Busy

Quite honestly, I'm no expert. I say to fish where you do during the day (or at least at the same depth). Everyone says that bass "move up" to shallow water at night but I don't believe it. There are shallow water bass and deep water bass. I think the shallow water bass that are hard to get to bite during the day loosen up a bit at night, BUT I do not think that bass living in 20' of water are moving up to 5' of water and back down to 20' in the course of 8-10 hours. If you are seeing suspending fish at 18' during the day they may move laterally to structure on a shore so that they aren't suspended but I don't think they are changing their depth that drastically. That being said, I think the bigger bass are in deeper water during the summer, the smaller ones are shallow (on average). At night, you want to go with dark colors and make noise and/or move a lot of water with the profile of your bait. Black, dark blue, dark red, purple, wide profile, wide fat blades for spinners, etc. I think the tendency for bass to bite changes far more than their location! Maybe not seasonally, but at least from day to day or hour to hour.

Great fish!!! I find that fishing before a storm is bar none the most productive condition for me. When you sense that it 'feels' like rain, the pressure is dropping quickly, which activates the bass. I have not had this be a 3 hour window before though. Usually for me it is about a 30 minute window right prior to the storm. I love to fish RIGHT before a storm hits, provided I know I can be off the water soon enough. For bigger game, there is the thought that animals know the storm is coming but they don't know how long it will last, so they want to feed up well in case they have to wait the storm out for a long time to feed again. Not heard of this mentioned with bass much, but it certainly applies to other animals.

This really really sounds like a case of missing the forest for the trees. Either kill the fish, or keep it healthy. I don't think it's this complicated. If you can't stomach killing the fish, then let it go.

The bunks aren't getting longer. The boat loads really nicely now in all conditions. We only pull the boat ~5 miles at a time, but I am trying to get it to where I have confidence in it for longer trips. I will put the bow roller above where the eye is within the next week and adjust the bunks if necessary. Cutting the narrow roller off might have to wait until fall or whenever the boat is off the trailer and I'm not fishing in it! That bracket is permanant. Thank you for your reply! Edit: The strap cannot run through this bumper bracket.

Thank you all for the replies!

50% is presentation 50% is throwing the thing at bass. If you catch them on other colors your presentation is working. Throw them at bass!

Also I never slit a Quails throat. The gun usually kills it and I just rip the head off before I clean it. Didn't know that people raised Quail to eat; there's got to be a better way to get meat lol. I'm guessing you were traumatized by one or more of the things you mentioned?

I keep them healthy as long as possible while I'm still fishing. When I am done fishing, cleaning the fish is priority over everything else. I want the fish healthy when I clean it. Get off the lake, hit the fish in the head, fillet them, then put them in a ziplock bag, and go home. Put it in the freezer. Call some friends for a fish fry.

Some bigger cats are quite hearty. We used to keep them in a freshwater tank with a filter for a day or so to get the mud out of them before cleaning them. Lightens up the meat a bit if you've caught a dirty fish. On the bigger catfish some people cut the tails and let them bleed out. I hate the sound a catfish makes out of water. I'd rather hit them in the head, too.

Yes C-Rig and Jig will tell you what you are fishing on. With practice you can tell the difference in feel between rocks, grass, timber, etc. Drop-offs are a little harder. You may get an idea on the depth you are fishing by how long it takes the lure to hit the bottom, but telling changes in depth as you're reeling is more difficult. Look for hardwoods in your lake. If the lake is man-made it will usually be on top of a pre-exisiting creek (now a channel) that had trees growing along the side of it. The bigger branches on hardwoods tend to point towards the creek. So if you see some hardwoods in the lake like this: "I/ \I" there is probably a cut between them. Fish there and stay close to the trees. If you have rocky shorelines fish them out until the rock breaks into grass. Then you can stay on that line where the rock goes to grass and fish that line.

