5bass

So what if the Majors had to be paid by ESPN and the sponsors.....the Elite anglers put on a good show and deserve those Majors. Its not like they just show up and get in one. The Majors were for anglers that QUALIFIED through different avenues during the season. I doubt the big name anglers will like the Majors being dropped. And the boat change rules......I would think that the anglers prefer to fish from their own boats anyway and I'm sure the boat sponsors are ecstatic about that change, as they should be. I really feel for those guys having to fish almost half the schedule (5 tournaments) in June, July and August....obviously the hottest and busiest months to be on the water. The Elite Tour just fished my home lake this past weekend....the busiest recreation lake in the whole state. All of the anglers at least mentioned, if not complained about the boat traffic while on stage and B.A.S.S. just keeps on putting them on lakes in the dead of summer.

I'm a believer of anything that says Power Bait on it. I'm still on the fence about the GULP! stuff.....I seem to catch way too many catfish with them. I really liked the first generation of the Series One rods, they were great. That was a LONG time ago.

CBD-20 Tennesse Shad

Just curious as to the different ways you guys work the swimmin senkos......I basically fish it like a regular senko until it hits bottom, then I bump it along just fast enough to keep the tail kickin'.....how do you do it?

All the Kistlers I own have been pretty tough. I use all Heliums. I dont make it a habit to "flip" 4 pounders in the boat, but it HAS happened. I probably wouldnt try flipping a 4 pounder with anything less than a MH though......with ANY BRAND rod.

Casey Ashley is very lucky to have brought that 22# bag to the scale on Day 2....if he had not had that big bag, Terry Scroggins would've won the thing today. Ashley only weighed 4 fish today for a little over 9....the good news for him was that he only needed just under 8# to win. Scroggins had 15+ today and almost stole the show. Local fave John Crews had 5 today, Duckett had 5, Rojas had 3, and Skeet had 5 but they were not quite big enough. I thought Ashley might crumble under the pressure and Skeet would steal it but it didnt turn out like that. Ashley is the 2nd rookie to win an Elite tournament this year. I believe the show will air on ESPN next Saturday. Duckett and Skeet both said that they were using Berkley's new hand poured worm for alot of their bass and it seems like every angler that crossed the stage caught fish with a drop shot this week. Burley, it was a great tournament, a good turnout of fans and the anglers caught way more than they expected. I hope they come back in the future.

Day 3 was interesting. The boat traffic was a major factor in keeping guys out of some key areas, primarily the main lake where most everyone was fishing. I witnessed Brian Hudgins lose a solid 4 pounder at the boat and a short time later he dumped a 5 pounder, both on a drop shot.....he fell out of the Top 12 and went home. Ike was fishing docks most of the day and came in with a limit but didnt have the weight to make the final cut. Same with KVD, that guy was all over the lake on Saturday. Swindle didnt make it either, he claimed too much boat traffic to be effective fishing his spots. I believe Skeet has a good chance to win this one if he'll leave the bedding bass alone, he spent way too much time yesterday on one fish and never upgraded his catch. He's tied for 3rd with Duckett who led days 1 & 2. His roommate Casey Ashley is now in the lead and has a good bite going and says there are plenty left to be caught in his areas. John Crews was fishing every "community hole" on the lake on Saturday and it paid off....he jumped into the Final 12 and is fishing today. There have been several night tournaments this weekend and they may have an effect on what happens today, there were 3 or 4 different tournaments last night alone. Rojas sitting in 2nd has got the frog bite going and claims he can catch a good bag today on it. We'll see....if Ashley stumbles, Frogman may steal the show. Live weigh in on Bassmaster.com starts at 3pm.

