Chris

I use a gray lens for bright days with a lot of sun. I use amber lens for overcast days. The mossback and the hiconY lens I have never used from solar bat. The mossback is for site fishing and the yellow HiConY is for low light or tannic water (tea color water).

Welcome to the forum!

So if Iraq, Iran, and Korea all have nukes, claim to have them, show evidence of having them, or threaten to use nukes on the U.S. and their allies and the rest of the world say don't do anything we should forget about our interests? I think at the time the President was making a strong case that Iraq had nuclear capability and was crazy enough to use them. Regardless if the information was inaccurate based on what was found on the ground after the fact, at the time we thought they did. They did have enough compelling evidence to take action and had both sides of the aisle based on the intel say we need to take action. If Iraq did have the bomb I feel that they would use it without question is it worth the chance?

I agree

They know the region and they knew what would happen. President Bush the first was wise enough to listen. If you recall before the present Gulf war, The Saudi's and other well meaning friends of the USA urged us NOT to go in. You need to understand is that the Saudi's have a bunch of their own terrorist. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia you have one side that likes the U.S. You have the other side that want the spread of Islam and rejects the U.S. and Israel. Publicly they do not support terrorist, but you still have large companies, and government branches that do. It is a kinda under the table thing. They are playing both sides because they have their own interests. Publicly they gave money to help rebuild Iraq, but I would bet that the amount is nowhere near how much was spent to destroy it. Look at how they are handling the government of Iraq "if you do not support the sueny<sp? population to our liking then Saudi will not support the U.S." That faction is the same faction that makes up the majority tribe in Saudi. Saudi has an agenda so I wouldn't call them a "well meaning friend." Our relationship is a business relationship they needed us to develop their oil and develop the country and they feel that their money can buy influence. They do not have a democratic government nor want one.

Also if your wearing a lot of heavy winter cloths while fishing wear one. I had to fish out a tournament partner one year that fell in and the water soaked up in his winter cloths and he sank like a rock. Dragging the guy in the boat was a chore in a half because of the extra weight of the water logged cloths.

Do any of you folks ever feel like you could be a much better fisherman if you would have done things differently? nope What's been the biggest influence in making you the fisherman you are now? I always hung out with the older adults and tournament guys they taught me a lot and I learned a lot by having the opportunity to fish a bunch. I felt that if I learned the old stuff then I would have a better understanding of the new techniques. I learned a lot by fishing in Florida and other places around the United States. Florida fishing was important because it helped me learn how to finesse fish, sight fish, read grass, trophy fish, and how to deal with pressured fish. Being able to fish other parts of the country taught me versatility. I have always been a free thinker and I always enjoyed challenge of problem solving when things didn't go right. I think it helped because I find that I think of different directions other than the norm.

Try the jig in the rocks also and the crankbait in the tree.

Ever fish those pads with a spinnerbait? Try using a single willow blade spinnerbait and bend the blade arm wire up a little. The arm will fend off the stems and you will be surprised how well it will cut throught that stuff. Start with casting parallel to the outside edge. Then try pitching to the outside and run it from deep to shallow. On ponds that are shaped like that make sure to work the corners real good. Places like that small point of grass to the right of the palm tree with the poles holding it up is another spot. When you have two forms of weeds meeting is always a great spot. Nice fish

Wow that's smart ........I didn't log off.

If you throwing in heavy cover use a rattle always. You will be able to keep the bait in one place and call the fish to the bait that way. I don't use a rattle on a swim jig avid.

Baby Johnny Rattler Spit'n image buzzbait

hick-up fixed I don't know what the heck was going on. I tried to log in for 2 hours.

I use the same size jig but I go with a lighter jig. I want the same bulk but I want a slower fall. This is mainly if I am fishing shallow in deeper water I pick the weight by what I can feel at the depth.

The best all time lure is a plastic worm.

