gulfcaptain

Hardest hit, winding in a little blue runner at an oil platform and just as it got to the boat about a barracuda tried to eat it which was quickly overpowered by about an 80lb amberjack. Needless to say, I didn't far to well on my little bait rod I was using but it was an awesome hit. Freshwater, this last year flipped a bait on what I thought was a bass chasing bluegill off a bed and when it hit the bottom was ingulfed by about a 10lb chanel cat. That hit and lit up harder then any bass I've ever caught flipping a creature bait not to mention getting to see the whole thing 20ft away in about 2ft of water.

I forgot about the crazy duck people where I fish.....watched them throw and heard the baby ducks into a pond I fish and when asked why they ran them out of the bushes where the mom duck had them their reply was "because now they will be much safer in the water" up until the bigger bass in the pond ate them all. Yeah, that worked out great for them. Also seen them try to get a duck out of the talen's of a Coopers Hawk. Needless to say, the duck didn't make it as the hawk flew off. Their response "someone needs to do something about these hawks eating the ducks".......umm it's called nature.

Just found an article that the 2 anglers that were DQ'd in the BASS Team event were not DQ'd for using an Umbrella Rig. They were DQ'd for discrepencies in a polygrah test. Here is a copy of the article. UPDATE: According to sources close to the situation the team was not disqualified for throwing an umbrella rig. There is and was no evidence of that. They were disqualified for failing one question on the polygraph according to the person administering the test, and there are some discrepancies between the parties on how the polygraph was handled. It was ruled they failed the question on the polygraph pertaining to Rule C7 and were subsequently DQed from the event. However no one reported them throwing any sort of violating rig or lure in practice or the tournament, and there were boats as close as 10 feet of them during the entire tournament. They were reported to be fishing straight down vertically on the bottom slow. So the speculation about an umbrella rig has been verified to be false.

When I ran a charterboat for a living this was the most common "Dumb" thing I heard on a almost daily basis......"I've been fishing all my life and longer then you have been alive. How are you going to tell me what works and what doesn't? Umm, maybe because I was on the water almost everyday and know what was working and what wasn't. But hey, when they are paying they can fish whatever way they wanted, just don't complain when it doesn't work.

Basiclly yes. I do 8 up and 8 down as well as put a couple half hitches in the tag end of the braid to lock it(my preference). Heavier lines I may go 10-12 wraps up and same down. Never used any of the stuff he put on the knot though. Have put a small drop of superglue on it before. But don't do it all the time.

it would be in that same catagory as far as I'm concerned. As for the OP, your squarebill rod should work fine for you fishing wakebaits. Also forgot to mention the H20 line of wakebaits, affordable yet very nice as well.

DQ is a DQ. But I'm also wondering what they were using. If it was one of the newer Booya Teaser rigs, under BASS rules anything that resembles an a-rig attached to a single bait is a DQ. So, again it's still a DQ. If they did use something like the teaser rigs and thought they were fishing within the rules, if you're fishing a tournament and not sure, maybe you should ask before you get out and start fishing to make sure you're within the rules of the event, not just the regulations within that state.

#1, the boat doesn't catch the fish, it's a platform. Your fishing skills are only as good as you are. In the bigger tournaments, fishing from the back to get your feet wet isn't a bad way to get a "feel" for a the bigger tournaments. Time is the factor on smaller under powered boats. If you have 8hrs and want to run 100mi to fish, then it's going to be an issue. If you are going to fish with smaller boats and hp, I would be looking up and doing my homework on where I can fish closer to the take off spot. But if you think you can be competitive, go out on a strange body of water you normally don't fish.....give yourself 8hrs and see what you catch and what the weight is? Set a goal for yourself and see if you can hit it. And if you're wanting a bigger boat, do some looking around there are older models out there that are nicely priced for what you get if you do the work and look.

They are big on the West Coast, but more so in smaller local tackle shops. If they did I'm sure it would be in a regional market base where they have a bigger customer base that knows their products opposed to putting it out where 10% of the anglers know and want the baits but the other 90% have no intentions of paying the higher price.

I have a waiste pack that fit 4 3600 boxes, had it 2 years, have sowed it up a couple times (30lb power pro) and still going since I can't find one like it again. I'd use a backpack but the waiste pack lets me carry 3 rods hands free as I can shove 2 of them between the pack and my back and they are out of the way. Oh, and OKUMA has on on TW as well for about $60.

Used both, no issues with fraying the line, just wear on the knot with FC and braid. But that's with heavier weights (3/4 to 1oz). Found a use for those yellow bobber stoppers though and started putting them between the weight and the hook for punching and problem solved.

Well BPS has a couple, but they are only available for backorder right now. Finding a good tackle bag can be a pain, especially one that lasts .

TW has their backpack on sale now. Think it's about the $50 mark and looks really well put together in terms of storage.

Some of BPS 2" wake baits....think they were less then $4 and have caught more fish on that wakebait then the more expensive ones I have. And although not really inexpensive, but in the world of swimbait fishing, the Savage Gear's 8" line thru's have have really impressed me and is about half the price of most swimbaits in that size range.

Well if we look at fishing equpment as tools, I choose to use the ones that will lead me to succeed. So my prefered fishing style is to succeed in what ever way I have to get the job done with the tools I have. When asked what I did to catch them, well it' simple, I found what they wanted and got them to bite on what I was using.

Sounds like a lot of California's regulations and costs.

you can fish year round up there......and even drive you vehicle on the lake. Yeah it maybe cold, have to drill your way to water, but you can stil fish.....lol

What about those funny quarter sized dollars....Susan B Anthony's. But very true, probably not many.

California, some of the best fishing lakes in the country and some of the toughest pressured waters as well in the country.

I'd say pitching a punch bait followed closely by the umbrella rig.

You can get one of the 3 upper BPS reels Extreme, Pro Qualifier, or Carbonlite righ now for under the $100 mark. The LTE listed above by Roadwarrior seems solid. Quantum's Accurist reels (the older model), not sure of the newer one (the white and black). Also look into the Diawa Exceller, Lexa. There are a lot of options at the $100 mark if you look around. All are good reels.

I use a Crankin rod for my castable umbrella rigs. Like the softness and give to keep from having hooks pull. Also one for blades and spinnerbaits, sometimes topwaters as well.

So what if you "power" fish with a "finesse" approach? Power Finessing?

I started with a BPS Graphite Musky Rod 7'6"MH with a Cardiff 300. Reel....$110, rod....$60. Well lets just say it has performed well although I did buy a Lexa 300. Can throw the 68's all the way up to the 10" Mattlures Dead Twitch. But if you're looking at just throwing he 68's and the U2's I'd find a H action 7'3" to 7'6" and use that with a regular reel. I throw a 68 on a 7'6"MH older Bionic rod with a BPS Extreme reel and it handles it fine.

No, it's full of Texans and people who moved from California..lol. But yes the other is true. But I have to say, working in the South (Texas/Louisiana), most are some of the nicest people I've ever met. But the bugs are bad, the weather....and all 4 seasons. But have to agree, our bass fishing is OK.