Sam

Good idea. Just be careful that they don't fall out.

Other than for the Yankees and Astros, what other teams do you think have a chance to make it to the World Series? I don't think the Padres will make it as shown below. Padres pitcher Brett Kennedy throws as a funnel cloud forms in Arizona. It is an omen.

EG, always be sure to have your needle nose pliers with you at all times.

So this is something that actually stiffens in cold weather??????

Did you use needle nose pliers to remove the hooks? If so, you did nothing wrong. I am sure the bass will do just fine and you will catch her in the future.

Hey guys, the old goat is 78 years old and can still perform. Give him some credit.

Remove the rear hook. Old pros' trick for Rat-L-Trap type lipless baits. Even VanDam does it at times. You can also cut some small pieces of foam and place them on the tips of your crankbait hooks. It looks strange but it can minimize the leaves problem. Not so much for the bottom gunk. And you may want to go heavier on your line test to 12 or 17 pounds with baits that go no more than three to five feet deep and do not scrap the bottom. Just experiment and have fun seeing what works and what doesn't.

The 150. Both boats are of the utmost quality and performance. I would suggest the larger motor as a strong advantage.

Not really, to answer your query. It is part of crankbait fishing that can drive you crazy. But you have to put your crankbait where the bass are and if they are deep you have no choice. You could remove the rear hook to reduce the snags and leaves/muck which is done with lipless crankbaits all the time. But overall, it is just part of fishing and if you want to minimize the glop on your hooks use a spinnerbait or Chatterbait.

How many fish has he had to eat?

There are way too many variables that could cause you not to get a bite so you have to go back to the proximate cause theory. The proximate cause is the root problem that started a chain reaction that led to the problem. For instance, your house burns down and you say it was caused by a fire. Right, but what was the root cause of the fire? Bad electrical wiring; toaster shorting out; cigarette; candles allowed to stay lit in the bedroom; a combination of a number of things going wrong at the same time? What actually started the chain of events to the final outcome? In bass fishing, the proximate cause can be anything. From water clarity; water temperature; wind; sun; rocks; structure; chop on the water; depth; time of year; type of bottom; time of season; time of day; weather; cold fronts; spawn; baits, colors, techniques, line test; line type; hooks; noise; vibrations; chemicals in the water; lack of sufficient oxygen in specific areas; baitfish to eat; crawfish to eat; minnows to eat; and the list goes on and on as penned above in previous posts. So how do you find the proximate cause? By keeping a log about your day fishing you can start to build a case for the proximate cause of getting or not getting a bite. Check out the Free Fishing Logs in Tools at the top of this page and start keeping a log for every time you fish. After 25 to 30 completed logs you will start to see the pattern for your body of water under specific conditions. Additional logs will continue to give you information to find the proximate cause of why the fish bite your baits and under what conditions and techniques. Have fun and let us know what you find out.

Never too young to celebrate Mardi Gras,

A few observations from my friends who have fished the B.A.S.S. Northern Opens in Richmond: 1. The Pros don't fool around. They are fishing for their livelihood. They will not be nice; they will back boat you; they will not share any baits. All they want to do is fish, move, fish, move, fish, move. They could care less about you other than to help land their fish. They are fantastic at concentrating on the task at hand and do not want to make conversation. 2. You are rolling the dice as a nonboater in any big tournament. You may not be paired with a pro. You could be paired with someone like yourself who is learning how to bass fish. One of my friends got paired with a great guy from Minnesota who towed his boat to Richmond for the tournament. The guy had no idea about tidal waters and my friend, the nonboater, had to educate the boater about tides, where to go, what to throw, techniques to employ, and other information about the Historic James River and it's tributaries. So give it a try and maybe you will fish with KVD, Ike, Ish, G-Man, etc. And if not you will still have a wonderful learning experience and some great memories.

The term "fais-do-do" is a Cajun lullaby sung to babies. The term "fais-do-do" can also mean a Cajun party.

Paul, a number of years ago Richmond, Virginia was host to a number of B.A.S.S. Northern Tournaments. This Historic James river, the Appomattox river, and the Chickahominy river were all off limits. So what did I and a friend do? We headed out to the Route 5 ramp to hit the water three days before the tournament just to try our luck. What we saw was mind boggling. My friend and I were wearing our jeans, a long sleeve shirt, tennis shoes, sunglasses, and a cap. We saw a number of beautiful Rangers with 250 Mercs and other high end bass boats with guys dressed for work-casual: tan pants, blue shirts, professional looking fishing shoes, and of course, sunglasses and a cap. What were they doing? Each was prefishing the waters for a professional. They would take what information they gathered on their recon mission back to friends in Richmond who would tell their pro what these guys told them about the fishing conditions, etc. Was it legal? I have no idea. But it was interesting seeing guys on the Chick river dressed for work and having all of their teeth.

These kids nailed it. They are all LSU material.

