Fishes in trees

Close outs are currently happening in the Walmart stores in my neighborhood (metro KC area) Trokar hooks for $5 per pack, StrikeKing tungsten sinkers for $5 per pack. There was some other stuff that I didn't need.

Depending on the season, I will have one to several changes of clothes in the truck . One thing I can't stand in the summer time is driving home in the same stinky, sweaty clothes that I've been fishing in all day. A clean polo and shorts and different shoes does wonders for my attitude driving home from work. Most of the time, I stop and get something to eat before I get home. I find I get treated better if I don't have stinky, sweaty clothes on.

Charity is always a good idea and something we all should be doing more of - probably. I've given away fishing tackle in the past to "under privileged" individuals, and while there was an initial appreciation, months later you would see the gear gathering dust/poorly maintained/broke. And that's ok I guess, next summer there will be some other fishing event and some other guy will give them some new/lightly used gear. And the cycle continues. I wonder if that person had spend their own money for the gear if the dust/poor maintenance/breakage issues would occur. It is easy to assign a diminished value to something you got for free. Just some of my thoughts on giving away free gear. The last 3 falls, I've taken a weeks vacation and done the Fishing for Freedom project at Truman Lake. That is a very well organized project put on by the Leavenworth Bass Club, Long Shoal Marina and a bunch of sponsors. Time well spent and I had some fun to boot. That being said, for me, fishing is a necessary mental health break from the "real world." It is a time when & where I can examine recent past events and ponder near future events, by myself, uninterrupted, for the most part. This being said, when I am in the midst of these ponderings, I am not always the most pleasant guy to be around. That is another reason why I fish by myself often, not all the time, but often. I am doing the rest of the world a favor by isolating myself for a time. Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

There is a bunch of literature out there that will reference how to layer indifferent climates. You live in Alabama, I'd recommend an non- insulated gore tex suit (jacket & bibs) with layers underneath. Carry a few pairs of wool fingerless gloves to fish in and and pair of wind proof mittens or neoprene gloves for when you are running fast down the lake. Take the time & money and get a suit that FITS. This isn't an area of tackle where its is ok to go cheap. A suit that doesn't fit is a major distraction and will divert your attention from fishing. I've heard good stuff about the ARTIC ARMOR, but I've never seen it so I can't really say. I have a suit of Cabelas Guide Wear. When I was in a buying mood, I looked at several different suits at BPS and Cabelas and the Guide Wear fit me best. This isn't something that I would buy out of a catalog. I spend over $300 on mine and I wanted to be sure that I got something that fit the first time. If I had any criticism of the Guide Wear, it would be that there are many zippered pockets in it and sometimes I forget which pocket I put stuff in. The zippers are heavy duty and can be a challenge to work when your fingers are cold

You're aware that the 70 is 24 volts and it is going to take another battery to power it, right? That being said, more trolling motor power is always better. You will be able to go slower and faster with more control.

I work in a casino as a dealer.

If you are concerned about resale, the get the one that says RANGER on the side. If not, then . . . . . The first rule of boat buying is to get one from a dealer that is convenient and has a good reputation. Do a bunch of research. If you have an EXPRESS dealer near you, look at them. WAR EAGLE makes an awesome aluminum boat. G3 and LOWE have been around for a long time, and those are just the ones which which I have some passing familiarity. I have a 2002 LOWE and I decided on the LOWE basically because of the convenience of the dealer. MY Lowe is a tank, I smack it into stumps all the time and it just bounces off. I have a buddy with a thinner hulled STARCRAFT and he winces every time I smack into a stump. I don't go out of my way to smack into stumps, but it happens from time to time. It is good to know that you have a boat that will stand up to that. My boat is more than 10 years old now and it is butt-ugly - a result of sliding/bumping against numerous trees each time I go fishing. I'm going to keep fishing it until it doesn't work anymore.

I've seen that bait at Walmart. Is it a good bait? I've always thought that MATZUO was marginal - quality wise. Their finishes chip really easily. If it works, then the finish wouldn't matter so much. Their finishes look a lot like the 2 to 5 year old Cabelas line of hard baits. They look good right out of the box but tend to chip and flake easily. Like I say, I swear I've seen that bait at Walmart - recently.

In Ozark Lakes (LOZ, Table Rock, Bull Shoals) "stairstepping" a twin spin down steep bluffs has accounted for some monster bags during tournaments. For me, not so much. I caught a few fish doing that the few times I was practicing out of my own boat. I never did draw a boater who wanted to do that. I did always carry 3 or 4 twin spins in case I did draw a boater who was going to fish that way. Don't try using this bait in timber. No matter how good of an idea it seems at the time. I lost $35 worth of Terminator twin spins in 10 minutes trying to do this. It is just a bad idea. Multiple years ago, In-fisherman magazine had an article about fishing these baits later in the fall, using them at a drop bait and dropping them down the front of deeper weed edges. Never had any luck doing that - could be a Minnesota/upper mid-west thing. I dunno. Anyway, that's the extent of my twin spin experiments. Good luck.

