Friday, December 28, 2007

A lot of new things for Oklahoma Bass Fishing before the start of 2008...

I have been doing a lot of work on the Oklahoma Bass Fishing web site. I have created a new front page so that it is easier to get to the main web site pages. Hopefully, these pages will make it a lot easier to navigate the site. There is a link on the front page to take you to the old site or "The Main Site".

I upgraded the forums and they seem so much easier to use and have a lot more bells and whistles. I am looking at adding some new "skins" or different looks for the forums. You will have the option of picking the look you want for the forums.

I have been fishing on several days but didn't write about them. I have just been too busy with the changes to the Oklahoma Bass Fishing web site and I have started the TrophyBassInformation.com web site that I hope to have finished by the end of February 2008 if I am lucky.

I got out fishing today, December 27, 2007, and it drizzled all day long. I made use of the day by gridding part of a lake for several hours. I never knew there was so much structure on this lake. I found several big balls of shad and schools of fish around the shad. I marked 25 GPS waypoints that I will go back and check with the underwater camera to see just what exactly is down there at some of these spots.

I was the only one on the lake today and did pretty well except my feet did get cold. I had on a blizzard suit so my main body stayed pretty warm.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Uploaded the new site tonight...

I a new front page to Oklahoma Bass Fishing. Hopefully, it will be easier to navigate the web site now.

I still have to tweak the pages for the next week or so.

If you have any questions, problems or suggestions, please post them in the forums so that I can address them.

I will be working on Trophy Bass Information as soon as I get the new pages for Oklahoma Bass Fishing finished.

TrophyBassInformation.com is under construction at the present time. Dec. 12, 2007...

Friday, October 12, 2007

Fishing on Skiatook...

Mike and I went fishing at Skiatook on October 11, 2007.

The water clarity was about 3' where we fished. The surface water temperature was 73 - 74 degrees.

We fished from about 10am until around 2:30pm.

We were mainly fishing creek channel bends but one area that we did fish was a point that had a creek channel that swung in close to it.

The pattern for the day was a ¼ ounce shaky head set up with a Strike King 7" finesse worm. The color was green pumpkin.

The fish that we caught were right where the bank dropped off into the creek channels in about 18' of water. The fish were fairly agressive, eatting the shaky worm almost completely.

If you are not familiar with the shaky head rig, you need to get "The Bass Pros Season 1" at Bass Pro. The first of the eleven chapters has a segment where KVD tells you about the shaky head rig...

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Went fishing yesterday...

I was able to get out and do some fishing yesterday. I caught several schooling fish and then found a school of fish at one of my regular fishing spots. I anchored out from various angles and caught fish from each angle. Once they quit biting from fishing one angle I would just reposition the boat and cast from a different angle.

I used a shaky head worm, wacky worm, 6" swim bait, 10" worm, creature baits, flukes, etc. This is the first day in some time that I have caught over 15 fish in a day and I put out at daylight and quit about 10:30am when I had a phone call that I needed to go home to get the information.

Reminder to myself, always turn the cell phone off when you are going fishing...

Monday, September 17, 2007

Skiatook...

Long_Mike and I went to Skiatook on Sunday, September 16, 2007. This trip was more towards getting his boat to running better by running some StarTron through the fuel system and to decide just how far his trailer needed to be in the water for him to load the boat the easiest way.

I did take 2 rods, and some tackle with us to fish a little while the StarTron was soaking into the gum and varnish in his carbs and fuel system. The last trip we went on, his boat would not idle at all. When we loaded his boat on Sunday, the boat was idleling just fine.

We did decide on the proper depth that his trailer needed to be at for him to load his boat the easiest using the bunk boards to control how far left and right the boat went onto the trailer.

We are going to go out again after the StarTron has soaked his carbs and fuel system to see if the motor doesn't run even better.

We discovered that his tach was off. I had told him that it sure didn't sound like the motor was running at 1100 rpm when the tach was showing 1100 rpm. Sure enough when I tapped on the tach the rpms went down. So, when we take the boat out again we will set the idle by sound unless he gets a new tach.

I believe there are a few things going on with his motor. I think that they floats and needles are gummed up and not pivoting correctly. I am hoping that this week the StarTron will dissolve a lot of this gum and varnish out of his floats and around his needles. Making it easier for the fuel to flow through his carbs. I am also thinking that the motor is trying to idle at around 500 rpms and not turning enough rpms for the engine to idle.

