redux

Sounds like you should just buy an American Eagle Featherlight. I found some on Amazon for cheap.

The 7'3" Jason Christie rod by Falcon is $99 and very versatile. It has a lot of tip due to the moderate-fast action and has a ton of backbone for hooksets.

John Gierach has a great short story in "Trout Bum" titled "Lightening the Load" where he discusses this. I try to keep that in mind whenever I head out. We will ignore the fact that I normally keep 6 or 7 rods and 30 pounds of baits in my truck at all times. Beating the bank means 1 to 3 rods in hand and 5 pounds of baits/gear in a backpack. When I'm on the bank I can always walk back to my truck to swap out my gear if I realize I didn't grab the right stuff. That normally means I need to dump the heavy jig rod and grab the second spinning rod and a few little baits. On a friend's boat I try to keep it to 1 to 3 rods, but allow myself a few more pounds of baits. I err on the side of caution by bringing more baits and my versatile rods instead of the unitaskers. On my boat...30 minutes to load, stow, and arrange somewhere around 15 rods, 30 pounds of baits in multiple bags, and a cooler.

Just the regular reels. Technically they are 71s because I'm a crank who casts right and reels left. ?

I have a pile of 70s and use them for everything from 1/32 worm weights to 1.5 ounce punching rigs. For me the trick is replacing the 2 spool bearings with full ceramics. Granted, you have to use the right setup for the lighter stuff. I have an Expride ML for the super finesse stuff and need to be careful around heavy vegetation, but it lets me throw baits normally reserved for spinning setups.

The Simms solarflex guide gloves are top notch IMHO.

I like Oakley Batwolf. Stupid name, but I like how easy it is to change/replace the lenses. The polarization is really good. The main thing for me is how big they are and how much light they block on the sides. I also really like the couple airs of Ike glasses I picked up at Walmart a few years ago. The polarization is pretty darn good and the lens is a brown/amber. Really good for sight fishing.

Making sight fishing illegal would not work. Why? Guys can find fish, mark them (electrinically or with land marks, twigs, grass, etc), back off until they are out of sight, and then cast to them. Boyd talked about this a few months ago in a Bass Talk Live interview when asked.

So it is. So it is.

Looking at the roster...freaking Cox is fishing this tour too.

Invitees include: Bryan New, Justin Atkins, Matt Robertson and Marc Frazier from the overall standings; Jason Christie, Greg Hackney, Kenta Kimura and Darold Gleason from the Central Opens; Stracner, Martin, Justin Hamner and KJ Queen from the Eastern Opens. Schlapper has already earned an Elite Series invitation as winner of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.

I would like to see a limit on the number of screens/transducers on the console and front deck. One each and anglers can swap them day-to-day if they want during a tournament. The video-game fishing is weak IMHO.

BASS has it setup so they can fiddle with the qualification process if they need to. Hack can get in via AOY which would open a spot. If all the BPT guys have to pay $45K in entry fees why wouldn't they just pay $50K to get out and move to BASS if they qualify or go to NPFL if invited? My guess is that Ike will be in the NPFL or retire and go full Bill Dance (bloopers included).

I saw an Instagram post about that and it gave me something to smile about. But, I liked that Hack made his announcement on stage with BASS. Really looking forward to the 2021 season now that my 2 favorite guys are back with the BASS Elites.

Yeah, the guys who are supposed to go from the Pro tour are the top 4 guys in points not whomever MLF chooses plus that group. More random rule changes. Really had high hopes for Cox at BASS.

I didn't want to start another thread, but, sadly, Cox has committed to MLF.

Hackney just announced that he is definitely going to the Elites in 2021 onstage at the Lewsville open. I know that I am very excited for the 2021 Elite season. FInally, 2020 gave us something to smile about!

I recently left the Orlando area so I am ok with naming some places I like. Thankfully none are secrets Maitland chain Lake Baldwin Lake Fairview John's Lake Turkey Lake Conway Chain Clermont Chain One thing that does work really well is a small (3" or less) white (or close), watermelon red flake, and watermelon/blue paddle tail swimbait rigged weedless. I like Owner Twistlock 3X – Weighted 3/0 with 1/16 or 1/8 weight. You need a pretty stout spinning rod and good braid. Run paralell to shore wherever you see lily pads (stay 10' or so off the pads) and toss it onto the bank or in the open water between the bank and the pads. This works well when there's a dock close to the pads. Slow retrieve over the pads and let it sink in any open spots. When you get to the edge of the pads let it sit on the last pad for a bit then gently twitch it off and let it sink on a slack line until it settles on the grass. Slow retrieve back to the boat. It is kind of a finesse froggy approach and you won't always nab the big ones, but you will get fish. White or green/blue spinner baits over/in grass that is close to lily pads and deep water whenever you think a spinner bait will work. My go to is a weightless 5/0 heavy EWG with a 6" senko or speedworm in whatever color matches the water and ligh conditions worked the same way as the swimbait. It's a cross between a worm and a frog. Stout rod and heavy braid for sure because they dive quick once they eat it. One thing about grass is you should pay attention to mixed vegetation/cover. Pads and grass. Grass and wood, Grass and docks. Grass and reeds. For whatever reason they like the mix. One thing about Central FL lakes that the southern lakes often lack is depth and clarity. These lakes can easily get to 30" and be crystal clear so you are not always fishing the dirty, dark, bowls most people think of when they think of FL. Look up the bathymetric maps for the lake and look for holes, points, and saddles. Then look at them on Google to see where the pads and docks are. Fish those spots. Finally, schoolies. You will see schooling fish chasing bait balls. A 3"-4" soft jerk bait is a must. If you can get to them while they are going crazy just toss it in and start popping it through them. If they go crazy and stop fast still throw it onto wherever they were and let it sink on a slack line. They often are still down there and will eat an injured baitfish as it is dying. Get creative and tie up a Donkey rig and see if you can get doubles. I like the Zoom Sun Gill color for this, but white and watermelon red flake work too.

Any color recommendations? I'm assuming white is a go, but are there other go-tos?

Thanks for the information. ?

I recently relocated to Naples, FL and have access to a lot of ponds and canals that are loaded with snook and tarpon. There's a small retention pond up the street with some 40+ pound tarpon. A buddy of mine sent me pics of some lake-bound snook that are over 36". So...as a long-time bass guy I am clueless...which artificials do people usually throw for these in dark "brakish" water? Also, does time of day matter much? I'm good on baitcasting rod, reel, and line selection so feel free to make suggestions on that. I should be ale to match any combos including fly rods. I have 6 and 9 weights. Just have no idea what artificials to throw. ?‍♂️

Interesting to see these pros stacking the same kinds of weight normal fisherman do on normal days. I wonder how much of this is a result of all the additional pressure that lake has been getting the past few months and how much is fishing a outside the peak times.

They signed a 3-year contract. Jason Christie (The REAL one) is 1st in the Open AOY points so I hope he qualifies and jumps back to the Elites in 2021.

Can't say I am surprised. The FLW field (in general) was weak after the purge, and the MLFLW tournaments this year have been underwhelming. BPT has been confusing and disinteresting since the start because of the constant changes to the format and delays in getting the final shows to market. This change does not seem like it is going to do anything positive for growing the sport with new anglers or maintianing interest in the MLFLW/BPT product with people interested in tournament fishing.