Matt Fly

Yep, your right, those 9 boats did have 90 hp Opt Max's on the back of them. They were the boats that are given away for the first 3,4, and 5 lb even bass wieghed everyday, and if not won, they'll draw names to give them away. All Triton 17X3's. Fiberglass bass rigs. Did you notice that the 3 4 5 lb even weight bass where caught on Friday and those boats was won, on Sat. no one hit any of the even weight boats and those boat was given away by drawing on Sunday. Sundays 3 boats where also won on the water. Some years he's given 5000 cash for even wights, it just depends on the overall packages and what lake, Rayburn, Fork or Toledo Bend. Also, I think this will be 4th annual Guntersville, which has been growing in numbers, as will the payout.

I don't know if its true or not, but its the mark to beat as the records shows. Why debate it any further? All the CSI technology available hasn't over ruled it yet. Mac's bass is living proof that bigger bass exist. But not the record. Cali laws states all fish must be hooked in the mouth, IGFA states all state laws must be observed. Cali law makes it moot point in the first place. Fish of a lifetime, I'm truly sorry he fouled hooked that fish behind the dorsal. I'd love to see Dottie as our record. A fish that massive deserves to be more than a memory. Dottie might have been the next record to stand for 100 years.

I was thinking repeat for Celtics if they stayed healthy this year. King James and Kobe would be great series to watch. It should come down to the Spurs and Lakers from the west, with the Lakers coming out on top. Now hurry up and finished B ball, so football is that much closer.

Randy said he was all the way back in Buck close to where little Sandy runs in. His son just missed even weight boat as well. I'm sure he'll think about missing 5th by .07 for along time. 5000 for the hour with the bonus will help I guess. If you looked in the tank Sunday, his bass, 9.73 had huge knot on its lip, looked like a big round marble attached to its lip. Catt posted 12.5 or close would probabley win it. Guy at Cassels Boykin Park landed a 12.3 on Thursday while prefishing. I will say that with 7500 boats on the water, I had no issues with any. Few years back, my cousin promised his wife that he'd take her fishing over 4th of July weekend. Long story short, he did take her fishing as promised. His partner asked a co worker to come out and pre-fish for upcoming Media tournament on Fork. All three worked at SBC. Their co-worker was hit on Fork by lightining and dead on the spot. I always respected storms, but since then, I have taken that respect to another whole level. Would like to know where you guys will be for T Bend? We need to get together and have some brisket or something one day. I have been staying at Lowes the past few years on the Texas side. Catt showed me how to get around to a few ramps to cover water easier. Duh, I typed 7500 boats, contestants is more like it. I did see singles, doubles, triples, and many in pontoons. I wonder what the boat count was on the water?

Wow, most of us older folks never had 24 hour outdoor channels to watch most of our lives. Any bass fishing, FLW or BASS beats none at all. Kinda like the days of only two channels, 3 actually, abc, nbc, cbs, but one had to be tuned in by going outside and turning the aerial. We always got Notre Dame football in Texas on NBC, it was better than no football even though it wasn't a Texas team playing. Count your blessing, most of the time back in those days, FLW wasn't a thought then, you had to wait for the next issue of BASS to come out to see the results. Like I said, any bassin is better than no bassin.

No other tournament comes close to one of Bob's Big Bass Splashes, not in payout, not in entries, or promoting family and fishing. Kudos to Sealy's Outdoors for 25 years of history in the making.

Nope, put my rods up as soon as the first flash was seen and headed to a private ramp off the old 705 Rd. I caught better fish from the camp grounds in the new grass that has shown up on the backside of Cassels Boykin Park. My Rayburn local insisted on fishing the muddied up Bayou area above Buck Bay.\\\ Winning bass came from Indian creek on a 10 inch black power worm. This guy has won the KYXX on Palestine and been in a few top 5 before. The 6th place overall fish came from Buck Bay on a Wave Worm Tiki Stik water melon red. Heard a few other top fish came on 10 inch worms as well. I had my grandson come out on Sunday. He colored easter eggs and fished. Great trip overall.