Day 2 was interesting and Duckett is still leading. I hear he's catching most of his bass on a drop shot in one of the major rivers that feeds the lake. Saw Skeet today throwing a swimbait, Kriet was crankin' and wormin', Rogers couldnt catch his breath and saw Ike working some docks over with a shaky head. Ike moved up quite a few spots today and made the cut along with KVD. Ish had a bad day and slipped way down. Clunn did the same. Both still made the cut. Here's the Top 50: 1 BOYD DUCKETT DEMOPOLIS, AL 5 19-5 5 14-9 10 33-14 $1,000.00 2 CASEY ASHLEY DONALDS, SC 5 11-1 5 22-0 10 33-1 $1,000.00 3 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 5 13-2 5 18-5 10 31-7 $1,000.00 4 SKEET REESE AUBURN, CA 5 13-1 5 17-9 10 30-10 $0.00 5 SHAW E GRIGSBY, JR GAINESVILLE, FL 5 12-11 5 16-8 10 29-3 $0.00 6 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 5 12-10 5 15-14 10 28-8 $0.00 7 MATTHEW SPHAR PAVILION, NY 5 13-10 5 14-5 10 27-15 $0.00 8 DAVID WOLAK WAKE FOREST, NC 5 11-8 5 16-5 10 27-13 $0.00 9 FRED ROUMBANIS AUBURN, CA 5 10-11 5 16-4 10 26-15 $0.00 10 CHRIS LANE WINTER HAVEN, FL 5 12-8 5 14-5 10 26-13 $0.00 11 MORIZO SHIMIZU MURRIETA, CA 5 15-3 5 11-4 10 26-7 $0.00 12 MARK TUCKER SAINT LOUIS, MO 5 12-1 5 14-5 10 26-6 $0.00 13 MIKE WURM HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 12-4 5 13-14 10 26-2 $0.00 14 JAMES NIGGEMEYER VAN, TX 5 10-4 5 15-13 10 26-1 $0.00 15 MARK TYLER VIAN, OK 5 11-11 5 14-5 10 26-0 $0.00 16 STEPHEN BROWNING HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 12-0 5 13-12 10 25-12 17 BRYAN HUDGINS ORANGE PARK, FL 5 16-6 5 9-5 10 25-11 $0.00 18 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 5 12-1 5 13-7 10 25-8 $0.00 19 KURT DOVE FAIRFAX, VA 5 11-11 5 13-9 10 25-4 $0.00 20 RICK CLUNN AVA, MO 5 15-11 5 9-1 10 24-12 $1,000.00 21 TIMMY HORTON MUSCLE SHOALS, AL 5 13-14 5 10-13 10 24-11 $0.00 22 DENNY BRAUER CAMDENTON, MO 5 13-9 4 10-15 9 24-8 $0.00 23 RANDY HOWELL SPRINGVILLE, AL 5 12-0 5 12-7 10 24-7 $0.00 24 TERRY SCROGGINS SAN MATEO, FL 5 12-8 5 11-13 10 24-5 $0.00 24 MICHAEL IACONELLI RUNNEMEDE, NJ 5 9-8 5 14-13 10 24-5 $0.00 26 PETER E THLIVEROS JACKSONVILLE, FL 5 9-6 5 14-14 10 24-4 $0.00 27 CLIFF PACE PETAL, MS 5 10-15 5 13-3 10 24-2 $0.00 28 JEREMY STARKS CHARLESTON, WV 5 10-15 5 13-0 10 23-15 $0.00 28 RUSSELL LANE PRATTVILLE, AL 5 11-11 5 12-4 10 23-15 $0.00 30 ISHAMA MONROE HUGHSON, CA 5 16-3 3 7-11 8 23-14 $0.00 30 JASON QUINN LAKE WYLIE, SC 5 13-0 5 10-14 10 23-14 $0.00 32 JEFF REYNOLDS IDABEL, OK 5 13-4 5 10-7 10 23-11 $0.00 33 GARY KLEIN WEATHERFORD, TX 5 14-5 5 8-15 10 23-4 $0.00 34 KELLY JORDON MINEOLA, TX 5 13-1 5 10-2 10 23-3 $0.00 35 LEE BAILEY BOAZ, AL 5 12-11 5 10-6 10 23-1 $0.00 36 BRADLEY STRINGER HUNTINGTON, TX 5 9-7 5 13-4 10 22-11 $0.00 36 MARTY STONE FAYETTEVILLE, NC 5 13-4 5 9-7 10 22-11 $0.00 38 EDWIN EVERS TALALA, OK 4 11-11 5 10-12 9 22-7 $0.00 39 JOHN CREWS SALEM, VA 4 7-11 5 14-8 9 22-3 $0.00 40 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 5 11-11 5 10-6 10 22-1 $0.00 41 RAY SEDGWICK CROSS, SC 5 12-3 5 9-10 10 21-13 $0.00 42 JARED LINTNER ARROYO GRANDE, CA 5 11-11 5 10-0 10 21-11 $0.00 43 MARK MENENDEZ PADUCAH, KY 5 13-13 3 7-12 8 21-9 $0.00 43 DAVY HITE NINETY SIX, SC 5 9-8 5 12-1 10 21-9 $0.00 45 JAMES KENNEDY LACOMBE, LA 5 9-10 5 11-8 10 21-2 $0.00 46 KEVIN VANDAM KALAMAZOO, MI 5 9-15 5 11-1 10 21-0 $0.00 47 GERALD SWINDLE WARRIOR, AL 5 11-3 5 9-9 10 20-12 $0.00 48 KEVIN WIRTH CRESTWOOD, KY 5 12-12 5 7-15 10 20-11 $0.00 48 JEFF KRIET ARDMORE, OK 5 8-2 5 12-9 10 20-11 $0.00 50 DOC MERKIN DOWNERS GROVE, IL 3 9-0 5 11-8 8 20-8 $0.00

Yep, Gambler all the way.....just dont like having to trail someone that has 20 other boats trailing them too. Sounds like an accident looking for a place to happen. 4biz, Ish did well on Day 1.....I saw that he had a swimbait tied on one of his many rods.

