fishinbub

Typically the wind direction according to meteorological reporting and the wind direction on a lake is not the same. Most man-made lakes are giant bowls and/or ditches and will change the wind direction. For example, in a long and narrow river section the wind will probably be blowing either up river or down river. Same thing for a large cove/creek. It's hard to say for sure what banks will/won't be getting wind without being on the water. With time you'll be able to guestimate from meteorological reports as to what areas of your local lake will get the most wind, but you'll probably struggle to do it by just using a map and tomorrow's weather forecast

I grew up bass fishing but was an avid fly fishermen in HS and fished competitively for trout in college with so-so results. Unlike bass fishing where you can go out there with a $50 Academy combo and still catch a 25lb bag, in fly fishing it's incredibly difficult to compete without having the best gear available. Every fish counts and you're catching fish on size 18 hooks, sometimes 20"+ in length. Dropping $700+ on a single rod/reel/line combo was just too dang rich for me. Once I moved back to my hometown (which is almost 2 hours from good trout water as opposed to my dorm room which was 15 min from trophy trout) I took an interest in bass again. One Friday I saw a FB post for a jonboat club that was fishing a 200 acre lake near home the next day. I'd fished the lake 4-5 times out of a cheap kayak and figured that was as good of a place as any to give tournament fishing a shot. I grabbed an 8' pondraider from our family farm pond, loaded it in the back of my grandpa's pickup truck, took the battery out of my Jeep, and found an old cooler in the basement for a livewell. There were 12-14 boats that day and I was the only one fishing by myself. I didn't catch a fish before noon and was not particularly excited about coming back to weigh-in in a tiny plastic boat with no fish, so I picked up a spinning rod with a little finesse worm and just started beating the banks trying my best to scratch out 5 fish. I had 3 fish with about an hour left but my battery was almost dead, so I went back and fished near the ramp, where I caught #4, which was my biggest fish at 1.75lbs. The bite really sucked that day and I finished second with almost 5 pounds and that 1.75 was big fish. I got lucky that the tournament was in December, or else I would've come back to the ramp with 4 dead fish in that cooler. Since I didn't have a partner to split the $$$ with, I had enough to buy an old junker 16' bassboat with no motor that a guy just wanted out of his yard. I fished a handful of jonboat tournaments out of that boat with mixed results and a lot of humble pie before I had to sell it to fix my car (the day I learned being an adult sucks). I started fishing out of the back of a buddy's boat in the same club I fished that first tournament with. Since then I've bought and sold a half dozen boats, won a bunch of tournaments including a club classic, set a lake record, started fishing kayak tournaments, and this year we won the club points championship. I enjoy bass tournaments because it's a lot more accessible than the fly fishing comps were. I've got nice custom gear now, but I've also won a lot of tournaments on rods and reels I got on clearance for less than $20. You can't do that in the fly fishing competitions.

110 style jerkbaits for $3.49 and the first one is free. https://bargainbaitshop.com/products/discount-jerkshad-111?fbclid=IwAR0adHGoGyTFMNWIeOh0Rhfv4chooWGsYJZHw8S_r5JVCEye2PeZsHfe7dk

Probably a repackage and possibly changing up some of the baits or colors offered. It's been a year or two since they've done that. With that being said, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility. Historically the import game has been absolutely dominated by people that can move the most quantity, but things are starting to shift toward more retailers (esp online) but less product being moved by each one. There's a gazillion people selling Chinese hardbaits (and reels, line, and pretty much everything else that Academy sells under the H20 label) online now at low prices. Better quality than the H20 baits? Not really, but H20 was pretty much the only decent option at that price point for years. Not so anymore Academy makes way more money selling clothes to your wife while you shop than they do selling you H20 baits. It's not even outside the realm of possibility that they're going to slim down the bait selection and stick with products that sell the best vs. having a broad selection. That seems to have been the trend with them lately anyways

I don't think anybody could do it. Even the KVD's of the world that reached a point where they were winning enough to be profitable, probably couldn't have reached that point without sponsor money first.

In college I did some guiding on local trout streams. The key is understanding expectations. Some guys want to catch a lot of fish, some want a PB, some want to learn, and some just want to be out on the water with a friend or family member. Some people want you to provide the gear and net their fish, and some guys want you to tell them where to cast, what cast to use, what flies to throw, when to move etc. Some guys want to talk the whole time, some just want to enjoy the peace and quiet. If you figure out what people want, and you give it to them, they're happy. If you don't, they're not going to be happy. That can mean you catch a lot of big fish and the client is still pretty indifferent. It can also mean the client struggled to put one fish in the net, and enjoyed it so much they booked the next trip before you get off the water. Also, the guides attitude is very important. 90% of the time the client doesn't know what constitutes a good day numbers wise. If the conditions are good, but the guide has a bad attitude (upset about missing fish, fish not biting, etc.) then the client will assume it's a bad day. If the bite is slow and conditions are bad, but the guide has a good attitude, the client may not realize the bite was slow. You have one goal: make sure the client ends the day happy with their experience.

Thanks. Ordered a couple of different options, we'll see how they work out.

