powerman970

#17 Stren Fluorocast... I also like 15# Vicious Pro Elite.

How long has this new site been up???? THIS IS HORRIBLE!!!

They cost $5 at Bass Pro Shops too if you get one in the store. Of course if you are a regular customer they automatically send you one so no worries. If you have not ordered enough to automatically be sent a free one, they probably should charge you $5 for one anyways. :

The Bass Pro version has a little larger diameter and they are more durable. I usually use the Bass Pro line except for one particular Jackall color that BPS doesn't make. TRY THIS: Take the Jackall version and go to Lowes and buy some black shrink wrap large enough to fit over the worm. Cut a piece roughly the size of the "knot" on the worm and melt a piece of shrink wrap over that knot. It keeps it on the hook better and doesn't change the action at all. PS. In a bind, electrical tape works as well.

Thanks again guys. That fish was caught a week and a half ago and I am still feeling it.

Thanks guys. Putting that big girl back in the water instead of on the wall was one of the hardest things I have ever done but also one of the most rewarding... Maybe she'll come back and eat for me again some day. I'm not ashamed to admit that I almost threw up when I got her in the boat.

Thanks guys. Yep, that RedEye Shad has been killing them for about a week now. I have caught 2 fish on one cast 3 times in the last week. Twice on a RedEye shad and once on an XCalibur twitch bait. They are absolutely fighting over it.

8.5 pounds caught Friday 9/10 on Logan Martin. Caught the beast on a lipless crankbait just after daylight.

So you are on Lay....From 280 bridge if you head downriver you will come to a train trestle. Before you get to the trestle you will have several pockets on your right. They all have narrow opening and then open up into shallow flats (3-4') deep with some matted grass in them. We had a good topwater bite going in there this past Sunday as well as catching several fish on XR50's and RedEye Shads. On the main lake we have been sticking some good fish around the mouths of the creeks in anywhere from 4-12' depending on temp. Lately the smaller males have moved up into the grass and will eat anything you throw at them but the larger females have been holding back. I hope that helps you a little. Those pockets may or may not be on the map. They do not show up on my GPS but they are there and they are between you and the steam plant in Wilsonville. For those deeper fish try a Big Bite Baits Squirrel Tail worm in blue fleck/blue tail. The fish hate 'em.

Clark, please either get with me on here or through my site. I need someone to show me some of Weiss for my ABA up there in June. Would you be willing to do it? I'll bring the boat and come up if you'd be willing to just spend a day fishing with me up there. I fish Neely often but have never fished Weiss.

The best action we have had on top lately was on Lay last weekend. I was throwing a weightless Fluke and waking it across the top with a steady retrieve and they were crushing it. Mostly small bucks that had already moved up and were eating anything they came across but it was fun.

Where in Alabama are you fishing? What specific river system? I have been on the Tennessee River and the Coosa lately and minght be able to help a little but I need to know where you are. The majority of my fish in the past few weeks have come on XCalibur XR75's and XR50's but I have found fish holding in different places on Guntersville, Wheeler, Lay, Neely Henry and Logan Martin all within the past 2 weeks. We have caught them on worms, cranks, spinnerbaits, jigging spoons and even some topwater action depending on location.

The H2O frogs are even cheaper than the Kermy and are much beter frogs IMO.

You know what they say B.O.A.T. stands for.... Bust out another thousand. For me it would depend on how long I intended to keep the boat. If you are looking for a starter boat or a small boat and intend to upgrade later, definitely go used. If you can afford the boat you truly want and everything is exactly like you like it, then get a new one. I bought 3 used boats eventually upgrading then I bought a cheap new boat (Stratos 176XT) and now I am looking at a new Phoenix with a 150 Yamaha. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger is because I have a motorcycle I need to sell first as well as the fact that I might want a larger horsepower motor in the near future so I am reconsidering a one or two year old slightly used boat. I would rather have a 250 but I am fishing the ABA 150 series this year and plan to again for another year or two along with adding the BWS to my schedule for next year so I need bigger than I have now but have to stay 150 or under. What to do????

