Team9nine

Changing time twice a year - dumbest thing ever. I hate it. Pick a time zone and be done with it. We were one of the last states to convert. Still one or two left, holding their ground.

Not a farce - if done wrong, you’re more likely to lose fish.

Reinserting the magnet ring in backwards/upside down? I’ve had several older Daiwas where the magnet broke free of the ring housing and Magforce was full power regardless of setting until I removed the magnet and reglued it back in place. If you put that magnet in upside down, or shifted it’s aligned position, would you end up reversing polarity alignment? Just guessing though

Saw that a lot on the recent MLF streams and cringed every time they did it. Like anything else, it’s a trade off - the longer that fish is swimming around in the water, the more time he has to try and get off. In their case, I think the pressure of needing to land the fish quickly overrode the time to play a fish down and lip it. It’s a gamble because you’ll lose fish doing it (grabbing the line), but it’s also the quickest way to control the situation and get your hands on the fish for a chance. I’d rather net or swing, or after that, play them down and lip ‘em myself. I never grab the line unless it’s a last option kind of thing.

Large knotless rubber mesh nets like the Cabela’s Conservation Series I’ve used for over 20 years has been proven to be the best/safest style of net for multiple species of fish and pose no issues with any type of hook.

One to two minutes in this cool weather and water, not a problem. I'm sure the fish is fine. Wouldn't worry too much about it unless it looked like he was struggling to swim off, which doesn't sound like the case. Bass are pretty tough critters.

My super-duper, double extra “top secret,” never fails retrieve...nah, I’m not telling ?

I added a cover to hide the wiring through the open rectangular space, but this lets you see more of the framework and wiring for how I added mine in. Also added a 12v receptacle to the right of the panel, and that is a flush mount charge plug on top for my 2 bank onboard charger above (top deck surface).

We have a couple reservoirs that they’ve stocked them in over the years. They tend to be a lot like their parents in that they usually make a false spawning run in spring up major creek arms and rivers feeding the reservoir. I’ve had my best luck in spring finding them on primary and secondary points on the lower end of the lake, or on flats adjacent to the main river channel up lake. Water temps are usually in the mid to upper 50s when this occurs. Down lake I like jerk baits; upriver I like lipless cranks.

Half spools are bad. Loss of casting distance; lowered effective gear ratio; poor spool control; among others. I'd simply splice and refill. The splice won't affect anything at 87 yds, but if it messes you up mentally, go ahead and respool the whole thing with fresh line.

Obviously it is up to each individual to choose whether to enter an event or not, but the polygraph requirement in most major events isn’t going away anytime soon. The legality behind them, the rules and compliance’s in the entry form you sign, and the discretion of the tourney director have been legally upheld in court, so precedent has been set. You fail the polygraph, you lose. It’s really that simple.

Depends on the circuit and the circumstances around the test. If you have been protested, then the questions will be directly focused on the particular infraction in question. Whether you take it before or after depends upon when it was reported and the discretion of the tournament director. In the case of just a standard polygraph as random or for the winner, then the questions are more general and taken immediately following the event. For example, I had to take one immediately after winning a regional event with a boat as the winning prize. Questions were things like, did you knowingly break any rules; were your fish all caught in a legal and sporting manner; did you receive any information or help from anyone not entered in the event; were you on the lake during the off-limits period; did you weigh any fish not legally caught by yourself, etc.

You won’t find a single EWG type treble on any moving bait I own. Ones that came that way were removed and replaced. Historically I’ve always gone Gammi, but more recently have been trying Owners (ST-36). So, can’t help with the first couple questions though all brands/options you list have their fans and are solid. RBs for initial percentage hookup and easier to unsnag.

A lot of factors involved including wind, current and time of year (water temperature). A sudden warm inflow will often float on top of colder denser water for a time. Also works in reverse, especially as settling occurs, which is almost always from the top down and the bank in. Type of particulate will play into it also, with larger particles settling out or down quickly, while lighter tinier particles like clay may stay suspended for awhile. The farther you go down lake or down creek toward the dam, the less likely you are to have heavy mixing (e.g., a stain instead of mud). I would say the more consistent the water temperature throughout the water column, and the longer it has been since the influx, the more likely the "mud" is through the entire water column to some degree.

