How to Choose the Right Bass Fishing Lures to Catch That Big Bass Fish

My uncle and I have this ongoing competition between us. Whenever he catches more fish than I do, you ought to see him strutting around for weeks on end, reminding me of his victory every time we meet. And then he asks over and over, "So, how many fish have you caught lately?"

When it comes to bass fishing lures, he says the plastic worms are unbeatable. Okay, so he knows what he's talking about most of the time, and he's proven that to me on occasion. When he's pulling in monster bass and I'm sitting there with an empty bucket, I could just push him in the water.

However, on our last trip to catch bass fish, I definitely out-fished him. I was pulling them in right and left, and he was scowling at me the whole time! How did I become so fortunate? I have crankbait to thank, which I used as my bass fishing lures. Bass fish like them because they're like tender steaks, and they look somewhat like crayfish or baitfish. They work in most kinds of water, and they are effective fishing lures to add to your arsenal.

I also keep spinnerbaits as a supplement. They are little things that look rather like baitfish. If you want to catch large bass quickly, they are a good choice. They are versatile in that they do well in most waters, and they come in assorted colors.

To give you an idea of how successful I was, I caught enough bass to stuff ourselves silly that night and still had enough left for breakfast the following day. I did my best to console my uncle by saying he could eat his fish as an appetizer. I'm getting pretty good at this fishing thing. Now I just have to develop my 'one that got away' story!

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Source: http://www.pcwriters.com/Article/How-to-Choose-the-Right-Bass-Fishing-Lures-to-Catch-That-Big-Bass-Fish/101850

Marine GPS

We've all heard the stories of the sailors who navigated around the world by the stars and while celestial navigation is certainly a skill all sailors should have, sometimes you want something slightly more sophisticated and "twenty first century friendly." Now, thanks go Marine GPS, satellite navigation is no longer something used only by the Navy. Now there are plenty of Marine GPS devices on the market and while they are not cheap, they are worth the money that is spent on them.

Are you in search of a Marine GPS receiver? Here are a few that we found and thought looked like a good deal:

The Garmin GPSMAP 76 is affordable. This Marine GPS device has twelve channels and has gotten very good reviews from users. The screen is large, the software is user friendly and it has rubber grips on the back which, as any water enthusiast knows, is of utmost importance when going out on the open water. In addition to being a positioning device, this Marine GPS system also has tide and anchor drag charts.

The Magellan SporTrak Pro Marine GPS receiver is another good buy and you can find it for about five hundred dollars. Like the Garmin, this receiver has twelve channels and has fifteen megabytes of North American maps built right in. You can also store seventeen megabytes worth of maps for later exploring. It has enough memory for up to twenty routes and has information about the major tide stations as well as a fish and game calculator. This receiver is a "must bring" on any marine trip. Heck, it can even help you if you get lost while you are driving to the dock!

Obviously some Marine GPS systems are more sophisticated than others, but for the "casual" boat person, finding an affordable receiver is not hard. All it takes is a little bit of searching and before you know it; your own watercraft will have a Marine GPS device on board. No longer will you have to worry about not knowing where you are, when you get out on the open water. Now you will always know how to find your way home.

While navigating by the stars is certainly a romantic notion, if you find that you need help finding your way back to shore, you want the security that comes from satellite navigation and a Marine GPS device can give that to you.

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Source: http://www.rightarticle.com/Article/Marine-GPS/101164

Is a Crossover GPS right for you?

The Magellan Crossover GPS is the world's first pocket-sized GPS built for driving on the highways, hiking rugged trails, sailing the open ocean or fishing on thousands of lakes, rivers and streams. The idea of the Crossover GPS is a great one, and the Magellan Crossover is sure to be a good choice for many. However, before you run out and buy one, think hard about how it will be used.

Auto navigation features include an passably sized 3.5 inch touch screen with turn by turn directions and voice prompts. Detailed road maps of the 48 states are preloaded. It has a somewhat small database with 1.5 million points of interest. Interactive POI icons can display a phone number or plan a route with just a touch.
Routing is done with your choice of four methods, shortest time, shortest distance, least or most use of freeways or steer clear of toll roads. Automatic re-routing gets you back on track when you miss a turn or take a detour. The Sirfstar III chip set acquires a satellite signal quickly.
Advanced auto navigation features include Bluetooth support, multi-destination routing (up to 20 destinations), text to speech (pronounces street names) and address auto-completion. Instant location shows your location at a touch of a button in an emergency or breakdown. An optional traffic upgrade brings you live traffic incident reports.
Extras include a Photo Viewer - you can peruse your vacation pictures while you're still on vacation and a Digital Music Player which allows you to play your favorite music through the integrated speaker or your own headphones. Unfortunately it does not have an fm transmitter.
For off-road use its is loaded with light topographic maps of North America. But these are much less detailed than the maps they offer with their handheld devices. However, the unit is SD card compatible and allows you to add more detailed topographical maps and marine charts for an extra charge.
You are safe if you get caught in the rain, it's protected to IPX-4 standards. The rechargeable battery lasts 8 hours; good for an automotive gps but lacking for a handheld unit. Magellan advertises the unit as Pocket-sized & Lightweight. However, It is a little bulky compared to most of their handheld gps units.

