Ohio Dave

that sort of answers your own question try both ways and see what works for you. don't over think them

I would doubt it

Your weather is somewhat colder than mine in Ohio as we have the Great Lakes to stablize temps close to where I am. But I am going to guess that your bass will be on the move a little sooner than you might think and be spawning in near shore areas mid to late May or into June depending on the year (i.e. how warm the spring is next year) this will also likely before the weeds get up very thickly. Look for holes dug into the darker bottom areas or if the weeds get going very early then holes where the weeds are being swept back by bass I would go after the bass with the same basic plan as any other lake though which amounts to the pre-spawn, durning and post patterns. you may find the bass more concentrated or much more spread out than you would in a less weedy lake depending on how it all goes together there but the same generic plan is at least a good way to start. There are tons of articles written by far more talented guys than me that can be found with a simple youtube or bass Resource search that will help you narrow it down better

yep, I am affraid I am going to have to pick up a couple racks to drop in the pit tomorrow. I do my own sauce and rubs as well. I have been doing q for cash part time for years and eaten and cooked so much pulled pork that I really could not come close to guessing how many 100s of pounds have gone through my poor pit. still a thrill hearing how much someone loves the q I judge every place outside of texas on their ribs. Brisket for Texas and sausage of course. but joints that make the world class in my heart are all about how good their sides are. Some places don't bother with sides such as the case with Dreamland in Ala. which gets special consideration. But if you are offering pit beans, slaw, and mac and cheese it better be killer

Matt, I have not been out since the snow squals of ten days ago I pulled my battery and have mostly called it a season. but I would think that if you started with like a lucky craft jerk bait and jig you should be able to find active feeders. You are talking about a tourney on the Deleware res right?? if they are brining water in regardless of temp I would take a good look there if you can not find bass busting shad good luck

I got to talk with Charlie Vargus' daughter who still runs the Rendzvous (both spelled wrong I am sure but fine with lol) nice gal as is Charlie's grand kids. They seem to still care about their q but don't quite have dad's knowledge. once you get to a clean shaven snooty 20 something in kakis and a white dress shirt worrying about how many covers they do a night rather than how good the q is then you are making loads of cash but selling crap I will take a dank hole in the wall or a trailor over fancy any day of the week. Especially if the gal is sassy lol back to the original question of is 22 bucks too much for a slab and two sides. I think it is a little too much by about $4 but if the mac and cheese and beans are great then its okay with me anyway. if neither is homemade or not fresh that day then the place should be burnt down as a fake q joint regardless of how much they charge for a slab

memphis is not that great for Q. Drove down on a bbq pilgrimage a couple years back. Loads of famous places sitting on their laurels and not making good q Central was the only exception as it was darn good

how many other joints are in the area. my guess is that that one is alone in a sea of very boring tgi apple tuesdays why people eat at those places on purpose is beyond me anyway, that is a little high for a full rack dinner imo time and operation costs make it darn hard to make a full rack and sides much cheaper that 16/18 bucks it takes me 6 hours to bbq a rack not counting the time it takes to hunt down good apple wood or how long it took to learn how to do it right

i pulled the battery last weekend. it was 26 here this morning and not too many bass on slow rolling lures could draw me out of hibernation lol

sounds like a species of bryozoans they are a colonial animal that are filter feeders.

Hey BASS I teach at Bellevue High School in Ohio and working on the same thing. Every situation and state is going to be different But here is what should translate exactly the same. Take a look at both the BASS and TBF programs for youth fishing. Joining one or both of those allows the students and school to have legal protection. Both also give the advisors some curriculum to help make the needed academic ties to the program. If you are not a teacher or adult with ties to the school then you need to work with a teacher or your school administration. Some states have bass fishing as a sanctioned varsity sport which would let you work with the athletic director too. You might also want to check other schools in your state to see if they have a fishing team. You have to get your administration on board and use the resources from one of those national programs and remember that great things are not often done in a day so be patient and get others to join you. It will help you stay focused and share all the leg work that will need to be done You may also want to find area adult clubs; many already have youth divisions or programs or may consider adding one which could be a great source of support once you get going at school

thanks guys: Pretty sure I am going to stay with the TP I am not one to go out on a limb when I don't need to. the tournament pro has a great history of doing exactly what I need it to do

I wish I had the coin to be able to buy both but in reality I will be swapping out one at a time and pretty darn slow at that. I don't think I even own baits heavier than 1/2 oz as I don't need to punch matts and don't like those giant swim baits I am trying to get decent enough gear to be able to keep up with the bass team I am starting for my students. Despite fishing nearly my entire life, there are a couple of boys far ahead of me in gear and ability I can not wait to get this going, it should be a real hoot working with those young men

thanks bob, do you still have that one for sale??

thanks again for the knowledge!!

thanks, could you share a bit of the advantage of the tournament pro?

