Logan S

Was kind of a weird season for me, I didn't catching any giants and I didn't win any tournaments...But I did accomplish something I never have before. I fished 10 tournaments this year (that part is normal), a couple were 2-days, so total of 13 tournament days and I weighed in a 5-bass limit on all 13 days. Might not seem like much, but its a lot harder than it seems with the variety of waters I end up fishing. 8 different bodies of water - Tidal rivers, non-tidal rivers, large reservoirs, small lakes, shallow, deep, clear water, dirty water, largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass all played a factor. Been chasing it for a while, missed it by 1 fish one year so was pretty happy when that 5th fish came in the boat on the last tournament day. The consistency paid off and I ended up winning AOY of the trail . Just a few places I pointed the boat this season...

All day every day just about...Majority of my close friends are all bass fisherman and we all fish the same tournament trails. Always something fishing, boat, or gear related to BS about. I essentially never talk about fishing with people that don't actually fish though.

Last I heard there were almost 200 entrants for the full 9-tournament Open schedule next year....More than double the amount (almost triple) that fished the full schedule in 2022. MLF Invitational lost something like 80 anglers for the 2023 season too...So it seems like BASS actually knocked it out of the park with this format change. Nobody, and I mean that literally as in, not a single person, that is "looking to get into tournament bass fishing" should even be thinking about BASS Opens (or MLF equivalent) in any way. You get started in tournament fishing locally - whether in clubs, team trails, charity tournaments, BFLs, or any number of similar events. There's no exclusivity between the organizations, they will all gladly take your entries...So no one needs to 'choose a path' and be stuck with it. When the person is ready for Open-level tournaments it will be there waiting for them, and judging by the history of the Opens it will probably be in a different format by then anyway . The whole "people could make 3 events work but not 9" thing is funny too...That 9-tournament, high-expense, high-travel, tour was always on the horizon for those anglers if they actually made it....I don't know why people think that companies would be knocking down doors to throw $100k at guys based on a 3-event season.

I would keep the boat. Your particular boat is easy on storage and towing and light on maintenance and upkeep (as compared to bigger bass boats)...And you are going to a trailered kayak so you really aren't even improving any of these things for yourself besides outboard motor maintenance. All you're doing is reducing your fishing platform's capabilities. I think you'd run into a lot instances where you'd be wishing you had your boat back while out on the water.

Currently - 2011 Titan Pro 4x / 2017 Skeeter ZX250 Been very happy with both, the Titan's fuel economy is terrible even when not towing but besides that it's been a solid truck.

The 110Jr and +1Jr use standard light wire #8 trebles, they have never had outbarbs on them. The rest of the 'regular' 110's and X-80's use outbarbs, except the LBO and 110R's which use a different round-bend hook. I bought a huge stock of replacement outbarbs from MB-USA several years back when they would sell them to you in bulk, so I still use them when I need to replace. When I run out it'll be the G-Finesse ones unless something new comes along between now and then...It'll be a while before I run out. Spots and smallies will tear them up worse than LM, but I've noticed most of the damage is actually done in the boat while a fish is thrashing and/or while unhooking them. They can also bend fairly easily if you swing 2lb+ fish into the boat. You can be a little more careful and minimize the damage knowing this is where most of the damage happens. If you're using lighter line, like 6 or 8lb test, you almost have to use light wire hooks like the outbarbs because the heavier hooks just won't get as good of a hold on the fish with the light line and softer rods. Conversely, with heavier line, you'll bend out light wire hooks easier. There's no single answer, the line, rod, and hook are all part of a system. Hooks should really be thought of in the same category as line and soft plastics...To me, they are 'consumable' items meaning I just expect to replace them. They will get dull from slapping against the bait eventually even if they don't bend, they have a limited lifespan.

I've purchased a lot of components from VooDoo - Once you hit $100 with them, they'll give you a 15% off code to use for all future purchases, which is pretty nice. Mudhole is nice and easy - A little tip...They also sell on Amazon and if you wanted a single blank you can order from them on Amazon for cheap or free (on some) shipping without needing to hit their minimum for discounted shipping. For an upcoming build I got all my components from Voodoo with the discount, then snagged the single blank from MH on Amazon.

