Shad_Master

Cabelas10 I do understand and you probably won't draw me as a partner -- If we were fishing multiple day tournaments and switching partners after each day then I can see you point and I would not give away where you are likely to fish that next day. But the kind of tournaments that I fish are one-day events and we usually only fish a particular lake once a year. Some of the guys in my club have the attitude that "this is my spot, we caught fish here, so you can never bring anybody back here". I call bovine stuff. When we are prefishing I will tell you what worked and what didn't last year and the same for next year as well. Furthermore, most of the lakes we fish are small enough that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where you caught them hawgs. I will not crowd you out of a spot, but I will durn sure check it out if you leave and I think that there may still be some fish there. If we start putting up "no trespassing" signs eventually there won't be any lake left. And btw, just cause you and I caught 'em there last year, last month or last week doesn't mean they will be there today.

Don't let these guys get their bluff in on you -- they hang up, too -- we all do -- that's how the bait monkey gets fat. With practice you may find little subtle tricks that will cut down on the snagging, but it ain't gonna go away. Just make sure that snag ain't a big ole hawg before you go breakin off.

Well actually that is not hard to figure out -- your friend is the BAIT MONKEY!!!

My suggestion for fishing a 1/16 oz jig would be to weight it with a 1/4 oz bullet weight. These things are kind of like wet flies - you will have a hard time getting it into cover.

I really didn't like him on the Loud Mouth Bass show, but then I didn't like that show at all -- he was obnoxious and Kumar was whiny. But now that he is doing more "serious" work he has really grown on me. Hope he stays around awhile. As for the announcer gig -- bring back Fishburne!!!!

20-lb-sack - by "the middle of the canal" I meant he was putting me in a situation where there was no room to fish to either side - a little sportsmanship goes along way in any sport and if somebody is hogging the water from the front of the boat they are not likely to stay with a club for long. This particular guy has a history of putting his non-boater at a disadvantage and has even openly admitted that he does that, but he will never be voted Miss Congeniality in our club. BTW, the canal was very narrow and he eventually got the message - we fished one side going in and the other side comming out -- thus no problem.

Most of the lakes where we fish are public property - that means nobody "owns" any portion of the that lake and nobody is entitled to exclusive rights to any portion of it. If you fish with me and we find a spot where we hammer 'em and the next time you beat me to that spot - good for you. You still have to catch 'em. If I see you set up in 30 feet of water and hold there for an hour, you can bet that I will move in sometime after you leave to see what the attraction is and I may visit that spot the next time as well. Ettiquete on the water has to do with crowding, not fishing where the fish are or have been.

I guess I don't get your point - in a tournament day the Pro (or club member or whoever) only has to have 5 bites to weigh in a limit. I know in my experience, I have had days when I may have landed up to as many as 40 bass, but didn't bring in a limt because they were dinks. Other days I may have a limit but no kicker and so I finish back in the pack. Still other days, I may have a limit of 15" fish or better but still no "kicker" to put me over the top. I think that happens a lot on both BASS and FLW tournaments as well -- TV isn't going to show you much footage of a guy standing in the boat with his line in the water or reelin in dinks. Maybe that's the "myth" you were talking about. But from what I recall from looking at the tournament statisitcs there are usually not a lot of guys that blank for the whole tournament and for those with a limit, you really can't know how many they culled to get their final weight. BASS website gives the totals for each of their tournaments, don't know if they have them archived somewhere. That might give you the 411 you are looking for.

The answer to your question depends a lot on the purpose of the club. My club prides itself on being a "learning club". All pairings are done based on a draw for boaters and non-boaters. We even have rules that say, under certain circumstances, a boater can be drawn out of his boat (but only once in a year). We also have rules against fishing with the same partner more than once in a year. Now are there some sphincter muscles in the club that are hard to fish behind, sure. But overall, the non-boater is not at a "major" disadvantage. In fact 4 of the top ten this last year were non-boaters. It also depends on how familiar you are with the lakes and how comfortable you are in handling the boat knowing that your buddy in the back is fishing to win also. I joined the club after I got my first boat, but have fished as a non-boater for club tournaments with only one exception (when we needed a boat to make the pairings come out right). I am currently having big motor problems, but if I get them worked out by the start of the season, I plan to fish as a boater for the first time this year. Mostly because I now know the lakes on the schedule and want to really see if there is an advantage at the front. Don't be afraid to fish from the back - but do be aware that your club philosophy can make a difference.

What myth is that?

Part of the problem you are going to have with this is the size of the fish in the fishery itself. The bag weight at Amistaad was huge, same for the Classic last year in Florida, but at Table Rock I think they were bringing in limits of 10-12 pounds, the size of an average fish at the above two events. Also, you factor in smallies and spotted bass and the size is going to be affected as well. A buddy of mine fished a tournament in California and had a 5 bass limit of just under 40 pounds - he came in 4th, around here he would set a record that would probably never be broken. Too many variables.

