scaleface

I usually fish by myself so I put the camera on a small tripod and use the timer . I dont long arm the fish but I try to get it centered in the lens .

The only modification I do is bend the weed-guard to weaken it , so it collapses easier on a hook-set .

Bill Dance preaches to give the fish the same pressure it is giving . If its pulling hard , you pull hard , when it lets up , you let up . Never worked well for me . Thats why he is bill Dance and I am not .

There are so many different lures that making a chart on when to fish what is a big under taking . Lets say you are fishing a bank that has a lot of lay-downs and brush with many small limbs . Instead of thinking what are the bass biting on think what will fish these high percentage spots thoroughly . For me it would be Texas rigs , jigs ,spinnerbaits , buzzbaits.. because of their ability to be fished in snags . Then you come upon a riprap bank . What lures will fish it well ? Crankbaits come into play . Fishing a deep point choices would be sinking lures and deep diving crankbaits ...Stumps , standing timber ,vegetation , flats , channel banks ,beaver houses ,gravel , mud , silt , docks ... all have characteristics that favor certain lures over others . I'll tell you this , the two most versatile lures I throw are texas rigs and spinnerbaits .

I have had some good days in recent years cranking down to 22 foot . I keep it simple . I look to see how deep the shad are . If the shad are showing up at deep depths on the main lake then I will go to the points and fish those depths . Berkely Dredgers have helped a lot because they dive to their advertised depth on 12 lb Big Game. I select the one that dives deeper than the depth I'm targeting . At 15 foot I'll use the 17.5 . at 17 foot the 20.5 at 20 foot the 25.5 .

So , how much did your avatar one weigh ? ?

Congrats on some great picks .Curtsout had the same exact picks as yours . He beat you on the tie breaker .

Congratulations to Keith Poche for the assist .

Just select lures that allow you to effectively fish the cover or structure you encounter . Its that simple .

I would like to see BASS allow anglers who want too , to return in 2020 . Make it a one time deal . Its likely some of them are regretting their decision .

Not 100 per cent , thats for sure .

I would use whatever floats my boat at the time . I like black and chartreuse craws early on , purplish lizards and worms .

Thats a monster common carp . What is the state record you caught that ogre in ? The Missouri record is 50 lbs .

Does anybody know what the crankbait was , that broke , while working a fish, that Rojas was using ?

I've had several moved too . I'll post about fishing vegetation or something not what lures to use and it gets moved to lures and tackle .

Back in the day Bass Pro shops carried an inexpensive light/temperature probe that was one of the best pieces of equipment I ever used . I would drop it at Mark twain reservoir during high muddy water and it would register zero light at ten foot .

To me showing the fish something different is changing action , color... or switching too lures that will still fish the environment effectively . My most recent example i was getting hits on a square bill but the fish were not committing to it . Some fish were being caught in the face . I switched to a Rapala X-Rap and started cleaning up . I've seen a spinnerbait bite turn off overnight then the squarebill get hot . I stay within the parameters of what will fish the habitat effectively and make changes until something works .

Its 14 for this body of water and 18 for brown ones .

I should have had three in the finals but Andy Montgomery was late to the weigh-in . I'm fated to finish last , again . ?

The first time I tried the swivel trick , I was fishing some freshly cut cedar trees and was having a hard time with the worm sliding down . I read about this trick in Bassmaster put a swivel on and it solved my problem . I have since used parasite clips , parasite weights and the rubber strips .They all completely solves the problem of worms sliding down the shank interfering with the hook-set and also the soft plastics last a lot longer .

This is my 3rd year of doing this and in that time i have picked Ott Defoe more than anyone else , including the last two classics . So do I pick him on his home lake ? No, that would be the smart thing to do .

I thought Zoom Lizards were new lures .?

Kyle , did you forget to pick the tie-breaker weight ?