Iraq in the beginning was not our enemy.-true When he pushed his forces down to Kuwait and was trying to take over Kuwait and maybe move into Saudi Arabia then we stepped in. Kuwait, Saudi, asked for help and we helped. Saddam was rather ticked and Iraq became our enemy. I know when I was in the service I have been deployed to the region 3 different times because he was a threat to someone. He was left there as a buffer against Iran.-true Iran and Iraq have been at war for years. After Gulf 1 Sadddam was a toothless blowhard preoccupied with thwarting the plots against him.-true but he also threatened countries around him. General Schwartzkorf's army in Gulf one had defeated the Republic Guard and was within 30 miles of Baghdad with nothing to stop him. He was ordered to stop by a wise president who realized that toppling Saddam would leave us with what we have today-False he was ordered to stop because of politics. The countries around the region wanted us to stop. Namely Iraq in chaos and Iran as the regional power. I think President Bush (the second) got really pizsed off when Saddam stupidly tried to assasinate the senior George Bush.-maybe but the bigger picture was if they didn't take out Iraq then the problems that we see there would be the same in Afganistan. When we went into Afghanistan insurgents where coming from Iraq.

You need to think of it more in terms of vibration. A Bandit, fatfree shad, has more of a midrange vibration. Bomber model A, Balsa B, has a tight vibration. The 3 1/2" shallow Bill Norman bait, Orion Rick Clunn, has a thump or low pitch vibration. If that gives you a reference. A wiggle of a crankbait is how far left and right the bait pivots. The vibration is what you can feel transmitted up the line to your hands. You can have a wide wiggle crankbait that has a high pitch vibration. You can also have a tight wiggling bait that because of the size and shape of the body displaces more water than a bait with a wide wiggle. When you can feel a bait thump that is a low pitch vibration. When you take a crankbait and bounce it off the bottom you change the vibration of the bait. You can take the wrong wiggle and tight vibration and fish it in the wrong water and it works because you are creating more noise/ vibration by banging it on the bottom. I have had days that one day they want a fatfree shad the next day a Bandit and the next day a Bill Norman bait, the next day a spinnerbait, the next day a Hank Parker spinnerbait, the next day a Balsa B or other handmade crankbait. Sometimes the bass are picky or conditions have changed and bass want something else. Fishing pressure and changing conditions are what changes what works.

incase you didn't know Jimmy Houston 15 Classic Appearances 2 Bass events won 35 top ten finishes 68 top 20 1976 AOY 1986 AOY Call me crazy but I want to know what the man has to say. :

It is a way to keep the lure off the bottom and suspended. This would be a good way to fish areas that have a thick weed bottom and you want the bait to stay on top. Try a 6" redshad worm rigged Texas style and just drag the worm and let it swim while staying in contact with the weeds. You can also pitch it into small openings in the grass and let the worm free fall then pick it up till you feel the weight and shake it and let it fall back. It also is a jam up way to bed fish or when you want to fish vertical cover like pad stems or cat tails. You can also use it like a Carolina rig. I mainly just pitch it to a spot or cast it, let it fall, pick it up shake it or drag it, then let it fall again. You can also just bring the lure up and just shake it in a spot like in a bush and dance it around waiting for a bass to take it.

The bait I use is like a shad rap with a funky bill it is 3 1/8" long. The lure is like a live shad print. I did post something about this lure and when to fish it on another post about seasonal fishing either late fall/ winter tactics. I think the post is about a year or two old. The only time I really use that bait is in the winter and in clear lakes. It is a great lure for suspending fish and you can also use it like a jigging spoon I have caught fish that way also.

The small bait idea is because in cold water a bass can see your lure better or at a greater distance. Small lures also will draw more strikes than big lures when the bass are picky. If a bass has an offering that is large and easy to catch they will hit it but in most cases larger baitfish are the strong fish that are hard to catch. Bass feed infrequently because their metabolism has slowed down. They require less food because they are not using as much energy. "When they do feed they want a big meal" that is false when they do feed it is because they had an opportunity. Bass don't think I got to eat a large shiner because the small ones are not big enough to help me survive the winter. They think hey there is something to eat and if they can catch it they will. Bass feed heavy in the fall to pack on weight for the winter. They use the fat reserves in the winter and because of the slowed metabolism don't need to feed as often.

