RichF

Thanks guys!

I'm heading up to the 1000 Islands region next weekend to fish a couple tournaments with my dad. This is the best bassin time up north!

Dad and I won our first team championship with the Northern NY Bassmasters trail at the end of September! Knocked out 21.46 lbs of smallmouth from the St. Lawrence on day 1 then backed it up with 18+ of largemouth, anchored by a 6.01 hog, from Black Lake on day 2. The local paper did a cool write up for the event also. Super fun weekend! http://www.ogd.com/ogd02/falcons-soar-to-club-championship-20170926

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/bass-extends-no-info-rule-elites-and-classic Basically some additions to the rules already in place.

Well you got me with the Cherokee deal. That makes sense. As for buying waypoints...I answered another member's question with info I got about 1 guy from the mouths of 2 other Elite anglers. I wasn't insinuating that tons of guys are actually buying waypoints (hopefully it didn't come off like that). I'm also not saying most guys aren't doing any of their own research. But, I really do think most guys are getting some help. Just like Cherokee and Douglas are in your backyard, the St. Lawrence and Ontario, specifically Waddington and Henderson (close to where Palaniuk won) are in mine. It makes zero sense to me that someone completely unfamiliar with the area would make that decision based on google earth imagery. Not only is it a crazy long run, it's almost always bad running across Ontario. If he did research it as much as that article says, he would've known that the river spits out 20+ lb bags almost as regularly as the big lake. Why would you take that kind of risk when similar caliber fish are living up and down the entire river? It just seems strange to me. And seriously think about the Sabine and Winyah events. Those gotta stir up some questions as to how and why. I'm with you, mostly, on the secret spot theory. I don't think most anglers are winning off some super secret spots they're buying from locals or guides. They're getting help though. I bet it's more than we realize too. another site just put out an article about Brent Chapman earlier this week I found interesting. He talks about how the new no info rule should change up the game because several anglers have such "large networks." No names were mentioned, obviously.

I like that they did this, but I know it won't stop it completely. How can it really? Iaconnelli had Chris and Trait Zaldain on an episode of Ike Live not too long ago and I'm pretty sure I recall them outting David Walker as being big into buying waypoints. At times, I feel like it's somewhat obvious who's getting info (see my above examples). This reminds me of an article Rick Clunn wrote before his last Elite win in FL a couple years ago. He basically said it's so hard to compete in the Elites because of the info guys get from outside sources. He went on to say how he was basically going to cave and do the same out of necessity...very soon after, he wins an event. I also think of the Winyah Bay tourney last year. Very few, if any, of the anglers knew much about that place. Then comes tournament time and most of them run to the same far off area, miles and miles away from the launch and end up jockeying for position. Look at Cherokee Lake this year too and the "Damiki Rig." That little bait had never been mentioned by any Elite angler ever and then miraculously shows up tied to the end of pretty much every guys' line during the event. I just have a hard time buying the whole "these guys just know how to find them and catch them anywhere" argument.

Totally get that nobody broke any rules. I'm fine with that. It looks like you're from that area, so you obviously know more about that body of water than i do. I understand it is technically all one body (as defined by the rules), but I imagine they fish like two completely different ones. I wasn't there, but I can't imagine they were pushing much water given that it was late summer. I assume that's why the tunnel hulls were used in the first place. I guess it's possible, but I see that as a minor difference compared to a jet boat or tunnel hull. I get the whole "strategy" argument when it comes to tournament fishing (run/sacrifice fishing time, etc.). I understand why guys to it and get that it's within the rules...I just don't like it, personally. When guys run so far on a body of water that it basically turns into a different ecosystem...c'mon. Sure it's a gamble to run far. Your boat could break down or you could run out of gas, but that doesn't seem to happen all that often. Equipment is so good nowadays. I just get a little suspicious when guys make 100+ mile runs in competition. I think of Palaniuk running to Ontario from the St. Lawrence at Waddington. Why would you gamble on a run like that (different story if he was a local)? If he actually practiced in the Lake during the official practice period, why? Especially knowing it was such a long, treacherous run from the launch spot. My guess is he got some outside help. Same thing with Mclelland at the last Sabine Elite event. A guy from Arkansas running 200+ miles across Galveston Bay to a tiny canal holding enough quality bass for a 2nd place finish. How the heck did he know about that spot? I'm just not naive enough to believe these guys looked on a map and thought..."this spot 200 miles away looks really good, I'll spend my official practice days there." Now, of course, I'm speculating and could be completely wrong in my assumptions. I can be a negative nancy sometimes. If that's the case, then I offer my apologies to the aforementioned anglers. And, to be clear, I don't think this was the case for Ott. I have zero doubt that he just knows that place really well from years of experience.

