Chaz Hickcox

I fish frogs in open water around wood a lot and the braid has ZERO adverse affect on the amount of strikes I get. And I'm not fishing heavy grass most of the time. In addition to that, I have had 65lb braid snap on hooksets, grant it the braid was likely knicked, but keep that in mind. If they suck it in and sit still a hard hookset on a dink feels like your setting into wood, you're going to want the tinsel strength.

Used boats are awesome, just like used cars though you have to inspect what you're getting. That ranger with 73 hrs on the motor sounds awesome. The skeeter 225, there's a reason that boat is only 18k, I would shy away from that. I also don't like skeeters so there may be some bias there. Also, don't limit yourself to a dealer. There are lots of quality boats out there from private dudes. Don't be afraid to travel either, as long as you get the motor checked out first by a mechanic. Compression check, hull inspection, TRANSOM inspection, etc... bought my bass cat from a guy in Vermont and met him at thee Delaware welcome center on the 95. Point being don't be afraid to travel for a good deal. Hope this helps.

I have an issue with inaccurate depth readings. If I am in super shallow water it will tell me I am in deeper than I know I am. For example if I am in 1.5 ft it will read 4-6ft. I know I'm that shallow because my two depth units in the back, a lowrance flasher and another HDS7, both reading 1.2-1.5 (slight difference in mounting location for the two different transducers). It did not do that until I changed software.

Last year I would get into the thickest grass I could find on a low tide in 3-4ft at the mouths of creeks and fish rage shads and toads. Had some of my best days fishing on the east coast doing that. Now I'm trying to expand on that pattern and get on some bigger fish. I think they are still relating to the milfoil though. I also started the day chasing breaking fish with a spook. That's always fun. And yes the bass are back. Those 80,000 fingerlings they stocked in '08 are starting to become keepers and are fat and healthy. On thing to add to this. Were you planning on answering the question? I got a lot of gouge on Back Bay, but still have my same question.

Flip your spinnerbaits upside down, then put a clump of megastrike on the base of the hook where it meets the lead. It will be embedded underneath the inner skirt and won't hinder the wavy motion of the outer skirt. I also find it to be a sort of tasty center of a tootsie roll pop for the bass when they nail the spinnerbait or buzzbait, or chatterbait, or jig, or etc... Works for me. When I apply megastrike to the e2 jigs I do almost the same thing, but I squirt it into the crevasse between the pendulum head and the bait keeper.

Wayne, Ok so what if I have no thermocline because of super shallow water. Max depth is about 8ft on a very large body of water (Back Bay in Virginia Beach 25,000 acres). I am told the deeper holes around duck blinds hold fish, but have yet to find any there. I circled a bunch of them today looking for anything interesting. I found some stuff, most of it was either submerged pilings and pieces of the conifers they use to camouflage the blind. I worked t-rigs, c-rigs and flipped the actual blinds themselves with nothing to show for it. Grant it the adage all fish hold cover, but not all cover holds fish is applicable, but should I be trying to find fish on the structure scan first, then fish it if I do and pass if I don't? We caught a lot of bass in the grass up by the bank, but they were all schoolies and I am sure the larger ladies are in the deepest stuff I can find. Thanks in advance. Chaz

You can fish stumpy lake, but you will be limited to the docks by the dam where Elbow Rd meets Indian River Rd. That oversized pond is full of white perch and catfish. I don't know about any bass, but it looks like there's a lot of fish holding cover there. As far as kayaks and stuff I know you used to be able to get on it, but I couldn't tell you for sure. If you don't have a boat go down to West Neck Marina in Pungo. It's on West Neck Road. Dewey has jon boats for rent and some of the best fishing around is right there in that creek. If you go right out of the marina you get a lot of wood and its more like a swamp, if you go left the wood is more sparse, but there's a lot of grass. There are fish in that creek 365 days a year.

Does it help the issue with the US2 Sonar?