I was all set to grab up a couple tournament pro reels for up-grading the worm fishing and jerk bait fishing then I read the ad for the bb1 pro which way do I go??? and what do you all think of the Fritts cranking rods??/ thanks for your time David

the reason we are going saf over B.A.S.S. is presence in my state. there seems to be much more support for the kids and there are more tournaments for my students compared with bass be sure to check that part of the deal out before signing up. I would find other schools at least a couple but more would be better. ask how the club operates, ask about funding, team rules, how teams are selected. Ask about how many adults they need to make it all work. Ask what role their school has to play so you can share that with your admin. talk with the students in those programs, coaches, and admin. the more footwork you do now the smoother and more likely the program will last. trust me that there is more to getting going than ,just filling out a form and asking permission. be patient, it will be worth it

I teach in Ohio and working on the same thing: the best advice is to go through the TBF bass federation to their student angler section. They have a step by step plan that helps students and teachers start teams. Some states have fishing as a sanctioned sport while others like Ohio do not but many schools still have teams. You will need to find adults willing to be club advisor (much easier to find a teacher than someone outside of school but you might have to take what you can get there) then get yourself organized. Approach your school with things pretty well thought out. Most likely they will have a few hoops to jump through that the SAF student angler federation can help a bit with. Then if you can find an adult club to be affiliated with (we could not find one here) it helps a great deal as the members will more likely be willing to take you out on practice trips and to drive you around on tournament days. We have not made any progress on that part yet at all best of luck to you and be patient. It will likely take some time and talking to get through

Ohio bass are hot: get on the jerk baits especially after today's rains. I will be out on Friday for sure

While pretty confident in who I am: I am stil not carrying a hand bag regardless of how organized not to mention, 90% of what goes into my wife's purse is never seen my human eyes again. That would be the opposite of what I want LOL so its down to either a tote or box with zip bags of worm bags or a file type binder of worm bags in zip pages leaving the purse in the car. either sounds pretty decent to me: I only carry 15-20 different bags at any one time anyway so its not a massive pile but enough to cause issues in keeping straight and making sure I am not heading out with just two more of a certain color or size left in a bag Being on my way to club advisor for some high school boys where I teach, I wanted to be a good example in every way possible including the little things (in the boys' eyes) that make a difference in a tournament like being very well organized and stocked to the best you can afford. that has been one of the biggest surprises for me in starting this club: I have gave pause to re-think just about every aspect of my bass fishing. What is the best way to show each part of the sport: equipment, knots, baits, storage, stratagies and so on. There is no doubt I will have learned at least as much from the kids as they from me by a year from now and no reason to think that will change in the years to come

thanks guys!!

with no storage on my little boat, I know I will loose my mind with a bunch of zip bags of zip bags LOL I need something that is going to be easy to thumb through and all in one to be easy to get on and off the boat quick sounds like one of those folder types: I have not seen one in person to know anything about them

I hear that for sure. I was a bank guy most of my life. I got a little jon boat a couple years ago and made a comfort up grade to this tender. a bit hard to get on the trailor as the tongue is too short to get it far enough into the water but otherwise a great deal and very nice on the water I guess I have another excuse to go to bass pro: have to look at bags and boxes myself to see what is what there thanks guys

I have a bass tender boat (which I just got a few weeks back and love but it sure has its limits) there is no storage on the boat. I want something I can grab up like the bass pro bag that has the boxes of my crank baits I just did not want to take the worms or similars out of their bags and into those boxes. I am sort of on the fence between rolling the bags into boxes or that bigger box option I would still have to contend with organizing hooks, weights, wacky rings etc do you/would you put that all in the same boxes too???