stratos 375

In the 30 years I've had a bass boat, I've stopped & given assistance about a half dozen times, There's also about the same number of times that I didn't. Also because of the damages that could occur to either parties boat from towing, I'm very hesitant to get involved in that type of situation. As always , I'd stop & investigate. Someone injured, or any type of medical emergency, it's a no brainer, yes. However, if I had spent 2 days practicing, hotel rooms, 3 hour drive one way to the lake, entry fees etc. , and I come across Billy Bob & his cousin Gomer who had a six pack of Pabst for breakfast & forgot to fill their gas can, tough luck. I'd offer to call someone for them, that's about it. It just depends on the situation. I've been stranded on the water a few times myself & know how depressing it can be.

I fished yesterday in this band of rain that's moving up the coast, we had over 4" here & it's headed straight for you. As with most rain events this large, 9.5 times out of 10, there are clearing skies and substantial winds behind it. Fortunately, there isn't any real cold weather behind this one. If your water temps are now in the hi 60's like they are here, they'll probably be close to that this weekend, there won't be any noticable change. These early fall fronts don't affect the fish as much as the fronts that come later in the fall with the 15 degree temp. drops. If it were me, the last place I'd want to be if it's windy is fishing deep water offshore structure. I'd be fishing shallow, and in the thickest vegetation or blowdowns I could find. The water is still plenty warm. I'd still be throwin plenty of spinnerbaits & buzzbaits. Even after a front passes thru, there's always going to be some rule defying fish that will stay shallow. It's been hot & dry around these parts all summer, lake levels are low. A good 5" of rain, some water color and a little frontal activity are just what I've been looking for to mix things up a bit. So, ain't no need to panic, run out to the middle of the lake with your marker buoys, or have to break out any weenie baits. Just fish like you usually do with a little more emphasis on shallow thick cover. good luck

I'm not from down there, but my brother has a waterfront house in Fenwick and I've spent a lot of time there. When I'm down that way with the boat, I usually just head over to Salisbury & fish Johnson's or the Wicomico, both offer better than average fishing. On rt. 384, off of 54 heading toward Selbyville, there is a very large pond I've always thought would hold bass. It's probably at least 20 acres, it's got houses around it, but you could ask. I walked around it a few times when it was under construction. It's been there at least 10 years or more. Long enough to get a fish population started. You can see it very clearly on Google Earth, also there appears to be a handful of ponds in Selbyville proper. You're in a tough spot.

You can't go wrong with pitchin a jig into the overhanging brush on the wooded deep banks ( the same side as the ramp) On the other side of the lake opposite the ramps fish all those "nothing" looking banks w/ a trap. There are always fish along the rip rap on the causeway, I get them again, pitchin jigs. Above the bridge, on the right hand side going up, there's always fish in the shallow wood along the edges. Always. Again, pitchin a jig. Jerkbaits or traps along the dam breast. Ain't much happenin in the middle of the lake. There are remnants of an old farm path & stump row about mid lake on the east side. always a fish or two there. Fish under the causeway bridge w/ a deep diving crank. Keep throwin till you snag one, they are always there in the cut. Buzzers before first light work well too. If it's your first time there,or if you're new to the place, make sure all your gear is in order, being that the regional PFBC headquarters is there, you'll always be a target of boat checks. It's a known rookie training ground where the seasoned officers teach rookies how to toss a boat from bow to stern, and write their first citations. It's a great night lake, you can launch 24 hrs. Hardly ever anyone there at night. Being that the lake drains lots of farmland, it gets muddy quick and often. I watched them clear trees and build the dam to create the lake back in the early 60's , been fishin there ever since. It's a decent lake, nothin special. Not really known for size or numbers. 5 keepers w/ a kicker fish thrown is considered a good day. I ususlly go there in Mar./Apr. then again in Nov./ Dec. If I go in the summer, it's on a weeknight & I fish all nite. One out of 10 trips may produce a hog.

to keep it complicated, the answer is yes. Guides by definition are professional, and some of them don't fish tourneys

May 29th. Also scheduled is Nogueira/ Griffin, Bisping / Miller and Hathaway/ Sanchez. Evans may be quicker, but Rampage is tougher Nog's gonna choke out Griffin Bisping will KO Miller I hope Sanchez ends up in the nearest emergency room The only bout of interest on the undercard is fathead Chris Leben

You've been infected with the common malady known as the seven year itch. Except in your case it took a few more years to develop. It will go away. Apply some Calamine lotion to the affected area, massage liberally on a daily basis to relieve symptoms.

