Sam

I'm losing track, Sam. Does the SEC have a poor OOC schedule because "the conference schedule is too tough already", or because the state legislators force them to play the in-state patsies? - CHRIS, THEY WANT THE "W" TO BEEF UP THEIR WINS TO BE BOWL ELIGIBLE. OVERALL, THE SEC'S OCC IS A JOKE. BUT IT PUTS FANNIES IN THE STANDS; PADS THE WINS; MAKES THE TEAM AND COACHES LOOK GOOD; AND PUTS MONEY IN THE BANK. ATHLETIC DIRECTORS SAY THEIR SEC SCHEDULES ARE TOO TOUGH AND THE SEC TEAMS NEED THE WEAKER TEAMS ON THEIR SCHEDULES. AS FOR THE STATE LEGISLATURES GETTING INTO THE ACT, QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY ARE THE SEC TEAMS PAYING OUT OF STATE PATSIES WHEN THEY HAVE LOTS OF WEAKER FOOTBALL TEAMS IN THEIR STATE THAT THE SEC TEAMS COULD PLAY AND THE WEAKER SHCOOLS COULD USE THE MONEY. KEEP THE MONEY HOME. I see quite a few SEC OOC games against the likes of Tennessee Tech and South Alabama in the November timeline. So why does "SEC scheduling" prevent playing Notre Dame, for example? - AN SEC TEAM WILL PLAY NOTRE DAME BUT NOTRE DAME WILL NOT PLAY IN THE SOUTH IN AUGUST, SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER DUE TO THE HEAT. BEEN THIS WAY SINCE THE IRISH WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BUT LOST TO OLE MISS IN OXFORD DUE TO THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY. LSU PLAYED NOTRE DAME IN TIGER STADIUM IN NOVEMBER. BUT WITH THE SEC MAKING THE SEC SCHEDULE FOR THE TEAMS YOU HAVE LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM TO SCHEDULE OTHER POWER 5 CONFERENCE TEAMS AT THE END OF THE SEASON. SO NO TENNESSEE-OKLAHOMA GAME IN NOVEMBER. THEY PLAY IN SEPTEMBER. I did find a recent example where Tennessee and Oklahoma had a home and home, actually in each others' stadiums and not a neutral site. Kudos to them! - YES. BUT DON'T LOOK FOR ALABAMA TO PLAY AT ANOTHER POWER 5'S STADIUM. BAMA WILL PLAY ON A NUTURAL FIELD LIKE THIS COMING SEASON. AND LSU PLAYS WISCONSIN IN GREEN BAY. BUT LSU WILL PLAY OTHER POWER 5 SCHOOLS AT THEIR HOME FIELD AND HAS DONE SO IN THE PAST. SEC TEAMS WILL BE PLAYING MORE POWER 5 TEAMS IN THE FUTURE DUE TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMMITTEE LOOKING AT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE. I AM IN FAVOR OF MORE POWER 5 SCHOOLS PLAYING EACH OTHER AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN SEC-BIG TEN OR BIG 8-ACC, ETC. SCHEDULE LIKE IN BASKETBALL TO START THE SEASONS. THAT WOULD BE FUN TO WATCH: NUMER ONES PLAY EACH OTHER; THEN NUMBER TWO'S PLAY, AND SO FORTH.

I think the question boils down to "how do you obtain the best probability to find the fish?" Waypoints, sonar, maps, Google Earth, locals, friends, other pros who fished the place, tackle shops, marinas can all play a roll in finding the fish. To try to ban speaking to locals will be almost impossible. You can use any and all information but you still have the find the fish and have them bite your bait. So I don't agree with Hackney's proposal at this time unless he and his people can prove that local anglers' information actually aided a pro in locating and catching the fish. What I would like to have banned is having the pros pay a local to do their prefishing during the dead period before a tournament and report back each day with the results. You should have seen the "unknowns in their Rangers" fishing the Chickahominy River before an open on the Historic James River. These guys were not friendly; worked like robots; and fished all over the place; dressed in nice kakis and it was all business to them. This was about a week before the tournament on a week day. Will be interesting to follow Greg's suggestion when presented to B.A.S.S. and FLW.

