Jay_G

And if you can't even represent YOURSELF, how could I expect you to represent my product????? Basic, basic stuff, at least it's good for some humor but if I were a company owner, these would get old quick. Although this email is good for a few laughs, it actually upset me at the time. I am by no means a large company, nor do I think I want to be. I do however want the business to be profitable in the future and understand that having staff, whether it be field staff or prostaff can be a benefit. I am not sure if people realize the cost involved to start this type of business and keep it running. I am shocked at the number of people who contact me wanting sponsorship. Sometimes I ask "What is your favorite lure that I produce?, or "What is your favorite color combo and why?". 99% of these requesters have never fished my lures. My opinion is that you should know more than the average fisherman about my lures. I could go on and on, but I think I have made my point. I would love to answer any questions people have about this business. If I can help, I will.

Great question! The answer may not be what you think. I approach people about representing my company. I approach people based on their loyalty as a customer. Have they ordered repeatedly? Have they related their likes and dislikes about my product? What do they do for a living? Have other customers bought because of this person? These are Grass Roots fisherman. As far as projected results and expectations. I believe that hard work results in long-term dividends. It takes time to develope good relationship. All that I ask is that if you are happy with the product, let people know. Post a picture in a forum. Give someone a pack of baits. Give me a testimonial either postive or negative. Lures can always be improved on and feedback is the main thing I want to have. Recommendations for the areas you fish. I never heard of Scuppernong until I had a loyal client on Santee Cooper ask me to pour it for him. Open communication is key. Since this is a two way street, I reward these people with new product to test, to use, to give away. I try to think outside of the box on "sponsorship". The number one issue with any of my field staff/prostaff is that none have ever asked for anything! They have all earned it. Will I consider financial sponsorship? I have not ruled that out, but when I do, it will be to help a loyal customer.

Without fronting this fisherman out by name, here is an email I just received. This is a good example of how not to approach a sponsor. "hey man i heard someone talking about these lures and i was wondering if you were willing to sponsor me and my fishing partner and im not talking about a huge sponsor to buy us stuff im just talking about you send us a pack or two of the elgrande minnows and send us hats,stickers,shirts or anything with your companies logo and we'll be glad to wear it and put it on everything we fish with and tell everybody we meet at tourneys" 1. Although I am flattered that he would like to represent my company, I assume he has never used my product. Why would you want to represent me if you don't even know if my product works? 2. I keep seeing "send us" things. Why would I do that? How do I know you can even catch a fish, actually fish tournaments, or the number of tournaments you fish? I could go on and on. 3. Literacy is a big deal to me. At least make an effort. I am no college English professor, but I am a professional business person and I would never knowingly present anything like this to the public. 4. If I have to ask more than a couple of questions about you, then you did not do a very good job presenting your case to me on why you should be sponsored. 5. I may be a little "old school", but addressing me as "hey man", is not a good start. 12 yrs US Army MP, 4 yrs Correctional Lt, work 7 days a week to keep 3 businesses and my family in good shape, and I get "hey man, send us something". I am posting this to help those of you along who wish to work for something. How would you like me to send you an unsolicited email and ask for part of your weekly paycheck and in turn, I will wear your hat? Can you see where I am coming from? If I am to invest in you, I expect a solid investment with reasonable projected/expected returns.

We used to eat them all the time in Panama. We would bring them back to the dock and the locals would fillet them for .10 each or for some Old Milwaukee. You could easily catch 100 in a 5-6 hour day. Gatun Lake is plain full of them. Nothing very big, mostly 12-15 inches.

I was in Scotland about three years ago. As always, I was trying to find tackle shops, etc.. The only thing I found was info on those nasty trout Lots of fly fishing items, but I did not see anything bass related. I was in Edinburg. Don't know if that helps or not.

7/0 or 11/0 Owner offset is hard to beat on a 10" or larger worm.

A 14" White Crappie is usually around a lb and a half. Sometimes a black crappie is a little thicker and heavier, but not much difference in weight. Nice crappie though.

Did you pick up the Destroyer series? In a recent brain cramp, I was looking at their 5'10 jig rod. Yes, 5'10. I thought that rod would be perfect for extremely tight qtrs with a stiff backbone. I am still processing whether to pick that rod up. Any ideas? I hardly ever buy anything under 7', and just picked up a 7'3 and 7'6 Fenwick Elite with heavy fast action. I like the muscle.

I have never owned a Megabass rod. I have looked at plenty and like the idea of specific applications for each rod, however.......one guy fished with me at Comedero this year and broke a Megabass rod reeling in his lure. Warranty? Not! I will not spend that kind of money on a rod without the warranties that are available on some other very nice rods. I own St Croix Legends, Kistler Heliums, Fenwick Elite Techs and I don't worry about these rods because of the warranties. There are probably many, many Megabass rod lovers on here, and that's great, but I don't think I will be one of them anytime soon.

There is alot of wrong information floating around and I did not want to miss anything. I filed for the exemption based upon information I read on TU. I have been filing my 720 since I started. The meeting was more informative than investigative.

