piranha

I know BPS is starting their spring fishing classic in the near future and was wondering what kinds of discounts to expect and on what equipment? I am planning to pick up two new rods and reels plus other odds and ends and was wondering if it is worth waiting or if I should just get them now? Is it all hype or is there really a lot on sale? Thanks.

I was thinking about running a "school" this spring and summer targeted to women and teens interested in bass fishing. I am thinking of a one-on-one or small group type of thing, possibly with some off-the-water instruction as well as on the water, both from the bank and in a boat. It would be marketed for novices so my focus would be on teaching the basics and enjoying the outdoors while hopefully catching some fish in the process. My thinking is that men don't want to, have the time to, or have the patience to teach their wives and children how to fish properly, that is, if they even know how. I could even do it as a summer camp type of thing. Anyone from this board ever do something like this? I would love to hear how it went, what you charged, where you obtained your clients, etc. You can post your input here or email me. I appreciate any input you guys might have, even if you haven't done this exact type of thing.

I had the pleasure of talking with Iaconelli for about an hour at a sportsmen's show one-on-one. As Will pointed out, he is different when the cameras are off. I expected this, but it was nice to see it for myself. There are others in my local bass club who have met him (he fished in one of our winter tournaments) and everyone sad the same thing. He knows how to market himself and he knows how to keep people awake in a seminar. And he has a typical, sarcastic, New Jersey sense of humor which I loved but many people in the seminar didn't get. For me, that made the jokes even funnier. All around, he is a nice guy. After having met him, I firmly believe that the people who don't like him, for the most part, just don't get it. I think he overdoes it a bit, but that doesn't take away from his kindness or his fishing ability. Some of his jokes and humor were centered around the fact that he overdoes it with the screaming and yelling. People who didn't get it were saying derogatory remarks about him which again, made me laugh even more because THEY were the stooges. Ignorance is always funny in my book.

I tried to get an agenda for the presentations but they didn't have one. I would like to see KVD and Ike, because I think they have the most to offer in terms of practical knowledge that will improve success, but if they are going to cover the same info as the others, then I will save my money. I don't know if they are teaching in a general way, or if each is giving a talk about their specific strengths. Anyone know the answer to that? Also, it indicates that they are offering a 15% discount at BPS on certain items. Anyone know what kind of items are excluded? Thanks for all your help.

If you had a choice, which would you choose given the following scenarios and why. I don't know the specifics of what each person will be speaking about. Scenario 1: 2 hour drive each way $255 total cost plus incidentals Speakers - Jimmy Houston, Woo Daves, Shaw Grigsby, Mike DelVisco, Joe Thomas, Mike Auten Scenario 2: 2.5 hour drive each way $265 total cost plus incidentals Speakers - Jimmy Houston, George Cochran, Ken Cook, Randy Howell, Mike Auten, Joe Balog Scenario 3: 5 hour drive each way $365 total cost plus one lost day (unpaid) at work plus incidentals Speakers - Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, Ken Cook, Mark Menendez, Randy Howell, Tony Bean

What are your thoughts on why you should fish a plastic bait painfully slow? Is it because you feel the bass need to see the bait in the same area for an extended period of time? Or is it because you feel the bass want something that is moving very slow? If it is the former, a drop shot rig could have been used because it keeps the bait in the same relative area. However, the bait would be moving, anywhere from an easy up and down roll to a crazy spastic twitch which would not be ideal if you were shooting for the latter. Besides trying them all and seeing what the bass want, why do you fish it so slow?

The computerized log already exists. You can download a trial from http://www.americanbassanglers.com/fishingsoftware.php/ I never actually used my trial and the time ended so I can't tell you much about it. It sounded good, but again, I didn't use it. It indicates that you can pull up graphs and info on just about every attribute that you input so that you can find trends. Let us know how it works for you.

Is a drop-off the same thing as the edge of the channel if it changes depth dramatically? It may not be a cliff, but more of a 10 foot change in depth spread out over a width of about 10 feet. It runs for a hundred feet or so. This being the case, do you fish the entire length? Do you fish both sides of the channel?

One more question - The fish hold, on and around, a point, even though there is no cover, just the structure change in bottom depth? I am having trouble grasping why they would hold on a place with no cover, especially in the shallow lakes around here. I always picture bass near something, a stump, brush, any kind of cover. Imagining a bass on a featureless gradual slope is throwing me. I just don't get it. Now, if there was cover near the point, then I would understand. But that generally isn't the case around here because it is so shallow. Please enlighten me more, oh wise ones.

Do they extend off of the primary point or off the main body of land? Or doesn't it matter - a point is a point? Also, does it need to be a certain shape or size to have the significance of a point? That is, holding baitfish and thus bass. Is there another reason points are so important? Does a point need to drop of into a certain depth of water to, again, have significance for bass? Why are baitfish drawn to a point? Sorry for all the questions.

I was jazzed up for his new video. Had a tremendous time getting it to play - had to clean and repair the disk several times just to get it to play and it only worked in the DVD in my computer. After all that, I wasn't very impressed. Basically he covers equipment selection, how to use lures to check the bottom structure, use of a fish finder and his general seasonal guideline, which I already had from his CD. After covering all that and showing you how he does it, he ends up fishing in a totally different spot but doesn't explain why he chose it. Overall, I was not happy. Had I not already paid $20 for the CD I might have been a little more satisfied though. The video even comes with a slip of paper that indicates if you have problems to try another DVD player and then contact them if you still have trouble. Funny thing is, there is no contact info on the paper or the box. Besides, I don't know how many people have multiple DVD players. The video was put out by Bass Films, so I don't know that it is all Ike's fault. I just expected a little more, especially since it was five times the cost of KVD's videos at BPS. The entire thing, with fancy intro and ending is only 42 minutes long.