Try Audubon Park Lagoon. Check to find out if you need a fishing license to fish the lagoon. Otherwise, not many places to fish in the greater NOLA area. You may want to consider joining a local fishing club if they take nonboaters. Enjoy the Mardi Gras. Have some King Cake, hit the Quarter, get a roast beef po-boy and a Barq's from Serio's and tell Mike that Sam in Richmond; sent you; and hit Rocky and Carlo's for an outstanding 20-napkin roast beef po-boy. Good luck and always watch where you step when bank fishing in Louisiana. Geaux Tigers!

Zefman, a word of caution when selecting a Louisiana fishing club. Be sure they are LSU fans and you will do great. If they are Toolame fans then stay away because they will be terrible fishing people. Be sure to wear purple and gold when you go fishing and be sure to yell "Geaux Tigers" when you set the hook. Good luck on finding the right club.

Mark Zona is a showman who entertains us about bass fishing. He is enjoyable to watch and I be he would be a great fishing partner. I have always liked how he acts and presents his material. I have never thought of him not telling the truth at any time. The bass fishing industry is lucky to have our "Zona" and I hope he continues pontificating into the future.

Troy, there is a Lake Anna tournament each week so look them up at the various marinas for information. We have a number of guys who fish One Fish Anna. Hopefully they will see your post and get back with you. Are you gong to the Richmond Fishing Expo this weekend at the Meadow by Kings Dominion? If so, you can meet the One Fish Anna guides and others with businesses on the lake and ask them for information on tournaments, guides and guys who would like to fish with you. Good luck.

Have you tried Audubon Park Lagoon? Used to fish it all the time when I was growing up in NOLA.

Andrew, let me tell you how it works in addition to the above words of wisdom presented for your review. We only know so much about the bass family. But we do know that they are moody, move around as they please, eat when they want, can be aggressive hunters and then just float around not bothering about your baits being tossed at them. In fact, unless you can aggravate them into hitting your bait when they are not feeding, you probably have casted your artificial lures all around them and did not know it. You have to study the bass' movements during the different months to find the "pattern" of the hour or day. You need to know how the bass will react to the weather, water temperature, water clarity, spawning season, depths, oxygen, structure, cover, sounds, wind, current, the color of your shoes, what you had for breakfast, did you see Star Wars, etc. etc. etc. You have to study and know your enemy. You can also stumble upon them and have a great day or not stumble on them and get skunked because they just were not in the mood to eat your bait. Neither event means you are a great or poor bass fisherman. It only proves that you outsmarted the bass or the bass outsmarted you and were not in the mood to attack your presentations. So what do you do since there is no one right answer but a thousand right answers? You read, read and read the articles at the top of this Forum's page plus books and magazines on bass fishing. You watch the educational bass fishing shows and productions on TV and DVDs with the understanding that for the most part the waters being fished are being chummed to feed and attract the bass or that the pond or lake is one that it is easy to catch fish. Don't get caught up with what bait, reel, rod or line the fishermen are hawking. Just look at the baits that caught the fish; how it is being used; and anything else you can glean from the TV production or DVD. You can visit the pros' web pages and read what they offer in the line of articles. Try Woo Dave's web site for a starter. Just remember, finding fish is the one major challenge we all face. Some days we find them and others we don't. But that is the wonderful challenge of our sport. It's you against that little green monster. And that little green monster wins more than we do. Good luck. Read, watch, keep eyes and ears open and mouth shut, keep asking us questions, but of all the advice and baloney we can give you cannot make up for the days you go fishing. On the water is the best education you can have. The bass will educate you better than any teachers you have at school. Keep a log of your fishing each day. Check out a sample log at the top of this page under one of the links. Now do your homework and then hit the water. Your education comes first and then fishing. All the best. Be sure to post pics of what you catch.

Wait till next week.... From Wxrisk.com's Facebook page. Everyone needs to "Like" this page as it is excellent for weather predictions. Here is what Dave penned today: Be ADVISED no matter what happens on SUNDAY JAN 17 SEVERE COLD comes in MONDAY TUESDAY to all OH WVA PA NJ MD DEL VA NC KY TN ...look at these temps with NO snow on ground!!

