Sam

Junebug has been historically excellent colors for plastics. In fact, Junebug is my go to color and a BASS Northern Open on the Historic James River a few years ago had the winner using Watermelon Candy plastics. Tom, Norman lures have glitter on their surface. Check out the Little and Deep Little N's. Happy New Year!

Yep. But remember, we are talking about a committee of people who know each other and will support their friends if their favorite teams are eliminated from contention. What is fun is the "SEC SEC SEC" chant at the end of the games when the SEC teams win. At least Awbunn fans can celebrate no matter which teams wins or loses! They can't stand either Bamasux or Jajaw.

X2. Have a wonderful 2018.

JB, the committee is like congress: a good ole boys club made of up athletic directors and others who know each other and hold grudges against schools, coaches or players. Or, as with the SEC, has a favorite in football (Bamasux), basketball (Kensucky) and baseball (LSU). Then there is always Tennessee for women's basketball and South Carolina for softball. So any person affiliated with the SEC will push for an SEC team to get into the playoffs. Not wanting to make enemies, the others on the committee follow the SEC's lead which is easier than making enemies of some powerful college sports people. This is why Bamasux got in. Does Bamasux deserve to get in? Not really. I would have thought a Big Ten school should have been invited. But this will be another all SEC championship game and I predict that some changes may be made to how the committee makes the final selections. That is if the SEC allows it. Happy New Year!

Right. My error. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. You could get hit hard if you are around Baltimore.

Add the Flyers to the list of who is not going to the playoffs!!! Welcome to the Forum. Happy New Year.

Another snow forecast for Thursday, January 4th. Up to 8-inches west of Interstate 95 in Virginia and then heading up the coast into New England. Final snow totals depend on how close the storm comes to the Atlantic coast. For all of you guys and gals in New York and New England areas, have fun!!!!

I have a list, too. Leading off with a new scale as the one I have finally died.

Quarry, as you can read, there is a lot involved with the purchase of a used bass boat. You are from the "northeast" which does not give us a specific area and since you need to match your bass boat with your fishing conditions it would be helpful if you would add your physical location and waters you fish the most to your avatar and to this post. May I suggest reading all of the above posts and then realize that the hull should be in good shape so you need to focus on the motor. Safety is also a factor. The longer the boat (say 20 to 21 feet) the safer you will be in heavy water, like the Great Lakes or the New York lakes. Do your homework and understand that now is a good time to consider purchasing a boat. You could wait a month and find even better deals. Good luck and let us know what you purchase.

In many instances the local city or county contributes funds for having the events in their neck of the woods. Also, the local hotels and motels will have specials to lure customers to their locations. Logistics, exhibition halls, number of available hotel/motel rooms, parking, blast off sites, weigh-in locations, police/deputy services, around areas that support bass fishing, etc. can all be factors. Remember, the exhibition hall is a distance from the ramp and weigh-in areas so you will have to take the bus to and from those sites. But it is worth every penny. I suggest everyone attend at least one Classic before they get too old or have too many kids.

ZebcoJack, welcome to the Forum. Great having you with us. After a few months you will have to change your name to ShimanoJack! Happy New Year!

Ontario! We are having your weather down in Richmond, Virginia this week. Hope the snow misses us this Thursday. Welcome to the Forum. Do you play ice hockey???? Is your favorite team the Flyers????

Sorry to read about her passing. Please post some stories. We all could use an uplifting tale at this time of the year. Thanks for letting us know.

Dedication or he is nuts.

Long time sports caster, Buddy Diliberto, in New Orleans said that if the Saints make it to the Super Bowl he would dress up as a woman and walk down Bourbon Street. Sorry to say Buddy died right before the Saints won their Super Bowl so in his memory, the people of New Orleans dressed up as women and paraded through the streets celebrating the victory. A YouTube video has memorialized the event. And remember, as of today there are only 42 days to Mardi Gras!!!!!! Enjoy the parade!

