Bassbilly

Interesting the differences of opinions on here! The Good 1. Bassmasters Tournament Trail 2. Bass Pros (this is the best instructional show out there) 3. Day on the Lake (love the column in the magazine and love the show) 4. Bass Edge (The host is a tad annoying, but the show is pretty good) 5. Hank Parker (Gotta throw in some old school!) Honorable Mentions: One More Cast w/Shaw Grigsby, Strike King Show (can't remember the name...it's a little infomericial like) and World's Greatest Fishing Show (Mark Zona just kicks ***...I want to buy that man a beer someday) The Bad 1. Beat Charlie Moore (Such a boring show...one episode he was bank fishing for 6 inch trout!!) 2. Fishing with Roland Martin (If you love Yamamoto so much, why don't you marry him?) 3. Bill Dance Outdoors (Used to be my favorite, but c'mon fish a real lake for a change...anybody can shoot fish in a barrel) 4. In-Fisherman (Sorry to the fans, but the multi-species thing just doesn't do it for me) 5. Fishing University (I'm waiting for them to hawk a flying lure or banjo minnow)

Not to hijack the post, but along similar lines, does anybody use the soft-sided travel cases for rods and reels. I typically only travel with 5 or 6 rods. I recently bought this one from BPS, because I will be fishing club tournaments every month and traveling more. Any feedback on these? Anybody use anything like this? http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_15114_999034012_100000000_100004000_100-4-2

Probably not many from this board as Shimano decided that helping less fortunate kids is not their policy and they did not take part in the event. BPS had some pretty harsh words for Shimano on the flyer that they sent out. Booo Shimano! It's just as I suspected...bunch of kid-hatin' scoundrels. Throw away all of your Calcuttas and Curados in protest OR send them to me and I will discard of them for you

I did! I had an old Quantum 5 bearing from like 1995...traded it in for a Revo SX. I bought a Revo SX about 3 months ago and I like it so much I'm thinking of building a fleet of 5 or 6 of these reels.

Half of my guys were in the top 100, but only Shinchi made the last day. My wife's team has 3 guys in the top 10 and a couple more in the top 20. Has anyone heard when they are going to put out the standings? This frustrated me all weekend. In fantasy football all of the stats are real-time and you don't have to wait to find out where you ended up.

It seems to me you play the averages. I'm not real familiar with the FLW guys other than Luke Clausen, Larry Nixon, Jay Yelas and maybe a few others, but if you look at the standings from the last couple years you can tell what guys are consistently in the Top 20 and then which guys perform better in different regions/conditions. That's how I'm picking them anyway.

Is anybody signed up for this FLW Fantasy Fishing? The Lake Toho tournament starts today...does anybody know if there is a way to keep up to date on how the anglers are doing? I wish there was a blog like they had at the Classic. Anybody have predictions on who they think is gonna do well in this tournament?

I bought an SX back a couple months ago and (so far) have been VERY impressed with the precision casting I have been getting out of it. Granted, I live in the frozen tundra of Illinois and haven't given it a rigorous run through yet, but I've been practicing my pitching with it and have never had the accuracy I have gotten with this reel. It is smooth as silk!

Thanks for all the helpful advice!

I joined a bass club this year as a non-boater and our first tournament is coming up in April. I'm a fairly experienced angler, have good equipment and moderately know my way around a boat. My question...what things should I be aware of or prepared for when fishing tournaments in my club? Do I need my own life jacket or weigh-in bag? Is six rods too many to carry onto someone elses boat? Any tips you can give me on these things or things I haven't thought of yet would be appreciated! Thanks!

You're probably right. It already haunts my dreams.

So I bought up a new AS69XF (I think that's right) from Reeds and it looks and feels fantastic. However, the bottom guide is slightly bent. I would rather not have to send it back for a new rod, so my question is how important is it that the guide be exactly level. Will this effect my fishing? Any suggestions?

