Battery Check ...by Conley Staley

Take care of your Batteries. Check for good connections. I take all of the connections lose at the battery and give them a good cleaning once a month and sometimes more if I have been fishing in a lot of rain. Nothing worse that getting to the lake and the motor not firing because of a bad connection. Not to mention the embarrassment of sitting at the dock as everyone else blast off

Pro Pointer - Safety on the Water ...by David Ramlow

I recently had an incident that caused me to reconsider my views on safety. My wife and I were out for a quite evening of fishing on a local lake. Near the public beach is an area of scattered rock and grass, and we were throwing a few crankbaits and enjoying the evening. While drifting along, we thought we heard someone yelling, "help"! We looked around, saw nothing and continued fishing. We heard it again, and saw a head bopping up and down in the water, well away from the buoyed swimming area but inside the no boat zone. I quickly kicked the trolling on high, and my wife grabbed our throwable from the storage bin. I have the "minimum" legal requirements in my boat - a throw-able, and the required PFD's per person. Minnesota law does not require a rope on the throw-able, but I have one in a separate storage bin. We reached the man struggling to stay afloat the same time as someone from shore, who also heard the cries for help and swam out. As I approached, I threw my cushion to them, and missed. Because I did not have a rope attached, I could not easily retrieve the cushion, and had to move the boat to it for a second toss. I also could not "reel" the man in once he had the float. I again had to maneuver towards him. Exhausted, he clung to the side of my boat. My boat has no ladder, and trying to get an exhausted 250-pound man over the side of a bass boat is not an easy feat. I learned several lessons from my experience. A throw-able needs to have a rope attached to be effective. Even a bass boat, not used for skiing or tubing, should have a ladder of some form to get out of the water without a struggle. And safety laws are written for a reason, and I will be mindful of them in the future

More Is Better ...by Hugh Crumpler

When you look at a bass boat one element is key to maintaining constant position on bass. That is the trolling motor. It is impossible to over power a bass boat with a trolling motor (you can always run it at less than full speed). However, it is easy to under power. And under power cannot be adjusted while you are fishing

Rod Basics ...by Hugh Crumpler

The most accurate casting is accomplished when baitcasting equipment is cast overhand. Baitcasting gear is extremely well suited for "targeted" fishing. On some occasions placing a lure under a boat dock, under over lying limbs or between pontoon boats may be necessary. In this situation skipping a lure is ideal. A spinning outfit is perfect for this chore. Be flexible and versatile and be able to use both types of equipment

Stick With One Team ...by Hugh Crumpler

Rod, reel and line are one package. They work as a team. Purchasing a "magic" line may throw off your teamwork. Switching any team member affects the entire team's performance. Once you have the team that works for you- stick with it