Guys,
Please have mercy on this poor disheartened fisherman.

I am a 40 year old man from Glasgow, Scotland who has been living in the mid-cities area for the last 15 years. My passion is to go fishing and I bought a ski boat about seven years ago. Since then I have been catfishing with poor luck but over the last couple of years decided I wanted to hunt the sand bass (white bass?). So I discovered the joy of jigging spoons. On my first jigging outing with wife and frieds, we probably caught 20 in the space of an hour and life was wonderful. I figured THIS IS IT ... this is what it is all about. Since that very first outing and with dozens and dozens of others under my belt, I am lucky if I catch one after a six hour trip.

At the end of last year I hired an excellent guide for EM and we went out on his boat. The goal was for him to show me how to fish but the day was cold and blustery so we never did catch anything but I did learn a valuable lesson ... he told me that I needed a graph (fish finder) and showed me how to use one and interpret it. Last week I finally got that fish finder professionaly installed and spent the last two days solidly trying to use it to catch those ellusive fish.

After two full days, I managed to land ... five. 10 hours solid fishing ... and five in total. I tried trawling, I tried jigging with spoons, I travelled to all the spots that my guide suggested, I anchored, I drifted, I looked for "hills" of sandies on the bottom ... nothing ... nada.

Worse ... yesterday I lost my expensive cell phone over the side.

Now ... the reason for this posting. I read with excitement all the reports of folks landing, 50, 100, 150 sandbass in a day and say "How!!" HOW is this done? I have more gear than I can shake a stick at, I have time and I certainly have the energy ... but something must still be illuding me.

I am hoping that the members of this forum who visit EM might take pity on me and show me how it is done? I am willing to contribute gas money, beer, or even pay outright for the help. My wife suggested I offer a $3/fish bounty on each one I catch :-) Alternatively I can offer time on my boat, good company and trade/barter skills that I may be able to offer (I work in the PC business ... so if you need computer help ...) or maybe you just want to hear a really goofy accent from a fellow fisherman.

I'd list my cell phone number now ... but due to a series of unfortunate events, it is closer to the sandbass than I am right now. My email is kolban1@kolban.com.

pm sent

kolban, you joined the right forum. i met bamaboy today and another tff'r on EM . they let me and my family know what was hitting . we are grateful for people like that. my family caught over 30 sandies in about 2 hours but it was following bamaboy. thanks for a great day guys....21 keepers and lots of missed-dropped fish

PM sent.
Johnny

WOW!! Thank you my friends. I have responded to Thunderbolt and sandjohnny's PM's who have fantastically offered to show me some of the ropes. Now we just have to find a good time (I have to be in Mexico City all this coming week but after that I am wide open day/night, weekday or weekend).

I don't have (well maybe now I do) ANY fishing buddies so please ... anyone and everyone is still welcome to contact me and I promise to be as good (well maybe interesting) company. Again, I have a ski boat (not the best for fishing I know ...) and am DEFINIETLY willing to host anyone who would like to join me or be a passenger on your boat.

I am off to the lake now to ... "try again".

Let me give a far better email to reach me if needed which is:

kolban@us.ibm.com

which is my work email and gets a lot more attention much quicker than my home email. I'll post a cell phone number when I get a new phone and I'll check back here frequently. Looking forward to meeting y'all.

Neil

Kolban,
Whatever sandjohnny's offer was, take him up on it. The best way to learn is from someone with experience and sandjohnny has that without a doubt.
You should do fine now that you have a graph. Just join in one of the boat shows that surely form on EM this time of the year. Watch the graph and start fishing when the fish appear on the screen.
I hired a guide in the 1970's when I was trying to learn the art of using the slab. He taught me well and I am still using his methods today.
Don

PM sent

no pm sent just call and I will help....
SandJohnny will put you on fish and more than likely I will be out there also....you better take him up on the offer soon he is leaving for Col. soon...going to miss the old man...

No,No,No, say it ain't so. Whats in Colorado besides great fishing and hunting.
John it was a pleasure meeting you and your fine family. We enjoyed ourselves out there and I didn't do anything but fish, you guys rock. You've got some fish catching machines on your boat there.
Kolban, I suck too at sandy's but I'm learning with the help of friends here on TFF.
Like they said sandjohnny is da man on Eagle Mountain and you could save years taking notes from him.

Neil, the problem is not you. It's your graph that sucks most likely. I taught Neil on Eagle Mountain in November last year. I always suggest a Lowrance or Eagle graph on teach trips. Eagle 320 minimum. Did I suggest this to Neil? I don't recall it's been six months. Folks, don't buy a low end Hummingbird and expect to find fish with it on a consistant basis. This is not a bash on Hummingbird and not an excuse on my end. And, certainly not a bash on Neil. Neil is learning just as we all did at one time. I normally, charge a fee to go back out after a teach trip. I have offered to go back out in Neil's boat at no charge. Thanks to the fellas who offered help. We have a good group on EM.

David
www.davesguideservice.net
www.dakotatacklecompany.com

Amen to that David, I had P.M.'s and tips from several different people and Karl was like a host in his home Sat. allowing us to tag along, he was even at the dock when you got back to help us tie up. When he was asked " How did you get back to the dock so soon?", his reply was simple and direct. "200hp" I guess 200 is better than 90 & 115.

Kolban, I've had my graph for over two years now and still trying to learn how to interpet what I'm seeing. From reading posts on here I've learned that what I thought was rocks and structure on the bottom was really fish holding on the bottom. I guess I'm not too old to learn. I've got a nice graph but it's black & white. LMS480, it does alot of things that I have no clue how to do. I'm still learning.

The fish that are showing up on EM you need a real good graph. I have had several people with me lately that did not think it was fish till we stopped and fished them.I use A 480x480 ON BOTH OF MY GRAPHS.
Johnny

Bamaboy gives me to much credit. He was on the fish when I got on the lake, and my contribution was the same as Fishinboy's late in the day.

As far as a graph, the Eagle 320 is a good inexpensive one to get. I have seen lots of guides run them. If I remember from my teaching trip with David (which really helped me learn to fish!!), that is what he had. Which I later went to go buy.

Karl

Kolban, 1st off, you do not suck. I suck. after 4years of
hanging out & fishing w/ some of the best sandy guys in DFW,
I am still having trouble getting on fish, and staying on fish.
once I do that, I catch. a lot. It's a big learning curve, but
it comes pretty quick if you pay attention.
Last week on RR, took all day for 2 9" fish. Daughter caught
one of those. felt like a chump. asked 2 questions, employed the
answers, and caught 130 fish saturday in 6 hrs on Lewisville
If I can do it, it should be easy for anybody!
besides, you've already mastered one of Boston Bob's best
kept secrets........
"dropped my cell phone in the lake"
It's a known fact on Lewisville that if you drop your
phone in the lake you automatically catch 200 fish!
seriously, pay attention to what the best anglers are doing
to succeed, and do those things.
tight lines & good luck
-Brian

Go to the hot spots the guide showed you at around 6:30 pm and just throw a rattle trap, spoon or crank at the boiling water and reel.