corn-on-the-rob

omg BB, I'm sorry but I laughed sooo hard. That look of defeat and disappointment... We have all been there.

I own the middle ground veracity, and absolutely love them. I will be going after a villain this off season. I'd like to mention that both the veritas and villain both have a 2.0 version which is said to have a pretty big impact on quality. Abu Garcia has improved to 2.0 with any rods that in which the originals had common issues. For example, the original veritas rods were having guide break off and random blank failure, but the 2.0 version addressed those issues.

As a younger fisherman myself (24), I feel that I can give you a good picture: 1. Your goal and priorities are a bit skewed from what I believe your intentions actually are. You should be focusing on learning the most you can from yourself, people around you, and what ever resources are at your disposal to put yourself in position to do the best you can as an angler. You will never reach perfection in this sport, there will always be something to learn, never be content. 2. If you don't want to be "just another kid", heed the advice we are giving you. Some of it is likely not what you want to hear, but it comes from our experience. 3. Give it time. Be patient. You are young and actually a bit too young for most adult (16+) tournaments. It's not the end of the world though, you can take the time between now and then to get a head start on most people your age so that when you do get the opportunity, you may have quite an advantage. Before all else though, check for any youth fishing clubs as this will be your best bet. If this is not the case, high school, and college will be your next club opportunity. If the high school doesn't have one, start one when you enroll there. 4. Your youthfulness is showing a bit here. Take a step back and think about what you have said. If you were in a tournament you would win it. How many participants? Are they your age? Are they amateurs, pros? What lake? What rules? Confidence is critical in both recreational and tournament fishing, but being grounded with a sense of practicality and humility are just as important. If you would like to call KVD the best bass tournament fisherman in the world, even he has only won 7.14% of his tournaments with BASS. And during the other ~93% he has finished decently but also very very poorly. That is the sport though, even the best lose much more than they win. The picture you posted is actually pretty cool, but also irrelevant. While a nice feat, it is not indicative of how skillful of angler you are, especially at the tournament level. The best skill you can possibly have right now, is the ability to understand that you have a LOT to learn and the discipline to put in the work to do so. 5. Get sponsorships out of your head for now. High school and college clubs will typically have sponsors to help you out once a part of them, but a personal sponsor is both difficult to attain and a lot of work to retain. But let us get your resume on the right track: 1. Do well in school. 2. Get a job when you are of age to show that you can work for/with people, and can work hard. 3. Go to college, work hard. Get a degree in something you enjoy and will support yourself as an adult. 4. Be a genuinely nice person and develop good social skills. After you prioritize practical life, THEN you can focus on the fishing. It is okay to dream about fishing at a high tournament level, but you have to have the income to get there and support it. Most big name professionals still have jobs and many own their own businesses, but my point is that you can't just expect to get by on fishing alone. 5. Become familiar with most social media and create your own content, whether it be commentary, pictures, video, etc. Do this the right way, or don't do it at all, because you risk making a bad name for yourself. 6. Fish. Fish. Fish. Have purpose, have goals; EVERY experience is a learning experience. Once you get your feet wet at a lower tournament level, push yourself to improve and start expanding the level at which you compete. 6. Tournament fishing is quite different from catching bass from your local pond. Tournament fishing is pressure, preparedness, versatility, execution, decision making, confidence, and so many other things. For years I had imagined myself tournament fishing and do enjoy it, but there were times I had my doubts even after knowing I wanted to get into it. Your feelings may change after you spend $15, $100, $500, $1500, only to go out and not get a single bite in 8 hours, or have a great day of fishing only to come back to 50 people who had a greater day of fishing. And that's okay. The key here is that you must still have fun and enjoy yourself. Tournament fishing isn't for everyone. Most clubs run a boater/non-boater format in which for every boater, someone who does not have a boat fishes from the back of a boat. The remaining few are then likely buddy tournament format in which two people work together from the same boat to catch a shared limit. You do not need a boat to compete. If you put in the time and effort (ask for help if you need to), I guarantee there is a club near enough to you. You may have to wait (just like everyone else) until you are 16 to fish in one, but once you can drive, honestly an hour away isn't so bad if it is your only option. Go to the article section of this site and start taking advantage of it. We are here to help you.

I like a MH moderate 6'6'' to 7'0'' for single hook moving baits. A little bit of give for the moving aspect from the action, but enough power to drive it home with a MH.

In most tournaments, hooking inside the mouth is only a requirement if sight fishing I believe.

Some may disagree but I ALWAYS set immediately once I detect a bite. The only time I delay is either by accident or if on any given day I miss multiple fish, I may let them have it a second more.

