BigAngus752

99.91% off is a pretty fair sale price!

Wow, you guys are totally wrong. Look at this pic. We just had a big rain the other day and these fellas were crawling around on my sidewalk. I admit, the Illinois Albino worms are pretty rare, but the Blue Flake worms are all over my yard. And our trees are chock full of Rage Bugs. d**n things are noisy at night...

So my wife and I started this very search two years ago. Once my son is out and in college we are gone from this hellhole called "Illinois". We can tell you from experience that you absolutely MUST go and look for yourself. Things are very, very different in person. Places we thought were sure things are no longer in the running. Here are some of the places we have considered so far: Middle Tennessee Cookeville/Sparta/Livingston area (Center Hill Lake/Dale Hollow Lake) West Kentucky/West Tennessee the Murray/Cadiz/Paris area (Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley) The Ozarks Denver/Estes Park, CO Phoenix/Flagstaff, AZ Lufkin/Nacogdoches/Austin, TX So far Murray/Cadiz, KY or Paris, TN area is winning far and away from every other place we have visited. It has four seasons but no true cold in the winter. Everything we want is in that area. Fishing, gun ranges, hunting, off-roading. Murray is a beautiful, clean town and the cost of housing is just about half of the cost in our current area. We looked at houses near Kentucky Lake on several acres that would literally cost $100,000 more where we live now. The low cost of housing almost guarantees that we would only need to work part time for part of the year and the rest of the year would be spent driving all over the country. We probably only have two more places to look at before we decide. One is East Tennessee area (Chickamauga/Watts Bar) and the other is the Lake Okechobee. I really don't think Florida is where we want to live but I have fantasized about fishing Okechobee forever. It just seems like a huge area consisting of ONLY my favorite way to fish (12 foot MAX depth!!!). I have to try it out. Good luck in your search. GO SEE IT IN PERSON. Wherever you think "it" is.

I'm here to tell you that this works. This is a much more simplistic version of all the things that @Catt @WRB @Team9nine @A-Jay @J Francho have taught me and what they are telling you here. First, learn how to study. Then study. Then you'll find them because they go up and back down, and then up, and then back down again. If you were catching them shallow they got there by following what I now think of as a "bass interstate". I don't work the destinations anymore. I work the highway in between the destinations. Now, thanks to these guys, I find fish! I don't need to know what the weather is. I don't need to know how close the moon is to the sun or whatever. The fish are somewhere along that highway. I'm not smart or knowledgeable enough to say it scientifically like these guys do but I've learned to dumb it down so I understand it. I owe all of these guys a lot of fish and a lot more to come.

If you are really concerned about the fish seeing the line but you want hi-vis so YOU can see the line the simple answer is to use a leader. I used to flip and pitch (with a baitcaster) using moss green braid and had the same problem seeing the line move sideways. I switched to 40lb Suffix in hi-vis yellow and I use an FC leader on the days I start feeling like the fish aren't biting because they see my line. If you are using a 20lb braid for "finesse" you might concentrate more on what weight stuff you are dangling and what braid you will use to dangle it. Keeping a 1/15oz Ned rig on the bottom with the wrong 20lb braid might prove difficult. For tubes and light jig heads/shaky heads/Ned rigs, etc. we use spinning gear with 10lb braid. Specifically Suffix 832 because it's neutrally buoyant. Many braids float.

It's high 20s and low 30s at night. It's high 40s during the day. You have lakes freezing over in those temps? Puddles don't freeze overnight here, but I understand what you are getting at. I didn't realize that freezing temps could be detrimental to my Hook 7s. I will figure out how to get the one out of the dash. Thanks.

Thanks much for the tips. The main issue I'm having is the closest dealer is an hour away and they just aren't very helpful. The place I bought the boat (used with 10.2hrs on the motor) is a couple hours away, but they were fantastic and very helpful. I think I need to suck it up and make the further dealer my go-to place.

My bad. I should have mentioned that it stays outdoors. I don't have a bay long enough for it so it is outside (covered with an all-weather cover). The water mixing into the lower makes perfect sense. I appreciate that explanation. And it's warming up during the day still but that won't last much longer. I'm sure my LU oil is factory-recommended because it was serviced at a Merc/Ranger dealer last time but no guarantee it didn't get some water in it over the past six months. Maybe it's time to call it a season just to be safe. Can I drain the lower unit and leave it empty over the winter? Does that alleviate the potential freezing issue? One other question, I'll pull the Hook 7 on the bow, but how about the one on the dash? Would that screen be affected by below-zero weather?

New boater drama here. I've read all the threads about winterizing but I'm still confused. We bought our first "real" boat this summer. It's a Ranger RT188C with a Mercury 115 4 stroke. The motor has Mercury's Platinum protection plan on it, which is great, but I get a couple emails a week from Mercury about "winterizing" my outboard. The emails are pretty graphic about how much damage I can do and how expensive it will be and how it isn't covered by our Platinum warranty if we don't winterize. Here's the thing...I don't want to stop fishing yet. It is getting cold at night here (in the 20's) but we are a long way from hard water yet. I keep the motor all the way down so it drains. I use Mercury Quickare every time I put gas in it. It only has 12 hours on in since the last service (and 22 hours total on the motor) so I don't think it needs any fluids or filters changed. But I'm worried about voiding my warranty and/or damaging the motor. I called the closest Mercury dealer and they quoted me for a full service but when I told them it was serviced 12 hours ago they said they could just "winterize" by changing the lube in the lower unit. How does that winterize it? I've searched the forum and see that guys use fogging oil in the motor and various other things but when I asked the dealer about that stuff they acted like I was a moron. I'm getting way confused. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Okay! Let me go buy a ski mask and a getaway car....LOL

Yup, only use that for leader on 30lb Suffix for flipping. I figured it was too heavy for leader on a shaky head or ned rig. I like 8lb braid on spinning reels. I'll pick up lighter FC leader. Thanks much. Definitely going with two set ups. One in a medium for the larger shaky heads and swim jigs and a ML for light shaky heads and all ned rigs. Thanks

Okay, that's important to know because I've got some 1/10 and 1/15 stuff and I'm using Zinker Zs cut in half. Clearly I need to dedicate two different set ups to work the smaller stuff.

