Lund Explorer

Doesn't the new chigger craw have legs now? Not much of a change IMO, but I'm sure it will fly off the shelves if it is part of a winning pattern.

I usually start each day with 7-8 rods rigged and ready to go, 4-5 BC & 3 Spinning. There's always 4-5 more in the rod locker that are backups. BC's include: Topwater, Crankbait, Spinnerbait, Heavy T-Rig, and Pig-n-Jig. Spinning: Medium/Light T-Rig, Dropshot, Tube/Grub.

I have really got to improve on NOT short-boating the wife, or whoever else is sitting in the backseat. It's not like I do it on purpose, but I just like to attack a weedline by sitting right on top of it and casting dead straight ahead. I seem to do the same thing fishing down a row of docks or just about anything else. Am I the only guy that is guilty of this?

I guess I should wait for some of the more accomplished fishermen on here to reply, but if you humor me a little I'd like to throw in my two-cents worth. To begin with, I don't think anyone here thinks that the guy who has bought into the theory that the senko is the perfect bait is cheating. Unless the infatuation with that lure gets to the point that the fisherman in question believes the lure will catch fish in all situations. That maybe when the senko fisherman is cheating, but only themselves! To be blatantly fair to these more accomplished anglers, you can take the above paragraph and replace "senko" with the name of any lure you would like to. I'm sure they will all tell you that the end result will still be an angler who is cheating themselves. If you read through all of the pages you will find a few recurring tidbits of knowledge that these people will continue to explain to others. One of those is that every fishing lure that has ever been invented is nothing more than a tool that could be added to a well stocked toolbox. Every type of lure, from topwater to bottom bouncer has a time and place where the conditions tell them that a certain lure is what they should throw to produce the best results. But the one thing that you will never hear from any of these more accomplished anglers is that you should always stick to one specific lure. Now I've only been trying to seriously fish for bass for around 30 years, and while almost twenty of those were spent fishing local weekend tournament circuits, I don't know nearly as much as some of these other guys on here. Of course, all of this is just my opinion, and I'm sure they could chime in here with a better explanation than I could. But I know I can put a newbie in my boat and depending on the conditions, hand him or her any of a dozen different baits, and they will catch fish.

It doesn't matter as long as it comes in at least fifteen colors!

Congrats! I'm trying as hard as I can to finally slam the doors shut around here too. I'm down to a half dozen consulting only clients now, and the first advice I gave all of them was to start looking for somebody else in another two years!

I'm pretty sure that everyone gets bombarded by advertisements every time you turn on the TV, and not just the commercials. Granted the fishing/hunting shows are more blatant about it, or maybe just more open is what to call it. Have you ever watched a NASCAR race? They're almost as bad and maybe more so as the races are longer. And the the more subtle sports. How about a football game where if you are really looking, you'll see Nike slashes, UnderArmor's little logo peaking out there too. Basketball, and Golf are the same way. Then there's baseball and hockey with advertisements along the walls. Do you think that blimp is only there to provide you with a birds-eye view? If so, why does Goodyear appear across the side of the thing? Then you down to the subliminal advertising that is entwined in almost every TV show or movie. Did you know that Coca Cola pays the producers to have the star drink out of a can with their logo on it? A few years back, Alan bought a Porsche on the TV show Two and a Half Men if you remember. Do you think somebody got an endorsement check for mentioning the name (correctly or not) numerous times in a half an hour? It doesn't matter if it is Rolland Martin or Charlie Sheen, it's how they make their living. If you don't want to watch it, switch over to Fox News. Then you'll only get advice on buying Gold! ;D

If memory serves me correctly, there could be one reason to choose a color that I haven't seen here yet. Like I said, it has been many years ago that I read an article concerning the color change some species went through when they had shed their older and harder shells. The article continued on to discuss how bass were wired to recognize this color phase as an opportunity as the softer shelled crawdads were somehow easier to catch. Now I haven't run across any article lately that discussed this topic, so maybe it is just an old wives tale. But if it were true, then I would consider trying to discover what coloration your local species had during this stage of the crawdad's life. This would seem to be the color that would trigger the best response.

Take every bit of the great advice you've gotten from these guys so far, and at least make the time to go to the interview. Like it has been said before, see if they can work you in with your prior commitments. Your statement: "I have been trying to get this job for a long time." If you don't at least show up, I'll bet you will be spending the next year or so asking yourself what-if. So if for no other reason than peace of mind, go for it.

Speaking of over statement, if that were the case, Mr. Yamamoto would be selling three packs of senkos for $79.95. Seriously, there is no magic lure that will catch fish on every lake under all the variable conditions that fishermen faces throughout the year. In many tournaments, there are guys qualifying for the final day cut that fish something completely different than the pack. I learned long ago that I don't concern myself with what others are throwing. I simply try to look for where the fish are located, and then go through the baits that I have confidence in. Location is about 90% of the game, what bait you throw takes up a small part of what's left.

