Big-O

No your not Hawgchaser, Alot of people think it's fake enthusiasm but with Shaw it is the real thing. He is just a happy person and all of the time. I wish everyone around me was so happy. But if you think about it, Shaw is not stuck to tournaments, which are grueling to say the least. He gets to fish anywhere and everywhere he wants and anytime he wants to. Now you and I would run around squealing too, if we had those opportunities. Seems like a pretty happy lifestyle to me. Big O www.ragetail.com

Allow the pro to fish his water completely without interference or competition from the back of the boat, whatever that might be. Never fish with his bait of choice even if he says you can. These are his fish because it is his spot. Always fish with a different style of bait and change often until you find something that works in the case that it might clue him to change for improved results. If this in fact happens, change to a different bait to avoid interference. Assist in all areas that you are asked to assist and only give opinions when they are asked for. Never say someone did better than he did the day before or fished a different style and structure unless it is by his request. Confidence is an important yet fragile part of fishing. Let him start every conversation when he has a rod in his hands so that he can concentrate on the job at hand. Praise and encourage him in his efforts but don't over do it. Remember we are guest in his boat and he has a job to do. Our part of this delicate equation is part cheerleader, part enthusiast and most importantly all friend. With these mannerisms coming from the co angler both of you will have a very memorable trip together and life long bonds will be established. Not to mention both of you might learn to be better fishermen. Big O www.ragetail.com

Yeah LBH. Been designing for SK for year and a half although for years I kept my designs to myself and only allowed friends or clients to use them while fishing with me. I am a design engineer by trade. Several of my close friends are pro anglers and Randy Dearman w/SK is one of my closest long time friends. We have fished together in the Amazon several times as well as most every where else and he talked me into striking it up with Strike King. Met with the SK group and the rest is Future. After our visit, I completed the necessary tweaks in each of the first four designs and arranged for the patents. The SK boy's are like family to me now and I couldn't be happier with our relationship. What a great team of folks. They are just like you and me, easy going and down to earth. And they really are trying to make great baits for great fishermen. I applaud them for it. On my website product page, there are several video clips using the baits and seeing their action pretty much says it all. There are also tips on hooking instructions, size of hooks etc. Ck it out and leave a note on the message board with any comments you have on your usage or questions on the baits. I am trying to make it as informative about each design as possible and your info is the key. Will also debut the new designs soon to give everyone a preview of whats coming up. My wife Connie and I being blessed beyond measure were able to retire very early in life. Children, Fishing and hunting are my real passions in life and since retiring, I have primarily devoted all of my time to those interest. I designed a childrens literacy program called Poetry Pals, www.poetrypals.com And it is for children ages 2 thru 6. It is a totally interactive reading system that is now being used in homes, daycares and Pre K schools across the nation. I have written 17 childrens books and 14 of them are part of this literacy system. I now travel the country doing seminars on the Importance of Parent/child Interaction for the early childhood programs. I also design trophy whitetail habitat for ranches here in Texas, taking care of not only the actual habitat design but also suppying the annual harvest records, animal surveys and communications with the county and regional biologists. Recently patented a product in the hunting industry but can't discuss the details for confidentiality reasons. Am I busy or what?but I enjoy every minute of my life and I encourage you and others to do the same. We are all little kids in big kids clothes and life is what you make it. My life is FUN because with everything I do, I choose to have fun. Happiness is a choice! Now you know everything that I do, only more because you know all about your life and a happy life I know it is. Thanks to you and the rest of the Bass Resource Family for welcoming me into your awesome group. You guys are great! Big O www.ragetail.com

Big Dan, On the Shad and Toad you should definitely stay with 5/0 and 6/0 EWG hooks due to several reasons in my opinion. The most obvious is bigger hook is more effective on hook sets providing it doesn't interfere with the baits action. On Rage Tail Shad and Toad, they were designed around those hooks. My favorite being 5/0 EWG superline hooks. Also since many of today's serious anglers use braid on frog type topwaters, to drive the hook better on set, the bigger hooks have become more prevalent. Even with big keel weighted hooks, the Shad can be run on top easily because it has more resistance than others and moves so much water. Plus with big keel weight hooks you can swimbait the Rage Shad. I didn't design it for that but many good reports coming back on it. I learn something every day. Hope that clarifies things for you, Good Fishing Big O www.ragetail.com

