Whack'emGood

Thanks so much to everyone who has replied. It always amazes me how many guys are willing to give so much of their time and knowledge to help another on this forum. I guess it shouldn't surprise me... after all, I have witnessed it time and time again! What a great forum with great members. I will take all of these great tips/info into account and make a purchase for a light soon and also some fluorescent line. Now I can't wait for the night fishing season to come around again! Thanks again everyone for all your help... it is very much appreciated. Have a Happy New Year everyone! Whack'em

Denjac, Thanks very much for the reply. I have a question for you... What is a moonglow? It sounds like the "blue light" version that lights up the bank and surrounding area, but does not make fluorescent lines glow. Is this correct? I think I would be interested in that. Which moonglow model do you use/recommend? This moonglow type is totally invisible to the fish, right? The Nucli-eye Extreme that I mentioned has an option to use either the blacklight or the bluelight (moonglow type?) or both in combination. I think the blue light on this unit is the moonglow type that you are talking about. Thanks for your time. Whack'em

Hey guys. I know night fishing is out-of-season and probably pretty far from everyone's minds, but I am already getting spring fever and thinking ahead to next season. I love night fishing... it is definitely my favorite way to fish. I have night fished since I was a young'un and never owned a blacklight. I know most good night fishermen use them, and I am starting to believe that I am missing out on something that I should be taking advantage of. I would like to hear some opinons from some experienced night fishermen about these lights. Do you use them? Which lights do you use? Are there makes/models/types that you would recommend or not recommend and why? I have been researching them a little on the web and have heard great things about the newer LED models like the Moonlite and especially the Nucli-eye Atom and the Nucli-eye Extreme. Has anybody had any experience with any of these? Is it worth it to shell out the cash to buy these more expensive models? Also, I have never used fluorescent lines. Which fluorescent lines would you recommend for night fishing while using these lights in the clear waters of TR? Are fluorescent lines even necessary when using lights, or are you still able to somewhat watch your line without using them? Any other tips/info that you would be willing to share would be much appreciated as well. Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge. Whack'em

S&M-- You and I have similar goals this year... One of my goals in each tourney that I fish is to catch a limit. Also, my buddy partner (my Dad) and I, won 1 tournament last year... my goal for this year is to win 2. I would also like to catch more kicker fish (5lb +) in tourneys this year-- because that is what it takes to at least get in the money and have a shot at winning-- and finishing in the money is always a goal of mine when I fish a tourney. Also, we finished 6th in our night tourney Championship last year... I would like to improve on that this year. Also, one of my goals is to give different baits and techniques an honest shot more this year (instead of always reverting back to the good ol' standbys that I have the most confidence in). I know this stubbornness (is that a word??) keeps me from catching more and bigger fish from time to time. Also, I would like to quit being stubborn about blacklights and try one for my night fishing this year. I know most of the good night fishermen use them, but I (and my partner) are pretty stubborn and set in our ways and have never given them an honest try... I think, if we do, we may just catch more fish... we had a good year last year, but there is always room for improvement. That is my two cents... great topic S&M. Have a great new year everyone. Whack'em

I think I like that solution better too! Seriously though, you might be able to sell it on Craigslist or Ebay or something and then buy a new one.

Oh. I see... well, that's no good. Well, the only thing I can think of is to loop your transducer wire over away from your TM and let the loop hang with slack so you can deploy your TM without pinching the wire... It might be sloppy though. Whack'em

snkrohn, I have heard that the built-ins don't get near as good of reception as one mounted on the outside of the head, but I have never tried a built-in one. I have heard alot of the Pros bypass the built-in and, instead, mount one directly on the head. I mounted mine directly on the head and it works great. I don't know about your particular trolling motor, but Lowrance makes a trolling motor mount transducer that is designed specifically to mount on most trolling motor heads. It is a puck-type transducer and you just mount it on the head with a steel clamp (that is really just a large steel hose clamp) and then run the cable up the shaft and into the boat and to your graph. Just unhook your built-in transducer and use the new one instead. Click the link below for an illustration from the Lowrance website. http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips-and-T...ansducer-Guide/ I think you can even order them directly from Lowrance... I have a Humminbird graph and ordered mine directly from them. If you get into it further and have questions about mounting it, IM me and I will try to help. Good luck! Whack'em

That is correct. If a guy is 62 or older, he needs to go to Wilson's Creek and get his Golden Age Pass and then show that to the folks at the Corp office or one of the kiosks (when they are occupied) and he will get his pass for half price. That's what my dad did (I'm not near the age to get that benefit as of yet, myself ). Whack'em

Fluorocarbon is extremely sensitive and super low stretch, so your feel is greatly magnified and your hook setting ability is increased. The biggest advantage for me is that flouro is virtually invisible. I believe I get way more bites with it than I used to with mono. It is also smaller in diameter (lb for lb) than mono. The only real setback in my opinion is that fluoro is not very abrasion resistant. It frays easily and you need to check and retie your line relatively often. Oh, also... you need to use line conditioner (Reel Magic or other) with flouro. It makes a big difference. Whack'em

It looks like there are going to be 20-25mph winds on Saturday. I'm hoping that the harder it blows, the better the bite is. I'm also hoping we don't get capsized! Whack'em

