snake95

Ok guys educate me: basstrakk is showing a Saturday cut line but everyone is still fishing. Clearly this cut line doesn’t apply to this tourney. Is there a top 10 or some other cut line for championship Sunday? Or is it wide open since this determines AOY? Or something else?

Thanks Bluebasser and everyone who replied and got into this interesting conversation. Our guide for this trip was a one man operator with a plan: 1. Put us on the easy fish. 2. Go for something bigger. 3. If it was clear we were up for it, do something more advanced. He did all 3. This was all on a spur of the moment last minute request where we took over from a bunch of guys that bailed out on the guide. It was just my son and I, and we had a super trip. We were a little late and he rolled with it. We caught some species that were edible, and he cleaned and vacuum packed them quickly. The guy truly worked hard, and put us on fish and then some. I gladly handed him the extra crisp $100 - I simply answered my own question in the end. The man earned extra and I paid him for the extra.

Going out with a guide for a half day. Rates seem reasonable for two guys. What percentage do you add as a tip? Thanks guys.

(Excluding jigging spoons). I read a lot about structure spoons, which from my inexperienced perspective look like large, heavy spoons. I think they are used primarily for offshore fishing. I know there are also Johnson Silver Minnows, which I think are often fished in vegetation. I am curious about the good old fashioned wobbling spoons, which I associate with fishing for pike and various members of the salmon and trout family. I can see they aren't great around cover and would think that is the main detraction. Anyone fish this type of spoon for bass in shallow water? When do you like to use them?

Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow is very good and noticeably different from the fluke. It has a heavier main body that helps with casting and thin tail that waves with the slightest motion. A little too heavy/thick for a light wire hook, so I often throw on baitcasting gear. They can sometimes be found in BBB sample packs at DSG or ordered direct from TW.

Just in case someone ever wonders why BP beat Gman for second when they tied as I did. Here is the answer from another site: "Ties are broken by the heaviest single-day weight. Palaniuk’s 30-01 limit on Day 2 topped Swindle’s Day-1 limit of 29-07."

I enjoyed the camaraderie at the end and three guys in the century club. But I am confused: did G-man and Palaniuk tie for second, or is there a valid reason why Bass is showing BP in #2 and G in #3?

I am 99% sure I recently read an article or heard an interview where John Crews, head of Missile Baits, said the drop craw was discontinued. Might have been on his recent interview with Mercer. I know he was talking about drop shotting with Ish and that also caught my attention. I’ll try to find a link and reference rather than creating a rumor but it caught my attention and I looked it up a couple weeks ago.

Thanks, this is good logic to me. I probably will proceed with the backing approach, but have to agree this makes good practical sense. I don't like running low on line on the spool which is part of the motivation for the backing approach. But... I can see the appeal of this approach. Good input and appreciate the experience. I had remembered the Aaron Martens clip referenced by @NHBull and was thinking of using Big Game braid for this, but maybe not now. Cool link! That's genius. Thanks guys, I appreciate the input and will spool up accordingly.

I’ve decided I like using fluoro for jigs and shallow cranking, but don’t want to use a braid/leader combo for this. I don’t see a point in filling the whole spool though, and I’m trying a braid filler for longevity. I don’t think I need more than about 100 yds fluorocarbon for each setup for this kind of fishing. (Different story for deep cranking). Is that about the right length? Any other tips on using backing with fluoro?

Ollies has stocked up with Lucky Craft baits for $8, up $1 from previous years. They also have Cotton Cordell mystery lures (CO somethings?) and Smithwick Rogues for $8. Not exactly a "sale" if you ask me. They also have the gigantic Zoom frogs, at about retail price. They have some interesting finds, but arguable that they have deals.

Alberto here - tie it in under 60 seconds. I will occasionally use double uni for joining dissimilar diameter lines on a reel. I have tried the FG and believe it to be a good knot. However, I haven't found it to be stronger than an Alberto and certainly not easier to tie.

I haven’t tried them all, but definitely fish Neds a lot. I also like the Owner Blockhead and the Zman OG. ZMan/TT lures Ned Lockz are well built with all the bells and whistles but a little heavy and bulky for the kind of light line Ned fishing I do the most. Rage brand Ned baits are excellent but Strike King’s Ned heads seem weirdly long and large. Zmans traditional Ned heads are a little flimsy - I agree - but the proportions and weight are right for Ned rigs in my experience and they work ok for me. They just don’t last long.

Ollies has Zoom plastics, as they have in recent years. This year they are $4/bag.

Just one data point, but I was throwing light crankbaits yesterday with my SV -- I have only one among numerous Daiwa reels. The thought occurred to me on my trip back that I would always be willing spend the little extra for the SV. They look and feel truly well made with excellent fit and finish, and the SV is very effective.