Could be because you stay in touch with your bait better than most folks. Other causes are extremely small hooks and baits as well as longer leaders that give the fish an opportunity to pick up and swallow prior to the angler feeling the fish. Extremely heavy weights is another culprit. If the fish is not in the trailing position, the hit is not as noticeable when the fish picks up bait from front or side angles. www.ragetail.com

OHHH BABY, Now that's what I like to hear! It's music to my ears and much thanks CJ Good fishing to you too Big O www.ragetail.com

Great and thanks, Good to hear you got'em figured out, the fish and the bait. www.ragetail.com

Welcome Charlie, you have come to the right place. Everybody here are good folks www.ragetail.com

Kudo's to you Abelfisher, Pls refer to the tournament talk and review my comments on RW's thread on fish mortality. I give an idea that our industry needs in the worst way. I would do this myself but I have far too many irons in the fire to pursue it personally. You are a terrific example for all young men to follow and my hat's off to you and yours Steve Parks

AbelFisher started a great thread that asked us "Why we fish". And for encouragement's sake, I want to follow up this thread on "Why we should fish" When we get older, as many of us are, and when we have experienced much, as many of us have, although our ageing eyes may falter, things of the heart become much clearer. To compare a true fishermans heart to a quest or competition against man or fish, is far from the truth or the wisdom gained from a lifetime of fishing. What we come to understand, is this wonderful journey is more about our life itself and who we have become as a person. One's true love for fishing and the valuable life lessons learned are a directly associated to one's hopes and dreams for everything else in life. Show me a man who truly loves the experience of fishing and I will show you a man who truly loves experiencing life. And this, is who I have become. I hope all of you younger fishermen here at Bass Resource come to realize and recieve the many blessings that alot of us older guy's have from a lifetime in this wonderful journey we call "fishing" God bless all of you, Big O Thanks AbelFisher, you have started a Great thread and terrific thought process. www.ragetail.com

Agree with you RW and maybe this: Maybe we need to have a hands free certified scale weighing system on board each tournament boat that not only records weight but also snaps a digital photo of each fish on scale and with visual chart behind or under fish recording length girth etc. Is this expensive, yes at first it would be until the technology catches on to it and they would become much cheaper. Let's face it, catch the fish, weigh it and release it back to it's natural habitat is not only the safest for the fish but also maintains the fishery at its highest level. It does away with the need to work out the livewell systems being too small at some lakes for two anglers, and constantly abusing the fish by cking one fish against the other for culling rights not to mention the slamming they take all day in the boat and then getting dumped back in the water in a strange place they have never been before. Scared to death and in a state of physical and mental shock and now in a foriegn place, "Boy that sounds like a something the fish deserves for hitting our bait! The scale would record all of your fish and list your top five as needed. There you go guy's, you want an idea to run with, it's your's for the taking. Now do ya think there will be those who will try to get around the system and cheat? Only the @%*$_*& will. But if there are two in boat and detector test for winners "Wallah". Lot of whiners out there that would rather gripe about this type of program than respect our favorite natural resource's at their highest level. BTW, if we're gonna carolina rig no matter what, then let's use a big enough hook that if the fish has it in their gut when we land them, we can go into their gut and pull it out. Carry the long neck pinchers with you so you can at least give these valuable fish some % opportunity to live. Facts are in, and the majority of all fish in fresh water that have a hook left in there gut or throat die's from it. Many try to say that the acid in a bass' stomach will dissolve it in no time. This is not true and has been proven otherwise. Let's give them a chance, after all,they gave us one.

