Glenn

Hey old timer! Welcome back!

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.

Well guys, guess I have to close this one down because it derailed off topic. ...And scene....

I had no idea that if you're not a pro, your advice didn't matter. But let's be abundantly clear what I said, because some of you are taking liberties with it. Here's the direct quote: Meaning, I never tell anyone to use leaders. That's it. I did not say "Never, ever, ever use leaders ever, period...the MIGHTY OZ HAS SPOKEN!" LOL I merely said I never tell anyone to do it...and I don't. And your advice is meaningless unless you follow your own advice, so I personally don't use leaders. But never did I imply that everyone else must do as I do. That's absurd. In fact, I then said Reign it back in and stop trying to make a mountain out of nothing guys.

Nope, sorry, but I don't recommend braid in spinning gear. It doesn't "solve" line twists, it merely masks it. And if you're using spinning gear, it's for lighter lures, finesse tactics, etc, that require low-viz light line that has some stretch - that's not braid. Sorry man, but I never use leaders, and never recommend it. Nor do I recommend braid on spinning gear. That's just me. Knock yourself out if you think there's something to it, but you won't find braid on any of my spinning outfits, nor leaders on any of my rods - ever.

Happens to all of us. I was in a tournament 3 weeks ago where I made a rookie mistake, setting the hook on a topwater explosion (toad) before I felt the weight of the fish. I missed a 5-pounder and all I have is a footless toad to show for it. As for minimizing lost fish: Don't use leader. I want a direct connection to the bait. The extra knot is simply another point-of-failure, plus you have 2 different pound test lines working against each other - a recipe for snapped line. Always sharpen your hooks, and keep checking throughout the day Retie - often. Even the best line can fray or get nicks. Master your knots. I always use the uni-knot, but the Palomar and San Diego Jam knots are also excellent knots. Pick one, and master it. Match your rod, reel, line, and hooks for the technique and cover you're fishing. I cannot over-state this. One mismatched component is the weak link that will cause you to loose a fish. Use the right line for the technique you're using. Braid is not a universal, do-it-all line. No line is. Each type of line has it's benefits. Learn them, and exploit their strengths. Hope that helps!

Wow...just wow. Thankful they're safe, but thoughts and prayers to all weren't so fortunate.

Wow. So tragic.

Yup, I've seen it. My fishing buddy and tournament partner of 4 years...we went at it hard core. Every weekend, sat and sun, March through Oct, for 4 years. His wife divorced him, and he changed focus to his career. When he retired, he went after trout, with a little bit of bass fishing thrown in. Although, to be fair, he had a major issue with tennis elbow that made it difficult for him to go bass fishing all day (too much casting). Me, personally? I went through a stint where I fished the same lake 3-4 days a week for a full year, just to learn the seasonal and conditional patterns of bass first hand. After that year, I was burned out. So I backed off for awhile. It happens to all of us. Too much of one thing will do that.

That's just crazy! Stay safe (look at me stating the obvious!)

Go here: https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/livewell1b.html and read the section titled "taking care of your livewell"

For those fish, I usually throw a small plastic bait well past the bed, and very slowly work it back towards the bed. Painfully slow, with very long pauses in-between. The trick is there's needs to be time for the bass to "forget" about the bait between splashdown and time they notice it. Otherwise they recognize it as something unnatural. Sometimes I'll just let the bait sit for at least 5 mins before moving it.

Why did you spell it that way? Spell it like everyone else does - 13 fishing - and it works just fine.

Try now. If it still does it, then you're spelling it wrong.

All Norman lures are molded in Fort Smith, Arkansas. They are decorated in Guatemala.

I've been using 50# Kanzen for frog/toad fishing for years without any issues at all. I don't know what knot you're using, but I tie the uni-knot and never had it slip. Never had Kanzen break on me, so I don't know what to tell you there.

Hey did you know ALL Norman lures are made in America? From concept to store shelves, everything is done right in their Alabama and Arkansas locations. Which Norman lure would YOU throw if you were fishing right now?

Yup, this "debate" (really, the emotional "I'm right, you're wrong" rhetoric) goes on every time this year, and has been for decades. Yet fisheries survive and grow. Private fisheries are managed completely different than public, in a big way (more politics than science on public waters). The environments are totally different too, where taking hundreds of bass from a pond annually is mandatory for a healthy population, taking the same relative amount (10X thousands) from large public waters could be detrimental. So comparing studies between the two is like comparing a Volkswagon to a Kennworth. It's not even close. Skinny fish? Dozens of potential causes for that; and the true cause is likely not the one that supports anyone's argument here. So let's get off our pulpits; understand that the emotional pleas to stop will continue, while science (mother nature) has means and ways to offset predation and even major fish kills, let alone C&R tournaments; and focus on doing whatever you individually feel comfortable with. I'm going to end this thread, because what's going to be said has been said already, and I don't want this to spiral into personal attacks and insults....because that's where this topic always ends up (been running this site for over 2 decades. Been there, done that, over and over).

Again, there's no evidence to suggest it does - which is my point. Your argument is purely speculative.

That doesn't look like Seaguar braid. None of their braid is that color, nor looks like that (where you can see the individual strands).

Hey at least you get a warning. My neck of the woods is expected to sustain a catastrophic 9+ earthquake at any moment. They don't give you time to plan ahead for it. So you have to plan as if it's going to happen today, every day.

So.... this is a prime example of emotions getting injected into a topic where science doesn't support the emotions. Fact is, catching a guarding male, and then releasing him, does not harm the fishery. There simply isn't any evidence to support anything otherwise. In fact, heavily pressured lakes such as Toledo Bend, Fork, Guntersville, and many other well known "trophy lakes" have sustained decades of heavy tournament pressure around the spawn, and they still pump out numbers and sizes of fish. Fact is, if you don't like fishing for spawning/guarding bass, then don't. Just understand that those that do, aren't killing off your favorite lake.