A Zoom trick worm works great on a shaky head. And you won't bust the bank purchasing them.

Gun, please go to introductions and introduce yourself. As for spoons, any of your choice as long as they match the hatch. In other words, what are the sizes of the shad in the area where you are going to fish the spoons? As for techniques, you want to yo-yo the spoon to look like an injured shad or baitfish. Let us know how you did.

Further, so I don't destroy or lose them when fun or prefishing. I have already knocked an Extreme out of the boat and into a pond and have broken two other rods while pond fishing. So I keep my high end rods in my man cave inside my house and use them for tournaments, only.

Hopefully in 2018 we will have less costly boats. New boats cost too much. Of course, this situation opens the door to a strong used boat industry. This will also give rise to a stronger kayak fishing industry with strong sales and more kayak tournaments. We will continue to see costs for rods and reels plus baits continue to increase. Over $8.50 for a bag of Senkos is very costly. Way too much. Higher costs for Senkos will drive bass fishermen to YUM for a named brand replacement and to the various off-market companies for stick baits. Overall higher costs for bass fishing will drive guys into crappie and bream fishing. If we try our luck with fly fishing it will be another monetary shock. The bass fishing industry is being propelled forward by the YouTube videos which are very helpful. If you read about a bait, technique, rod, reel or line you can probably find a number of informative YouTube videos explaining the details. I believe YouTube has caused the Ned Rig to take off and be used more and more. Will higher product costs and tournament entry fees cause less and less guys to get into bass fishing and some of the older guys to drop out? Only time will tell. And what about bass clubs? Are they going to the "partner only" style or will individuals be allowed to fish by themselves? And will bass clubs allow non-boaters to join and learn the sport? I think we will see a number of bass clubs or regions join together in 2018. There are a lot of other things we could do with our entertainment dollars other than bass fishing. And with the younger bass fishermen getting married and starting families we could have less and less guys and gals in our industry in the future. But for now, the bass fishing industry is going strong and lets all hope it continues on this path. In the meantime we need to do our homework on our boats, motors, tackle and baits and invest wisely. And watch YouTube!!!! Happy New Year!

Good one. But not like Hey Jude by the Beatles. However, I wish to add the following as one of the greatest songs in history.

Ed, with all of the research going on I would think we would find something to help combat Alzheimer's in the near future. I asked my doctor about my short term memory and he said to use a pen and paper to write down things so you won't forget when you go to the grocery store or shopping or going out, etc. He added to use a calendar to memorialize future events. Keep the faith and I bet you won't have to worry about getting the disease. Happy New Year!

Oregon, be nice. Yes, the Southeastern Conference states do have the best bass fishing now that A&M is in the fold and gives us Texas. And yes, the quality of life below the Mason-Dixon Line is outstanding and offers fantastic fresh and salt water fishing opportunities along with outstanding hunting. And yes, the food down south is much better than our northern counterparts. And down south we have Mardi Gras and SEC/ACC football and basketball plus LSU and Florida baseball. So yes, northerner's do have additional time to think of "fishing" related goals as us down south are out fishing and hunting and talking our wives and girl friends into lifting their shirts to get more Mardi Gras beads!!!!! Happy New Year! Geaux Tigers!!!!

Fatty, because the bass know the value of your rods, reels, line and tackle and they will hit the more expensive stuff first. OK, just kidding. I have a friend who has old and cheap equipment. When a reel falters he throws it away and gets another $30 one to replace it. He can out fish about 95% of the guys on this Forum. The high end rods are supposed to have better transmission characteristics and are lighter so you can use them all day and not get fatigued. I use my high end rods for tournaments. Otherwise, the less expensive rods and reels are fine for prefishing and fun fishing.

Precursor to the Chatterbait??? Great finds. Happy New Year!

Glad to have you with us. Check out the Western Fishing section for guys and gals from Idaho. We look forward to your questions and input. Happy New Year!