I got clued in real early when I was fishing BFL - nobody likes a co-angler who ******* about the weather, and/or lots of boaters think it is very funny when a co-angler isn't prepared for the weather, especially that early morning freezing boat ride. So, for spring & fall tournaments, I think a good gore-tex rain suit is an essential piece of equipment. If ou are going to fish tournaments, this isn't an area where you should skimp on gear. While you are at it, get a good set of goggles or a save phase mask, I had both and I preferred goggles. Make sure the hood fits tight. A loose hood is going to blow out and make a loud flapping noise while r you are running down the lake. On a cheap rain suit (like frog toggs) you can blow out the hood if it can't be snugged down tight. I haven't had that issue with either of my gore tex rain suits. I have a set of Cabelas Guide wear and an older, lighter 10X set.

Spinning gear, I like 8 lb fluorocarbon or 10 lb braid with a leader. I will bubba up my shaky gear often. That means using a sensitive 7' jig rod, 15 lb fluorocarbon and a 3/8 to 1/2 oz jig head. I will do this when I think I need a faster drop. Incidentally, I think that the bubba shaky head is a great idea for a co-angler because it drops quick, giving a co-angler more bait on the bottom time. JMO

I've always thought that the BFL was ok for co-anglers. You are only fishing against other co-anglers. Other than the slightly higher entry fees, all you other expenses are the same. You are going to eat the same, probably stay in the same level of lodgings, probably give the same amount of money to your boater for gas. Gas for traveling might get a little higher. The BFL has the carrot of if you do good, you get to go to a regional at the end of the year for a chance at the All American and if you don't do so good, you still get one more chance going to the Wild Card regional for a chance at the All American. Plan on fishing the full season. There are myriads of posts here and there about how to prepare/behave as a co-angler, no need to rehash them here.

That wacky tool works ok, but I'm not sure that it works any better than spit. I have ripped senko's a couple of times when I got in a hurry and didn't slobber up the o-ring first. If you've got to buy o-rings, the correct size is 3/8" OD and 1/4" ID. Go to orings.com, spend the 15 bucks or so and have a lifetime supply.

If that isn't the Chuck Wollery lure, it is VERY similar to the one he marketed in the late 90's. I had one. It did work. Eventually the spring inside the lure would break and it wouldn't flap the tail any more. The tail on the Wollery lure was very durable, in my case the spring broke before the tail did. I don't remember that color pattern though, so it is probably a newer version of that idea. I remember the bait, but I forget the name of the bait, and I remember that Chuck Wollery pimped it.

Last year I had some success fishing power bait lizards on my home made jika rigs. Mostly green colors, green pumpkin & watermelon. Secchi disc readings of 4 to 7. In murkier conditions I would go with something darker, like black & blue.

Wish I could go this year, but finances say no. Wilson Lake is a haul for me. Maybe next year, I don't know. How about having several regional ones rather than just one? Grand Lake, or Table Rock or LOZ or Truman or Bull Shoals are all very centrally located - nation wise.

What a question, I'd have to say someone else taught me everything I've learned about fishing, either in person or in print. I don't think that there will ever be a magazine as focused on teaching as the late 80's thru early 90's In-fisherman was. The mid thru late 70's Fishing Facts magazines shaped much of my attitude and approach to fishing in general. As far a people showing me stuff, back in the early 80's I thought that a jig and eel was the best bass bait there ever was. I hadn't ever caught a fish on a spinnerbait, and had only limited success with a Mepps style spinner. A professor pal of mine gave me a lesson one afternoon on spinner bait fishing to the tune of 40 or so to 2. A very simple idea - spinner baits skimming the tops of weeds in 4 to 6 feet of water. I didn't have a clue about pitching until I fished a few BFL tournaments. I was whining about how I was getting back boated all the time and I got told to learn how to pitch, it would open up many more casting angles to me. True fact. Took me nearly a whole season to get any good at it and now10 or so years later, I'm still not a master at it, but I don't suck either. Last summer, fishing with a buddy, I was whining about how I couldn't catch a fish in slop on a frog. And I had spend some money on decent gear. My bud proceeded to take MY rod & reel, with my black frog tied on and proceeded to catch one fish in the 4 lb range and a couple more slot fish in the next 5 minutes. I'm still not any good at frog fishing, but I've seen it done now and I have hope for future seasons. So there are a few anecdotes on the subject of how I've learned what I've learned

To echo Jrob78 - Texas Tacle split ring pliers - they are the best I've found. In many cases, there isn't any substitute for using the right tool for the job and this is one of those cases. They ain't cheap, but they aren't horribly expensive either and they will last until one of your buddies "borrows" them and they don't come back. Get the smaller, orange handled ones.

