Peter E.

More than anything else, being patient and practicing will eliminate back lashes. You'll get the feel of it.

Man I don't even have to thin about it bud. You need a pelican getaway 100. It weighs about 40lbs and has two rod holder, dry storage and comes with a paddle. You could put it in the back of a truck or on top of a car. The best thing is that it is about $400 and is made of RAMX. I have on and I really enjoy it. I think it would be a great thing for a young fella. It is stable and has a ton of storage space. To be honest if you can't put it on there you don't need it. You can check it out on Pelicans website.

I would have to say rock climbing, but living where I live, i really have no oppurtunity to do so. I love kayaking too. But all in all cooking for friends and family is top notch.

This thread picks up from time to time and I ussually add my two cents, I will go ahead and make it an even dollar. Question: How many fish can you bring in in one spot??? Answer: Depends Now i know that sounds sketchy but it is the truth. Now we all know that there are enviromental factors that can make or break a fishing trip, like barometric pressure, cold fronts and rapidly rising water levels. So lets say that everthing is stable and go into how to catch more fish in a single spot. First carefully pick your spot. Look for areas with cover and access to deep water. Another plus might be somewhere with new water coming in. Because we all know not every spot is as good as the next. So lets say you have a good spot on a stable day. Do you pull up to the are and begin by casting in the middle and hitting the sweet spots before moving on? If thats the case you passed by two thirds of the fish in the area. Thats right two thirds. The reason is that when you catch a fish it emitts a stress hormone that puts a feeding school down. This is why when you release a fish it seems that its over. Now here are a few tricks to help you catch more and bigger fish in each area. First things first, fish the outside edges first then work inward. Use reaction baits at this point. The reason is that the most active fish in the school are on the outside edges and suspended away from the cover. Good baits for this are spinners, cranks, and curly tail grubs on a mushroom head. At this point you have to decide what presentation works best, horizontal or vertical. This will give you a feel for the rest of the day. Seeing what the most active fish are biting on save you massive amounts of time. This is the best place on the cover to experiment. Second move into the cover to just inside the cover, still not the heart. Here i like a 6 inch texas rig worm, fat rap or colorado bladed spinner. These allow me to work over and through the cover and react to the cover. I like to work slow because this area holds fish that are less active so, I like to go with the smallest weight possible taking depth and current into consideration. This helps to keep me in the strike zone the longest and allows for the most action. Fianlly we start to move in, still keep in mind that this is where the most inactive bass are hanging out, also this is where the largest hang out. So I like to use a larger bait with a larger weight. Not really flipping because I might try to let that bait hit the bottom and sit for a while. But still work it slowly. After I ttake a fish on that I like to take like a 10 inch dead ringer with like a three eights weight. If the water is deep or the weeds thick I might go upwards three quartes of an ounce. Working cover like this can help you take large numbers and even larger fish in the same spots you had only caught one or two. Take it easy, Peter

A friend of mine and I are looking for a reasonably priced fishing lodge here in Alabama, and though that may sound easy it is not. And by the time you add in the college budget it becomes near impossible. But I suppose that in the spirit of huge bass I would be willing to swallow a few dollars. If ya'll would, could you let me know of any good lodges in Alabam for a reasonable price that you feel would be worth that sort of money. Thanks, Peter

The first thing a person has to do in paterning fish is to understand the fish. Understand the life of that fish and their feeding patterns and behavior as it relates to light penetration, moon phase, barometric pressure, current, cover, and available forage. Now all of that can seem kind of boggling at first but with time and patience it will become second nature to you as an angler. The first thing you have to do is to remember not to get stuck in a pattern yourself. You have to be willing to change with the fish. One of the first things to do in establishing a pattern is to take small downsized baits, some horizontal and some vertical presentations and work over a variety of areas. Start with points, then move to shallow cover, then to mid depth structure. In doing this you can start to get a pulse on what the fish are doing. Try about an hour on each location switching presentations as you go. As you start to notice one style of presentation working better than the other. Also different presentaions will work better at different locations. Say on the points a crank bait might work better that a worm, or in the shallows a soft plastic might be better than a spinner bait. That way you have a pattern for each type of location. Now keep in mind that thereis no master pattern on large lakes and in rivers. So you have to build paterns of patterns. With a better understanding of the fish you can establish patterns much easier. Good luck, Peter

