RichF

I'm pretty much always trying to catch the green ones when I go. You're definitely right, they are a pain!

Thanks A-Jay and you're right. I really should be better about that. I'm no spring chicken anymore at 31. HA! I wish I could catch'em like that at Oneida! I really should try and figure that place out. It's only an hr from where I grew up and I've fished it less that 10 times!

I meant culling up 2lbs and 1.5lbs. That's how much weight I gained from each fish. The 4 replaced a 2 (+2lbs). etc. Yeah it really is a good idea. Having that snack will take your mind off the bad joojoo for a bit. I should've read the next post hahaha. Thanks Bluebasser.

My last tournament win was an interesting one... I was pretty pumped to make the 8 hr drive to NNY from Arlington to fish an ABA event on my "home" lake. I always do well there and know the lake better than most anglers in the area. I have so many "sure" spots where I know I can pull out good fish/winning fish. When I hit 3 of my best spots in the morning without so much as a sniff, I went into early panic mode. This NEVER happens to me on this lake. I started driving around and stopping at places I've never even fished before, that didn't even look good, and that I had zero confidence in. I hardly even fished the spots either. I'd pull up, drop the trolling motor, take two casts, then pick up and leave! What the heck was I doing??!! I decided to head back to a section of the lake I had intimate knowledge of in hopes I could settle down and get a bite. Normally I'm working at warp speed on a tournament. I don't eat, only drink when the big motor is going, etc. Taking breaks is just something I don't do. This time was different. I was having a weird fit of anxiety for some reason and knew I had to do something to calm down. So I did it...I actually took a timeout 3 hrs into this tournament. I turned off the motor, dropped everything and just sat on the deck for five minutes. Turns out that's all I needed. It was like hitting the reset button on the Super Nintendo. I started fresh, picking apart areas I hadn't fished in years and the bites started coming. I had filled out my limit in the next 2 hrs, nothing to write home about but a solid bag. I decided to hit a small hump on this massive flat that had really good grass on it for one season about 6 years ago. I had had all but written it off because after that one season, the grass was never there. Man, what a good decision. The grass was there and better than 6 yrs ago. The bass thought so too. There was a nice school sitting in a spot the size of my 16ft tracker. In the hr to follow, I boated 9 keepers outta the spot including the day's lunker, a solid 5.04 pounder. With the added weight, I thought I had a really good shot of earning a top 3 finish which was awesome because of the rough start to my day. I decided to hit one last spot close to the ramp that I've had some success on in the past, but early in the season. I've actually never fished the spot in late summer so my expectations weren't very high. With 10 mins left on the clock, I stung a 4lb largie. I was jacked! 10 mins left and a 2lb cull... That's way more than you can ask for in a tourney! But it get's better...I make my cull, jump on the front deck and stick a 3lb+ smallie not five feet from where that last fish was sitting, on my very next pitch! Another 1.5lb cull. I packed it in and rushed to the ramp with 2 mins to spare. I finished with 17lbs+ for the win. I know the day sounded a lot like 100%, grade A luck, and to some extant, there definitely was some involved. I do know, however, that if I didn't take that timeout to settle down, the positive juices wouldn't have started flowing and I wouldn't have even put myself in contention to do well, let alone win. So if you're having a tough day on the water and you start feeling like you're running around like chicken with your head cut off.....CALL THAT TIMEOUT! Things can turn around in a heart beat!

I'm from the Thousand Islands region on NY and the Fall is my favorite time to fish. I've found that both the smallmouth and largemouth school up pretty heavily in just about any lake I fish up there (and when you find them, they're easy to catch). The bass also seem to focus more on baitfish. Most of the places I fish don't have shad so the bass are keying in on bluegill and perch. I know you can catch them shallow (less than 6ft) through the first couple weeks of October but I tend to do better in the 8 to 17ft range for both species. I fish grass all year and finding the right stuff in the Fall is clutch. In the summer, I can find loads of largemouth in straight grass but in the fall they seem to prefer a grass/rock mixture. You can catch them on just about anything. I throw jigs, bladed jigs, swimbaits, cranks, and jerkbaits. If it's legal in Ontario to use it, an A-rig can be dynamite in the fall also. As far as the smallmouth go, I'm fishing basically one place in the fall...the eastern basin of Lake Ontario. They come in from the main lake in droves to feed on bait and it's always a slugfest when you find them. This can be tricky because they can be in 2ft to 20ft. I have great luck on jerkbaits and topwater plugs until about the third week in October. That's when I switch to tubes and the drop shot. Again, the A-rig is a really great choice also. The toughest thing about our Northern fall is the weather. It's always unpredictable. If you can tough out the cold though and fight through the polar winds, it can be the most rewarding time of the year. You usually have to cover a lot of water to find them but once you do there are always a ton.

