Hale

Yay Yay Grape Soda!!!

That's mandatory LIFE in Florida with the "10-20-Life" Law

I would have never guessed Ariana to produce anything worthwhile! I used to ski out there all the time as a kid. (Grew up in Winter Haven and Lake Alfred)

You will mess up the timing and foul plugs if you mix it. Just bring it in the shop. Probably somehting simple like a clogged filter.

www.weekendbassers.com www.evergladesbassmasters.com www.bottomlinemike.com www.eastcoastbassanglers.com www.sfbk.net www.crackerboys.net www.gladesmasters.com www.trailgladesbassmasters.com www.bassnfools.com www.bassbustersflorida.com There is a lot more than this....

Some good points here! I will say something once about infringing casts. Im not trying to bogart all the water up front, but I am trying to develop a pattern that will also benefit you as the co-angler. Making sloppy casts and cutting out my angles will make me just turn the boat and you will be faced with one of two casting scenarios: a lot of open water by yourself, or no water at all. If I have the big motor on and im sitting there at the helm waiting on you something is wrong. I have 'sat' a few people down with a little rap on the throttle. Likewise not securing your items because your an idiot is not my problem; it will be windy in a second, take your hat off, hold onto your drink, straps your rods. Im not turning around...

This year I quit smoking, stopped eating fast food (I was eating a lot of it!), no more junk food (sodas, sweets) and I take the following: Daily: Omega 3 Vitamin C (2000mg) CLA Creatine Glutamine And of course multi-vitamins. This and some light excercise; Ive lost 50 pounds since December and more is coming. My fishing (physically and mentally) has changed dramatically from getting in shape.

Well, thats a warm welcome to a new member! Where did he mispell sponsor? Where did he talk about using someone elses product that contradicts his sponsorship? I think I missed something in this post.

The 90 is not enough power on that 750 hull. You would need to go up to a 135 to get the most out of it. Perhaps look at the 640 with a 90. You can grab that for less than 15k and will more than satisfy your needs (unless your on the great lakes or need to make really long runs each day).

I have a pda and I havent anything out there to be worth a crap as far as weather tracking.

I stand by the Costa Del Mar's. I have the Wavekillers (cause I have a big head) and they outperform any other pair of glasses I have tried or owned. Often times I will have someone on the boat and we are sight fishing..im saying "really, you cant see that bed there...and your glasses are polarized?"

Thats how so many companies are getting nowadays...its b.s. But a lot of companies will have a rude awakening over the next few years. Especially once the outside industry sponsors become more prevalent...we will laugh at some rod manfacturer offering us a 20% discount after we sold 1000.00 worth of their crap.

but the hook wasnt working... ;D

Ive managed to win two tournaments in the past month on Okeechobee. They were actually both out of J&S and you cant get out of the rim canal (low water). Flukes have been the #1 producer. Weightless and Carolina rigged have been equally effective. Yesterdays weight was 13.97 and the one prior was just over 13#. Crankbaits are producing to but the bite is quick and short, so you have to be lightning quick on that hookset. Water is low but its making it alot easier to find fish. Its funny to see how much pressure is on certain areas and then everyone just runs right by the hot spots. I hope it stays that way. Yesterday was just flat out fun, bites and missed fish all day. I lost so many fish yesterday it almost became comical.The day ended in me breaking my thumb and mangling my hand up pretty bad (my casting hand of all things). But the pain was numbed with a win!

Do you know how to go out and get a good job? Getting a sponsorship is no different! If you walk into a chain store that has a posting in the window your going to get crappy/mediocre job. Searching out sponsors are no different...look for the ones that arent 'advertising' open positions. Go in with your A game and be prepared to sell yourself for that position. And all the same, be prepared to be turned down a handful of times before you get someone that shows an ounce of interest. And like the other guys said; slow down! Just like the analogy above, if rent is due Friday and you start looking for a job on Monday..your going to wind up finding a dead end crappy job becuase you didnt give yourself time to make a better decision.

