“Be The Bass” Think Like A Fish
March 23, 2008
Many times I have been asked the following questions, “How did you know the fish would be there?” or “How did you know what they wanted?” My response is always, “You have to enter The Zone and think like the fish.” I’ve heard, “Your crazy” more than once, but if you stop and really think about my statement chances are, you might find that you have more than once applied that principal yourselves.
Lets say your out for a drive and realize your hungry, what do you do? I don’t know about you but I’ll go though a drive through and pick something to eat, preferably a Double Double with Grilled onions from In and Out. Or lets say your sitting in your living room in your Lazy Boy after a nice dinner watching TV and your significant other is dangling something like a chicken wing or a bird feather in front of your face. How long before you grab it and take it away from her?
Now try applying these scenarios to yourself if you were a fish. First lets approach the hunger one. Think like a fish, you’re swimming along, your stomach starts to rumble and you decide to stop and find a bite to eat. While you cant pull into a drive through you can find something almost as convenient. By instinct you would go to a place where the food was plentiful and easy to get.
You would look for some form of structure or current. Think about it, you as a fish seek refuge in structure, so do the smaller fish as well as crawfish. The more bait in a spot the easier it is for you to catch some. The same principals applies to current. When there is current it washes stuff, food, to a specific spot. This once again attracts smaller fish which in turn attracts bigger fish looking for a bite to eat.
Now I’ll approach the wife dangling something in front of your face. Remember, your still the fish here. Your sitting in your favorite brush pile, just pigged out on a big lunch of shad and crawfish, kicking back watching the world around you. All of the sudden something plops down into your living room. It proceeds to bounce up and down right in front of your face over and over again until it finally makes you mad enough that you have to react grabbing it to make it stop, or just to kill it or maybe because even though your full you will make room for that one more crawdad, remember the wife with the chicken wing? Either way you react to it.
Next time you go fishing try applying some of these tips and think like a fish. It just might produce more bites for you and hopefully produce more hookups as well.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Vehicle Upgrades: Part 2. Bumping Up The Power
March 21, 2008
Have you ever been driving along, towing your boat and wished you had more power to pass that tractor trailer a little quicker? I’ve already talked about suspension upgrades to improve the stock handling of my truck, now I’ll go into some basic tips on increasing the power on your tow rig.
First off, There is no replacement for displacement. The more cubic inches you have the less your motor will have to work to do the same job, thereby a bigger motor can actually increase your gas mileage, unless of course you’ve got a heavy right foot.
You can make your vehicle run more efficiently by allowing more air flow. The stock intake is very restrictive as well as the exhaust system. There are some very simple modifications you can do to allow better air flow and increase efficiency which in turn will give you more power.
You can also increase the power by either using a hand held computer programmer, an aftermarket chip or getting a custom tuned PCM. This modification alone will give you the best results short of swapping out your heads and camshaft or adding forced induction.
Lets talk about increasing air flow. I’ll begin with the intake. The stock intake is a box type system. You can get the factory high flow drop in filter or there are plenty of after market ones available. If you decide to go with the washable ones that are oiled make sure you follow the directions when servicing them. If you over oil them they can get your MAFS, Mass Air Flow Sensor, dirty and possibly throw a code. You can clean your MAFS but you MUST be very careful because it is a delicate electronic instrument. Do NOT use a brush on it or try and rub it. Just use a spray can of electronic contact cleaner and then make sure its dry before re-installing it. Then if you don’t have a scan tool to reset your code you’ll have to go to a shop that can reset it for you. If you do it yourself be sure that the code thrown was indeed because of the MAFS. There are plenty on online sites that will have the OBD2 codes listed.
On the box itself there is usually an opening on the fender side of the box that allows air to enter from next to the headlight, not the most efficient system. I’ve heard of people cutting up their stock air box’s to free up the flow but I personally did not opt for that.
While there are plenty of after market systems I went with the Volant CAI, Cold Air Intake. While it maybe true that all after market systems produce basically the same results I think the Volant looks the best doing it. Another bonus about the Volant is they placed an opening on the bottom of their box. They also offer a kit that attaches to the bottom of the box and at the other end is a scoop that mounts to your front end. This collects air from in front of your vehicle instead of from under the hood and colder air is denser which in turn makes your motor more efficient, kind of like a RAM air system. Of course this setup only works when the vehicle is in motion, just like the RAM air systems of yester-year.
Next we have the exhaust. While most modern vehicles have big mandrel bent pipe the auto makers place a very restrictive muffler on them. Again, there is a wide selection of systems you can go with. I did allot of research on the various styles, cat back, fake duals, true duals etc. I personally went with just adding an aftermarket muffler and adding a tip to the end for eye appeal. The reason I didn’t go with a cat back system is because like I stated above, my Silverado came with 3 inch mandrel bent pipe so I figured why should I pay for an entire cat back system when with just a free flowing muffler I could get the same results. I went with a Magna Flow muffler and the Magna Flow tip.
