DrMarlboro92

Sashimi. Most of the time jerky, and I always have about a gallon of water on the boat per person. Every now and then the occasional sandwich graces my deck.

My wife once said "I like the smell of dicks" and Everyone went silent. She too now uses it's full name in every situation.

It's currently 25 degrees, theres snow on the ground, and I just got out of the canoe an hour ago. You guys need to get your priorities straight.

I said no... my wife said give me your address.....

Has anyone ever noticed that the older fishing guides and books are considerably outdated? I tried reading up on a few bodies of water, and a few older books on presentations, and just bass in general, And it seemed like everything in them was quite.... wrong. Now, I expected the ones that were issued about a specific body of water would be terribly inaccurate, but the others I was in shocking disbelief. Is this book any different in that aspect? If it is I might pick one up for some light reading.

If you got 3 years out of it I fail to see how that is the previous owners problem at that point. 3 miles down the road? sure. but anything more and that bit of maintenance falls in your lap. And bearings aren't that bad at all. I had to do both sides on my 77 ranger on the side of the highway. now THAT was a fun trip. I think in all honesty you may have dodged a bullet on this one. Keep your eyes open, and one will come soon.

Yeah when I hooked mine the loon skated across the water and dove on my paddle tail that i was throwing over a school of shad, and I tried popping it free and when I did the leader snapped up close to his bill from the looks of things. The heron scooped up a spook and I knew then and there it was gone and I thought about pulling it to me but i was worried jerking him out of the air might be too hard on it and couldn't figure out what I would do once I got him there so I cut it off. I felt extremely bad for the birds in both situations. Someone needs to start a "What to do when a bird takes your lure" thread.

You know this type of thing happens a lot more than you would think. I've caught a loon, and great blue heron.... I've never managed to get my baits back though.

I really wouldn't want to be seen in one. That's my biggest problem with it.

And it was only driven on Sundays by his elderly grandmother right? Make him put it in water and show you it works, then take it to a mechanic to inspect the lower unit and engine. Being a mechanic myself i get to pass the second part. Offer him $50 or so for fuel for hauling it to water and running the boat. If he won't do it walk away. Before you buy a used boat make sure you are happy with it, and everything works and there are no glaring problems before you agree to anything. I've had people agree, and things start to go wrong on the water and baffle the owner because the boat sat and they had no idea, and I've had people out right refuse. As far as buying if you want it for 5000, take 6000 in cash, but try and get him to hold the 5000. Cash has power, and people arent willing to let go of it once they have it. I use this trick for all large purchases. in fact, I just bought a 99 tr-21 for 3000 less than the sellers bottom dollar doing it this way. It's a good way to play a seller. The worst that will happen is he says no and you give him the 6 grand, or he says no and you walk away to look for another deal.

How does that song go..... I'm sure it'll hit me, when i walk through that door tonight, yeah I'm gonna miss her, oh lookie there, I got a bite!

It definitely looks like one. I only know of one brand that was made of wood, but all the ones I've ever seen have those little ball bearing chains for the tie on, and a concave mouth. I'm wondering if this is a home brew. If it is that's pretty cool to find.

I used to stay put when I had my 77 ranger that barely broke 26mph, because it just wasn't feasible to move if I wanted to actually keep a line in the water. I power fish anyway so this meant I would look for signs of life and then drop the trolling motor and cover as much distance as possible. I now have a boat that can hit 70 with just myself in it, so now I'm more inclined to run to another spot if it things aren't working. I fish fast, and i have a blast doing it. being able to get up and move to where I think there will be active fish is part of the fun for me when things aren't working. I love fishing, and i also like speeding down the lake. it is kind of a win/win for me.

Not really no. cribs are really meant to offer super dense cover for forage fish. I've fished a few places that have them, and while they hold crappie and bluegill really well, I've never caught a bass off of one no matter how hard I tried. I'm not sure if it's due to the cover just being to dense for bass, or if there is some other reason they won't hold there, but I've come to find that it's better just to avoid them.

I live in Virginia where it doesn't get ice cold like some of these northern guys, but sub 20 degree air temps aren't that rare. I typically wear long johns, those cabelas outfitter wool/Berber blend pants and jacket, wool socks, then waders. over top of that I wear a waterproof jacket to shed any water that might get splashed up on me, and then I hope for the love of the flying spaghetti monster that nothing bad happens. I'm in case it does, I keep a dry bag with new clothes, a towel, wool blanket, and a lighter in the boat. It's better to have the back up and hope you never need it, then to need it and not have it. even if you invest in a wetsuit, I still think you should bring those items along.

I used to have a folbot yukon folding kayak I bought off of Craigslist. I got it because I was living in a small apartment and had nowhere to store my canoe so I picked it up. they work wonders and even though they take an extra 20 minutes before you can get on The water, I really loved it. they store pretty compactly as well. they are quite a bit more pricey than inflatables, but they really are amazing boats.

Insulated rain gear. if I get that, I would be a much happier camper.