Try some beetle spins. I have some friends who have killed the pickerel in the ponds on those. As for everything else for the ponds I would say that topwater in the mornings and finesse type worms the rest of the day. That's about all I can say about the ponds around here. Back Bay and North Landing River are a completely different story. You have to think of Back Bay more like a bowl lake with a lot more flow on the south side than the north. When the grass gets thick, which should be soon (I've heard it is but have yet to see it). Rage Tail Shads and Toads are money, if the water is low. Flipping the grass when the water is high is good too. White is the key color on Back Bay. The rivers are a different story. There is a lot of wood there and flipping/pitching is a key pattern, as well as finesse around them. Square billed crank baits are money in the fall, banging them off of laydowns and what not. Hope this helps.

Where you going? What are you using? Yeah it is, but to me there's more satisfaction with working for it rather than waiting for them to do what's natural.

Just had my brand new Veritas break in the middle of a cast, and I was no where near the max weight for the rod. They're going to replace it, but I won't be buying another.

If they are pulling water go with crankbaits on the points. I haven't been there in awhile so I'm not sure of the color, but any shad color generally is good. They will be up shallow in the morning, and I bet you will be able to pull a limit from flipping the brush up shallow all day. The better fish will be deeper on flats. Also, if you're going to use jigs black and blue is NOT working this year. Brown with GP or straight GP jigs this year. Apparently we did a little too well with black and blue last year on that lake. That's about all I've got.

Finding free contour maps is darn near impossible. However, they aren't all that expensive. Here's a link to fishing hotspots maps. On this page you should be able to find Champlain. If you back up some in it you will be able to choose whichever state you want, NH or VT and choose your body of water. Tight lines! http://www.fishinghotspots.com/e1/pc/viewcategories.asp?idCategory=42&pageStyle=L

X2

Wayne, REALLY?? I'm sorry I didn't use the proper nomenclature. I have dual HDS-7s with an LSS-1 Structure Scan Module, only linked to one unit thus far. Just gotta stop being a cheapo and get the other chord. And yes, I rarely use them in super shallow water unless I am trying to get an image of what the rest of a laydown looks like and if any fish are holding on it. Now when I go to deeper water like Gaston, Kerr, Chick or the Patomac then yes it is a valuable tool. Just not most of the time in the water I fish. Since when does proper nomenclature really mean that much when I'm just trying to lend a guy a hand? Not to mention I got it for that reason, but since I've owned it they've been holding in creeks where the average fish holding depth has been 1.5-2.5ft. Now that they are post spawn I will be using the hell out of it in 4-5ft water, as long as the milfoil mats aren't too thick. If that becomes the case, which it will in some areas, then I have some really expensive thermometers. Don't try to be all high and mighty next time because of nomenclature.

Don't know the ponds too well but I fish Back Bay and North Landing River all the time. What are you planning on doing? If you're not in a boat I would suggest going to West Neck Marina and renting one of Dewey's jon boats. Nearby in Chesapeake is Bob's Fishing Hole. They too have jon boats for rent. As far as ponds, not a whole lot out there because most of them are private. If you're on your own boat let me know. I can get you on some fish.

La 2003 Cougar FTD Mercury 250 XS Hydraluic Jack plate New 2011 Seats http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/17658/La-2003-Cougar-FTD-Mercury-250-XS-Hydraluic-Jack-plate-New-2 Look at a used BassCat. Tx Ready for $30-$35,000. Any boat in that size brand new is going to be $40,000+. If you go with a BassCat and transfer the lifetime hull warranty you are elegible for their Quest Owners' Incentive. That is whether it is a 1971 or 2011, first or 40th owner BassCat Boat. It's the best incentive program out there because all you have to do is own a Cat, no upgrades, Ranger 4 years old or newer, Triton I think is the same as is Nitro, or close to it. The company could care less if you buy new, from a dealer, or private party. If you own one of their boats you are in 'the Family.' They are worth it. Also look at the Puma FTDs in the 2008 to 2009 range for the price you are looking for. Premium quality boats with excellent customer service.

