Logan S

Thanks for compiling and posting. I think one takeaway is that it's impact is generally positive, but the scale of it's impact is very situational. Cold water on a southern reservoir it can be like a cheat-code....But summertime on a tidal river it could be a distraction and actually end up hurting you (as a Potomac local I was happy to see those numbers). My personal opinion is unchanged. I have it, I use it, and enjoy catching fishing with it ...But I think some of the things it allows anglers to do (or in some cases, not do) is in direct opposition to many of the things that make bass fishing great. I have no idea what to do about it, but my gut feeling is that it's just on the the other side the line in the sand, for me anyway. I will say, it is awful for co-anglers. I fished a tournament recently where it was hot, no wind, no clouds, 90 degree clear water... I weighed in a good bag of almost 17lbs, while my co angler had only a single small fish. I was on the screen all day and he just never had a chance. Cool information to look at for sure, I bet this gets picked up by more than just BR 😉

I have no doubt the fin clip ones are better for the fish while in the well, especially smaller fish. But with the lip ones I can grab, balance beam, and cull much faster and with less handling and time out of the water though.... So what's better/worse overall? I don't know, but for now at least I plan to stay on the side of being efficient. There's no perfect method.

It's certainly odd, since I have several other models with no issues. 1 or maybe 2 I can chalk up to bad luck or user error, but after 4 plus reports from others it's hard not to notice a pattern. I read a quote by Bill Falconer talking about the redesign with one of the upgrades being additional strength to alleviate warranty issues, so I think they saw some room for improvement in places. To be clear, Point Blank has taken care of me very well with any warranty I've had....They do the right things IMO and I'll continue to have them as my first choice when an application calls for a sensitive, fast action rod...

The 701MLF seems to be snakebit, I've had 4 break. Only PB model I've ever had break. I am waiting on the new generation for warranty replacement too. Thankfully, PB is good with warranty and customer service. By pure numbers, the Eternity ETEC72M is the closest I see (597g/75 vs 575g/77). Trimming it 2" down to 7' would bring it even closer. This is just on paper though, I haven't fished the Eternity personally.

I'm sitting here going, "Man I swear that looks familiar...." Its my picture 😂, I must have posted on here few years ago, can't remember why. Sometimes you lose baits, it sucks... Like everyone else said, the line was somehow damaged. If it's not a bad guide/tip...It could be darn near anything in the water.

From what I've seen messing with mine and talking to others, you need one of those zero-degree mounts to really use perspective/scout mode in shallow water effectively. The angle on the standard mounts doesn't give you much range in shallow water. I haven't invested in an aftermarket mount yet since I still sight fish with my eyes 👀 😅.

Seriously? My bass club has more anglers than the professional musky trail and I'd bet a single BFL event has more bass anglers in it than there are total musky tournament anglers to ever have competed. Walleye tournaments are more popular, but we're still talking a tiny fraction of the volume of bass tournaments. Kayaks don't have livewells, they are forced into their format. I said CWR works where it works, which is true in all those cases. It doesn't work for generalized bass tournaments on a large scale. This is off the original topic so I'll leave it at that.

Holding them up for a camera is not the reason - The reason is that for the majority of practical purposes, CWR is not actually viable for standard bass tournaments. Managing that many scales, the issue of discrepancy between that many scales, differing conditions causing differences in accuracy, contingency plans for if a scale fails, etc, etc...All that without even going into the reasons that involve dishonesty. You may not like it and that's fine, but its not just an easy-fix that people are opposing for petty reasons. I have fished in many CWR tournaments and I've also been a tournament officer managing CWR tournaments. It works when it works, but on a large scale it simply doesn't and that won't change.

I like bed fishing. In my experience, the majority of bass anglers don't actually understand the spawn at all - though most think they do. It's not as dramatic so many seem to make it. "Disrupting the spawn," can happen anytime - You catch a bass in winter, prespawn, summer, fall, or any other time and move it, keep it, kill it with a deep hook, or whatever else....It's not going to spawn in the same place, with the same other bass, or maybe even at all during the next spawn cycle as it would have otherwise had you not "disrupted" it. Creating fictional "Back To The Future" timelines for wild animals is silly. Some state DNR's step in if they feel it's needed and close seasons, it seems a lot of northern states do this. I would say if the DNR biologists allow fishing, they don't believe it's an issue. Here in MD we actually bear the brunt of those decisions because PA and NY in particular close their seasons while we don't - So all of those anglers come down here to fish and hold their tournaments all spring...Which causes some friction.

