JT Bagwell

A lot of companies are getting slower at responding. It could be that they are sorting through 1,000 emails per day of people wanting to get sponsored.

My little dudes aren't babies (4 and 8 now) but they sure look cute in their Under Armour Fish Hook and Antler shirts. Here is the Fish hook stuff on the Under Armour site - http://tinyurl.com/pzmuvpv Here is the Antler stuff - http://tinyurl.com/o23a5es

I am pretty lucky, before Phenix had to stop production (heard it was patent lawsuit from ZMan) of their vibrating jigs, I got about 100 of them because of deal with Yamamoto. If I remember right, these are the ones Brett Hite used before he had to switch to the chatterbaits. I know that doesn't really answer your question but Phenix did make some nice ones.

My only deer within range this season walked right under my stand when I had a tree branch in my hand. The branch had been within my line of sight the whole day and in the afternoon I had enough and was removing it. That is when I heard something and turned to see a big bodied spike buck right behind me. I was thinking to myself "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" The deer never knew I was there and literally walked right under my stand.

I think I just started too late. I never even went to my good place until after the first gun season ended. Next year I will be ready right at the start of bow season.

I live in Geneseo. I will go to the show at the QCCA Expo center with one of my friends just because that is what we always do. Last year I think the only thing I bought was some bargain bin baits for my kids to stock their tackle bags with and some frogs that ended up being horrible.

Any of you guys get any big bucks this season? I didn't get anything, never even shot my bow at a deer.

Just for clarification, I wasn't talking about myself. I was just curious what everyone thought about the crazy prices on stuff now days.

I take it you haven't seen the MSRP for the new Triton with the 300 on the back. It is just over $100k.

Yeah, what he said. LOL

It is really hard to say. Any Joe Blow video maker can stick a logo in it and it doesn't make him any more part of the team than wearing a jersey full of logos.

For the last few years I have only used Siebert Outdoors jigs (in custom colors). Top quality stuff for sure.

I actually just got 2 Bullshads yesterday. I haven't had them in the water yet but they sure look awesome.

Is it still called peer pressure when the markets adjust to the higher priced platform and all bass boats cost $100k or all crankbaits are $20? I don't think it is peer pressure when someone spends $50k on full size pickup truck, that is just what they cost now days.

One of my buddies (Mike Bucca, he might be on these forums) makes a swimbait called the BullShad. I have heard a lot of good things about them and that will probably be the next one I get.

I guess I am kind of like everyone else, I Texas rig Senkos when the risk of getting hung up is high and Whacky rig them with Gamakatsu Weedless Whacky rig hooks the rest of the time. While I do not have scientific data, I feel like I get more bites when I whacky rig but have a better hooking ratio when I Texas rig.

In this day of $100,000 bass boats, $400 rod/reel combos and $20 crankbaits, do you (or any of your friends) feel like you may need to look for a cheaper hobby or do you just buy less?

I leave all of my soft plastics in whatever bags Yamamoto ships them in. Sometimes it is the 10 count bags and sometimes it is the 100 count bulk bags. It just depends what it is.

For a good chunk of my life I didn't go deer hunting or ice fishing because I couldn't deal with the cold weather we get up here in Northern Illinois. The winters seemed to last forever and I spent most of my time indoors and feeling like a caged animal. The last few years I have got back into both deer hunting and ice fishing thanks to finding ways to stay warm. Now I put my Triton away in November, Deer hunt until Mid-January, Ice Fish from January to March and then it is back to bass fishing. The winters aren't so bad now. It just stinks that I missed so many years of doing these activities because I didn't have the proper gear. So many companies now are making base layers to put under your normal clothes and then you have a large assortment of companies making heavy duty, top of the line cold weather gear. This stuff is going to cost you some cash but I really recommend that you get some if you live where it gets cold. It is 20 degrees right now and I am putting on my multiple layers of Under Armour Cold Gear Infrared and I am going to go sit in my tree stand all day hoping a deer walks by. Basically the point of my post is to tell you not to miss out on doing activities when it is cold out just because you can't stay warm. Spend the extra money and get some really good gear and remember to dress in layers. A thermos of warm beverage is also a plus.

Sadly I see the same story all over the country. That is too bad because as a kid I got so excited every year when my grandparents took me to the outdoors show in Rock Island, Illinois. I would look forward to it for weeks. I have taken my 8 year old a few times and he looks bored out of his mind because there isn't much to look at.

What are the outdoors shows in your area like now compared to 15 to 20 years ago? Mine personally are almost horrible now. I am not even sure why I go other than the fact it signals that fishing season is right around the corner. When I was a kid they used to bring in a handful of B.A.S.S. Pros and they would have the demo tank loaded with giant bass. Now they bring in the same speakers every year and if they do bring in the demo tank it barely has anything in it. They used to have wall to wall tackle and boats. Now there is very little tackle and a smaller amount of boats. Instead they have pickups from the car dealerships, a big section that looks like a dang flea market of non-fishing items and just random stuff. I am sure the internet and mega retail chains played a part in lower sales but come on people at least have a lot of fishing stuff at the outdoors show.

My current rain gear is Columbia's foul weather gear (retail is about $300-$350 for bibs and jacket). However, Under Armour is coming out with some new rain gear (I think they said it would be on their website in February) that I am excited to try.

Thanks bud, I sure need it. lol

I had an issue with a different brand of crankbait over the summer. The lip broke off within the first 30 minutes of taking it out of the package. I shot them a quick email with pictures (I could tell it was going to break before it did so I snapped a picture of that too). They sent me the same type of response, "send it to us for inspection." So I asked them if they would cover the shipping costs because they were over 50% of the cost of the bait and they said no. We got into a lot of back and forth with me giving them a lecture about bad customer service and treating the angler right. At the end of the day, I ended up just taking it back to the retailer and they switched it out without question.

Glad you got it replaced but that is pretty lame that you never got a response. I have had some issues with other company's customer service lately as well. Looks like it might be a crappy new trend in the U.S. business philosophy. Not really my cup of tea though.