If it is something you are just gonna TRY but may not stick with, go with a cheap combo so if it doesn't work out, no big deal. If it is something you want to LEARN and stick with, spend a bit more to have something that will last longer and perform a bit better. I prefer this route. I was always so resistant to using bait-casters, but now only after 1.5 years, I can't imagine throwing certain lures, or fishing in certain cover with out them. It will feel very foreign for a while, but after enough time and practice, you'll learn to love it as another tool in your arsenal. I personally would go with an all around rod and reel to start. Something you can throw both moving baits and bottom presentations comfortably. Rod: 6' 6'' to 7' medium heavy fast action Reel: 6.4 to 6.8:1 ratio This way you can throw jerkbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits, texas rigs, etc. I personally prefer braid but would recommend 30lb to 50lb for ease of use. Those braid sizes are the same diameter as 8lb and 12lb mono. I would also recommend an 8-carrier braid though it is not required. I use sufix 832. To get started, the easiest thing to do is use a heavier bait, it makes learning a bit easier. Start with high brakes and medium spool tension and gradually reduce the brakes as your thumb gets acquainted. The spool tension tends to be tighter for heavier baits and looser for lighter ones, though that is just a guide. Starting with high brakes will typically reduce casting distance but give more spool control and prevent more overruns while learning. Practice in your backyard, your den, your kitchen, your pond, your boat. Just keep practicing.

I'm not sure if you were agreeing with me or thought I said to shorten? Yea, shortening makes them stiffer for sure!

I tend to thin and spread my guards a hair but never shorten them (unless they're excessively long but that is rare). Thinning them opens you up to snagging wood more often, and likely causing a slight increase in lost jigs, but to me, having more lost jigs is better than poor hook ups. As always, with stout hooks and/or weedguards, set the hook like you mean it.

PB largemouth - just over 5lbs Also just got my first and PB spot this past weekend but not even over 2 lbs. PB smallie - 5.71lbs in my profile picture My most proud is my girlfriend's first couple months bass fishing - 5.4lb smallie

love me some grid iron brush jigs!

oh boy... MG xi-5 trolling motor Helix 7 SI Helix 7 DI + $250 of lures

Their bait casters have lasted many years for my family, the spinning reels... not so much.

If you are using an albright, you might as well wrap back down and turn it into an Alberto, significantly stronger.

Nice job, 20th out of 120 is a great accomplishment. This is fishing, even the best only finish high a small percentage of the time, so you are on the right track. Based on the day of fishing, regardless of what others were doing, what would you have done differently? (in hindsight)

yellow sufix on all of my rods, I use leaders if necessary. The yellow fades slightly but never completely. Best thing ever for a line watcher! Might give the white a shot too.

My best advice is to stay relaxed and don't over think it. If you don't have the confidence or experience yet with it, pretend its a jig or texas-rigged soft plastic and move the drop shot along the bottom the same way you would those things and you should be fairly successful. I fish where drop shotting is very popular and actually cast it 95% of the time instead of vertical. Don't over work it and hang on!

The straight shank itself provides very good hook response, mainly because there aren't any bends in the way which gives the hookpoint great access nearly every time, from any angle. I personally would never throw a flipping hook on anything but braid. You have a stout hook so you need a strong hook set to get penetration. Also, braid is great in the cover you will likely be throwing it in. I know some people don't enjoy horsing fish in on heavy line but after you have a fish hooked on a straight shank, pretty much the only way you will lose it is if you give it slack, and your not going to bend this hook, so having strong braid so you can pull the fish with some force to the boat is a must in my book. Flipping hook + braid = you absolutely must take advantage of snelling the hook. The hooks have decent hookup/landing ratios by design alone, but a snell knot gives it a significant boost. I am new to flipping hooks this year and probably have only caught 50 or so fish on them, but I have only lost one fish, and that is incredible. I also only lost it because I threw into some nasty stuff, and when I got bit I had to assume it was going to be a big fish and set and pull hard if I had any dream of getting a solid size fish out and over the junk. But since the fish was barely 12 inches it flew through the air about ten feet and came off haha. You rig it kind of like a shaky head if you are familiar. Rig only a small portion of the front of the bait and out, then you rotate then bury the hook point in the plastic, it's very weedless.

Not that is is drastic but I was with a buddy on a pond, I went to tie up a punch rig. I was holding a $7 tungsten weight between my thumb and index finger when a lady bug landed on my other shoulder. I lightly kind of smacked it off and when my hand stopped its motion, the tungsten didn't.... BLOOP!

Heading down to Keowee in March for a college tournament and need your help! It is about an 11 hour trip for me, going down on thanksgiving weekend to practice. I have done a lot of research on this deep, clear lake and that can only get me so far, so I wanted to see if any locals were willing to give a fellow member a hand. Feel free to post here or message me, whichever you prefer, anything helps. Rob

Like others have mentioned it depends on the situation. Even then, sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't. Say you moonshot a jig right on top of a bass near the shore. Some days he reacts instantly and crushes it, other days he might think its a bird trying swoop down and eat him so he flees in terror. I try to be as quiet as possible with out making it a chore to do so. If I accidentally slam a rod-locker I'm not gonna assume the fish in the area are spooked and leave.

Very cool and nice job. It's a great feeling when you pull it off on a day where the majority of the field struggles. I know those fish aren't very big but it really seems like they should total about a half pound more, but doesn't matter since you all used the same scale. Haha, yea that night before a tournament feeling is great isn't it? Prepare the best you can then ride that feeling to the top!

give him a 2 or 3 inch curly tail grub, anything he does with it wont be wrong and you'll catch just about everything on it.

Was out yesterday, low of 29, high 41, 15-25 mph winds. Water still in the upper 50's. Had a blast, caught some bass and musky. As long as you are adequately prepared for cold weather, cold isn't actually cold.

I and many others experience "shedding" with the suffix flouro. I have only heard good things about sunline, but I personally use the trilene 100% professional grade.