WRB, of course I am upset at what happened to your brother and the needless loss of a life. Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss.

Leesville! Leesville, Louisiana! Vernon Parish north of Deridder and west of Alexandria. Close to Toledo Bend. Strong LSU country. And yes, you need a stronger rod in Louisiana due to all of those beautiful ladies you guys pull out of your lakes and ponds on a regular basis. So I can understand your need for a powerful rod. The G. Loomis rods do well in Virginia and other parts of the country. But in Louisiana it is different: Come to Louisiana as you are and leave different! Geaux Tigers

X2 Great quality and they stand behind their products. Be sure to purchase a bunch as you will lose them if you fish your football head jig properly.

Your rod is the communication center of your tackle. Your rod conducts the bait's, bottom's and structure's "feel" back to you via the line and bait's action. The rod also sets the hook and helps you fight and land your catch. So no matter where or how you are fishing, boater, nonboater, bank, dock, bridge, etc., the rod is the most important piece of equipment you have. It does not matter how you fish or what line or baits you are using. You need a good rod to transmit the conditions back to you. With rod manufacturers making "rod specific" rods you can select a good rod for each type of presentation you want. Some rods can be used for multiple baits. For tournament fishing I like my G. Loomis rods. For fun and pond fishing anything goes, and the Bass Pro Shop Extreme rods work fine. Take some time and research any rods you are interested in purchasing while at the same time remember one of the Cardinal Rules of Bass Fishing: You Can Never Have Enough Rods!!!!!

You can't go wrong with a G. Loomis rod.

Anything Shimano or Daiwa.

No big SEC rival games with Power 5 teams outside the SEC. LSU used to play Notre Dame but the Fighting Irish will no longer play down south until November, which is not longer possible due to the SEC scheduling. LSU will play one big Power 5 team when they can schedule the game. LSU takes on Wisconsin at Lambeau Field next year to open the season. Tennessee used to play UCLA and now takes on one of the big Power 5 programs each year. Alabama will open with a Power 5 opponent but no longer has any out-of-conference rivals. Florida and Florida State; Clemson and South Carolina; Kentucky and Louisville; come to mind as annual rival games. And regarding SEC teams playing in state patsies, seems the legislatures are telling the big schools to take on their in-state rivals so that the money stays in the college system. Even Tulane is asking LSU to play them in the Superdome with LSU taking home 75% of the receipts of a sold out stadium. LSU will be playing Southeastern Louisiana and U-La-La in the future, thanks to the Louisiana legislature. Just like Kentucky and Louisville playing each other in football on an annual basis. As you guys know, follow the money.

SEC nonconference scheduling is awful. The excuse is that the SEC teams are so powerful that lesser teams need to be on the schedule to allow the SEC teams to get a breather and not face another out of conference powerhouse. I think you will see more and more top five power schools start to play each other during the regular season due to the new way the top four teams are selected. But a win is a win and if you get six you got a bowl game. It is part of the college football industry and you have to be a part of it to fully understand it.

No. I just told what Bear did. I don' like grey shirting. Never have. But there seems to be a place for it in college football. I cannot undersand how a good player will grey shirt and not go to another school where he can play. Then, there are those guys who just want to play for a specific coach or school and they will endure the gray shirt year.

I never liked the St. Louis Rams. I always liked the Los Angles Rams. Wish the NFL would allow the cities to retain the team's nicknames. Baltimore Colts; Houston Oilers; any others??????