Keep at least one extra tag, so 6 for a standard 5 fish limit. Use tags that can hang on a beam without any extra effort (most are this way now). I put tags on fish when I catch them, try to remember which is the smallest if its obvious. 6th and subsequent fish get the 6th tag and go right in the well, then I deal with culling. If your smallest is known or obvious, then you don't have do anything but grab it and release after putting the new fish in. If I need to decide between two, I use the balance beam. It's faster and IMO more reliable than weighing each. When I have a bunch of cookie cutters, I'll take them all out of the well (with tags on) and put them in my rubber landing net propped between the seats and front deck (like a "basket"). Then, I'll balance beam them quickly to find the smallest. Always leave the lighter fish on the beam, heavier fish goes back in the livewell...At the end the last fish standing is the smallest and it goes back in the lake. This only takes about 5-10 seconds per fish and when you're done you'll not only cull the smallest but you'll probably know your current smallest as well, which makes the next couple culls quick and easy. If two fish are really close on the beam, like it's staying horizontal mostly, I'll keep the one that's been in the well the shortest amount of time OR the one that just looks healthier, even if it might appear ever so slightly smaller on the beam. It's a risk/reward decision...I'd rather risk losing an ounce if it means saving myself from a dead fish I won't be able to cull later (which is WAY more of a penalty than the actual 4oz penalty in most cases). I don't waste any time worrying about it either, it's just how I roll and I keep it moving. Keep your water aerated well, keep it cool if needed, use appropriate additives, and make sure you have battery capacity to support your pumps all day. Everyone should be intentional and take fish care seriously, when you do it's pretty easy to get it right.

For rods, any actual manufacturing defect will show itself in the first times the rod is loaded. Any warranty longer than a year is really just an insurance policy against you breaking it thru your own actions. You are paying for it somehow/someway thru the retail price of the rods.... Not to mention the replacement fee most companies charge. Not saying it's a bad thing, as the piece of mind it provides is a selling point for many.

Wasn't really talking about the legal or lawsuit matters...Was taking about the sentiment of other anglers, it's why I put "blame" in quotes. So many are blaming "those darn tournaments"...But based on what's known so far, the only connection there is that the driver was a participant. Obviously MLF and probably every company on the side of the guys boat will be involved in some kind of lawsuit, maybe even the gas station he filled up at on the way to the ramp. This is why I don't post as much as I otherwise would.

Because the TD didn't send them out in unsafe conditions. It wasn't an issue with a congested launch. Tournament rules on motors have been the same for decades and the HP number on the back doesn't force the driver to go fast. This is just my opinion, you don't have to agree with me.

I've typed out a few different responses to this but ultimately I don't feel right being critical until the official details are known. I do have some pretty strong feelings based on what's currently known though. Having said that, it seems established now that in the MLF incident weather/fog was not a factor and it happened well after and away from the launch site. The "blame" on the tournament operation, boat speeds, etc seem a bit misplaced to me....Though I will say many of my feelings about this related to the industry as a whole and the environment it's been fostering. I do hope for the best and send condolences to all families impacted by the incidents..

Caught a 3-5 spotted bass during practice for a tournament this past weekend. Fish was caught on April 10th. NC spotted bass state record = 6-5 3.3125/6.3125(*100) = 52.48 Even though spots are the primary species in this lake, I was getting better quality LM so I quit fishing for spots pretty early. Only other shot I'll have at spots now is November but around here a 3lber at least isn't laughable 😂. I gave up fishing for spots because I was a pattern for LM like this 😎.

I've never been a fan of promoting or normalizing them. Snakeheads aren't walking their way into all the other lakes around here....Pretty much every lake and river within 2 hours of the Potomac has snakeheads now. Snakehead fisherman are illegally stocking them in all these places. VA DGIF is full bore on how bad the illegally stocked spotted bass are right now...But they've been rationalizing snakeheads for probably 10 years now so it shouldn't be a surprise that fisherman are taking the idea to other species.

Come try this on the Potomac or Bay (or Albemarle for that matter)...You'll lose your lower unit by 10AM on the first day. It might be effective on LOZ or Table Rock or wherever you fish, but different places are different. Overall strategy helps a talented angler more than a waypoint or social media post. No one said anyone couldn't find fish, that's a given at their level. Not sure why people care who reported what....If a rule was broken the league should address it. This whole situation is shady and multiple pros have come out and said exactly who and what the issue was, so I wouln't say anyone is being a coward...And no I'm not linking a video, if I can find them without being told so can you.....What a funny parallel that is to this discussion though .