I try a wacky rig every time I go - spring, summer, fall, it don't matter. The wacky jigs, wacky hooks, weighted wacky hooks, weedless wacky hooks, they all have a time & place. For me, most of the time my wacky fishing is done with a real senko, a 1/16 oz weighted weedless k-wacky hook (a falcon product) and 15 lb fluorocarbon line, bait casting gear. For me, the key of a wacky rig is to not throw it randomly here and there. It is a great bait to check out "spots" as opposed to "areas" I want to always be throwing it next to something, i.e. next to a deep weed edge, next to the shady side of a sunken bush, next to a stump on a point, next to vertical structure (trees). You get the idea. Once you get on a pattern of where the fish are, it is easy to repeat. If you get fish suspended in trees, it might be the best way to get fish out of suspended trees, just depends. But anyway, with the wacky rig, always be thinking next to something. Like, here is item X, in a perfect world, ms. fish should be positioned just so in relation to item X and you want to throw just right in front of where you thing the fish should be positioned. In clearer water (secchi disc reading of 6 or more) being within a couple of feet is ok, closer is better. Murky water (secchi reading of 2 to 4) you want to be within inches. Always try to account for the drop. If your perceived sweet spot is 6 or 10 feet down, or maybe further, try to feed the bait line so that it drops as near vertical as possible. This is where a weighted weedless wacky hook helps. If you have a secchi disc reading of less than 2, I'd probably try a different technique, because I haven't done very well wacky rigging in very murky/muddy water. Hope this helps to channel your thinking on how & when to try wacky rigs.

As far as I'm concerned, the key to the Carolina rig hook set is to go sideways. Get the slack out and then strong SIDEWAYS hook set. Going straight up over your shoulder will cause you to miss most of your strikes.

You make spinnerbaits because you want to make spinner baits. If you are looking at it from a cost stand point, you might not ever cover the cost of your tools, unless you make and use a LOT of spinner baits. That isn't any reason not to do it. It is a boys and toys situation. If you want to make spinner baits, knock yourself out. I'm sure that there is a learning curve to spinner bait construction just like there is to any other hobby. The few times I've wanted/needed a custom spinnerbait for certain conditions, I've always been able to find someone to make them for me.

I like a shorter rod for throwing top waters. I like the shorter rod so that I'm not slapping the side of the boat every time I do the downward jerk/snap. Shorter rods with shorter straight handles aren't easy to find. Currently I use a mid-90's era Mitchell Fulcrum - 5'9" with a medium action. I've tried several different reels. Currently I'm using a Calcutta TEGT with 14 lb mono. That gets me ok distance and I'm not slapping the side of the boat when I work the bait. For moving top waters, like buzz baits or frogs, I have different rigs for each of those situations. For jerk baits, like Pointers or Rogues or stuff like that I like spinning gear because for me it handles the wind better and it always seems like it is windy when I want to fish jerk baits.

Back when I bought my set, I tried both BPS & Cabelas and the Cabelas Guide Wear fit me better. You might want to consider getting the uninsulated ones and wearing layers underneath as necessary. That would be a little more versatile. If the weather is just chilly rather than cold, you can start sweating in the insulated bibs and that isn't good - health wise and sweating up your bibs wise.

You are pretty young. You can get away with throwing cranks on that rod for a while. Sooner or later your wrists and elbow will be mad at you if you're throwing cranks all day with that rod. At my age, I know that fishing elbow (a cousin to tennis elbow) - HURTS - and it can change your attitude about a day of fishing. Pain meds exist, but many of them will, over time, eat a hole in your stomach, so it is a case of pick your poison. Me, what I try to do is to use a longer, lighter graphite rod (I currently use a 7'4" medium action rod to throw square bills and deep diving cranks) and I eat a pain med before the first cast in the morning, generally with the first cup of coffee driving to the lake. Another thing to consider is that the Ugly Stick is a great catfish rod and the limber tip is excellent for using circle hooks. So, it is a good rod and has a place in your fishing arsenal, but for me, throwing cranks wouldn't be that place.

To me, that question totally depends on the time of year and body of water and person you are fishing with. Going as a co-angler with just 4 rods and no information, I probably wouldn't do it. What I would do, when I fished BFL's is take a dozen or so rods to the event and after the tournament meeting, but before take off in the am, I would pack the or 7 rods most likely to be useful. I would make judgements on what to pack in the truck based on previous tournament results and seasonal patterns. I wouldn't make any decisions until after the tournament meeting.