Write-in vote: the one in that 5#er's mouth that I just hauled in

A couple fo years ago I finally convinced my wife to go out in the boat with me for a day of fishing (not her thing at all) and I was having a pretty rough day. I noticed a guy setting up on the only tree growing along a long stretch of rip-rap, but didn't see him catching anything. I moved over to that area and he began to pull off when I recognized him as member of my club. He asked where I was headed and preceded to tell me that he had fished that tree out, but I decided to give a shot anyway. I noticed that he had been fishing a Senko and when I got within casting distance I fired a Rat-l Trap over to the spot - I was rewarded with a 25" monster that he had apparently overlooked while "fishing out" the area. You may catch a bunch, but you ain't gonna catch 'em all.

I have fished as a non-boater with my club for the last 4 years, even though I own a boat. I elected to do this to begin with because I didn't know the lakes we fish well enough to think that I could put a non-boater on the fish. In that four years, I feel that I have only been "back boated" twice. Once was when my boater found a fish on a bed in about 15 feet of water and spend almost an hour trying to catch it. The other time was when my boater was fishing canals and positioned the boat in the middle while he casted to both sides from the front. In that case, I just fired over his shoulder toward the front of the boat sevel times until he finally got the idea -- btw I managed to catch fish while throwing ahead of him which really didn't sit well. All the other times that I have had problems it had more to do with fishing style than actually being limited on the water (trolling along at warp speed or pulling out to really deep water for instance) but if the boater was catching fish, I really couldn't fault him and tried to learn to adapt. The result has been that I have increased my arsenal of techniques by watching and learning. However, having said all that, I do believe that the non-boater should protest whenever he feels that he has been put at a disadvantage otherwise the boater will keep on doing this and others will be put at a disadvantage as well.

First of all I have found that these lures work best in grass -- not so good around brush piles, standing timber or laydowns. Secondly, I have had by best luck when using what I call (others disagree) a horizontal yo-yo retrieve (pull on the lure, get it chattering and let it fall). Usually the fish will hit on the the next pull. But a medium retrieve also works well especially if there is a chop on the water. I know of guys who simply fish them like jigs (let 'em fall to the bottom and hop 'em up) but I have not had much luck using that method.

Don't know for sure, but I got a letter from BPS last night that said I was among the to 10% of retail customers for BPS - the wife didn't think that was a great accomplishment.

I notice they sell for a buck cheaper than the Booyah Boogie's - there is a local guy who it making them here for around $3 each and he will custom make the skirt to your specifications.

Maybe there needs to be a drinking game where you do a shot every time Roland makes a plug.

I saw a deal on Break.com this morning that shows you how to open a locked car with a tennis ball -- looked cool - not convinced, but check it out.

Last year I was fishing with a crankbait and the bass got both sets of trebles in his mouth - I couldn't lip him so I grabbed him around the belly - when I took the front treble loose he flopped and drove one of the front trebles into my thumb just where the web between the thumb and forfinger is. I manged to get him unhooked and back in the water but couldn't get the hook to move. It didn't hurt unless I pulled on it and I was afraid that I woud do more damage trying to get it out - so I cut the line, reeled up and headed for the emergency room. The doctor used the method shown in figure 4 of the article and backed the hook out slick as a button. The shot he gave me hurt worse than the hook did and I caught lots more fish with that CB.

I just ususally hold my son by the ankles over the side of the boat while trolling through the area ;D

A new favorite saying that I just learned: "Nothing increases the size of a fish than almost being caught".

There is a guy by the name of Tom Mabe that has made a stand-up and record comedian career out of how he responds to telemarketers. He takes on different personas and then records them. It is hilarious -- I especially like the one where he asks the carpet cleaning guy if he can get blood out of the carpet and will he come over right away - but park down the street so as not to attract attention. Check him out if you can.

I had to laugh when I read about the "chatter box" - this is what one of the guys in our club insisted on calling Chatter Baits last year, but I am certain he did not catch any SL's ;D

Check out the local clubs in your area - BASS did an article a year or so ago about small boat clubs and the one I belong to was mentioned. When our club was originally started we had everything from high powered Rangers to inflatables and even a kayak. Over time the club has pretty much evolved into mostly bass boats, but this also includes Job Boats and the draw establishes where the non-boaters fish. Rule says you cant fish with the same partner twice in one year. Also, a lot of clubs openly solicit non-boaters to help offset the costs of traveling to the lake, camping/motel, etc. Don't let not having a boat keep you from getting more involved.