@A-Jay You smell like fish . MD non-tidal record is 11-6 (MD separates for some reason, tidal is 11-2). I caught this LM in non-tidal waters on 3/29. 5-15 5.94/11.38(*100) = 52.20 Hopefully I can improve on that before the seasons over, got a ways to go! Also will have a shot at VA, NC, and PA and also smallies and spots. My goal will be a 'respectable' submission for each species .

Not really. I thought I explained my view in my post pretty clearly? Not saying I'm the authority on this...But as a guy that tournament fishes and frequently goes up against some anglers who hire guides, get information, etc (it's allowed in the small time stuff)...I know the impact these things have. You know when you get beat by someone's skills VS someone's info or network, I'd bet all those Pro anglers know it too.

No, it's not...Especially in this context of insider information for the purposes of doing better in a tournament. You can do that all you want....It'll show you fish/cover/structure just fine, because those all exist everywhere....It's small-scale info. I'm talking about large-scale info, like which entire sections of the body of water you'll focus on (because most of the time, no can actually practice everywhere in only 3 days). If you have insider information on which parts are more likely to be successful from someone that actually knows what they're talking about you will have definite advantage. It might not ALWAYS pay off and it might not result in a win, but the average placement of a guy getting that help over time is going to be significantly higher without a doubt. People think its like guys getting the specific answers to a test that is most problematic (waypoints, spots, baits)....It's not. It's the person getting tipped off that the history test only focuses on the American Revolution so they spend all their study time on that, instead of wasting time on the Civil War and other topics that won't be covered (Fish this part of the lake, not that part). They are are still doing the work, but their preparation is much more efficient so their chance of success is much higher.

A 5 minute phone conversation with a knowledgeable local, especially on a place as big as this upcoming event, can be more powerful to these guys than any electronics setup. It's why they are DQ'ing guys for this stuff but allowing the $50k electronics setups without batting an eye.

I don't think most people understand how valuable "information" is if it's from a credible source. Not taking about waypoints either.... The tours give anglers limited practice time and most venues are huge bodies water.... Especially this upcoming one. An angler getting legit info about which areas to focus on, what things to look for, where the water clears first, etc, etc, is going to have a huge leg up on guys who don't get that....Their practice will be more efficient and they will have more confidence. They don't need help finding and catching fish, that's a red herring because they are all capable of that...they get insider information that gives them a strategic advantage. I think Scott outed himself and the tactic in his apology video....The whole, "on a place LIKE Albemarle...but NOT Albemarle," thing sounds like the perfect vehicle for getting this type of stuff. The stuff he admitted on his video, even the stuff not technically against the rules, is eye opening and raises more questions to me...Which I hate to say because up until now I've always had a pretty positive view of him.

It's an honor system rule...there's no other way to enforce it. The poly really is just keeping the honest anglers honest. Or put another way, it legitimizes the rule...because otherwise there is no assurance that the rule was being followed. Unfortunately there has to be some type of rule to eliminate information gathering, because with how good the anglers are and the impact of technology....It would simply become a contest of who has the the best information network and not who the best angler is. There's other ways you can do it for sure, this seems to be the only way the leagues want to handle it though.

Well the kickoff to the season at Black Hill was good for me this past weekend, though pretty tough overall. I took the win with 19-14 😎. Big fish was 5-15, it kept teetering on 6-0 but never held on it...so close!

Bass on a fly rod are fun, but it's honestly more of a hassle than it's worth to me. Two different mentalities At it's core, fly fishing isn't connected to competitiveness....Where pretty much every other type of fishing is connected to competitiveness in one way or another - Not in the literal sense of tournaments, but just always thinking that more or bigger fish are 'better'. I'm sure fly fisherman appreciate more and bigger fish too - But the 'soul' of fly fishing is centered around trout in streams/rivers and it more about making the right cast, with the right fly, to the right fish, at the right time. Often this includes long hikes, long waits for the conditions to be right, and failed attempts which might require the whole process to be restarted. It's an entire experience, landing the fish is just a part. When you take fly fishing to other species like bass for example, it's watered down to just another fishing method...Not in a bad way, just not the same. So for bass fisherman like us, we can catch bass on the fly....But it doesn't make us fly fisherman. This is all just my opinion of course....I do fly fish (for trout even), but I wouldn't call myself a fly fisherman.