Team9nine

That's OK, @Catt - from the original 1968 B.A.S.S. rules: CONTESTANTS PAIR OFF: Two contestants will be assigned to each boat (except the top 20 leaders on the last two days). Wherever possible no two contestants from the same city or state shall fish together. No two contestants shall fish together more than one (1) day. Announcement of your fishing partner shall me made on the evening prior to each day. It shall be the responsibility of each boat partner to have his partner at the mutually agreed upon departure dock on time for check out. It is suggested that the partners meet at least 30 minutes before check out time at the Booster Club. When two contestants check out at beginning of the day they MUST STAY TOGETHER AND IN SIGHT OF HIS PAIRED PARTNER AND HIS PARTNER'S "FISH" THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND UNTIL THEIR WEIGH-IN IS COMPLETED. A CONTESTANT MUST NOT ALLOW ANY FISH CAUGHT BY HIM TO BE COUNTED ON THE SCORE OF ANOTHER CONTESTANT. In such case, both contestants will be disqualified for this tournament and all other All-American Tournaments. OBSERVERS: During the second and third day each of the top twenty (20) leaders will fish only with an official observer. (All others will fish with partners.) The boat must be fully operated by the contestant. The observer is not to operate the boat, shall not fish, nor in any way interfere with the fisherman. The observer is to observe only and shall have no other official duty nor responsibility. Fisherman and observer must stay together at all times throughout the day and until the weigh-in is completed. see: Original 1968 B.A.S.S. Rules EDIT: this site won't let me link to the original story posted at BF...

Go straight fluoro and avoid the song of the (braid) Sirens -T9

I use a custom pour plastic trailer similar in size to the old 101 spin frogs (pork). About 1.5" x 5/8" in size. Closest production pour I've seen is the ISG Bambino Finesse Chunk.

I'm not guessing straight from the mouth of Harold Sharp, and confirmed by Al Lindner. Remember, I write for BFA, and Harold was one of our contributors. Harold and Ray wrote the rules, and Harold enforced them as B.A.S.S.'s first tourney director. Co-anglers and marshals came much, much later in the game. Everyone got paired in the early days, 2 men per boat, and no two from the same state to prevent cheating (except events like the Classic where pros fished with outdoor writers/press observers). Often ended up "boater-boater" as much of the old film coverage shows now big named pros fishing together. Whose boat to take when that occurred was always a big deal. -T9

Sounds like a little of both, to me You'll settle on something eventually - at least most people do - lol.

If I had to pick one, I'd say the original discontinued LC RCs...

Got to love the old school PP It takes velocity, diameter or texture (abrasiveness) to help cut veggies. The sound of original PP "singing" through your guides gives you one of those things the new fancy braids can't

It would take up more than 1' since the rod tip moves in an arc and not a straight line, but it wouldn't necessarily come from the stretch. In fact, ironically, it's possible the stretch could be worse (marginally) because you might actually apply more pressure to the hook. (via the line), though even there some (older) studies have shown no difference in hook setting force based on rod length. There are a lot of variables in play making it hard to make any absolute statements.

Big bass are smarter? - Nope, but I would say they are more discriminatory in their behavior. -T9

For most normal buzzbaiting, I almost always add a trailer, and it's an old twin straight tail spinnerbait trailer. It's all about mass, profile, or contrast/flash depending upon specific water conditions.

Very little veggies. Braid with traps is fine for ripping baits out of submerged vegetation or where you might need to weed whack lily pad stems, but I'm largely open water clay and mud banks with scattered sand and rock.

Given my waters, I never use braid with those baits. I'd be more tempted to switch your outfits using the braid for top waters and the mono for cranks/traps.

Remember the line well, but never used it. My "Upgrade" outfit was a 202 with matching 6' rod. So proud of that outfit back then ?

I'd just spool up with a fresh batch of good fluorocarbon and leave all these bad braid issues posted above, behind...who needs the hassles?

Not certain how much recent stats are out there, but data from early 90s pegged the bass tourney market at approx. 1 million anglers, which using your analysis would work out to 10% of all bass anglers in general. That sounds about right. Their estimated economic impact was $800 million. Lots of individual state analysis available online, but check out the studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for national stats. Also, if you haven't already, track down "What Competitive Fishing Can Do for Fishery Management" (Schramm & Fedler), available online in its entirety for good info. It's an older paper, but the numbers probably still hold true as angler participation dropped through most of the 90s and 2000s.

Cut back to one rod while you're at it You simply must get over this fear of "missing" a fish. Only then will you be able to achieve true bank fishing nirvana, young grasshopper....

That would still be too much, but it's a start From the bank, if it doesn't fit in a shirt, jacket or pants pocket, it gets left home 90% of the time. For those other times, there's always the good old brown paper bag or a tiny zipper bag. (8.5" x 8.5"). More than that, you've got separation anxiety

It seems like once a guy wins on these old baits, their price rockets up on places like eBay and such. Think old Warts, or lead billed Diving B's. Many years back there was a run on old Bomber Long As when waking was the hot technique. The older models were made of a plastic that would expand when heated but not melt or crack. That allowed them to swell and stay on the surface better, making for great waking action. Already seeing a few vintage Rogues being pedaled for $25 a piece out there.

Agree w/above. Tried USPS once, and it was going to be considerably cheaper until they tagged me with an upcharge due to length (this was 7' or less rod) sending the price closer to $50+ As such, I almost always go FedEx due to convenience, and almost always runs $28-$35 per tube.

Might not change much. His Rogue's are long discontinued 25-30 yr old models. Not the same as newer ones. If you find any for sale, you'll probably now pay about the same as a Megabass to get them

Good job ? my tips: 1. Make your first spot count. It's likely to be the only unpressured water you'll get. 2. Get your bait into places or other spots others aren't, or retrieve at angles others don't. 3. Use baits others aren't using, even if they don't seem like the best or most appropriate. 4. Always have some backup stuff that most others likely don't know about that you can go to after a few hours. This is almost always submerged breaks and/or break lines, whether shallow or deep.

I doubt it's the knot specifically unless you are simply tying it wrong. Alberto is one of the strongest tested knots, and the same knot I use probably 90% of the time. I've landed everything from 30" hybrid stripers and catfish to 40 pound buffalo using it with 6# and 8# fluoro leaders and never had issues. About the only difference from the sounds of it is I use 7 or 8 wraps up and back with "micro" lines (usually one less wrap back down). -T9

Just speculation, but it might be a combination of leader length and smallies in your case (not sure if micros would play any differently in this scenario). I use a 4-6' leader which usually only ends up inside the guides on the cast. With a 10' leader, your knot will be inside the guides on the cast, but more importantly, also when a fish gets close to the boat and has the rod/line under a lot of pressure while fighting the fish. Add a smallie's fighting and surging a lot at the boat toward the end, and I bet your knot is going in and out of the guides under pressure a lot more than most. Might not make a huge difference with thicker lines as some mentioned, but thinner lines as you stated might be a bit more susceptible to wear in these circumstances, especially if being used all day long. -T9

How many Power Poles did said glitzy tournament bass boat have?

... and mine don't, so I think we've answered this question satisfactorily NEXT!