fishballer06

Your best bet is to sit at home and practice tying your knots until you get really proficient at it and your knots look uniform every time you tie them, and you're able to tie them very quickly every time without error.

No red crawfish around these parts... Most are a green pumpkin/brown color, with orange or grey highlights.

I've done a week straight on a few trips to Canada, and in the past few years, I've spent 9-11 days up there. Even at 29, my shoulders and wrists start to feel it after that many days on the water casting and fighting fish. I could only imagine what someone twice my age feels after that many days on the water in a row.

That clear/black/pumpkin looks killer. I wish I had a few of those skirts.

First off, that foot pedal is absolute garbage. Ditch it and use the key fab. Secondly, take the batteries out of the pedal after each use. This should prolong battery life.

I fish from a boat primarily, and from shore from time to time. When I'm in the boat, I usually have between 5-12 rods with me, and around 4-10 plano boxes of tackle, all my tools/scales, attractants, and a big bag of plastics. If I'm fishing from shore, it's because I want to work on a technique or lure so that I'm more comfortable using it on the boat in a tournament situation. Or, I just got a new rod/reel and I want to break it in. So when I'm on the bank, I'll take whatever fits in one pocket.

My first question would be "Is there a thermocline?" Being that the lake is 30-40' and water in the mid-upper 70's, there is likely a thermocline at some depth. I've seen it anywhere from 10' down to 25/30' around here in PA. From there, I'd want to know whats under the water. Just because the trees standing out of the water looks good to you doesn't mean jack to a bass. I don't see any tops or branches to those trees, so there's probably a brush pile or two under the water somewhere, or perhaps tree's that aren't tall enough to reach the surface that have branches on them still. At first light I'd be throwing a buzzbait or spook, or perhaps a swim jig or Fluke if they won't commit to topwater. After that first light, go with your deeper baits. Texas rigs, shakey heads, crankbaits, swimbaits, etc.

Interesting... You can win an Elite event and not get in, but winning an open does get you in...

Who else is watching the Bracket Shootout today? And can anyone explain why Steve Kennedy is in this? He won Dardanelle back in June.

We had 52 members this year play, 28 of which played every tournament. If you want to go complicating it by bringing money into the equation, you're going to have 4-5 guys willing to do that, and you're going to create bad blood between members. So to that, I vote "nah".

Flukes (soft jerkbaits) don't go deep, unless you're really willing to sit and wait for them to sink. I've found that the Strike King Caffeine Shads sink a little quicker than the Zoom Flukes. As for a weighted hook, I really like the VMC Drop Dead screwlock hooks. They're weighted a little to help with the sink rate, and they have a longer shape that is helpful on a longer bait like a fluke.

It's been a fun season guys. I enjoyed playing along with you all. Congrats to ALK for an amazing season. I'm amazed at how skilled of a group of guessers we have here on BR. I finished in the 95.2 percentile, and I was still 6th in the group. On another note, John Crews killed me this event. He was 21st after day one, 44th after day two, and 47th after day three... All of my other picks finished between 2nd and 20th.

Put it on a jighead and swim it. It will get bit.

If you're that concerned about breaking a rod outside of a manufacturer's warranty period, you should call them up and talk to them about what would happen should that issue arise. It's always best to get your information straight from the horses mouth rather than asking for the opinion of people who have no affiliation with a business. Megabass USA: 650-637-1617

I say go for it! Report back to us with your results.

I generally keep to myself. I'll give the most basic, broad answers that I can. However, my tournament partner tells people exactly what we've caught, what size, what we're using, and locations. Drives me nuts when he does that.

1/2oz below 10 feet, 3/4oz for anything deeper.

Both. I own the high end reels from both companies.

From what I understood, Wheeler still was mathematically in it, but it would require a bombing by Palaniuk and Christie. However, it looks like Palaniuk just culled up. He's now in 6th and has over 20 pounds. Outside of the top dogs, my dark horse picks are doing pretty well. All five of my picks are currently in the top 13 (unofficially).

Palaniuk in 20th, Christie in 22nd, Wheeler in 6th (unofficially). Can this points race get any tighter?

I just picked my squad yesterday. Good luck guys, and to whoever wins, enjoy shopping at Circuit City.

I was thinking the same thing. Use a crankbait that doesn't dive as deep. Anything with trebel hooks is going to pickup weeds and leaves off the bottom if it's coming through them. Buy a couple Mann's Baby 1- crankbaits, put some VMC short shank #5's on them, and go catch a bunch of fish and gain confidence. They only run about 6-10" deep.

KVD Line and Lure = problem solved.

20-25lb mono or fluoro. NEVER use braid to leader. The stretching during casting and hooksets will weaken a short 2-3' leader and cause it to break off eventually.

A senko and a frog are also great lures to learn skipping with.