In a car a lower gear is actually a higher number. so, on my suburban, first gear is 2.97:1(12.206:1 final) second is 1.57:1(6.452:1 final) third is 1.00:1(4.11:1 final). Gear ratios and work performed remain constant no matter what device is employing them. an 8.1:1 gives you more torque then a 6.4:1 This is physics, and it cant be changed. what I think a lot of people are saying is a power difference is really just a speed difference. It's a lot easier to reel in a 20ft diving crankbait on a 6.4:1 then an 8.1:1 because the constant speed on the 6.4:1 is far more comfortable then having to slow down with an 8.1:1 and the bait offers less resistance giving you a false feeling of "more power" even though you actually have less. Think of the problem more like this. you instinctively turn your hand at 100rpm. On an 8.1:1 reel, at 100rpm you bring in 3200 inches of line per minute. on a 6.4:1 reel at 100rpm you retrieve 2600 inches of line per minute. obviously, the 8.1:1 is a more powerful reel and performs more work in the same amount of time. this isn't what you want when fishing a crank as increased speed becomes decreased depth, and and at higher retrieve rates we lose the sensitivity of a wobbling crankbait that is crucial to crankbait hookups. this is why we use slower reels for crankbaits: deeper dives, more sensitivity, and more comfortable retrieve rates.

I do my best to always leave the house with these: 7'6-8'6 heavy, fast casting rod. 7'6 medium heavy, fast casting rod. 6'6 medium, fast casting rod. 7'0 medium, moderate casting rod. I'm a power Fisher. The most "finesse" I ever do is a Texas rig or drop shot in the summer. this is going to drastically change the rods that i feel are important to have, as opposed to say, someone who primarily finesse fishes. even with that in mind I'm sure a few of my choices might make certain bass fisherman cringe. The first rod depends on where I'm fishing. If i know there is going to be a chance of good frog action I'm going to take the 8'6 heavy. if I feel there won't be, then I take the 7'6 heavy for other topwaters. The second is my "everything with a single hook" rod. I'll throw a t-rig, jigs, spinnerbaits, bladed swim jigs, squarebills, or even paddle tail swimbaits with this rod. obviously it's not the best choice for all of those, but it will get the job done with the least amount of frustration if all i can take is 4 rods. The third is my jerkbait rod. I won't leave home without it. some jerkbait fisherman will disagree with me, but you can cover a lot of water, very fast and efficiently with a jerkbait. I love fishing these and would never leave home with my jerk baits! The last is my meat and potatoes rod. I fish cranks more than i fish anything else. Which is Why a moderate rod falls under my list of must haves. The problem with us telling you what rods you need, is that we don't know. we can give you tips, and steer you in the right direction, but when it's all said and done you have to choose what feels best to you. I would recommend grabbing a 7'6 medium heavy, then feeling out your other rods from there. don't be in a rush to buy all your rods at once, or you will end up with gear you don't like. take your time, and eventually you get a feel for what kind of rod you want to fish what lures on. Just remind yourself, that lures are cheaper then rods, and they are easier to part with if you don't like them.

Bluegill will attack braid, and if a bluegill can see it, so can a bass. if the places you are fishing aren't very pressured, straight braid might not deter a bite. reaction baits might suffer less from visible line as well since you are relying more on the fishs curiosity then fooling it. A good FG-knot is the key to a good braid/fluoro leader setup. the fluoro will break well before the joining knot is a problem, and if your leader breaks, you were going to lose that fish anyway. personally, since switching to braid/fluoro leader, I have yet to break off be it in a tree or on a fish. everyone's mileage will vary of course.

I use braid with a fluoro leader on every rod i own except my mod action crankbait rods which have straight fluorocarbon because I don't want the braid to impede dive depth. Personally, depending on your rods power of course, I would use either 30lb braid with 15lb fluoro leader, or 20lb braid with a 10-12lb fluoro leader. there are a lot of benefits to the braid with fluoro set up, one of which being cost. invest in good braid (normally around $25-$40 a 150yrd spool) And a decent fluorocarbon, and you won't buy line again for years. Not to mention there is much less give in this setup compared to mono.

Can confirm. I took my bucca shad out for the first time, got it hung submerged tree, and thanks to having my $5 knocker i came out not being $50 even more broke. in fact thanks to this, the only bait I have lost this year was a rattle trap that snapped on the cast.... d**n nicked line. Edit: hell to even think about it... I've dredged up 3 rods this year with it. only one was mine... So score.

I mostly power fish. Power fishing isnt just about being fast, or throwing big heavy baits. Thats part of it, but its major roll in fishing is to quickly cover water in the most efficient way possible. You arent going to turn on inactive schools while power fishing, but you have a better chance of finding the ones the are biting quicker. when I'm out alone, or with someone who isn't new to the sport, I'm going to power fish. I want to hit as many spots as I can, and cover as much water as possible throughout the day. I feel like I can pattern better, and figure water out faster this way. This doesn't mean I NEVER finesse fish. sometimes this is what the fish want. It's also a lot easier on new anglers (I've been taking a lot lately) who want to fish and not roar down the lake 10 times. It's also easier to teach new fisherman finesse versus power fishing.

I don't think I would target these dense pieces of cover. It's great for forage fish, but I don't think bass would be too inclined to hang around them.

So, I just tried to calculate it, and it looks like I spent ~230 days on the water this year. after figuring up launch fees, and fuel to and from the lake, I spent over $9k just hauling and launching the boat. that... That must be why my girl is always so ticked off at me.