Ott is no doubt a great fisherman and obviously knows his home waters well. My issue isn't so much with the type of boat, it's the concept of basically fishing a different body of water than the rest of your competitors. I'm sure most guys would say "both the French Broad and Douglas are one in the same" but I don't see it that way. Because much of that river could only be accessed with a special boat, that eliminates nearly all the competition, meaning, next to no pressure on the fish (compared to the rest of Douglas which had 150 boats hammering it). To me, that's like fishing an entirely different body of water, which I don't see as fair. I had the same issue when Palaniuk ran to Ontario to win the first Elite tournament on the St. Lawrence River.

They're specially constructed hulls of aluminum boats that allow the boat to run full speed in a few inches of water. Ott Defoe (and a few other guys) used them to run way up the French Broad river during this year's Northern Open on Douglas Lake. Ott won. He also won the Open there back in 2014 doing the same thing with the same boat.

Well it's official...no more tunnel hull boats in BASS Open competitions. I like it.

My buddy went out last fall on the Potomac and caught 25LB cat on a chatter bait in 3ft of water! Crazy. That's a nice looking bass btw. Super healthy. Like a beautiful northern NY bass haha.

That's exactly how I got my 5er!

Hit up the Occoquan Res Saturday. Had an ok day. Boated 8 bass total. Biggest was just under 5lbs, the rest were between 2 and 3. Only caught 1 of those fishing shad imitating baits. Rest came off a jig which made me happy (since that's my normal game).

I basically use a green pumpkin trailer with every jig I use.

Academy online has Tatula CT Type Rs for $99.98. 7.3:1 and 6.3:1.

Given their looks and price point, my guess is that they're replacing the Crucial series. I actually thought the Crucials were pretty awesome rods for their price. They had very strong, lightweight, and crisp blanks. I've owned Crucials, Zodias, and Avids...they're all fairly close in quality IMO.

3/4 to 1oz Jig with a big trailer or a big crank like a 5xd or 6xd.

I only have a couple more fishing days left this year so I wasn't going to get one until next year....this is making that decision incredibly difficult..

HA! The Fed is way harder lol!

Nice. That's a solid prize pack!

I saw pics of you on Bassmaster.com during the tournament. It's super cool, you guys got to fish out there in that event. Great job man!

I've been tournament fishing for about 10 years now and have just recently gotten my feet wet into the whole Pro-staff game. Full disclosure, I'm on NPS and have "applied" to three companies for "sponsorship." I've also had one other company contact me directly which was nice (super awesome group of folks). To be honest though, I'm on the fence with the whole process. I think it's fantastic for companies. Thousands of anglers, at all skill levels, buy product from them and provide, basically, free advertising. Definitely a win win for the companies. I'm not so sure it's a great thing for anglers, on the whole though. I think it kinda saturates the market with anglers who, basically, work for free. I feel like it's already happening; but I foresee this making it much more difficult for really talented anglers, looking to make a career for themselves, to get the sponsorships necessary to help make it happen.

I had that same Bucoo for awhile. The thing is about as spaghetti-sticky as them come. Bought it for dt6s and it just stunk. I'm on board with the Dobyns. They are super popular at their price point and Gary knows a thing or two about rod building.

7'3 rod with a soft tip. I don't like to cut the legs too short (the subtle action of them moving after the frog stops gets a lot of bites). Keep a little slack in the line, but not too much. Always hold your rod tip down just above the surface of the water and twitch with a downward angled motion. It's all in the wrist.

I have the 6'10mh Zodias and absolutely love it. I mostly use it for 1/4 to 3/8 oz football jigs for smallmouth. It's super sensitive and pairs PERFECTLY with a Chronarch CI4. The Curado 70 will feel just as good. I don't own any Loomis rods but have held the E6X several times. IMO, it doesn't hold a candle to the Zodias. It looks and feels like a cheap turd of a rod priced well above what it should be. Yes, while Shimanos one year warranty isn't the greatest, they also offer a good replacement option. 50% off a new one, shipped free both ways, no matter how it broke. Buy a fuji hook keeper for $3 and call it good!