GobbleDog

I'm a one-handed caster. I've tried two handed casting, but it feels totally unnatural and actually hurts my wrists. Although I've broken both of my wrists over the past 8 years while skateboarding, so that might have something to do with it. BTW - don't skateboard past the age of 30. Them bones tend to lose their flexibility. :-/

Here's one they've been making for 50+ years. I found one in my dad's old tacklebox and thought it was extremely rare... but apparently it isn't. Pretty cool name for a lure.

A friend of mine was also in the BFL tourney... he finished 70th. I can't believe anyone caught anything on Saturday with sustained winds at 30 mph with gusts up to 40! And you were throwing a top-water frog? That's amazing! Congratulations!

It's called a Dalton Special. Here's an article about it that I just Googled: The name is synonymous with wood plugs and topwater bass fishing. For more than 60 years the Dalton Special has maintained a reputable position in the topwater wood plug industry and has earned undeniable status as a legend of topwater fishing success. The Dalton Special was first designed and whittled by Edward Browne in the fall of 1928. Not long after, Paul Mannon, the owner of Angler Bait Co. (A.B.C.) of Orlando, Florida was given the production right and he named it the Angler Plug. He continued to make small numbers of the lure until 1933 when he entered into a partnership with Dazzy Vance of the old Brooklyn Dodgers baseball fame (1922-1936) to form the Dazzy Vance Bait Co. The plug was then called the Angle Frog Bait and production continued under the Vance name through 1934 when Mannon was killed in an auto accident. His widow took the remaining plugs in his estate to the Mitchell Tackle Shop in Orlando to sell them. Enter P.P. Dalton. He bought all of the blanks and finished plugs Mitchell had for 20 cents each and, for the next several months, painted and sold Dalton Specials during his travels. When Dalton was at Lake Okeechobee in 1935, he purchased some large black bass from a commercial netter out on the lake. Upon his return to shore, he had his picture taken with the bass and one of his plugs. The photo made the local paper and plug sales soared, so much so in fact, that he could no longer make and paint enough to meet demand. So, that same year he patented the plug and entered into a production arrangement with the Shakespeare Co. that continued until just after World War II. At that point, Dalton and Shakespeare parted ways and the production rights went to the Florida Fishing Tackle Co. (Barracuda Brand Products). They marketed the plug until 1975 when it was sold to Marine Metal Products Co. of Clearwater, Florida, a manufacturer of aeration systems. In late 1987, Marine Metal Products fishing tackle division was sold to Luhr Jensen, and the Special moved 2,700 miles west to Hood River, Oregon. Under the Luhr Jensen label, the Dalton[ch65533] once again returned to its original sugar pine configuration. Demand for the plug blossomed during the late '80s in light of a lot of publicity in several popular fishing publications concerning wood plugs. Receiving special attention were the more historic ones such as the Bass-Oreno, Nip-I-Diddee and, of course, the Dalton Special. These are all now offered by Luhr Jensen, again in wood, with the original riggings and finishes for distribution under the Luhr Jensen Classic Woods[ch65533] label.

Here's a very common antique lure:

Sugar Shad by Luhrjensen

Gas prices have certainly effected the amount of pre-fishing I do. The further the lake, the less likely I am to trailer my boat and make the haul. That's probably true with a lot of club fisherman like myself. The winnings don't quite justify the costs, especially when the lake is 50 miles away or more.

Like most Floridians, I can eyeball a 14" fish and know if it's legal or not within a quarter inch or less. But I'd probably have to measure every fish below that to know if it's 12" or not. It's surprising that B.A.S.S. allows the exemption. I wonder why they do it.? To create more limits and more excitement?

IMO Interstate marine batteries are the best of the best.

Thanks Popeye. It's true, I am great.

I exclusively use 8 lb Power Pro, and add black permanent marker to the first 10 feet of line which seems to help with visibility. I tried using a fluro leader for a while since I usually fish extremely clear water, but didn't notice much difference except for the extra knot I had to tie so i quit using it. They say mono is a little better for crankbaits and such (since it stretches), but Power Pro still works. When it comes to topwater lures, I've noticed with braided line I get slightly more fouled hooks after casting compared with mono. As for breaking off with braided line, sometimes that can be attributed to the line falling into the crease of the eyelet of the hook which can cut it. I know a few fisherman who always tie a mono knot on the hook, cut it short, and then slide it into that crease before tieing on the Power Pro.

I don't think I've ever had a good day of fishing on East Lake. The bass are notoriously small and seem to have a bad case of year-round lockjaw. The few bass I have caught in East Lake were near the shore casting/pitching into in the thick cover (lillypads, grass, cattails, etc.) I remember me and my fishing partner had a night tournament in East Lake about 4 years ago and we caught every fish you can think of - except bass. We caught mudfish, warmouth, bluegill, pickeral..... Finally, late into the tournament my partner hooked into a MONSTER fish and we were thinking 'well at least we'll win big bass!'. Nope, it turned out to be a giant catfish. We were joking at the end of the tourney that we should have weighed in all the junk fish we'd caught.

