Nitrofreak

Ha Ha ! ATTA BOY !!! You are more than welcome buddy !!!! LMAO !!! BAHAHAHAHA !!! You had a pretty good post going.....you just did not finish as strong as we had hoped, oh well, better luck next time LOL !!!

ARE YOU KIDDIN ME !!! That thing would require more maintanence than all your fishing gear put together LOL !!!!

OOPS !! With out the QB for the 49ers, Gore has to have a really big day, period !!! I just don't see that happening.

Lets see, for the 49ers, I think it's going to come down to how well Kaprenick does, they are no real big threat in throwing the ball, their running game is really the key to their offense so if he struggles they are done. Baltimore just simply has to play like they have played in the last few games, I see Flacco having a big day with Boldin, Rice will be at 100 yards or close to it. One thing for sure, 2 of the best defenses in the NFL, but I think Baltimore has the offense to beat. I can't wait, it's going to be a great game !!!!! What are you thinking RW?

It's getting to be that time of year, why have you not tried red?

Thanx, that means a lot !!! I hope we get the chance to meet someday !!

I don't know that I would be all that suprised, I mean after all, it is the best d**n fishing site on the planet lol !! Can I get a WWWWUUUUUU WWWWUUUUU !!!!!

Without a doubt it is the fishing song by Brad Paisley !!!

Well, well, well, it's about time !!! LOL !!! You been doing any better than the last time we spoke? It is really good to see you posting again !!!! As far as swim baits go, it depends on where I am fishing, I like a large profile and a breatheable skirt type of jig, 1/2 to 1oz, I also like to attach a fluke in Salt and Pepper color. Other swim jigs anything less than 1/2oz I like curl tail grubs, I will swim these around most of the grassy areas, in and through it and around the outside of it. One thing I am always doing is making sure my swim jigs stay in contact with what ever I am fishing, if it's a rocky shore line, it's bouncing off the rocks etc...

The nuke plants up here are the same, I was fishing a 15 degree morning and pulling a fish out of 66 degree water, I never pulled the fish completely out but just grabbing the fishes lips was warm to the touch, it's a weird feeling, seeing your line freeze up and touching a warm fish lol !!

X2, I owe a lot of tube bait knowledge to you Mark, I can't wait to see more of what you have to offer to this site. Welcome to the forum !!!

I am so rusty from not being able to fish I think the whole spectrum is something I need to focus on this year, I am not looking forward to all of the work but at the same time I am excited to get back after it again. I hope whatever any one needs to work on brings great success to all of you and that this season is your best season ever !! Good luck and be safe !!!

It don't get much better than that. Bill Murphy's books are really good to pick up as well, one book that comes to mind and that is very popular "In persuit of giant bass" Good books will always relate structure with how the fish relate to that structure, reading books like these will greatly increase your knowledge of where you should be looking on your sonars and your maps. Fish by the way will go deeper on bright sunny days for sure but they also seek out cover in shallow areas as well, the more cover you can find no matter the depth the more successful you will be, don't be blinded by the fact that they go deeper and just start fishing deeper water, look for deeper water that has something to offer, like tall grass for example, or brush piles and things of that nature to start out with, as you progressivly get a better understanding of structure and how they relate to it the more successful you will become. As for sonar units, there are so many different options out there to choose from it can be confusing, the mounts that you choose, you should keep in mind what you are protecting, don't skimp on a good bracket no matter how much you pay for a sonar unit. If you are thinking of upgrading to a newer unit, look at all of them, be open minded and prepair for a lot of sales pitches, don't bother talking to a sales rep, most do not know their product anyway, go on line and look at the good and bad reports of each of the units and make the best decision you can for the cost you can afford to pay. Good luck and be safe !!!

Fishing deep structure, when you get ready to, with out a sonar to aid you is like driving your boat across a lake you have never seen before with you eyes closed, you just keep bumping into things. You are not going to get this all in one day, nor in one year, it's a constant learning curve with only a few facts to help you along the way. Read all the best books you can, theory is a great tool to aquire and you will put those theories to work when you are out there in the real world putting your own puzzel's together, theory and good equipment go hand in hand, a good sonar will help aid you in understanding what the structure below the surface is like and how the fish are relating to it, so do not be afraid to open your mind to this chapter as well. Topo maps are a great place to start, WRB is on the money with a great post, a good place to start with a topo map is to look for the longest points on the map and start working from there, work your way back into the creeks and channels as you study the maps, WRB has given some good info for what the lines on the map represent, in the books you will read, you will soon come to know what to look for on these maps, try to pick up books by local authors too that have fished your closest bodies of water, they can be of some tremendous insite as you learn more and more. Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to help you more than being out there on the water as much as you can be, the more time you spend there the better you will be, understand what you are doing, take notes of the time and what kind of day it is and the location and depth of which you caught your fish and the tool that you were using, keep a log in your mind and in a book if you so desire, it will help you in the long run, keep things simple, don't over think or rush to change baits and fish your whole tackle box, take your time and learn to be patient. Good luck and be safe !!!

