Shewillbemine

Nice fish, congrats!

Thanks for the pics and plans Mike! Much appreciated. Just waiting for the Sea Eagle now because of delays due to Hurricane Sandy. I hope everyone's ok.

I used to fish solely with night crawlers for bass. I also fished them like live bait and chose not to impart any action whatsoever. Problem is that many of the bass I caught were hooked deep in the stomach. I now prefer the challenge of working lures.

You might have better responses if you post this thread in the regional sections.

There are far more fish species that taste way better than LMB in my opinion. So unless I'm camping and just want the novelty of cooking over an open flame, C&R for me.

Berkley Power Worm and some kind of extra large topwater lure.

I'm learning that my fish finder is not the end all, be all device for simply locating fish. I know that because I've caught bass when it has registered 0 fish on the screen. So don't think fish arent present just cuz the screen says so. You may want to mess with the sensitivity and see if the "static" remains or not. The water clarity also plays a big role.

Any input would be appreciated if you have it. Thanks!

I am seriously considering the Sea Eagle 9 Inflatable Motormount Boat and wanted to hear some opinions. I've researched it quite a bit both on this site and elsewhere, and hopefully I can get more input from you who've experienced this or have personal opinions. http://www.seaeagle.com/MotormountBoats.aspx 1. Is this a suitable alternative while I save up more money for a bass boat in the future? I don't even have a towing vehicle at the moment so it will be a few years before I can even seriously consider an aluminum or fiberglass boat. 2. Is the MinnKota Endura 30 a suitable TM or should I skip it and buy one with more thrust? My concerns include not having enough power to navigate choppy water, a tiny bit more speed than a rental boat and boat control while fishing during windy days. 3. For those who own inflatables, kayaks, pontoons and float tubes:Are these water vehicles really worth it as substitutes for bass boats or do you have lingering thoughts of regret with your purchase? 4. I've seen plenty of discussion regarding fish/depth finders on kayaks and float tubes, but I'm wondering if it'll be possible to install my HumminBird Fishin' Buddy on this thing without being too much of a MacGuyver/MacGruber. 5. If you had to choose, would you go with a small, gas powered motor or an electric TM? Again, thanks for any input!

My tackle box, cart and a couple spinning reels/rods are always in my car. My baitcasting rigs are 1-piece and usually stay in the garage until needed.

Maybe hire a nephew to work the trolling motor while you fish.

Ooh, I'll need to have 200 posts by next year to get in on this. Thanks for organizing this!

I haven't paid attention to water temperature in the past (a mistake, I know) so I'll be paying close attention to this Fall and Winter, while observing bass behavior. Right now, water temp has held around 73 - 76 degrees Fahrenheit but cold fronts are coming more consistently.

My current favorite lure. Nice fish!

HA regarding the swear filter. Nice job--if that's average size it must've been a blast!

Thanks! I'll look into local boating courses--that actually sounds exciting to me.

I love learning new things and so it's common for me to read stuff like instruction manuals (boring I know). I've searched for information regarding bass boats, including this site, but I'm looking for even more information. Is there a book, site, instruction manual, pdf that anyone can recommend for someone looking for information? For example, I'd like to know more about all the different mechanisms of bass boats and how its different parts move/are used. Topics like these interest me: Safety Features Emergency Information (Do they have bilge pumps? What the heck is a bilge pump? lol) Standard Features vs. Optional Features Latest advancements in bass boating over the past 1-10+ years How an outboard motor works How a trolling motor works (foot pedal usage, compensating for wind/current) Navigation in large waters Communication between boats (does this even exist or is it just cell phones?) How to tow a bass boat Trailer mechanics/how-tos Proper launching/landing (YouTube is great for seeing but it's not very instructional) Common vernacular for bass boats Etc... I'm not looking for one source that answers all these questions, just giving a sampling of what I mean. I've found that many bass boat people were lucky enough to have learned plenty from parents and relatives at an early age. I never had that so I'm learning from scratch. I don't want to be that guy who decides to buy a bass boat with all the fixins' and doesn't know a thing. It's like the guy on the slopes with brand new gear but can't ski.

Awesome pic. Would love to fish there and many other parts of the country. I've never fished a natural lake before (I know it sounds like blasphemy to many of you).

Wow, for some reason your mentioning of Farmer's Almanac had me thinking of Switching Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

I prefer to start off with "fast" lures and fast retrieves because if the bass are hitting, I feel the most productive and involved. The slowest retrieve I've tried (and been successful with) is RoadWarrior's suggestion to count to 10 between cranking the reel on a Senko or worm. To deal with my impatience, I try to distract myself mostly by talking to clients on the phone. That way, I can apply dead sticking without focusing on how little activity I'm practicing.

Welcome! You said "headers and intakes" so you're speaking my old language too. Like any hobby worth having, bass fishing can be as cheap or expensive as you'd like it to be. Don't go overboard!

I'd just bought my first baitcasting setup (Walmart cheapy) and used it to fish for carp at Lake Hodges. I cast out, set the rod on the pier and sit back to relax with my friend. A carp snatches my bait and zooms off with the line along with my brand new rod and reel combo. The whole thing is dragged into the water before I can react and my heart sinks. Ten minutes later, I reel back my other setup and I notice extra weight on the line. Yup, I reeled in my original line--one end still connected to my brand new combo and the other end with a really tired carp.

That's exactly what I do when I get snagged (which isn't often lately because I like weedless rigs). If you're on a boat, I like to move closer to the snag and remove it by hand if it's reachable. When it's underwater, I try to maneuver from different angles and pull that way, trying to work it out. There are also specialized lure retrieval tools out there but I've never tried them.

Yup. Maybe I missed it, but he didn't give a name.

I really enjoyed his clarity and speaking style--would love to look up other articles, videos and books he may have produced. The video is one of the first in the "How to" series in this site. Thanks for any help.