J-Doc

K-U-D-O-S!!!!!!!!!!!! My hat's off to you sir. Well done. And that little girl can CAST for a 4yr old! I'm hoping to get my 4yr old girl out in my boat this summer for bluegill. I can't imagine her being in a canoe catching bass. She's too hyper and all over the place. Not calm and reserved like yours so you're doing a great job! Balance is key and like you said.......let her determine how long to be there. Well done Dad!

Wow...... What a report! Thanks for sharing!! I haven't been out since last weekend and wasn't bass fishing so I can't add but your report provides quite a bit of info that will help a lot of folks. Including me. Way to go!!

Welcome Ranger40! Glad to have you join us. Please post as much as you would like. The purpose of this forun is to share info with others and help each other. I know that's how Phil wants it. (Phil Liley)

Ah I see now. So can the kids detect the bite? Or does bait just feel heavy and they set the hook? Fish doesn't take off swimming with it aggressively in other words.

Thanks. I have only tried it once and it was short lived. I was wanting a jerkbait bite at the time. I keepp saying I'm going to try it again but crappie and walleye are biting spoons and jigs. :-)

Oh and you have to sing the Go Go's song "Hey Mickey" when you're throwing the Mickey. Joe knows it. :-) "Oh Mickey you're so fine your so fine you blow my mind....Hey MICKEY! HEY MICKEY"

The Mickey requires an extra ling cast from my limited experience with it. I rarely tie it on but it's a producer if you get it far away from the boat. I watched a school of kentuckies beneath the boat in extra clear water one day and they wouldn't bite a thing or the Mickey. After I launched it away from the boat as far as I could sling it on a spinning rod, it got hammered on the 5th cast in the same area after about 10 seconds into the retrieve. You have to hold the rod tip high to wake it as I recall. The Kong is a topwater bait isn't it? I wanted one years ago. Never didn fork out the cash for it. Of its a topwater bait, it should wake but I can't remember for sure. The Red Fin is a great wake bait for bass. They can't stand it for some reason. Good for stripers too but on TR, that's not an issue as the population is low I hear.

I have to ask why it's great for kids. If I recall you have tofish the Ned rig extra extra slow. Kids want fish the second a bait touches water. Some wives are the same way due to not enough experience. How is this so good for kids? I assume it's because it's a producer.

In the last week, I've been approached on the lake and thanked for sharing my info. Someone recognized me from the forum and I take that as an extreme compliment and I'm humbled and proud. So many read here but do not post. I encourage others to share info about ANY species. There are the occassional catfish threads and white bass threads but bass seems to be secretive and rare. Not because of the population, but because of not sharing info. Everyone wants a honey hole or hot bait tactic for themselves. It's over 30k acres folks. There are lots of bass.

The folks that load the boat share info to help others. The people that don't load the boat, do not post. The bass tournament guys keep their secrests just that.......secret. There is a small hand full that can catch a 20lb bag consistently. They don't tell anything to their friends much less on a public forum. Thus the few that troll share info. To help others that are just starting or frustrated with not catching fish consistently. Trolling by the way is not throwing a bait overboard and dragging it around randomly hoping some poor fish will get fooled. It's a methodical and precise method of commercial fishing. They have books written documenting methodologies and tactics. It's not cheating or easy. It's the same as "long lining" crankbaits in tournaments. Except the boat is in motion creating presentation. The day bass tournament guys start posting information here..... .I will be proud and excited because they stop being secretive and start openly sharing and teach beginners. When my new boat gets here in June, I'm on a mission for big bass. To post pics and share every secret I can. Name spots, heck I'll provide coordinates just to watch fools crowd a spot knowing the fish will be gone within 12hrs or less.

Whites...... I'm on it chief. :-)

I caught a good 3+lb flathead on a deep diving Lucky Craft bait a few years back in Cliffty. I thought I had a hoss. Imagine my disappointment when I finally got it to the surface. He came home and got the hot grease punishment. I've seen several catfish bit bass jigs and crankbaits too. I didn't think it was that common but I've seen and heard that it's not that uncommon if presentation is pretty slow.

One of these days I'm going to hide your Flicker Shads and watch the beads of sweat......... LOL

You could lose all 4 of those Pearl Whites in one trip. :-) Once they grab something, it's really not worth going back after it. I rarely get one back and I have tried like crazy with a good bait retriever.

You're welcome. It's my thing. I've become a bit of a sonar junkie.... I was watching the Dr. Sonar HDS training DVD last night. I'm simply blown away at how advanced the technology is these days. It's nothing short of having a mobile science lab on the water. Look for some killer screenshots from me in about 2-3 months when I get the new HDS10 and become comfortable with it. I plan on making my own map of the Monte Ne amphitheater area that will overlay side scan images on top of a hi-def contour map. It will be like looking directly at the underwater ruins on a map.

Here is an interpretive image below to help explain what we are seeing in zaraspook's image above. To understand this, you truly need to know the fundamental differences between traditional low frequency sonar, structure scan (hi frequency sonar) and side imaging (or side scan) which is hi frequency sonar looking outwards at an angle away from the boat. There are lots of quick Youtube videos on this. Also the link I shared above provides some breakdown on screenshots and understanding what you are looking at. Here is an image where I have provided a rough interpretation.

This should help explain things a bit without going all "geek" on you. :-) To understand this, you truly need to know the fundamental differences between traditional low frequency sonar, structure scan (hi frequency sonar) and side imaging (or side scan) which is hi frequency sonar looking outwards at an angle away from the boat. There are lots of quick Youtube videos on this. Also the link I shared above provides some breakdown on screenshots and understanding what you are looking at. Here is an image where I have provided a rough interpretation.

First.........try this thread. It will help you out a lot (I hope). It was my goal when I started it. Lots of good basic info in there and explanations for sonar. I'm working on a breakout of the image above for more help.

I know the feeling. I missed out on the rebate.

If you get one, you will want both. Lol! Just saying.

I'd sell you one. Yes, it's a depth counter. You release the tension knob slowly and the weight drops. If you drop to 10ft with 50ft of line out, you can get Flicker Shad down to 20-25ft depending on which size you use. F&F got me hooked on riggers. It's fun and when it's mid summer, it's the best method for fishing short of a spoon.

Nice!!! You should post this on the sticky in the General Discussion forum for screenshots. Excellent example. Great resolution using 800khz too!! I'm a screenshot junkie. One of the reasons I got the HDS10. I can see better and watch up to 3-4 views like you have setup.

They are over $70 each new. Only used once, I figured it's fair.

Each. Lol

I still have the package these came in AND I registered them with Cannon for warranty coverage.