Fish Chris

you guys can't really believe something like this would be "cheating" do you ??? So you mean to say, that you two are the only ones here, who believe that this product is everything the scam artists selling it, say that it is ? :-) LOL Anyway...... "EVEN IF" this product was that good, there is one universal truth in fishing..... "There are NO silver bullits" ! Not a $2000 fish finder..... Not an aqua-view camera.... not Billy Bob's zippity doo-dah worms...... and certainly not this product either. The only way to catch the most fish, and the biggest fish, is to get out there and fish your arse off ! Peace, Fish

Hey LBH, you did a fantastic job on that old Jon ! When I first saw it, I was thinking, "I hope he prepped it well for paint"..... as I tried to paint my old 12ft V-hull twice, and the paint just fell off in sheets. Finally, my buddy and I sand blasted the whole thing down to bright, bare metal. Then I put the custom camo job on it, and it never peeled or chipped again ! I was really happy with that paint, and I got a lot of compliments on it. So I read where you used "etching primer" ? That probably would have been a lot easier than our sand blasting. Of course it better be a LONG time before I have to paint my new one :-) Peace, Fish PS, BTW 64' was a great year ! ;-)

I would have to recommend against wearing a shirt like that, with a big ugly guy on it, for fear of scaring small children :-) .....but then again, Halloween is coming up ! :-) LOL Fish

As for myself personally, I don't want to hear any noise when I'm fishing, except for the birds, the fish splashing, the breeze, etc. Like Senile1 said, I love music too, but I would not even consider it when I'm fishing. I don't want any distractions. As for the fish, I agree with the bumping or banging the bottom of the boat, that you guys mentioned..... yet another reason I don't want anybody with me when I'm fishing. If the bottom gets bumped, its because I bumped it... but that doesn't happen too often at all. Peace, Fish

.......I just meant "only a 14.2", as oposed the the 17 plus that it looked like when it first jumped. Believe me, a 14.2 is still a darn good one to me too ! BTW Brushpile, I wish I was trailing right behind Cindy Margolis :-) Speaking of which, I wonder if she likes to fish ? ;-) Peace, Fish

Yea' ! A legend in my own mind ;-) LOL Seriously though, believe it or not, that fish was only 14.2. It just had this really deep, fairly long frame (about 28" I believe) which photographed really well. I think she could have been 2 to 3 lbs heavier, had she been thicker from side to side, but still a nice, healthy fish. BTW, she hit the old 9" Castaic trout, while coming straight at me. I just felt the slightest of taps, then my lure quit kicking. It took several fast cranks to catch up with her, but when I finally swung, she instantly came straight out of the water, with her mouth wide open, and again, because of that frame shape, I thought I had a 17 lb'er ! A very cool memory :-) Peace, fish

I wouldn't wait at all..... Instead, I would start fishing very close to the launch ramp (so I could still see him when he arrived. SOOO many people overlook the fact that launch ramps are often some of the best fishing areas on the lake ! I often get a good laugh, out of the guys in the 80 mph high-per bass boats, who think the only place the fish will bite, is on the far end of the lake ;-) In any case, I almost never have to wait on anybody, because I almost never fish with anyone. If I want to leave early, or late, I will ! I call all of the shots on my fishing trips. Peace, Fish

Talk about slumps ! I'm in the middle of the slump from hell, right now ! Five trips in a row without a single Striper ! That's like 50 plus hours ! Of course I'm using a big fish technique, and not expecting 'numbers'.... But still, it's been getting pretty rough. Anyway, my best way of dealing with slumps, is that I will ususally just switch up to some other species for a while. {I'm just so hung up on sticking a 40 lb Striper right now.....} Check out this "slump story"... I once threw a swimbait, for 3 days a week, 8 to 10 hours a day, for 5 weeks without a single fish ! Yes, like more than 125 fishless hours ! No telling how many times I threw that darn 6 oz swimbait, but certainly several thousands.... So, just when I was about to throw myself off of a tall building, I decided to relax, and fish for some big Channel cats on my micro-light (on the same lake). A couple hours into my first Catfish trip, while using a wad of smashed nightcrawlers, I stuck a ........ drumroll please..... 13.0 lb Largemouth Bass !!! Yeeehaaa ! :-) I ended up sticking a few good cats, up to 14 lbs, in the next couple trips..... but now that I was feeling better about myself, and not really considering the "tall building leap" anymore, I decided to get back to chucking my swimbait. On the first trip back, POW ! I get blasted on my swimbait.... and this thing is freaking ripping like a freight train ! Ofcourse I'm thinking WRB ! But it ends up being a 21.2 Channel cat, which ate my swimbait ! Go figure :-) Bottom line is, even when things are brutal tough, as long as you have a line in the water, anythings possible :-) So anyway, please excuse me, as I need to get right back out there to work on this slump of my own :-) Peace, Fish

