish with a deep v style? Let me know what you think.

It may sound crazy to you, but get a Suburban, new enough that it has the Vortec engine. I had one and I routinge got 20mpg on the highway, yes it was 4wd and I live in the mountains. Most people think that there is no way that a Suburban gets that kind of mileage. Mine was a 98 with the 350 Vortec. If you are looking midsize then I would recommend the Chevy Trailblazer, that is what I'm driving now, however the gas mileage is a little less than the Suburban, right at 18 on the highway. Good luck FWIW IMO Nissan and Toyota's trucks are inferior to the Chevrolets. Mainly due to it isn't their forte'. They make awesome cars, but I would stay away from their trucks. The Pathfinders that I've driven get a max of 14mpg. You can also go to fueleconomy.gov and see real world reports on mpg.

Thanks fellas, I just recently started using Senko type baits. I may not have the patience required yet. I also mainly use them in my local pond. Last night I took one rod and two packs of senkos, to force myself to fish with them. They catch fish for sure, this year has been a slow one here, crazy weather, don't think we have had more than two weeks without rain, which is untypical. The water never got above the mid 70's, so I've returned to fishing like I do in the spring to catch fish.

Diawa's Procyons are nice rods for the money, about 45-50 bucks, I've purchased two this year and really like them for their purpose, one is my spinner bait rod and the other my soft weightless plastics like senkos. Good luck

I've just returned from my local pond, the fishing has been tough so tonight I pull out the senkos. I'm no expert with these things for sure, I caught six in about an hour, best bite all year. I typically use a lot of topwater on this particular pond, it has some really nice fish, typically catch a few four pounders out of it yearly. I've noticed over time that when I use the senkos there all I catch are small bass. I'm not knocking the bait, just wondering what is the biggest fish you have caught on the bait, I'll definitely be using them more this year. Thanks

I am going to assume that you want to target smallies in a lake. In short yes grubs will work, fish them the same way. Look for any current in the lake, smallies will relate to the current. Then also look for structure, not cover, gravel bottoms, rock ledges, etc. A jig and craw really excels for me in lakes, I fish them on rock ledges and drops. If you can't find those, fish the jig as you normally would, they will catch Largemouths, bream, crappie, etc, grubs will catch anything.

No such thing as a recovering addict, just those in denial. There will another great new thing, lol. :

Bout the only thing you can do is to forego the jig head, use a small off set hook, slip sinker and Texas Rig it. The problem is that some grubs will spin and not have any action. You will still loose a lot of rigs, but it will save some. Like the other guy said if you aren't loosing some rigs you aren't fishing it right. I do a lot of wading and retrieving rigs when fishing grubs.

When I think of wormin I think of the traditional Texas rigged dragged along the bottom. The In-Fisherman article is basically using worms as grubs. As far as drop shotting and stuff like that, it doesn't fit into my category of wormin. That is what I was referring to, LM worms 7" and bigger are not the best smallie bait, smaller worms fished like a grub I can see where they would be effective. I was in the garage this morning comparing my four inch grubs to the selection of worms I have accumulated. Some of my 7" worms can be cut down and fished with a jig head to make a large grub, to me that isn't wormin, that's grubbin. So I can see where worms would be effective, just not in the traditional sense of the idea or wormin.

Rebel pop-r, tiny torpedo, small crazy crawler, buzz baits, jitterbugs, etc. Using spinning gear I would stay with the popper type baits, and small zara spooks, they will work fine with spinning gear.

What size worm are you using? I was with a guy who caught a smallie on a 5 inch ribbon tail once (motor oil), he is the only one I've ever known to successfully smallie fish with a worm. He threw it that day as a joke. I kept that bag of worms for a couple of years, I never got a hit on them. FWIW I have never bothered to seriously fish for smallies with worms, never felt the need. If I can't catch them on a grub or a craw, I go home. I've never had to go home.

A toad is a big bass, synonomous with hawg, lunker, biggun, etc.

Thanks

I recieved this spinnerbait as an extra when I purchased some plastics from the flea market. Long story short, I love this thing, it is a fish catching machine. The only problem is that I can not find anymore anywhere. I've done every search that I can think of, and nada. The blades are offset, the size of the blades are a 7 I think, they are a little over 1 1/2 inches long, the over all width from the head to the end of the wire arm is 3 1/2 inches ong. The blades are inprinted with the word assassinator with a picture of a bass under them. I am assuming they are discontinued, if so any custom makers out there pm me. Thanks

As stated before I started fishing when I was big enough to hold a pole, I took a hiatus when the bird hunting bug hit me hard, so say from 1987-2004. When I returned to fishing to say the least I was overwhelmed with all the new technologies. Up to that point I had no idea what my rods were even made of, figured glass, now with the plethera of options my head was swimming. I now use graphite almost exclusively, my crankin rods are composite. Today I ran across a term that I am unfamiliar with, boron. So what is a boron rod? Is this technology that emerged and dwindled away while I was bird hunting, or is this something new? Advantages? good bad?

