jeb

Great way to start off the new year! Thanks for the report. I was out on Thursday from about 9-1, in the PC to Ventris area. Did okay with 6 fish, but the only good one was a big old spot. Never tried the WW, but caught them on spoons, jerkbaits and drop shot. Fished large cranks, Keitechs, A-rig and jigs, but no luck with those. Water temp was in the 42-44 range. Like you, I found most of my fish on the points.

I've had the most luck on the LC DD and XD jerkbaits on Beaver and TR when wanting deeper jerks. I have some of the vision 110+ lures, but I've yet to catch a single fish on them around here.

No kidding! That is impressive, even for 6 fish in Beaver. That's a 3.5lb average.

Curious where exactly you lost your lower unit? Just want to avoid it myself. Sorry to hear about it.

I'll try to remember to look this thread up when/if I dump it in the spring.

I'm in the opposite camp. I've had mine for 4-5 months now and almost think it drives fish away. I've tried lots of different settings, but tend to use the same one Capt Joe listed above the most. I really can only point to one "maybe" situation where it might have helped. I'm going to test it through the winter, though.

Hope everyone here has a very Merry Christmas and great New Year, too!

Good on you, FF!

Y'all need to be careful in front of Copper Mine resort, too. That old tailing pile 200-300 yards directly in front of the resort is only about a foot under the water right now. Not marked in anyway, either. Stay in the channel through there if you're blowing down the lake.

True, some of the first STX's had weak split rings. But they've long since addressed that. Make sure to get rid of the hooks on the 110's. They look cool, but break easily. Babler recommends Daiichi Death Trap trebles on jerk baits, and they work great on the STX's and 110's. The STX's also suspend much better out of the box. Much, much better. The 110's need a lot of weight to get them to do the same.

I've got a bunch of both the 110's and the STX's. I have had far more issues with hooks, bills and tails breaking on the 110's, and I've caught more and bigger fish on the STX's. I'll keep the 110's as backups, but they are not my primary jerkbaits anymore on lakes in this area. Pro Blue is great. Midnight Peral Blue and Herring Bone Chart are good STX colors. In the 110's, the various Shad ones work as does the Pro Blue 2.

I lived in MN for 35 years and was active outdoors all year round. So I have more winter clothes than you can shake a stick at! The pro's will tell you, and I've found them to be right, is the base layer should be a wicking material. I hate wool, so my choice is polypropelene. Maybe that's not as important in fishing as you don't sweat as much as when you're hunting, but it still works well. Any good name brand product should be fine, doesn't have to be UA, etc. Above that, it's about layering. I prefer several thin layers as opposed to a thick jacket, unless it's really, really cold. So like the poly long underware, a lightweight long sleeve shirt, a heavier sweatshirt (or two) and a thin to mid-weight jacket. I have the Bass Pro goretex pro-qualifier jacket and it has elastic cuffs inside the sleeves. Works well to keep the wind from going up. I have their bibs, too. Good products. Boots need to be kind of heavy, but not tight, for me. Since you're not moving around much, it takes bulk there to keep the toes warm and happy.

I understand what you're saying, but that's the way surveys work. They are not 100% accurate but, as long as they call folks from a diverse area, the results are probably a pretty good indicator. And I don't doubt it. I'm sure most folks pay little to no attention to fuel mix. Agreed. They should be easing back on ethanol requirements to bring food and crop prices down, not insisting on more. But that's your government at work, wasting more of your hard earned money.

Pull in and read the pumps and other signs. They have 3 grades of regular fuel there, at least that was the case 2-3 weeks ago when I pulled in. All 87 octane. One is 100% gas, one is E10 and I think the other is E5. Odd arrangement. I was not able to get fuel on that stop as my boat requires mid-grade, 89 octane fuel. Seems like they used to have all three grades, but only the premium was E-free. So I think they mix their selection a bit.

Sure, I'll post some links. But I'd ask that you do the same about "cannot make E10 or E85 by just pouring ethanol into gasoline": http://www.nacleanenergy.com/?action=article&id=11620 (note where it says most ethanol is blended at the terminal) http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/mobile/ethanol.html (see the bottom of the page, under Market Forces) Let me know if you need more links. They are plentiful.

No thanks. I'll keep them for backups. Besides, they cost far more than the price of 2 STX's, and I'm not into getting ripped off. Which is another big benefit to the STX's. I'm much less afraid to use them around timber than I am the 110's. Most of the bass I caught on the STX's were in more open water, but it's nice to be able to not have that worry if you want to move into the trees some.

Can you explain this please? Are you saying there is some federal rule that says only label if the percentage is 20% or more, like you stated above? And that that rule overrides the state laws? If so, please link in some information that backs that up. I can find nothing along those lines.

Yep, we had a pretty good day. I caught a couple on soft plastic swim baits, too. Nothing on the c-rig, jerk baits or spoons. But I didn't stick with them very long. darn near flat calm the whole time we were out, so I never tried a blade bait.

Thanks. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.

Sorry, I don't buy this. 100% gas means no alcohol. Unless you can prove otherwise, I will believe what the sign and what the station owner tells me. Ethanol is added to the fuel at the terminal. It is added to the truck transporting the fuel to the stations. So it's very easy to see how a station could get pure gas. That's not correct. It varies by state, but Arkansas demands a label on the pump if the ethanol content is anything over 1.5% http://www.ehow.com/list_7237477_states-sell-e10-gasoline_.html

Plus 1. Great hooks and they do not impact the suspending action of the STX. I confirmed that with several of those baits last winter. The split ring problem seemed to only be an issue on the early STX's. You'll want to change the hooks on those Vision 110's, too. I've had at least as many problems with those hooks as I have the hooks on the STX. Caught my best bass last winter on the STX. I have 15-20 of the Vision 110's but consider them all to be bottom of the tacklebox baits now. The STX just works better for me.

I took this picture a couple of years ago at the Jiffy Kwick here in Rogers, AR. They still advertise the same thing. I'd be pretty surprised to find any alcohol in their fuel.

Sorry about the mixup on the name. And thanks for the explanation. Sounds like an excellent format for keeping the lake healthy.

Thanks Aaron. I'm not sure what you mean about paper tournaments, though. Is there no weigh in? Sorry, I don't tourney fish, so I don't understand the term.

I'll join your club. Thanks for checking on that stuff and report back, Jeff. I nominate you for President.