Sam

Glad you joined us. As you know, this is a super site and everyone has learned a lot from others. With the warm weather and waters approaching we all should have better results this year due to the kindness of those on this site sharing information. Welcome.

Nope, but his blooper tapes are funny.

Hey Ben, Thanks for the great photos. You will enjoy these memories for the rest of your life. Keep letting us know how you do fishing and as you move up the ladder into the Elite Series!!! After college you could be an impact player on the FLW and B.A.S.S. circuits. And we all can say we "knew you" when you were an young amateur.

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwhiches. The jumbo size Snickers. I may not catch much but am I hyper or what?

Good things come to good people. Congrats and enjoy yourself. And remember, you will have more good memories of fishing than of work. Have fun and let us know how you do.

Hey Just Fishn, Your story points out why we always carried a hidden knife with us in Viet Nam. It was always "self-defense."

I had my boat detailed at Bass Pro Shop and the carpet looks like new. I have been meaning to ask them what they used and may do so tomorrow when I go to the seminars. I usually use a Bissell carpet cleaner but it has not come close to the BPS service center results. I will let you know when I find out from the BPS people.

We have three Dick's Sporting Goods stores in the geographical Richmond, Virginia area. The one in the Stony Point Fashion Mall is a disaster in the fishing department. No one knows anything about fishing. The one at Short Pump is a little better, but not by much. However, they do have a better selection than the Stony Point store. The one by Chesterfield Shopping Center is the best. They guy who runs the department actually is a bass fisherman and he is very helpful. He does not have the knowledge of a true tackle shop but he is helpful and pleasant. And the selection is OK. Not up to par with Green Tops, Castaways, Gander Mountain, BPS or Dance's; but OK if you are in a pinch and do not want to drive many miles to go to a good tackle shop. When I was growing up I was taught that 1) when you want jewelry, go to a jeweler. When you want to buy a house, go to a realtor. When you want to buy nice clothes, go to a small clothier. So, it you want to purchase good tackle and talk to people who know something about fishing, go to a tackle store.

We went to our neighbor's son's 9th birthday party tonight and the wife's parents drove down from New Jersey to Richmond to surprise the kid for his birthday. The father/grandfather, Pop-Pop, told me an interesting story. This summer he and a friend were fishing off the coast of New Jersey when the boat lifted up and slid to one side. They thought it was the wake from another boat when they turned around in time to see a whale's tail up in the air along side of the boat. It seems a whale came up for a blow and hit the boat. Lucky for them there were not tossed into the water. A lot of the boaters around them followed the whale, as did they, taking pictures. I have never seen a whale in person but I bet it was one surprise to have one hit your boat and be that close to the animal. He did not know what kind of whale it was. Have any of you readers seen a whale ?

Husker, I hate when that happens. Welcome to the world of corporate America, where you work your buns off for the other guy only to get the short end of the stick. It happened to me so you know what I did? I left my previoius employer in 1988 and formed my own company doing exactly what my former employer did and I have been a pain in their behind for almost 20 years. Try to find a career that you like and work from home. Drive your old company crazy by being a competitor. Remember, things happen for a reason. You don't understand or see the reason today, but you will in time. When someone shuts a door a window opens. God Bless and good luck with your family and your career. You are on the verg of something big. You don't know what it is, but it will certanily find you.

OK Pitt Bass, Have you been drinking too much Lemon Blend? Or, have I been eating too much Virginia ham because I have never heard about revolving guides. What are they and how do they work? Thanks.

Personally, I think Ranger over reacted regarding Ike. I would think Ranger wanted to send a strong message to all of their pros that if you do not act in a proper manner at all times you will not represent Ranger, no matter who you are. I think Ranger got the message through to everyone; but in the long run I think Ranger may have tarnished its image. I know that I lose it when fishing; then calm down and continue on my way. Emotions run high in tournaments and both Ike and the G-Man did dumb things. The difference is that Ike did not place anyone or their boats in danger and he loses Ranger; G-Man does something that does peril people and their boats and Triton let's it go. I side with Triton on this one.

