cb417

Yes it will most definetly work for river bass. On my first trip of the season earlier this week I had a good deal of success with it (on a river). In fact it was the only bait that put fish in the boat. As far as size goes the 4 1/2 should work just fine I caught fish in the range of 1-3 pounds on it. I had more success throwing against the current and bringing the bait back upstream slow rolling it just enough to keep the tail moving. Its a great bait at a good price but lacks durability they rip up pretty easily.

Okay think I figured this one out. I have mostly been using a straight retrive but tend to crank the bait faster and pull up as my lure approaches the boat. Ill try a more distressed retrieve with jerks and changes in reeling speed next time out. Thanks for the help!

Recently I have been mostly fishing with crank baits the bomber A craw w/ orange belly to be exact and have been getting numerous strikes right at the boat. When I switch to a different pattern the majority of my strikes seem to come much closer to structure. I thought this might be because I was retrieving too quickly but after slowing it down I still had lots of close strikes. I also position my boat very far away from the area I fish so I know that the fish have plenty of time to locate the bait. So my question is are these close strikes a result of a flawed presentation and could it be costing me fish.

I purchased my basstracker 175 last year and am very happy with the purchase so far. No problems out of the boat and with a 50 hp engine it gets me to where I am going in a feasible amount of time. The main reason I chose to buy my boat new was the upgraded no wood transom. This means you wont have to ever worry about your transom rotting out and the hull also has a limited lifetime warranty on it. The one and only problem I encountered was a leak in an oil line and tracker was more than happy to help me replace the part in a timely manner and free of charge. This also seams to be the consenus of the others I know who have recently purchased tracker boats. You seem very concerned about the HP of the engine your buying. How far do you plan on running for most fishing spots? The difference between a 50hp and 90 hp engine isn't as great as you might think. My 50 hp pushes at about 35 mph while a 90hp optimax according to the tracker website tops out at 44 mph. So for trips under a few miles you would probably be bette saving the $ for other fishing items... As far as getting a boat used my adivce would be know who your dealing with see if any outstadning warrnaties exist and if they have service records on the boat and why the are selling it. A good example is this guy http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-Pro-Team-175-Tracker-Bass-Bass-Boat-W-Warranty_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ63724QQihZ011QQitemZ320000696593QQrdZ1 not sure if its in your price range becuase the reserve has not been met. Hope some one has got soemthing out of this rant besides the fact I talk too much!!

I have searched and searched the internet looking for a quality topo map of the Sipsey Fork which along with the Locus Fork runs into the Warrior River (located in North Alabama) and have not been able to find what I am looking for. I hoped some one here had some insight as to where I might be able to locate such a thing.

I am starting to look for a depth finder and am having trouble picking a model to go with. I am willing to spend around 400 on the unit and hoped some one could weigh in on the models they like/dislike and the general information on which I should help make my decision.

Monday I had some success on the river and wouldn't you know I pulled 4 fish off a big downed tree just off the channel and another 3 off the inside of a point. These were areas that before I had not fished as intensely in the past. Things started to heat up by about 9 and the bite seemed to slow and boat traffic was already picking up. So I did more scouting than fishing after that. Of course I have a couple more questions for you guys. I noticed one slough a good clip away from where I usually fish that was obstructed on side with lots of stick ups and other wood debree the area was only about 4 to 8 foot deep and adjacent to the channel. Is this the flats that yall are reffering to? I also have a question about line twist with my crankbaits. All of my lines after only a few hours destoyed with line twist from running the cranks is their any different type of knot that prevents this. Im currently using spinning out fits but plan on getting a couple of baitcasters so will that help with the problem. Again i really apperciate all the insight and tips yall are giving me.

Vabass80 - As far as the folage goes its definetly alive and puts a good deal of oxygen in the water I usually see a good deal of bait fish and gar in or around the area. The thing I havent done though is spend time around the points. I was under the impression that the bass were already in their summer holding areas but could their be fish that are still in post spawn and holding deeper (water 80 to 85 degrees)? Either way I am hitting the water at about 5 a.m. hopefully before anybody starts drinking and riding jet skis. I plan on covering some new water and focus more on the points and current breaks. I was able to pick up a few Manns cranks and some Senko worms so maybe I can at least locate the fish more effectively. Thanks for the advice Texan and Va im sure ill come back with a few more questions and hopefully a lot more bass!

Hey guys I am new to the forum and relatively new to bass fishing. Over the past few months I have become more dedicated to educating myself about bass fishing but have had limited success on the water. I have two main fisheries in my area one is the Warrior river and the other is Lews Smith Lake. The river is more textbook in nature and has lots of heavy brush and folage. Gorgas steam plant is also located on this strecth of the river and effectively heats up the water in some places its already 87 degrees +. I usually fish soft plastics and crankbaits in the isolated slews. As of the past few weeks the fishing has been very spotty and I am not pulling many fish from any one location. I dont fish many weighted worms because I don't have a lot of confidence in the bait and don't think my technique is where it should be. So to this point are the fish holding deeper in the water column than I am fishing? The second location Smith Lake is an extremely clear Lake that has more pressure on it. The water this weekend was in the low 80's. This is also an extremely deep lake its not uncommon for ledges to have a drop of 20 to 30 feet it more resmebles some of the large reserviors out west. I mostly use crankbaits jerkbaits and softplastics. Today I caught three fish on a shallow point using a solid white fluke in less than 10 feet of water. Any adivce on where and how I should be fishing would be greatly apperciated. I looked through the forum and was able to find bits and peaces of information but thought I might be better helped with just starting a thread.... thanks in advance!