Now onto the PCM or the brains of the system. While the hand held programmer and chips have their benefits they also has its draw backs. On the plus side, you can load and unload the programming or tweak it any way you desire. Some of the draw backs of these applications are they are for the most part a basic one tune fits all. Another down side, from my own personal experience is that they are very limited in harnessing the untapped power of your vehicle, unless of course you have a diesel motor. They have made leaps and bounds with those power plants. While the hand held units and chips are an improvement over stock programming it gets better.
Custom tunes. These are just as the name implies a custom tuned computer specific to your VIN, Vehicle Identification Number. With these tunes you provide the tuner with information about your vehicle, any performance modifications, if you’ve changed yore size, etc and what type of tune you want and they do the rest. Trust me, the custom tune will out perform a hand held programmer.
There are of course a couple different options when it comes to custom tunes. You can do a mail order tune or an in person dyno tune. Of course the dyno tune is the best you can get but it is also the most expensive.
I know on my truck with the CAI, Magna Flow muffler and custom tune I picked up 48 HP and 39 ft lbs of torque dyno verified of course, which did make quite a difference towing my boat.
Next time I’ll tell you how you can increase the Horse Power and Torque by leaps and bounds over stock and still retain your factory warranty so be sure to check back soon.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Surface Fishing, The Ultimate Rush!
March 19, 2008
Its early morning, the sun is just peaking its head over the mountains, there is the cool mist in the air and your speeding across the lake to that shallow flat that always holds bass early during the warmer months. You shut down the big motor, place the trolling motor into the water and pick up the rod from the deck and proceed to cast your Zara Spook what seems like a country mile. It hits the water and you begin the slow cadence commonly called walking the dog. You can feel your heart beating in your chest in anticipation of what’s next then all of the sudden out of the water explodes a big ole bass. His body completely clears the water and he lands mouth first onto your lure. Your heart beat races as you wait until you feel the pressure of the bass on your line. Finally you feel the tug so you set the hook and the fight is on!
Does the above sound familiar? I personally feel that one of the easiest ways to tell if you’re really a true fisherman at heart is if you agree that there’s not any style of fishing that beats the adrenalin rush you get from seeing a bass explode on your lure.
I remember when dad first took me bass fishing at a very young age we arrived at the lake early in the morning during the dog days of summer and I caught my first bass on a surface lure and I was hooked for life on bass fishing. Yes its true, any fishing is good but surface fishing is GOODER.
Surface lure fishing is generally thought of as a early morning pattern and for the most part this is true but the bottom line is you can catch bass on a surface lure anytime they are actively feeding, even during the middle of the day in the dead of winter. I always keep a rod on the deck with a surface lure tied on just in case I’m fishing along and all of the sudden the bass start busting shad on the surface.
There are all kinds of different lures you can use for surface fishing. Some of my favorites are as follows.
The tried and true Zara Spook, this lure has been around forever and for good reason, they flat out catch bass. They do however have their issues but with a little modification they can be made considerably better. First off, the stock hooks gotta go! Replace them with some good quality hooks. I like to add a custom dressed and tweaked Diachii Bleeding Treble hook to the rear and a standard one up front, some people like to add a red hook up front to simulate blood but I do something different which I’ll tell you about in just a few.
Next add split rings between the hook and the mounting bracket on the lure. The way these are setup from the factory they limit the movement of the hook and when a bass shakes his head he can use the limiting as leverage to throw your hook. With the split rings the hooks will swing more freely. I then take red fingernail polish and paint gills on the under side which simulates a blood line. Then I take the wife’s diamond sparkle fingernail polish and paint the underside of the lure as well as up the sides a little to give it some flash. The reason I don’t paint the top of the lure is because when a bass is looking up at the lure all he is going to see is the bottom and the sides as your walking the dog so there is no real reason to fancy up the top, in my opinion.
Of course if you have the extra cash you can purchase an already modified version of the Spook by getting the Lucky Craft Sammy’s. These lures are great right out of the box but I still modify them just because. I’ll add the custom dressed treble hook to the rear and highlight the gills, other than that not much needs to be done. One added feature of the Sammy is it not only walks like a Spook but it also spits kind of like a Pop-R because it has a little concave mouth, great design!
Next would have to be the Popper type baits. Yes you can modify the original Pop-R but you can also purchase the modified ones that work great right out of the box. I like to use the Ivino Splash It myself. They are a little cheaper than the Labino Lures Rico’s and I know that at least the older versions of the Splash It were actually just modified Rico’s. The reason I know this is because I had worn the paint off on one of my favorite ones and underneath the paint was the Rico name. Things that make you go hmmm.
