fishinwrench

At the 35-40 second mark I was like... Stop, I wanna fish this!

In areas close to the dam, or in choked down main channel areas I can fathom it making a difference. I have my doubts about the fish in coves 15-30 miles from the dam even recognizing water movement from average generation.

The drum did seem to be ultra-plentiful during the Winter and early Spring. It bordered on rediculis some days. Those were big ones though. I saw a dozen or so scattered dead crappie yesterday but didn't notice any drum floating.

Hey I'm evolving It never made a noticeable difference on my shallow fish, but nothing else has changed except the amount of water being let loose through Bagnell and the deeper fish I was catching have flipped a switch. They are still biting but the way they were biting has changed. The bite for me yesterday was almost imperceptible and they weren't holding on but for maybe 2 seconds. I don't think I was feeling them bite, but rather feeling them spit it back out. I'm not entirely convinced that the water movement is the reason why..... but I'll blame it on that until I learn otherwise. The same fish that Old Plug catches on his hotrod dropshot I can usually get to eat a 10" worm with a 1/8oz. weight just slow-falling it on 20# line. If the line goes slack before it should be hitting bottom, JERK! I don't have the patience to sit and shake a worm somewhere unless I know for a fact that a fish is there.

I was doing real well last week, but took the kid out for a swim yesterday and hit a few of my best spots......The bite had definitely changed, and the only difference is that there was no water generation. Hit a shallow area on the way in and immediately snatched a 2.5 pounder and a couple shorts.

What?!!!

The bite always changes when they stop moving water through Bagnell. For me I think the best strategy is to fish the deeper areas when water is moving, and stay in the shallows when it isn't. There are always a few good fish in the extreme shallow areas and they are pretty easy to pattern when it gets hot. Just slow down and pitch to the dark shady spots. They eat often this time of year and as long as you don't spook them they won't pass up a chance to eat something.

The worm bite is kinda funny. I'm getting alot more bites than I am connecting with. By the time I realize that the bait is in a fishes mouth he is letting it go. I've switched sizes, colors, weights..... Same deal. Fishing the worm on Med. Spinning gear kinda helps me detect the bite earlier for some reason.

I don't think you can even get a new one. Not from Bombardier anyway. They are obsolete. Here's one for 40.00 http://www.shipwrecksalvage.net/johnson-evinrude-propeller-380637-p-4343.html

I'm all for the MLF format. Immediate score and release is the way all tournaments should be now that we have the technology. The days of hauling fish around and relocating them is hopefully coming to a close.

Closest thing I have now is a 2000 150 Opti that I'm rebuilding for another forum member. It is on a 19' center console bay boat but might be sold separately. Should be ready in the next week or two. I believe he has bought another boat and wants to sell. Coming soon is a 91 Evinrude XP150, and a 89 Johnson 235 beast that I think is gonna be a fuel guzzling barge pusher for a local dock co. Only other Merc I have is a 4 cylinder 50 that I think is already sold. First one here with the money gets it though.

I was headed hard in that direction when I was in my early 30's, and was actually doing really well as far as winning some and always being in the check line, but as hard as I tried to make the numbers work I knew I was always just one blown powerhead or gearcase away from being homeless. Guiding was way more lucrative and "safe" but I didn't enjoy it near as much. When my first kid was born I decided the monetary risk (gamble) and being away from home all the time was just not going to work for me. I'm glad I'm not fishing competitively now because I enjoy all kinds of fishing, not just gear fishing for green bass 24/7/365. Plus I'd rather take their money by fixing their boats, it's way easier than trying to beat them at fishing all the time.

That's what sharing of waypoints can do for ya. There are a good bunch of guys that work real hard at sinking brushpiles and then study the best angle to fish them from. If you get in with the right group you can get some really lucrative tips. Honestly though that really doesn't make you a truly good fisherman, it just gets you paid fairly often. The guys that don't bother with all the work it takes to sink brush and catalog waypoints, but still can hammer 'em......Those are the true badasses.

Are they scoring 12 inchers here ?

Thanks for not giving me a 2 minute penalty for that one touching the carpet. ?

Does the boat have Mercury/Evinrude/Yamaha controls, or will you also need a control box and harness assembly? How's the steering system? Single cable or dual? Does it operate smoothly? Sounds like you're looking for a cheap insane deal, but I can assure you that is not likely. In the end you'll easily spend 4-5k before you have anything you'll want to get out of sight of the boat ramp in.

I can see where at least 2 roller bearings escaped so it's a safe bet there is crankshaft damage. It'll cost 450.00 to sleeve it, plus 5-600 for a good used crank and a new connecting rod. 1000.00 for all new pistons, bearings, and seals. Another 200 for gaskets, water pump ect. Then 22 hours of labor. A reman 2.5 powerhead is about 4500.00 plus 8 hours of labor to swap it. A few hours more if they refresh the fuel and cooling systems (which is actually required for PH warranty purposes).

As a teen I worked for a crazyass plumber. We were replacing water lines and drains on an old house and had the water service shut off. The people who owned the house were gone. My old plumber boss announced that he had to go take a crap....and just disappeared. About 15 minutes later here he came back, and I knew he wasn't gone long enough to run down the road to Hardee's (the closest place with a restroom) so I said "I thought you were going to S#it". I did, he says. Where? "Litter box in the laundry room. When they go to clean that out they'll think their cat has a SERIOUS problem".

You sure did ! That's a rod journal bearing. Did it take out the crankshaft too? Bummer. Need help?

I fish out of a 18' bass boat (sometimes even on mid-day during the weekends) and there's no denying that things get sketchy at times, and sometimes it's impossible/dangerous, but the really cool part is that IF you can get to the area you want to fish chances are you'll have it all to yourself and the fish will not have been harassed for quite a while.

Pretty sure I ran into one of their "scouts" yesterday. Older guy in a real nice new truck and and older beater boat, Oklahoma tags. Recognizing me as a local he sure had alot of questions. I have been having some pretty good evenings lately, basically running the aforementioned "Bacon pattern", although I always assumed it was a Wrench pattern

Stellar point ! Shall we boycott?

Seriously though, the right to bitch about how much a Whopper Plopper costs should be reserved for guys in 2k boats or for the fellas walking the bank.

I get so amused by guys with 25k+ boats that whine about a 16 dollar bait. Here's the deal....The guys that make the baits have to eat, pay taxes and health insurance, and they wanna own 25k+ boats too.