The Duke

The season is far from over! I figure as long as there is no ice, I'm fishing. I was out yesterday and caught a dozen smallmouth that were as fat as footballs! I love it when they're FAT! There's an awful lot of fishing left.

That means my trolling motor is on high and I'm throwing horizontal, fast-moving baits like spinnerbaits, cranks, etc. I'm fishing shallow as well. There isn't much of a need to fish extremely slow like the summer months demand.

I was on Randall Chain Sunday and struggled. I had water temp @ 74! Awfully hot for October 7. This cold front is gonna make it tough again for a few days, but eventually should get a good fall pattern going. All of my fish were caught shallow, but most of the guys that caught keepers (only 5 of 28) caught them on breaks. My partner had a keeper in shallow water. The previous weekend I was on Palmer and just smoked them. It was awesome. All fish were shallow and feeding. To my surprise though; I haven't had any pike bite me lately. I guess I'm lucky.

Who won the tourney?

I love fishing docks. I've been told this would be a bad motor for flipping docks. Do you all agree?

I've never seen the FLW show, but I do enjoy BASS. Unless I'm fishing, which is pretty often, I always watch it. The bottom line though is that fishing is not mainstream as we think or want it to be and to expect any station to put forth the resources & money to broadcast a tourney like a baseball game is not going to happen.

Thank you. I will keep my ears open.

Anyone have any experience or word of mouth of the Motor Guide Wireless trolling motor? Its about time I get a new TM and I'm curious about these. Seems to me it would open up some more space for me in the front. What I have noticed is that they don't have the #s of thrust as the others (but 80# is enough for me) and they're cheaper than the Tour Digital Series - I'm not sure why this is. Any reviews would be appreciated!

Anyone have any experience or word of mouth of the Motor Guide Wireless trolling motor? Its about time I get a new TM and I'm curious about these. Seems to me it would open up some more space for me in the front. What I have noticed is that they don't have the #s of thrust as the others (but 80# is enough for me) and they're cheaper than the Tour Digital Series - I'm not sure why this is. Any reviews would be appreciated!

Besides the research on weather, pre-fishing, etc., I normally take an hour to prep rods and boat. If it takes longer than an hour, it does. I don't leave anything to chance. By this time of year though, most things except for minimal boat maintenance and rod preparation are already done.

I didn't know FLW was thriving anymore now than 10 years ago. The boat change would bring great opportunity for other sponsors. And if BASS wants a boat sponsor, it will happen. Too many owners would relish this exposure. However, the opportunity to use their own boats is an awesome thing for those anglers. Its funny that the anglers rave about BASS while posts seem to bash them. I think its because we all aspire to be there someday and we're not. Is it really fair for us to criticize them on the actual tourney? I think I'll stick to the coverage they make available to us; which is not great, but the best out there.

I'm guilty of jokingly offering money for a fish, but never with real intent. Too bad. Gotta remember though, fishermen are people too, and none of us would be surprised to see/hear of an athlete doing something illegal.

I hope the guy gets life in prison (whats left of it). If he did this to me, he'd be lucky to have a home by the morning. How stupid some people are to start fights with complete strangers that know where they live.

I consider a healthy diet important. I don't do anything different on the road except maintain my healthy diet. I've recently switched to decaf coffee and won't drink pop on the boat, rather Gatorade. Keeps my body feeling better, thus, fish more comfortably.

I hope you and all continue to think this. ;D Ignorance of others only gives me an advantage. Everything works at some point in time and to throw it off to the side w/o using it, well... Obviously you've never used it, and if you did and still say this, well, you didn't use it correctly.

I've been tourney fishing for 8 years and I've lost maybe 5 fish in those tournament due to stress put on the fish. Each one of those occasions led me to improve my way of handling fish. I haven't lost a fish in 3 years. Now, that does not include fish who have swallowed the hook, but thats a different story. There is not a problem with tournaments. There is a problem with some people in how they handle fish; and hopefully they'll improve their techniques. Lets not forget the local law enforcements (DNR) allow us to keep 5 fish (can vary from state to state) to bring home to the dinner table. So the idea that tourney fishing kills some fish is a mute point. I could just fillet 5 bass each time I go out...

Me too, until they put $50k in my pocket. (This has never happened to me, but I still fantasize ;D) BioSonix got some real good press from KVD at Guntersville last week.

1 thing that amazes me about KVD is he always seems to be in the hunt. How many top 12 finishes has he had the past 2 years? Also, the past 2 classics he was in the hot seat on the last day for a period of time. I also expected him to post a win by now since Pittsburgh, but he's come close so many times and few have been as successful as him the past 2 years.

Don't forget in BASS only 100 (plus or minus a handful) anglers compete and the top 50 take home at least 10k while in FLW 200 (plus or minus a handful) anglers compete and still only the top 50 bring home a good check. 1st place is the same for both circuits 100k. Computing this... the better money is obviously with BASS.

Thats old news now. BASS had that divorce in late 2006.

Excellent Point. You make many good points Matt.

I guess Mark Davis is now trying to get back into BASS. I'm glad, he belongs there. I trust he'll qualify for the Elite Series next year and it'll be fun to watch him back.

I wonder how many guys on the Elite Series once fished FLW. KVD & Ike, Aaron Martens, and Steve Kennedy are just a few. The funny thing, its big news for FLW when it gets a guy from BASS, proven by some posts here; there's a definitive memory of all these guys. Squib, you left a good list, but with the exception of Clausen, I could argue that all of those guys are on the downward side of their career. Not to say they're not great anglers - they are, but were not winning much money when they left BASS. Maybe they're more competitive with FLW. I'm not making stuff up. Cabela10 you said, That implies that guys are leaving BASS now. They're not. If you want to talk about the past decade of who's left BASS or FLW, vice versa, whatever, that argument is irrelevant. Whats going on now? Lets talk about the present if thats OK. Guys are not leaving BASS to fish FLW. And they're enjoying the Elite Series. Again, I wonder how many guys have fished FLW on their way up to BASS. So whats your point?

Like any department store, its risky asking these people for advice. Not because they're bad people, but that area may not be their expertise. Lets face it, everyone thinks they know fishing. When you need expert advice, I always suggest going to an expert place (such as a tackle shop). I use Dick's a lot, but I never ask for advice. I know what I'm looking for there.