Can't believe nobody has mentioned a Phoenix. I know I'm getting ready to buy one. They have thought of everything. LED's in all the boxes and livewell, awesome tackle storage, even the net storage is pretty cool even though not very practical. I am looking forward to ordering mine in the next month or so. Just gotta sell this motorcycle first.

Biggest mistake is not learning from your mistakes. We all do goofy stuff and have brain farts or get home and realize something we SHOULD have done or tried. The important thing is that we learn from it and use it the next time the conditions call for it.

thanks amigo!!! I will let you know how the trip turns out. We will have a good time for sure. Most of our days below Wheeler Dam drifting live bait result in between 70 and 100 fish and we have caught 11 or 12 species in one day. I am looking forward to some artificial action myself though. I see the spot you are talking about on the map and you can bet I'll bang it and see what's there. I was on Wilson a couple of weeks ago and the water was down a good bit. We always put in at Fisherman's Resort and the ramp was barely useable that day. The wind also got up and conditions on the main lake were dangerous at best but we managed quite a few fish out of Big Nance Creek. There was a Fishers of Men as well as another tournament running that day and the creeks were packed with boats.

Thanks Roadwarrior. That was what I am looking for. I'm assuming that Wheeler and Pickwick are going to fish similarly?????? I know we have found a lot of submerged grass on Pickwick as well as gravel bars and mussel beds that have all been good producers for us. Is it safe to assume that Wheeler is topographically close to what I am used to looking at on Pickwick?

I will be taking the family up to Wheeler State Park for a week beginning this Friday. We plan to drift fish below Wheeler Dam for some smallies and whatever else we can pick up a good bit and I do that several times a month so I'm covered there but I have not bass fished the lower end of Wheeler at all and would love any help you guys might throw my way. We will be limited to the lower end of Wheeler, all of Wilson and likely the upper end of Pickwick if we make that a day trip. I'm not looking for what to throw or any specific spots (unless you just want to toss me a bone with a honey hole) but rather an idea of what the fish are doing right now in that general area and what kind of pattern I need to be looking for. With my elderly father and a 14 year old in the boat I'd like to put them on some fish.

Try Little Mountain Marina. You can find it on Google.

They are awesome baits. The XCaliburs have replaced the RedEye Shads in my arsenal for the most part. I like the XR75's mostly but I have a bunch of the XR50's as well. You can bet your butt I'll be slingin' one on Guntersville this weekend.

Absolutely!!! I was on the Warrior River the weekend of the Classic and we were catching fish on a shakey head off of secondary grass lines in 10-12' of water that was 45-46 degrees.

They are only available at Academy but I have been sending them all over the country to guys on this site. I charge $1 per bait and flat rate $6 for shipping. The cranks run about $3.49-$3.79 and the swimbaits are $7.99-$8.99. I think the frogs are also in the $3.50 range. Email me at rjcorobert if you want me to pick you up some on my next trip. I also have a thread on the flea market forum showing the specifics as well as a good color chart.

Good info...Now I can make a few adjustments in my battery care and see if it helps. Overall I have not had a lot of battery problems but every little bit helps. Would you not say that a year is about typical on trolling motor batteries if they are used often and fished from daylight until dark where they are commonly drained almost all the way? A cranking battery will usually last me around 3 years (if they aren't Optimas :). Most times, the trolling motor batteries still have some life left in them but as soon as I see any difference in the amount of time I can fish, new ones go in the boat. The used ones usually go to buddies and they get what life is left in them.

I use the XPS fluorocarbon and love it. I use a palomar knot almost exclusively and have had no problems as long as you wet the knot before cinching it down and tighten it SLOWLY. Fluorocarbon will burn if you tighten the knot dry or quickly and loses a lot of strength if that happens. I don't use it on spinning rigs but I do use a flouro leader on spinning rods. After switching a few rods to fluorocarbon I realized before long that I had switched nearly every rod to it. Braid is a thing of the past now except for 65# braid on my rat rod and mono no longer has a place in my boat. (Yes, I use fluorocarbon for topwater applications as well.) That being said, XPS is my favorite but I also like TripleFish.....