I enjoy tournament fishing, it's my favorite part of bass fishing. Obviously the competitive aspect is a big draw - But I also really enjoy all the little nuanced parts of it where you look for things to get you 1 or 2 extra bites or catch a bass half a pound bigger than average or trying to figure out how to catch a lunker to anchor a solid limit. I'm always working on something or another and I like that. I can be on a place I've fished literally hundreds of times but still be looking at and trying new things...Keeps things interesting all the time (whether I'm actually participating in a tournament that day not). That feeling of excitement and anticipation before launch on a tournament morning is unmatched....Especially the bigger ones with 100 to 200+ boats and the national anthem playing and all that. The extra excitement of catching a big fish and/or weighing in a big bag on tournament day is also something you can't match outside of the tournament realm. The other part I really like is the people you meet and fish against. You naturally make friends and develop rivalries with some of the guys you fish against. My close friends these days are predominantly guys I've been fishing against in local tournament trails for the past 10 to 15+ years. There's bad apples out the for sure, but they are the exception and not the rule. As for my start...I started as a co-angler at 15, realized I needed to be on the front deck so scraped up enough for a bare bones 17' Tracker at 16 and started fishing as a boater that season. That was over 20 years, a few more boats, and few hundred tournaments ago .

Thanks Mick - that is great information. I am OK with these rods being faster, it seems nearly all Megabass rods are on the slower side, so I'm actually looking at that difference as a positive.

I've seen a few on here talk about Point Blank blanks so I thought there might be some advice to be had. Planning a spinning rod build, fairly standand - 7' medium-ish to be used primarily for light shakeyhead and wacky rigs around docks. The rod I currently use and that I'm trying to build similar to is a Megabass XX Shakeyhead which measures out to an IP of 475g and an AA of 70deg. I've found PB's CCS data on their site and see 2 options for this (I converted ERN to IP with the NFC chart because I'm more familiar with IP) PB701LXF: ~435g and 77deg PB701MLF: ~570g and 77deg So I know what the numbers say, I need to either go a little more or less powerful...But I wanted to see if anyone that's built/used either of these blanks could give me a real world take on them. Anyone have experience with either? I know the PB's will be faster and I'm OK with that....I'm just trying to decide on the power. I'm not married to making it identical to my current MB rod, I'm just using that as a baseline to compare against. This rod should be more powerful than a typical dropshot or ned rod, more of a true 'medium' power (which I know is subjective). Thanks!

It's that time of year again...Time for me to spam the MD Thread Check out the main post in the Bass Club forum here... We are already gearing up 2023 and this year's schedule looks great. FOBA is open to everyone, boater or co-angler, and is an open, friendly environment....Good for people new to tournament fishing or for guys that want something a little more personal (and less expensive) than something like a BFL trail (not knocking them, BFL's are great too). Feel free to hit me up if you want any more info, either posting here or PM. Even if you have zero interest in the club, you might find our site interesting with our tournament stats and lake/river stats - We keep detailed records and have been around a long time, so there's some good date on our local fisheries there.

What about AT2 would make LVS34 obsolete? Or even AT1/LVS32 obsolete for that matter? What you are seeing right now (IMO) is the start of the plateau on FFS for bass fishing - The new advancements coming out are improvements in clarity, target separation, and different views available....Not in the hardcore nuts and bolts of the tech itself. The AT1/LVS32 models are 90% of the newest models, that hardly makes them 'obsolete'. Many of AT2's new features actually require TWO AT2 transducers, in addition to the newest HDS Pro model MFD. Its getting to the point where the leap from one version to the next is not nearly as dramatic as the initial jump to FFS or the jump from 1st gen FFS to the LVS32/AT1....But the price tag is as high as it's ever been, the value per $ is much different now. This is all just my opinion/take on it - To answer your question it would be one of these. You have the stuff, might as well use it...its a great system and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. OR, funnel that into a bigger boat which will likely have a turnkey electronics setup already installed (or a system that you can add FFS to easily).

I've seen where fish measured keeper size on an angler's board in the boat, but were thrown out because they didn't measure up on the TD's board at weigh in. Boards can be bent, old, or otherwise inconsistent in a similar way scales can. It's fairly common actually. Not picking on you, just pointing out that ANY scenario where you use many different 'official' measuring devices, whether length or weight, will be prone to inconsistencies.