I feel your pain. I broke a St Croix legend xtreme and a rage this year. Good thing they have a great warranty!

Logan is spot on. I skip jigs A LOT. While some do work a little better than others, it really comes down to technique and skill. Practice, practice, practice!

x2 for the Eco Pro. Think they're less than $4 bucks too on TW.

A couple years ago I was kinda excited for the season to end just so I could finally sleep in on the weekends...That feeling lasted all of two weeks before I wanted to fish again. I used to get down after tough tournaments, especially back to back bad events. I would question why I spent so much time, energy, and money on it. I've gotten past that now though. I'm even more excited to get back out and compete after a bad tournament.

I've got lunker the last three tournament days I've fished (5.04lb, 6.07, 5.79lb). 3/4 oz jig, and 3/4 oz swing head + biffle bug

You're right about their warranty which does kinda suck but their rods are fantastic. I have a couple Heliums, a KLX, and a Magnesium. They are all awesome. Most balanced rods I've fished with, super sensitive, and super strong. The mag I have has the same specs as the Carbon you're looking at. It's my dedicated frog rod and I couldn't be happier with it. I think you'll be happy it. Just an fyi, the team at Kistler did send me free guides to replace one I crushed on a Helium. You should watch out for their sales too. They usually run some pretty great ones, 40% off $500 worth of rods, bogos, etc.

I've lived in the Thousand Islands Region of NY (pretty close to Ontario) most of my life and have been bass fishing up there for 20 yrs. In the summer, it's very common for me to catch largemouth in 12 to 18 ft on several different bodies of water. I think it's a combination of factors that push the bass out deep: water quality, clarity, oxygen levels, and bait. I think that on any lake or reservoir, there is going to be a population of bass that stays shallow and one that stays deep most of the year.

I ran into Mark and Aaron Martens at Chaumont bay a few years back. It was mid-late October and we were the only ones at the ramp. Super cool dudes. I have to admit I was a little star struck...like a 14 year girl meeting the Biebs. I'm a little ashamed of that haha!

Yeah I hate the last minute rule change. It's just promoting a dinkfest like MLF. Nothing exciting about watching 12 inchers being caught on a drop shot. I'll still watch though haha.

Yeah it kinda turned it into a pretty lame event. What JPow did was a nice gesture but not a great thing for the Elites. It really makes you wonder how often pals on tour help each other out. I fished an Open as a co-angler a few years back and witnessed Ish (who won the event) tell Ike what to throw and where to throw it (he finished 5th or 6th). No way to stop that stuff but it definitely tarnishes it for me.

Spro all the way!

Whoops! Didn't see the "spinning" part.

Tatula CT!

Picked up a Zillion TWS for $153 during TW's July 4th sale....Wish I bought a few more:(

It's definitely one of the best walking frogs. It's very flat though so your hookup ration isn't great (small hook gap). You can bend the hooks outward a little to improve it but that will obviously make it less weedless. Overall, it's a great choice for more open water but I'd look at something different for heavy weeds/pads etc.

I like a heavy rod for frog fishing around heavy cover but that setup will work for sure.

100% agree with this. I always fish to win not just catch a limit. No finesse crap for me during a tournament. Five 12 inchers will never win an event on the bodies of water I fish so why bother wasting time trying for those when you know you have to upgrade them all. I also agree that the numbers of quality fish will be offshore. Bank beating will get you a lucky big one every now and again but I never rely on it.

I'm pretty sure most of the larger events have min boat length requirements and max HP limits.

I've had some good encounters with pros when fishing in the opens. I think most would be willing to meet and greet with fans.

Welcome Louie! I just moved to Arlington at the end of last November so I'm not far from you. I too have a 16 ft tracker but unfortunately I couldn't bring it with me. You give me hope though that one day I can get it down here! Again, welcome to a great group!