Fishes in trees

Lowe Stingers are good boats. I have a 2002 Lowe WF180, which is a slightly wider and slightly longer version of that boat. Mine is built like a tank and I smack it into submerged stumps all the time with no damage. I like the heavy aluminum hull. What I don't like are the longitudinal strakes on the outside of the boat. These tend to catch stumps and channel your boat up on top of them if you aren't careful. The same strakes help when you are up on plane and going from here to there at speed. Your boat drives straighter and is less likely to skid out on sharp turns than a smooth hulled aluminum boat. Pick your poison. Most aluminum boats, if you want a depth finder on the console, will require that the transducer be mounted on the transom. If you fish shallow, stumpy cover ( like I do, a lot) is isn't a matter of if you will tear up a transducer, but when. Sooner or later it will happen. Your choices are to A - just allow for that and know that every so often you will have to buy a new transducer or B - Get an Alumaducer from Vexilar than will allow you to shoot through your hull for your console mounted depth finder. That is what I did - option B. I had issues with the transom mounted transducer, over and above the smashing it up one. I couldn't get mine to read correctly once I was on plane for a couple minutes. Maybe other guys have solved that issue but I couldn't. The Alumaducer solved that problem for the most part. Good luck finding a boat, take your time and get the right boat for your fishing tendencies.

Go back to one of the basic guy rules, one of the rules you learned in shop class and use the right tool for the job. Yeah, you probably could lube and adjust your reels so that they could cast lures less than 1/4 oz. A lighter action rod would help that process some. Or you could buy a mid level spinning rig, one that is made for tossing sub quarter ounce baits. Your choice. Me - I go spinning for baits less than a quarter ounce because it is just easier.

I've seen them, haven't tried them, but they look like a good idea. A few years ago, I went with the ultimate bunk boards, so they are unnecessary for me now.

I don't C-rig very muck, but when I do I've got a rig that I like for it. Fenwick 7' MH Spinning rod with a US Reels 240 Supercaster, spooled with 30 lb braid. I like a 3/4 oz weight to a ball bearing swivel and a 2 foot (more or less) fluorocarbon leader. This rig has virtually unlimited casting distance and wind isn't much of an issue. Retrieve is always the same - rod tip down, drag a few feet, pause and retrieve line - repeat. You can reliably set the hook at 100 feet or so with this rig. (Note to self - always, i.e. ALWAYS, hook set to the side, not over your shoulder) I really don't like the Carolina Keepers, because I think that they help cause line twist and I think that they will slip just when you don't want them to.

Do not skimp on rain gear - bad idea. Be aware that there are different kinds of rain. Rainy & cold - (45 degrees or less), rainy & chilly (45-55) rainy & cool (55-70 ) rainy & OK temp wise (70+) Call me silly, buy I've got different rain gear for different conditions. Cabela's Guide Wear for cold to chilly conditions, an older 10X goretex jacket & pants, several sets of Frogg Toggs for milder conditions. For cold to cool conditions, I wear 1 or 2 sets of polarfleece long underwear as necessary. Fishing is fun, but it isn't any reason to miss days of work next week because you got a nasty cold. JMO, but I wouldn't go budget on rain gear - it ain't worth it. A few years ago at a sports show I found a Polar Fleece 300 suit. Jacket with full zipper, high waisted pants with zippers to the knees. It was around $110 give or take, I don't remember. This suit with long underwear underneath it and the frogg toggs over it to beat the wind is good to 40 degree weather and it is what I wear most of the time. However, if you will be in a bass boat and subject to the breezes you encounter while running in a bass boat, there isn't any substitute for Cabela's Guide Wear, or something else of that quality.

These pits with stunted fish are perfect for meat fishing. I think that the little bass are the best size for eating. You would be doing the pit a favor by taking a couple of hundred 9 to 12 inch bass out of the pit. I'd throw a 4" Brewer slider worm on a 3/16 or 1/4 Slider head on 6 lb line. Go total finesse. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to practice selective harvest. Get a good sharp fillet knife. Line up some gardener you know, so that you've got some place to compost the fish heads and bones. Ahh - old time hippie meat fishing - brings back memories.