Over the weekend, I had 3 fishing friends confirm that B.A.S.S. does give a 12" exemption while fishing in Florida. Lame

Do the pros get an exemption to weigh-in 12" fish instead of the Florida regs of 14"? :-?

I saw this bait while I was shopping at Bass Pro the other day. It's called the Wacky Style Worm by the Kicker Fish Bait Co. It caught my eye, because I'm a Zoom Trick Worm kinda guy and the bait looks kinda similar. At the last minute I shook the monkey off my back and walked away. Anyone tried it? :-?

My fishing partner brought a chatterbait to our last outing.... I'd never see one before. Ugly looking bait. I won't throw it.

DAY 1 Place Angler City, State (Fish/Weight) 1 BILL LOWEN NORTH BEND, OH 5 21-10 2 BRYAN HUDGINS ORANGE PARK, FL 5 21-6 3 BILLY BREWER BRUCEVILLE, TX 5 20-7 4 DEAN ROJAS LAKE HAVASU , AZ 5 18-2 5 DAVE WOLAK WAKE FOREST, NC 5 17-12 6 BRIAN SNOWDEN REEDS SPRING, MO 5 17-3 7 JIMMY MIZE BEN LOMOND, AR 5 16-9 8 FRED ROUMBANIS BIXBY, OK 5 16-5 9 MARK DAVIS MOUNT IDA, AR 5 16-1 10 RAY SEDGWICK CROSS, SC 4 15-14 11 MIKE MCCLELLAND BELLA VISTA, AR 5 15-13 11 BRITT MYERS LAKE WYLIE, SC 5 15-13 13 RICK ASH , PA 5 15-12 14 MATT REED MADISONVILLE, TX 5 14-12 15 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 5 14-2 16 JASON QUINN YORK, SC 5 14-0 17 GARY KLEIN WEATHERFORD, TX 5 13-10 18 RICK MORRIS VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 5 13-9 19 TIMMY HORTON MUSCLE SHOALS, AL 5 13-5 20 CLIFF PACE PETAL, MS 5 13-1 21 GERALD SWINDLE WARRIOR, AL 5 12-15 21 BRADLEY HALLMAN NORMAN, OK 5 12-15 23 MARTY ROBINSON LYMAN, SC 5 12-14 24 RUSSELL LANE PRATTVILLE, AL 5 12-11 25 STEPHEN KENNEDY AUBURN, AL 5 12-8 26 GUY EAKER CHERRYVILLE, NC 5 12-4 27 YUSUKE MIYAZAKI FORNEY, TX 5 12-3 28 BERNARD SCHULTZ GAINESVILLE, FL 5 12-1 28 AARON MARTENS LEEDS, AL 5 12-1 28 JAMES NIGGEMEYER VAN, TX 5 12-1 31 TODD FAIRCLOTH JASPER, TX 5 11-13 32 KEVIN WIRTH CRESTWOOD, KY 5 11-11 32 DENNIS BRAUER CAMDENTON, MO 5 11-11 34 SKEET REESE AUBURN, CA 5 11-9 35 RANDY HOWELL SPRINGVILLE, AL 5 11-5 36 KENYON HILL NORMAN, OK 5 11-4 36 CHRIS LANE LAKELAND, FL 5 11-4 38 SCOTT CAMPBELL SPRINGFIELD, MO 5 11-3 38 RICK CLUNN AVA, MO 5 11-3 40 KEVIN SHORT MAYFLOWER, AR 5 11-2 41 MORIZO SHIMIZU OSAKA, JP 5 11-1 42 JARED LINTNER ARROYO, CA 5 10-15 43 STEPHEN DANIEL CLEWISTON, FL 4 10-8 44 TOMMY BIFFLE WAGONER, OK 5 10-6 45 MICHAEL IACONELLI RUNNEMEDE, NJ 5 10-5 45 CHARLIE HARTLEY GROVE CITY, OH 5 10-5 47 MARK MENENDEZ PADUCAH, KY 5 10-4 48 SHAW E GRIGSBY GAINESVILLE, FL 5 10-1 48 PRESTON CLARK PALATKA, FL 5 10-1 50 MIKE WURM HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 9-15 51 BOYD DUCKETT DEMOPOLIS, AL 5 9-14 51 BRIAN CLARK HALTOM CITY, TX 5 9-14 53 STEPHEN BROWNING HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 9-12 53 MARTY STONE FAYETTEVILLE, NC 5 9-12 55 GLENN DELONG BELLVILLE, OH 5 9-11 55 DEREK REMITZ GRANT, AL 5 9-11 57 MATT AMEDEO CLINTON, OH 5 9-5 58 KEVIN VANDAM KALAMAZOO, MI 5 9-2 59 PAUL ELIAS LAUREL, MS 5 9-1 60 JOHN CREWS SALEM, VA 5 9-0 60 CASEY ASHLEY DONALDS, SC 5 9-0 60 COREY WALDROP FORT WORTH, TX 4 9-0 60 PAUL HIROSKY GUYS MILLS, PA 5 9-0 64 