Lund Explorer

Oh come on.... The Lions will go 13-3 in the regular season, march through the playoffs straight to the Super Bowl were they'll get edged out by a late FG. Oops! I have got to quit drinking before noon!

Hmmmm, boat traffic...... Like the announcer at the Rock-a-Rock Old Folks Dance Marathon said; "They're dropping like flies!" http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/ottawa_county/Jet_ski_and_boat_collide_at_Hanky_Panky http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=113379&catid=14 Another holiday weekend when common sense takes a few days off, and when the sane stay onshore!

x6 on Chippewa Lake this morning..... 4 LM that bumped, 3 that didn't, and good old Edwin Scissor-Nose slimed me six times.

Don't know why I didn't see this earlier...... You've got two choices here, but the one we use up here is to put lead-core line on your reels. Depending on the depth the fish are holding, you'll either need to put on a "full-core" (100 yds) or a "half-core" (50 yds). A full-core rig will get you down into the neighborhood of 100' down, and of course the half-core will get you down about half of that. I use 20lb Big Game as backing on my reels, and a six foot length of 20lb leader to the lure. If you use these with side-planers, you can usually get two of three rods off to each side of the boat by staggering the amount of backing you let off of each rod. When we run three rods off of each side, the far outboard line usually has about 75yds of backing out. Your other option would be to use snap-weights or some type of keel sinker tied onto the line. I know they work, but I've just never used them. You would have to experiment with what weights you would need to get to a certain depth.

Sounds like you got suckered into being the tournament director..... The only position worse than that is the guy that runs the bump board! We had the same situation happen in our club years ago. The TD weighed the fish, and according to the rules, the dead fish won the big bass pot for the day. And we had the same small group of jealous "sportsmen" that were upset because the rules weren't changed. Funny thing is, if the rules had been changed, just as many others would have been mad as well. Prior to the next tournament blast off, the TD gave a little speech to everyone. "Honest people put things in writing, and then live by it!" It doesn't get a whole lot simpler than that.

Here's a little site that got some for sale. Not sure what your "pain thresh-hold" is.... Couple of nice rigs though. http://www.walleyesinc.com/Jigginman/rangerboat.html

So, just in case your head isn't spinning too bad..... Maybe its time to suggest that you look into the line of walleye boats that Ranger, Champion, or Triton makes That Ranger 620VS is built for big water! http://www.rangerboats.com/flash/gallery.cfm?mid=5747&gid=35

Good Points Cart.... If I remember correctly, the DVS model was the second generation of the Comanche series that featured what had been their new three step hull. Ranger built those boats because many of the older molds were still in good shape when they came up with the third generation hull. Absolutely nothing wrong or cheaper about the workmanship in the DVS, they just came in stock colors and were normally built during times when factory orders were slow. And regardless of whether its a Ranger, Cat, a Champion or Triton, they're all very well built. I've owned two Rangers and one Cat, and I've been to both factories for their tours. It's well worth the couple of hours to take a tour if anybody makes it down into the fiberglass triangle.