As you might expect with any hybrid project, you don't always get the best of both worlds. Sometimes you have to give up a little from each. This is all too true with the Magellan Crossover GPS. As an automotive gps its two biggest limitations are screen size where it is little too small to be ideal, and the POI database which is much smaller than those found in most other automotive GPS units.

As an off-road GPS its relatively short battery life and bulky size make it less than ideal. But the real limitation is the less than detailed topographical maps which any serious hiker would want to upgrade immediately. For Boating and fishing the maps could also be better, but you might also want to combine a gps with a fish finder or other options available on some marine gps units.

The concept of the Crossover GPS is appealing, and the Magellan Crossover might still be a good choice for you. For those who don't like the larger screens of some automotive gps units and who don't expect to seriously tax its off-road functions, the crossover gps could be ideal. However you should consider how well it will perform each function and determine if two separate GPS devices would better suit your needs.

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Source: http://www.rightarticle.com/Article/Is-a-Crossover-GPS-right-for-you-/97029

Smallmouth Bass - Location By Season Posted By :

Spring Smallmouths

Smallmouth bass remain nearly dormant until water temperatures approach 50° F. At this time, bass will start to move to their spawning areas. In streams, bass may begin migrating to spawn at early temperatures.

Fishing is difficult after spawning, because bass aren't more concentrated. The females, after recuperating, move to deeper waters. Males move deeper after abandoning the fry. If there is deep water near the spawning are, bass will move there.

Summer

Smallmouth bass areas are the most predictable this time of year. Bass may remain in the same place for several months once they take up residence in a certain pool or around a particular structure.

Smallmouth bass love crayfish and crayfish are linked to specific locations. Crayfish need rocks for protection and cannot move very far.

Smallmouth must move around in waters where baitfish is the primary food.

The depth that smallmouth bass retreat to depends on surface temperatures and direct sunlight. The type of water also determines how deep you'll find them. Smallmouth may stay as deep as 25 feet in clear water, shallower than 12 feet in murky lakes due to oxygen levels, and in pools less than four feet in small streams.

Early Fall to Mid-Fall Smallmouth Bas

Smallmouth begin to spend more time to shallower waters. The lower angle of the sun and cooler surface temperatures allow them to venture into shallower areas where food is more plentiful.

As the lake surface continues to cool, it eventually reaches the same temperature as the water below the thermo cline. The temperature from top to bottom becomes the same. This makes it tough fishing as bass can be found at various depths.

In rivers, smallmouth feed more as the water cools in the fall.

Late Fall & Winter

Smallmouth fishing becomes difficult this time of year as they move out of shallows into deeper water. Sometimes you can find densely packed schools, but the bite is likely to be poor.

Smallmouth in streams may move to deeper pools for winter when their mid-fall locations are too shallow. Fishing remains good as they continue to feed until water temperatures drop in to the low 40's.

Tips to Catching Smallmouth

· Fishermen should fish using patterns that imitate key items in the diet of the smallmouth bus (crayfish, dragonflies, minnows, etc.)

· Shoreline structures, such as docks, drop-offs, rocks, and logs, are worth fishing for smallmouth.

· Fly-fishing is advantageous in areas where standard gear doesn't work.

· Noise often attracts the attention of bass.

· Be patient - Let the bug sit still for a period of as much 30 seconds, give it a twitch. If that isn't working, try "popping" it with a sharp jerk or an erratic stop-and-go retrieve. For streamers and other sub-surface flies, you should use the strip and stop, or a steady retrieve.

· Catching bass in still waters generally requires watching and waiting for surface action, then getting the fly into feeding frenzies in a hurry.

· Experiment to see what works best.

The greatest success is found by following the seasonal behavior of bass, replicating their feeding preference, and finding good structure.

Source: http://www.reprint-content.com/Article/Smallmouth-Bass---Location-By-Season/149503