Mike L

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

So Florida..There really isn't any "tough" time of year, just tougher conditions.. It's a fact Fla strain bass do not like cold water which is relative to our climate..During the winter when a "cold" front moves through will be the toughest fishing condition you'll find. Mike

If you do that make sure you transport them in the same water they came out of. Cool it down if the water is hot...use a frozen ice bottle or at least cubes. Not too much just enough to keep it cooler as it melts the ice will release oxygen. Keep them as still as you can..don't put the cooler in the trunk and go bouncing around. When you get to your pond, don't touch them! Just try to slide em out head first. Now all that being said, I'm assuming it's legal, the pond has the same kind of water quality and habitat they came out of. Theres no guarantee they will suvive but at the very least do everything you can to minimize thier stress and hope for the best. Mike

I don't know Pal...Just can't seem to put it all together so far this year. Matchups look good when they're all healthy, but the points just won't come. But like I said earlier the payoff is in the playoffs! Don't count out the Meatballs just yet Mike

I have thier "Carolina Lizard Dragger" which I use as my Carolina rig, frog and swim bait rod and its perfect for those. Also I believe it is the first "technique specific" rod. Mike

Go get a BPS Pro Qualifier. Mike

I've found that when I use a EWG hook on a smaller diameter plastic with a straight up hook set is when I struggle. I think the weight and shape of the hook with a smaller bait tends to let the whole thing rotate on the set and then I have nothing or just one jump and they're gone. Match your hook and set to the size of the bait and see if that helps. Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

For me retirement let me pursue my dream of fishing competitively. Before I would just enter local charity tounament's and fish in 2 local clubs on the weekends once in a while. After retiring we bought a motor home so now I can go when and where I want..At least till the money runs out! Mike

They don't chase as much, they don't move as much, they don't hit as hard, but shutdown the way you're asking? No. Living "Down South" is a whole different life style in more ways than one..and fishing down here is just one of the perks. Keep in mind there will be fish on beds in the winter here. Case in point...there's a reason why there are more tounament's from Oct to June than any other time of the year. Mike

Since I almost always fish on someone else's boat, I LOOK at everything...what other co anglers have rigged coming in and going out. What boaters have rigged on the 20 rods they have tied down on the deck etc. But to actually rummage through someone else's rod locker or storage compartments? That takes a lot of b***s To me that's like being invited to someones home and ducking into thier bedroom closet to see what he has hanging there! Mike

Ditto Mike

I personally wouldn't use 10# braid, just too thin. Just my opinion... 20# is the lowest I go. Anyway to answer your question I use it on a Chronarch 100SF reel paired with a Loomis MBR 843C rod. I also use 20# in a Shimano 3000FJ spinning reel on a 7' 2" Crucial spinning rod, but hardly ever use it anymore. Mike

I'll sign up for one of the Roadtrip's just don't know which one yet. I've fished 2 of the Tennessee River impoundment's already..Kentucky/Barkley and of course Wilson at the 2014 trip but never fished Toledo Bend...Mmmmm. I'll let you know. Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

Hello and Welcome! Mike

My water's really aren't considered cold by everyone else's standards but when it cools the only jerk type bait that I throw is the Bomber Long A. The action of that thing with a hard pull and then letting it back up as it rises is the trigger for me. Mike

Ditto Mike