Fishes in trees

In the links section, under bass tackle shops, there is a company called Aqua Design. They sell a very unique camo pattern. Does anyone here own any of their gear? I'm on an extended weight loss program and when I reach my next intermediate goal (190-195) I'm going to reward myself with a new set of fishing clothes. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this particular brand of fishing clothes. I think that they look cool, I like the suit look, i.e. shirt & shorts that match.

I've got a Frabill Hibernet. I think it works great on those rare occasions when I have a buddy in the boat and he catches a fish big enough to warrant a net. Most of the time, I fish by myself and when you are fishing by yourself the hibernate is a pain to deploy. I have a 30" gripper for landing large fish when I am fishing by myself.

I don't have that particular brand, but I always carry a pole type lure retriever in my boat was well as one of those heavy weight hound dog types. In different situations, one will work better than the other. Over a season, they will pay for themselves.

I recently read on a different forum that Keystone beer is going to be a FLW sponsor. In the past, I got ragged at by BFL middle management for having a beer, after the tournament was over but prior to the conclusion of the weigh-in. (which, given my tournament results, I had little interest in) Anyway, it is one of those things that make me say "huh?" Can you have a beer at the weigh in now? Knowing how anal FLW is about sponsor protection, what if it is some other brand than Keystone? Will they be distributing complimentary Keystones? Can I lower my beer standards to actually drink one? Stay tuned. I think lots of people are going to have lots of different opinions on this.

When I had my little pond boat I learned how to pitch sitting down. More like a gentle side arm cast as opposed to stand up pitching. It can be done. It takes practice. Bring several pre-spooled reels. You will get some bird nests while you are learning.

What if your post was understandable and easier to read?

Charge them all and bring at least two of them. Wire them parallel (I think), positive to positive, negative to negative and hook your trolling motor up to one of the batteries. They will probably last for a while, giving you time to save up for some deep cycle batteries and a trickle charger where you can leave them plugged in all the time when they aren't in use. Oh yeah, on that note, invest in a paddle or better yet, a set of oars that fit the rental boats. Going out in a rental boat with just an electric motor is asking for it. I' recommend an alternate propulsion source.

Bust out and buy a scale. They aren't that expensive. Then you KNOW what different jigs and weights weigh. Different companies 3/8 ounce jigs weigh different, sometimes significantly different. Brewer Slider heads often weigh different even when they come out of the same bag. If you ever spill a large box containing several hundred unpainted jig heads weighing 1/16, 3/32, 3/16,& 1/8 you will appreciate an electronic scale to help you sort them out quicker, cause after a while they all look alike.

I'm a fan of the Celestial Seasonings tea brand called Morning Thunder.

You might want to try using a nail weight or some other kind of internal weight.

I've found that white duct tape sticks better than any of the sticky labels you get at Walmart. I try to label everything, but sometimes I am unsuccessful and things don't get labeled. When you are playing in the shop and enjoying an adult beverage or 3 sometimes stuff gets forgotten.

I wear prescription glasses, so I have to have polarized prescription sun glasses. So far, the places I've bought glasses (Lenscrafters, Lensmasters) have only offered them in different shades of grey. I get the darkest one they got. It seems to me that they work OK, I am more interested in not getting intense headaches when I am outside, the being able to see a little bit into the water is just a bonus. I find that when I'm on the front deck of my boat, I have to pay attention to the angle that I have my bow depth finder set at. If I have it set at the wrong angle, it is unreadable with the perscription glasses. I'm pretty sure that has something to do with the polarization, because I don't have any trouble when I'm looking at it straight on.

I own numerous varieties of square bills, but for the way I generally fish them, which is amongst sunken bushes and shallow trees, the Timber Tiger DC8 has worked the best for me. A Texas Shad color for clearer water (white & silver, darkish back, with a distinct pink tinge on the sides) In very murky/muddy water and solid chartreuse with a purple back has worked the best for me.

What will you do about the mosquitos who didn't see the infomercial and don't know to stay away from the guy who has a dryer sheet tight to his dome? Does it make a difference which dryer sheet flavor you get? Why not just use bug spray? That smells just as rank a some dryer sheets.

I'm getting ready to go to work and I just talked myself into going to the KC Sports Show on Friday. It sucked last year and the year before that.It has sucked progressively worse the past 8 or 9 years. But I got cabin fever and I'm going to go. Maybe the seminars will be better this year. That guy from Lake Quivera, Brent Chapman, who was BASS AOY is scheduled to speak. Last year, or was it a few years ago, I got to hear Rick Clunn speak, and I wasn't impressed at all. It was like he was just going through the motions. He talked for 10 minutes about how smart he was because he invented a spinner bait that was somewhat different from other spinner baits. Anyway, I got cabin fever and I'm going to the KC Sports Show on Friday, I hope it is better show than it has been the past few years, but I won't be surprised if it isn't. I'm just wondering if anyone else feels this way about the KC Sports Show.

Last fall I tried a couple of spools of the newer line Trilene XL armor coated. I tried the 10 lb for deeper divers and 14 for some crashing into deeper trees. It worked good. It looked and felt suspiciously like the old Berkley Iron Silk, except now you can get two colors (clear & green) where previously it only came in green. I think that the old Berkley Iron Silk in 17 and 20 lb test was the best spinnerbait/square bill line I've ever used as long as you followed a couple of rules, which were: A - don't get stupid with your first few casts, allow it to stretch and get wet your first few casts. and B - Use Line Magic or some other line treatment on it every so often.