Well do these hybrids occur naturally? And do they produce viable offspring? Has anyone ever heard of these things producing naturally or is this like a hybrid stripe? Peter

So where are they stocking these fish? Is this a state project? Are they warm water tolerant? What size do they grow to? Do they need high oxygen saturation? Are they hardy? Finally has anyone caught them with regularity? Peter

Thanks fellas. I will keep an eye out for blems and try lookig at the other abtteries as well. Good fishing folks, Peter

with the rapidly changing water levels I would suggest looking for any vegitated water that is flooded when the water rises. Also hit key area and write down the results based on the water level. Then start to form patterns to match the water levels. Good luck, Peter

What would be a good trolling motor battery for under $100? And then where does one go about purchasing this battery? Thanks, Peter

Well ladies and gents I am stumped, doesn't happen very often but it happens. So therefore I am all about some help. Let me tell you about the river and you can give me some feed back. The Cahaba River as it runs close to my home is low due to the drought in Alabama. It still has a fairly good current and a decent depth running from 2 feet to 20. Of course an undammed water way does that. But even with the low water and stable conditions there is only about 1 foot of visibility. On the banks that curve WITH the river there are soap stone walls, the other side is a gradual tapered muddy sides. As one can imagine the river is littered with old fallen trees and stumps. Normally I would think that this sort of place would suite me fine. But for the past two days I have been stumped and granted I have only been able to fish it about an hour each day. All the same I would love the insight. The forage in the river are the ussual suspects: shad, blue gill, crawfish, and now the new mayfly hatch. One thing to add here is that there are largemouth, spotted and striped bass in this area. Well just trying to paint a good picture. Thanks for the in-put. Peter

well I have no idea what brand he uses but he buys it at the local co-op, it turns the water green then in a week the algae is broken up, in the next week it is gone. Knowing the owner as I do it can't be to expensive.

when did you buy them?

We have that happen, at a pond I fish. We clear it up every year by fertilizing it.

Give me a Rapala minnow and c tail worm, 3/0 hook, 1/8 bullet weight and I'm dangerous .

I like a small skitter pop in the mid stream of the river, don't know about the lakes. If there are no working birds like gulls in the neighborhood watch for bends in river with fast water running around it. Watch for blitzes.

The only thing that is better than taking a break from life and fishing is sharing it with others. I love introducing people to fishing and personally, I think the world would be alot better if more people fished. Hoover once said that fishing was one of the most personal things a man can do next to prayer. I beleive him, and to share it makes it better.

I would happily eat flounder at least twice a week for the rest of my life.

Nice of you to join us

I was watching an infisherman specail one day and they were talking about the importance of working the bait as long as possible and even figure eighting them at the boat when you has fish that would follow the lure since wtching that I have been able to catch alot more fish on those days. I really use this when fishing for striped bass.

I like to head into the shallows and throw a paca craw with a light weight on the weed edges. Also I will throw it across the weed and use it like a top water. Works great for me. I think the rain washes out the crawfish and the bass will feed on them more heavily.

Depending on the make up of the bottom and the depth you could try either a slab spoon or a heavy buck tail jig. These both look like a shad on the bottom and their weight will help you hit the bottom. Best thing though is not to let yourself be limited by this one location. Try other places on the lake or body of water, and don't be afraid to try new things. There is no sure fire lure that will work 100% of the time so the important thing to do is to learn to match your presentation to the location. Think like a fish and go for it! Good luck, Peter

I agree with RoadWarrior, try the beginner sections and go from there. Also keep in mind that you only need a small variety of lures to catch bass. Try a Rapala straight back minnow, a willow leaf spinner bait, a fat rap crank bait and a selection of soft plastic worms, hooks and weights. The best thing to start with is to learn about bass themselves, BassResource.com has all the stuff you need to start with as far as info. Welcome aboard. Peter

I have no doubt that may not be all that un common. Friday afternnon I was fishing a creek, and one of the spotted bass I caught had eaten a snake, so when I went to get the hook out, there was a snake looking back at me! Needless to say I let the fish go, we need more of his kind down here!