stratos4me

Bill Murphy (In Pursuit of Giant Bass) always fished on a double anchor setup with a very high scope. He's proof that done correctly, anchoring can be extremely productive on trophy fish. Just for fun, here's my Bill Murphy story: In 1992 when I was 16 I was fishing the main rockpile at Lake Wholford in San Diego. Murphy was set up with his double anchor and his small aluminum boat on the outside rockpile maybe 100 yards away. I caught a fish just under 9lbs and put it in the livewell to weigh at the dock scale before release. Murphy yelled at me for "keeping" the fish. Kind of a punk move for a guy with a stringer of dead 10 pounders on his book cover. Although I saw him occasionally, we never spoke again.

Yep. This.

Here's my take: Both forage fish and bass will tend to gravitate to the locations with the best, relative conditions at the time. Don't overcomplicate it.

Thanks guys. I ended up getting an IMX Pro 904 SWBR. It's definitely not a jig hook rod, but it's really nice for smaller glides, super spooks, ploppers, etc. Ill have to find something else for single hooks.

Anyone have experience with these Shimano SLX Swimbait rods yet? I'm wondering if the MH can handle a 6" jig hook bait or an 8/0 beast hook. I know the heavy can do it fine. Thanks.

Thanks guys. That's what I needed to know.

I have the 7'2 MH. I would never flip with it. Is the heavy really that much stouter? I'm not trying to do heavy punching, but I do fish grass lakes.

I have the Expride 7-3 XH for frogs and it pitches ok but it doesn't have much tip for loading smaller baits. What model would you recommend? Something very similiar to the 7-3 XH with a slightly lighter tip but similiar guts would be ideal. 7-6 XH?

I fish small plastics on the expride 7-2 ml+ with a 70 size baitcaster. Since you already have a spinning setup I recommend this finesse setup. It's plenty sensitive and the action is great for everything from a dropshot to small crankbaits to jerkbaits and small topwater.

That's kinda what I thought, but I have a friend that grew up in the swamp and he says not to worry about it. There is an element of risk to everything. I just don't want to be stupid.

My dog has been going out on my bassboat since she was a pup. She does good. I'm much more concerned with alligator behavior.

I'm headed south soon, and I have a couple questions for those of you who fish around gators. 1. Do people commonly take medium size dogs in bassboats where there are a lot of gators? 2. Have you ever heard of a dog being snatched off a bassboat deck by a gator? I know they will take a dog along the shoreline, but I'm wondering if the boat changes things. Thanks

Thanks guys...Keep um comming.

I'm at the lake now and have been fishing it regularly for the last month. Right now the frog bite is just getting started, but there is not a lot of emergent grass yet. I've been catching 90% of my fish on creature baits and senkos in 1-15 feet. Greens and purples are popular here. There are still some spawners but don't expect to do much sight fishing in the off color water. Good Luck!

Thanks. That place looks really cool, but it seems to be very musky centered. What is the bass fishing like?

I've been down the road of various campground guides and found them to be inadequate when it comes to identifying campgrounds with electrified docks. Even many campground's own web sites don't offer that information. It makes for a long process of research and phone calls. I really need first hand info. Thanks

Thanks. That's great info.

Hey All, So I recently purchased a motorhome, and I'm towing my boat throughout the country spending time at as many of the best fisheries as possible. Here's my question: What campgrounds do you know of that either come with an electrified overnight slip or are within a few hundred yards of an electrified slip? In CA, I've got the delta covered and I'm familiar with Konocti Casino on Clearlake. Are there any others in CA that you know of? How about in other states? Anywhere nationwide is good as long as the bass fishing is great! Pulling the boat out every night is not practical with the motorhome. Thanks.