bassboy1

I will be staying with a group up at Dale Hollow from Oct. 16-18. However, I have never fished for smallies before, nor had much experience fishing that sort of lake. While I don't mind catching largies (especially considering most up there are of a little more size than my Allatoona dinks), I haven't caught a smallie before. What should I expect, and what techniques would y'all start with? Also, I would love to catch a musky while I am up there, without committing all 3 days to it. What sort of methods would y'all attempt for either species? Not looking for "trophy" sized fish, but some "keepers" would be nice. Thanks

How well does fluoro do on a spinning reel? I use it exclusively on my casting reels, as we have no thick grass or such to need braid on, but I have hear bad things about fluoro on spinning reels, and never really researched it, due to thinking I would be sticking solely to casting rods the rest of the way through. I am a diehard St. Croix Avid guy, but those are costly, and if I can buy used, I would like to, so I am possibly considering a Legend Tournament (might get a used one cheaper than a new Avid), or a Mojo. Looking at a lot of other companys (Daiwa, All Star, Dobyns), few even make an extra fast. St. Croix doesn't have a 7' or 7'2" spinning rod in the right action, in any of the 3 above models. They have a 6'8" Medium Extra Fast, and a 6'9" Medium Light, Extra Fast, in all 3 models. Those are probably my primary choices. Not really sure which one I should choose from. I don't think I had a casting problem with my 6'8" Med. XF casting rod, and did notice a bit of increased distance even with the cheapo 6'6" spinning rod I used last week. I have usually used 1/4 ounce heads, and 6 inch worms, but that was probably because I couldn't go any smaller with the setup I had (although, swapping the BPS extreme I had on it before with the Viento was a major improvement in the casting department). I need to decide between the 68MXF, or the 69MLXF. Any further suggestions? Thanks bassboy1

Those that know me from other places, know full and well that I despise spinning rods. But, I have been having trouble getting the feel I wanted out of casting rods for shakeyheads, which are a very important bait in my locale. In my last T, I fished my S-head on a 6'6" spinning rod dad left in the rod locker. I actually felt the bites on the bait, and didn't just feel some pressure letting me know that I needed to set the hook. My casting setup I had been using was a St. Croix Avid - AV68MXF (6'8" Med Extra fast), with a Daiwa Viento (left hand, and I am a righty, so I am working the bait with my dominant hand), and 10 pound Seaguar red label Fluoro. But, I have decided that I need to go with a good spinning setup. What sort of rod would y'all recommend? I am thinking a 6'8" to 7'2" medium extra fast, but am looking for arguments one way or the other on length. I am thinking probably sticking with medium, instead of medium heavy, but that is not set in stone. Thanks, bassboy1.

And pay through the nose for it. Not worth it, period. Look in the yeller pages for a steelyard of some sorts. Many places will sell it to you by the foot. If not, google metals depot, metals supermarket, speedy metals, discount steel, and onlinemetals.com I don't know what planet y'all live on but our Lowe's & Home Depot's aint that high maybe it's cuss our construction industry is still booming. I can get 50 feet of 1.5 inch, .125 thickness angle within 3 or 4 bucks of 2 8 foot pieces of the same at Lowes. It is crazy. It is about 3 times as high as elsewhere. I don't think I can say that I would trust one rib right in the middle. In fact, I can blatantly say that I cannot trust that. IMHO, you need at least 3 on that span, one on each side, and one in the middle. 1 brace in a 3 by 4 foot section would be fine iffen the attachment point was on 4 sides, but since you only have two, you need to make the other two.

And pay through the nose for it. Not worth it, period. Look in the yeller pages for a steelyard of some sorts. Many places will sell it to you by the foot. If not, google metals depot, metals supermarket, speedy metals, discount steel, and onlinemetals.com

Now that is what I really need (just one - my cranking battery may still be hanging on by a couple threads). Luckily, I got 70 bucks from my grand mother, so that should be fixed tomorrow.

Well said. I am sure that if most of us went to where he fished, we would certainly do better, and if he came to Allatoona, where I fish, he would certainly do worse, as the fish just plum aren't there. However, his knowledge of bass, and heck, most every species of freshwater fish, is what really brings him above the rest of us. He just uses the private ponds with 3 - 6 pound bass as the teaching medium, as he can teach the same things, but it is more entertaining for us to watch him yank in those bigguns' than watching him pull in a few dinks. Plus, his laid back easy going personality makes the show fun to watch. I would give a lot to spend a day in the back of his boat. Now, as far as his bloopers tapes, I am sure a lot of them are staged. However, I am fairly sure that while staged, not all of the parties involved are aware of it. Thereby, they become more pranks than anything. For instance, remember the time he was loading the jon boat, from the dock, and then as he is loading the battery, he falls in? Clearly, that boat was moved by and outside force, but I am also certain that old Bill didn't have a clue they were about to do that. Now, him falling out of the boat from time to time, well, that is just his extreme clumsiness.

Daiwa Viento-L St. Croix Mojo Spinnerbait rod Boatbuilding with Aluminum by Stephen F. Pollard A whole bunch of socks. Game Apples to Apples. Various other knickknacks - Chocolate, fishing cartoon a day calendar etc.

I have been looking for, and not finding, a storm Thunderstick in 6". I have reason to believe it exists, and I want some. Any leads?

I use mostly X-raps and Pointers. Been having a couple X-raps fall apart, but I have been told that if I send them back, they will ship me new ones, so I am collecting a stockpile of busted ones. So, for fun fishing, it is fine, but after loosing a fish in a tourney, I am skeptical about throwing them over the pointers during Ts. Like the look and action of the X-rap better though. Picked up a Diawa DB minnow with my last *** order. Anyone any experience with those?