My sentiments exactly Long Mike Big O www.ragetail.com

Thats almost it Fluke but not quite, SKLCo is a great group to work with and provides alot of input and ideas for new designs. Great pool of knowledge to pull from. I was retired and now I'm back in the saddle again. But the rides more fun. Use to have to fish but now I get to fish. There is a difference you know. ;D Big O www.ragetail.com

Yeah JT, They kinda own me now. But it's a good thing for both of us. Steve

x2 Agree with FBL because of durability and floater, best finesse worm out there for the money www.ragetail.com

Not sure as of yet Fish4keeps, and probably won't know till we go. I'll let you know Mon or Tuesday. Big o www.ragetail.com

I need one of those shirts... I'll get you one LBH but keep it quiet..shhhhhhhhhhhh Big O www.ragetail.com

Right JT, Rage Tail is an exclusive series of soft plastic designs marketed and distributed by SKLCo. They just came out in Fall last year with the first four designs and coming out with several more this Fall. On the site, there are short video clips of the baits and usage etc. How has your season gone? I've been too busy designing to keep up with you guys. Good fishing! Steve Parks www.ragetail.com

Hey Catt, he does like those GPS units and has alot of knowledge of use and techniques with several different styles and brands, much more than me, thats for sure. www.ragetail.com

x2 normal activity www.ragetail.com

In my opinion, they all try. I don't think I have ever seen a big fish that didn't try to come to the top asap and try to throw the bait. Not to say that they will all jump if you set the hook and just let them swim around down there without putting pressure on'em. But even then, I've hooked no telling how many huge fish that got the best of me and broke off with the bait in their mouth only to come up immediately if not later and thrash around trying to throw the bait. Been doing it too long and got the t shirt. After bass fishing for 45 yrs and guided on lakes like Fork and other big fish lakes in Texas for 20 yrs., it doesn't necessarily mean I am an authority on this subject but it does give a little credence to the info. www.ragetail.com

Browns in jigs are a mainstream color and purple as you know is mix color of red, highly noticeable to fish, and blue that is the first color in the spectrum that disappears as water depth increases. So at shallower depths, it is both red and blue to the fish which both are proven and popular colors. In deeper water, it still maintains a color that is more noticeable, red. Hope that is understandable. It just happens to be one of my favorite colors as well. And it has proven itself for years and in all types of water conditions. Good Fishing www.ragetail.com

Never too late for welcome, and glad your gettin in to em. Also too bad about the catfish, they have done me in several times as well. One night Brian, happened to be one of the best nights I've ever had, we were on a main lake point running the Rage Shad in 8 ft water over the mossbeds and were averaging fish over 6 lbs, just one of those magic times when the fish are ON and lik'in what your feed'in em. Suddenly my buddy gets slammed and it was so loud it sounded like an alligator thrashed on it. He set the hook and the fight was on. Lasted 25 minutes, and 2 beers later he pulled it up beside the boat and it was a Blue Cat that had to weigh 60 lbs or so. Never saw a fight like that before or since on a little soft plastic 3 1/2" topwater bait. But I wouild like to see it again. That was hilarious watching him try to control that beast on his 6 1/2 ' med action spinning gear. Was using 50lb braid. BTW, it totally screwed the moss bed we were slammin the bigger bass on, and this was the only one that we could fish because of 35 mile per hr winds on the rest of the lake. Again thanks Big O www.ragetail.com

Thanks AJ, if they have the small tabs holding the fllippers to the legs, be sure to detach them before using. Those are there to help maintain the shape etc. during packaging. Good fishing and keep in touch Big O www.ragetail.com

Now your talkin, a gentle shower comes thru and just before it does, the fish turn on and start whackin everything that touches the water. Then during the drizzle, they are more secure with this extra cloud cover and water surface being broken up, giving them easier ambush opportunities. They are feeling like eating spinner baits and cranks and swimbaits and anything else that moves kinda like it is running for it's life. Yeah, I gotcha, now thats a good time to be fishing. Still like to have a cup of coffee while I'm out there in it though. www.ragetail.com