WIGuide

Morning Dawn in the Spro Rat is kind of a different color, but I've had good luck with it. I think there's a lot of variables when it comes to top water colors. I feel like a lot of days color isn't as big of deal as the the fish may only see a silhouette. However, there are other conditions where the bottom of the water's surface turns into a mirror and reflects a lot of the color downward, plus most topwater's have at least a portion that sits lower in the water reflecting the colors of the sides and back of the bait, plus most have somewhat of a side to side roll while being retrieved further exposing those colors.

WI Resident fishing license is $20 for the year. Inland trout stamps are $10 Great Lakes salmon/trout stamp another $10 Sturgeon license is $20 Resident Disabled license $7 Resident Veteran/Disabled $3 Resident Armed Forces $0.00 Non-Resident annual is $50

After scouring the interwebs nearly daily for over two years and missing out on an almost identical boat once by 20 minutes due to a salesman sending paperwork to the wrong person, I was finally able to upgrade the old 1997 Sport R70 to 2016 Z518C. Loved that old boat, and it took me everywhere I wanted to go and never gave me a bit of trouble, but it was time. I've got a few more upgrades to do to the new one before I consider it complete but after putting about 1/4 of a season on it I'm absolutely loving it.

Before you start drilling holes, check the bow on the outside under the rub rail. I had an old bass hound that had a drain hole from the manufacture to allow the condensation accumulation to be drained.

I throw the Eagle Claw lead cylinder drop shot weights. The shape seems to come through everything from grass, to chunk rock without collecting much or getting hung up. I tried the tungsten ones, but I didn't feel I got as much of a benefit out of them. There was increased sensitivity for sure, but I didn't feel it was enough to warrant the extra cost.

If at all possible I try to get away with my Glacier Glove Alaskan River Fingerless. Admittedly, I'm sure there's probably better gloves out there, but these are cheap and made of neoprene so even when they get wet they still keep you warm. On those extra cold days, I'll throw some hand warmers in my pocket, maybe bust out the toe warmers, and in the case of this last fall fishing with wind chills in the teens, I busted out my full on winter gloves. Not ideal, but with an SV spool I could get away without really thumbing the spool.

I had it happen on two crossed laydowns on a lake a few years in a row. Two small trunks ran nearly parallel a maybe a foot apart before either a limb or the trunks crossed about 20' from the bank. Two or 3 times when I'd flip in between them I'd get bit right where they crossed. It was some time ago, but I believe I broke off once, got hung up the 2nd time, and the 3rd time I got the fish out into open water before it pulled off. I went back to that lake for the first time in about 4 years this past fall, and was hoping to catch on there, but no avail. The fish were nowhere between the size of yours, but they were good fish for up in this region!

I would take them off for long term storage, but having them on for a little bit won't hurt anything.

Redundancy is a good thing, it makes sure we have it all covered....we have it all covered haha

I have 3 different terminal boxes a 3700 thin Plano Edge for my jig heads a Pro Latch 3700 Thin for all my weights and for my hooks I use a Plano Custom Divider 3700 thin Extra stock is kept at home and refilled as needed.

Cornfield Fishing Gear makes basically the same type of system as well. https://cornfieldfishinggear.com/product/cable-save-r-cable-protection/

Before livescope these events were still fished the same way, they'd just use 2D sonar to locate them and drop right on top of them while still staring at a screen, so is livescope really making it hard to watch or is it the technique they're using more of the culprit? I do agree they could mix it up some and schedule a few of these events when other techniques were more effective.

Todd Castledine just did a video on this subject recently. He lives on Sam Rayburn which is one of the most heavily pressured bodies of water in the US when it comes to tournament fishing. He shares some very interesting insights to what he sees.

Please help me understand the above statement. Pre-livescope we would watch an angler stare off blankly into space sitting on a waypoint talking out of their rear on their best assumption of what was happening under the water without actually having any actual insight to what was going on. Now that they are staring at a screen and can actually see and learn what's happening under the water it's no longer interesting?

I got my start in tournament fishing back in 2012. One of my buddies who fished as a co-angler in a club a few years prior convinced me to get in the club and he'd be my co. He ended up burning out that season leaving me to fen for myself. I was hooked from the first tournament though, despite lacking a lot of experience. Starting as a boater it was definitely more of a trial by fire type deal. If I could go back, I think I would have been better to fish a few years as a co-angler to learn the in's and out's a little better. After that first year, my dad volunteered to be my co-angler and has been ever since. Over the years, we've managed to become a lot more consistent and learn our lessons. This last season was probably our best overall, cashing checks in 4 of the 6 events. If it wasn't for the last tournament of the year where I really dropped the ball, we had a chance of finishing 1st in points for the year. Outside the club, I usually try to fish a few open tournaments a year, the Bass Nation State Tournament, as well as our Bass Battles series, where after our tournament season, my dad and I take both our boats and fish against one another in a 1 vs. 1 tournament format. I love competition and fishing, so for me it's a great match and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

I pull my tackle box behind a 2015 Jeep Grad Cherokee Overland with a 5.7 Hemi. If I'm fishing with someone else I can lay the rear seat down and rods easily fit with the tips in between the front seats. There have been a few times even when I had my smaller boat, I had it loaded with extra gear, clothes, etc and still had room to sleep in the back fairly comfortably (and I'm not a small individual). Mileage wise, unloaded 17-20 pulling the boat 14-15. With my 17 footer I'd get 15-17mpg pulling.

I've had some success with them in water down into the low 40's with just a slow retrieve with occasional speed changes. Like bluebasser the success was in grass lakes. We don't really have any without grass up here so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.

Each fish has it's own personality, but in general I'd say with the same tackle and same size fish, smallmouth put up more of a fight. They also have more of a fight in cold water, where a largemouth slows down more. Both are fun to me though.

I used to think about this too until one of guys in our bass club double qualified for the Elite Series and then I realized it's been happening all along.

No worries, they're dang close, I had to go check the website to make sure I was remembering correctly.

In the extended off season up here, I usually get my gear in order for the upcoming year. That usually includes cleaning and lubing reels, swapping out hooks, and getting everything reorganized. I'll order tackle to replace what I'm low in stock on and find new things to try. I'll usually order things for the boat as well, even though I won't end up being able to work on it until I pull it out of storage in a few months. I usually try to edit some videos from the previous year as well and fill at least a few nights a week playing men's league basketball. This winter I'm hoping to continue with all of the above mentioned, but I'm also managing some DIY home renovations as well so we'll see what actually gets accomplished lol

It's a heavy powered rod so it's not going to have a super flimsy tip, but it should bend a little deeper into the blank than a regular fast action though. That will aid a bit fishing around grass with the chaterbait and lipless crankbaits where mod fast action doesn't load as deep and will help to rip the bait free from the grass. The rod Triton is asking about is a graphite rod. It's the 7'3" H/MF Flip-Chat-Crank rod. The 7'2" H/M Rip-Chatter is the rod with the blend of glass and graphite.

A lot of that decision is based on how you see yourself using your electronics. The 9 live is a great unit and I wouldn't hesitate putting it at the dash, but I do a considerable amount of idling looking at side imaging to locate cover, structure, and fish. If you don't see yourself doing that, maybe spending more on a console unit won't be as much of a benefit for you and splitting your budget for 2 decent units you can network could be a better option.

Haha yes after quite the long absence. A few job changes and life hasn't left me with as much time as it used to, but I'm trying to carve out a little bit. Glad to see you're still hanging around here!

If I'm riding along with someone else I try to limit my number of rods to 6. Fishing out of my ride, I generally have 15-20 in the boat and vary the amount on the deck, but probably average 6-10.