One way or another, your gonna pay in the long run. Those that used their monies for illegal purposes are simpley gonna turn to theft and or other avenues to get that fix. Whether you get robbed at home, car broken into, your gonna pay in forms of inusurance hikes and such to compenstate for the stopped government check. Sorry, you just can't ween generation after generation who have had it free for so long, even their parents, grand parents are generation Welfare. How come we don't spew the same rhetoric about giving foreign aide to other countries like we do about our poor. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I should be responsible for others actions either, but we don't rant about taking care of other countries, so why should we scrutinize our own citizens when we don't scrutinize the countries we give more to? Politcal thread. I'll stop now before its locked.

Changing winds started to stain it as of Sunday morning. Changing wind will muddy some other areas that were clear. Found the heavy stained areas to be tougher. Best bait for heavy stained area has been baits with lots of vibration, ie spinner baits and traps. Water is coming up, but hasn't gotten into the buck brush yet. The bass that I have found have been keying on spawning shad in the grass. My best bait has been 10" watermelonseed trick worm rigged wacky. Friday evening, Christena nailed a white bass that was 23 1/2" long, this Sandy was post spawn. This wasn't a hybrid. Lake record is just alittle over 3 lbs, if this fish would of had eggs, this would have been lake record Longest white I have ever seen. Have pictures of the fish on the board. Some top water, but with the cloud cover most of the day lately, that bite hasn't materilized in my area yet. Come tourney day, I'll be on the other arm coming out of St. Augstine park area. I'll be fishing in and around Buck Bay. I'll be checking the inside grass line with rising water. Inside grass line is now 3 ft in some areas. Rishing water is spreading the fish out. I'm in Nac. visiting my daughter for the day, had to run Chris back for work as well. Will be back at it in between the storms as they pass. Looking like 40% chance of rain Friday Sat. and Sunday. Good luck. I may try to post again before tourney. If I can help ya, I'll post what I know.

Do you think he would have used a 17' boat with a co angler onboard? . That livewell has one lid with a divider, I have fished out of the same boat a dozen times last year. When we, as a team collected fish out of there, we placed worm bag protecting one side and used body on the otherside. Trust me, those fish jump with a 3 foot hole open. Thus my point, he had no space for a second angler. And any larger boat wouldn't have ever got under that bridge. Thus that game plan would have never materialized for him with larger boat.

I think they'll have around 7000 entries over the 3 day period. I will be at Cassel Boykins Park no later than this Friday. look for the camp with the UT flag and chairs, green Durango with Fork decal on the back. That would be the camps on the left as you come in with water and electrical hookups. Stop by and say hello and have a drink. Love to meet anyone of you guys.

Don't forget last season, UNC was picked to win last years tournament as well and howed that work out?

There have been quite a few tournaments in the past few years on Amistad and Falcon. FLW and BASS. You might do a search for results to read the specifics. Also ask around who might have those taped. The all time 4 day total weight was set on Falcon last year by Paul Elias. 132+ on 20 fish. I'd start there.

Go Spartans. You couldn't ask for any two better coaching matchups. Roy Williams and Tom Izzo are super coaches. I hope its a barn burner with the capacity of over 70,000, it should be electricity in the air. gotta love March Madness!!!!!!!

Does anyone think Mark Menendez would have been able to exicute that plan with a co angler in the boat? For those that didn't see the Elites on Dardanelle. Mark opted for an aluminum boat with 90hp. He ran an hour up lake where he had to go through a cement culvert to get to his 1/4 mile fishing hole. On day 3, the lake dropped some and Mark layed on his belly and manually removed some big rocks. I believe that was a 17' G3. It has one livewell with a divider, one lid to the livewell. Two limits in that boat would be very hard to accomodate. 15" minimum on that lake. I can assure you, the only storage for the co boater would be the floor. A G3 has no back deck storage, under the passengers seat is the cooler. Does this validate the pro's asking for the co anglers to be removed? By the way, its the first BASS tourney won in an aluminum boat since the 1994 win on the Connecticut river by Roland Martin. I thought Menendez' was too cool and couldn't have happened to anyone more deserving. What I know of Mark, he's always been a very respected pro.

