Ratherbfishing

I don't know if it's weird but it does put a different meaning to "Hook one, pearl two."

Pretty much the only thing I can add is that marabou jigs (with feathers and chenille yarn) are, for my money, the best jigs out there. With just the slightest movement, they undulate and move like a real bait fish.

Theoretically, I understand the concept and/or desireability of chart speeds (or maybe I don't) but if you slow down the chart screen on a fish finder, does that not ALSO mean you are NEVER going to see, in real time, what is going on under your boat. AND, the longer you use a slower chart speed, won't that just make the "time lag" that much longer? I mean, after a while, wouldn't what is on the screen be TOTALLY different than what is actually under or around you? Am I missing something here?

Navigation using the stars was my greatest challenge! But seriously, a boat is nice-if for no other reason than to put you within casting distance of places you can't ordinarily reach from the shore because of trees, steep banks, etc. And I think you'll be able to retrieve a greater percentage of snagged lures. It won't offset the cost of the boat itself BUT it will make you feel a little better. My suggestion is this: Until you get the hang of things, use the boat as an extension of the shore or bank. You don't have to go "all in" from the beginning. Anchor if you want or wedge the boat against the shore (whatever works for you) but fish it like you would from the shore-only, perhaps, in more productive spots. And then spend a portion of each day venturing out. You may never entirely get away from the shore but probably, at times, you will. Good luck!!!!

I approach it by going home, propping my feet up, and having a hot cup of coffee

Rarely do I get COMPLETELY skunked but that is because I hedge my bets. I don't USUALLY fish before the water has had a chance to warm up. I did get skunked 3 weeks ago but I knew better than to go out then. I just HAD to, though.

I think it depends on WHO has done the work and for WHAT. I can lay a pretty mean carpet but don't ask me to rewire a boat-unless you LIKE electrical fires.

I'm not a ichthyologist but i'm pretty sure that is not a carp. It is a sucker. And not the kind that is born every minute.

I ordered a side/down imaging sonar but it hasn't come in yet. I COULD wait until it is installed and I've had a chance to use it but I'm impatient and the weather stinks. It seems to me that side imaging would be good to LOCATE suspended fish but the down imaging would help to get better information about their depth, etc. Am I far off in supposing this? Also (something else I'll eventually find out) I hear side imaging works best while the boat is moving. If this is true, why is this? What does a side image look like when you are not moving at all?

I hear that in England, SPAM is considered a delicacy.

do they sell those "after-market"?

The million dollar question (to me, anyway), is how do you mount a transom transducer onto a trolling motor?

This is what happens during a long winter. I spend most of my $$$$ when I'm not actually fishing.

I've seen, on Pinterest I think, rods (or the first foot and a half, anyway) being made into lamps.

No offense to those who like them but I hate hate hate HATE canoes. Don't get sucked into the allure of the "Lewis and Clark" appeal. They are awkward to load and unload. They track like shinola. The slightest breeze will blow them around and you will spend far more time fighting the canoe than you will actually fishing. They are tippy and you are always about one inch left or right of flipping. IF you can find someone who likes canoeing but not fishing and who doesn't mind sitting in the back while you fish, they aren't so bad but those people are more scarce than lips on a chicken.

"Bob" sounds like a piece of...(ahem) "work."

I agree. take it back.

I'm Caucasian, if that's what you mean.

ONE thing I've learned over MANY years of fishing is that SOMETIMES, no matter WHAT your try, your partner will simply outfish you. It could sometimes be obvious things like using fluorocarbon instead of braid (or vice versa) or it could be simply how he is holding his mouth. It is never as much fun to be on the "losing" end of things but it just happens and there is no avoiding it. Oh and yes, the guy in front has first dibs at the fish. When it gets tough, use the time to practice your accuracy. Maybe, for instance, the boater is catching all the active fish whereas if you toss CLOSER to the cover, you might find fish that aren't chasing his baits. This is one of countless scenarios.

Be especially cautious as, if I recollect properly, the HDS 12 is a touch screen. It could go from "unsightly" to "non-functioning."

I also had a "friend" who got the musky itch. So he would musky fish while I cast for bass. Problem was, because he could cast distances approaching a quarter of a mile, he thought he SHOULD-right into the areas where bank fishermen were. One bank fisherman cussed him out rather eloquently and I just smiled-knowing he had it coming. We don't hang out together anymore.

One of my buddies I've known since high school (I'm 51) is "that friend" but in a mostly harmless sort of way. He will bring 3 tackle boxes onto my boat with every bait known to man and yet 85 percent of the time he ties on the same bait (a roostertail). Occasionally, if he sees me doing it, he'll tie on a hollow body frog but instead of using the proper tackle, he'll tie it onto a whippy ultralight spinning rod with 6 lb line. I TRY to explain why that is just asking for, at best, a lost fish and, at worse, a lost fish AND a lost bait but he just keeps on doing it. If I could JUST get him to adapt more, I think he'd want to go out more because he'd catch more fish but he is what he is and I (mostly) just let him be.

Took the words right ought of my mouth. I had a 2.7 liter Tacoma (standard cab) and it worked pretty hard (and didn't really get any better fuel economy-even when it wasn't towing). It was a decent truck otherwise but if you are serious about towing-go with the V6 or find something else.

I have a difficult time believing some baits have a "magic" action and others don't work at all. As long as a lure I've purchased doesn't drag through the water like a soggy cigar, it'll stay in my box for future consideration.

I am happy to share my baits so long as they know they have to replace any lost baits. And I generally tell them what baits cost-so they don't think they can get away with paying a buck to replace a 6 dollar crankbait.