Trying painfully here to get back to the subject matter at hand, I guess I'll try one last time to make my point as to what separates the difference between the various types of fisherman. I will refrain from making blanket statements as to the specific weight of either a hawg bass or a winning tournament sack. No fisherman from this far north is going to brag about a locally caught 14lb bass or a 40lb bag. It is my contention that a good angler, regardless of his or her location, will excel at their chosen specialty within their geographical limitations. Of course if this thought process is wrong, if anyone who can't catch DD bass on a consistent basis is somehow inferior, then I can only mention the success of KVD, a homegrown Michigan angler, in my defense. Having said all of that, I will venture that the tournament fisherman is a more well rounded fisherman. Whether as a touring professional or the weekend warrior, success is based on their knowledge of bass habits, habitat, and the wide options of tackle and presentations needed to be competitive. Much like the matter of size is a moot point, so is issue of success based on the level of competition faced by the tournament angler. To be truly successful at their chosen venture, the tournament angler will always try to move their game upwards. They know that the measure of success is marked by reputation, and that this requires the tournament angler to continually improve in that ability. No one is going to take a tournament angler seriously who only fishes his or her "home waters", or who competes only against anglers who they are assured of beating. He or she may through time, discover the keys to where a local lake's largest bass reside, and even what lures it takes to catch these fish. But with the exception of certain "big bass" tournaments, the goal of the tournament angler is the overall weight of their limit. Granted that this weight will be affected by the "kicker" fish, but for the most part, that is a secondary goal. From my experience with the trophy fisherman, and granted that this is limited by geography, I find that they are highly adept at finding and catching the biggest bass in a limited number of lakes. This is most likely due to the time required to not only learn of the best habitat, but also to make sure that they are on those hot spots when the time is right to meet their goals. I'm sure that the knowledge they have regarding what it takes to catch these trophies on their home waters, is also knowledge that will work if they were forced or chose to move onto a strange or new lake. It may take them a little longer to actually narrow down specific spots, but I'm sure that process would be quicker for them than for a tournament fisherman given that same scenario. So to boil all of this down, I will once again say that regardless of whether the angler in question is a touring pro, a weekend warrior, or the hawg hunter, each has specific goals that they are trying to reach. To attain those goals, they must learn all they can to be successful while off of the water, and then must be able to put that knowledge to good use. In my opinion then, there isn't any one type of fisherman that is any better than the other, so long as they have set their goals, and do what is required to meet them. The tournament fisherman does what he or she can to compete against the other anglers. The trophy fisherman does what needs to be done to catch the largest fish. So in answer to the basic question, there is no difference. I once was at a seminar when I heard Jimmy Houston state that "All fisherman are competitive". I couldn't agree more.

Kind of like a semi-invisible front runner. Up here, "Casting Bubbles" are used just like Branhap was talking about. I usually use them in connection with a rubber spider for bluegill fishing. And you will get a lot of bass come up after the bubble in the spring of the year. I've never tried it, but I'll bet a large streamer fly or a leech imitation might work with them.

You should be ashamed of yourself. > I pee into a small coffee can which so happens to be where I put my ciggy butts at. Then at the end of the day I dump the whole thing into the lake. In the Lake? I always empty mine in the winners livewell! :

Ahhhh, feels just like I've returned to Topix! Did I forget the "+ +"?

Gosh Catt, you need to try a season up here in Michigan. Last group I fished with had 8 tournaments on 8 different lakes, over a period of 15 weeks. Each lake was off limits for 6 days prior to the tournament date. Two day classic wasn't announced until the end of the last qualifier, and was normally not a repeat of the first eight. That lake was open to prefishing for one day (the Sunday after the announcement), and then was off limits for two weeks.

Another beautiful summer day in Michigan! A high of 63 up here, NNW wind driving a ticking rain and showers all day long. Gave me a good reason to start up the snow blower to make sure that it was ready to go. I think I'll get out the ice fishing gear today! >

Thinking that the point is down stream from the bridge, the first thing I would do is to sneak up downstream of that point. Then I'd cast a floating perch Rapala upstream of the point and let the current carry it down into the eddy below it. Twitching the bait to keep it on top. I might even try to use the Rapala as a jerkbait a few times. Then I would work the whole point area with a tube. I wouldn't forget to work the face of the point where the current turns out into the main stream either, before working my way to the bridge. At the bridge, I would work the pilings and current breaks with a tube first. If I couldn't reach all the pilings with the tube, a Rat-L-Trap or a medium sized spinnerbait could cover the other side of the stream. Good Luck! Bring us back some pictures.

Welcome to BR Frank, I'm looking forward to stories about how you did at this year's KYKX Big Bass Bonanza. I fished Lake O the Pines for a number of years back in the early 1990's.

Happy BD Uncle Leo & Welcome to the Club! Yep! AARP's dues are only $16 per/year or $63 for five. Besides the magazine, theres all the junk mail offering life, home, and auto insurance. Now if they could only get us parking spots closer to the ramp.