Those are true words of wisdom there! ;D ;D ;D

I guess I worded what I meant wrong. I really wasnt bashing who I mentioned and truly like his fishing style, I just wanted to point out the bottom line stat. My apologies. (wins or no wins I would trade places with him)

We read hundreds of articles and posts that tell us that its all about what we can do for our sponsors. It needs to be addressed what sponsors are to do for us. Im not going to rant and rave about what products or payouts are to be given. Its simplier than that: I have a very busy life; I have 30+ employees, a marriage, and a heavy tournament schedule. When I decide to take on a sponsor I have decided to create even more of a workload. With this being said I expect something in return from my sponsor that far exceeds products/cash. I expect the communication to be two-way. Here are some of the basics: 1. When you seen a increase in sales from my local area let me know. I dont need a kick back or an atta boy. Just let me know so I know what Im doing is effective. 2. I understand that everyone is busy, so when I drop you an email in regards to bettering your product or company I expect a reply. I showed you enough courtesy to not call...do the same and hit reply. 3. Dont send me product with out company literature (brochures, decals, business cards, etc). Samples are also required if you want me to setup new accounts. Do you really think Im going to walk into my local shop with out company info and samples? Do you really want your company represented by a guy who just walks in and talks about how good xyz product is? 4. A lot of companies are now trying to get pro-staffers to buy their way in. Most of these companies are legite and the principle behind them doing this makes sense...except on thing. If someone just bought your product they are now a customer not just a staffer. Treat them with the same respect as you would a customer. And where do these companyies really get off by requiring a certain amount of product to be purchased and then not really offer anything but a discount on future orders? (by the way for those of you looking into a sponosr that requires an upfront order..if they want you bad enough you can get them to drop that b.s.). I would like to see everyones additions to this list. Just to clarify; my sponsors are good for the most part so this wasnt a personal bashing...ive just had a bad run with local shops/new companies that just dont have a clue. I think those guys have some kind of power trip that they can 'sponsor' someone. When in reality they suck at fishing, cant run a business, and most importantly dont really care about what they can do to help their #1 advertisement.

The tournament was a two day team trail event. I first have to post sad news. On of the competitors was killed on the water today. Please read this post for details: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?board=boating_ID It was a tough weekend for fishing. Over half the field was skunked yesterday (including myself), The top two weights were 16+ and 12+. Today was the same except I had 17.3 pounds and the leaders were struggling. My weight (would) have had me in 3rd place. ven today left over half the field with empty bags. I evaluated my lack of fish on saturday and went in on Sun with a whole different approach; light line, slow presentations, deep water with thick vegetation (post spawn). Here is why my eight would have been a 3rd place finish: Istokpoga is a 3 fish limit lake (and a slot limit) our exemptions only removed the slot limit. This tournament trail is a team format so 5 best fish per boat is within the laws. I didn't have a partner this weekend (his wife was diagnosed with cancer). So I was only allowed 3 fishthe trail said I was allowed to weigh 5 but it was my responsibility to deal with FWC if I got caught.well I got caught with 5 fish and he made me throw all fish back He weighed, measured and photo'd each fish. My two biggest were 6# and 5#. I got away with a warning and he wouldn't let me go back and fish the rest of the day. I would of went back out and got 5 fish again so its best he kept me out of the water.

I know 90% of us (boat owners) are guilty of this at one time or another: not wearing a life jacket and kill switch. We get comfortable with the waters we are on, or conditions are prime, or whatever excuse we make for ourselves. I had a two day tournament this weekend on Lake Istokpoga (Florida). One of the competitors was killed today. He was thrown from his boat and the boat [running in circles] cut off his arm. He later died in the hospital from blood loss. I can proudly say I was friends with this man. He has been a boating fisherman for over 30 years. The lake was glassy, free from obstacles (shallow along the edges like any other Florida lake, but he knew this), and there was minimal boat traffic on this 30,000 acre lake. We dont know the cause yet but we can be confident in saying that is was most likey equipment failure. Had our friend been wearing a kill switch I wouldnt have to write this sad post. So let me stress this point one more time: LETS ALL STOP BEING IDIOTS AND WEAR THE LIFE JACKET AND KILL SWITCH! Ive been guilty of it at times...never again.

I own the Nitro 640 and i got the 90 2 stroke. It runs every bit of 55 (gps). Its size is perfect for shallow water. I can run her in 8" and only 24" to get on plane. Storage is plenty.

I was wondering if this site had a ban on mentioning my_space. I figured there would be numerous topics about it and I had never seen any. mine is bigpapahale

I had the news on this afternoon (ambient background noise) and they asked him what he will spend his money on...He told them he already bought a new bass boat!

Too many cheaters out there. Polygraph testing is very common amongst the tournament scenes as well. Would you cheat at catching a fish to cash in 7 million dollars? Its easy to say hell no until youre staring down at the fish that would make it all happen. (that was by no means implying thats what those CA guys did).

Scroggins has been on a roll and my predictions is that he will take it all....especially nailing a 14#+ fish. You know he didnt purposely pull her off a bed..so there is others out there to be had. Im with you, the final weights will definitely top 100#.