Sam

Being old and set in my ways, I am not sure about the "Split-Grip" rods that I am noticing in the BPS and Cabella's catalogs. The Kistler Split-Grip Magnesium TS looks beautiful, but at $180 you want to make sure the rod will be light and comfortable. The Kistler Hellum LTX II has a price tag of $330 to $350, and for that money, I would feel better investing in a G. Loomis product. So guys, what's your input on the Split-Grip rods? Do you like them? Are they worth the price? Any feedback would be welcome. Thanks.

Craig, Great answer to the question. But I still think they go to Florida. ;D

Florida!

100% instinct. I used to raise macaws. We took them from the nest as soon as they were born and hand fed them. It was amazing to see how their instincts kicked in even though they were not brought up by their parents or were around any other macaws. Bass, and all wild animals, have their instincts, which are very strong. That is what causes a "pet" wild animal to turn on their owners or others. A wild animal can be tamed only so far and then their instincts kick in. So do bass know? Yes, they know. They all know. And as they said on that old radio program in the 40's...The Shadow Knows!

From what others have posted on this site, Reel Mech is the "reel deal!" He is also very knowledgeable about reels, too. Gald we have him.

Zell Roland would agree with you on the addition of feathers. Zell likes to tinker around with various lures and at a Bassmaster University he told us about his adventures with feathers, etc. So keep putting those feathers on your baits.

My wife calling me to dinner!

It really does not matter. I have my favorites and I always look to see how they do in the various tournaments, both B.A.S.S. and FLW. It is sort of like following NASCAR and my drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.

No, if I listen to anything it is football games on my portable radio. If you really want oto be boared and slow down, tune in to baseball games!!!!

There is no such thing as gloal warming. This is a political term used for political reasons, only. Weather conditions are cyclical and there is nothing man nor animal can do to stop it. Right now the El Nino affect is causing the warm weather in the eastern part of the US, not any global warming. It is just anohter political lable that the libralsand anti-Americans use to try to control us. And speaking of polluting of out atmosphere...the space shuttle took photos of pollution and China nad Africa lead the world in plluting the air. So if you want to talk global warming, hop a plane and fly to either China or Africa and talk to those people.

Right now, Carolina Lunker Sauce. But I use Jack's Juice and others during the year.

I remove all electronics (two sonar units) when trailering the boat. Too many things flying around while driving that can strike the units and damage them, like a pebble thrown from a passing truck. My Lowarnce units are just too expensive to allow them to be subjected to the elements.

Try finesse fishing, such as shaky head and drop shotting. Make sure your baits are scaled down and you are using light line, such as 6 to 8 pound fluorocarbone, like Vanish, on a light spinning set up. Let the bait sit there for up to five minutes, lightly twitching or moving it. You may want to "doodle" the set up by using a brass sinker with a 8 mm black glass bead between the sinker and hook to give the bait some noise. And don't forget your scents. And be patient. Bites are few and far between if the bass are inactive. Good luck.

I always scent my baits, especially plastics, while on the water. I also will put scent on my baits the evening before I go fishing. My questions is...can you "over-scent" your plastics by allowing them to soak in scents for too long, such as two or three days? I am also curious if you guys scent your favorite plastics the evening or day before you go fishing. Thanks for the feedback.

Do you all realize the number of top coaches in the SEC now? Miles at LSU. Phat Phil at Tennessee. Visor Boy at South Carolina. Urban Rap at Florida. Tubby at Auburn. Satan at Bama. Richt at Georgia. Croome at State. Man, the SEC should be one heck of a conference now that Saban has returned. Now for Ole Miss, Vandy and Kentucky get marquee coaches the SEC would be a zoo! Recruiting will be something to see. I wonder if Tubby and Phat Phil will turn in Satan if he breaks any rules?

LSU 41 Notre Dame 14 And if the two LSU receivers had held onto the ball at the goal line LSU would have had 8 more points since the Fighting Tigers kicked two filed goals since they did not get the touchdowns. Of course, Boisie State vs.Oklahoma was the best game so far. Geaux Tigers!!!!!

I use by 7:1 Curado for buzzbaits. It works great going fast or slow. I have also used it for spinnerbaits and shallow crankbaits, but mostly for buzzbaits.