What kind of a question is this? Is this a trick question? Anyway, the correct answer is that you ALWAYS need more than you can afford and you CAN'T buy them all.

I think that if you are missing fish 30' down on a drop shot, it is more than likely a rod issue than a line issue. Just my thought. Maybe try using a heavier weight. When I'm fishing deep I use at least 3/8 oz. I think that the advantages of a fast drop and overall a little tighter connection to the bottom outweigh the advantages of using a lighter weight for increased sensitivity. Actually, I think that the heavier weight is more sensitive. Note that I'm not an expert by any means, I'm just a guy who experiments with a drop shot a lot, and none of my drop shot notions are set in stone. I experiment with something different nearly every time out.

Back in the day, when I fished out of a pond boat all the time, my best storage for occasionally used items was a fairly large back pack, that I strapped to the back of the chair. It was out of the way, off of the floor and accessible when needed it. I'd store tools, rain suit/jacket, other stuff that I didn't need really often. My boat had foldable seats and it was fairly easy to strap on the back pack, with the molded seats, one might have to get a little more creative, drill some holes, use duct tape or whatever. Just a random thought.

I have some standards for fishing clothes. One - I am not big on logo items. Two - as I get older I realize more and more that presentation is important, so I don't wear dirty or skuffy looking clothes when I go fishing. I like the technical fishing clothes - especially shirts and shorts that match. I find jeans kind of binding. so I am much more likely to wear layers of lighter clothing as opposed to a pair of jeans. I have several sets of the light weight frogg togs that I wear as an outer layer a lot. I like shoes with good arch support for fishing rather than flip flops in the summer time. My favorite item of fishing clothing is a genuine, imported from Ireland, Irish fishing sweater. It is a very heavy, snug fitting wool sweater and the weather is right for wearing it only a few times per year. Wear polypropylene long underwear underneath it and you are good from 37 to 50 degree weather. If I know I am going to stop to eat on the way home, more often than not I will carry a change of clothes and change. Nobody in the restaurant needs to have me sweaty and stinking, eating next to them. I am ugly enough anyway without that going on.

I have an issue with buying industry logo gear. It doesn't matter if I like the company or not, if I use the product or not - my issue is with paying for the opportunity to be a human billboard. I am not big on the idea of being an uncompensated human billboard. It used to be that Cabelas clothes had discreet logos or in many cases - no logos. Now they are as bad as Bass Pro - with a large logo plastered over every chunk of clothes they sell. I feel that way about many company logos - i.e. that if they will give me a shirt, hat, etc. I might wear it buy I am unlikely to buy any clothes with garish or prominent logos. I understand that in the case of certain clothes it can't be helped, and there are other exceptions to this rule, more numerous than I care to mention right now. For instance, in the summer time, I frequently wear a KC Royals visor - an exception to the rule. When I fished the Fishing for Freedom event last fall at Truman Lake, a logo hat was part of the swag they gave you, so I wore their hat for the duration of the event. But, for the most part, I am not into the notion of being an uncompensated human billboard - or worse, paying for the privilege of being a human billboard. For the record I understand that this is just my opinion and that many people don't share that opinion on this matter. As implied earlier, if I was a sponsored angler I am certain that I would have a different opinion.

The rule of thumb for trolling motors is to buy the most powerful one that you can afford that will fit on your boat. I'd have a 100 lb thrust one on my boat except it has been proven to me that 4 batteries absolutely positively will not fit.

How many hours total? Four trips is a lot. I really suck at fishing and I've never blanked 4 trips in a row. Wow, experiences like this could cause lifetime self esteem issues. You should wash your mouth out with beer - repeatedly - maybe that will help. Are you one of those guys who are careful with their new boat and go to great pains not to scratch it or get it dirty? That could be the issue. When my boat was new, I put the first scratch it in within 10 minutes of it being floated (not on purpose, I was just an inexperienced driver and docks don't get out of your way) I spilled a beer on it within the first hour on the water. Anyway, maybe you are being too careful.

Years ago when I was fishing BFL as a co-angler I got rod bag very similar to the Pro Locker rod bag listed at Tackle Warehouse. I totally forget the brand, but I remember it was priced similar to the one at Tackle Warehouse. Since getting that bag, I wouldn't fish a tournament without it. It makes transporting rods from your vehicle to the boat a no muss no fuss proposition. Go ahead and pop for it.

My "man cave" is an unheated shed that stores the vast majority of my tackle as well as my boat, truck, ATV etc. If I had an indoor man cave, a beer fridge and a decent stereo would be a top priority. I make do with a cooler and a powerful boom box. As far as work areas go, I find it handy to have both a stand up work area and a sit down work area. Decent lighting is important, more so now, as I get older than it was 10 years ago. You can't have too many shelves. Every so often shelving goes on sale at Walmart or Home Depot. I've got 6 or 8 chairs in my shed, but more often than not I look around and stuff is piled on the chairs to keep it off the ground and I end up sitting on an overturned 5 gallon bucket. Enough rambling - bust out with some pictures when you get organized.