Then of course you’ve got the good ole Buzz Bait. What this thing looks like to a bass is a mystery to me. My guess is it is just something that makes allot of noise and stirs up the water so much that it angers the bass and he just has to kill it. Whatever they think it is the things do work.
Next would have to be a frog. The frog lure have been around for years and at least for me have always produced good quality bass. It has always been one of my secret go to baits but with the recent publicity it has gotten its not such a secret anymore. Don’t be afraid to give these a try, they just might surprise you.
And my favorite surface lure would have to be the Sluggo type baits, aka soft jerk baits. These things are deadly. They can be worked on the surface, just below the surface and down deep pending on how you rig them. You will need a big hook when using these type’s of baits because there is allot of plastic involved. I’m about to share with you my favorite way of rigging these lures but don’t tell anyone because it is a secret. I fish 2 Sluggos at the same time, one in 6 inch the other in 4 so it looks like the bigger one is chasing the smaller one. This drives the bass crazy. I have on more than one occasion caught 2 bass doing this, that is how effective it is.
The way I rig it is I’ll take 2 size 10 or 12 black barrel swivels without the clips, yes they are small. Next I’ll take 2 lengths of line, one about 12-16 inches the other about 20-24 inches. Tie the leaders of line to the swivels, next slide the swivel with the shorter leader onto your main line and then tie on the swivel with the longer leader. I then attack a 1/0 wide gap hook to the shorter lead and a 3/0 wide gap to the longer one. Put the 4 inch lure on the shorter leader with the smaller hook and guess where the 6 inch one goes? Yep you got it. I tried using the good old 3 way swivel for this rig but in my opinion with the swivel being fixed you don’t get the freedom of movement you get when the shorter leader can slide up and down your main line.
As far as what equipment to use while surface fishing, it all depends on what lure your fishing with and where. I know I personally prefer a heavier line, 12-18 pound test, yes out here in Californian that is considered heavy line. The reason for the heavier line is it tends to float better than light line and this helps keeps the nose of your lure up. Braided line works as well as fluorocarbon, the choice is yours. Of course if your fishing in open water you can use lighter line and just break out your Chap Stick and rub it on about the first 4 feet of your line, this will help the line float.
My rod choice also depends on what and where I am fishing. I’ll use a heavier action around cover and lighter in open water. If I had to pick just one rod for surface fishing my preference would have to be a 7 foot Medium/Heavy Rod.
Now the absolute best tip for fishing any surface lure. WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL PRESSURE BEFORE SETTING THE HOOK! Yes, it can be difficult to wait when you see he bass explode but if you don’t wait until you feel the pressure of him on the line I can promise you that chances are when you go to set the hook you will not hook him. Yes, we all have done it in the past and yes we all will continue to do it future but like I said, if you wait I promise you that your strike/hookup ratio will improve.
Next time get out on the water early and try tossing a surface lure and see if your heart does not pound considerably harder when you see the bass blow up on your lure. Surface fishing…………WHAT A RUSH!
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Rods and Reels 101:
March 14, 2008
Rods and reels, can a person have too many?
I don’t think so but then again I’m not your normal person. I probably think about fishing at least 100 times a day, even while at my normal 9-5 I constantly think about ways to compare work subjects with fishing ones.
In this post I’ll talk about the basics of rods and reels, their general uses and applications. I’ll start out with the reels then move onto the rods.
Reels
Spinning Reels, vary in size from the TinyLite up to the Big Saltwater Saltiga BlastReel. Hold the line, open the bail, as your casting let loose of the line.
These are easy reels to master and are widely used in a variety of applications. They work very well any time a light line presentation is needed, be it for trout fishing as well as split shotting for bass the spinning reel is the go to reel for these applications.
Baitcasters are designed for small light weight finesse type lures to the big ocean reels. These are the most difficult to master.
Professional Over run, aka backlash, this is when the spool continues to spin but your lure stops and it causes a big Birds Nest in your line that can be a real bear to try and pick out. Most of the time if you do manage to pick it out because the line had been kinked it will weaken the line.
A Baitcast Reel is generally used for heavier type lures or baits but with technology today they make them where you can cast ultra light lures into the wind with out any backlash, you will however pay a premium price for these reels.
BaitCasters are used mostly for bass fishing as well as inshore applications. If your deep sea fishing I would recommend getting a level wind reel, which is similar in looks to a baitcaster.
Spincast Reels are basically trouble free. With a spincast you push and hold the button, swing your arm and release the button, just don’t release the rod!
These reels are probably the easiest ones for kids just learning to fish to use. Chances are that a lot of you started out with this type of reel.
I remember when I was a kid the little black Zebco 202 was my first reel. Actually my first 2 reels were the 202’s followed quickly by the Zebco 33. Let me explain.
