Willzx225

Just a few things about insurance: - Make sure you have enough. I learned the hard way by insuring my boat for what I paid for it ( I got a really good deal) and when it went up in flames I only got that same amount of money and I couldn't even hardly recoup all of my tackle! Also have a rider to cover tackle. I now have full replacement coverage. I might pay a little more but if I need it, which I hope none of us ever do because it is no fun, I know I will be taken care of instead of having to scrap together every nickle and dime to get back what you had. - Also, in 2008 atleast, one major tournament organization ( I won't name names) has changed their verbage in their rules and regs to state that a boater must only have " a reasonable amount of coverage." My travel partner learned the hard way just what that ment. He was fishing as a non boater and got in a boating accident during a tournament and since his boater did not have the typical 100k liability he has barely gotten his medical bills covered. >

I saw the piece they did on her last night and overall I think they did a very nice job on it EXCEPT when they kept showing a preview when they were going to a commercial break and it was all saltwater fishing. But all in all they did a good job.

Yeah the bait monkey is running a brothel here on BR!!! ;D

I agree with RW. I can't stand eyes on jigs. If you think about it, the eyes are typically located where the rear of the crawfish would be since it would be in a defensive posture crawling on the bottom. JMHO BUT.... maybe RaginCajun is swimming his jigs where eyes might be of some benefit.

One of my favorite retrieves is to burn the 125 and then kill it. If you throw the bait slack after you kill it, the bait will do a 180 and, if a fish is following it, will be stairing the fish right in his face. Killer action!

Kenyon Hill used the Halo greenie to win Clarks Hill and Steve Kennedy finished 2nd at Murray on one that he modified the color on. It is one of the best baits when the large Blue Backs are present.

I haven't fished ponds in a few years but my top producers had to be a Zoom Super Fluke w/ a 5/0 hook and a 3/8 oz double willowleaf spinnerbait. If those did not produce I would throw a small texas rigged 4" worm w/ a 1/8 oz sinker (probably would do good with a shakey head in the same situations now)

I also use suspend dots to add just a little amount of weight in order to control the bait better in windy conditions as well. But if it is too windy for that then I go to a plastic bait like the Shad Rap SSR which throws much better in the wind.

They are made out of a more standard soft plastic than the Zero. It is not the "elastec" (I am sure I misspelled that, sorry) plastic.

Awesome bait. The only problem I have with it is that I don't throw it enough. Great in the prespawn.

I would think tournaments like Eerie would be tough to fill. I mean who wants to risk their life/ get motion sickness and watch someone catch 30+ smallies over 3lbs. ;D

I would focus on the highest percentage areas since you have a very limited time to practice. ( I have never been on Logan Martin but it seems to be a river type lake) I would run any bridge pilings and rip rap around them, mouths of creeks (typically the points where the creek intersects the main lake), bluff type walls, and since the water is in the mid 50's I would run the very back of creeks searching for shad balls. I would throw crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, and shakey heads. Also it seems that the spotted bass tend to like the flats and shoals this time of the year. I would burn a 3 bladed spinnerbait across those but like I said, I have no prior knowledge of the lake.

I was having trouble breaking fluro on the hook set as well and I am sure it was bad knots but I have been tying Palomar knots for 10 years w/o any problems so I switched to the improved clinch knot on Fluro and it has worked beautifully for me.

I agree with most everything that has been said and I will add a few ideas for the swimming jig. I typically have found that fall is the best time for swimming jigs ( In my area of the country atleast) or also when you see brim sunning around the floating docks in the early springtime. The jig can be a little more subtle than a spinnerbait in that situation. I fish football jigs when I am throwing at any hard cover I can not see (other than brush piles) and anytime I am covering water and want a different profile than a carolina righ.

I have just recently gained a lot of confidence in this technique as well. I tend to fish the Jewel Heavy Cover Finesse 1/2 oz jig. In the warmer months and clear water I like a double tail grub with a small, thin profile like the Zoom Creapy Crawler or Berkley 3" Double Tail grub. But this past weekend in Va I had a lot better luck with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. which has a less agressive action than the grubs and I think that was key in the cooler water.

Yeah that honey b is pretty deadly in the fall and on river systems

That makes sense. Thanks for the insight Stringjam

That does annoy the crap out of me too. Keith Allan didn't say anything about how great the Triton livewells work when they aren't turned on during Ike's problem at the classic a few years back. haha

I am also curious as to why the center two hook hangers are turned the opposite direction of every other jerkbait that I have seen? May be trivial but something tells me that McClelland/ Murphy did it for a reason. :-?

;D I can't believe they said that they would be using it to practice casting for the classic! that is hilarious. Can you see them stating that as their performance edge on ***.

Bass-Brat- That is a good point about the other expenses but what are we upset about them doing away with: Fishing the event as a co-angler. These would be the same either way so if you ask me they negate each other. The $650 difference would offset most if not all of your expenses anyways. When you just consider the entry fees (100 vs 750), you are still getting the same amount of time on the water (actually last year you were only guaranteed 2 days but now you are guaranteed 3 days) for much much less cash out of your pocket. Also in previous years you were effectively doing the same job that they are suggesting now; reporting any rule violations.

Personally I think this is a bargain if you look at it the right way. For $100 you get to spend 3 days in the boat with 3 different pros and they aren't holding anything back. You can't even spend 4 hours with a guide for that much! I also think that if the economy keeps going the way it is, then BASS would have a harder time filling all the coangler spots at $750 a pop. For those who think that taking away the co anglers was a bad deal for the sport, I think exactly the opposite. Even though I would have loved to compete with them again, I am looking at it as the greater good. These guys are out there for their livelyhood and for every fish that a co-angler catches it changes the outcome. I wouldn't be surprised if FLW goes this way within a few years myself. As always this is just my opinion and I too thought it was a bad deal in the beginning but I have tried to look at it positively and it seems to make more sense the more I think about it.

B2 mainly for me but the B1 if the water is clearer since it has a smaller profile.

I agree with Paul on this as another pattern to run. I have had good success running as far up a main tributary or major creek as I can go to the back of the creek. This section of the lake does not turn over since the water is seldom deep enough to stratify. Keep in mind that you are targeting resident fish instead of schools of fish that will replenish. Fish the last deep water in the creek usually found where the creek makes a hard bend. I typically fish jigs crankbaits and buzzbaits. This is just another option to what Senko 77 and Glenn said above.

I believe it is all in your mind set. If you have a desire to get better you will find a way. I think that tournaments will make you better if that is what you want. Some people fish a lot of tournaments for the fellowship (mostly smaller "fruit jar" tournaments) and hope to get "lucky" and catch a good fish to win some money. Others use tournaments as a learning tool. I always compare my chosen pattern against what the winners did and try to use this to make better decisions the next time I am in that situation. A great example of how tournaments will force you to become a better angler is how I approach larger events on my home lake. I am very comfortable on Smith Mountain Lake. When I have a BFL or other larger event I always end up looking at stuff I normally don't fish mixed with my normal patterns. I try to disect the lake like it was a foreign body of water to me and practice how the seasonal patterns should dictate. By practicing this way I teach myself how to recognize developing patterns and once I find them I have more water than I can often run. I think it is very important to fish the moment on lakes you are very familiar with instead of running the same old milk run (unless that is the primary pattern of course)