Hey George, I just noticed your name at the bottom of the page showing you are on this AM so welcome back. Hope you are feeling better and are getting ready for another wonderful summer of fishing. Sam

JT, I remember that B.A.S.S. had a tournament on the James River in Richmond (I do not believe it was the classic but another one) and my friend and I saw a number or guys fishing the Chick River a few days before the tournament as I go fishing during the week and not on weekends. They were in beautiful bass boats, much nicer than you would normally see; and the guys were really into their fishing, mentally, more than you would expect from non-tournament guys fishing for fun. My friend told me that these guys could have been hired by some pros to fish the James and Chick rivers since the pros could not fish as the waters were off limits. Does this practice still go on and is it legal?

Hety Catt, Glad to see you are up this early. Me, too. I throw worms on top of lilly pads and have luck with them all, including Gulp! Two years ago on the Nottoway River a bass jumped out of the water and hit the worm that I had just stopped moving on top of a lilly pad on the way down. Shocked me to no end. But he landed in the boat and helped me get my five bass limit in the tournament. I use Strike King for my Shakey Head rigs although Ike says to use a regular worm so it does not stand up too straight but more on an angle. Wish I could be more help on this subject.

Last I look there are 622 fishing clubs posted on this site. Try your luck in finding the listing under Fishing Clubs in the pull down lists and then contact some of them to find out how they got started. Or you can Google Orange County Fishing Club and then scroll down to the fishing clubs listed for bassresource.com. The fishing club at Orange County High School in Orange County, Virginia, is very successful and I am sure they can give you some tips. I think you would need a parent, guardian or teacher to be involved. Good luck.

CU, Clemson is an outstanding school. You will go far with a Clemson degree. Of course, Clemson has never won the College World Series as LSU has, but we won't go there. Enjoy college. It is the best 5 or 6 years of your life!

KU, I gave you their response, not what I sent to them. I questiioned Ranger's actions against Ike last year and told them that I was not impressed by their pulling their sponsorship of Ike. I understood that the G-Man was a Triton guy but I just wanted to send them a note about my thoughts and beliefs. I expected them to come back and avoid the conflict. What I was trying to do was to get them to parallel their actions against Ike against what Triton did. I got my answer. Thanks for your insight and input. Now, let's do some fishing!

CU, You need to be watching some bass fishing DVDs or videos. I have never crabed fished like they do in Alaska. I like calm water and if you fall overboard there is nothing in the water that can eat you. If you want to view two super DVDs, get Ike's Rules and his Classic Patterns DVD, Tactics for Tough Conditions. Both are excellent.

Always enjoy Catt's posts, especially the food posts. Now tell me why he sent you the baits? Did I miss your original post? Thanks, Sam

If Jimmy Houston used live bait he would wear himself out just kissing each minnow he threw.

Outstanding! I wish they had oceanography and fisheries when I was in school. But that was a long, long time ago. Good luck and get that degree!

I sent e-mails to both Triton and Ranger regarding Gerald Swindle's disqualification this weekend at the Classic for unsafe operation of a motor boat, and here are their replies, summarized: Triton - Gerald is part of our family; he apologized; he knows he made a mistake; and no action will be taken against him. Ranger - Gerald is sponsored by Triton so no action will be taken against him. This is a lot differenet from what Ranger did to Ike last year when Ike pitched his tantrum but did not place either people or assets in peril. Triton is a class act. I would be proud to own a Triton, which will be my next boat in a few years.

'Bount time you came back. Now start asking questions; reading the posts; and sending us your pictures. Which colleges are you applying to? Are you going to do any fisheries biology programs or Business Administration to make those big bucks?

OK, here's the deal my friend, a retired professional bass fisherman and now a guide, tells me about the "freebies" he gets. He can use anything he wants but when he is out guiding he has to wear his pro shirt wtih all the logos on it; and any photos of any fish caught have to have the sponsors baits or equipment in them, it they caught the fish or not. His sponsors want him to use their products and he does; but as all of us have our favorites, so does he. And the sponsors are not giving much away anymore. You can purchase the reels and rods at a discount and get some baits free, but thats about it for the "normal" guys. Of course, everyone who mentions marketing is totally 100% correct. It is marketing using the pros as their salesman. It is almost as bad as NASCAR. "Yep, Billy Bob. I caught that four pounder using my Stick-It Lighting 10 pound indestructible line on my Kohooites 6:2 ratio baitcaster, on the Pull-it-In 6 and a half foot medium heavy rod with the fast tip, model number 69, with a tungston Never-Feel the Strike 1/4 ounce bullet weight pegged with the Goodrich Blimp 3 inch rubber pegger with my Choker 6 inch green and orange floating worm mounted on a Stick-Em extra wide gap hook."