Just my 2 cents, but the reason he was so "thorough" with you may have been more for the benefit of his "assistant" or trainee. I was boat checked a few years ago by a WCO and he had his rookie along with him. He made it a point to toss my boat from bow to stern. Everything, and I mean everything was present & in order. He seemed kind of ticked, as he obviously wanted to show junior how to write a ticket. He actually took each one of my PFD vests and inspected it to the utmost degree. One of them had a small tear in it that was less than a quarter inch long from where I had to cut a treble hook out of it. He fined me 25.00 for a vest that was in a state of "disrepair". Had he been alone, the vest would had never gotten a second look. If you didn't have any trout in the livewell and your gear was for bass fishing, the trout stamp thing was just smoke. Those guys know when someone's trout fishing vs. bass fishing.

He's lucky he got what he got. If'n he did that here when Rizzo was mayor, he'd have been shot or they would have pulled a Rodney King on him. How dare he disrupt my baseball game.

Not too many years ago you could get a good bass guide for 150 or 200 a day, & I usually always booked for 3 or 4 days. I didn't mind coughing up an extra hundred or two for a tip. Nowadays, with the fees some guides are charging, I'd find it extremely hard to be as generous as I used to. That said, I've always tipped a guide, and a few really didn't deserve it. Even though I'm semi-retired, I run a consulting business and charge an hourly fee. My work is a lot more techincal and challenging than driving a boat and finding fish, and the consequences of an error can be dire. I'm trying to think of the last time someone tipped me for doing my job. NEVER.

Wow, small world, I thought I was the only one who did that. I've got an old garage out back & they are thick this time of year. I smack them with a 3' canoe paddle & knock 'em into left field. I'll have to try shooting them, good idea. I also stand there with a weed eater & shred them. They never seem to understand the concept of string moving at very high RPM's. Great thread!

I'm a knife collecting nut, I've got close to 50. The focus of my collection is tactical auto's. If I leave the house without a switchblade in my pocket, it's probably 'cause I'm not wearing any pants. I've been carrying them a very long time, never had to pull one out in anger or had to use one for self defense. My current carry is a Benchmade Auto Axis 5000. A great fishing and boating knife. For fifteen years I worked in a meat packing plant, standing in blood and animal parts all day, 40 other guys around you all with very sharp knives in their hands . You learn real fast how to control your emotions and get along with your co-workers. During those years I did manage to see a few knife fights. It's amazing how much blood can come out of a human being and they can still live.

I made what I referred to as a "ghetto gas card", just an old fuel pump out of a car with 12 volt clips on it, with extra long leads to avoid any major explosions. Worked like a charm. Once most of the gas was out, I made a large swab from a broom handle & rag , went in thru the fill tube & sopped up the rest. Flushed it with about a gallon of dry gas & repeated. When I actually had to pull my tank ' cause it had a hole in it, even after the "L" clips were off, it still wouldn't budge. I had to fill it up with suds and cut it out in pieces.

Taking the gas tank out of a full sized bass boat ain't always that easy, at least it wasn't for me. There are much easier ways to completely get all the fuel/ water out of it.

Shortly after the Stratos factory opened, circa '83? I bought one of their 345's. A boat that for a 14 footer was laid out very well, had a Mariner 60 on her. After being a rider for 3 years, I entered my first tourney as a boater and finished second with it. I finished in front of some very respectable guys. I said this is gonna be easy, but I need a bigger boat. About 6 months later and before I even sold the 345, I went out & bought a new 18' 375, overpowered and tricked out. Little did I know. Little do I still know. First tourney of my life in '83 I finished 2d. The last tourney of my life in '92 I finished 2d. The 9 years in between was a mediocre blur. I had a lot of fun fishing tournaments, but had way more fun not fishing them. Probably had something to do with the fact that I could count my wins with just one hand. :-[

You didn't say if you had a spin off type fuel filter/ water separator. If you don't have one, you need one. But first of all, it's best to eliminate the source(s) of infiltration.

Agreed my friend, the Skuke is a very under rated fishery and has produced some good fish for me as well. Once you get away from the stench of downtown, it's a different river. There have been some monster cats coming out of it in the last several years. It's only 10 minutes from my house. I've been fishing it since the early 60's. It's come a long way since then. Sorry for ranting on the OP's thread. I'm bored.