Welcome to the forum

Kuwait (Sept 20, 1996) While the confrontation between the United States and Iraq has eased in the past week, the Americans have continued their build up in the Persian Gulf. More than 30,000 U.S. military personnel will be in the Gulf compared with fewer than 20,000 before the latest crisis in Iraq erupted three weeks ago. Iraq has been using radar to track U.S. aircraft patrolling the "no-fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq, but it has not fired on any planes in the past week. "The bad news is that we have to do it" said Col. Robert Pollard. "Saddam continues to flex his muscles, therefore we have to continue to deploy our forces." Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the only Gulf states playing host to large numbers of American forces, with several thousands U.S. personnel in each. In Washington, CIA Director John Deutch said the Kurdish faction leader who forged a temporary alliance with Saddam last month to rout a rival Kurdish faction is now seeking U.S. protection. Meanwhile, the exact number of dead and wounded remained in dispute Friday following Wednesday's shelling of a refugee camp in northwest Iran that is full of Iraqi Kurds who fled the recent turmoil. Iran said the camp shelters about 35,000 Iraqi Kurd refugees. (Saddam) at times his actions seem to defy logic. Why, for instance, did he choose to provoke the United States just when he was about to clinch the oil-for-food deal he'd demanded for so long. I still have this clip that was sent to me when I was in the middle of all that stuff. The whole thing is 5 pages long I thought it was interesting. To fire on a U.S. aircraft defending a no-fly-zone is an act of war. To take (Saddam's)your troops and move them past the no-fly-zone to Kuwait's boarder is an act of war. The problem that I see is that your going to have all these different groups gunning for control if we don't have something in place that other groups can't run right over, you might end up with something that is worse than Saddam. That is a fact and we will all be sitting here wondering what to do next. This isn't like a normal war when you can pick up your toys and go home and not worry about things. It doesn't work that way I wish it did. If someone takes over the government that was in place and they say well lets attack the "bad guys" us here we are back in the middle of things. When you hear Iran says death to America, death to Israel guess what he means it. Iran would be the first to try to take over Iraq in my opinion. That is one of the big reasons why there is in influx of insurgents. If a war becomes unpopular then America brings the troops home. The different tribes don't have big army's, planes, missiles, tanks, they just fight among themselves let them hash it out right? We leave and watch Iran who has organized troops, tanks, planes, missiles, turn it into a parking lot. Then what blame America for leaving I can hear it now. The world will have a field day. We will point fingers saying "I told you he had nukes" the world will point fingers "why didn't you do something you where distracted." Iran is the problem or the MAIN problem that needs to be looked at before we decide to just leave. I have issues and concerns myself but I understand the bigger picture and how bad it can become. 1) What blows my mind is why don't we disarm everybody. That is BS 2) When the troops where told to release someone by the prime minister who was wanted. That was BS 3) when they lifted some of the road blocks and the next day the area was bombed. That was BS

That did give me a chuckle. ;D Back when Guido Hibdon was dominating the tour to be honest that was all he had to do back when the industry was simple. Catch fish, win, show off a bait or technique. I remember watching Guido on the "Pro's Pointers" part of the Bassmaster program teaching the viewers how to skip a tube under docks or how to site fish beds. If he won a tournament he got air time to talk about lures or techniques and products sold. When he won a Classic he became a hot commodity pushing the Guido frog, (strange bait to push for a site fishermen for years you could buy the same lure from Netcraft or Stamina)Guido Bug, ring worm, Flying lure, Renosky jerkbait with a skirt tail, Poe's/Hotlips/Timber Tiger,(not known as a crankbait guy) I am sure I missed a few. They slapped his name on all kinds of stuff all he had to do was catch fish and build his name recognition. It isn't like that now I am also will be curious to see the response if any.

The best advise I can give you is to make sure that you have your degree or whatever education you decide to have already under your belt before you make the jump to fish full time. Classes like public speaking, marketing, business, can help you down the line. While you are doing that try to gain as much knowledge about bass and bass fishing as you can. Try to fish with people that are knowledgeable and read and study bass fishing. It doesn't do you any good to know how to sell something if you can't put fish in the boat. Also if you don't know what your talking about or if you have a hard time speaking to someone then you would have a hard time speaking to a group about a technique or lure. When you become a professional then you get introduced to the "business side" of bass fishing which includes self marketing and other business skills. It is a lot easier to sit in front of a potential sponsor like Minn Kota when you have a good educational background, your a good public speaker, you know how to market things and yourself. It is very hard to sit in front of them and just tell them how good you are at bass fishing. They are going to look at you like your nuts and hand you a long list of other good fishermen and ask you what makes you better then them...what sets you apart. When you get to that level of fishing it is a business. My ultimate dream is to be a professional bass angler. But if that doesn't work out I want to be a wildlife biologist You would be wise to think about it in another direction. 1. Get my degree or other education 2. work on becoming a professional angler Not the other way around