earthworm77

I always match the chunk to the skirt color.

Slider fishing is "do-nothing" fishing, it's the same for everyone (a natural glide). Two totally different techniques.

See PM, notice what I editted from your template.

Avid, I live in Florida and do well with a D/S rig. Do you have a VHS? I can lend you a great video. I also wrote a few D/S articles for the site, one talks specifically about how to make the D/S a horizontal presentation for shallow water. If you can't find it, pm me and I'll email it to you. PM me your address for the video.....then I'll teach you how to float n fly!

Derek, something to consider. Your resume is a decent basic template but it is also the same template 99% of the other individuals use who are sending resumes out as well. Try to do something different that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. Ask yourself after writing your resume...."would I be interested in this person to represent my company or why would this company sign me up based on this resume". I read roughly 50 to 100 resumes a month. To be honest, most are just like the one you submitted. Sure everyone wants to do what they can and represent the company they apply to, it goes without saying. You need to market yourself so the person reading the resume actually get interested in you. Play off your on the water experiences.

Does anyone think that setting the hook hard might result in a broken line due to the palomar knot for the top bait?

Consider this.....if someone sent me a resume with grammatical errors and mispellings, it would make me feel as if they didn't care enough to do it the right way. How could I or anyone reviewing this resume take it serious enough. Obviously that person doesn't care enough to put in a 100% effort to represent themselves in the most positive way to me, they certainly will not put in 100% to represent my cvompany....delete resume...next. Spelling is absolutely important the exception being KVD or an elite Pro but there is no doubt that any of those guys would have anything they submitted polished enough to be acceptable. Being able to market yourself and the company's product is the most important aspect of getting sponsored.......however presenting yourself in a positve light is a major aspect in setting a good first impression. Spelling a word wrong or leaving out a period is one thing but a choppy resume with atrocious grammar is a whole different story. Matt you bring up a good point but if I may ask, does your sponsorship have anything to do with your swimbaits? I mean, let's say you had a rod sponsor that picked you up to tout a line of swimbait rods. To me that would be a no brainer for them. You are already established as one of the premiere swimbait makers in the land. So in this case spelling would be little concern because these guys might well have contacted you first to promote their gear. For the average Joe, a good first impression is essential and likely the first contact is made by Joe through written medium. Spelling is key for that first impression to go over well. Bottom line dot your I's and cross your T's because to anyone reviewing something you submit, it may be the thing that makes or breaks you. For me it is very important.

Sorry about that....1.800.661.4286

Matt, I hear you. What makes a pro a true Professional This statement is pretty much how I interpreted the original post. I've been in the industry for about 15years as a writer, custom tackle shop owner and thru competition. I've cashed checks and done well on smaller cicuits. I run around for my sponsors, I do seminars, TV, write articles and books and even shoot videos and I guided in NY. I however, despite earning an income from the things I do in the industry, wouldn't consider myself a Pro. Agreed about Velvick!

Since hurricanes Katrina/Rita there are thousands of new construction companies but just because some one can swing a hammer does not make him a carpenter. 100% accurate Zimmy, how much money? The $10.00 lunker pool is a far cry from the 250K at MegaBucks. I'd hardly consider anything under 50K 1st place payout as Pro level money. However, I'm not classifying a "Pro" by the events he fishes based on the purse. I would classify the trail he fishes as "Pro" level though if and only if it is a credible cicuit. Now there is this talk about paying a Pro entry fee. If you make competitive Bass fishing your career and do it on a weekly basis fishing the tour and following it around the country, you do the speaking engagements, videos, shows etc you are a Pro Tournament Angler. If you are a guy who works a regular job as a contractor during the week and fishes a couple of tournaments throughout the year on the Pro side....you are a contractor who fishes an occassional Pro tournament, You are not a Professional Tournament Fisherman! If entering a tournament under the Pro side of it makes you a Pro(in your mind) for that tournament, we can debate this till the end of time, call yourselves whatever you want to be called. But consider your group of peers.....the guys fishing the Elite 50 events are not among them, they are the true Pro's. Catt, You are right, the tax man only wants his money, just like the tournament organizer. My point about the IRS is that the guy claiming taxes must classify himself as something. I'd guess most are truthful and if they are contractors, that is likely the classification they likely put down. There are more write offs on a yearly basis. In my opinion, it is absurd that anyone can with a straight face consider themselves a Pro based on the amount of money they spend to enter an event. I'm not talking about the FLW or BASS events. I'm talking about all of these other cicuits who feel it necessary to make up some definition of what a Pro classification is. You might be a Pro to them because they cash your checks however, methinks that you have to earn the right to fish in the more credible, elite competitions and they are not open to you merely because you can pay the fee. To be a Professional in any trade or craft, there is a degree of skill that you need to have that exceeds the skill of the masses. It sets you apart from the common man. There are only a handful of guys who have that ability and they are truly the Pro's.

George, I'd honestly say you are as close as one could come to being a "Pro". In a different sense of the word, I'd guess you make most if not all of your income through guiding. I have more respect for that because you are out there everyday than a guy who fish' the tour. You have to make it happen everyday.

