Lund Explorer

It looks like the kind of veggies that hold bass, and from your description, the bait you're using works in it. If anything, you just need to figure out a way to drag those puppies out of the slop once you have them hooked!

Deaknh said it almost perfectly, you've got a couple of great children that should be the joy of your life. You need to embrace all those things that are going so good in your life and not stress out about the day to day bull. Put those priorities in order the way they are meant to be: God, family, friends, and then work. When you concentrate on all of the really important things the rest will fall into place. As hard as this might be to believe, there's plenty of us who look upon your life as being a whole lot better than what we're going through. BTW, we've all heard about men suffering though sympathetic labor pains. Thanks for giving me the chance to do a Google search for male pattern postpartum depression!

After reading the article and then seeing the actual video of the supposed "killing", it becomes apparent that the headlines should read: Driver gets mad, dies when he charges in front of traffic!

I look at the question in a slightly different way, and wouldn't use the exact same words. Here's the way I approach the question. Hunger - To me this means that the bass are in an Active Mood and are Feeding. Quite often, I'm going to get either a visual clue such as shad busting or perhaps seeing pads moving from quite a ways off as the fish approaches my offering. I might also be catching these fish using moving baits such as crankbaits or spinnerbaits. It could also be based on location, such as on the outside of a weedline regardless of what I'm throwing. Feeding fish have a much larger strike window than those fish who are Reaction fish. Reaction - This is what I learned from In-Fisherman to call Neutral fish. They are not actively feeding, but will eat a bait that falls into their smaller strike window. These bass may be fish that have already eaten recently during an active feeding period. They could also be bass that are hunkered down after the passage of a cold front waiting for conditions to improve. These fish could very well be located in the same area of the actively hungry fish, but just aren't as aggressive. Often times, I've found these post cold front fish to be hanging inside weed lines, and will only eat something that lands right in front of them and sits there begging to be eaten. In other words, throw those fast moving baits that cover a lot of water for active feeding fish that are hungry, and then slow down to pick off those fish that will react to an easy meal.

It's got to be an awfully hard life to feel so bitter about what other people have, but I'll wish you all the luck in the world that you make it to that point. And if you ever get that new wife, remember that without a picture, it never happened!

Ready for fall? Imagine how many can't wait until next spring and the spawn! Personally, the older I've gotten the faster time seems to slip by on its own. No need to wish away a day, a week, or a season.

I fully admit that I've bounced my share of worm weights into the back end of a pontoon. It wasn't intended that way, but if a dock/boat owner had ever held me accountable for it, I would have agreed that I was wrong. However, I also never got into an argument with a dock owner if they told me they didn't want me to skip under their dock. We'd simply move along. Like a good recovering alcoholic, I'm now many years past the last time I felt the urge to push a worm into a place I didn't think it fit. It's also been the same length of time since a topless gal jumped up in surprise from the backend bench of one of those pontoons when a worm weight missed its target (partner Mike's cast not mine).

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, and Ontario. Honorable mention for other species: For perch and walleye - North Dakota. For trout - Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Congrats, it sounds like you've educated the guy on what it takes to live by those unwritten rules. Good luck this weekend!

Tipping the scales at a paltry 270lbs after coming down from 315lbs, I'd say the guy easily hits 350. The fact that his scrubby beard is the only way to find his original chin gives it away. The fish? Too bad he didn't have it thrown on a certified set of scales.

I really don't see this as a "secret spot" issue nearly as much as a competitor that can't find fish and has decided to run over someone else. While I was tournament fishing, this was a unwritten rule that you didn't burn someone else's fish. You went out and used your own knowledge to find good fish and then put them in the boat. This seagull is basically a no talent hack, but it doesn't give him the ethical right to infringe on the efforts of someone else. If he can't find fish on his own, perhaps he needs to hire a guide! Also, if I remember correctly, this same thing came up recently on the pro circuit as well where a rookie was questioned about the practice.

Finally. Raider has found the perfect date for his SIL!