The next time we go out, I will reset his idle to where the boat will idle and him not have to bump the throttle to keep the motor idleing.

While at Skiatook, the water was pretty dirty. The visibility was about a foot or just a little more than a foot. This was my first time on Skiatook to actually fish so I was not prepared for the water to be that stained. I was thinking that Skiatook was a lot clearer lake than that. We did have quite a bit of rain that might have muddied up the water.

While on Skiatook I noticed just how high the drift wood was. Skiatook had been way above normal pool from all the rain that we had this year.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Cooler weather...

Now that it has started cooling down the fishing should start picking up. Just to think a couple of weeks ago it was in the triple digits and now in the morning you need a jacket.

The surface water temperature should have cooled down quite bit now. I will know the next time I get to go fishing.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Product Test Report on Papa's Buzzbaits...

I added a Product Test Report on Papa's Buzzbaits. I have been using this unique design of buzzbait for over a month now and am very pleased with it's capability of catching Bass. This buzzbait is not made in the regular "safety pin" shape. It has a shaft that holds the line tie, the blade, the lead head and hook with just 2 slight bends between the blade and the lead head. You can find the full review on the front page of Oklahoma Bass Fishing or in the Product Test Report forum.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

The front moved through during the night...

Mike and I went fishing today. I was expecting to have a pretty productive day because we had a front moving through. It was raining when I got up at 4:30am, so I rigged the rods at the house before I left. I did hit rain on the way to the lake.

We were on the lake at daylight and at the first place we fished, all the fish were stacked up on the North side of the point. I threw at the point from all different directions going through the school from various angles. Did not get a bite at all on this point.

We then moved about 20 to 30 yards and fished a through that was beside the point and Mike got one bite in that area.

We then moved to the other side of the lake and found the fish on the North side of those points. We got 2 bites in this area drifting down the bank fishing the points and dropping down into the creek channel.

The small bass weren't even schooling in the middle of the lake today. We saw very little top water action while on the lake today.

It was a pleasant day with the air temps in the higher 80's with the water temp at 84 degrees on the surface and 76 degrees at 15' deep.

We talked to a man when we were about ready to leave and he had not had any luck either. He mentioned that it was storming on Friday night/Saturday morning around midnight. So, that confirmed my thoughts that the front had moved through before we got on the lake today.

Today was just one of those days. We fished where the Bass were, they had evidently fed before the storms moved through last night and just weren't interested in anything we offered them today.

We fished a Gene Larew 4" salt craw, the SlickFISH lure, a worm, a Gene Larew Hoo Daddy Jr, a shakey head worm rig, a Carolina rig, a football jig, a swim bait, a Gene Larew Mega Ring tube and a double bowl stainless steel kitchen sink...

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Hot day with schooling bass...

I was at the lake before sunrise and got situated before most of the boats got on the lake. It was comfortable this morning but got down right HOT before I left.

The bass were still schooling in the middle of the lake but you couldn't buy a bite on anything else. I threw everything but the kitchen sink before I gave up. I gridded the area and the Bass were exactly where I thought they would be. They were just inactive or in a neutral or negative mood today. I could have pulled up anchor and went after the schooling bass, but I was hoping to catch a fairly good size bass today.

I talked to another man that put in right after I did this morning and he hadn't had a bite all day either.

I have a couple of projects that I have to devote time to for the next couple of weeks, so I am not sure when I will get back out on the lake. With the weather the way it has been, I really think I want to wait until we have some changes in the weather to cause the Bass to start feeding. Seems that no one is consistantly catching Bass at this time on any of the lakes.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

August 2nd, 2007

I just put out the Oklahoma Bass Fishing's August Newsletter a bit ago.

This month's photos on the front page are Steve Campbell and Jimmy Everett with 2 nice bass.

