Jnamo

I don't know about Bama, but in Mich. if a boat is within 100 feet of another boat, they must be at no wake speed. For him to do that is just plain wrong and stupid. I really can't see any interpretation that would allow for such actions to take place and be o.k. with it. (IrishJig) He is lucky he didn't get his hind end kicked by the spectators for such a stupid act. $500K or not, if someone rides by me or my family like that in a boat the s*** is gonna hit the fan! He is a jerk and an Ike wanna be. I have lost all (what little I had) respect for him. I think it is time to hijack this thread and talk about KVD and his abilities! He can beat the field and not have to jeopardize lives or act like a fool. Class act all the way!

I disagree about him not understanding tourneys. He totally gets it, he is a very intelligent person. He chooses to use his intelligence and energy to turn every aspect possible into a negative one. He says in the beginning that he has fished several tourneys himself in the 70's. Yet he says he doesn't understand why people would fish in tourneys? He talks about fishing being a more spiritual thing to him, yet why did he fish tourneys in the 70's? The book is loaded with hypocritical verbage concerning himself and an unjustified, childish attack towards "Bassheads." I too liked his insight and perspective about things but his pompous attitude towards ***s and everything BASS related- gave the book an ugly tone and lost some validity in my perspective. Overall I like the insight but hate the tone of the book. Jeff

After a spinnerbait, lipless is the way to go when searching for smallies. Rat-L-Trap is by far my favorite. My second largest smallie ever came on a gold Rat-L-Trap in the fall over grass. 5lbs. Love those Traps over St. Clair grass beds on the flats. Hang on baby!!!! Jeff

Look to the left

Not to sound pompous but what you are doing is creating cover. Structure refers to contour change (depth) or something on a much larger scale, rock shoal, large weed bed transitions into an open flat, etc... Cover is a more individual type of reference- rock, log, brush pile, etc... Jeff

Backing in- You should try and learn, it makes the ramp process so much faster and efficient if all boaters and their partners are self-sufficient. When it is a big club or a real busy launch, it really does help. Keep your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel to point the boat in the direction you want. Practice. Jeff

RW, While it is a very interesting topic, the relation of line diameter to circumference and volume, wouldn't the fish have to have a cross section of the line rotated 90 degress across a horizontal plane in order to observe such measurements? Being that line is round(ish) in nature wouldn't it always appear in a two dimension plane to the fish? That being the case, the difference between the .009" and .011" line would only be measureable by eye as a difference of .002" or .001" per side across a verticle plane. To be honest, I would be more worried about the cleanliness of my hands touching the lure than the .002" difference in the line and the fish's ability to observe/distinguish this and make an educated response. Jeff ;

I can only comment on the 6.4. I had no complaints. It did appear to have some stretch to it, as does all mono. Now that I have changed the way I fish I don't really have much use for smaller lines anymore. If I was really worried about fish detecting my line I would use a Flouro. leader. As with all lines, people have their own opinions. Something you like I might not and & vise/versa. Tectan is equally priced with most mono's so I would give it a try. Just don't do it during a tourney! Like I said, one of the best fisherman around swears by it and that is all he uses. He does a lot more finesse type fishing- so to each his own! Jeff

If you want a smaller dia. per lb. of strength- check out "Tectan" in your cabelas catalog. I know of a lot of smallmouth experts that use nothing but Tectan. The dia. to lb. is printed in the catalog. 6.4lb test= .0063dia. 7.3lbtest= .0071dia. 9.2lbtest= .0079dia. I have used the 6.4 in Canada smallie fishing and was impressed. The only time I broke off is when I snagged bottom. With all fishing lines, you need to regularly check the last two feet of line for nicks after every fish or every few cast depending on the type of cover/structure you are fishing. Jeff

Look up your state's Federation clubs. Look for clubs with junior divisions or tourneys in their clubs. Ask the federation president of your state (email). I am sure they can help you out.

We have a meeting coming up this Wednesday, come on out of interested.

Gotta love St. Clair. ;D Jeff

KVD

IrishJig says it all. I do pay attention to the FLW too. Mainly just to see how some of the anglers are doing since switching.

A week with KVD on St. Clair...I think I just wet myself!!! ;D

The club I belong to is looking for new members, take a look at our site and PM me if you have any questions. Thanks, Jeff '>http://www.bassnstars.com/

KVD is the man. Ike is good, #2 in BASS. But, KVD rules the bass fishing world right now (& probably for the next 10+ years). If not for the DQ KVD would have been angler of the year. All he had to do was catch one fish in that tourney to win it. The man is SICK!!!!!!!!

Set your goals so you can meet them. Catchin one keeper is not a bad goal. A lot of people get skunked, I did. I went on that season to be the top non-boater. Tell your boater this is your first, and fish hard! Make sure you vote in the poll also. Jeff

I own Frogg Toggs & would recommend not getting them if you want something rugged. If it is cold outside and raining don't rely on Frogg Toggs. They are warm weather rain gear only. Also, If you sit on something wet for a long time the water will leak through. I own them and don't like them. I have heard a lot more good things about the Cabelas brand of rain wear then the BPS brand. I personally don't own either but have researched the topic (I need to replace the Toggs!) and I am leaning toward the Cabelas brand from other peoples recommendations. I hope this helps. Jeff

The best- Senko style worms (I prefer the Yum Dinger). My favorite to use would be the spinnerbait. I prefer a Quad Shad.

Usually the web-site has info. for joining. If not, try and ask someone in the club or if their meeting times are posted, go to a meeting (show up early and try and talk to someone). All of the dues and stuff will be told to you by the club. Every club works things out differently. If you are having trouble contacting someone or getting info. look to see if the club is listed on the state website. I know michigan has all the clubs listed that are affiliated w/ BASS or TBF or whatever? Contact someone at the state level for info. on contacting your club of choice. Good luck! ;D

As far as the 80 mph thing, my partners boat is a 2003 w/ 225 efi merc, SC, livewells full, me (250lb) and him in boat w/ all equipment, batteries, 75 mph GPS. With my fat a** out of the boat and all the extra gear, water, 80 is most definitely happening. He has a jack plate and is very knowledgable about getting peek performance from his boat. Props, angles, engine height ect... Didn't mean to say that all cats will do 80. They are by no means tug boats either. Back to the topic, I hope everything works out for Ike. I may not like his "acting" when it comes to attention seeking, but that guy can fish with the best of them. I do wonder about his personality fitting in with the Bass Cat persona of a Father and Son family company? Should be exciting to watch!

Good Advice... Always get the most HP you can put on a boat/ or can afford. Always. You can always run the boat slower with the bigger motor, but you cant make a boat run faster w/o more HP's.

A lot of guys in my club run them. They are a nice boat. They do have a tendency to walk a bit over 80 mph but not to bad. Fast boats. Jeff

Thanks to all that commented. I agree with all of your ideas. I like the idea of voting on it. The latest thing our club said was that maybe letting another club pick a lake for us. I don't know, seems pretty easy to me- Majority rules, right? I would like to vote.