If its holding the right fish, in a heart beat. You found it by being observant. GL next week. We have alot of old lakes. The original timber standing has eroded. There is very little vegitation, level fluctuates to much. Tons of boats docks. Cedar Creek in Tx for example. To be honest, if the owners didn't hang Xmas trees under the docks for crappie, and fishermens of all types, pleasure and tournament all plant brush. Whether its under the bridges for crappie or off points for bass. This added cover helps baitfish and fry survive. Same issue as mentioned on Conroe and the grass carp. Once the grass is gone, the fishing will decline most likely. Why? Small prey don't have a chance. No place to hide. So to be honest, the lakes that have the most brush are most likely lakes that are void of vegitation due to lake levels dropping so fast, and old erroded timber. No place to concentrate fish. Next best thing is to plant some in areas that should hold bass. So guys got smart, just like the example of the FLW pro who knew the lake would be very low, planted brush where he figured it would come into play. Hard work paid off.

Whether its an old stump or tree, learn to identify the type of tree. By learning what types of trees grow where, in open water, you can identify where creek channels are by what timber is present without ever seeing a map. Or identify high spots due to type of timber growing. Certain trees in East and North Texas grow in certain areas.. Some are known to grow on higher grounds where some are in low lying areas. Know what hardwoods grow next to creek channel s or represent bends in channels. Look for the largest trees visible with large trunks, this will usually denote sometype of creek or channel. Knowing what kind of tree tells you how the roots have grown and likelly how they have washed out under them. A good example is cypress trees. If you didn't know the roots grew up and away from that tree or stump, you many not have hit the sweet spots away from it. Ever look at the surround land around the lake. What trees grow on the hills around the lake? Those would be the same ones dictatating a possible hump or gradual decrease in depth that are now in the lake. look at the creeks that run into your lake, what type and how big they are near the creeks. It shows that during their life before that lake filled, that they had lots of water for them to grow that big. By knowing the types of trees, you know what types of sand they like to grow in. That gives you the type of bottom. By knowing about trees, you learn if roots grow staright down or if the root system is a runner, ie...... its root system grows out horizontallly which may give you some targets away from the tree. Remember, roots that have grown horizontally away from the tree may have washed out some and there is good hiding place under the root system as well. Take the time to learn your trees. Knowing bottom composition may eliminate some areas bass don't like to begin with due to bottom sediments. REmember, most lakes are man made. So before it was a lake, it was just dry land to start with, so observer your surrounding areas of the lake. you can learn alot by studying the contours that lead into the lake.

Fletchero, the difference is, you found them by observing your graph. Just as I try to find them as well on my own. I don't see a problem with graphing that area to see what kind of an area these guys seem to be doing well in so I can find other areas similar. It is assumed that these guys sank piles and that they were in fact fishing a pile and not some old pond dam, rock pile, creek channel or any other fish holding attractors until you go look. The thread said he has been hammered by locals on a spot during tournaments. I understand luck of the draw and getting to a community hole that is known. But it wasn't described as a community hole, and his only knowing of the fact was, he has watched them and they always hammer him in tournaments. As for me placing brush out. Its legal on the core lakes that I have done it on. I'm not a local in this area, and you know , that we fish against guys who have grown up on said lakes with 40-50 years of experience between the two on a number of lakes locally in the DFW area. These guys know of 100-s of piles they didn't sink and 100's that they did. There is no way you can learn 10-15 lakes within a 100 miles radius to be competitive on team trails in a few years time. Remember, we are talking weekend warriors were the vast majority of us work 40 hour work weeks. Kind of limits time on the water. I placed mine out in open water, You may see me, but unless you come close enough to mark it on gps, your gonna spend time trying to find it the first time . Time that could be spent in learning the lake on your own. What happened to that unwritten rule about fishing your buddies holes he showed ya? So now, when talking about competitive fishing, its okay fish others, why because their not your buddies? One last note. If you found similar areas as to which you described, and you are successfull, you just gained confidence in YOUR OWN abilities to locate and catch fish. How does this help ones ability in learning to locate fish?