Great - they make my favorite crank bait - Timber Tiger

Boat tools or fishing tools. For boat tools, I carry a plastic water proof ammo box, and there are enough tools where I can tighten or loosen any screw or bolt or nut on the boat. In addition to a Crescent adjusting pliers, I carry a half a dozen different sizes of Vice Grips. Don't forget a Prop wrench and half a dozen extra shear pins. Now for fishing tools, needle nose pliers, lure tuning tool, hemostats, scissors, church key, I used to have a problem misplacing them in the boat and having to look for them when needed. I solved that problem. I carry 4 or 5 of each one, and at the start of the fishing trip I sprinkle the tools all around. Up front, next to the underneath storage, next to the live well and on the console. The boat is only 18 feet long, so there is generally a tool close to where I am. Some tools can multi-task. I generally keep the church key on a bungee attached to the cooler, but it is possible to open a beer bottle with needle nose pliers, so it is unnecessary to reach into my pocket to get my Leatherman tool. So, that is how I solved my tool organization issues.

If you had it leaned up against a wall the vast majority of the time it has been inactive, that could be the reason for the current curve in the rod.

There are alot of things that could contribute to this issue. It could be a "backbone" issue with the rod. On the wide spectrum of rods that come under the "med" classification there are differences in how well they set hooks. You might try lighter wire hooks. You might try "skin hooking" as opposed to burying the barb in the plastic. You might try "powerbait" worms or something similar, to try and dupe the fish into holding on to the bait longer. As a serious bass fisherman, you should always be on the lookout for ways to dispose of any disposable income you might have on bass fishing tackle. So, an equipment upgrade might be in order, it doesn't really matter whether the gear you've got now is fine or not, an equipment upgrade might improve your self esteem for a moment and thereby improve your hook sets.

I keep a Frabill hibernet in my boat, but I don't use it very often - a few times per year. I have an extended gripper (30") that I use most of the time. I got it at BPS Springfield around 2003 or so, it was in the fishing tools section with all the other Berkley tools. I don't think that they make it anymore.

A few weeks ago I got a Fenwick AETOS - 7'4" Medium action. Used it twice, it is my new favorite squarebill rod. It doesn't cast 1/2 ounce baits on 17 lb line any farther than my other square bill rig, but I get the same distances with much less effort. Kind of cool. This summer I will switch it over to 14 lb abrasion resistant line and see how it works on deeper trees throwing a Timber Tiger DC 16. Current reel is an older Curado D .

I use labels stuck on the reel with line brand, lb. test and date.

I think that it is just the nature of top water frogs that you are going to miss most of your strikes. I most often use the Zoom Horny Toad hooks, but I know I've tried others whose names escape me right now. I feel like if I am batting 300 on top water frog hits, that is a great day. This winter while digging through tackle, I found an old pad lure - a Heddon Moss Boss - basically a top water plastic spoon. I think when it gets to be frogging season, that is the lure I'll start with this year.

Bust out your Mastercard and go to Bass Pro, I'm pretty certain that you can find something. For a really good time, try talking to the people who "work" there. I don't know about all BPS stores, but at the one in Independence, MO, they have made an art form out of knowing less than you do. If one will talk to you. Most of the time if they catch your scent, they will scuttle away prior to making any eye contact. A few of the workers are stuck behind counters, they can't leave and so they have to talk to you. They are the best at knowing less than you do and they will make you feel "special". My apologies, is this turning into a rant? Do I read a bitter and cynical? Oh well, I am just a product of my experiences at the local BPS. When I used to go only a few times per year to the Springfield BPS, I didn't notice that so much out of the help.

I have a big enough problem with the current rigs I've got that are in decent to excellent shape. They all yell at me, "PUT ME IN, COACH, PUT ME IN!!!" You pick one up and use it and then all the other rods in the boat sulk for a while and shut up. The older, outdated equipment doesn't make the traveling team, or else it would yell at me also. Who needs that?