I fished two lakes/ponds yesterday in very high humidity, cloudy/overcast and no wind. Both lakes seemed to be dead...no activity by anything large or small. In a situation like this, where would have been the best place to start? Open water? The lakes average 3.5 feet in depth so there isn't really a lot of deep parts to fish. Are fish simply not as active during these times? Should I have gone smaller and slower with lure presentation? I don't see situations like that very often. It was almost spooky. Thanks.

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Like Raul indicated, big bass are not lazy, they are SMART! Unlike most humans, they work smarter, not harder.

Happy Birthday!!!

It seems that most people flip or pitch jigs to targets. What is the advantage to pitching to the shore line versus simply positioning the boat so that you can hop the jig across in from of the goal areas? The areas are individual patches of algae and debris that have bass hiding up underneath. Is there an advantage? Is there a paticular set of circumstances where casting parallel is a better option? Thanks.

I have read that you should trim the weed guard even with the bend in the hook. If that is so, do you trim it even when it is in its normal position? Or do you push it over until it contacts the hook and trim it even, which makes it stick up an 1/8th of an inch or more above the bend when it is in its upright (normal) position? Slightly unrelated question - do you flatten the barb on your jigs? Thanks as always!

The general concensus on here is to fish top to bottom when starting early in the morning. My question is whether bass have a general movement pattern each day. I would imagine they stay in a general location of the lake, but within that area, is there a general pattern that they follow? I am specifically asking about summer patterns. We can move on to other seasons next if there is in fact a difference. For example - Bass start deep and move shallow during peak sun then move back deep later in the day. (Just an example...I don't think it is true.) Are there any basic guidelines? Thanks.

I have tried to understand why jigs have giant skirts. The only thing I can figure out is that it makes the bait move more water alerting more fish. It doesn't look anything like a crawdad though. Why not just use a bigger crawdad to move more water? To me it seems like the skirt hides the crawdad. Essentially, what is the point of the skirt? Do you guys trim your skirts, the ones on your jigs anyway, in a particular manner? How many don't use skirted jigs (or have tried not using them)? How is/was your success?

Okay, so far most think it doesn't affect them. Explain to me then, what is fishing pressure? Is it simply the noise of boats that cause the fish to turn off? I thought it was the sight of bait after bait after bait. What do you think? As for the Rick Clunn thing, I read something similar on this board this year so I have made a habit of releasing the fish in a different spot, even if it is a few feet down. I don't know that it matters, but I feel more confident that I will get bit again so I do it.

Have you found that using a lure that isn't getting strikes causes the fish to not hit the right lure? Here is an example...Say you are throwing a jig and pig and you make 30 casts to the same general area with no detectable strikes. Do you now have a decreased chance of catching fish in that area if you immediately switch to something that would have produced in the beginning, say with a spinnerbait? I am thinking that the bass feel pressured or spooked or simply know that something is up and then will be less likely to hit should you change up. Or have you found that you can throw a hundred times to a spot without a hit and then throw something different, or maybe just a significantly different color to the spot and then start catching?

What's the difference?

Some of you guys indicated that you get a new cheap pair when they "wear out". What do you mean, wear out? I have never worn a pair out, only lost them or did something accidentally stupid that scratced the lenses. I'd hate to pay $200 and have the glasses wear out. FYI - I just bought two of the cheap pairs from Walmart this week...$8.95 each. I knew they were crap but I needed them and did't have the money for anything else. I tried all the different brands and got the ones that felt the most comfortable. Wore them for 7 hours the next day and was amazed at how comfortable they were. They were also my first amber pair and I was very impressed with what I was able to see in the cloudy conditions. They helped me catch several fish that I would not have seen without polarized glasses, and possibly without the amber lenses. Polarized lenses are a must!!! Regular lenses actually make it harder to see the fish. And KU is right, protect those eyes! You only get one pair.

Holy crap! I had no idea there was so much to know about crayfish. In 25+ years of fishing, I have NEVER seen a crayfish but I love fishing with jigs. You guys have given me so much more to think about. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! What kind of home made device can I use to try and catch crayfish? Do I need bait, like with crabbing? Do you think that the crayfish in a similar geographic region look the same in terms of color? Or can they be different from body of water to body of water? Is the color more related to water temp or season? We have bodies of water just a few miles from each other where the water temp is different by 10 - 20 degrees. I don't have time to catch crayfish everywhere! ;D I fished a body of water yesterday where the fish eat crabs as well as crayfish (it connects to salt water). A guy showed me his livewell after his tourney and there were pieces of crustacean in the bottom. They were red/orange, BTW. There was no way to tell which they were from, although I doubt it matters. If the crabs are red/orange, do you think the crayfish would follow suit? Thanks for your great input on this one. I am going to try and dig up more info on crayfish. You have all just greatly improved my fishing success. Rick

I don't know if this is a regional thing, but everyone I know throws a black and blue jig and pig combo. I have always done it and had good success although I am simply following what has been suggested to me by others. It would seem to me that if you are trying to "match the hatch", that you would want at least some red or orange in it somewhere. Do these colors simply not produce as well? If not, anyone have a reason? Rick