When I first got the 202 I went fishing at a pond in a city park, Randolph Park in Tucson Arizona to be exact. In this pond they had some bass and big ones at that.
I remember catching several nice bass one that weighed over 6 pounds. The 6 pound bass just gutted my drag gears, they were plastic.
Anyhow, I returned the reel to Kmart and they gave me another one just like it. The following weekend the exact same thing happened with a bass that weighed over 7 pounds.
When I returned that one they gave me a refund and I moved up to the Zebco 33.This reel is a great reel that will last many years with just minor service. I know mine served me well for quite a few years.
If you take kids fishing and give them a spincast reel to use chances are that you will be able to fish as well. The kids will enjoy fishing because like I said, these reels are pretty much trouble free. Think about it for a second, almost all of the kid novelty type rod and reel setups are the spin cast reels.
Then you’ve got your Fly Cast Reels. These outfits are used primarily for casting hand tied bug and minnow imitations.
Of course these lures basically consist of a hook covered with some kind of dressing so they tend to be very light. Therefore you actually use the weight of the line to cast your offering.
In the past these outfits were basically exclusive to trout fishermen but now days they are commonly used by bass fishermen as well as deep sea fishermen.
Rods
Of course for each different type of reel there is a different type of rod. Well, that’s not 100% true …
The Bait Cast and Spin cast rods are pretty much interchangeable, the only real difference being that the Spin Cast Rods usually have just a pistol grip whereas the Bait Cast Rods do have a pistol grip they also have quite a wide variety of different handle lengths.
Bottom line, the longer the handle the more leverage it will provide On these type of rods the line eye guide are all small. From the closest to the reel to the rod tip they are all small, or at least allot smaller than the ones you will find on a Spinning Rod The reason for this is because the line comes off the reel in pretty much a straight line. The reel seat on these type of rods differs from those on a spinning rod.
Next you have your Spinning Rods. These will usually have a straight handle. The line eye guides will start out big and progressively work down to small at the tip. The reasoning behind this is because on a spinning reel the line comes off in a loop so the first eye guide it meets should be bigger allowing less friction which in turn allows for longer casts. As the guides get progressively smaller it is straightening out the line.
Fly Rods are very long with a very light action. Because your using light line or leader with these rigs your rod plays a very important part in fighting out the fish. You will never be able to horse a fish with these rigs because of their light action.
As far as how long of a rod do you need, that all personal preference. There are several factors to take into consideration, what type of fishing are you going to be doing, what kind of lures are you going to be using and of course what feels comfortable to you personally. This would hold true for any type of rod you are considering.
As far as which action rod you need, again, it depends on what your fishing with and for. Of course you wouldn’t want to use an Ultra Light rod when flipping jigs into cat tails and by the same rule you wouldn’t want to use a heavy action Flipping stick for trout fishing. Look at the rod and the line and lure weight ratings listed on it and purchase accordingly.
Sure, there are a bunch of specialty rods on the market, just in the bass market alone, a person could easily go to the poor house. There are everything from Drop shot, spinner bait, crank bait, flipping, the list is endless. If you don’t have a lot of cash or just don’t want to have a whole mess of rods a good general purpose rod would probably be a 6-6.6 foot medium action one. With that action rod you can fish for just about all species of fish, from trout and pan fish to bass and bigger.
As far as the price goes, you can buy your basic discount store brand or get into the custom made rods. Custom made rods usually are a better quality rod in how they are made as well as the supplies used, they do come at a premium price though.Then again you can build your own. I won’t go into much detail here because there is a lot of information needed to perfect this. Ican say that I don’t have much knowledge in this department. If however your interested in building your own rods a must read is Tom Kirkman’s Rod Building Guide: Fly, Spinning, Casting, Trolling . This book is widely accepted as one of the authorities, covering all the basics of rod building.
Of course there are a lot more books out there but this one is a great starting point. One of the nicest things about building your own rod is just knowing that you made it yourself puts a smile on your face. |
Well, I believe that I have at least touched on the basics of rods and reels. Hopefully you gained some knowledge reading this.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Technorati Tags: Rods and Reels, Baitcast Reels, Spinning Reels, Fly Cast Reels
Want to Catch Bass Sized Trout?
March 11, 2008
Try giving bass sized lures a try, they do work. Let me tell you about some of my experiences.