I'm looking for a straight shank hook (preferably with baitholder barbs) that has a vertical turned eye (parallel to the hook point) instead of the traditional horizontal eye for a little project I'm working on. It's pretty easy to find jig hooks with the eyes turned that way, but not the straight shank hook. Any suggestions? Thanks, Sam

I've done the guide thing (fly fishing, not bass), rod building and repair, went to school to do fisheries research, and I do a little writing now. To be honest writing is the only one that ACTUALLY allows you to enjoy fishing on your own terms, but it also is the most volatile as far as income goes.

I'll check out BPS. I haven't asked anyone at Academy, but I worked in H&F every summer in college. I'm fairly positive there is nothing they can do.

I have a couple of H2O Express spinning reels that I need replacement parts for, but I'm having a hard time finding anything. Since they are an Academy label they don't even have a website, and I can't find a way to order parts thru Academy. Am I missing something?

I saw them on beds here in Georgia (700' in elevation). Gonna be fishing a lake farther north next weekend (about 1,300'). What elevation are you in NC? I guess it is safe to assume they will be on beds next weekend. :/ Was expecting prespawn...

It is pretty common among prey species (amphibians, reptiles, fish, insects, crustaceans...the list goes on and on) to have "flash colors", with orange being the most common. Flash colors are usually on the belly, throat, or underside of legs. For example, several species of frogs have orange under their legs and throats. The theory is that they serve as kind of a "bait and switch". When the frog jumps the orange is visible and predators key on the bright colors. But when the frog lands it blends with the surroundings, and the orange is not visible. Because the predator is keyed on the orange it is more likely to overlook the prey item. Bass are ambush predators, meaning they generally strike when prey are moving vs. sitting still. So keying on flash colors in theory would increase the odds of capture. Think about it; craws, blue gill, perch, frogs, salamanders, newts, and some species of minnows often have orange coloration somewhere.

I used some tournament winnings from my first john boat tourny to buy an old 16' fiberglass bass boat (no outboard). I'm replacing the flooring and carpet now, and the plan is to set it up to fish electric only reservoirs in N Ga. I have a 43lb thrust bow-mount motor for fishing and was thinking about picking up a larger motor to put in the back for moving across open water (most of these reservoirs are several hundred acres). Am I going to see a noticeable difference in speed with say a 55lb thrust motor? Thanks, Sam

Roughly where the rod balances. You want the rod (with the reel attached) to balance right where you grip it.

Also a lot of folks that might tie jigs...but aren't set up to pour worms etc. that could benefit from swapping with other guys that make different baits. A lot of the fly fishing boards have regular "fly swaps" for guys that tie but might be interested in stuff someone else made...

Mudhole, Jannsnet (my personal favorite), utmost, and The Anglers Roost (for fly rods).

Vogel State Park would be my suggestion. Excellent bank access, about 40 minutes from Blue Ridge, and they have boat rentals. They stock the beejeesus out of it with 9" trout during the offseason...so there are some big LM

I definitely don't see how a money tourny in an online format could be feasible. Maybe a small prize...a few custom baits or whatever someone was willing to donate. You'd have to measure fish in inches I think...and maybe do it over a time frame of 2 weeks to a month. Take a picture of your bass next to the tape and post your 5 best at the end.

I stumbled across the SKA July online tournament yesterday and it got me thinking...do any of you guys ever enter onine tournaments? Would there be any interest in getting one together?

I've always made as much of my gear as possible. I started tying flies and building fly rods when I was in middle school...I've even toyed with building cane rods and making fly lines. There's so much more information about making bass tackle and the start-up is considerably cheaper than the fly fishing gear...it really blows my mind. I've got no issue with the big box guys, I just get more satistfaction out of doing it myself.

As you can see from the responses, there is no right or wrong way. You'll find that is pretty much the case across the board for rod building...once you get a few rods under your belt you'll start to find different things that work for you. Some guys wrap rods using a cardboard box, some folks have a powerwrapper, and personally I free hand with just a fly tying bobbin...been doing it that way since my 3rd or 4th rod. Don't feel like you are stuck with one technique or one way to do something if there is another way that works better for you.

You can make some pretty educated guesses on what the lake contour could look like based on what you see above water...then refine those "guesses" by dragging a c-rig where you think a creek channel or drop off should be. We just got back from a family vacation to NC where we had a few hundred feet of bank access to a large lake. I walked the bank, found a feeder creek and made a guess as to where the point should drop into the creek chaneel. Within 3 casts I found the drop. We caught 13 bass off of that spot...and we didn't need sonar or spend 3 hrs dragging the bottom trying to find it.

I was thinking the same thing. My PB was 8-9lb on a 4" curly tail worm t-rigged...but if I was trying to set a new PB I def wouldn't be throwing the same rig. I've caught a lot more big bass on large c-rigged worms or swimbaits...

Usually whatever is handy. Masking tape or the blue painter's tape is best for double foot guides, scotch tape is so-so. If it's single foot guides I usually just hold them in place, but a thin strip of masking tape works too. I've heard the little twist ties that come with trashbags are great for big single foot guides, but I've never tried it personally.