I have been testing a totally new innovative lure that I have been really impressed with. This lure is weedless and I have been fishing it in thick cover that I usually get jigs hung up in and have to break off. I have yet to lose one of these lures. Just the savings in lost lures makes this lure well worth the money. The only way that I can see to lose one of these lures is for the knot to break or for the line to break where it is damaged from contact with rocks and thick cover. I always retie after I catch a bass and check my line for frays constantly. I will be doing a Product Test Report on this lure around the middle of August. Be sure and check back to see the newest lure I have put in my arsenal of lures I fish with. Every time in July that I went fishing, I had one of these lures tied on to a rod and I used the lure quite a bit that day. There are just so many different ways you can fish this lure. It is one of the most versatile lures I have ever used. I have used it as a topwater lure, as a slowly sinking lure, as a Texas rig with a bullet weight in front of it, as a Carolina rig, etc. I am more excited about this one lure than I have been about any lure in the last few years. It is something that the bass have not seen before and you can work it in areas that you have never been able to fish before.

I have also been testing a new buzzbait design that I am really happy with. This design goes through the grass better than any buzzbait or spinnerbait I have ever used. I will be doing a Product Test Report on it the first of September.

With us not getting a lot of rain in the month of July, most of the Oklahoma Lakes are starting to recede but they are still above normal pool. The lake that I have been fishing has about gotten back to normal clarity for this time of year.

Most of the fish that I caught in July were in 12' to 20' of water. With the surface temperature being around 90 degrees or above, the bass have moved deeper into the cooler water.

Be sure and register for the new Oklahoma Bass Fishing's New Forums and post a little about you in the Member Introductions and tell us about your fishing trips and what was successful for you.

Be sure and print off your fishing log pages and start keeping a log of your fishing trips. You will find these logs beneficial in the years to come when you go fishing. You can look back and see what worked giving you a place to start so that you are successful on your fishing trips.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Added 3 new Tips and Tricks

I added 3 new Tips and Tricks to the web site and to the Forums:
Checking Rod Eyes For Damage
Boat Storage Compartments Holding Water?
Pros and Cons of Fluorocarbon Fishing Line

On August 1st, I will be sending out the August Newsletter. If you haven't already signed up to get the newsletter, sign up today so you start receiving the Oklahoma Bass Fishing's Newsletters.

Be sure and send in your fishing photos, I will put 2 photos that I receive each month on the front page of Oklahoma Bass Fishing the 1st of the next month. All the photos that I receive will be put in the Oklahoma Bass Fishing's Photo Gallery.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Working with DeerChannel.com now...

We are working with DeerChannel.com now. We are the advertiser for TheBassFishingChannel.com.

DeerChannel.com has a web cam set up in their 9 acre pond that is viewable 7am - 6pm Central time from Monday - Friday. You can view this web cam at BassCamChannel.com

DeerChannel.com is setting themselves up to become the world's leading Internet portal for hunting, fishing and outdoor enthusiasts.

Visit DeerChannel.com and bookmark their site. They have a good idea and they are following through with it.

I have set the Blog up so that anyone can leave a comment.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Changed the comment from only registered users...

I changed the Blog from only registered Blogger users can comment to anyone can comment on the Blog entries.

Let me know if there are any other changes you would like to see on the Oklahoma Bass Fishing web site. PM me from the Forums or email me at: Info@OklahomaBassFishing.com

I was asked how long that OklahomaBassFishing.com has been around. I started the web site on January 23, 2001. So, the web site has been online for over 6 years. Be sure and check the Archives link that is on the left hand side under the articles listed. There are a lot of articles listed on the Archives page.

Fishing on Saturday...

I went fishing Saturday morning and got home around 5pm. The bass were still chasing shad in the middle of the lake, so I caught several bass while throwing a fluke. I caught several bass on a Gene Larew Hoo Daddy Jr. fished texas rigged style. I did catch 2 bass on the Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait. This bait has a realistic wiggle to it. When I dropped it beside the boat to watch it, it wiggled back and forth as it fell, unlike other lipless crankbaits that fall on it's side one way or the other. The ½ ounce Red Eye Shad is a new bait that I have put in my arsenal.

I saw several small bass, about 8" to 10" long that were in the weed beds near the shoreline. Most of the bass that I caught that were not schooling bass were in 8' to 12' of water on a point dropping into 20' to 25' of water. One of these spots was a point that had a creek channel that swung in close to the point. The bass were sitting right on the rim of the creek channel.

The surface temp in the afternoon was 92 degrees on the West side of the lake with very little wind blowing. When there was a slight breeze it was out of the South or East. The water clarity was about 3'. It was mostly cloudy with the sun coming out at times. I would guess it was 65% cloudy and 35% sunny today while I was fishing.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Got to go fishing on Wednesday...