Hey RW, you got me ROTF over here :-) But hey FIN-S-R, seriously though, lets forget about how I fish, and the kind of fish I fish for, nowadays. You must understand that I am 42 years old, and I have been fishing for nearly 40 years. This whole trophy kick of mine, only accounts for about the last 10 years. Long before that, I just wanted to catch "a fish". Then I wanted to catch "numbers of fish". And their might have even been a brief time period in there, when I still wanted numbers, but was starting to experiment with lures that might increase the average size. I could go on and on.... but let me just cut straight to the chase; It has been my personal experience, that the actual lure in question has SOOO much less influence on the number of quality fish that an angler catches, as does "the skills and techniques of the angler himself". It's my personal belief that TOOO many people, put TOOO much emphasis on the lure itself, instead of the angler fishing it. I believe this is in large part due, to what I have called "cooperate brainwashing". Fishing lures are a multi-million dollar industry, which depends on guys 'believing' that they need every size, every color, and every style of bass fishing lure on the shelf. My personal experience has shown me otherwise. Again, give me a few plastic worms, in only a few colors. A few cranks. Maybe a couple spinnerbaits and / or Chatterbaits, and I'd be as confident as if I had brought the whole darn tacklestore with me..... and this is "even if I were fishing a tournament". But anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm forcing my opinions on anyone. If you believe you need all of that hardware, then by all means..... Peace, Fish PS, Hey FIN-S-R, I'd hate to think that you would consider me to be a decent stick "based on one single photo of a big bass"..... Any dummy can make 1 lucky catch :-) I have actually caught 73 over 10 lbs (not bragging... simply a result of time and effort, and HUGE blessings :-) but for each of those 73 fish, I have caught countless 3 to 6 lb "tournament winning" sized fish too.

I think your mainly talking about tournament and / or numbers fishermen (the normal guys). But personally speaking, what I have learned is, I don't need all that garbage to drag around. If I were to go back to "numbers" fishing today, I would probaby use nothing but crawlers and tiny live dads, and then I would just carry a small box of hooks. If I cared anything about tournies (which I never did) my tackle would still be a smaller assortment than practically every other T-angler out there. Maybe a few plastic worms in only a few solid and broken colors. A couple of cranks.... Maybe a few Chatterbaits.... and I'd be good. But in the end, since I am always chasing the big ones, I bring my Huds. If those don't work, I try a Hud. And when that doesn't do it, I just resort to a Hud. I will throw a Basstrix Bluegill in the Spring for sightfishing.... If I happen to find a 10 plus on a bed (which I hardly have in the last couple years). And I still carry a box or two of crawlers, or maybe a few dads on many trips throughout the year, but only throw them, when faced with a few select situations, and many trips will go by, where I never even use a live bait, even though it's within arms reach. So anyway, my point is, in rare situations, "versatility" might help you to catch a fish or two which you would not have, if you were throwing nothing but your bread and butter stuff, but I personally believe that "even more often", guys get themselves caught up in (buried in) a bazillion and one lure choices, and end up hurting, rather than helping themselves. The bait monkey would starve to death if he depended on me :-) Peace, Fish

Hey Big T, you better tell them you mean Mahi-Mahi...... Not Flipper :-) My favorites are all so different, it's like comparing apples to oranges, so I can't really give you any particular order, but I love these fish (when fresh, and prepared correctly) Salmon, Halibut, Mahi-Mahi, Yellowfin Tuna, Swordfish, Catfish (Channels and Flathead), Crappie, Sturgeon.... I hate Bass, both Largemouths and Stripers.... Oh, and Sea Bass too. All bass just taste too fishy for me. Trout.... well.... It's okay sometimes, but I'd rather leave them for the bass to eat, then C/R the bass when they get huge, and go home to a dinner of anything from my above list :-) Peace, Fish