Full disclosure, I fish a lot of tournaments...But I also fish and help run several catch-weigh-release tournaments (for up to 50+ competitors) every season for the past 5 or 6 seasons since it became a thing. So I speak from experience on both sides of it. I don't think a point was reached, it's just the most effective way to operate. For a number of logical reasons. First, as much as it sucks to say it...The door for cheating is open when people are put in charge of their own honesty and you are doing that in any form of CPR or CWR tournament. Solo anglers and Team events in particular leave this door wide open. Bringing them back for a TD to weigh on a scale reduces this dramatically. Second, if people are weighing on the water, that's all those different scales in use all in different operating conditions...You can't really expect confidence in accuracy down to the ounce across that many individual weigh ins (number of boats X however many individual fish are weighed is a huge number). Bringing the fish back to weigh on a scale eliminates this issue. Third, because of #2, the kayak and other trails use a length system which solves some of the problems but not all. Length doesn't really fit well in the traditional bass tournament format for one...Just as one example, a guy with five 12" bass would score the same as a guy with three 20" bass (both 60")...But the three 20"ers would weigh in the ballpark of 12-14lbs where the five 12"ers would be in the ballpark of 5 to 8 lbs. Not AS big of an issue, but many anglers don't like this strategy shift. Bringing the fish back to weigh on a scale eliminates this issue. Fourth, equipment needs and costs get bloated. If its a weigh on the water tournament, every boat needs to have identical scales...If length, identical rulers. Either the anglers or the organization need to pay for and provide these, but if the anglers provide themselves, there needs to be some checks in place to ensure Point #1 above isn't in play. If the organization provides, they need to be checked before and after each event for accuracy, so it's an increased cost and task for the organizers. What does an angler do if his scale doesn't work? Is he SOL? Bringing the fish back to weigh on a scale eliminates this issue. Fifth, scorekeeping logistics is a limiting factor. If you are transmitting photos to the TD, you've got to be in cell range and even if you are, you've got to hope your message/submission makes it through. If you are keeping tally on a weigh sheet, entering those in at the end of the day lengthens the weigh in by 2 or 3 times. It also brings up the question of whether the boat partner needs to verify or sign the sheet to account for Point #1 again. Then of all things there's handwriting to consider..."Is that a 7 or 9..." Can you find the guy to clarify? Do you need to get his partner to verify/witness? If you're using a 3rd party app to handle things, there's costs, logistics, and management associated with that as well. No matter what the details are, it makes the logistics of running a tournament bloated by a significant amount. Bringing the fish back to weigh in on a scale eliminates this issue. I could probably come up with several more, but this post is long enough to where most won't make it down this far anyway . Can't say with any certainty, but probably because it's either deal with the headache for 1 or 2 events a year or not have any tournaments during some of the best fishing of the year. Don't think its that big of a mystery. Maybe - But it's not as easy as just deciding one or the other. For most organizations running traditional bass tournaments the CPR/CWR is not a viable option, so it's either traditional or nothing. Which goes back to my first post....DNR is managing the situations in every state and should step in when/if needed. If DNR says it's OK to operate this way I'm inclined to believe them.

Once the fish is removed, the sunfish or whatever other pests the bass is keeping away will move in...Doesn't matter if you take the fish to a weigh in or let it go right there, the damage is done. On an individual scale, sure that particular bed is effected...But on a population scale it doesn't seem to make a difference....But a 1 acre pond is different from a 50,000 acre lake so there's no 1 size fits all answer. The overall point I'd make is - This why we have DNR's to study and formulate appropriate regulations. If DNR allows fishing and/or tournaments, I'd trust that they are comfortable with it. The know how many tournaments are going on because most if not all states require some type of permit for an organization to hold a tournament and even if they don't require permits it's sort of within their job descriptions to at least be aware of what's happening on their waters.