I did get to go fishing on Wednesday. The water still had a clarity of about 3' and the wind was blowing out of the East at about 15 miles per hour. It was partly cloudy with more sun than clouds. The surface water temp was 82 degrees. The thermocline was still at 25'. I anchored out in 3 different places and was able to catch 4 Bass in these areas. Then I saw several schools of 2 pound bass chasing shad in different areas of the lake. I threw a weightless fluke into these schools and was able to catch over 10 of these schooling Bass. It was a great day with good action. I had a blast catching the schooling Bass.

I came in about 2pm and got a lot of sun. I forgot my sunscreen and my forearms and part of my face was red when I got home.

It was wet when I got up on Thursday and there is an 80% chance of rain for Friday. They are saying that there is a 20% chance of rain on Saturday and Monday with a 30% chance of rain on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week. Maybe we can get in a week without any rain to dry up some of the land around here. A week without rain would help clear up some of the lakes and help to get the lakes pool levels back down to normal.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Made the new Forum registrations "user" activated

I think I have all the kinks worked out of the new Forums now. I have changed the validation from administration to user activated. You will register and then should get an email immediately with a link to click to activate your Forum account.

If you have any problems, please post them in the "Problems with the new Forums or Web Site" forum. If you are not able to post in the forums, please feel free to email me at Info@OklahomaBassFishing.com .

The weather has actually be great the last couple of days. We haven't had any rain in a few days. They are predicting a 60% chance of rain on Tuesday. But then the chances of rain are supposed to go down again after Tuesday. Hopefully, the lakes, rivers and ponds will start to clear up a bit.

There has been just enough wind to cause ripples in the water making fishing pretty good. Today was a great day to fish with the sun behind clouds most of the morning and a slight breeze blowing here around Tulsa.

Gas has gotten up around the $3 per gallon range again. Makes going to a lake a 100 miles away a pretty good expense. I have had to settle on fishing lakes close to home.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

New Forums for Oklahoma Bass Fishing...

The old Forum boards were just that, old and out dated. The last update for that board was in 2001. It was time to get a new updated board with better security.

Everyone will have to reregister in these new forums. There was no way that I could import the members over into these new Forums. Because of the Spam Bots, the Sex Bots, the Pharmaceutical Bots that want to join the Forums, I will be approving all the registrations. I will try my best to approve the registrations in a maximum of 12 hours. Hopefully, I will be able to approve most registrations within an hour.

I think that I have all the kinks worked out of these Forums. If you run into a problem, please post it in the "Problems with the Forums or the Web Site" forum in the Administration Section of the Forums. If you are having problems so that you can't post in the Forums, then email me at Info@OklahomaBassFishing.com

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Got to go fishing...

I was able to get out and go fishing on Tuesday.

The water was not near as muddy as I thought it would be. Usually, the clarity is 5' to 6' or a little more. On Tuesday, it was about 3'. There was a slight breeze blowing, just enough to produce small waves to break up the surface. The surface water temp was 80 degrees, with a thermocline at 25' in the main body of the lake. This year there is vegetation around most of the lake shoreline out to about 6' deep. I found several bait balls just under the surface in several places on the lake. Since the lake is only 100 acres, I was able to cover most of the lake to see where the fish were located. I found a lot of fish in 20' of water.

I may try to go to Dripping Springs within the next couple of weeks. I am not a fan of fishing on holidays or holiday weekends.

I read where that the Coffeyville Resourses refinery spilled 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the Verdigris River. They are saying that this oil could get into Oklahoma drinking water sources and recreation areas.

"The oil was floating downriver toward Oklahoma and that state's Oologah Lake, about 30 miles northeast of Tulsa, said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the Kansas state adjutant. Oklahoma officials were optimistic the spill would dissipate before it reached the lake, which provides flood control, drinking water and recreation.
'There are nine public water supplies along the Verdigris and the Oologah Lake, and none of them are currently affected,' said Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's Department of Environmental Quality. Tulsa is among the cities that get water from Oologah."

Oologah also supplies water to Claremore Lake. There is a huge water pipe that dumps water into Claremore Lake in the 2nd West cove just North of the boat ramps.

Let's hope that the oil does not get affect our drinking water or recreational waters.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Sent out the July newsletter...

I sent out the July newsletter this afternoon. There were several people that joined after I sent the newsletter out. If you didn't get the July newsletter, email me and I will send it to you in an email.