FYI guys, the minimum size limit for both LM and SM Bass is 14" state-wide. There are no slot limits, though they have been discussed in the past with very little support. Regardless if 90x is talking about Hamlin Lake or not, the only overpopulation problem around this side of the state deals with fishermen and not fish. There are way too many folks that practice catch and release only if the fish are released one fillet at a time into a pan of hot grease. Case in point - In the 1970's the minimum size limit was then 10" and it was not unusual to catch numbers of 9 1/2" bass during an outing. Towards the end of the 70's, the size limit was raised to 12". The next year, it was fairly easy to catch bass that were 11 1/2" long. And finally, when the size limit went to 14", somehow all those stunted bass grew another 2" in a year or so. Like many others, 90x needs to start searching other lakes that don't support a large number of resorts or campgrounds, or that don't support large fishable populations of panfish (the stringer fisherman's target of choice). There are any number of very good bass fishing lakes in the area he is traveling to, but I think he's found a lake where bass are considered nothing more than a strange hybrid bluegill. BTW, has anyone else ever watched a 12' rowboat with three guys in it work a line of boat docks, using live night crawlers before? There is a resort on Hamlin Lake where the owner trains his guests on this little tactic.

Almost sounds like you're talking about Hamlin Lake. Most of the keepers have been off the drops lately.

I wonder what the comparison would be between a few butts and any of a few other things like used plastic worms, lost lead sinkers, or plastic pop and water bottles. I wonder how much pollution gets into the water everyday from those old antique two strokes. But at least no one had a problem with peeing over the side of the boat!

That's because the former is fact, and the latter is gossip. The respectable sites won't assist in spreading rumors. The sad fact is, stories, gossip, and outright lies are conjured up and spread around when events like this occur. I have no clue why anyone would be motivated to stoop to such low levels. Maybe some people can't relish the great accomplishments and monumental moments in our sport. But making stuff up serves no purpose to further the sport and promote its image. It really disgusts me. I'm proud to run a site that doesn't participate in such antics. I think there's over 20,000 of us that are proud of that fact! Thanks.

Yikes x2! I really think that the majority of tournament fisherman, aka: Weekend Warriors, spend a great deal of their off the water time trying to keep abreast of the many new lures, techniques, and patterns that have been developed by the minority of tournament anglers, aka: the Full Time Pro. When the weekend warrior finally gets the chance to get on the water, they try to find ways to duplicate the things they've learned. I think that the majority of tournament anglers become more flexible in their abilities as they are forced by the schedule to fish many different lakes/rivers over the course of the year. This really doesn't give them the chance to dissect a specific body of water for the few spots where the Hawg Hunter comes into his own. The biggest difference between the groups is the definition of success, which is a personal decision that each makes. In my honest opinion, I don't think that any of these types of fisherman is better than the other. The full time pro has the chance to work at his trade without the distractions faced by the weekend warrior who needs to work off the water to make ends meet. The weekend warriors are the driving force in the marketing of the sport of fishing as they purchase the products developed by the pros. The big bass specialists invest a great deal of time and effort into trying to catch the oldest and wisest of the species. Every one of these types of anglers, tries to maximize their enjoyment of the sport of angling. Finally, I think that there's even a place on the water for Muddy's Mooks. A place were the simple act of sitting on the bank, or in your boat provides an escape from the everyday stresses we all face. Most if not all of us started out this way. I feel lucky to have explored the weekend warrior side of the sport over the years, and I'm happy to be slowly returning to the status of Mook!

Sounds like a plan BassNub, as it does sound like we're all talking about different veggies here. Here's to hoping that such an early reply from you this morning means you're getting ready to hit the lake today! For me, its Chippewa Lake in just about an hour.

Yeah Paul, that's the stuff I've seen. Around here there's a few lakes with it, but it only grows a foot or so tall. As far as fishing in this short junk, I usually rig a very light sinker or split shot about 30" up from the bait C-Rig style. I don't really drag it, but the leader allows the bait to sit on top of the weeds were the fish can see it.

I don't think that is what you are looking at. Chara, Muskgrass or whatever name you want to call it doesn't grow that tall.