Thanks a million Bill... as always, your reports and help is very much appreciated. We will definitely heed your advice and give it a shot. Can't wait to get after them this weekend. Hopefully this cold front won't affect them very much and the feeding frenzy will continue. Thanks again. Whack'em

That's the good news that we were waiting to hear! Now we pray for a smooth recovery. Thanks for the update Champ, and give my well wishes to Donna. Whack'em

Thanks Eric... it is much appreciated. I think the main part of our problem was probably that we were not fishing into the wind. We were letting the wind push us and casting downwind... definitely hard to get the correct speed of retrieve doing that. Thanks for the tip on the float-up also. Man... I am ready to go out and get'em now! I have got the bug in a bad way. Too bad I have to wait until Saturday! I will post a report when we go. Once again... thanks alot. I really appreciate it. Whack'em

Hey guys. Thanks so much for the tips and reports. Are you guys fishing the standard (small) Wiggle Wart or the (larger) Mag Wart? It sounds like you are fishing it fast... are you fishing them erratic (stop and start, etc.) or just grinding them steady through the rocks? Eric-- it sounds like you are finding them all bunched up-- is it the same for you Bill, or are you covering alot of water and picking them up here and there? Also, it sounds like they are on chunk rock banks that slope less than 45 degrees-- is that correct? Sorry for all the questions... We caught them okay Sunday on jigs, but couldn't get into them on the wart-- there is something I am missing in the puzzle. We are going to try one more time to put it all together this Saturday. I appreciate your time and knowledge. Whack'em

There he is... I was just gonna suggest that Powerdrive would be a good one to ask. He (along with RPS) is one of the premier trolling experts on this forum. Take his advice and use it word for word. Good luck! Whack'em

Good luck Donna! We'll be waiting to hear the good news-- that the surgery went great... and looking forward to having you back out there catchin'em (and outfishing Champ ). God Bless. Whack'em

When I was growing up (back in the 80's), we used to fish the heated docks down on Grand Lake. They had a woodburning stove, and you would bring your own wood. Just drop a jig down into the cedars through the cut-out in the middle and... BANG! It used to get toasty in there and we would catch our limit of huge crappie nearly every time we went (as I remember). I doubt they use a woodburning stove these days... I would imagine they have passed some kind of law or something against it-- for safety issues. Whack'em

Bill and Lilley... I can't believe people are giving you guys crap. Well, then again, I guess I can. Some guys always just have to have something to complain about or start a fight about. The only credible complaint would be from the guy whose dock you fished and cleaned fish on. I don't see anyone on here claiming to be that guy, so I say lets just let it be. All I wanted to say was good job on catchin'em, enjoy the fillets, and thanks for the report. Whack'em

I agree with EP... and also with Powerdrive... although not that bluntly. There are lots of places to catch fish... nobody needs to fish those docks at the marinas. I don't much care for the ruling... just by principle, and nobody likes restrictions and the government telling you what you can and can't do... but it aint the end of the world. As for myself, I don't fish docks very much anyway-- and I can't recall ever fishing any commercial marina docks. And, yes I certainly would like it if TR was a fishing lake only... but I'm not gonna whine about it. Whack'em

Hey Champ, Yeah, we here hoping to run into you guys... another day we will. Sounds like you guys did a little better than we did size wise. Tell Donna nice job on the 4lb smallie. That's a dandy. We saw an eagle yesterday too... a couple of times. He got real close to us as he circled for awhile over Lookout Point just down river from Baxter... he was battling the wind pretty good and just hovering over us. It really was a beautiful day for this time of year. Like you said though, they are all beautiful days out there on the lake. We will catch y'all next time. Whack'em

We fished yesterday from K.C. to Baxter (mostly up around Baxter) and fought the whitecaps and gusts to catch 'em okay. We caught some really nice KY and a few nice Smallies. We figured out that we had to be in the direct wind to catch them but, in some places (that we knew were holding fish), the wind and waves were too rough for both of us be able to fish effectively. We didn't get on the water until about 9:30, so we fished through the most windy part of the day. We caught them on crankbaits and spinnerbaits, and a few on jigs. We caught about half on the main lake and half back in the creeks-- points and chunk rock, and it seemed to help some to be around some timber. I guess that narrows it down for everybody ... sorry, that's the way it was. When we caught one on a given spot, we caught a bunch there. No really big fish though... best 5 around 12-13 lbs. We were a little disappointed-- our worst day in quite awhile-- but we still caught enough to keep our interest throughout the day. Water temps were 58*-61*. We only saw 3 boats the whole day-- didn't run into Techo or Champ and Donna to meet them like we had hoped... but the temperature was nice and we enjoyed the day. It was a broad pattern, so this report probably won't help anyone, but I figured I would post anyway. Whack'em

Sorry to hear that Mrs. Techo isn't feeling well. We'll keep an eye out for you tomorrow. We're still putting in at Mill Creek and will probably run to the Baxter area first and then work back toward the launch. Good luck! Whack'em

Champ, Keep and eye out for us. Would like to meet you and Donna. If you see us, give us a holler. I'll keep my eye out for you. Techo, Yeah, drop me a line so I know whether you'll be out there or not. We might end up running up to the Aunts Creek area anyway... so I'll watch out for you. At any rate... good luck out there guys (and gal )... I hope you load the boat with hawgs. We're gonna try to do just that, ourselves. Let us know how it goes... I'll post a report as well. Whack'em