I changed the photos on the front page, this month we are featuring photos of Joe Sheppherd and Steve Glenn, congratulations on your fish.

I will be adding 6 Tips and Tricks this month as I was not able to do the 3 for June because I was having computer problems.

I also posted an article from Roger "The Bass Coach" Brown on Where's the Bass?

I have made it so that people that have a Blogger account can post comments in the Oklahoma Bass Fishing blog. You can go to www.Blogger.com and sign up for a Blogger account. The blog is located at http://OklahomaBassFishingcom.blogspot.com

The weather forecasters are saying that this weekend should be dry. Hopefully, the lakes will start to clear up some so that fishing will get back to normal.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Looks like another week of rain...

It looks like another week of rain. They posted a flash flood warning on Monday night that extends through Thursday night. They are predicting rain through next Monday with percentages starting at 80% for Tuesday decreasing through Tuesday. But, they have been changing the weather forecast continuously for the last month or so. Evidently, the weather is very unstable in the Oklahoma/Texas area.

The waters will continue to be stained more than usual until the rain does stop for a little while. I, for one, am ready for the rain to stop and the waters to clear up so we start fishing the waters normally again.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Parts of Oklahoma got over 6" of rain...

There were parts of Oklahoma that got over 6" of rain last night and this morning. It stormed in Tulsa all night and into the dawn today. My rain gauge had 8" of rain in it when I looked at it today.

The lake I usually fish is a clear water lake, but it looked like chocolate milk today when I drove by it to check on it. The ground where my boat is parked is so soggy the trailer tires are sunk into the mud about an inch.

I probably won't even try to go fishing until next week when the lake has cleared up a bit.

Greg

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Got the web site updated and the newsletter sent out...

I got the OBF web site updated and the June newsletter sent out.

I will be adding some more articles as I get them so you need to check back often to see the new articles.

I am also going to add more Tips and Tricks articles this month. I will also put them in the Tips and Tricks forum too.

With us getting some nice days without any rain I am hoping that the lake I fish will get clearer so that I can start fishing it like normal again. I have been fishing lures that made noise and big soft plastics that could move the water so that the fish could feel the pressure from the lures movement.

Don't forget to print off your copies of the log pages and start keeping a log of your fishing trips. You will find these really beneficial in later fishing trips where you can look back and see what was working or was not working at the same time of year or the same weather patterns in years to come.

Greg

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Day on the lake...

I got to sneak off today and go fishing for a little while. There was only 2 other boats on the lake so I was not having to share a section of the lake with anyone. Someone was camped out on the point so I decided to fish the Northern bank as the wind was out of the South. I saw several fish that were in 10' to 14' of water but couldn't tell what species they were. I have asked for my Aqua Vue camera back so I will be able to learn a little more about the bottom of the lake. The grass was growing out to about 6' of water. The water was stained, which is unusual for that lake.

I came home and filled out my fishing log page for the day and changed lures and got everything set to go fishing with lures for stained water instead of clear water conditions.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Added a Fishing Tips and Tricks Index Page...

This morning, I added a Fishing Tips and Tricks Index Page. I will take the Fishing Tips and Tricks Message Board entries and make them into articles and then link them on the Front Page for you to read and also put them on the Fishing Tips and Tricks Index Page so we have an archive of Fishing Tips and Tricks.

You will see a link to the Fishing Tips and Tricks Index page on the left hand column of links 4th link from the top.

If you have any tips or tricks, please feel free to post them in the Fishing Tips and Tricks Forum on the Message Board.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Fishing Log pages just added to the site...

I just added Fishing Log pages that we can print off and use to keep records of our fishing trips.

I have found that keeping logs of my fishing trips has helped me in the following years because I can look up the time of the year and see the fishing trips that had similar conditions to what the day is that I am going fishing. This gives me a head start on what worked and what didn't work in the previous years.

It also helps me to pattern the bass on a lake. I can look back and see when the bass moved away from the banks after spawning, spots they moved too and how deep they were. When the Carolina Rig was the most effective, when the jerk baits or the jigs were the best baits.

In the winter time, the bass congregate in "wintering holes". There can be 100 bass in a spot not much bigger than your bass boat. You will find the bass each year in about the same place. So, if you have a GPS unit and mark the waypoint, next year you will already know where to start looking for the bass.