I'll have to agree with the crowd that says she's tough. I was never a regular there and have only fished it maybe 40 times or so over 30 years. Even back in the mid 80's , it was no picnic. I will say, some guys do well there on a consistent basis, but I was never one of them. The last tournament I fished in my life was there in 1992, probably 50 boats, I was very surprised to take second. It's just plain tough. I did one of two things there, I ventured all the way to the back of the 2 major arms and looked for off color water, and went against all advice of fishing deep. I seemed to pick up fish once in a while. The only other pathetic strategy I had was to hit secondary rocky points all day long, and just figure it was a statistical thing, enough casts, and you'd eventually drag your jig in front of one. They are there for sure. A few times I was lucky enough to get a pass to the hot side, seemed like a different lake entirely. One time stands out in particular, It was Superbowl Sunday, fish bustin on top all over the place and eatin Pop-R's like candy.

That's why this forum is so wonderful, we're all entitled to express our own opinion. BTW, the Delaware & Skuke don't flow into the suburbs, they flow into the city. The only way they would flow into the suburbs is if water was able to somehow run uphill and backwards. I regularly fish the Flats, the Potomac, Gaston, Santee and Seminole. Compared to Many waters on the east coast, fishing in and around the city is the pits. I've fished plenty of tournaments on the Delaware, a lot of times 10-12 lbs can get a win. Lunkers rarely exceed 4 lbs. Venturing out of the city, anglers can do well.

To be perfectly honest, the fishing around Philly sucks. You didn't say if you had a boat or not. Makes a big difference. If you're bank fishing, the Delaware has very limited opportunities for bank fishing, and the fish are few and far between unless you've spent lots of time on the river. You can fish the Skuke above the Art Museum falls along the banks, lots of people do, again, good luck with that. Carrying a weapon of some sort is advisable if you will be fishing the low light periods. If you've got a vehicle, head to one of the outlying counties, preferably Chester Cty. If you're a boater, you can give the Delaware & Skuke below the Art Museum a shot. The Delaware has a less than average population of Bass, but has fishable populations of Musky and Stripers as well. Beware, it's big water, it can get rough and there is a lot of commercial traffic out there. In the future if you land here, PM me for specifics on the Delaware, it was my home waters for many years and I've logged a few hundred trips there. See the PFBC website for descriptions of other local lakes in nearby counties, again Chester County would be a good bet. If you have the cash, get a membership at Van Sciver lake. It's run by Waste Management. Fishing can be decent there. There's always that state that's over the bridge, I can't speak for the fishing there. I stay away from there, the judge in Penns Grove told me to never step foot in their state again. Some years later, a judge in Edison told me the same thing.

You're welcome. I didn't mean to come off as condescending, I should have clarified myself, I meant that one species didn't have anything to do with the other in a regulatory fashion, not biologically.

Yes it's legal, one species has nothing to do with the other. Accidental catch, same as it's always been, immediate release unharmed. If you wander into an area where you're catching Stripers with every cast, I would suggest moving. DNR can and will consider this as "targeting" If you want to lessen the chance of Striper attacks, fish shallow cover with plastics or SB's. Fishing in open water with traps or jerkbaits is just asking for trouble.

in addition to what's already mentioned, I carry a couple of orange safety cones or fold flat reflective signs, a pair of spare transom & bow straps, a good flashlight or two w/ stand and a decent size first aid kit. Make sure your fire extinguisher is in a place where you can get at it easily.

If it were me, I'd call someone at Glasstron who knew what they were doing & ask them. They'll of course tell you it's not recommended, do it at your own risk, blah, blah, blah. I'm pretty sure they are still in business. But maybe you'll get a hold of someone who can actually help you. Just make sure it's not tied to anything structurally, then have at it with a Sawzall.

I see the thread isn't quite locked down yet, so I'd like to make a parting comment. It strays slightly from the OP's topic, however I'd like to get it off my chest. Skeety, I must have been offline the day you were nominated as spokesman for white anglers across America. In your post # 24 you said that " You know as well as I do, that most white anglers think that most minorities are pot-lickers and meathunters, not skilled fisherman." I take umbrage with that statement, It's mos' definately not like that up here, so please in the future do not include me or any of my fellow anglers in this neck of the woods with your broad stroked generalization, I don't want to be included in that " most" category. I'd like to think that we as a group have transcended that boundary many years ago. A few years back I was in a club in Philly, we had a few black members, we went out of our way to make them as welcome as possible, they had a great time being a member we were glad to have them. We all found out in short order that skin color had nothing to do with fishing ability. No personal offense taken my friend, I just didn't agree with one of your statements, and wanted to make a civilized rebuttal. If management thinks my post needs editing, I would just prefer that it's deleted in it's entirety.