RW touched upon it. Alot of these name specific baits have been replaced with better design. Cordell Hot Spot, its not that a lipless bait isn't used anymore, there are tons of lipless baits in use. Rattln Vibe, Rattle traps and so on. There are just better designs out there. Rapalas original floater has been knocked off by others as well. Lurh Jensen Hot Lips is an example of a deep running lure ahead of alot of companies. Since it release, there are a ton of lures that get down as deep or deeper, its not that a Hot Lips don't catch fish, Paul Elias showed that on Falcon last year. Theres just more options in other cranks that are out there that get the same results I still see alot of the listed baits earning or helping earn checks all the time. Every bait has its brighter days. Big worms and a Hot Lips helped Paul Elias break the all time 4 day record on Falcon. A swimbait won on Clear Lake in Cali. At almost every tournament, there are multiple patterns that win. This years classic dictated blade baits early for some, then Texas rigs. Some swam jigs. Some tried finesse. Seems to me, that on any given day or lake, pros will use what it takes to get bit. Whether that be old style or a new bait that is a knockoff of an old school lure.

With Cutler and Forte on offense, the Bears just made them selves a legit contender in my book if they have some guys who can catch the ball. And I think they do. I don't see what Cutler did was so bad, heck, Elway didn't go where he was originally drafted. nor did Eli Manning. They whinned and got there way. I will say its the nature of the game to be traded, waived, and or cut at anytime. Intialally, Cutler was blind sided by the news, and thats a blow to most egos wouldn't you think? Cutler did force their hands in the end with his putting his house up for sale and his lack of comminication with mangagement.

Its not aimed at anyone specific. If the only way a person can locate fish is by watching others, I'm not too worried about them ever. But, its not ethical to copy in school, so why would it be now? Its one thing to earn a good grade due to doing your homework, but when you didn't take the time to study, and someone else did, call it what you want, its not ehical in my book, nor does it make you a tournament fishermen. EVER

Nicely put.

Ryan, Never had any doubts about your abilites to locate your own fish. Also, If I owned my own company and was to sponsor a up and coming young gun, I had you in mind. So if I was rich, you wouldn't even need a resume, you'd have the gig. I guess you know where you stand in my book. Hookem

On the Pro side of BASS and its 100 anglers. Just how many would be locals on any given lake. I mean, not many locals on Falcon or Amistad. Few years back, we had them on Lewisvill for E50 and thats not your typical BASS lake. For the northern guys and the great smallie lakes that are on oceans, with out gps, hows a local gonna go offshore 3 miles and find that one magical rock pile? The guys that would excell are the guys who understands the foodchain on any give body of water. Find the bait, find the bass, By the way, guys who make it the top level didn't get there by watching what piles guys fish. I'm sure they found their own spots. lol

Common sense knows that once a pile is sank its public. First come first serve. But when all you did is watch others to gain spots, just how is that fishing in a competitive event. Your merits weren't actually gained from your own skills. You copied someone elses work to gain an edge. Call it what it is. BASS has off limits to their lakes. FLW years past, NEVER had any offlimits, thus making it easy for their pros to sink brush months in advance. As noted, you could plant 10 piles, they might produce, they might not. Half the battle is knowing good areas to drop them, and if you haven't been able to graph others piles and find them holding fish, chances are the only way you'll find your own fish is to watch others anyway. So, if thats how you prefish, by allowing others to show you their spots, chances are, I'm not worried about you or your team on any water.