Firstmate Controls

The weather is finally starting to act like spring, so get out and enjoy one of life's favorite pleasures, fishing! There's nothing quite as relaxing, enjoyable, and at times as exhilarating as fishing. From enjoying the peacefulness of being on the water, to bonding with friends, to catching a monster of a fish you can gloat about to all of your buddies, there's nothing quite like the sport of fishing.  Firstmate Controls  has some helpful hints to make sure your fishing experience is memorable and will be a great story to be told for a lifetime! Let's take a look: Do Some Research Before just taking out on the water with random bait and tackle that you've accumulated over the years, be sure to do some research on the fish you're aiming to catch. Going out with catfish bait when you're hoping to reel in some large mouth bass isn't going to get you very far. By researching, you'll find that buzz-bait and live bait are most attractive to lar...

Winter may be cold, especially with the polar vortex hitting us, but it is also the perfect time for crappie fishing. In the spirit of getting out on the water this winter,  Firstmate Controls  is sharing with you some winter crappie fishing tips to help you catch your limit in no time. Take a look: Find the Hidey-Holes Crappie feed heavily in cold waters, and once you locate their preferred spot, you can anchor and easily catch your limit. The trick, however, is finding that sweet spot. Once water temperature falls, they can usually be found grouped together near boat docks, trees, stumps and brush piles. Crappie also generally stay in deeper waters during the winter, although they will move to shallower water if there is a string of warm days. If you’re using a depth finder, concentrate on the deepest areas. Follow the Shad Although you’ll catch more crappie near underwater structures such as brush piles and standing timber, the trophy catches follow schools of shad ...

It's National Fishing Month! This year, National Fishing Month goes from July 27th through September 2nd. There's nothing quite as relaxing, enjoyable, and at times as exhilarating as fishing. The idea behind National Fishing Month is to encourage every family member to have a go at fishing. It doesn't matter what age you are, or what previous experience you have. Nor does it matter which cultural or social background you may be from. Fishing is for everyone!  Firstmate Controls  has some helpful hints to make sure your fishing experience is memorable and will be a great story to be told for a lifetime! Let's take a look: Do Some Research Before just taking out on the water with random bait and tackle that you've accumulated over the years, be sure to do some research on the fish you're aiming to catch. With heavy boat traffic and hot temperatures of the "dog days" of Summer, fishing conditions may sometimes seem less than ideal. However, if y...

One of America's favorite pastimes is hitting the water, casting a line and waiting for that big catch. And winter is the perfect time for crappie fishing. In the spirit of getting out on the water this winter, Firstmate Controls is sharing with you some winter crappie fishing tips to help you catch your limit in no time. Take a look: Find the Hidey-Holes Crappie feed heavily in cold waters, and once you locate their preferred spot, you can anchor and easily catch your limit. The trick, however, is finding that sweet spot. Once water temperature falls, they can usually be found grouped together near boat docks, trees, stumps and brush piles. Crappie also generally stay in deeper waters during the winter, although they will move to shallower water if there is a string of warm days. If you’re using a depth finder, concentrate on the deepest areas. Follow the Shad Although you’ll catch more crappie near underwater structures such as brush piles and standing timber, the trophy...

The colder weather has us boaters jonesing for next year's boating season to get here as quickly as possible. You may even be spending time longingly staring out to the water or just sitting in your boat offshore reminiscing about the great times you had on the water this past summer. Firstmate Controls know your pain. BUT! Just because it's fall and the temperatures have dropped, doesn't mean you have to completely give up your love of boating. We've got some great ideas - check out 5 things you can do NOW to gear up for next year's boating season! 1. Inspect Your Life Preservers Lifejackets that don't get used much and spend most of their shelf life tucked away in the wells of your boat may not be in as good of shape as you think. And while you may be thinking "well, we don't ever use them anyway, so it doesn't matter," if an incident were to arise that you did need to use a lifejacket, if yours aren't in good condition they're ...

One of America's favorite pastimes is hitting the water, casting a line and waiting for that big catch. And Fall is a game changer when it comes to fishing. In the spirit of gearing up for the Fall season, we've decided to share with you some Fall fishing tips to catch some of the most popular species of game fish in Missouri. Take a look: All About the Bass Bass begin to increase their feeding due to the declines in water temperatures to maintain their energy, meaning they're on the move more often. So the top Bass fall fishing tip is to find the baitfish. Shad and other forage fish bass feed on begin to move into upper lake reaches such as coves and creek mouths with dropping water temperatures in the fall. In addition, bait fish will school up on offshore drop-offs and near vegetation edges. This means that in the fall, rivers are major hotspots for bass fishing. Bass move into areas of current this time of year. Catch More Catfish Catfish start to school up in...

Did you know it's National Fishing Month? This year, National Fishing Month goes from July 22nd through August 29th, not that we needed another reason to head out on the water to partake in one of our favorite pastimes. There's nothing quite as relaxing, enjoyable, and at times as exhilarating as fishing. From enjoying the peacefulness of being on the water, to bonding with friends, to catching a monster of a fish you can gloat about to all of your buddies, there's nothing quite like the sport of fishing.  Firstmate Controls  has some helpful hints to make sure your fishing experience is memorable and will be a great story to be told for a lifetime! Let's take a look: Do Some Research Before just taking out on the water with random bait and tackle that you've accumulated over the years, be sure to do some research on the fish you're aiming to catch. With heavy boat traffic and hot temperatures of the "dog days" of Summer, fishing conditions ma...

This summer get out and enjoy one of life's favorite pleasures, fishing! There's nothing quite as relaxing, enjoyable, and at times as exhilarating as fishing. From enjoying the peacefulness of being on the water, to bonding with friends, to catching a monster of a fish you can gloat about to all of your buddies, there's nothing quite like the sport of fishing.  Firstmate Controls has some helpful hints to make sure your fishing experience is memorable and will be a great story to be told for a lifetime! Let's take a look: Do Some Research Before just taking out on the water with random bait and tackle that you've accumulated over the years, be sure to do some research on the fish you're aiming to catch. Going out with catfish bait when you're hoping to reel in some large mouth bass isn't going to get you very far. By researching, you'll find that buzz-bait and live bait are most attractive to large mouth bass. Also, you need to know when ...