Chaz Hickcox

Clear - None Muddy/Murky - LOUD

Either my water sucks or I do because I consider it a great day when I fill my limit. 21 D***!

EPIC ~ Very well put. Good for you.

Dude, there are Fifty States, and if I'm not mistaken all Fifty have Lottories. Play them and go from there, because your chances of actually making money fishing are about the same. I know many exceptional fishermen who will never be paid to fish. Why? Because unless you are a part of a very fortunate few you will never get rich fishing. As a guide, maybe make a few bucks, and if you're a good guide then you will make more. Name all of the rich and famous Bass fishermen you can think of. Then look for the number of Bass fishermen on this site. Do the math and those are your odds. Bill Dance makes his money by investing in a lot of things, as does Roland Martin, Hank Parker, the list goes on. If you want to pay for your fishing win tournaments. If you're really lucky 100 or so wins later someone else may offer to pay your entry fees.

Also as an addition to the music, I would say choose something a little less youthful as the tunes you chose. Grant it it's pumped music, but think of who your potential sponsors may be. The ones with the cash within the fishing industries are generally not going to be anywhere near your age. To those individuals who own bait and tackle manufacturings, that particular genre may be a little off putting. It's great to show that you are a young blood and will appeal to a whole new market, but at the same time you don't want to create a barrier just because you chose your favorite tune. A last bit of advice, when trying to market yourself it is all about the sponsor, never about you. Make sure you answer the 'What's in it for me?' question for them so they don't have to ask.

Couldn't figure out the poll thing right away.

Hey I am looking for a new fish finder. I don't need it for much, saying since most of the water I fish is between 2' and 10', but I want to be able to locate submerged structure. I am looking at the Humminbird 500 series, but am curious about other options. My budget only goes to about 150 to 200.

Apparently I am the only one here, but IMHO I like the Castaic Swimbaits the best. They have an assortment of selections such as boottails, and other kinds of swimbaits. Again this is just MHO. I personally really like their Hard Head Originals, been using them since 98 and have never gone wrong with them. www.castaicswimbait.com/ P.S. By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Castaic, I just want to see them catch on so I don't have to order them offline anymore and I can go to Bass Pro to get em.

It looks just like the Castaic Platinum Natural Series. It should be good for the beds this spring, but then again, Paul, YOU clearly know more than I do on the big fish subject. Here's a link for you to check out: http://store.castaicswimbait.com/Product/91/Platinum-Naturals-Series-Swimbaits/

I will usually take a baby bluegill, a baby crappie, or a threadfin shad (all Castaic original hard heads), cast past the beds then swim it to the bed and let it sink in the middle of it. Usually this by itself will trigger the ol' boy to strike. I also do the same thing with a weightless wacky worm.

Hey they make Crappie rigs that look a lot like that. I use them when I am trying to get the bait suspended on a dropoff or something. You can spend the money on the rig, or you can get a three way swivel then use a pre-packaged snelled hook on one of the prongs with the weight coming off the other. Another thing to do is to put a clear bobber about a foot or two above the swivel to keep your bait suspended and not falling to the bottom.

Yeah it does, I had to stop using cranks because I was having to buy a new one every outing.

ROOSTERTAIL - These will catch anything anywhere and it's always hidden in my tackle box somewhere.

That makes sense thanks for the advice.

Thanks Marty. I'm going to guess they're called 'Grass Pike' for a reason. Funny story - I was fishing for bass on a lillipad flat when behind my frog a very large (I'm guessing 24in or so but I can't be certain) arrow-shaped fish exploded about 3 ft out of the water just behind the frog. The guys at the ramp said it was probably a bowfin but I've cought a lot of those and this thing was sharply pointed whereas bowfin have blunt noses. I am going to guess it was a large pickerel and start targeting that sort of place. Thanks again for the input.

I have never seriously fished for pickerel, heck I have only caught one and that was a fluke when I was fishing for bass. I am looking for a winter game fish and haven't a clue about how to go about fishing for them. My real question is what are the mechanics (presentation, location, etc...)? Should I think of the same mechanics as LM Bass or more like the musky where they are in less specific regions and constantly on the prowl?

x2 Summertime in clearwater you will call up the active summer fish from extreme depths where they are escaping the heat of the day. Primus was spot on as well, except one thing, in murky water you can call em up from 10-15 ft if it's loud enough.

Everytime you post something it's HUGE!!! I think we need to test your fish for performance enhancing drugs.

RW I fish a river that is completely below the fall line and is quasi-tidal. I say quasi because the tide is not from the normal moon and sun pull that one would think of in say the California Delta or the James and Patomac in Va, this river's tides are controlled by the winds over a period of days. With that being said, I have found that weather plays more of a factor in fishing than the moon phases. Water level is there too, but not as much. Would this type of system also fall under your statement?

Sounds like they're fattening up when the sun brings the shad together, but then they go their holes when the shade comes. If you can get to the sparse cover, I would guess they are suspending off of that while they wait. At that point it would come down to finesse and reaction strikes. Basically, slow down as much as possible.

It really depends on the size of the forage. I have personally found that the bigger swimbaits aren't always the way to go, especially when the forage is smaller shiners. As far as using it, I don't know because I have not used either one. I would guess that either one would be good twitched all the way back to the boat, much like walking the dog. I personally use Castaic Rock Hard and when I do a steady twitch cadence back to the boat I generally can get a strike. As far as matching the color, that doesn't matter too much, a twitched swimbait will generally look like a small fish in distress and will trigger a strike. Unfortunately the Castaic Rock Hards are only available, for the time being, in rainbow trout. They have been working on their rock hard baby bass and shad for almost a year now and they should almost be ready.

Glenn's got a really good one here. Covers all the wickets. http://www.bassresource.com/fish/fishing_log.html I totally breezed over the other post saying the same thing.

Ok, so I have learned something here. Quantum, a subsidiary of Zebco which is owned by the A.C. Bradley Co. based out of Georgia. As their actual assembly plants are in China among other parts of the world where labor is cheap, their actual production and testing is American. So, as an American did not make my Quantum reels, the money paid into Quantum will in fact contribute to our American economy.

Ok, so I was proven wrong. Da** Chinese cheap labor. :'( But it's still a home grown company.

That's cool, but at least with Quantum I know an American made my stuff. If that doesn't entice you, then the Ports of Entry aren't just for entry. Why are you so bitter ? Jaded, sorry