River fishing, t-rigged craw, paca craw, chigger craw or rage tail, just the craw no jig, drag it along the bottom, eddie pools 4" single tail grub or double, pumpkin, smoke, or watermelon, if you can dip ithe tail in chartruese dye all the better, deeper water, cranks, spinnerbaits, rootbeer, baby bass, white, also a t-rigged 4inch lizard does good. Drop shotting seems to drive smallies wild, unlike lm they will rip the rod out of your hand while drop shotting. With the overcast sky and murky water, do not overlook the topwater potential. Smallies will eagerly strike buzzbaits, popper style baits (ricos and rebel pop-r's), jitterbugs, crazy crawlers, and small spooks. Also look for any feeder creeks, especially if they are already clear, work those areas over thoroughly. Another lure you can use is a rattl trap type bait, especially in murky water. The murky water bothers fishermen more than the fish. Good luck

I have an old Hydra Sport that I bought for cash. That said I would like a new boat. The Hydra Sport runs great when it runs, due to the age of the boat it is nickle and diming me to death. The engine is an 87 Johnson, the boat was not well taken care of, and now I'm playing catch up on all of the maintenance that should have been done. The trolling motor is a 1992 and overheats and is noisy, needs replaced. Right now it would take me a couple of grand to get her absolutely right, and at that point I would have more in the boat than it is worth. The boat has served its purpose though, it has shown me that I will use a boat a lot, it will not sit in the garage, my wife wanted a fish and ski which is what I got, however the next one will pure bass, as the wife and kids do not go out on the boat enough to warrant the downsized casting deck and lack of storage. The boat has allowed me to understand what I'm getting into and that I will use it enough to justify any payment that I'll have on the boat. I will keep the payment within the budget, I will be paying off a loan soon, and will buy a boat that will fit within the payment I already have. I would love to pay cash for my next boat, but most likely will not be able to. I will have a good size down payment and will not finance for a long period. I will however buy enough boat that I will not be upgrading, or anything like that. I'm 40 and plan on getting a boat that is new enough, big enough that with proper care will last at least 15 years of my use. Good luck

Was gonna ask the same thing. I have an old MinnKota that has a set screw that I reversed for my Jon. I would like a tiller controlled bow motor for my bass boat, I am hoping that I can just do the same thing with a larger motor. Hopefully someone can fill us in for sure.

I was a heavy weather cox'n in the Coast Guard, if you don't know what that means, it meant I went out in anything. Especially stupid surfers trying to catch the perfect wave before a hurricane. I have been out in a myriad of conditions and it is the driver more than the boat when it comes to ride. I could safely run the RHIB (rigid hull inflatabe) in 6 footers, while others couldn't run it in a chop. Boat handling skills are more important than anything else when it comes to a smooth ride. Unfortunately I don't know of any boat handling schools, that would be a good small business option for someone.

IMO most people overkill on the towing vehicle, for example a 3/4 ton truck with a diesel is not necessary, nice but definitely not a necessity. I have a Trailblazer which is rated for 6500lbs, and would have no problem towing any bass boat with it. I have used it to pull my horse trailer and two horses, the trailer alone weighs over 2000lbs, it is old and made out of steel. The vehicle towing rating has a large margin of error built in, as long as you load the trailer correctly, you can safely and without damage to your vehicle tow trailers up to the towing capacity of your vehicle.

I'm gonna make this one, missed out on the Kentucky Lake, who do we send the $50.00 registration to? I have a boat, back seat is empty as of now, don't know if I'll be roomin in the hotel or bringing a camper.

Top water is my favorite way to fish, but not my most productive. I fish a lot of plastics, t-rigged or carolina rigged worms, lizards, and paca craws are the most productive for me. Catch a few on a drop shot, and a few crankin, and with spinner baits, but since I learned how to fish the bottom first, it is still my most productive, I have real trouble with suspended fish.

Skin-so-soft works pretty well. When I lived in NC we always had it nearby. Pipe and cigar smoke work well too, even in Florida, but you have to exhale it on your skin and not just into the air.

Turns out that the docs had me on medicines that react negatively to each other! I had a pharmacist review my meds and he found the problem pretty quick. I'll have a few more days of side effects and such, but I'm feeling much better already. Side effects from the drugs were increased pain and neuropathy. So I'm back to normal for me, planning on fishing later in the week!