I have a good friend that likes to fish for trout. There have been several times that we would go fishing together. I of course wanted to fish for bass and Tom would want to fish for trout. I didn’t have any tackle that was actually trout stuff but I did have plenty of bass stuff. So, can you guess what I used in trout infested waters? Yep, you guessed it and boy howdy, I caught trout. At first Tom laughed at me and told me that it would never work but I wouldn’t listen. The funny part was that all of the trout that I caught were a lot bigger than the ones Tom was catching. Of course this caught his interest and he wanted to know what exactly what I was using and of course if I had any extra. The first time this happened, as I lent Tom a small bass crank bait, I told him that he would probably catch the biggest trout of his life and guess what he caught on his second cast. Yep, a big toothy German Brown Trout that weighed over 7 pounds. It was a very nice fish. Another time we were fishing for small mouth bass in the Owens river. I was using my favorite spider jig and catching some nice bass. I made a cast, felt the slight tap and noticed my line start to swim off. I reeled down until I felt pressure and set the hook hard. Upon the hook set this German Brown trout shot straight out of the water like a missile fired from a submarine. I swear that this fish cleared the surface by at least 4 feet. He ended up weighing just a bit over 8 pounds.
There is this stream that I like to fish often because it holds some very nice bass. I’ll be catching bass on a 6 inch drop shot worm and have big trout just knock the fire out of them. I can honestly say that I’ve caught big trout on everything form hard jerk baits to deep diving crank baits to 12 inch plastic worms, just about any type bass lure I have.
Did you know the big ole hunk of painted wood with the small paddle tail called the AC plug was originally created back in the 80’s to catch big brown trout and only became very popular when bass fishermen starting using it to imitate stocker trout for the monster bass out here in California that have made trout part of their diet. Up until that point it was a bait used exclusively for trout. Even back then Alan Cole knew that big trout eat big baits and still to this day people are catching monster trout on this big ole hunk of wood.
While the stocked trout may be just a Power Bait eating, fly gulping, cheese nibbler, the bigger trout don’t live by the same rules. Give bigger baits a try the next time you go trout fishing. You just might surprise yourself.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Vehicle Upgrades: Part 1. Suspension Mods:
March 8, 2008
How many times have you been heading to the lake, going down the road towing your boat, enjoying the smell of the early morning air and sipping on coffee when all of the sudden your forced to take evasive action to avoid hitting something?
Like the times when you round a turn only to find a herd of cows taking their dear sweet time crossing the road. If your like me, as well as many other fisherman I know, in your stock configuration truck making these evasive actions leaves something to be desired.
But don’t fret, there are things we can do without voiding the factory warranty to increase your odds of being able to safely make these evasive actions and at the same time avoid having to explain to your insurance adjuster what happened if you end up going into a ditch or even worse, if you hit the cow. Did you know that if you hit a cow, not only do you have to pay the rancher for the cow, you also have to pay to have your truck fixed as well as any medical expenses you might incur. In my opinion, one of the worst part’s is that you don’t get to keep the cow and have a BBQ
Simple suspension modifications are actually very easy to do yourself and probably for less for money than you might think.
Let’s say for example that you cant brake in time, I’ll talk about that upgrade in the future, however you have room in the other lane so you could swerve into it and avoid hitting something. Here are some tips to make evasive actions a little easier. I personally have done the following suspension modifications to reduce “Body Roll” thereby making my full sized Chevy Truck handle more like my Chevy Monte Carlo SS.
QUICK DISCLAIMER, YOUR DRIVING A TRUCK NOT A SPORTS CAR! While the following tips will help the performance handling capabilities of your truck the bottom line here is ITS STILL A TRUCK so please be careful while driving.
First off I added traction bars. Not just any traction, bars but the Calvert Racing Cal Tracs. Yes, I originally put them on for performance reasons but I gained more than just traction. The design of these are very much like a 4 link setup so not only does it eliminate wheel hop they also assist in reducing the dreaded body roll very well.
Next I added the Hellwig Sport Sway bar’s both front and rear. While my truck came with a front sway bar but did not come with a rear one. Replacing the factory front sway bay and adding the rear one made a huge difference in the way my truck handled.
Next I changed out my stock shocks with Edelbrock IAS shocks and finally I swapped out the stock sway bar bushings and end link bushings with Energy System’s Poly bushings. Not only do they help but they are red so they look cool as well. I still to this day cannot believe the performance difference these few little bolt on upgrades made in the way my truck handles. While it still cannot corner like my Monte Carlo SS it handles MUCH BETTER than it did with its stock configuration.
In my next vehicle upgrade post I’ll go into improving the stock brakes for more stopping power.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Tips for Buying a Used Bass Boat
March 7, 2008
After researching the prices of new bass boats you’ve decided to go the used boat route. In my opinion, this is a wise decision, at least financially speaking. I’ll share a few words of personal advice. First off, let me tell you a little something about me. When I make any major financial purchase I am very methodical about it. I research the heck out of all of the aspects that way I can make an informed decision and get the best deal when I finally do make the purchase. The wife says I’m kind of anal, I say I’m very through. She never complains though when I manage to save a couple hundred hundred to several thousand dollars on a purchase.