Going to be different for everyone. One of the best tournaments ever (IMHO) was the old BASS Megabucks. Everyone fished to make the final cut of 10 guys, and then they zeroed the weights, moved them to a new section of water no one had been able to fish and let them go at it. It helped make Larry Nixon a legend. It was different and exciting, and I think MLF is the closest thing going to that style format...I’m a fan.

The only difference with MLF is that there is now focus on some of these other positions and not just the leaders. Otherwise, it’s no different. Guys near the top of the leaderboard in other circuits routinely lay off their fish or “go practicing” as both a fish conservation strategy and a way to try and expand their main bite. Clunn even stated he nearly lost the St. John’s event because he pulled off his fish around lunch the first day thinking he had enough to be sitting good for the day. Also, guys are constantly struggling trying to make the Day 3 cut in other events, usually around 50th place. The circuits have just never cared to focus on that aspect in most events. The only difference is that now, MLF has chosen to cover all this as part of the drama, and not just a ‘leaders only’ type focus.

Junebug - all day, every day - everywhere

So they are listening to our feedback ?

The answers, as excerpted from an old Louie Stout article on the history of plastic worms: 1967: Bass fisherman Tom Mann, concerned about the toughness and smell of plastic worms, created the Jelly Worm by adding fruit flavors to the plastic. Purple worms smelled like grape, black like blackberry and red like strawberry. 1973: With growing demand for a worm that "swims," Glynn Carver of Mister Twister created curly tail grubs that led to the ribbontail worm design shortly thereafter. 1980: Gene Larew experimented with a variety of additives that would make bass respond better to soft baits. After failures with sugar, chocolate and even Coca-Cola, he patented a salt impregnation process in 1980. It is used by most major soft bait companies today. 1981: Zoom introduced the Trick Worm, the first straight-tail, high floating, supersoft plastic worm for fishing shallow water. 1984: The Zoom Brush Hog triggered the creature bait craze. Oddly enough, the company created the lure several years prior to that but elected not to market it. However, a Mississippi angler got his hands on prototypes and loved them so much he ordered 300 to 400 bags, and Zoom decided to offer it nationally. 1987: Lunker City Specialists developed the first soft plastic jerkbait in a Connecticut garage. The Slug-Go led to the creation of soft jerkbaits that are now offered by nearly every soft bait maker. 1997: While trying to sketch a unique worm design with a ballpoint pen, Gary Yamamoto chose to use the ink pen he had in his hand as a prototype. It had a blunt end and a tapered end, which proved to be the forerunner for the Senko, or stickworm, that has enraptured bass and anglers nationwide.

Match up the bait to the year it was introduced - GO!! The Baits Slug-Go Mr. Twister curlytail Senko Trick Worm (Zoom) Mann's Jellyworm Brush Hog (Zoom) Salt impregnation (Larew) The Years 1984 1967 1980 1997 1973 1987 1981

^^ I believe this is the rule in the Elite Series as it has come up before. I know it has come up in local events here, too. I agree that if equal or greater weight is being placed on the foot/leg on the dock, you are breaking the rule. Definitely a fine line that would need to be brought to a tournament director for clarity, likely with video to clearly show the possible infraction.

The best and fastest two ways I know: 1. Find a mentor 2. Practice with purpose

Use whatever works for you. I'm in the @Bluebasser86 camp - no snaps or swivels (or snap swivels) the majority of the time.

Personally, I don't use "Light" for anything, not even my crappie fishing. I have a bunch of "ML" rods which I use for almost all my finesse fishing. I do have a couple Mediums though. Typically, and this is just a guideline, but if I'm using braid I go ML - if I'm using straight fluoro (or mono/nylon/copoly) I go Med.

I don't have enough experience with Sunline products to make any definitive statements with it. I know they are really popular. However, I use a lot of Seaguar stuff, primarily Tatsu and InvizX. "Finesse" is double-structured like Tatsu, so I have little doubt it probably works about as well. I'm not a huge fan of overspecialization though. InvizX is a good lower cost alternative with some of the same properties as Tatsu. If money is no object, I'd go Tatsu. If you wanted to save a bit, InvizX is a strong contender. Between those two lines I've caught thousands of fish using both straight fluoro and leader fluoro applications.