slothman

http://scout.com/outdoors/bass-fishing/Article/Angler-Dies-in-Boat-Crash-in-Fishing-Tournament-on-Lake-Cumberla-106915783 Reading this article makes me think hard about some of the tournament practices that could be tweaked so slightly to greatly improve safety. As it is now, most of the tournaments I fish do not have a required check-in. Some guys will have a poor day/night of fishing and will just load up and leave before the tournament is over without telling anyone. A requirement to check-in with somebody before leaving would be a good idea. As it is now, if there was an accident, noone would know for a potentially very long time. It seems to me that this could be changed with little to no downside.

Agreed on all points.

I certainly don't go a bunch, but we still do it old school with 3 Coleman lanterns. Much darker than with the generators, but almost silent too.

It is certainly a neat event. However, way overhyped I think.

I'm thinking that tomorrow could be a great day for fishing all day. Morning bite, eclipse bite, evening bite. Even if it isn't, I'd rather be on the water than at work trying to keep a bunch of middle schoolers from burning up their retinas all day.

I've been really turned on to super small size 22-24 parachute flies (high vis) Adams, bwo, etc. I think it is basically a midge pattern. Using the high vis has really helped me catch more with dries. I don't think the fish seem to care at all.

I've heard of that as well. I never knew until recently that they were so hated. I always kinda liked catching them because they put up such a fight. They can be annoying when you are really targeting something though, I suppose.

Somebody told me that they eat bass eggs. I have no idea if that is true. Anyone with more knowledge than me know anything about it? It sounds to me kinda like the "turkeys stomp quail eggs" theory. I've heard that one a bunch, but I've never seen any scientific evidence of it. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though.

I can relate to that. I was fishing LOZ Friday night and a big cabin cruiser rolled by and threw me into a dock. Knocked a big chunk out of my boat. 😡😤😡 TICKED!!

I gave it a go today. I managed to catch 3 walleye! I was pretty excited about that. I have caught walleye before, but never when targeting them specifically. Unfortunately, they were not quite big enough to keep: a 13", a 14", and one that was just a hair short. I also pulled in several bream and bluegill, a couple small bass, and a pretty big drum (I thought I really had something while fighting him). Two of the walleye and all of the other fish besides the drum came on the jig with worm pattern you suggested. The largest walleye and the drum came on a #7 blue tiger flicker shad being trolled. I am excited to get out there and try it again. I am fiercely craving a mess of walleye.

I will definitely give it a go. Thanks.

I don't know anything about putting walleye in the boat, but I think I'm going to load up and head to Stockton tomorrow and give it a try. I have some bottom bouncers. I could try tome jigs with curly tails or crankbait too. I don't really know much about walleye, but we'll see what happens.

I've kinda been asking around about prop shops. I've heard from a few different people that Cool Breeze is good. I haven't tried them yet.

I agree with Fitz fishing. Those guys just never seem to want to chat at all. I've gotten to the point that I don't even really want to go in there much any more. Osage beach bait and tackle is a much more welcoming atmosphere. They don't carry quite as much tackle, but dang, at least they act like they appreciate you as a customer and fellow fisherman. Come on Fitz, throw some bones. Seriously. Dont get get me started on they way they act towards anyone not in their "circle".

Nice! I wish I could catch some walleye. That is one fish I just haven't been able to figure out. I catch one below the dam on occasion by accident, but I'd really like to understand how to target and catch them. I have yet to crack that combination.

I was thinking that too.

Somebody is hanging with the whitewater paddling crowd 😉. I helped pay my way trough college doing whitewater kayak instruction. I sold my playboat when I got married. Now I just have a layout boat for duck hunting and a bass boat for fishing. Getting ready to sell my layout boat though.

1. Big worm: Texas-rigged 2. Spinnerbait: black or chartreuse or chartreuse/white 3. Salt craw: Texas-rigged. Black/pink, black/red 4. Jig: usually dark colors, but sometimes with bright fluorescent colors mixed in 5. Topwater- black: if it is really calm I'll throw a jitterbug, a spook can do well as can a buzzbait ( I don't throw buzzbaits often) 6. Creature baits like the brush hog are great. I don't throw the too much, but I'm doing it more and more. For line, I use mono almost exclusively anymore. For two reasons: abrasion resistance on dock cables, and night fishing with a black light. I find that using a black light really helps me detect subtle bites at night. I fish much better when I can see AND feel my line.

It is amazing the kind of stuff you can find just floating around in this lake.

First fish (kinda. She reeled it in 😉)

I have the Mach II baitcaster. I like it really well. Good value. I really like the reel when I am fishing a Texas rig, especially when I make a long cast or in deep water.

I fished all night wrench. Hit a bunch of spots. The best fishing for me was the last hour before dark and when the sun came back up. I couldn't seem to get much done with the big moon last night. 7 keepers all night for me. Best 5 went 15 1/2ish. My biggest fish was 5 1/2.

I was surprised when my first 7' rod seemed barely any longer than my older 6.5' rods. It seemed like most of the extra inches were in the split grip handle. I agree that rods should be sized by the length above the reel seat, to at least give both measurements. I don't dislike the split grips, but I am totally fine with my full cork handles.

For an inexpensive rod, I have been pretty happy with the Berkley Lightning Rod that I purchased this spring. I like it just about as much as the Lew's Mach 2 rod that I got for Christmas that cost more than twice as much.

I didn't take the boat out last night, but I walked the bank for a few hours. I noticed that many of my bites were coming pretty shallow as well. Some were farther out, but not too many.