Thanks for answering that! I have really considered this. I've handled several brands in ML in the store and they just seem too light. But again, no experience with the shaky heads and ned rigs. I was fishing a ned rig on the same trip (for the first time in my life) and I had two misses where clearly a SM had taken it and I felt the "spitting out", thus missing the hook set. I've felt that before with LM. What she described was the same thing. Thank you for the reading suggestions. What you said makes sense and I focused in your mention of graphite rods. I have been looking at only graphite for this set up. I've been hesitant on the ML and you guy are making me feel more confident in trying out a better quality medium than what we are using right now.

We have just started fishing shaky heads and other similar small "finesse" baits and we are struggling. Clearly we don't have the correct set ups for that. My wife was very frustrated as she missed at least five bites from SM on a deep, clear reservoir while fishing a shaky head. I need to set up a rod/reel combo but I'm not sure where to go with it. Rod: After searching the forum it seems like a ML and fast or extra fast is the correct rod for these finesse baits? Reel: Does the reel size matter for the "feel" we are looking for? Is a 25 going to transmit more slight tics on the bait than a 35? How about the quality or material of the reel? My wife tried a Lew's Mach II and loved it. I'm enamoured with the Revo SX spinning reel. Line: Clearly this is highly important. We are both huge fans of the feel of braid on a spinning reel and (for spinning only) we favor Spiderwire. I'm thinking braid with a fluoro leader? I just picked up some Sunline FC 16lb that I'm using as a leader for flipping/pitching. Too heavy for finesse? I love hybrid on our baitcasters. How is that for finesse on a spinning reel? Please give us the benefit of your experience! Thanks

I'm guessing slowly lowering some weight onto it didn't do any harm. Did someone come in and crank the front of your trailer up? Every time I park the boat I lower the front of the trailer, tilt the motor completely vertical, make sure it clears the ground, and then I put a red bungee from the handle on the jack to the handle on my strap winch. This is my reminder to me (and everyone) that you don't touch the crank on the jack until you raise the motor.

My wife says on our dual console. But she's 5'3 and a size 2 so she could hide behind a coffee cup in a hurricane.

^^^What he said^^^ I would suggest no. I have an Abu Garcia Gen 3 Revo SX and I have a Tatula CT. The Revo's are $150ish and the CTs are 90ish. The Tatula CT is a much better reel in nearly every aspect. I will not buy any reels other than Tatula SVs and Tatula CTs from this point forward.

Okay, now I'm dying to know if the OP has caught any fish on a lipless crankbait in the past nine years since he posted this!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Daiwa-Tatula-CT-100HS-7-3-1-Right-Hand-Baitcast-Fishing-Reel-TACT100HS-/272288547010?hash=item3f65a980c2:g:QksAAOSwNuxXcXyk:sc:USPSFirstClass!61802!US!-1 This is under $90. I've purchased two reels from this seller. Top notch seller. I bought this in left hand and I love it. That being said, if you want the easiest beginner reel then spend $125 and get the Tatula SV: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Daiwa-Tatula-SV-TW-103HS-7-3-1-Baitcast-Right-Hand-Fishing-Reel-TASV103HS-/302276482905?hash=item4661151759:g:p4UAAOSww3tY560S:sc:USPSFirstClass!61802!US!-1 The SV spool is the most forgiving baitcaster on the planet. I throw weightless worms with no problem.

No charges filed. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-fisherman-shot-20171017-story.html

^^^Definitely this^^^ Run a spinner along the grass edge, over the top of the grass, down the length of any tree limb you see, and cross the limbs while just bumping them with the spinner.

Just out of curiosity since I have never been to your area, what is the water temp right now where you fish?

I also live in Illinois (central). The calendar says fall, the morning air says fall, but it is NOT fall for fish yet. All the water temps around here are still way too high (like 75 degrees last time I was out). Night time air temps are getting to the 40's sometimes now. Just wait a couple/few weeks and the water temps will get down where the fish like it and it will be on like Donkey Kong. Find an overcast afternoon first week or two of November, throw some topwaters and spinners. You should make a comeback.

Wife caught me wigglin' that shaky head down in Tennessee last week.

Wow, almost worst possible scenario for catching SM. Rained for over 24hrs straight which caused rise in water level which caused them to open multiple sluices for extended periods. But we fished anyway! We got out twice. We both missed hooksets (I missed one BIG fish and my wife missed FOUR hooksets). That was because we had never fished shaky heads and ned rigs before. New technique and maybe not the greatest setups for them. We had trouble "feeling" what was going on and just wiffed when we swung late. But I caught some Kentuckies on spinners later on which was cool because I've never caught spotted bass before. They are pretty fun fish to catch, actually! Really put up a fight on the spinners. It is a really beautiful lake. We will go back! Preferably during spawn...