Nobody today....had to work. Tomorrow morning I'm just going to sit under Halesford Bridge and follow the first boat that comes by.....hopefully its Duckett or Clunn. Duckett is fishing deep and I'm sure Clunn's got the crankbait workin'. I wanted to follow McClelland but he doesnt seem to be on 'em like I expected.

Oh yeah, on a regular basis. And Carl.....thats a fine looking ride!

Just got back from the weigh in and most of the field did as expected. Lots of 11 and 12 # limits, a few 14's,15's and 16's. Clunn caught a big 'un, just under 7# but Boyd Duckett, who weighed near the end, put 19-5 on the scale and is leading after Day 1. Ike had just over 9, Van Dam had a light bag too. Nobody really said a whole lot about specific baits but I saw lots of flukes, jigs, cranks, blades and shaky worms tied on when they were at the dock. Junk fishing at its finest.....Smith Mtn Lake. Here's the Top 12: 1. Boyd Duckett: 5. 19-05 2. Bryan Hudgins: 5, 16-06 3. Ish Monroe: 5, 16-03 4. Rick Clunn: 5, 15-11 5. Morizo Shimizu: 5, 15-03 6. Rick Morris: 5, 15-01 7. Gary Klein: 5, 14-05 8. Tim Horton: 5, 13-14 9. Mark Menendez: 5, 13-13 10. Matt Sphar: 5, 13-10 11. Denny Brauer: 5, 13-09 12. Matt Reed: 5, 13-06 12. Britt Myers: 5, 13-06 If you plan on attending a weigh-in, especially Sat or Sun, you may want to get there plenty early so you can park somewhat close.....the joint is going to be packed!

Look no further.....10" Power Bait worms will get the job done. Believe that.

If you dont want to go all glass, at least go composite.

Good post Bobby! Owning a boat is not all its cracked up to be. Sure, you can fish whenever,whereever and however you want but when something goes wrong with the boat, its the owners responsibility to get it fixed......not the co-angler. In fact, I know several guys who prefer to fish as a non-boater just because they dont want the monthly boat payment, monthly insurance cost, up keep, etc...its easier and cheaper for them to just meet their boat-owning buddies at the lake, load into the boat and go fishing. Co-anglers need to understand that owning a boat is not only a privilege but also comes with lots of hassle at times and can get pretty expensive, pretty fast.

[moved] [link=http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1180981048/0]Tournament Talk[/link] [move by] fivebasslimit.

I'm talking PAYING customers.....they handed out like 80,000 free tickets. ;D I like Arlovski and Fedor too. Both are exciting to watch and are good at their craft. With UFC buying everything up, we should see the best fighters vs. the best fighters.....thats whats killing boxing....too many commissions, too many belts, too much back-stabbing.

There are days when you can have one rod out or 15 on deck. Most times I start with: Texas Rig: Revo STX/ Kistler Helium 7' MH Shaky head: Pflueger Supreme Magnesium/ G Blanks 6'10" M Senko/fluke: Revo STX/ Kistler Helium 7' M Med crank & spinnerbaits: Revo SX/ Fritts 6'6" M ....and in the summertime I always have my Fritts Deep Crankin set-up on deck Once on the water, you should be able to put some rods away throughout the day and end up with just one or two on deck.....but then again there are other days when you keep pulling out different rods and you soon realize that you have nowhere to walk anymore. I saw Iaconelli last fall on my home lake and he had 14 combos on deck at the end of one of the days.....his boat was trashed.

I probably wouldnt throw anything bigger than a #5 shad rap with something that light.

Fly, I fish deep cranks ALOT and I use the AR David Fritts DF76 which is a medium action glass rod for all my deep crankin'. Its big like you mentioned and a little heavy but I wouldnt consider throwing my deep cranks with anything else. I have it paired with one of the BPS David Fritts crankin' reels in the 4.7:1 ratio and it is an AWESOME set-up. No problems pulling DD22's or Mann's 20+ or DT16 's all day long. Those Fritts reels are on sale at BPS right now, by the way.

I heard that K-1 show barely had 5,000 paying customers in the place.....plus they threw Johnnie Morton (former NFL WR) into the ring and he ended up getting knocked out in 38 seconds and had to be carried off on a gurney. There's a big write up about it on the Fox Sports News website in the boxing section. Lesnar though, could be a popular choice to join UFC.....I'd rather see him have the HW belt instead of Tim Sylvia (if he ever gets it back.)

....and the Shimano posse doesnt do that huh? Good one! ;D That post is a perfect example of hypocrisy at its best.

Man, those stripers sure are fun to catch, especially ones that size on light gear. I find myself watching the spool more than paying attention to what the fish is doing. It sucks getting spooled by a striper but it does happen from time to time! Great job Russ! Thats a good 'un!

I smoke.....and I cant tell that it deters a fish from biting. If a fish is hungry, it will eat.

Sounds good to me......everybody in?