George Welcome

Stop knocking yourself out : to get rid of the staining easily go to Wally Mart and pick up some Hull Cleaner. Star Brite makes it as well as a bunch of other companies. You apply it, and then rinse it off. It's that easy. It takes me 15 minutes to do my 20' boat and there is no scrubbing involved. Can't get more tea staining than you can from Florida waters.

In the world of Bass, the males that perform the act are those that are present, not those that have won some sort of battle for the position. For that matter, not just one male fertilizes the eggs of the female. Nor does the female hang around long enough for all the eggs to be nudged out of her. Rather, in most cases the eggs are laid over more than one nest, and several males fertilize the eggs.

Here is exactly how to measure a fish: http://myfwc.com/fishing/Fishes/measure.html

Smaller are more aggressive for one simple reason - a higher metabolic rate per unit weight. In the animal kingdom dominance is not necessarily related to size - whether their is a dominance in the world of bass is a study that is still out to lunch.

Thanks Russ, Now I can put faces and names when I read posts.

It always amazes me about what people can be sucked into believing!!!

Most batteries our there are made by Johnson Controls - Wal-Mart's are some of them. Wal-Mart goes through batteries very quickly. It is highly unlikely that you will find an old battery on their shelves. All batteries are date coded - A6 for example would be Jan. 2006 - L6 would be Dec. 2006. The code is stamped in the case and in most cases is also on the label. If you have the room the bigger the better - You need a deep cycle for the trolling motor and a marine starting battery for the big motor. As for a charger: Ideally an onboard charger would be your choice. I fish over 320 days a year - we have two boats going on that schedule and we use the battery that is on sale. As I said above - most batteries are made by Johnson Controls: discount auto parts stores, Sears, Wally Mart; they are all the same.

Where were you fishing??

I'll second Lake Fork Tackle baits and go one better: Go to my website and follow through to LFT - get a 10% discount by entering code on page.

I don't get this ice fishing thingy: I checked every bit of ice in the freezer - not one fish to be seen.

FB, To adequately answer your question would take a lot of writing, however, be slow to change baits. Work more than one similar location with the same bait, then change up and come back through. If no success, move on to something different in location type. Most often it's not the bait, it's the location. Remember, at this point you are trying to establish a population on a location, and if you are using baits that have proven themselves in similar situations previously, then they should work now. If at any time working a location you get hit, then it's time to look for something possibly better in the arsenal.

First, a pattern does not start with the lure, but rather a location. When you rely on the lure to do your searching for location you will be generally headed for a poor day of fishing. Establish where you will be fishing first based on season. Next establish a more specific location based on structure or cover. Then look for fish located on that structure based on wind, sun, etc. If, for example you find that you have fish on the lee or windward side of structure or cover you have discovered a pattern within the seasonal pattern. You then want to refine that if you can by bait choice, meaning the fish's bait choice. If you are able to do that you have established the ultimate pattern within the patterns. Seasonal pattern; locational pattern; positional pattern, and choice bait. For example: It is early spring: (pre planning) Seasonal - the fish are pre-spawn and should be staging outside of known or likely spawning area. Locational - (pre planning) outside the spawning areas chosen to try, there are some humps, creek channels, stumps, or other distinctive differences. Positional - you fish the windward side of a point and catch nothing, however as you work the lee side you catch a fish almost immediately. Bait - you have found the fish: now see if you can establish a bait that works better than the rest. Put this all together and you have established the complete picture.

Amazingly all of the high technology has done just about nothing to change the game. Seeing a fish does not make it bite. It still boils down to who can make the most casts, and the most accurate casts, after which it is up to the fish to bite or laugh.

Looks like an Ocean Acres fish. Nice.

It is difficult to say what could be the problem, as Japan could have many things that are quite different than here in the US. However, without someone physically performing a autopsy on those dead fish to give you a legitimate answer, you simply are not going to know.

Another battery information source: http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/

To try to give you an idea of what amount of slack line to use I said: snug the line on the cast and then feed back about a 1/4 rod's slack. You will be hitting th slack line, never the lure. If you concentrate on keeping the slack in the line you will be "walking the dog" in short order.

The answer to get any surface bait to walk is to hit slack line, not the lure. Once cast, snug up the line and then pull of 1/4 rod's length of line. Take short snappy strokes with the rod tip always maintaining slack line between the rod and lure. A bit of practise and you will have it. Slack line is the secret.

Floating or suspended doesn't matter: the key to working the bait is to hit slack line, not the lure. You want to make the lure dance, rise or suspend without a great deal of retrieval. After the cast, feed some extra line: (1/4 the rod's length), and proceed with short snaps of the rod tip. Watch that you maintain slack line to the lure. A bit of practise and you will be jerking like a pro.

Get a Guest, forget the rest. http://www.marinco.com/scpt/brandSearches.php?currentMarketName=Guest%20Recreational&currentSection=Trolling%20Motor%20Chargers&currentSubsection=Triple%20Battery%20Applications Two boats, two systems: I fish at least 320 days a year and run the trolling motor just about 8 hours per day. I recharge daily, and no charger can compete or beat a Guest Charger.

If you need a charger get the best: http://www.marinco.com/scpt/brandSearches.php?currentMarketName=Guest%20Recreational&currentSection=Trolling%20Motor%20Chargers&currentSubsection=Triple%20Battery%20Applications You cannot beat or compete against a Guest Charger

One outstanding bait: I don't use them - why? - my lake eats baits. Fishing Lucky Craft on the Marsh would be akin to walking around NYC with your wallet open - things are going to disappear.

First, do what is comfortable! Second: reasoning behind handle placement on the reels. Baitcaster: the handle is set to the strong hand as the bait caster is a winch and made to move the fish. With a baitcaster the rod is placed in a set position and the reel does the work. Spinning: the handle is set to the weak hand as the spinning reel is meant to pick up line, not move the fish. The rod is the mover with the spinning gear. The design is not some non-corrected phenomenom from the old days. With that said, remember, do what is comfortable. As for hand switch with a baitcaster - in the example cited above: the buzzbait. The hand switch occurs while the bait is in the air, and the reel closed when the baits contacts the water. This way there is no sink to the bait whatsoever.

Picture wasn't showing this AM so here:

Seems to me that the rod breakage wasn't an issue for Sam, but if it had been then the person that left it in the grass would be the responsible party, not the jogger. Sounds like a good day despite the rod.