Yes, I was talking with Mr. Terrell, and mentioned the idea of the standing timber. He told me that due to Corps. restrictions, we would have to mark EVERY one one of the posts, trees etc, whatever is used, with the orange reflective tape that they put on reef markers and all. I knew it would need to be marked, but I thought a few of the PVC reef marker poles, possibly with a sign attached like on the fish attractors by the Kellogg ramp, placed around the perimeter of the area would be enough. Not really a problem to mark them all, just a bit more planning/labor involved. Terrell told me that the Corps. does not work with anything artificial that would come within 5 feet of the surface at winter pool, or it would have to be marked very well. Apparently they had a few problems with that when Jim and the DNR was putting out the PVC attractors. The other thing he told me, was to regard the placement of them, not just as far as fisherman are concerned, but also for pleasure boaters. Were I to put it in a common raft up cove, I might face the threat of it being destroyed by someone annoyed that I invaded on "their" spot. Seeing as you can look at what would benefit the lake from a different veiwpoint as Jim, I would like to ask how you think a fairly large plot (anything worth doing is worth overdoing) of standing timber would benefit this lake. I honestly couldn't even speculate how it would affect one way or another, on a lake that is drawn down each year. I figured once I got a good idea of how this would affect the lake, I could put a thread on your site, and possibly the DSM site, and see what the local guys think of the idea. Thanks a bunch, bassboy1.

Loose the bow rails, add a trolling motor, and make the U seating in the bow a full deck with pedestal base. Then, make a cushion to go on top of that, and you have a casting deck while fishing, and a lounging deck while tubing (may need to leave the bow rails for legality in that case). Trolling motor is a must though......

I have actually talked with him in person, last Saturday, at the same time I talked to the DNR guy. ;D In February, I put a thread somewhat similar to this on Mikes site (he has a forum just for Allatoona), and I wasn't quite able to get the information I really needed. The grass idea is what I took to my scoutmaster back in the spring. Last fall, that idea was experimented with, and a number of people assisted in planting grass on the lake bottom, when the water was down, with the idea that it would be 3 feet tall by the time the water came up, and it could be fished in the spring and early summer. I haven't heard much of this, so I am not sure how well it turned out. My scoutmaster wasn't extremely crazy about that idea, because, as he put it, raising money, and planting grass on the lake bottom wouldn't be much of a challenge for someone like me. The planning and executing that wouldn't be so much of a challenge for me. Right now, the main cover in the lake consists of brushpiles in deepwater, laydowns on the shoreline (LOTS), and a combination of rocky and silty shoreline/lakebottom. I am hoping to add a bit more variety, or at the very least, something that would have the same benefit as the spawning platform, by helping them grow/reproduce. Keep the ideas coming. Thanks, bassboy1

Alright, although I haven't been active on here in a number of months, it has solely been because I have been real busy, for a number of reasons, and haven't had the time for this. However, as some of y'all may know, and most probably don't, I am 15, and currently a Life Scout, with my Eagle Scout project being one of the last large scale hurdles between me and the rank of Eagle scout. I would like to do a project for the lake, and that is where I am in need of a few suggestions. I live near Lake Allatoona, which is a Corps of Engineers reservoir in the Georgia foothills. The lake, like many Corps lakes, was bulldozed clean before being flooded, so there have been many recent projects to help the largemouth population (we have no problem with spotted bass here - especially ones that run 11 7/8s inches ;D) I would hopefully like to have my project help the largemouth. I have talked to the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) fisheries biologist of the Wild Life Research Department, and he has also talked to a Forester/Park Ranger of the COE (Corps. of Engineers). So far, he has informed me of a couple projects in the past. One of which, done as an Eagle project 4 years ago, was spawning benches, with brushpiles around them, in the back of a couple creeks. Great idea, but it has to be original, I can't copy another project. He also suggested making a pavillion or something at one of the largest ramps, so tourneys wouldn't have to use a truck tailgate as a weigh table, and could be semi sheltered while weighing in. Right now, I am hoping to see what other suggestions come up. What sort of artificial structure (aside from brushpiles - not exactly an original idea, at least on this lake), do y'all either have on your lakes, or would y'all really like to see on your lakes, that would help the population of largemouth? The thought has occurred to me to create an artificial plot of standing timber or something of that nature. Just looking for a few more ideas to sift through. As far as access to the lake bottom, the lake is drawn down 17 feet each winter, so I should have plenty of access up until Feb. or so. Ideally, were I doing a lake bottom project, I could do it during winter holiday, when school is out, and folks won't have to worry about studying and such. Thanks, bassboy1.

I haven't read all the replies, but tournament fishing has definitely helped me. Well, maybe not the wallet, but helped me as far as fishing is concerned. I get to spend time in other peoples boats, and just by observing where they decide to go under given conditions, and what they throw under given conditions etc, has given me a lot of info to sort through, and ultimately use to my advantage. Also, since I seem to never catch fish ;D, I can see what they are doing when they are catching them (how deep, water temp, what sort of structure, what sort of bait etc) and be a little better able to see what bass are likely to munch on in a given set of conditions. Not to mention, the ramp talk helps a significant amount too. On the large lakes around here, we have mostly spotted bass, but I prefer to catch largemouth. Just by listening to some of the ramp gossip, I was able to gain a lot more info on largemouth (even though I liked them better, I didn't know diddley about them), and am more confident on my abilities to pull a few in when spring comes (still scratching my head about this winter). All in all, tournament fishing doesn't help because I am under pressure, or because I end up having to pay to fish, on top of boat expenses, gas expense, lost lure expense etc, but because I am around a lot of different people. And, each person will fish certain things differently, so if you fish with numerous people, you will get a much wider variety of information.