papajoe222

Let me know if and where you find it because mine only showed up once all season and then took off for parts unknown.

This is exactly what's been happening. Never happened with my 2D unit, so I was puzzled as to why it was doing it with the DI unit. I didn't like switching from my DI on the dash to the 2D on the deck and now, hopefully, I won't have to deal with that. Thanks for the help guys.

Mu unit is powered by my cranking battery which is charged by a different charger than the TM batteries. What is the difference between a ring and choke?

I take it you loose a lot of terminal tackle, if that’s your mid-season resupply!

I added a down imaging depth finder to the front deck of my boat with the transducer mounted to the trolling motor. The D/F is powered by my cranking battery. I get all kinds of goofy depth readings and no bottom image when using the TM and it's very frustrating as I keep my eyes glued to that display when looking for underwater targets. I never had this problem with 2D sonar. The transducer is much bigger and I have a guard around it to prevent damage. I first thought it was due to turbulence but I'm thinking it may just be RFI from the motor itself. I considered adding a ferrite choke to the transducer cable, but don't know if I should install it close to the unit or transducer. Any ideas what may be causing the problem, or suggestions on how to eliminate it. I put my old 2D unit back on, but I'd really like to use the unit up front and not have to mount it on the dash?

Also, in the future, along with using a quality swivel close the bail by hand if you're using a spinning reel. I dislike spinning reels because of the inherent line twist problems and although closing the bail by hand didn't eliminate line twist, it sure reduced it enough to get through a day of fishing without me swearing at the reel.

Honestly, I don't give any thought to how long/short the tag end of my knot is. I don't go to extremes one way or the other, but I can say that I've had knot failures, in the distant past, from clipping the tag at the knot.

They live up north where we use light wire hooks and 8lb. test line to catch 3lb.-5lb. bass. For that worm I use a 3/0 round bend offset. I don't like EWG hooks for fishing worms, but that's a preference thing more than anything I can point to that says they're better. BTW, welcome to lBR Steve and the best way to book a fish is to handcuff them first read 'em their rights and then 'Book 'em Dano"

I am superstitious. I know if the sky is clear and there is no wind, my chances of a great day are non-existent. If it's overcast and windy, I could possibly have my best outing of the year. All kidding aside, if I'm in a funk and need a good confidence building outing, I'll grab my favorite lure, rod/reel, a new Red Sox cap and I'll leave momma at home. There's some superstition and some logic mixed in there, but it's mostly confidence in myself, my gear and the fact that the wife isn't there to upstage me. The new Sox cap is just an excuse to get a new one.

I knew a guy from our club that used to do something similar with odd ball colors and inappropriate lures. No one paid attention because he always finished near the bottom on most tourneys. The standing joke was that he should try some of the stuff he had on his deck because it sure couldn't hurt his bottom line. Then again, maybe he was actually throwing that stuff and we just assumed it was an attempt to throw the rest of us off. ?

What's the best and worst fishing advice you've ever received? My best was a friends suggestion to pick-up a copy of 'Fishing Facts' magazine (this was back in the 70's). That advice got me started on my bass fishing addiction. I've gotten more than my share of bad advice from friends, family and other anglers. The worst was likely from a friend that cautioned me not to join BASS and fish their sanctioned tournaments in my area. "You'll loose your love of the sport and become too focused on catching." I'm not sure exactly what he meant by becoming too focused on catching, maybe that I'd miss out on the beauty of nature, or the up side of the solitude of being alone on the water. Either way, I'm glad I ignored him.

On week-ends, the wait to launch on most public water can be unbearable. I use that time to not only prep my boat to launch, but also to prep my head for the fishing. I'll check out the sky, wind speed and direction, birds, along with water clarity and the presence and type of weeds that may be present. Another thing I'll do is engage other anglers waiting to launch in an effort to learn as much as I can before hitting the water. My first question after 'how you doin'? is usually Do you fish this lake a lot? The conversation can go in any direction from there and what beneficial information I get out of it depends on where I steer it. Every topic from the main forage to their favorite structure or lure can give me insight I wouldn't have gotten checking my FaceBook account, or just wasting time in general. Case in point; A local lake is known for giving up record muskie and I decided to give it a shot last week. I only hit this lake once or twice a year and never during the hot summer months. I struck up a conversation with a fellow that was there to catch crappie. One of his first comments was that he almost always gets cut off by a muskie that attacks a crappie he'd hooked. You know what my next question was don't you? I hooked and lost one in the mid 40s at the boat that day. Yea, there is a bunch of misinformation and half truths heard at the dock, but if you ask the right questions you can often get useful information. Oh yea, don't be afraid to give out a little helpful information, or tips, too.

I took mine fishing on our honeymoon. she" been hooked since then She is a fair weather fisherman, but loves the experience Like others, she will out fish me most of the time. I recently built her a custom rod with purple accents, her favorite color. Her second cast with it she caught a nice 18in. bass. I don't know which of us was more excited.

A tungsten jig head is smaller than a lead one of the same weight. Combined with a shorter skirt, it will give you a smaller profile while not sacrificing weight. Add a short trailer with a lot of action, like the business end of a RageTail Craw and you can alter the fall rate.