Zing!

I made this mistake with my first job. I claimed 1 when my mother was claiming me as well. I had to pay back over 200 dollars. I was either 16 or 17 at the time. I've seen this many times before. What is even worse is when both the kid and the parents file claiming the same exemption...... And here comes a letter from our favorite Uncle!

One of the few things I'll recycle are the wife's 4" power worms. The darn things catch a lot of dinks, but the surviving tail sections are also great for bluegills. The firetail and chart. tail worms seem to produce most of the action when I stick them on a 1/64oz jighead.

Make sure to post up a report after you get back. I haven't been on that lake since 1968, so whatever I can remember is squat! I'm not sure, but you may also want to mark your spots by placing small clusters of yellow flowers along any productive shoreline. It sounds like the guys at the last roadtrip there will thank you.

Unfortunately, we have a local lake here that has been managed for waterfowl and suffers these draw-downs every once in awhile. It is a combination of a half dozen small lakes that becomes about five times larger at full pool with most of that water under 5' deep. You also get the same assortment of folks that push across the mudflats to reach the surviving pools every time. They pound these "fish in a barrel" relentlessly. The only good news is that the meat fishermen never return when the water comes up. It usually takes a few years for fishing to return to its prior productive self, but it does return. It also seems like you don't catch as many dinks when it first comes up either, which is most likely because they have been without heavy cover to grow up in. I figure we lose a couple of year classes due to predation from the bigger fish. Hopefully it won't take too long for you to be back on productive water.

Ghoti, I'm not sure if you bounce things like this off of your wife before you post them, but I just read this one to my little war dept. One big groan and a head toss from her means it was PERFECT! ;D

yup I was thinking much along these same lines. Maybe starting a "Best of Thread", to highlight some of the over 6,000 posts he made over the years. The man had a unique wit along with an untold amount of knowledge on bass fishing and life in general. Not an exact quote, but what he replied to Senile only a few days ago would be the perfect title: "It's called a plane ticket - The back seat is open!"

R.I.P. Jack

Here's your cure for old scissor nose! I've used this stuff for jigs and even T-Rigs as well. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Single-Strand-Wire/710030.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dsteel%2Bleaders%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=steel+leaders&WTz_l=Header;Search-All Products

First, make sure you have your work permit completed and approved by your school. Second, get ready to fill out Federal, State, and maybe Local W-4 withholding forms. Name, address and social security number is needed on all of them. You are a minor living at home with the people who are going to claim you as an exemption. Fill out all forms as Single & Zero. Also be prepared to fill out other forms such as an I-9 form. Sure it's a family business, but your uncle still needs to have it on file. Finally, always show up to work 15 minutes before you punch the time clock. Look over the employee's bulletin board for anything new, write down your upcoming work schedule, and do whatever else you may need to do prior to actually starting your work shift. ALWAYS offer to stay over if needed. ALWAYS strive to stay busy throughout the day. If you aren't working with a customer, clean something, straighten out something, restock something. If a customer asks for a product that is temporarily out of stock, ask your supervisor when the next shipment is due, get the customers phone number, and offer to call them when it is comes in. Customer service is what separates the local store from the box stores. Suggestion selling! Learn what products go with what the customer is purchasing. You've seen that side bar at BPS.... "Other Related Products". You may save a customer from a return trip for something they forgot, and they won't forget the helpful advice. Learn as much as you can about the products you are selling, so that customers can ask you questions. If you don't know the answer to a question, say the following: "I'm not sure, but let me find the person that does.". Good customers admire honesty! Remember that customers have bad days. You are working in a hardware store, so that means people will be coming in to buy things to fix unexpected problems. No matter if the customer is in a good mood or bad, treat all of them with respect. If you are having a bad day, keep it to yourself. If you do something wrong, man up and admit it. Make the effort to correct the problem, and try to make your supervisor see that you care about your job. Hardware stores = weekend projects. Expect to work weekends while your buddies are fishing. Save your fishing for days off when most others have to work. Weekdays = better fishing. Just ask any of us that have already retired!

Was the package making a ticking sound?

Sorry to hear about your loss. Thoughts to you and the whole family to get over losing a member of the pack, and hoping you'll find a new companion soon.

Congrats Nate, to you and the rest of the family.

The only time I really feel like a rattle is needed is in muddy water, after dark, or in heavy veggies. Most other times, I don't feel that I need the rattles. It wouldn't bother me at all if the rattles were just a side option that I could put on when I thought they were needed.

Thanks Simp! People are driving their trucks across the frozen surface of our lakes right now. Getting to see a picture of somebody holding up a couple of bass in front of open water is sure to make the winter crawl along even slower! JK. My calendar says that in just three short months, I should be preparing to back my boat into KY Lake for the first morning. It can't come soon enough!