I thought I would post my experience with the IRS who came to visit yesterday. I filed for a 637 Exemption and an IRS agent came to my office for further questioning. I found out that I did not even need one. I pour and sale plastics only. Since I am not buying any finished product and making alterations, such as buying hooks to add to my lures, there was no need for me to have an exemption. Also, I sell quite a bit of lures to Mexico and Africa. If I export these properly, I do not need to pay tax on exported lures. The Tariff has to be paid by one of the parties involved. My 10% tax is factored into the sale price, therefore, I was told to divide the cost of the lures by 1.1 and pay 10% on that amount. This visit by the IRS agent proved extremely helpful. Guys, if you are selling, I would file the qtrly 720. You do not want to get caught. It's not worth it. If you have any questions about this, let me know. I was very pleased.

I am SW. About an 1 1/2 N of Evansville. As far as what Chappy said, he would know much more than me. I really do not deal with anyone around Sugar Lake or Falcon. Yes the numbers are impressive, but less than average for Baccarac or Comedero right now for the average weekend fisherman. Put those Elite guys on either of the before-mentioned lakes and records would fall!

Duma, I forgot to follow up with your comment on El Salto. I agree, it is not what is once was. My last two trip there last year were not bad. My biggest was 8 and many 6's. I am very confident that the lake is a year away from where it was in 2004.

I think there may be some propoganda going on concerning the safety issues around Comedero. At no time did I feel like I was in harms way, other than rounding some of those mountain bends on the road. Comedero is surrounded by mountains and farmers. Were there marijuana fields, yes. I only saw one that the army had burned down. I tried to put myself in the shoes of a first time Mexican Bass Traveller and still could not find a reason to be alarmed. Most of the negative things I have heard come from someone who has fished another lodge in Mexico. When I inquire as to where they heard the info, the response is usually from a lodge owner or second hand. You drive right by the road to Chappy's to Comedero and then another 1 1/2 hours.

What is the lodge name?

I had to cancel my May trip to El Salto, so I made my June trip longer. I will be on El Slto June 18th thru the 24th. El Salto is still producing some very nice fish and is the easiest to get to by far with a very nice lodge. One of the better lakes for fishing your favorite techniques as there are all types of structure, underwater humps, long rocky points, etc. We can get into Baccarac by private charter, which is more expensive, but you avoid the 3 hr van ride from Los Mochis. Baccarac may hold the big fish honors right now. Two lodges on the lake both with limited availability because of the current popularity . I am telling you, Comedero is a sleeping giant. The van ride there sucks!!!!!!!, but is well worth it. Comedero is about the same size as Baccarac with very few boats on the water. Topwater bite is unreal as well as spinnerbait. Not my favorite place for plastics or cranks though. Many fish in the 8-9lb range.

Brett, Just play nice on here and you will find there are some pretty good folks. I get my feathers ruffled when talking about Mexico quite a bit because like you said, lots of information. I fish mexico at least three times a year and El Salto is what I consider my home lake away from home. I call it home because of where I stay, not the lake. I have my favorite guide, favorite spot, etc., etc.. I wish you guys luck, and god willing, I will establish a relationship with your group in the near future. Shoot me a PM anytime you want. I am sure we can exchange some good stories.

Your from S. IL aren't you? I spoke with one of your crew not long ago, K. Green

I don't think airlines offer the discount. How many now? EL Grande Duma Redline Robert JT Raul, are you in?

Hey RR, my buddy, Chappy Chapman, just back back from Brazil this week. Said they had a good trip. Nice photo of Chappy with a beautiful Peacock.

I don't want to cross any lines here, as I am not a sponsor. The discount would be depending on what lake you guys want to fish. With price in mind, Comedero would be the cheapest to get into. I can reserve the whole lodge like I did this past February. It will hold 10. We can get into that lodge, including plane tickets for much less than almost all lodges. The fishing on Comedero is very good. Let's get an idea who wants to go, and where you want to go. I would suggest telling you the cost via PM if the moderators don't want a price on this thread. That lodge fills up pretty fast around February because the girls are heavy with eggs. I will see what is available for dates.

I can easily get a BR trip planned. Enough people want to go, I can get us a discount. February 2009 would be a good time for big prespawn bass.

Are you going to Terry's Lodge?

The lodges have a pretty large disparity in price on El Salto. From $2050 for a 4 night 3 day down to around $1400 for the same time frame. One is like staying at the Hilton and some of the others like Econo Lodge. Just depends on what you want. All have great food! I think there are 6 lodges if I am not mistaken. For the price savvy angler, Lake Comedero Lodge is a jewel and is on the lower end price wise but upper end on the fishing. Lake Baccarac will be $1495 to $1595 depending on what lodge you stay at. Lake Huites is slightly less. Those that want detailed info, I would suggest shooting me a PM. I can tell you where I stay, benefits, etc.. This topic easily can generate an argument concerning lodges and I don't want to get caught up in that. Info is from personal experience. Remember, we are talking lodges, not lakes. Lake Baccarac is turning some heads right now. One lodge owner sent me an email yesterday stating that an 18.8 was caught last week on Baccarac. I have not seen pictures yet, but I have no reason to doubt him.

I have fished El Salto 10 times. I am going back May 18th and then again June 19th. The lake is a fisherman's dream. Now, there will be some who say other lakes are better, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I love this lake. What lodge are you fishing out of. Send me a PM and I will tell you more about the lake. You and your wife are more than welcome to tag along with me on the May trip.