Generally you won't find bass where the Pickerel are, they are much more aggressive and more dominate fish than the Bass, location of where you are using the Jig may be of some fault, however the presentation you are using must be working if other species are picking the jig up, you may just need to keep looking for other areas the Bass actually dominate. The structure of this lake will be better to search than the shallow cover if Pickerel are abundant.

No better way to say it than that !! It really does not matter what time of year it is, if your not on the fish, your not catching the fish. Same rules apply to winter fishing as they do in summer fishing, granted, the fish are more active in the summer but no matter what you do you have to be where they are, bright sunny days, I am looking for shade and deep water no matter the temp, the only thing the temp does is dictate my speed. Febuary is no different that January other than the fact that I know March is knocking on the door, I am getting geared up for the up and coming fishing season, Febuary is a month I will generally take my boat out and start looking for those deep fish and start tracking their movement as the spawning season gets ever so much closer here in Va. I am blessed in the fact that we have a nuke plant not far from me and I can fish all winter long, it's a time that I will use to get aquainted with her structure and note the changes from the previous years, and yes to do a little fishing as well. My favorite baits are the jig and pig and the jerk bait, but I will not limit my self to just those two baits, lots of finesse baits are used this time of year for the really lethargic fish when you have to hold your bait in front of them for an extended period of time. There is not a day that I get that is not windy anymore it seems, windy days have to be used to your advantage, in my opinion it gets easier to find fish, I know where to cast when I am fishing a boat dock or anything for that matter, I am looking for the calmest water I can find, this also is true for heavy boat traffic, I am looking for areas with the best cover and structure that the fish will use during the lakes most heavy boat traffic, finding fish during times such as these will help you to be able to track their movements to some degree and that can be used to your advantage. Febuary is generally colder than January but the good thing is the days start to get longer, spring is just around the corner and so is the start of a brand new fishing season, Febuary is the best time to get youself in gear and prepair for putting yourself in the best position possible, on the fish. Good luck and be safe !!!

That would be awesome Quan !!! I have not had the chance to speak with you since our day on the res, I look forward to seeing you once again and finally geting the chance to down that cold one with you, I hope that we get to fish the res once again before then though.

Are you coming out to join us ? please !!!

When you fog an engine it is recomended that you crank the engine without the plugs installed to get the access oil out of the cylinders, you have to disable the electronic ignition system first so you do not create an unwanted spark, chances are you just fouled a plug or two, either replace the plugs or you can burn them clean with a small propane torch and let them cool, if you install a hot plug it may ignite any fuel vapor in the cylinder so be careful. Most times once you run the engine under a load for a while or higher rpms it will clear out but it is not always the case especially if the ignition system is old and it has not been tuned for a while.

LC, Ghost and Ghost/Chart

The way everybody is talking I think chatter baits are going to work the best IMO, but I am bringing everything for what sounds to be a very grassy area.

Oh how true that is, in todays economy it difficult, many employers are using people within the enviroment to do multiple tasks, "wear a lot of hats" Today I am a shop forman and have been for quite some time, I take care of training, which includes a big time loss of cash to the dealership if the training becomes below minimum standards, tools, customers, management, employees, and all the vehicles, along with all the shop's equipment, welders, computers, heaters etc...we support local programs as well to bring in outside sources and we also bring in graduates from local collages and traing centers, among many of the other tasks I perform is a gading level for the tech that enters our field, one time I had a kid, whom I may say was very very smart, actually tell me and my boss that he was there to take my job after the 90 day probation was up, the kid was very book smart to say the least, the very first day after following me around, quit, he did not realise that he was going to have to work like that, his statement was that he thought my job was to deligate, and to a small degree it is, but it's both mentally and physically challanging everyday, I guess in short he really did not want my job after all. I was brought up in this enviroment and have seen many changes over the years, with many more to come, I am 50 years old now and speaking of changing carrers now would be out of the question, I have looked into different careers and no one is looking for the older generation, it does not matter if you were to graduate at the top of your class, they are simply not looking for that, at least not in my area.

First things first, you got a strike on a worm, there was your first clue, whatever you were doing with that worm should have given you something else to go on, instead of changing all those baits you should have just played with the color of your worm, you telling us you were trying all those baits means you lost patience, I dont know how well a Jerk Bait works down there but either that or a drop shot with a 4 or 3" robo worm will get their attention. Be solid in what you are trying to accomplish here and show a ton of patience, like everyone has already stated SLOW is where it's at, be prepaired to have your bait in the water for a long time before you cast again and stop changing those baits.

Thoughts and prayers to you and your Wife Sam, I hope she gets along well and starts feeling better soon !!!

Where have you been man ???? I have not seen you post for some time, glad to see you wanting to join in Dan !! Thanx for the much needed info, and we look forward to meeting you !!!