5Fish, have you ever heard of the Bear Bryant Rule? When the Bear was at Alabama, he would recruit his football players and give them other athletic scholarships such as baseball, basketball, track/field, etc. Back in the Bear's days it was OK to do this. The Bear could then recruit and sign over 40 players each year, legally. So when the other colleges complained about the Bear's tactics the NCAA passed a rule that an athlete must be given his/her athletic scholarship specifically for the athletic team for which they will be playing. We have the "gray shirts" rule today which is the closest rule to what the Bear was doing. As for recruiting cheating, Tennessee has reported Alabama numerous times which is the reason the old Bama folks hate Tennessee. And I mean they hate Tennessee. More than LSU or Auburn. Today, many schools will have their athletic department people call another school's athletic department people and discuss any shady recruiting practices they think may have occurred before blowing the whistle. This is why the number of recruiting violations are down in addition to the fact that the colleges do not want any NCAA restrictions on the number of players they can recruit. Of course, not all schools subscribe to calling other schools, especially if they are in a big recruiting battle or want to be nasty. But what goes around comes around so the schools monitor player recruiting very closely with an athletic department individual not associated with any one specific team. We don't know what is promised the players or their families by the schools or alumni. If LSU can raise $15,000,000 in less than three days from their alumni to pay off Les Miles' contract you know things can happen behind the scenes that we will never know about. Just ask the Alabama fans what Cam Newton did with the $80,0000 he received for going to Auburn!!!!

Sorry, his graphics are not posting in the Forum. All can check him out for free on his Facebook page.

Not sure. Check out Wxrisk.com on Facebook for his complete forecast. David says that it is up in the air and that the chance for snow maybe a glitch in the computer. Check out his entire report. Here is what I could copy and past from his Facebook post. Just remember, nothing in concrete at this time and if we do get snow it may be on Sunday, January 17th. Wxrisk.com 20 mins · ** ALERT** IS THERE A SURPRISE NC VA MD DEL SNOWSTORM for this SUNDAY JAN 17? MAYBE Over the past week we have talked about the amount of energy in the southern jet stream ( because of the El Nino ) and the number of different weather systems that the various weather models are having trouble figuring out how to develop AND handle. FIRST there is the coastal LOW coming this weekend which will be rain for all the Middle Atlantic states and perhaps even. Now all that being said let's be careful here. This is a BIG change from what the previous model runs were showing. So far no other model is supporting this solution. Let's see what the midday European showing before we get all excited. The midday Canadian model has no such a big storm along these Carolina Coast and it has no significant snow on the Canadian model across any portion of North Carolina Virginia or Maryland. So we may be looking at a model hiccup or glitch or perhaps as the model trend the start of something new. This image shows what the 12Z WED GFS model is depicting and as we can see it's a very strong powerful area of LOW pressure the races up the coast and really hits NC VA MDE DEL with significant snow. But again we have to wait and see -- WE ARE NOT FORECASTING A SNOWSTORM FOR SUNDAY JAN 17... this is a VERY different solution for what the previous models have been depicting over the past 2-3 DAYS to Boston. Once this system moves off the New England Coast a bitter cold arctic air mass will come plunging into the eastern U.S.. The arctic cold will reach the Ohio Valley on the 16th and the East Coast on the 17th. However the weather models have been insisting that there IS a second LOW coming out of the Gulf of Mexico which will track across Florida. The surprise is that the 12z midday Wednesday GFS model is now developing this system more rapidly and as a result it tracks MUCH closer to the SC NC coast. With all the arctic air in place over NC VA MD DEL the precipitation type would be all snow and it would be heavy or significant snow like that.--- ASSUMING THE GFS MODEL IS CORRECT. Now all that being said let's be careful here. This is a BIG change from what the previous model runs were showing. So far no other model is supporting this solution. Let's see what the midday European showing before we get all excited. The midday Canadian model has no such a big storm along these Carolina Coast and it has no significant snow on the Canadian model across any portion of North Carolina Virginia or Maryland. So we may be looking at a model hiccup or glitch or perhaps as the model trend the start of something new. This image shows what the 12Z WED GFS model is depicting and as we can see it's a very strong powerful area of LOW pressure the races up the coast and really hits NC VA MDE DEL with significant snow. But again we have to wait and see -- WE ARE NOT FORECASTING A SNOWSTORM FOR SUNDAY JAN 17... this is a VERY different solution for what the previous models have been depicting over the past 2-3 DAYS

Don't' get ;mad at Woody Hayes for hitting that Clepsom player. The Clepsom player stole the football and Woody reacted as any true bloodied American would do. You don't steal things. It is just that simple. Woody should have received the Presidential Medal of Honor for trying to protect that football.

Ads, just remember that each knot is a "weak" spot in your line. The fewer "weak" spots the better. When you tie line to line please use a strong, fast drying glue that you paint over the knot.