I know you don't have any problem with live bait fishing, but when you say, > You don't do anything, it is the crawdad that does the "fishing"..... I have to disagree. Doing this is what leads to a lot of snagged dads, missed fish, and a few more deep hooked ones. On the contrary, I never sit my rod down, as I want to feel every move my dad makes. Then, if its a particularly snaggy area, I like to slowly work the crawdad through the rocks, almost like I was stitching a worm. If it gets snagged, I can usually get the crawdad to crawl itself out of it. I am certainly as "involved in the fishing process", while fishing a dad (or any other live bait, for that matter) as I would be if I were fishing a plastic worm....... And those anglers who are not, will not be as successful as they could be, if they knew how to "work along with" the live bait on there hook :-) Geez, I miss dad fishing. Too bad they are not usually as effective as "soft plastic" swimbaits :-) Peace, Fish

you said > But it was not as hard to catch 20+ fish in a day there then it is here. Plus, out there if I did get into some fish and boated 20 or so several of them would be in the 5lb range or close to it} .....that sounds so much like my trips to Clear Lk. in the old days, with tiny live dads and micro light gear..... except maybe they would have a ligit average of 5 lbs, with many in the 6 to 7 lb range, and maybe an 8 or 9 lb kicker (hardly ever a 10 plus though, which is why I hardly ever fish for bass there anymore). In any case, I would SOOOO much rather stick one 10 to 13 lb'er, that I can add to my album, than 20 fish for 100 lbs. As to your original question, I have fished Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and while I'm sure that each of these states have certain lakes, that might produce catches like I used to experience at Clear Lk (although I never found them), I don't believe ANY of them would give me the shot at the really BIG fish, that I find in so many trout-fed Cali lakes, which is all that really does it for me, anymore, anyway. Peace, Fish

I have just been reading along with this thread for a few days, and not really sure how to answer..... It seems to me that fishing specifically for big bass in Cali is just so much more clear cut. Pretty much all of our big bass eat trout. So, if you want to catch the big ones, throw nothing but a trout patterned swimbait. Sure, you will catch fewer fish, but the ones you catch will have a very large average size, and you will be solidly in the running for a world class monster. Fish with any other lure (and the largest % of Cali anglers still do), and you might as well be fishing in another state. As for fishing with swimbaits in other states, I don't doubt that this will produce a larger average size fish, but still it "might hurt somebodies chances"..... Hmmm... How can I explain this ? Okay, lets say a guy throws nothing but a swimbait in Texas, and he catches 5 fish (total), in 8 trips, which weigh 5.5, 6, 6.5, 8, and 9 lbs (35 lb total, with a 7 lb average). Now, lets say the same guy fishes jigs, and catches 42 fish in 8 trips. Granted, most of these fish might be well below the guys 7 lb average on swimbaits (in fact, even including his biggest fish, his average might still be below 7 lbs)..... but what if his top 5 fish from these 8 trips are 5, 5.5, 7, 9.5, and 11 lbs ? Now, if this were the case, I'd say jigs were the better option for big fish, even if the guy did have to wade through a bunch of 2 to 4 lb dinks to get to the big ones. However, all of this said, of course I believe a guy should still give swimbaits a solid try, regardless of where he lives...... plus maybe, consider moving to Cali ;-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of my last 15 DD bass, 14 were caught on a swimbait. The one that wasn't (which would not even look at my swimbait) bit a fly lined crawler. Peace, Fish