I watched the last few laps, turning on the TV just after the big accident. Loved how it ended. Great race at the end. I gave up my Richmond NASCAR tickets as the races were just too boring. No action. No accidents. No body getting into fights. Just round and round they went. So my buddy and I decided not to renew my four NASCAR and four Xfinity tickets that we have used for the past 23 years. And we never missed either of the two races each year. If we decide to go back we can always find tickets at the race track.

Told this story before, but here it goes again. Prefishing a club tournament on the Historic James River out of Osborne Landing when we went down the river's bank just east of Dutch Gap and my buddy hooked something big. Now I have to tell you that where we were fishing is where the Fort Lee guys to go have fun on the river and do some bank fishing. No one was around when my friend hooked that monster. Well, he huffed and puffed and the fish would not come off the bottom. So he hunted in his boat compartments for the bait knocker, put it on his line, and let it go. The bait knocker screamed down his line to where the fish was holding and my friend pulled on the knocker's rope to move it around. Oops. The rope was not tied to the knocker so he lost it. All he could do was look at the end of the rope where he was supposed to have tied it on the bait knocker and frown. That started me laughing. He got so mad at that big fish that he started pulling on his rod and yanking and cussing and yelling at the water for that fish to come up when all of a sudden, the fish gave way and headed up towards the boat. When the fish got to the boat it turned out to be a military boot and I am laughing at him and his antics. But when I see the boot being brought into the boat I just lost it and went into hysterics. So there is my friend, sitting between the seats, with a boot covered in mud at his feet and I said, "look inside of it to see if you can find your lure knocker." And he does. He takes a look into the mud in the boot and then looks up at me and says "it ain't there." It was at this time I almost fell out of the boat laughing. I then suggested he throw his finesse set up back where he caught the boot to see if he could find its mate. He just looked and scowled at me and we just floated along the bank continuing our prefishing activities like nothing happened, except for me bursting out in laughter from time to time. To this day he denies that it happened and refuses to talk about it. I still laugh when I remember his facial expressions; his fighting that boot on the bottom; and the look on his face when he pulled up the bait knocker's rope without the knocker.

Southwest Florida in February? Hummmmm. Water temperature? Hummmmmm. Water clarity? Hummmmmmm. Any wind? Hummmmmm. Sunny or cloudy day? Hummmmmmm. Cold front passed through area? Hummmmm? Any wood or grass that can be seen from the bank? Hummmmmm? Openings to cast without brush and trees in the way? Hummmmm? Do you have a map of the lake? Hummmmmm? Overall, you are in Florida and the fishing is always good. Check water temperature to note if they are 1) headed to spawning grounds; 2) are in the spawn: or 3) spawn is winding down. Look for rocks, wood, blow downs, brush, grass, pads, and anything in the water by itself. Then start experimenting with your moving baits and plastics. Watch out for gators and snakes and have a good time. And as a suggestion, next time give us some details so we can analyze your query and give you excellent suggestions.

I have neighbors across the street and to the left of my house. We have a two acre field to the right where I park my boat and trailer. My next door neighbors to the left are eccentric. They keep to themselves while their house is falling apart. It is so bad that their two daughters moved to Idaho. I have been calling the family "The Addams Family." I whistle the Addams Family theme song when I see them in their yard or walking to their mailbox to get their mail. I also named each of their family members after the Addams Family characters. My wife doesn't think it is funny but I think it is hilarious. I especially like "It and Thing."

HOW TO START A FIGHT....... One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift... The next year, I didn't buy her a gift. When she asked me why, I replied, "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!" And that's how the fight started.....

Kenneth, as penned above, you do not need a weight to throw a Senko wacky style. In fact, a weight will kill the Senko's slow fall. To be sure you are using the proper line test for your rod, look at the line test parameters on your rod, add the high and low numbers together and divide by two. That is the best test for the rod. Make sure your reel can match the line test, too. I throw Senkos on a medium heavy rod and it performs properly.

No idea. Not shown on any web page I could find. You may have to call BASS and ask them: 1.877.BASS.USA Here is what I found on the Internet about the Classic Expo. At every Elite Series event don’t miss the Elite Expo every Saturday and Sunday featuring: Take a demo ride of a Nitro, Skeeter or Triton boat See the latest from Toyota and win prizes Snap a selfie at the Academy Sports + Outdoors big chair Explore the Berkley/Abu Garcia Experience trailer and test your knot tying skills Join B.A.S.S. and buy official Bassmaster merchandise Win prizes and more from Cahartt Learn more about Yamaha, T-H Marine, Power-Pole and more Food and beverage vendors Kids' activities J Bab, what are they giving you for helping them at the Classic? I helped Berkley at the last Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia was given two new spinning rods, two new spinning reels, and six boxes of Trileen. Also got to meet and talk with Hank Parker plus the vice presidents of Berkley. Great experience.

Which is a lot better than in Alabama where the University of Alabama grads have that famous saying, "you want cheese with that?" And by the way, how did we get into politics? Isn't politics a no-no on the Forum?

We all are like one big hockey team, but we have our teeth. Welcome. Ask your questions and post your replies to others' queries. Go Flyers!