Dean and I went fishing with Chuck Justice on February 20th a few years ago. We caught so many bass that I was ready to go home after 8 hours of fishing. We caught bass from a pound up to bass that weighed more than 6 pounds all day long. You never know what size bass you might catch when they are in their wintering holes.

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the Fishing Log pages or anything else as this is "our" fishing web site. I designed it in hopes of making all of us better anglers.

Greg

Finally, a beautiful day...

Finally, after what seems like weeks of rain, we finally have a pretty day. But, of course, it is a blue bird sky day with not a cloud in sight. This makes fishing tough, especially in lakes that has clear water where the Bass can see very well.

The Bass should be finished with spawning now and the big females should be ready to eat. The bad thing about post spawn fishing is that the Bass are probably going to be scattered all over the lake.

I am planning on going fishing on Sunday and Monday if nothing comes up.

With the price of gas going up, most of us are going to have to start fishing lakes closer to home. I usually fish McGee Creek and Lake Fork several times a year, but I don't think I will fish them this year. I might go fish McGee Creek with Chuck Justice once or twice, but I am going to concentrate my fishing on lakes around Tulsa.

Since the fishing will be changing frequently during the next month or so, I will have to start fishing logs on the lakes that I fish this year so that I will have a good idea of how and what to fish next year.

If you keep a fishing log when you go fishing, you can look at it next year to give you a better understanding of how to fish and with what lures to use.

I will do a fishing log page that you can print off for each day you go fishing. I just put them in a 3 ring binder, divided by lakes.

I have created a message board for putting tips and tricks that you have learned during your fishing endeavor. I will move them over to a page that we will call "Tips and Tricks". This way we will be able to see all the tips and tricks on one page.

Greg

Monday, May 7, 2007

Today was a flood...

It stormed yesterday and night last night with it still storming this morning. My front and back yard were flooded with the water rushing through the culvert to the other side of the road.

I went and got a cotter pin and put it on the driver's side wheel and put a bunch of grease in the bearing buddy. I will need to get another tube of grease to finish up greasing both wheels.

It is supposed to rain all this week with maybe a pretty day on Saturday. All the rain will probably make the lakes muddy and raise the pool level. I am not sure what temperature the rain was to know if it would warm or cool the lake temperatures.

Tonight will be another night of cleaning reels and respooling them with new line.

Greg

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Beautiful day followed by severe thunderstorms...

Today was a beautiful day. I got the wheel bearing checked on the boat trailer and checked for leaking wheel cylinders while I had the tires off. The ground was really damp and I had to use concrete slabs about 1' x 1' to keep the jack from sinking into the ground.

The fire extinguisher was still on the full mark and the motor started up without any hesitation.

I came in an got cleaned up and started taking reels apart to clean them, oil and grease them before I put new line on them. They are saying that Saturday may be a pretty day, if the wind isn't blowing hard, you will probably find me on the lake.

I am thinking of starting a "Tips" section in the message board for anglers to post little "tips" they have discovered to make things easier on them.

Greg

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Didn't realize just how dirty my reels were...

I cleaned my spinning reels tonight and couldn't believe the difference in them after I got them cleaned, lubed and put back together. I tore one of the Calais's down and cleaned it and it is a lot smoother now. So, I can see that I am going to have to go through all the reels and clean them and lube them up.

When I put new line on a reel, I always tape a piece of paper onto the rod near the reel end that says what line, what strength and what day I put the line on the reel. It sure makes it a lot easier to know if I need to respool a reel or not.

On some mono or fluorocarbon coated lines, it is hard to tell if the line is aged or not. The braided lines are easy to tell if they have some age on them as they fade.

One other thing that I do to my rods when I respool the reel is to take a cotton q-tip and run it around all the eyes on the rod. This will show any places that are not smooth and could damage the fishing line going through it.

Greg

The start of a new year of fishing...

Here it is May 5th, 2007 and we are getting ready for a new year of fishing in Oklahoma. I started a newsletter for OklahomaBassFishing.com the other day and starting a blog today.

I see OklahomaBassFishing.com building even more this year. The site has grown far more than I ever expected it too.

I have a few people that have asked if they could write articles for the site and I am going to give them a try at it.

Be sure and sign up for the newsletter and let's get 2007 off to a bang with some real monsters this year.

Greg