ryanerb

I agree, I think for the 'fans' it would be nice to end on Sunday... However, this championship round is only 10 boats I think, so not many anglers. Also, one slight benefit would be less local anglers on the water, but I'm not sure that would matter a whole lot. If I had to pick, I would start the tourney earlier in the week and just end it on Sunday. But I don't own MLF haha

One thing I notice with the o-ring is that a lot of times the senko will slide up the line and the fish stays on the hook. This seems kind of cool to give the hook plenty of space and how this works out. I assume with a saddle or heatshrink this may not happen. I'm not sure it matters that much though...

I'll have to give it a try. One senko lasted me the entire day through over 7 fish using the o-ring.

Dumb question - Dudley just got a 5lb fish flippin a stick worm with a bullet weight texas rigged. Seems like when I think of flippin, I think creature bait. Any reason he would be going with the stick worm and not a creature bait? Water clarity, etc? Trying to learn when I should throw one vs the other...

. Definitely fun when it works out, can be very frustrating when you skunk hahah

Central. I assume north lakes are a few degrees cooler and south lakes may be a few degrees warmer. Having a boat is pretty key at most of the lakes I fish. It was indeed a fun day, thank you!

Haha, many pros and other people prove me otherwise, but I'm not quite there yet. The other person fishing with me did get one on a crankbait, but couldn't develop any kind of pattern or catch another one. I'm not really out there to see if they will bite a crank, I'm just trying to catch a fish, and a senko seems to take **SOME** of the guess work out of it. I do understand there will be the time, or conditions, when a senko may not work that great and a crank could load the boat. I'll try to decipher that when it comes. Fishing can be sooo analytical, that puzzle is complex!

That may work great if you are at the base of a tree and want to fish that one square inch, but what if you want to work it down a cobblestone bank or grass line? Can the drop shot be dragged too? Or maybe you drag it, then stop and shake at the target, then drag another foot, repeat, etc etc..

Lots of stable weather here in CA, with high 60s in the day and really no storms. Went out to my local lake and was able to put a fun day together using ... wait for it..... weightless wacky senkos. I'm starting to get sick of throwing a spinnerbait or chatterbait or crankbait all day and getting one or two bites, so I figured I would try to go for the 'tried and true'... and it paid off. Water was around 55 most of the time. Found some fish in the backs of coves, some on secondary stuff... Used a oring, not a 'saddle', still did fine, not sure if I really need to switch to a saddle or heatshrink system and ditch the o-ring? Tight lines, Ryan

It definitely seems like a double edge sword. We love teaching all the kids to fish and expanding the sport of angling, but when it's on top of a limited natural resource, the pressure sure seems to affect it... Big dilemma for me, I'm just not sure how to feel.... Sounds like it would be really nice to get this fixed... perhaps you can contact some of the locals and find out whats going on and if you could be a part of the fix? Nothing like being sure your local fishery stays healthy! Sorry to hear about your dad, definitely very tough, hope he gets better soon.

Or, due to the snags, have you switched / tried another kind of lure? Tube? Topwater? Swimbait?

Troy, I love this. GREAT POINT!! Nailed it on the head. I'm also brainstorming, what if he had thrown a spinnerbait, didn't get bit.. then started throwing a drop shot and got bit... you maybe be able to deduce something. Yes... everything is 'just a theory' but... some theories come from experience and testing... (such as a guy testing 10 different baits or 10 different colors, and only 1 bait or 1 color is getting bit, etc...) Some days the bass bite everything, everywhere, other days there is much more of a specific pattern... so .. as with everything in life... it all just depends...

That’s pretty cool you have a direct line to Wheeler. Obviously that video will be what we all wanna see. I’m not sure we have met before, but I can’t tell much from your username who you are, a past pro, etc. I’m outta the loop. Johnny is very mathematical and analytical and has his own theories just as we all do. He’s loves fishing, especially offshore, as we all do and was just trying to theorize how it all went down. I’m game to watch ten different videos of how it all went down, but wheelers will be great. Please post it when it’s available.

Good points... I think if anything what the BPT shows me is that even the pros can struggle, and there is no 'perfect' answer or equation to follow. It is 'fish' we are dealing with here, and even one of the announcers said something like 'only the fish and God know where the fish are and what they want' etc. It made me feel good to see pros like KVD and Ike and Lee struggle on some days... I can get too star struck and be like 'if only KVD was here, he could catch the fish I can't...' ... While that may sometimes hold true, watching these guys live obviously proves fishing is tough and there is no 'magic bullet' / answer.

Haha I'm really happy to hear this... I'm still trying to learn fishing and was watching videos from him to learn, but you're implying I'm learning from the wrong source... Unfortunately, many 'tubers' aren't pro, and thus it's questionable how much we should be listening to them. Are you able to provide the 'correct' analysis of how Wheeler was catching offshore fish in cold muddy water? I'm trying to just learn. Or maybe Wheeler himself provides a detailed analysis of the behind the scenes in a different video? The good think about BPT Eufala is that a lot of more 'generic' patterns were being used, such as chatterbaits / spinnerbaits and flippin/punchin for the dirty water. I think its beneficial to watch the pros and learn from them. I think Wheeler just had a slightly different winning tact there at the end and thus the only reason it is more interesting than the rest of what the field was doing.

Thanks for your honest opinion. hmmm You mean buying electronics, side scan, etc? I mean... we gotta think electronics DO & CAN help find fish faster, I think that is a known fact? Sorry guys, I thought it was a decent video, but maybe I missed something if the general consensus here is that its not accurate...

I really liked this discussion about Wheelers win, fishing offshore and in muddy water. It seems like he was just on a ledge or point.

That 100,000 dollar check just paid for his 10,000 worth of electronics. No sweat for a pro. If you're a pro, you need the best BEST BEST. For us weekend anglers, I can just sit back and be jealous and only dream of 3 graphs with all the top technologies (Mega 360, Panoptix, etc etc)

Yes, IMHO luck plays 'some' role. Everyone has a different opinion about how the percentage breaks down, such as 90% of fishing is skill and 10% is luck, etc. But... Wheeler has plenty of skill by his proven strong history, so when a tiny bit of luck comes on his side, watch out!

Jacob's win really goes to show us it is all about 'ONE PILE'.... He milked that pile and won the tourney on one school that was massive. Prior to that, he was sitting pretty far back on score tracker.... It would be interesting if his brushpile dried up and he had to run to more piles (pattern like AA) if he still would have won. I personally believe this could be some of the 'luck' factor, finding the 'magic' pile could make or break it!

Avena has been doing this for a long time, but must not be on the right pile... haha

Ike went from hero to zero... Yesterday was hero, today he got last I think? Amazing the ups and downs...

Aaron Martens, the master of spinning finesse, said he had at least 10 non-scorable bass today. Thus, maybe he would be way higher up had there been the 1lb limit. I'm pretty sure I saw him using his typical spinning rod too! Additionally, Mccelland just missed the cut because he missed the 2lb minimum. He needed only 1lb 4oz to make the cut, he had 1lb 14oz. He was able to beat his competitor, but missed the 2lb minimum... Interesting.

I used that code in the past few years, and its no longer working for me either. Let me know if anyone finds a new one...

LoL I didn't know this thread was going to turn into a 'guess what lake that was'