"Toad palm" is the coolest injury I can imagine ! I'd pay just about anything to have a palm which was so ripped up from big fish teeth, that it was bleeding :-) Oh..... but how many of you have suffered from a good, old fashioned, line cut ??? ......and I'm not talking about the line sliding over your hand or fingers and cutting you, I'm talking about when you are trying to cinch a knot, or lift something heavy, with just the line, and it just cuts straight in ! So then, a little bit later, that line finds the same exact cut, and just seats right in ! Yikes ! So the next day, its really good and sore..... and the line finds that same cut again ! I just love those line cuts. BTW, and I'm not recommending that anyone try this on themselves, but some of my buddies used to be hard core bowlers. They would bowl until the skin ripped off of their fingers, then they would put super glue right on the open wound to seal it...... So last week, I got an ugly line cut right across the pad of my right first finger.... and I always carry super glue, for lures and stuff.... So, Hey ! I got it ! I glued that cut shut. Worked great ! The next day while on the water, the glue failed, so I glued it again. By the third day, it failed again, but the sensitivity from the cut was gone by then, and I still have that finger :-) Peace, Fish

I couldn't really pick just one. You should have included an "all of the above option". Plus, you forgot to put a "Saltwater" and a "brackish water" option, both of which I also regularly fish....... Fish

Not really much I can add. Lane's post is spot on. Roger is right about thermal burnout too. All I can really do is reitterate that removing big bass "NEVER" helps anything. I have yet to find a lake which was overpopulated with giants.... But if I ever do, I'm moving there ! :-) Sure, I believe that a bass which has proven that it has the right genes to get huge, should be allowed to pass on as many of those genes as possible, but I think its even more important that that specific fish be allowed to stay alive as long as possible, as the odds of it being C/R'd again are VERY high. On the other hand, whether that huge bass ever produces offspring which will grow to its same huge size, or even larger, will always involve the luck factor. Peace, Fish PS, Hey Lane, I do see one major difference in the presence of lots of "dumber than dirt" hatchery trout, and lots of wild "raised themselves from a tiny egg, with no outseide help" Tilapia. Obviously, the Tilapia would be a LOT harder to catch, which would = more energy expended, even if the Tilapia was just as nutritional in the end.

One thing I have to tell you; If anybody can do it, you can ! Fact is, a large percentage of anglers simply go out with the mind set of, "I'm just out to catch whatever I can". You, on the other hand, are asking specifically about big fish, and pushing in that direction. If you can put aside numbers (don't mind getting skunked more often) and can just keep your focus on the biggest fish in your ponds, you will eventually make it happen ! Go stick em' ! :-) Fish

First off, I wouldn't want to pretend like I was the expert on bass in your part of the country. I'm the first to admit that our Cali bass are somewhat of an exception in many ways. However, there is some truth to the statement that, "A bass is a bass". Anyway, my first bit of advice would be to try to seek out the guys who are consiently catching the biggest fish from your area. Investigate. Dig. What are they throwing ? When ? Where ? How ? Try your own stuff too though. But ya' gotta' find them first ! I would certainly recomend that you get out there and throw a big swimbait, because whether or not you stick them on it, they will almost certainly follow it to investigate. Always wear those polarized glasses, and watch closely behinbd that swimbait at the end of every retrieve. Whenever you see a big one, mark that spot on the map in your head (or on paper) and put together a rout. If the swimbaits start to actually catch some big fish for you, you might not feel the need to use anything else..... But even if not, at least you will have already put together a "big fish rout" which you can go through, trying other lures and techniques. Remember, there are always lots of spots that "look great" but won't hold big fish, but once you have seen them with your own two eyes, you have already one half the battle. Then all ya' need is Patience, Persistence, and Perseverence, and you will eventually make it happen ! This is what works for me. Stick a pig ! :-) Fish

No doubt, many people do over estimate the weight of their catches. A 5 lb'er.... or even an 8, or a 10 lb'er, quite simply look a LOT bigger to people who haven't caught many in this weight class. I feel like I'm pretty good at estimating big fish weights. I do this all the time, as a sort of game...... right before hanging it on the digital scale. Typically, I underguess them, but it's not that I don't think to myself, "Wow ! That's a nice bass"..... It's just more that, I don't want to get myself all pumped up thinking I have another fish to add to my DD list, then find out its only a 9.8, or 9.9. I purposely guess on the low side, to protect myself from let downs :-) Peace, Fish PS, Don't know why I thought about this now, but one time last year, I caught a nice bass.... I dunno'... maybe 9'ish. But I knew there were a bunch of bigger ones in the area, and I was "overly" anxious to get to fishing again. So I threw it in the livewell.... got the camera set, pulled it out for a quick photo or two, then released it...... Then I was like DOH ! I forgot to weigh the darn thing ! That bugged me a bit afterwards, knowing that I do underguess them sometimes.... But its cool. She's probably still out there. I'll stick her again when she's 15, and then I don't think I will forget to weigh her ! :-)

