Jrob78

I put oval split rings on every bait I buy, as soon as it comes out of the package. It's probably a bit ocd on my part but I hate round rings and would never use snaps. I like the oval rings because you don't have to think about where you tie and your knot never ends up in the split.

That makes sense, the restaurant probably sells stuff by the pound and is overcharging people.

Mattlures Hardgill and Ultimate Bluegill

I'm on my feet all day on concrete. I generally wear Nike Air Max shoes which run from $120 on sale to about $180. I usually get a new pair every 6 months or so. They don't wear out but the soles start to break down and they lose some of their support. Once I get a new pair the retired pair move over to fishing shoes. I also have retro Jordans that are $200+. Different strokes for different folks.

Right now I would buy a Kistler KLX FNR 7'2 MH while they're on sale for $199.

Daiwa TD-Z Type R+ Daiwa Fuego when they were closed out for at TW Daiwa Alphas R Edition Daiwa Presso Shimano Chronarch 50MG Shimano Chronarch D7

If the Curado 200 doesn't hold enough line for you best I can tell your options are a Tranx 300 or a round reel if you want new. You can probably find some older discontinued curado models like the b or d that hold more line but I'm not sure how much.

For me the 903c would be a t-rig, light jig rod and maybe paddle tail swimbaits from your list. I'm not a fan of mag bass tapers for most moving baits. If I were you I would buy the 903 since the price is right and find a different use for it. I would buy the Expride 7'2" med hvy glass for your spinnerbait, chatterbaits, topwaters and also some crankbaits. Of course rod action is personal preference and like bwjay said, if you take care of it you can easily resell it if it doesn't work for you. So I guess my advice is buy 2 rods. ?

I'm not sure what you're asking but those aren't techniques that require a top dollar, high end rod. If money is no issue, go for it but I reserve my top rod money for techniques that require sensitivity and benefit from a high modulus lightweight rod. Not sure that helps but I wouldn't use a Conquest for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and topwaters.

BASS has their ICAST preview up now. https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/hot-new-products-icast-2019

FWIW, the Mojo line uses a better blank than the Bass X or Premier. Not sure how much difference it makes in real world fishing scenarios but in theory it should be more sensitive.

Patrick Walters Brandon Lester David Mullins Brock Mosley Carl Jocumsen

BRO!!!!

I use these and tackle bags.

I posted it in the DiNk FeSt thread but FLW just had a 3 day tourney on Table Rock and the winner had 46 pounds, so an average of 3 lbs per fish. It just isn't a big fish lake but obviously has numbers.

Cool, I'm really only familiar with the original Lowriders, I assumed the 20's were the newest ones. It's a shame they are moving everything out of the country but I guess that's what they feel they have to do to be competitive, stock up while you can.

It's working for me

Since they are going back to Table Rock they've decided to change things up and start each day at 12:00pm and go until 8:00pm. I've never seen a professional organization have an evening tournament. It looks like the championship round will be held in the morning but the all other days are in the afternoon. They are also broadcasting all 3 daily rounds live for this one. Starts today at noon (central time).

I hate to tell you but I think the only US made Falcon rods are the Cara line. I've heard rumors that they are being phased out, not 100% sure about that though.

It's obviously dumb but it's probably not any worse, performance wise, than any of the other cheap graphite reels on the market. If it helps get kids into fishing because they think the gear is cool, I don't have a problem with that. They will graduate into better gear as they get more experience and sense.

I understand what you're saying, I don't agree though. These guys have 2 days to make it into the top 20 out of 40 during the first round and they've had 2 practice days prior to that. Some guys have had terrible first days to go on and figure it out on the 2nd day and make the top 20, plenty of time for decision making and changing things up. If they advance out of the first round they start over at 0, this means the guy that squeaks into the cut in 20th place has the same odds as the guy who finished 1st. If anything it gives them more chances to make decisions and change things up since they aren't working from a deficit. On the final day it would be hard to win if they don't start out well and someone else does, but at that point they should pretty well know what they're doing as they've already been on the lake for 5 days. In 5 fish tournaments often times the guys below about 5th place have no chance to win as they're already too far behind, in this format everyone starts at zero so it's wide open for anyone to win.

I'm guessing you haven't watched any of the of the coverage. If you think guys pick a starting spot and milk it all day, you are mistaken. Most guys fished a shad spawn in the morning and moved to another pattern as the day progressed. There have also been several guys everyday who struggled in the morning and made a run during the 3rd period to advance to the next day. To simplify an 8 hour day of fishing to a starting spot is quite misleading and flat out wrong. As far as them going back to Table Rock, I have no idea. They are still advertising Grand on their website but with all the recent rains and flooding I wouldn't be shocked if they moved the event. BASS just postponed an OK event last week.

Bobby Lane caught 60 bass for 95-04 today. If you think that doesn't showcase his skill and ability to find and catch fish and figure out a solid pattern, I'm not sure what to tell you. I guess as somebody said, he just figured out the best place to start the day. lol Is it a perfect system? No, it isn't. Hopefully they will tweak it as it goes to make it better. This is a brand new way of doing tournaments in its first year, guys are still learning how to play. It isn't ever going to be a 5 biggest fish format, there are 2 other national trails for that. FLW just had a 3 day tournament on Table Rock, the winner had 46-3, or an average of 3.08 pounds per fish. Not exactly a lake full of giants.

If you like the 5 biggest fish format watch BASS and FLW. Seems silly to complain about MLF, the format is different on purpose, don't watch it if you don't like it. ?

They catch the fish that live in the lakes they are sent to. They've been catching spawners and fish chasing spawning shad at this one and the last one. These lakes just don't have the numbers of big ones that the first few lakes did. They can't fish FL, TX, Chickamauga and those lakes in NC during the pre-spawn and spawn all season long.