If you only take one piece of advise from this entire post take the following one. Take your time and do the reaserch. Don’t get in a hurry and buy the first boat you see, unless its a great deal of course. Trust me, I know it can be very tempting to get the first one, your like a kid in a candy store with $10.00, but if you take your time it could save you alot of headache. If possible buy from a friend or acquaintance in a Bass Club. I shared some of the things to look for and ask in my previous boating article.
There are always cosmetic things like carpeting, storage compartments etc but these are pretty cheap to fix or replace and they give you some leverage in the price negotiation Most of the cosmetic parts can be picked up at Bass Pro Shops and if your at least semi handy you can do them yourself. Treat buying a boat like buying a used car, the seller usually wants to sell it worse than you want it and should be willing to deal with the price.
One very major word of caution when purchasing a used boat, make sure the motor is well maintained. Ask if the impeller has been changed regularly. If not they can cause a low flow of water to run through the motor to cool it. Boat motors MUST have a good flow going through them to remain cool. A blown power head is very expensive to replace. Also, ask when the lower end oil was last changed. Ask when the propeller was last removed and if the main seal was at least checked. Fishing line can get behind the propeller, tangled around the shaft and actually cut into the main seal causing water to leak into the lower end and that is not a good thing. Bottom line, the motor is far and away the most expensive part of the boat to replace if it something goes wrong with it.
Before you purchase a used boat talk to the seller, ask questions about its maintenance schedule. If you don’t know the person ask to see copies of the maintenance record receipts. If he is honest he will not object to providing this information. The last thing you want to do is buy a boat that will be nothing but an anchor. You don’t want to be one of those who live by the old saying that, A Boat is a Hull In The Water, That You Throw Money Into.
Ask the seller to take you for a test drive, on the water of course. Make sure you arrive at the destination first. Listen to the trailer as he pulls up, are the bearings making noises? Do the trailer lights work? After you splash the boat look at the trailer. Are the bunks fully carpeted? Are they broke? Do the tires appear to be wearing evenly. Now your in the boat, pay attention to how quickly and easily the boat starts. Watch to see how long it takes for the water to start flowing through the motor and exit out the back. Note the pressure it exits at, watch the pressure gauge, at idle it wont be to high but as you motor out past the no wake zone it should raise some then at wide open throttle it should shoot up pretty good and should be spraying out the back very good.
Pay attention to how the RPM’s sound. They should sound about even with how fast your going. If the RPM’s seem to wind up way high and your not making much progress it could be a couple things. Maybe the prop is slipping, or maybe the motor is not trimmed down completely, which it should be to get up on plane quickly. Either way in my opinion its not really that bad because it’s a pretty cheap fix. Check the electronics, make sure they are working, look for moisture inside the glass. These are not deal breakers but can mean a price cut in the price of the boat.
Place the trolling motor into the water making sure it works. Note if the little arrow on top points in the direction your going. If not it is not an expensive fix so its no big work. Does the speed dial work? There is another thing you want to check but wait until your back in the parking lot to check it.
Ask him to fill the live wells and make sure they flow water as well as check to make sure the overflow works correctly. Click on the bilge pump, if water shoots out the side of the boat then your taking on some water, if not listen to make sure you can hear the pump running trying to pump out water that is not there. When your done for the day, ask him to pull the plug to see how much water it took into the bilge. On the trolling motor check, remove the propeller and see if there is fishing line around the shaft. If you notice some its really not that big of a deal, unless it actually has cut into the rubber seal. This could mean that water has gotten into the units lower end and its life may be short lived. If so this is should give you more price negotiation leverage.
If you are so inclined, ask the seller if he minds you taking the boat to a Marine Mechanic to look it over. I cant see any seller not letting you have a professional looking things over for you, unless he has something to hide. Yes, it will cost you some money to have a certified Marine Mechanic look it over for you but trust me, it will cost a lot less than if you buy a problem boat and have to take it to him then.
I’m sure I missed some things to look for but I think I’ve covered the expensive stuff. Like I said, take your time, do your homework and ask questions. It will make your purchase a more pleasurable experience.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Catch, Clean and Eat.
March 6, 2008
Yes, I am a big advocate of Catch and Release, especially when it comes to bass. Mainly because in most waters they are what is considered a natural resource. Sure they were originally planted years ago but since then most of our waters are not restocked with bass when the supply gets low. Think for a second, remember back when you heard Grandpa telling the stories of how many bass they caught back in the day and fried them up? How easy they were to catch and how plentiful they were. Yet now days it’s not all that easy. Yes, allot of bass have become conditioned and don’t bite as often as they used to but I believe there are less bass now then there were back then.