Nearly all of our West coast lales are full of wild strain Goldfish, and the common Carp. I'm sure that Largemouths eat the heck out of the smaller ones, but they would be illegal as bait, pretty much anywhere in Cali. On the other hand, here in my home Delta waters, wild Goldfish are thick, and are an excellent live bait for Stripers.... and fully legal, as long as you can get them from the same waters (the latter is the tough part). Peace, Fish

I had always understood that Northern strain bass live longer than Floridas. As in, Floridas might live 10 to 13, where as a Northern should easily live 13, with 20 being possible. In fact, I have read (in In-Fisherman) of a Northern Strain Bass being caught in New York (I believe it was) that was well over 30 years old. In any case, regardless of whether the bass is a Northern, or a Florida strain, studies have shown that bass which grow "too fast" (unlimited food, and very warm water) tend to experience "burnout", and won't live as long, as bass which have slower growth rates...... Hence the reason So Cal has produced a good handful of 20 plus fish, yet the biggest "certified" from Mexico, was 'only' a 19-10. But to answer the original question, In my personal experience, Florida bass are tougher to catch than Northerns..... Or should I say, they bite less often out of a "knee jerk" reaction, and will more likely investigate a meal more closely, before committing to eat it. But none the less, there is "no such thing" as an uncatchable bass :-) Peace, Fish

Proud to say that I'm not a victim of "any" monkeys. I bet I haven't spent $150 on tackle this year (of course my sponsors take pretty good care of me with rods, reels, line, etc) but even before I had any sponsors, I was already narrowing my lure selection down to just bare bones (cutting out all the unneeded garbage if you will). Then, I got my new boat in March. I spent a few hundred bucks putting in the decking and carpet...... oh, and the t-motor wasn't cheap..... but I haven't spent another penny on it since then.... Too busy using it to stick hawgs ! :-) Geeez ! I dunno' about you guys, but "I HATE SHOPPING" ! I'd way rather be on the water fishing, so that's what I do.... In fact, that's what I will be doing, just a couple hours from now ! Yeeehaaa ! Those freakin' monkey's would starve to death if they had to depend on me ;-) Fish PS, I spend what little money I make on gas to get me to the lake and back, and parking, launching, and fishing fees.

I used to fish out of my 12 ft aluminum. It wasn't the lightest, thinnest 12ft'er, but come on... it was only a 12 ft aluminum. Now I go through / tear up a new trolling motor pretty much ever year. So each time, I would get a bigger, higher thust t-motor. The last few I had bought were 55 lb (as I didn't want to go to 24V for more thrust)..... yet "everybody" was faster than me, even in MUCH heavier boats, and sometimes with less lbs of thrust ! I always figured it had to do with the way my boat sat in the water, and the amount of drag produced (BTW, my old boat was always the slowest with a 9.9hp gas motor too.... but, for a 12ft'er, it was VERY stable, so maybe that was the tradeoff). Anyway, when buying a t-motor for my new 14ft aluminum, which is probably 2 to 3 times as heavy (carpeted, double decking and all, plus heavier motor) I was concerned as to whether the "same" 55lbs of thrust would be enough ? ....but still, I didn't want to have to go to 24V. So anyway, I ended up going with the Minn-Kota 55.... and guess what ??? I swear it pulls my boat which weighs a LOT more, WAY faster ! 50% faster ? Plus, because of less drag, I have not been able to kill one of my deep cycles in 1 day yet ! In fact, last week I used one battery all 3 days ! So my point is, the speed that your T-motor pulls your boat, has a lot more to do with the drag on that particular boat, than it does the lbs of thrust of your t-motor, and / or the weight of your boat. Just some food for thought. Peace, Fish

I have a trophy bass buddy who fishes out of one of these, and has caught numerous giant bass to 17.2 lbs out of his. That boat on the water, is infinitely more effective, than a 60K high performance bass boat, which is parked on somebodies driveway, while they work their butt off to pay for it. Peace, Fish