I would second that inshore rod idea. Look at these. http://www.basspro.com/St--Croix-Mojo-Surf-Spinning-Rods/product/10204574/-1643764

Q1: Depends on your lake/river/time of year and patterns the fish are holding. I fish a lot of shallow water 4ft or less, my Side Scan is more of a toy than anything most of the time. Q2 and Q6: Yes get a contour map of the lake to find starting points. On the map you will see lines with numbers on them. If you find where the lines are spread out you have a gradual fall in the depth, or it's a flat. If the lines are all crunched up and there's a bunch of them, that's a drop off. Take early summer patterns into considerations for now. The fish are transitioning from the beds and going to their summer haunts. With that being said find a point with a hump on the end of it next to a steep drop off, if you can and they exist. Use your finder to find bait or bass on the hump and fish it with your confidence baits. Some like crankbaits, some like big jigs or plastics, find something they want and go from there. Q3 and Q4: Look for the arches. Now you can turn your fish ID on, however once you start getting the hang of your electronics you will find they perform better without the ID on. Look for the fish, a good thing about the electronics is they not only show where the fish are, but where they're not. Just keep in mind the image you're going to get is a cone directly under the transducer, whether it be in the stern on on the TM. So, if you find some structure you may want to give it some time because your sonar may have missed the fish. Q5: Baitfish. You will see the bottom clearly, then suspended somewhere between the bottom and your deucer you will see a blob of 'something'. In no real shape, just whatever ball the school is in at the time. That's your baitfish. If you mark them, but no individual fish, fish it anyways. That's when you can guess that your sonar cone has missed the individual fish. Be aware of your surroundings, sometimes a tree branch will be suspended and you only catch the end of the laydown. It will look exactly the same as the baitfish. In the attached picture (I know not your model, but it had the best screenshot for me to describe). You will see many fish with the 'arches' suspended above the cover on the bottom. In addition to that you will see a ball of bait slightly suspended off the bottom. Notice how it's not attached to anything like the structure is near it. The structure normally will look attached to the bottom. On the right of the screen about mid way up you see a random blob under a fish, that is more baitfish being harrassed by probably both fish above and below it. Notice the depth change from 54 ft to gradually shallower. That will be where the contour lines on the map seem evenly spaced, not scrunched together, but moderately close, depending on how many feet are covered by each contour line (that would be covered in the map legend on whatever map you buy). I'm no expert but I hope this helps.

My guess is that it's underpowered. At 22.5ft long with only a 200HP on it, it's probably on the low end of what it's capable of. Also, check the hours on the motor, ask for a compression check, see if there's any warranty info from Merc, and see if they have any maintenance history on the motor as well. I've got an '04 Opti and it's kicking like a mule, but the coils tend to go bad on them from time to time. I haven't had any issues, but I have heard such. Just keep that in mind.

Look into the BassCat Sabre FTD as well. Good product with a better company backing that product, no matter if you buy privately or from a dealer. It's the same size as both boats you are looking at. It would be a little more than the Nitro, less than the Ranger, but IMO higher quality than both. Or you could do like I did and find an excellent quality used Pantera class boat. Better ride than both Ranger and Nitro. Again, this is just MHO, but check it out, don't limit yourself.

It's ok, I've been using one for the last year. Definitely not the best Abu Reel out there. I got it for flipping and pitching. Any real casting and it would be absolute junk. Not to mention I use my Revo's for that. If I had it to do again I would have just bought another Revo SX off of EBAY. For $30-$40 more you can get a quality used Revo that will be more versatile. Also, it's a Black Maxx

That looks really clean and in great shape. Gas, Oil and Water will keep her running forever. Nice new to you ride!

Keeping the bucks no matter what time of year won't hurt your bass population, in fact it should help it.

Hardly, I get on some good patterns every now and then, but I get the question mark over my head A LOT. I'm new to this east coast, shallow muddy water. Grew up fishing deep gin clear reservoirs in Az.