Here are some pointers as a non-boater. 1. Be early at the dock. 2. If possible, contact the boat owner prior to the tournament and discuss what you are going to bring (food, tackle box, drinks, etc.) to make sure he has room for all of your stuff on the boat. 3. Bring two baitcaster and two spinning rods set up and ready to go. 4. Pack in your tackle box two fully spooled baitcasters and two fully spooled spinning reels to change out as the day progresses. This saves space as you will not have to bring 12 rod set ups or sit there and try to work out a backlash. 5. Find out if there is a charge for gasoline, such as $30 or more, and have the money ready and give it to the boat owner before he has to ask you for it. 6. Look over the back of the boat very carefully as you don't want to have a misstep and fall out of the boat. It is embarrassing. 7. Ask where the net is located so you won't have to run around the boat looking for the net to net one of the boat owners fish or vise versa. 8. Talk to the boat owner to see what he is going to throw first so you can throw something else as two different baits are better than two of the same kind of baits. Once either starts hitting fish you can change out to what is working. 9. Take the lead from the boat owner. He may be a quiet guy or a talker. Do what he does regarding talking while fishing. 10. If you are not a great caster tell the boat owner so he will be prepared to go to the shore to get your lure out of the bushes or trees or docks, etc. 11. Try not to cross his line, which sometimes is easier said then done. 12. Understand that some boat owners want to go fast and cover a lot of water while others want to fish slow and work different baits and presentations at the same strucutre or shore line so be ready to do both. 13. If it is cold, bring a second set of clothing just in case you do fall out of the boat!!! 14. Have fun. This is a learning experience. Don't get upset if you don't win the tournament or the non-boater class. Watch what the boat owner does and how he fishes, especially if he 1) is catching fish or 2) if he is familiar with the body of water. 15. Have fun, again. You will get better as the year progresses and you fish more tournaments. Good luck.

Hey JT, If you think the Bait Monkey is bad wait until next Christmas, his birthdays, graduations, special events, church outfits, sporting outfits, toys, games, books, collectables, computers, computer games, telephones, more clothes, things he breaks or sinks or drops overboard, fishing equipment and more. We can't call it the Bait Monkey. We can call it Granny and Granpa!!!!! Congrats. You will have a great teaching him how to fish.

I second the live minnow. Can't beat it when you find them.

I contacted Bassmaster University this fall and was told that the program was not going to be offered in 2007 and made a post on this site informing everyone. It seems ESPN wants to revamp the program and continue it in 2008, but who knows if that will happen? I have not read anything about any other seminars that would parallel Bassmaster University so I am going to check out the web site mentioned in this thread. Ike and Woo will be at the Richmond Bassarama on January 26 -28 and I will go and hear Ike. I have seen Woo too many times and I know his material. If anyone reads about any educational classes that are being offered I know a lot of guys on this site would appreciate hearing about them.

You want the freshest line you can get. I suggest Cabella's as they sell a lot of line and therefore they have a lot of line turnover and the line is fresh. Some of the local retailers have the line on their shelves for months before it is sold and they will not reorder until the existing line supply sells. Consequently, the line can be "old" when you purchase it. I use Silver Thread and it is an OK line. I have four tests in bulk spools which makes respooling easy and simple. I also use the Berkley lines, too, depending on the fishing situation. I also keep all lines inside my home so there will not be any temperature variations during the year and I take extra reels already spooled and ready to go on the boat so I don't have to take the spools out of the house. So far, the lines I have have done well with few problems.

I hope A&M wins so the Bama people can see what they did to get Coach Fran to tell them where to stick it. Bama thinks they are getting Satan for $70,000,000 for 10 years, or so the rumors go. I think the Bama gang would do better by digging up the Bear and just having him on the sidelines. As for the Longhorns, anyone who beats Texas is my friend. And another Non-BCS Bowl year for the Longhorns. Dont' you just love Mack Brown? Mack Brown to Alabama? Sounds good to me? Coach Fran to Bama? Never. I always want the southern teams to win so go Aggies! Nice hearing from Fishers of Men again. Happy New Year!

So you guys are telling us that size does matter? I will tell my wife ASAP!!!!!

My friend has two REVOs and he loves them. They are the silver models that cost $200 each and not the black model for $150. I use a 7:1 Curado and I love it. However, I may get that $200 REVO as it is a "sweet" reel and is one of the highest rated burner baitcasters in the current FLW magazine. Get a copy of the FLW magazine and see what they say about five of the high retrieve reels. You can't go wrong with that REVO.