tbone1993

I am nowhere near a pro but I fish tournaments in college. I went into a tournament blind this summer because I had work obligations. Honestly it was the worst tournament of my life. My boater had no idea even though he pre fished for two weekends in a row. I had more knowledge and experience than him so I had to take lead. I dont feel as bad because 2 fish weighing 4.3lbs ( 1.3 and 3lb ) won the tournament and only 6 keepers were caught out of 18 people fishing. It was a rough tournament but if I had caught a keeper prefishing I could have had an idea what to throw. That being said I adjusted on the fly and must have retied and changed presentations a 100 times that day. I havent mastered a presentation yet because I constantly learn new things. In my experience the locals seem to throw the most obvious things. I would take advice from a guide before a local because they are paid to find and catch the fish. Your average angler may sit on the lake for 8 hours throwing a hula popper or dragging a manns jelly worm and catch tons of decent fish but not key in on what the big ones want. That being said working in a bait shop I learned to take everything with a grain of salt. Attend a fishing class you will learn tons and be able to ask the pros questions.

Best advice if you dont use rod gloves.

I normally only throw my big swimbaits from the boat and stick with smaller swimbaits from shore. The main reason is that if my big hudd gets stuck on the boat I can get it back, from shore it is a lot more work. Ive had my best luck casting into creeks and pulling the swimbait out around points. This tactic has worked best on really small lakes/ponds.

depends but most dont care for local stuff. i suggest you fish fun tournaments first

Did you try the bow trick or also reel down to the bait? I would let that spinnerbait go for the price anything above $15 and I'll work to get it back though.

Zebralight H51 Headlamp AA 200Lm and four sevens (4sevens) Quark AA2 turbo. I dont mess around when it comes to flashlights though.

At least you have a small fishing aisle. The south side doesn't have anything lol. The walmart in branson, Missouri hasnt a decent amount of stuff but you might as well stop at BPS on your way.

Also a better strap for the trolling motor. Nothing worse than a bouncing motor in rough waves.

I have nothing against cheap baits I just hate cheap hooks on baits. Nothing is worse than a treble hook breaking on a bait.

The electronics come with a transducer that mounts to your trolling motor or even hull of the boat. You can use the electronics on literally any boat so if you spend $500 now you can easily move it to a bigger boat down the road. IMO unless you are on a kayak the small cell phone sized fish finders suck and only really work for depth. I would much rather have a larger screen.

That is the problem. 50lb braid and a brand new spro frog make for and interesting fight with a turtle

6:4 is my general purpose reel. I do everything from shallow/med crankbaits to wacky rigs ,crigs almost anything besides really heavy stuff. Its really tough to speed up a 5:4 ratio, if you dont believe me throw a buzzbait on it and watch it preform like crap.

My problem with the d**n turtles is that the bass seem to stay away from them. Ive had multiple turtles hit my topwater frog which really messes them up. It does get annoying over time.

Today I caught 2 bass on a spro popper frog then I caught a giant bullfrog on the next cast accidentally. The funny thing about it is that I saw a picture of someone that caught a frog on a frog earlier in the morning and then had the same thing happen to me. What is the craziest thing or creature you caught on a lure?

It can be fun and it can be very boring. Wait until the fall to bust it out again. Get a rod that can handle at least 3oz and a reel that can handle heavy braid. I throw mine on 65 lb braid and a revo winch.

$2 says tinley park show

Thanks guys , its our college team. Check us out http://www.fightingillinibassclub.com/ , https://www.facebook.com/fightingillinibassclub , @illinifishing

Alright so my buddy lost his crankbait and I am trying to identify it. I am pretty sure it is a few years old but not over 10. It kind of looks like a bandit crankbait ( the eyes) and was neon orange and nothing else. It floated and I am not sure how deep it dove. It was about the size of a 5xd but a little bit taller and fatter. I just liked the action of it.

Two years ago we started a Highschool tournament to promote fishing and get these kids new opportunities and we finally made BassMaster's website. It took a ton of work but it was a great time. http://www.bassmaster.com/news/college-team-hosts-high-school-tournament

Dont get a hat mount they are god awful and the videos always suck.Stick with a shoulder mount or chest rig. The go pros can be used with a backup battery and have a huge camera angle. Also the black edition has bluetooth so you can set it on a rock/tree and see what it sees and record urself without a camera man. Food for thought.

Throw a deeper crankbait and carve the weeds out. The go back through that same opening. Get a really good crankbait rod. I hear my friends saying they got bites yet I know they didnt because they are using a POS rod. A great rod reel/ line xombo will be able to decipher bites from cover.

Yesterday I had an older tournament /B.A.S.S. guy tell me to stuff my frogs with rubber worms. find the right ratio to keep them afloat but also cast further. I never thought of doing this but it may help someone who isnt getting enough distance with their frogs.

Boomerang tool for cutting line, pliers for all other work

Thanks guys. Pro tip. If you work at a store that sells St. croix rods you can apply for a program that allows you to buy them at a discount. So if you work at dicks ask your boss about it./ call st croix and have them send your work the paperwork.

Im looking for a legend extreme that can cover almost every finesse presentation. Everything from wacky rigged senkos , shakey heads, drop shots, fluke rigs etc. Normally I do everything on a 7ft m action but maybe I will go with a 7 ft ml. Tough decision to make.