I made a secchi disc this winter and I keep it in my boat all the time. I've only been out a couple of times this year, so I am not all that experienced using it. So far I have found out that wind can make a difference in how easy it is to deploy. Sun makes a difference, as you get a slightly different reading depending on if you drop it over the sunny side or the shady side of the boat. Some times there has been so much glare on the sunward side of the boat that I lose sight of the disc as soon as it hits the water. Then the shady side of the boat is your only option. As time goes on I will get better at using it and I think that the measurements will mean more to me. It has always bugged me when guys refer to "clear" or "stained" or "muddy" water. My question has always been "How clear? or How muddy?" The secchi disc is a tool that will put a number on that question. I have always wanted one and now I got one.

I have had enough issues with Trilene Big Game over the years- various things, but the line snapping at a place where previously there was a back lash happened several times. I've got rid of all the Big Game I had - gave it to my sisters. They use it to hang pictures, make mobiles, and whatever other uses artsy/crafty type women use mono for.

I would use garlic flavored Pam or some other flavored cooking spray, maybe one of the BAG flavored aerosol sprays, maybe just a little bit of olive oil, I don't know for sure.. I think you've got lots of choices. I have had some soft plastic baits out in my unheated barn, sealed in zip lock bags, some of them have been there for at least 8 years, maybe more and they are still good. How many years have Berkley PULSE worms been discontinued? At least that long.

I used to stay at the Kimberling Inn, in Kimberling City when I went to Table Rock. Last year, a tornado smashed it. I don't know if they are open or not. I liked it because there was a boat ramp on property, gas less than a half mile away, restaurants very close, Grocery store across the highway and the prices seemed reasonable to me. Right up the road there was a place called the Cove, which was an OK place too. It was hard to get into, because they had many regulars who would reserve most of the rooms on tournament weeks. They had their own boat launch too, but it wasn't as nice or as accessible as the Kimberling Inn one.

Thank you. I've got a handful of those speed clips sitting in a box because I didn't particularly like them. Now I've got a use for them. Good job. Way to think

I fished during a cold front yesterday. Water temps 48 to 52 degrees. Secchi disc reading of 2 1/2 feet .( which is very stained for this body of water) I caught 1 fish - a 17" fish suspending off of a bush by the lake dam. Caught it on a shad rap. 10 in the morning. Didn't get bit the rest of the day. To answer the question, I don't have a clue what to throw during a cold front. So far a couple of guys have recommended slow down, and a couple have recommended speeding up. Go figure. Just keep trying different stuff until something works.

Once upon a time I thought those pre-rigged Carolina rig set-ups were a good idea. I don't feel that way any more. I think that there isn't enough play in the sinker. Kalins, used to make some that were maybe a foot long or so and I think that those offered enough slip that bite detection wasn't a problem. I don't know though, lots of guys fish "mojo" rigs, the weight being fixed on the line, it is a long skinny weight, similar in practice to a split shot rig. Those 3 or 4 inch pre-rigged Carolina set ups are in a way just a bubba version of a mojo rig. So I don't know. All I know is that they haven't worked for me.

Be careful with that waterproofing stuff. Your boat cover ought to breathe. If you totally waterproof it you are keeping alot of water out but you are also keeping some water inside the cover. That is where your mold and mildew comes from, being covered for a long time with a little bit of water trapped inside. To avoid mold & mildew, there isn't any substitute for airing it out with all the hatches open. Choose a warm breezy day for best results.

I use braid (65 lb Suffix, I think, can't remember) primarily because I don't want to lose the whole rig when I get stuck. I'm not really worried about the line visibility issue, because I don't think of the A-rig as a stealth type approach. As an added precaution against getting hung up and losing the whole rig, I use split rings between the snap and the jig head. The idea being that should I get it really stuck, I pull real hard and the split ring should bend and seperate before the 65 lb line breaks.