My first build - I had been annoyed with most factory flipping rods I'd used with handles being way too long for me, so I wanted to make something to my own specs. Blank is a Hydra FL955MF-NG (7'11" XXH/MF) and components are basic, Fuji Alconites, full cork 11" grip, and a hidden thread hood. It'll have 3/4 to 1.5oz flipping rigs on it almost exclusively and feels like it'll be great when I get to use it. Constructive criticisms appreciated. Lessons learned on the first one... I should have followed pretty much every piece of advice out there and started with a cheapo build...Because even though I think I did a decent job, you can definitely tell this is a first build in certain places ? I initially liked the idea of handwriting the label, just the aesthetic of it...But my handwriting is atrocious so it's better left to a decal for me. Sakura Jelly Roll pen writes on the blank very well though. Smaller brushes for the smaller guides would probably make things a lot easier, I think I will add finer tipped brushes for the small guides. Be careful with razor blades...I accidently nicked my wrapping thread a few times when putting the blade down...Probably a matter of not being used to the layout of the wrapper and such, but I felt pretty dumb when I had to start a wrap over . Having a workspace that works for you is important, I started out in my basement with some folding tables but eventually moved it to my workbench in the garage with a space heater to keep temps up....Things went so much smoother once I moved it all out to the garage with more space and organization available. Went from feeling like I had 2 left hands to feeling fairly competent just from changing my work area. Side note...It ended up sort of looking like a cross between an NRX and a Dobyns with the thread color and handle layout...It wasn't intentional I was just trying for a blue theme to match the blue SV Coastal I planned to use with it

I prefer Poles function-wise...But 8' Talons are shorter than the outboard so I wouldn't have to lower my poles to back into the garage if I had them. If I could snap my fingers and swap my Poles for Talons I would just for that convenience. You can't really make a wrong choice, they all do what they need to do. I use mine a ton and would give up a lot of other accessories, including spot-lock, before I gave up my poles. To me personally they are essentially required equipment.

Same guys will be near the top... So what's the next excuse?

It's hard to ignore dock talk and winning patterns...But the most important thing in tournament fishing is doing things your own way. You can't catch other people's fish, even if you might be using the same baits on that day... Try to focus on how YOU have the most success. If you visualize it as a pyramid type chart for tournament success, this is the base. You build on that by applying it to specific lakes and seasons, then more specific patterns, then even more specific patterns for larger fish. I'm sure you could add a few more things too. When you enter a tournament, you are sort of forced to jump right to the top for that tournament day...So it's natural for things to be a little unstable while you work on that foundation. Sometimes you can find some success, sometimes the wheels come off. The more you do it, the more stable things will get .

I know they do and they are just as bad, which is what I wrote ?

Yea yea yea....And when the LMB anglers are illegally stocking LMB into places they shouldn't (or publicly supporting it)...They'd be right.

Every body of water within 2 to 3 hours of the Potomac either has or will have snakeheads...The snakehead fisherman are relentless in illegally moving them around. The fish and the fisherman are both trash. Gotta be careful comparing the two...BH is a pond and the Potomac is massive waterbody that already experiences seasonal influxes of predator and prey species (from the bay/salt) so snakeheads can fit in a little better. Not enough time has passed to know what will happen with BH, but it definitely has the shallow grassy cover they prefer. BH is still a 'good' bass fishing lake, but it will never get back to what it was...And my guess is that it will continue it's downward slide. Between the yellow perch being introduced and exploding about 10 years ago and now snakeheads it's getting pretty crowded for such a small lake. Add to that the annoyance of not being able to park the trailer because the kayak and paddle board hoards can't read the "Trailer-Only" signs in the boat ramp lot...It's getting to the point I hardly want to go there even though it's 15 mins from my house.

Last ditch effort to stay relevant. They aggressively alienated the core audience for bass fishing tournaments for several years, and now hope they will tune back in. They probably won't. It's a shame that sounds so negative, but it's just the reality. They still have the rest of the goofy rules and it will probably make it even slower than BASS live shows....Because the anglers will know exactly where they stand thanks to scoretracker. Once they are safely within the cut, you'll see a lot of spot protecting and practicing and a lot less fishing.

Only the striped variety....Pretty good for sunfish if you know what you're doing though .

Thanks @Steveo-1969, @BradleyC, Responded to your other post with a little more detail but don't want to skip this one. Check out our site if you're interested, we keep it updated after every event and have a lot of resources and stats on there. I try to not spam the boards, so I make 1 post every season about it - You can find it here.