Please don’t take me wrong, I see nothing wrong with keeping a few bass from time to time as long as your going to use them. I feel that when you catch a mess of bass, place them into the freezer for 6 months and then end up throwing them out because they got freezer burn is wrong! The people that really get my shorts in a wad are the ones that keep over their limit including the ones under the size minimum. I have and will continue to report these people because they are nothing but poachers that are abusing the resource for the average fisherman.
Anyhow, back to the subject. I have to admit, nothing taste better than fresh caught fish and besides that it brings out the Gatherer, Cave Man Instinct, that is inbred in men. Me hunt and kill dinner, make fire, cook kill and eat! I have very fond memories of dad and I cooking freshly caught trout over a camp fire by wrapping them in foil, or frying up a mess of crappie fillets and hush puppies yummmm, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
When the wife says she wants fish for dinner or my taste buds are just yearning for some fresh fish I’ll go out and catch a few for this purpose. Most of the time it will be Crappie or bluegill, which by the way are my absolute favorite. I also like the taste of striper’s, if they are prepared correctly.
Now I’ll share some tips for cleaning and preparing your catch. First, if at all possible keep the fish alive until your ready to clean them and place them on ice. Once the fish dies his meat starts to spoil so leaving him soaking in the water on a stringer will take away from the taste. If your not going to clean them right after they die place them in an ice chest with ice of course. This slows the decaying process. I personally prefer to clean my fish right away, and immediately pack them on ice for the journey home.
There are a couple things to be sure you do when cleaning them. In my opinion filleting them is the best way to go but if you don’t know how or just don’t want to go through all the hassle you can gut them and cut their heads off. If you want to leave the heads on make sure to remove the gills, these contain blood and will leave a bad taste. Also MAKE SURE you clean the blood cavity along the spine very well, including rinsing it. This is where allot of people mess up and wonder why their fish taste bad. If you follow these few simple rules your taste buds will be happier.
With the striped bass as well as other fish, when you fillet them there is a thin redish strip that runs along where the lateral line was, Trim this out and and get rid of it. If left on and cooked it leaves a bitter taste which soaks into the rest of the meat.
Now for some tips to cook your catch. If your camping outdoors bring along some Heavy Duty Aluminum foil, some butter, lemon pepper and bacon strips. The simple lopping their heads off and removing the entrails cleaning method work best. Season the fish with the lemon pepper, place some butter in the cavity, wrap bacon around the fish then wrap it in foil. You can also stuff fresh veggies into the fish if you so desire. Then just place this package directly on the coals of the fire for about 7 minutes per side.
Another way is to bring along a cast iron skillet and some oil or butter and seasoning of your choice. You can either fry or sauté the fish. If you want to fry them bring along some bread crumbs or corn meal for breading. Prepare the fish anyway you desire.
Try this the next time your camping with family or friends and make some memories of your own. Just remember, Like is mentioned on my page, Keep what you can use and release the rest.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Bass Fishing 101 Part 2
March 4, 2008
I talked about the basics of some techniques in part 1. Now as promised, I’ll dig a little deeper and get more in depth.
Line: I said that I prefer Maxima and I still stand by that but there are a lot of quality lines on the market today. My advice is to always buy Good Quality Line. This it the main link between you and the fish. Speaking from my personal experiences trying to save a few pennies here can be extremely frustrating. I don’t feel that the “Generic” type lines have the stringent quality control the name brands do.
I live by the same rule when it comes to hooks. You don’t need to buy the most expensive ones but try to get a name brand and if need be get your self a file and sharpen up the hooks to a sticky sharp. One way you test the sharpness is to take the hook and lightly pull it across your thumbnail, if it leaves a slight scratch its sharp. If not keep sharpening it.
Next, lets talk about some of the techniques I talked about in part 1.
I talked about the basics on how to rig the Carolina Rig now I’ll go into more detail As far as what lure to put on your hook, what ever lure you want. Any lure can be Carolina rigged. You can use any soft plastics you desire and believe it or not you can use hard baits as well. Crank baits and Jerk baits can be very effectively fished with this technique. One word of caution, make sure if when using a hard plastic lure that it is a floating model so it does not sink to the bottom and get hung up.
This style of fishing can be used at any depth, on any submerged structure and at anytime of the year, just like the split shot rig, which like I mentioned, is just a modified finesse version of the Carolina rig. If fishing it in underwater weeds, make the leader long enough so your lure floats above the grass.
Fish it like you would fish basically any other technique. Drag it, hop it, jerk and pause it, slow roll it or reel it quickly. Take into account the conditions, if its cold, slow down. If the fish are active speed up, let the fish tell you how they want it. Pay attention to exactly what you were doing when you got bit, how fast, how slow, how deep, etc. Paying attention to these details should help you develop a pattern.
