tbone1993

This might get fish on the edge but to get the fish deep in the weeds he will need a punch rig

I will be back home in two weeks. I hate fishing the state parks they are god awful for bass. Though I will make a run out there a few times during the summer. Where exactly are you on the south side feel free to pm.

Does anyone know of a good rod repair place in Champaign , Il or Chicago ,Il. Anywhere in those general areas. I am going to get a guide wrapped because the insert fell out. I would like to avoid sending it away for a month.

Or buy a st croix that has a 4 year warranty or even a lifetime warranty. The rod eventually pays for itself.

In collegiate tournaments we have team events and individual events ( or individual boat events). In team events or individual boat events I always go for a limit. The reason is that lately tournaments have been won with relatively small bags. If it takes 10 lbs to win it I can be in that easy with 5 fish. Now if I am going down south and people are catching 25lb bags and 30lb bags only catching one big fish doesnt help even if its a 10lber I still lose if I catch 4 other 2 lbers. Also with fishing it does not matter what I throw I still have a chance at catching a giant fish on it. Two weeks ago in a tournament the winning team caught a 10lb bass on a missile baits d bomb not a giant alabama rig or even a big swim bait. Sure you can make 1000 casts with a swimbait and get a huge fish but you still have the same chances of catching a big fish on a finesse jig off of a log. That being said in an individual tournament like a big bass event I might only throw an alabama rig or swimbait to try and target bigger fish but that doesnt mean I wont catch big fish on a small jig. That being said I am not an expert and that is what I do. When we have fun fishing tournaments in my club it is about catching a limit and hopefully running in to some big fish.

It really depends on the rules of the tournament. College tournaments have similar rules to FLW/ BFl etc but high school tournaments differ from state to state. I would suggest learning the rules first because you can lose for something really stupid like not wearing your life jacket with the big motor running. Pre fish the tournament and create a pattern. Have those baits ready to go tournament day. There is no need to have winter baits like say a shad rap tied on when the bite has turned to a bait with a wobble like a dt 6 or strike kind xd series ( it may be colder by you but this logic applies all year round, it doesnt make sense to throw a topwater lure when the fish are slow, sluggish and deep) Have all of your rods ready and tied on and have a day box with your lures / plastics you are going to use. Go through your box and learn where every single lure is at. Bring a watch, time management is key. If you are fishing as a co-angler listen to your boater. If he is fishing a crank bait or spinnerbait up a bank there is no point to throwing a shakey head because you will not fish it properly. If your boater is throwing a white and blue spinnerbait try and throw something a little bit different to see if the fish will bite that. I hope this helps a little bit, any specific questions though?

Little Enos, and when you get a bigger bass boat name that one Big Enos. I cannot believe that I am 20 and suggested that before everyone else considering his picture is from Smokey and the Bandit .

If my dad taught me one thing it was to always have a fridge stocked with beer and an extra case sitting around. So many of life's problems can be solved with a case of beer. My friend has had his trailer for his race car repaired for a case of beer and even borrowed an engine lift for one.

My friend likes to describe boat ownership as taking out you wallet lifting it over the boat and shaking it empty into it lol

That was a steal did it even run or was the owner a relative?

Fenwick hmg 7 ft m or 66 m pick your poison. ( square billls smaller cranks not deep divers)

x2 for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

What type of boat do you have and how much did it cost you? Was it paid in full or paid off by a loan etc? Besides sticker cost how much have you sunk in your boat with repairs etc? How much have you sunk with upgrades? Yeah I know money is a personal thing but I just want to see how much people have sunk in new vs old boats. I know my friend has already sunk $10,000 plus into his boat and hes only had it for about 4 years.

If your boat is going to be with you for a while spend the money and buy a custom cover. The generic covers rip and tear easily. My friends custom cover has held up and does better with heavy snow and rain than the thin walmart covers that tear.

Thats odd might just be the abu line up that comes shipped poorly. My fenwick aetos came from purefishing with bubble wrap on the rip and the butt and also a foam cover on the tip and the entire thing was wrapped in plastic. On top of that the top and bottom of the rod tube had foam in it.

Shop around and try and find the manns rigs on sale for about $10 they are the best I have used so far. I really hate light wire a rigs because they break and dont stay spread (they act like a wet noodle with heavier jig heads). Also I wouldnt throw an a rig on anything but braid because I feel like they will break off easily. I fished behind a guy using FC on his a rig and caught more fish than him so I really dont think line visibility matters as much as the baits and retrieve do. I would go with 65lb braid because I have been able to bend even heavy wire hooks out of logs with it. If you are afraid of losing your a rigs go to ace hardware or home depot and but 3 feet of chain so big key rigs an carbiners and heavy rope. Works much better than a bps retriever because you can make it heavier and its cheaper.

We've talked before but honestly take everything one step at a time. Get great grades and study hard so that you can get into a great University. Almost every college in Illinois has a bass fishing team besides the really small schools. It really isn't that hard to get on your college team what is hard is getting to fish those tournaments. Honestly you want to build up a pretty massive rod/reel and lure collection. Fishing tournaments I sometimes blow through multiple bags of plastics, hooks, weights,lures etc. I really need to expand my collection and that is not something I can do without money so I suggest getting a job and saving your money. I have a friend on our team that had his parents loan him the money to buy a boat and by the time he graduated he paid off the loan and had his own boat to use in college. Just try to learn as many techniques as possible and keep fishing.

Weren't you shipped one that was broken? If I remember correctly one was destroyed upon delivery but the second came with guides broken or something.

If you buy a dobyns go champion or higher.

http://www.***.com/Plano_Elite_Worm_File_4807/descpage-P48072.html A few of these labeled with what is inside ex worms or fluke or tubes. You can get the smaller sized one too.

Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, a rigs etc I would group together into search baits. Those baits can land you some big fish but they also key you in on the fish. Stickbaits on the other hand are baits that let you slow down. You can fish them a thousand different ways but essentially they let you target fish in an area. I will throw a crankbait to find the fish then I might slow down and throw a stick bait to key on the fish that aren't biting my crankbait. Honestly they are completely different and it is a reading and practicing game. Just take your time and keep reading new material and trying it out. ASK QUESTIONS! Get on the water with someone that fishes tournaments or someone that fishes a lot more than you do. The best way to learn is from someone who has been in your position before. When I am teaching someone a technique I will give them a few baits to try out. From time to time I run in to some bad apples out on the lake but for the most part guys are open to tell you what they are using and how to use it. I know this was a lot but fishing isnt something you master in a day ( im light years away from mastering it).

The point of a club tournament rather than a BFL is that they are closer and you dont have to worry about the same thigns as you would as a BFL. I know that in my college club we have tournaments all across the country but when we have small tournaments we keep them within 30-60min away. I wouldnt join a club after this that had their tournaments hours away.

I never used one of those lure retrievers until last week, I was missing out. They dont work for every snag but when they do work they are awesome. Pull the boat on top of the snag shake the rod a little and the lure pops right off.

the drift paddles could help but at that point you could get a drift sock if you are always too deep to use the poles.

That might be true in florida but PP do not help when you at fishing in 20 ft of water. I would much rather have SI and good depth finders then invest in PP.