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 5 8-14 65 KURT DOVE FAIRFAX, VA 5 8-12 66 MARK TYLER VIAN, OK 5 8-9 67 ROBERT MYERS TULSA, OK 5 8-7 68 JEREMY STARKS CHARLESTON, WV 4 8-5 68 DAVY HITE NINETY SIX, SC 5 8-5 70 BEN MATSUBU HEMPHILL, TX 5 8-4 70 ZELL ROWLAND MONTGOMERY, TX 5 8-4 72 ELTON LUCE BROOKELAND, TX 5 8-3 73 MATTHEW SPHAR PAVILION, NY 5 8-2 74 KEVIN LANGILL TERRELL, NC 5 8-1 75 JON BONDY WINDSOR, ON 3 8-0 76 KOTARO KIRIYAMA MOODY, AL 4 7-15 76 KEN D COOK LAWTON, OK 5 7-15 78 TERRY SCROGGINS SAN MATEO, FL 5 7-13 78 TERRY BUTCHER TALALA, OK 5 7-13 80 EDWIN EVERS TALALA, OK 5 7-12 81 JAMI FRALICK MARTIN, SD 5 7-11 82 GRANT GOLDBECK GAITHERSBURG, MD 5 7-8 82 JEFF KRIET ARDMORE, OK 4 7-8 82 DUSTIN WILKS ROCKY MOUNT, NC 5 7-8 85 PAT GOLDEN HIGH POINT, NC 5 7-6 85 BOBBY LANE LAKELAND, FL 5 7-6 87 KELLY JORDON MINEOLA, TX 3 7-4 88 JASON WILLIAMSON AIKEN, SC 4 7-0 88 PETE PONDS MADISON, MS 5 7-0 90 CLARK REEHM RUSSELLVILLE, AR 5 6-14 90 JAY FULLER KINGSTON, OK 5 6-14 92 BYRON VELVICK DEL RIO, TX 5 6-13 92 JEFF CONNELLA BENTLEY, LA 5 6-13 94 JIM MURRAY ARABI, GA 3 6-12 95 TODD AUTEN LAKE WYLIE, SC 5 6-10 96 DAVID SMITH DEL CITY, OK 5 6-7 97 GREG GUTIERREZ RED BLUFF, CA 5 6-3 98 SCOTT ROOK LITTLE ROCK, AR 5 6-2 99 ISHAMA MONROE HUGHSON, CA 5 6-1 100 PETER E THLIVEROS ST AUGUSTINE, FL 5 5-13 101 MARK TUCKER SAINT LOUIS, MO 5 5-10 102 JAMES KENNEDY LACOMBE, LA 5 5-6 103 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 3 5-3 104 BRENT CHAPMAN LAKE QUIVIRA, KS 4 5-0 105 DAVID SHERRER SHREVEPORT, LA 3 4-12 106 WADE GROOMS BONNEAU, SC 3 3-15 107 RANDY ALLEN SHREVEPORT, LA 2 3-1 108 JEFF REYNOLDS IDABEL, OK 2 2-12 109 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 1 1-2

If I'm wrong I want to know it! Does that stuff really work better than Power Pro? Any Florida anglers using it? :-?

I'd probably leave my club if they made that rule. I don't cheat or anything, I'd just rather fish with my same old fishing partner. I've never heard of a club that does that.

If it's what I'm thinking of, it's a topwater bait with the nose cut into a lip shape that allows it to dive. I've never actually thrown them, but I've got some old collectables that look similar to the one below:

Polarized shades and dumb luck have accounted for all the bedding bass I've ever found, which ain't a lot.

I've read where fluoro has become popular with the pros, but I honestly don't get it. In Florida, we have some of the clearest lakes in the world yet the bass don't seem to have any problems hitting 8 lb Power Pro. I've tried fluoro leaders before, but didn't notice any difference besides the time I spent tying an extra knot. :-/

Apparently, there's more than one Ika. Any luck with the smaller sizes?

Ben Matsubu

A few monsters will be caught off beds, but with rain on Friday and cold/windy after that there will probably be fewer limits. My club fished Harris 2 months ago and not many boats weighed anything in. The weather was horrible, but I've always thought Lake Harris was a tough place to fish. My only prediction in this tournament is whoever wins, they're preferred bait of choice will probably be an ugly looking crankbait.