fishinwrench

So Canadian's are just now figuring out that the majority of black folk don't care much for water sports.....and this is their reasoning why ? That's a hell of a leap, ain't it?

The whole "windy point" thing is a play on words. White bass (at least the ones on LO) don't care that a point of land exists. What matters is that there is a large gap between docks there, or a lack of docks all together. For whatever reason Whites don't hang out under docks. On this lake where docks line the shoreline, any old piece of bank that is void of docks is just as good as any "point" at any given time as long as there is a transition along it. Chunk turning to gravel, or a few little cuts along it, those type areas are every bit as likely to have whites on them as the Points are. Now a long tapering point that has a shallow ridge jutting out into the lake is One Thing.... but most guys consider every bend of the shoreline as "a point", and on those spots it isn't the "point" that attracts the fish, it is simply the gap between docks because there's only room for one house on a bend like that, therefore you get a gap between docks. Make sense?

I flyfish for them mostly. The action of a quickly stripped fly is nearly irresistible to Whites so that makes them easier to find. Not because they'll always eat it, but because more often than not several from the school will break away and chase it just close enough to the boat that I'll see them. Regardless of what your throwing and how you are manipulating it Whites will not bite (in mass) until they are ready to eat. I think it's impossible to coax inactive whites to bite, but you CAN coax them into CHASING, or as I call it...."Flashing", and you might hook one or two. That clues you to where they are at. Once you've identified that 50 yard long area where the magic happens the best thing to do if they aren't hammering it on every other cast is to sit down, crack a beer, and wait for something to change. If a cloud passes over the sun give it a try....no bites, or only another chase/flash....sit back down and wait for something else to happen. The wind might pick up, or lay down. A big boat wake might come crashing in, or whatever. The absolute best thing to happen is for 4:45pm to roll around, because from then until 30 minutes before dark they will almost always decide to eat heavily. If you beat the water up and show them all your tricks before they get in the mood to chow down then you won't load the boat as easily during that 2 hours worth of Game Time. Again, the most important thing to be aware of is what goes on BEHIND your lure when it gets close enough to see it. Flyfishing makes that easy, but with jigs and stuff it's a little bit harder.

I've been doing well with Whites and juvenile Stripers but surfacing activity has been nonexistent. I will tell you that the type of areas where I am finding them is definitely not where you'll see a large cruiser. Even a full size bassboat is rare.

I think it means that it will be just as mild as it is severe. Technology hasn't improved weather prediction at all. As a matter of fact it seems to me that they are worse at it now than they used to be 40 years ago. The fact that they even try to predict weather more than 2 days in advance amuses me. Do they really think we need them to guess for us? It's really ok and understandable for them to say...."Should be nice tomorrow, but after that we don't know". Society demands that someone wearing a suit and sporting a fresh haircut tells us SOMETHING even if it's a lie.

I pretty much live quarter to quarter, and I kinda like it that way. Keeps me from screwing up so bad that I suffer more than a couple months.

Yes an onboard charger will do it fine. I'm not a fan of them myself. How hard is it to open up the hatch and hook up a portable charger? But when onboard chargers work they work fine. I have swapped out hundreds of them and reboxed the old ones so people could start fighting for warranty. They are sealed (can't breathe) and suffer alot of vibration so their lifespan is typically short. And the truly good ones aren't cheap. I just don't find the convenience of them worth it. Having to hook up a portable charger forces you to open things up and look at the battery.....which is something you should do pretty often anyway. Guys that use onboard chargers always have mold and mildew in the bilge area. It's the wettest part of a boat, and it's good to open things up and let it dry out back there.

Oh, you haven't heard? No Winter this year. A perk free with every Trump vote. ?

Usually but not always. And even if I did, what difference would it make where the boat sat overnight if a battery charger wasn't hooked up to it? If you want the extra expense and weight of a second battery that's fine with me. I was just offering you an option.

