5bass

TT, you have made the right choice if you feel you cant seperate fun fishing and tournament fishing. My whole mindset changed after I fished my first tournament a lot of years ago. There is always pressure to get that first fish in the boat, then the pressure of getting #2, then #3 and so on. Even when I go by myself and nobody knows or cares whether I catch some fish or not.....I know what went on and the mind starts racing if I have a bad outing. And if I do have a bad outing, I tell myself "everyone has days like that sometimes" but that really doesn't help at all.....I push myself way too hard mentally when things dont go right on the water.....and when I'm not in a tournament, I'm competing with nobody but myself. It's tough. Then tournament day rolls around and it's all good......just gotta get a limit.

Way to go Matt! Its a good thing your jig landed on the side with the good eye! ;D If anybody has been thinking about fishing on Lake Gaston, you really should give it a shot.....the place is crawling with bass plus it always seems like they're hitting crankbaits! (And jigs as Matt proved on a tough day)

I hit the lake looking for at least 5 keepers every time out and it's what I like to have when I get back to the weigh in.

I'm looking for some shaky heads. I need some that have the peg type holder (not the screw) that sports a wide gap hook. Anybody know who carries some like that?

I'm not big on Bandits but Bagley's are great cranks. I really like the BB1 and BB2, plus the DKB's. The Bomber Model B's are made of balsa and I've been throwing them since they came out....they are great cranks around brush. I guess my all time favorite crank hasn't changed but I'm using it less and less each year with all the new baits coming out. That's the #5 Rapala Shad Rap. A little hard to throw sometimes but it's a consistent producer.

Aren't ponds great? Nice fishes guys!

I use a 1 oz weight for all c-rigging, shallow or deep. I also always use the side sweep, tip down retrieve. This insures that my weight is always on the bottom banging into stuff and kicking up that little mud trail that helps the fish find my bait. And if the fish start picking up my weight (as happens sometimes with the c-rig) I'll just put on a heavy jig to use as my weight. And Catt, with all the offshore stuff you fish, I'm real surprised that you havent used the c-rig much. Once you get the hang of it, you'll have a whole new weapon to fire at 'em.

Way to go slomoe! Thats a good'un!

When they are chewin' everything in sight, I have two favorites. #1 is the crankbait. #2 would be something I can pitch, usually a jig.

I bought some a couple different times this year from BPS and if I'm not mistaken, they were $9.99 each.

Well, UFC 79 is in the books. Liddell vs Silva was a 3 round slugfest. Silva has a ton of heart and an iron chin to go along with it. He repeatedly took shots from Liddell and Chuck just couldn't drop him. Cut him up pretty good but they went the distance......Chuck even took Silva down a couple of times if you can believe that. Liddell won a unanimous decision. Hughes vs GSP III went exactly the opposite way than I figured it would. GSP dominated Hughes standing up and on the ground. He was relentless. He stuffed every takedown attempt Hughes tried and was able to take Hughes down pretty much whenever he wanted to. Hughes didn't look good at all, GSP was razor sharp and submitted Hughes in the 2nd round with an armbar. Hughes says he isn't sure if he'll fight again or not. I was really hoping to see Hughes vs Serra one day.....thanks alot GSP for ruining my plan. ;D

Man it's great to have an opinion, isn't it?

Catt, you're missing my point altogether. The way I see it is that there will not be a clear cut Champion this year (unless Ohio St wins, which I dont see happening). I agree, LSU has some good wins. They also have 2 losses against "reputable" ;D teams that they should have buried before halftime. Had they been able to beat the teams they were SUPPOSED to beat, I'd have no problem tipping my hat to LSU. And "Hawaii isn't a BCS team"?? Why then, are they even included in the rankings? Why do they even bother playing? .....seems going undefeated don't mean a whole lot these days. What happened to the underdog? I'd like to see an underdog play for the title.....especially with the most prolific QB in NCAA history behind center.

muddy, I can see why you dont like college football, you know with the BCS screwing everything up. I cant seem to get into MLB anymore, they play too many games (almost everyday), pitchers take 5 minutes between pitches, minimal contact, no penalty box etc.... ;D

;D ;D ;D Anybody notice the Rick Clunn RC's went up to $15.99 each? I wonder what improvement went into them to raise the price $6 per lure? And the DT Fat cranks look like killers.....I can see a box full of them arriving here in the near future.

Another year gone by. It's really nice to log on and see new members signing up every day and also see the veterans are still here chewin' the fat, tellin' stories and sharing info. We are all happy to have you guys and gals as part of the family here and hope 2008 brings you many more good times and that your lines stay tight. Thanks alot for coming to BR to hang out! Be safe and have a Happy New Year! Scott

Reputable teams? ;D : And who cares if they lost in overtime.....that only means LSU had extra time to win the game but couldn't get the job done. Any way you look at it 2 losses is 2 losses. And yeah, I have a little grudge against LSU, no big secret there. That still doesn't change the fact that LSU still got beat 2 times. As far as naming a team that should be there instead of LSU, I cant do it. This season has been so screwed up, there is no clear National Champion in my mind, no matter who wins the so-called "title" game. And cajun977, why does Hawaii even play NCAA football if they are always eligible to be ranked in the "BCS" rankings, then go undefeated and be left out of the title game? That right there represents one BIG FLAW of the BCS (Big Crock of S***)

No matter what Sagarin or anybody else has.....no 2 loss team should play for the National Championship.

This is my vote for "reply of the week" ;D

GSP has his moments....too bad he didnt have one when Serra was pounding him. Come on....Matt Serra??

RW, give 'em a break man.... ;D That was the toughest fishing I had ever seen. I wonder what an experienced "river man" as yourself would have brought to the scales during the Classic?

Man, those Daiwa SS spinning reels have been around forever. I had a couple way back (early 90's) and I loved 'em. I used them for wade fishing also. You can launch lures with those reels, no doubt. There are probably some designs by now that will cast just as far or farther than the SS but not many will last as long.

This PPV should be a whole lot better than the last few. I've been waiting on Liddell vs. Silva for a long time. As it sits now, this one's a toss up. I cant even pick a favorite here. Both guys coming off 2 fight losing streaks and this fight could make or break either guy. I think if it goes to the mat, Silva will win but if he tries to stand with Chuck, he may end up eating one of those nasty right hands. The longer the fight goes, the better off Silva will be. GSP vs. Hughes III.....each guy has one once, this should be a dynamite match-up. You know Hughes wants revenge after GSP straight up whipped him in their last fight and made him look like a chump. GSP is trying to get back on track so he can fight Serra this spring and win back the title. My prediction is Hughes, 2nd round submission.

I've got a x67c on the front of my Gambler. It's a nice little unit, no lie. My old x85 got stolen and a buddy let me borrow the x67c until he got another boat. It shows a very clear, crisp picture and I can see a spoon on the graph down about 25-30 ft. When it came the time he needed it back, I went and bought myself one. I think I paid like $210 for it brand new on eBay.

That XT will be the next spinning reel I buy.