This is an insane deal... do you have any more details? Is this all the Bass Pro Shops stores? What are the hours they are running the sale? I will definitely be buying two of those on my way to the in-laws house if that is the case!!

I bought the BPS Rick Clunn a while back and I have found it to be an excellent value for the price. I'm thinking about getting another one while they're on sale.

I agree. Tough lake is tough for everyone. Anytime you can bring in a limit of fish, it's a good day. Personally, I liked the look of the lake, it reminded me of west coast reservoirs. The coves are plentiful, lots of good bottom structure. Glad you did well in the tourney. I think I met that guide as well. Does he run the motel just up the street from the Lithia launch ramp? If it's the same guy, he actually let us borrow one of his boats for a trip this past summer. Nice guy.

I've never had a ton of luck there either, but two of the guys in my bass club love the place. They don't fish it that often, but they never seem to have a problem catching a heavy limit. There must be something we don't know.

Fantastic!! Great to hear! What did you weigh-in? What did you use? Glad some of the advice helped.

They don't mess around! I just bought an Avid Spinning Rod AS69MLXF for $96 ... 15 minutes after I ordered it and got my confirmation, went back and they had taken the sale off and they are now $160. 15 minutes saved me almost $70!! Act fast!

I appreciate the tips. In the 6-8 months I have been fishing with a drop shot, however, I have had fantastic catches both vertical and casting. I caught over 25 smallmouths on Sturgeon Bay in June casting a drop shot onto a 3-4 foot ledge, where vertical would have been impossible. I would cast it and then just shake it in one spot. I think this technique is more versatile than just vertical presentations.

Just starting to get into the drop shot technique. I'm gonna pick up a St Croix Avid Spinning Rod AS69MLXF (6'9 ML XFast Action) on sale through Reeds. Any suggestions as to reels to pair it with? Something under $125. I've heard you want a high capacity reel so you can throw it on Flurocarbon. Any line suggestions?

Welcome aboard. If you bought that reel at BPS, you can go back and get a refund of the difference in what you paid and the sale price. Technically, you could return the reel for a refund then buy it again on sale. To save you the hassle, they usually just give you the money back. Sweet! Thanks for the tip. I just called my local BPS and they still have a handful of Pro Qualifier Rods on sale for $59. He put a 6'6 M on hold for me to pick up tomorrow. I can't believe these are half price. It is by far the best rod I have ever fished with (and I've had a few in the $100-200 range)

I would say at least a 1/2 ounce, but maybe more. I guess it depends on how active the fish are, but if they're feeding on shad, I would go big. I saw a dead shad on the surface and he was pretty hefty.

Thanks guys!

Oh...and water clarity was definately stained/muddy. I was surprised cause everything I had read told me it was a pretty clear reservoir, but it definately had some color.

I went to Shelbyville this past weekend. From what I hear locally, you want to focus your attention on the southern part of the lake in the Lithia Springs area. There are multiple coves that produce pretty well, Lithia, Micquillen?, Bayou, and a few others. Fished all day Saturday and it was a tough bite. I caught two bass on a red/gold rattletrap, bumping it into stumps and two on a tandem willowleaf 3/8 ounce white spinnerbait. Largest was 2.5 pounds. Spent 4 hours on Sunday morning dissecting standing timber with finesse baits, but had no luck. As far as the lake is concerned, water temps are around 68 degrees at launch (7 am) to low 70's during the day. In the Lithia Springs area, there is a TON of standing timber...so much that it can drive you crazy, cause you think there should be a bass on every log!! There is very little vegetation. If I had it to do over again, I would focus on main lake points near the Lithia Springs boat ramp. If it is windy, focus on banks where the wind is blowing into them. However, by the time you fish it, the lake temp could have gone down quite a bit (especially since there is a cold front coming in next week). If that is the case and the water temp drops 5 or 6 degrees, I would focus on schools of shad (which can be HUGE on this lake) and fish topwater in the morning and work big spinnerbaits during the day. Hope this helps!