Hale you and I see eye to eye on this. We agree that one must possess a certain level of talent or skill to go along with the PRO moniker. There are many truly good anglers, there are only few elite enough to be classified as the true big boys. Most of us have a day or two here and there to make us think we are good enough but then there are the days we where get "B" slapped back to reality. ;D

Now we are walking a gray line. What you call a pro circuit and what many might envision as a pro circuit is cloudy. I consider the elite of the BASS and FLW the Pro's as it applies to bass fishing. Any other circuit is a lesser level. It is laughable that someone can be considered something based on what they have in their wallet. Sure, a tournament organization can consider its participants "pro's" however, who is recognizing and agreeing with that. As someone said what governing body determines this? If that tournament organisation is not FLW or BASS, does it hold any weight? I doubt it. A Pro Curcuit tourney director in those elite groups doesn't worry about entry fees. Its all about advertising which is not his responsibility therefore he wants the big name "pros" fishing, not Joe Lunchbox who doesn't draw a crowd. For a semi pro guy to be playing baseball, he must have some decent skill. For a guy to fish the pro circuit, he must have a decent wallet and doesn't really need any skill to get in. There is a world of difference there. One guy belongs, one guy buys his way in. I'll say it one last time. A pro angler, whether it be a tournament pro, guide etc makes his living off being dedicated to that area of specialization to earn his income. What happens when a ball player gets sent to the minors for conditioning, is he any less of a pro because the level that he competes against may be less competitive? He doesn't lose his pro status. Let me ask you a question and I'm not in this discussion to "P" anyone off but how about this. If I had the money to fish the FLW or the Elite series could I? I think not. I believe I would have to earn my way in by qualifying through divisional or regional competition with affiliated programs......... .......and that is the D-A-M-N difference! You can't buy your way in to a legitimate Pro Curcuit. You cannot buy the title of Pro.

I just got my Bigmouth collection in the mail. A day after I spoke with Mary Ann. The following 5 titles are included: BigMouth BigMouth Forever Feeding Habits of Bass: Surface Lures and Buzzbaits Bass In Heavy Cover

A Pro is defined by the level he has competed at, and that is decided by entry fees solely. Essentially you are telling me that if I go an purchase a "Pro" card for about 100.00 and enter a few tournaments on the "Pro" side, I'm a "Pro" Definition: A professional is required to possess a large knowledge derived from extensive academic and practical training. Professional skills are important to the well-being of society. Professions are self-regulating, in that they control the training and evaluation processes that admit new persons to the field. Professionals have autonomy in the workplace; they are expected to utilize their independent judgment in carrying out their professional responsibilities. Finally, professions are regulated by ethical standards. Typically a professional provides a service in exchange for payment in accordance with established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and training/certification. However, at all times a professional is cognizant that their first and foremost responsibility is to the public welfare. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly. The distinction between professional sports and amateur sports simply refers to how the athlete is funded. Typically, behaving professionally would indicate that the person's actions remain in accordance with specific rules, written or unwritten, pertaining to behavior, dress, speech, etc. By extension, the adjective professional identified somebody recognized for expertise or skill in a craft or activity. In narrow usage, not all expertise is considered a profession. Although sometimes referred to as professions, such occupations as skilled construction work are more generally thought of as trades or crafts. The completion of an apprenticeship is generally associated with skilled labor or trades such as carpenter, electrician, plumber, and other similar occupations. In the strictest sense, the professional fields are limited to accounting, architecture, clergy, engineering, intelligence, law, medicine, and officers. Looking at some of the things in bold you'll notice that WE consider these guys professional while the better part of society likely does not. Looking at it from the sports side of things, consider the 1980 Gold medal Olympic Hockey team. None of these players were paid to play, unlike the competition they faced. They were true amateurs. Should it be considered that a guy who win's a $10.00 lunker pool is a Pro? I think not. Again I'll rest on what he represents himself to the gov't as his true occuaptional identity. Far too many people throw the word Pro around. I would suffice to say that a Pro is the whole package. Just because Jimmy didn't will big on '06, his living is made by the fact he was a successful Pro angler. He reaps the benefits of that career to this day and likely until his end.

Generally you can't get anything printed on bags for under 75,000ct. That is just the way it goes. I've looked for a long time and the label way is the way to go. You might have a graphics company make you a laminated sticker rather than a laser jet print label.

I just got off the phone with Mary Ann Lau, Glenn Lau's wife. She has just begun production of the Bigmouth series on DVD. All 5 videos for 69.95 plus shipping. These are likely the best bass fishing videos ever done, the detail and clarity is amazing. For a 5 video set, the price is fantastic. I know she is swamped with orders so it might take a little time to fill. I'll post the number she gave me in a day or two to give her some breathing room. Please tell her I sent you.

Now that surprises me. I'll get on the Jack and see if I can rustle something up.

LBH, I'll talk to a few friends from the Long Island Bassmasters to see if they can host an event for you.

I don't work for the IRS but you get the point. 1040-1099 whatever. Under your guideline, a person never having seen a bass could on his/her schedule 1040 form after he signed it and dated it, write PRO Bass Fisher on the occupation line,and poof make it so. You think the IRS cares ? Let's be serious here for a minute.....anyone simply doing this for the hell of it is a fool(wannabee) especially since the gov't see's this. So unless a guy is truly a Pro making a living through his fishing, not fishing a few tournaments here and there, he is not a Pro. After these posts my opinion is that anyone who can provide a living for his family with a fishing pole is a proffesional. Regardless if he is a guide, tournament fisher, product tester, tv host, etc. Now if he has two, three or four other proffesions it doesnt matter....can he provide for a family with just fishing? this is a pretty good statement.

false, the mono is to prevent the line from slipping when it is pulled.

IMHO the straight shank only excels when you need a keel on the worm like with a split shot rig or maybe a Carolina rig other than those EWG all the way.

Not a bad deal howver, Ginrin had them for 159.00 a few weeks back as well. Also regualr Scorps for 119.00

Like I said earlier, it comes down to what that guy puts on his W-2....that is what he ultimately classifies himself as.

I use pitching all the time. Try using a coffee mug as the target.