Bass Pro and Cabelas (of all places) have them on sale for $7.19 right now. If you find somewhere that price matches (Field and Stream, Academy, etc), you are in business. Good luck!

Time outdoors, and the challenge of figuring out the fish. There is something about the feel of a bite that reminds you that we are connected to the natural world, and that nature is all around us and bigger than us.

Thanks @FishTank I have accumulated a few of these beauties and not thought to fish them yet. I will do that. Thanks for this basis of comparison, was watching an Ott Defoe video fishing the shad rap and the question on my mind is when does he give up the shad rap to fish "his" OG slims? This probably answers it. Very interesting. Mr. Fritts himself was doing a nice job showing off the fancy Berkley display at the classic this year; I don't have any yet but they look great. @Bluebasser86 thanks that is helpful and very interesting. I like the idea of the better casting Frittsides. I also have some SK HC flat sides. A very nice looking crank and I look forward to throwing them.

I am a rookie compared to a lot of you guys who regularly comment, but I know enough of bass fishing history to know that there is nothing new about flat sided cranks. For the longest time, I was buying Rapala DT Flats, Bomber Fat Free Shads, and even an old Poe's with a coffin bill. Since about 2019, Rapala (OG series), Strike King (Chick Magnet), and of course Berkley (Frittside) have gone crazy with flat sided bait offerings (maybe others?). You can get Frittsides in every depth and color imaginable. Any experience with any of these new lures that represent genuine innovations or improvements?

Good to see everyone had a good time. I was also there with my son. Could only be at Expo on Saturday, which wasn't enough time. Was our 4th in past 5 years. Had interesting conversations with Dion Hibdon, David Fritts, and Ish Monroe, plus spent a little time talking with the swimbait cultists in attendance. Tried to cover quite a range of topics in a short period of time!

Thanks guys. Last year I took up smaller swimbait fishing with the Gantarel Jr. and SPRO Rat, and a Dobyns 795SB. I had a hard time putting it down. I just added a Bull Shad 4x4 to my collection. I have now collected 4 of these BBZ-1 baits thanks to SPRO give aways at the Bassmaster Classic Expos, plus a few regular sized Gantarels. I will strongly consider adding one of Dobyn's 807SB or Mike Bucca 836SB rods to my collection and throw these big guys as you suggest.

@Hammer 4thats great, I am considering adding an 806. Any situations where you especially liked to throw the 8”?

I was in this boat too when I started on Bassresource. I threw crankbaits and topwaters for most of my first couple of years, now it is hard to imagine not using soft plastics. Like everything in fishing it can be as simple or sophisticated as possible. Logically, simple is a good place to start. In my experience if you rig weightless, weedless (T-rigged) worms, flukes, and maybe toads you will be off to a huge start. There is so much to be learned from just throwing and working these versatile options. I preferred T-rigged for starting out with many applications where others use wacky because of the benefits for being nearly snag proof. Agree wacky is effective and simple. As far as moving beyond the basic T-rigging phase goes, I think the ned rig is an obvious next choice for a beginner, because of the incredible simplicity and effectiveness. From there you can go to actual T-rigging with a bullet weight, then move on to try zillions of other kinds of rigs. I think it can be overwhelming at first, but found it was helpful to start basic then get into all the others.

I am gradually amassing a collection of 8-inch BBZ-1's, but don't really have the rods to throw them. I have a couple of Dobyns 795 SB's's (Fury and Champ XP) rated to 5 oz that I use for Gantarel Jr's and BBZ Rats. Rods say they are rated to 5 oz. My first guess is they will be overpowered by these BBZ-1's. Does anyone out there use the 8 incher's? That's one big bait! Has their popularity waned in recent years, or are they a key part of many guys arsenals? Any specific applications/conditions you like these big boys for?

I have been following BASS tourneys as a fan since 2017. My only tournament experience is measuring lengths in kayak derbys, so I may not understand what the anglers are weighing out there. I check Basstrakk frequently during a tourney. For the last weekend's classic, I was really gunning for Christie and thinking he HAD to be out of contention on day 3 based on Basstrakk weights. In the end, all the Basstrakk numbers were off significantly for the leaders. Is it deliberate to make it interesting? Or is it interesting because of inevitable discrepancies between on the water and weigh in results? What are the weights on Basstrakk? Are they guestimates by the angler and/or marshall? Accurate readings? A mix? I can understand an angler wanting to be "approximate" to keep competitors guessing, and BASS liking that, since otherwise there would be little point to watch the weigh ins. These days we have very accurate handheld scales, so surely the anglers could know what they have accurately, if they wanted to. Couldn't they? So... what is the source of the discrepancy?