With the Texas rig I mainly use plastic worms anywhere from a 3 inch finesse worm to 18 inch snakes. Just make sure to use the appropriate size hooks for each different size. Nothing is written in stone here, I like to make sure the hook does not over power the plastic. What I mean by this is if I’m throwing a 3 inch worm I would use a smaller hook then when tossing the snake. Same principal applies to the size of the weight used. You can also Texas rig reapers, which are just a California finesse bait, plastic crawdads, Senkos, tubes, whatever.
The drop shot can be used for fish on structure, fish feeding off the bottom as well as suspended fish. It’s a very versatile technique. You can also use big weights, hooks and baits for flipping a drop shot into cover.
The darter head technique can be deadly on suspended fish. Graph the depth of the fish, make a cast, close your bail and allow the lure to pendulum back to the boat into the depth the fish are holding in. Or you can cast it out, as the lure falls count it down then engage the reel and slowly retrieve it. These same techniques apply when using a Slider or Shakey head rigs.
Some common terms fishermen use are, Dragging, Long Lining, Shaking, Doodling and Dead Sticking which are terms generally associated with plastics. Dragging should be pretty much self explanatory, you just drag it along the bottom. Long Lining is generally a split shot term. You let out a bunch of line behind the boat and basically use your trolling motor to move it while holding your rod still, maybe twitch it every now and then. Its basically trolling and is very popular out west. Doodling and Shaking are basically the same except when doodling you add a glass bead to make noise. Dead Sticking is just letting your lure sit motionless on the bottom for an extended period of time.
Terms like, Walk the Dog, Popping, Waking, Burning, Jerking, Twitching, Cranking, and Slow Rolling are terms used with reaction baits Walking the Dog and Popping are surface lure terms. To walk the dog you snap your rod tip downward then throw slack back into it. Continue to do this back to the boat. This causes your lure’s nose to lunge one way when you jerk it and then back the other way when you throw slack back. Waking is when your reeling in a lure fast enough it rides just below the surface and it leave’s a wake behind it. Jerking and Twitching are techniques used with Jerk Baits, the term pretty much explains the technique. Cranking and Chuck and Wind, of course are used when tossing crank baits. Slow rolling refers to Spinner baits or even crank baits. You cast your lure our and slowly reel it back in.
I hope that helps explain some of the common techniques and terms used by fishermen.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
Gas Saving Tips
March 2, 2008
We all know that all across our great country, as well as all around the world, the cost of a gallon of gas has increased an incredible amount. What’s the avid Fisher-Person to do?
Lets see, we could stop going fishing……………. NOT! Just kidding yall, that’s not even an option. So, what’s a person to do? There are several ways to make a trip more affordable?
Lets see, first off you can add an extra fishing buddy or two to share the expenses. Instead of splitting the costs two ways, split it three or even four ways. Yes, this will use more gas but it will cut your per person out of pocket expenses.
Take the more economical car it you have more than one if your not hauling a boat. Yeah, you may not appear as Manly in the Honda as you look in the truck but this cuts back considerably on fuel costs.
Don’t waste your money on the latest gimmicks you see on late night infomercials. Its been proven time and time again that these are a waste of money. Like the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is.
Make sure your tires are properly inflated and your front end is aligned correctly. Make sure your truck is running good, if not give it a tune-up. Be sure to check your air filter and and MAFS to make sure their clean. If your plug wires are old then replace them.
Switch your fluids, oil, transmission, rear end, to a good quality synthetic fluid. I like Mobile One myself but there are allot of good brands out there.
Try removing any un-needed items from your rig that add extra weight.
Be picky about the brand of gasoline you use, the brand name fuels are a better grade of fuel. They tend to burn cleaner therefore making them more efficient. Here’s a tip that my dad told me about many years back. I still to this day dont know for sure if it is actually true or not but I do it anyways.
Purchase your gas during the cooler time of day, I’m talking early morning or late evening people. The cooler it is outside the denser the gasoline will be. Bottom line, gas pumps measure the volume of gas, not the density of the fuel. You are charged according to volume of measurement.
Avoid quick take off’s. and aggressive driving. You don’t have to be the Leader of the Pack. Remember, its not a race to the fishing hole. Its better to arrive a little later without a speeding ticket. Drive the speed limit or at the very least watch your tachometer, keep your RPM’s at or below 2000. Doing this alone will make a difference, remember, even going over 40 mph forces your tuck to overcome tremendous wind resistance. This is not rocket science, just basic physics.
Use your cruise control. This keeps you going at a steady pace which is more efficient. Use your AC. Yes, back in the old days this might not have been the more efficient way to drive but with today’s vehicles that is no longer the truth. Besides that, open windows increase wind resistance, increased wind resistance equals poor gas mileage.
I hope some of these tips I’ve shared allow you to get out fishing more often.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
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