My use of the term skirted was to distinguish a silicone or rubber skirt from the hair skirt. Yes, fin. I know my 'experiment' didn't prove anything. I was joking. During the summer, I work a hair jig faster than I do in the spring or fall and will often times add a small, straight tail worm.

Does anyone here ever throw a skirted bass jig without some type of trailer? My kid never uses a trailer and when I rib him about it, his reply is; "You always throw hair jigs without a trailer, why should I use a trailer on a skirted jig?" Grant you, I catch five times more bass on a hair jig than he does on his jigs, but I catch five times more bass on just about any presentation than he does. That got me to seriously consider the possibility that he actually had a sound argument. Yesterday I fished with only skirted jigs and hair jigs in an attempt to confirm my position. Just as I thought, I didn't catch anything with the skirted jig without a trailer...........didn't catch anything on the hair jig either, but my experiment proves that you should always put a trailer on your bass jigs.

Rapala offered a ShadRap with a curved bill, but I can't recall the name even though I have more than one. The one that runs to 13ft is the one I use most often. The only downside to them is that you can't retrieve them fast. They really shine under post front conditions during the summer. As for a wide wobbling crank that you can work fast, Bagley's Kill'r B won't roll on you when burned along the bottom.

Like NYW, I become painfully aware that there are only three months of fishing left for me. I rarely deal with the jet skis et all in the summer because I'm mostly on the water when they aren't. The next few weeks until school starts is the exception. On those occasions I do share time with other water sports enthusiasts, I follow Papa's golden rule; Do on to others as they do to me. The 'ski' crowd likes to run the area just outside the no wake zone from shore which is within casting distance of the outside weed line on my lake. I get buzzed constantly, so I'll look for potential fish holding spots just outside that no wake zone and anchor for an hour or so. That forces them to deal with the speed boats farther from shore, slow down and pass on the shore side, or risk a ticket if they buzz me on that side. Other than hanging around the launch, and maybe finding a school of cooperative bass, it's the most fun to be had on a sunny summer day. For the last month or so, it's just me and a few other die hard anglers on the water on the week-end as the hunting and football guys are gone, too. My favorite month for fishing is October, it's also the month I dread coming to an end.

My first change is always retrieve speed. Although I normally change retrieve speed during a cast, I'll speed things up or slow them down first. Next is depth change. Bottom, top, middle is the norm, but there are times I'll opt for topwater to start. A change in the type of bait is usually necessary to accomplish this Last is location. First would be the type of cover, followed by a different structure element. The only time I change color is when I've been getting light hits, or when I can't get fish to commit to a presentation, but follow, or just swipe at my presentation.

I normally by smaller quantities, mostly to replenish my stockpile. In recent years, I've cut down on the amount of tackle I carry, but not on my inventory. For this reason, I'm not timid about the cost of the jigs I purchase, but prefer to get the most bang for the buck and Mike at Siebert Outdoors offers both a great assortment of styles that are reasonably priced.

There is a big difference in fishing a retention pond vs. a reservoir or a pond formed by a dam, from shore. The main difference is lack of structural changes. Bowl shaped ponds rarely offer well defined depth, or bottom composition changes. The fish are very cover oriented, but will occasionally suspend if there is sufficient depth. For those ponds, changing presentations to the available cover is your best option. Don't be timid about getting into the thicker vegetation either. For reservoirs and dammed ponds, look for areas with structural changes that have cover, or more than one structural element and use a suitable presentation. A weed bed bordering a drop in depth, or a bottom that changes from gravel to rock or muck along a drop. Points are an obvious structure, but others can be found using bottom contact lures.

Just wondering which ones you guys throw and what plastic is your most productive. What about presentation? Fast, slow stop and go, or an alternative to a shakey head? I recently started throwing the Hardhead with a creature tube as an alternative to a football jig and love working it fast over the clean bottom gravel pits I frequent. My go to presentation in the summer has always been a C-Rig, or true Texas Rig worm (sliding bullet weight}, but I always work them slow, or should I say slower than most guys. For me, this is a presentation I can work fast and keep on the bottom and it gets some bone jarring reaction strikes from the big girls. I normally start out my day working fast presentations at different levels trying to determine the fish's activity level. This and a paddle tail swimbait on a jig head are my go to for covering the mid to deep levels.

My dad got me hooked on fishing. I was a walleye and crappie angler until I joined the army. I had caught a few bass prior to then, but it wasn't until I was exposed to the southern waters of Missouri and Georgia that I fell in love with bass fishing. I had no mentor other than the writers of a few magazines and information was all but nonexistent. Other than a pre-rigged Creme worm, Rapalas and Mepps spinners were the only lures in my tiny tackle box. I didn't fish from a boat until a few years after my discharge. B.A.S.S came into existence around that time and good information and competition followed. Although I still occasionally compete and fish for walleye, crappie and muskie, my passion is bass fishing and over the last decade has focused on trophy sized bass.

Just wondering why you are looking into a mod/fast action for heavy jigs if you've been using a fast action? I know it's a personal preference thing, but I'm assuming you want the tip to load up prior to setting the hook. The down side to that is it will load as you drag a 1oz. jig too. I use a St. Croix Mojo 7ft. hvy/fst (MBC70HF) for my punching and heavy skirted jigs. It's a bit heavy, but casts well and is plenty sensitive.