WRB hit the nail on the head. There is nothing wrong with keeping bass so long as you follow the regulations. I typically practice catch and release like a lot of others, but I do not do so religiously. There are times when stunted bass need to be kept out of a pond so that the bigger bass can reach their full potential. I also will not keep the biggest fish I catch but will keep a few mid-size bass here and there to clean. Part of my fun in fishing is having friends and family out for a fish-fry at the end of the season. Smack them in the head hard. The goal is to keep the fish as healthy as it can be until you are ready to clean it. If you are fishing from the shore the fish will live fine on a stringer attached to a rope long enough to let them wait on you in deeper, cooler water. When you are ready to clean them, kill them. I would not wait on a fish to die.

Same as above. Beetle spins and small grubs on a 1/8oz. jig head. Split shot rig with small hair jigs. Minnows for live bait. Bright colors. Orange, white, pink, chartreuse, lime green. Crappie feed vertically, you want to fish over them with a vertical presentation. I would go for bass.

Here is father and I's boat! It is a late 50's Richline with a '67 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin on it. We put a fishfinder on it and added longer bunks and carpeted them, put a much wider roller up front to make loading easier. Recently mounted the spare tire to the trailer and moved the winch down. It has new wheels and tires. This was my grandfathers boat. He bought the motor brand new in '68 as the last years model. The last two pictures are the lantern holders and brackets that he made for night fishing. There are three brackets on each side so you can have a lantern wherever you want it. The Wondertroll 606 needs upgraded but it still works fine!

Finally got around to taking pictures last night. From Left to Right: 1) This is the new roller I put up front, had to make a bracket. It is a 12" keel roller and it makes loading a breeze! 2) This narrow black roller is coming off sometime when I have the boat off the trailer, I've slipped off it a few times. 3) Due to recommendations in this thread I moved the winch as close to the bow roller as possible so it doesn't lift up on the boat. I can't move it any lower or the handle won't clear the jack. I may put the bow roller up top but I don't want to have to readjust the bunks because that would move the boat back on the trailer.

From Left to Right: 1) All 2) Quantum Code CD860CXA / Quantum Code 6'6" MH XF / 20# Sufix Performance Braid - ready to T-Rig worms 3) Simano Citica CI200E / Shimano Compre 6'6" MH F / 20# Sufix Performance Braid - ready to Jig 4) Pflueger President 6920X / Cabelas Tourney Trail TTS501-1 5'0" UL M / 6# Sufix Siege Mono - Bobber 5) Quantum Kinetic KT10PTiC / Shimano Voltaeus VTS56UL 5'6" UL MF / 4# Sufix Siege Mono - Bobber

.270 WSM for Deer. 7mm Mag for Elk.

Way to stay with it!! I'm glad you had fun

congrats! nice fish!

It's raining where I'm at!! You guys keep dancing, it's working!

I mean to keep with the boat while its out of water so that when I get it out I don't forget things I may need. I just mounted the spare to the trailer last night and realized I never have a deep-well in my car to get it off. Just trying to get everything I may need put together to leave in the boat at home so I'll never forget it . That's why I mounted the spare to the trailer, so I don't forget! Sometimes I am in a hurry to get fishing. Good thinking carrying a spare hub. My trailer has tiny tires so I don't think I will pull it more than 2-3 hours away.

I'm making a list of tools that I feel are essential to keep with my boat so I can go buy them and always have them there. It's a pretty simple aluminum boat w/ a pull-start motor. Here's what I've got: 1) Ratchet with medium extension, 1 socket, 1 deep-well socket, 1 end wrench for getting spare tire off the trailer, and tires off the trailer 2) Spark plug wrench with an extra spark plug What are some things that you guys keep on your boat to be prepared?

Sure! Why not try it? When I was first learning to shoot skeet I had to hit one by accident every once in a while to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I look at fishing the same way. When what you're wanting to do isn't working you've got to switch it up. Leading the target by a mile might not 'feel' right but when you start hitting them on accident it feels better. If what you think will work isn't working then you've got to do what you don't think will work Something that you don't think will work will have to.

A few years ago bought a quantum code combo at cabelas for ~$80. After line (braid for me) you are looking right around $100. I fish with this as much as my Citica/Compre and have been pleased with the reel. Rod was a 6'6" MH F 1/4oz.-3/4oz. I think. I'm not sure if this combo is available and I may have gotten it at discount, can't remember.

Very nice changes to the site!