Just the facts of tournament life. Every group will have a seagull or two, and there is little you can do about it until he has burned so many bridges that the other members can figure out a way to blackball him. Until then you've only got a couple of options. 1. Pray that you get a lower blast off number. 2. Decide to crowd right in on this bozo if he gets there first. 3. Find another place that is even better. 4. Burn that honey hole the day before the next tournament. Catch every fish you can and seed a spot that you can fish for retreads the next day. I'm guilty of doing all four, but the best option is #3. Maybe with a little of #4 thrown in for good measure. The biggest obstacle is going to keep this idiot from getting you so po'd that he takes you out of the game.

Agreed. The organization I was fishing draw tournaments with went through a year where boaters were dropping out all over the place. Most quit due to the very issues discussed here, and the fact that the TD didn't address it. I held out until the end of the year, but by that time there would be a dozen or so non-boaters left sitting on shore at each tournament. Needless to say, that division didn't survive. I have no idea what happened to all of those non-boaters at that point. As I also recall, the Elite Series pros dropped the co-angler in favor of marshals. Different reasons, but the same results.

Would anyone be happy if they relaxed the regulations for a group they didn't belong to? Say - - - - - - Bucket Fishermen?

Did you pick up that cake in Grand Haven? And while I'm thinking of it, here's hoping that you have a great Friday!

Not having access to the other forum mentioned by the OP, it would be impossible to fully understand how he came upon his opinions. The only thing I can say is that as a boat owner in these types of tournaments, I became very tired of the non-boaters. I got fed up with people who showed up expecting me to act as their guide for the day, who thought I should furnish lunch and ice cold drinks, and who saw no problem spraying their "Lunker Dunk" all over my back deck and motor cover. The worst non-boater I ever drew whined all day that he couldn't afford to pay the club's mandated boater fee, and then expected me to drive him home afterwards, even though he lived 30 miles in the other direction. When I hear the OP say that the non-boater shouldn't be responsible to cover the costs associated to owning a boat, he should understand that age old saying; "You Get What You Pay For!". This was the rule I lived by for years when it came to fishing draw tournaments. If a non-boater showed the desire to help pay for the day's costs, who came prepared, and who respected my property had a much better chance at getting equal access to the best fishing spots. The bottom line is that your tournament entry fee only pays for your chance to win something back. What you invest beyond that determines where you fish.

In the State of Michigan, the lakefront property owner has legal possession of the land. This includes the dry shoreline and the bottom of the lake. They also have the sole right to ownership of any dock, swim platform, or pier attached to that land, wet or dry. The State of Michigan(and by extension all of it's residents) owns the water and the fish that swim in it. Any boater or fisherman has the right to navigate (or fish) anywhere on the water itself, but they have no right to access the private property of the lakefront owner. Whether anyone likes it or not, boaters or fisherman do not have any right to use that property. When it comes to disrespectful people, its a large club and there are members from all the different users. To join that group, a person simply needs to think that their rights outweigh those that others have.

Friends are friends, and you aren't going to have any problems whatsoever. Until the first accident happens. If you read the thread about the two guys who got run over and died in California, apply that scenario to your little group. If the two that died were part of your group, expect at least one spouse or family to have their lawyer investigate the financial wellbeing of the other members. If the gentleman that ran over the two victims was part of your club, expect the exact same thing. There is a reason that lawyers exist in this world. The minimal cost of having one on your side before anything hits the fan outweighs the cost of having to hire one afterwards. Sad, but true!

Is it okay if I hold off any praise until you can pick up your SIL and toss her like a midget?

My only suggestion would be to take the reply below as your best possible answer. Someone who has fished the lake you are asking about should trump all the others.

Rat Finkies in Glow colors with a wax worm.

Use a Google search for "paddle tail worms" and take a look at the available images.

I'm seriously thinking of going to 200lb Power Pro, if I can find some Fluorocarbon leader material that matches up. http://www.amazon.com/Power-Pro-Spool-Mossy-Braided/dp/B003X0374A/ref=sr_1_34?s=hunting-fishing&ie=UTF8&qid=1406461788&sr=1-34 At least as serious as one can get when faced with trying to catch a 5lb bass!

Look for open windows on all of those flooded cottages along the shoreline!