The Color-C-Lector was a big deal back in my bass club fishing days and I'll never forget those rediculis paint jobs on the baits a bunch of guys were throwing. I'm glad I never fell for that. Instead I ran around all over the lake dropping pH probes everywhere.... and wasted an equal amount of time. In hindsight I can say with 100% certainty that following my gut instincts and my totally unfounded hunches has paid off way more than any of the "science" I have ever tried to apply to fishing. When you attempt to make sense of it you usually do more harm than good. The size and color that just initially "feels right" is the one you should tie on and stick with. Trying to "determine and match the available forage" is a complete waste of time, and that mentality and effort will not pay off consistently. Throw what FEELS RIGHT until something changes your mind and makes it not feel right anymore. The guys that used to consistently kick our butts in tournaments were the furthest thing from scientific. Hell they didn't even read the fishing magazines, probably because they couldn't READ very well.....and in THIS GAME the inability to read and comprehend benefitted them. Just something to think about. But wait, maybe you shouldn't even think about THAT. Because most of the problem boils down to too much thinking.

Harps, unless you just want the extra weight onboard you do not need 2 batteries for that rig. A single deep cycle battery will do it all. You are aware of all the 12v aluminum rigs I've had over time, and I have always just run a single battery, even on multiple day outings where I couldn't plug in a charger overnight.

Yeah the numbers have been good for me but I've lost track of the 3-4 pounders that I've been catching all year. Looking forward to a weather event to stir things up a bit. Until then I'll chase Whites and Stripers on the fly gear.

Kinda depends on whether you are using it long and hard, or once every other month. I'm a fan of Exide 27MDC myself, mostly because the local vendor is a cool guy and I know the ones I get are as fresh as they come. My least favorite are the Super Start's that O'Rielly's sells because they boil over easy, making a mess of everything....and they don't last long. I charge at 10amps on a Auto deep cycle setting that runs them up to 15v then cools until voltage falls back to 13.5v. The length of time for that cool down cycle to happen is the best way I know to measure the quality of the battery, a good strong (fresh) deep cycle battery will take 8-10 minutes. One that is about ready to puke will take only 2 minutes on the cool down cycle and after several cycles the battery will be pretty warm when you put your hand on it. This tells you alot more than a "load test". When my cool down cycles get down to less than 5 minutes I buy new ones and sell my old ones for 25.00 to someone that can't afford a new one. At the rate I use them that is about every 24 months. Whoever I sell them to may get 2 more years out of them, but this way I never have to worry about battery failure.

I got a "bad spool" of 8# Vanish years ago. The stuff broke like it was 4#. I'm not gambling on another spool of it.

There is something about a bike in the woods that doesn't spook critters. I have rode right up on deer, foxes, coons, close enough to spit on them.

That's rediculis. Who quits fishing in mid-October?

Both of my trucks are 1999's and my boats are '89, '91, and 2001. Everywhere I go I have the oldest trucks/boats in sight. I guess if I could only have one of each they MIGHT be a few years newer bit definitely not NEW. If the economy is as bad as everyone let's on then why am I the only one with old stuff ? People are making it just fine it seems to me, and most of those folks are even paying insane health insurance premiums. Brick and mortar "stores" in small towns are not the way to make a very good living, and that's why so many are sitting empty.

I wish the zombie apocalypse, revelation, return of Jesus, Niberu crash, and all that other baloney would hurry up and happen too, cuz I'm even sicker of hearing about that. At least you only have to suffer through the extinction of smallmouth theory's when you click over to here. That other stuff you have to wade through everywhere you go.

No excuses necessary, meat is meat. I'll leave the gnawing on antlers to the field mice. Good shot! ?

As long as it doesn't do the "sew your feet together" thing that all cats love to do. I'd be afraId I'd trip over her and bust a rod or take a swim.

It's my impression that everyone concentrates on the longer/deeper pools, but I always do better on that stretch by concentrating on the easily overlooked little hiding spots. Basically if there is a spot where you can't see the bottom, even if the spot is no bigger than your kitchen sink and no deeper than 2 feet, you should fish it. A 15-16 incher is about as good as it gets up there, so if you catch a few in that size range you can be assured that you're doing the right thing.

Nice one ! He sure wasn't very resistant about coming to the boat. Hell I've had to fight 11" crappie longer than that. ?

The cost of that rig (and its maintenance/hauling) would more than pay for networked scales and/or whatever is necessary to do immediate score and release.

Typically mid-lake LO begins turnover right around Halloween.

Dang, I may have to visit. ? Wharfrat, you can just ride with, I THINK I can find it.