bmadd

Aw...a full week of school :-/ Maybe I'll still make the short drive to come hang out and can possibly get a day or two of fishing in.

I helped with the final day weigh in at the Old Hickory Tournament and got to talk to him once he got off the water. He started talking about how he had been using a new rod all week and when I asked him about it he told me he had a signature series coming out and that he had been using th 8' model and that it is sweet. Kinda hard for me to believe that someone that small is using an 8' rod. He had nothing but good things to say about it so take that for what it's worth.

Awesome fish man. I love those Spro Frogs!

I guess I'm the exception. I prefer a ML F or XF in anything over 6'6.

Actually you might be surprised...Dean Rojas' signature frog rod is a MH

Auburn's club has been around and are very well represented. Jann is a great guy and is doing a LOT to move collegiate bass fishing forward. I highly recommend you join the club if you like bass fishing. They're great guys and I enjoy hanging out with them at tournaments.

Tennessee being deplorable? Are you kidding me? How can you relate them to Mississippi State? Tennessee has had 3 losing seasons in the last 30 years. We are second in the east with most Eastern Titles won to Florida (9-6). We won the east last year. Sure it seems we underestimate our non-conference games but you can not relate Tennessee to Mississippi State.

Marty those megabass repaints look awesome but I'm in love with that flatside. It's beautiful.

So as I'm watching the UT v. UCLA game, I'm a little concerned with my Volunteer's new Offensive coordinator and the time it's going to take Crompton to mature. I've got to give credit to the UCLA's DT. They're beasts and should dominate any offensive line in the nation. We returned every offensive lineman from last year and they only allowed 4 sacks last year...best in the nation by far. Maybe we can score one more time and pull this scary game out!

That's the action I like out of the majority of my poppers anyway. What's the size/weight on it? I really like the color of that and the lure above it. What colors do you have on those bottom two?

We're gonna see Rocky Top shine here tonight. Gonna get a little revenge out west, even if it is on a UCLA team that seams to not be able to catch a break.

Hopefully Pacman will stay out of trouble and give you the on-the-field stuff he showed us here in Tennessee. He's a great athlete and if he somehow finds a way to stay out of trouble he should be a huge playmaker and help you cowboys in playoff time As for my Titans......"sigh" :-/

Good luck OSU... I agree with Catt. One of those three teams will be back in the championship to play either Oklahoma or USC. And Peasy- There's no reason to dislike the vols It's Great. To Be. A Tennessee Vol!!

Marty-Those baits look awesome. Are you now experimenting with topwaters? Looks good.

There are several effective ways to work a pop-r. Which one normally depends on several things. Water clarity, fish aggressiveness, baitfish activity, cloud cover, water temp, etc.. Through my experience, having the lure "spit" normally works best when bass are actively feeding on schooling bait fish. Chugging normally works best for me when the water temp is just starting to warm up like spring or when the water is real murky. My favorite way to work these baits is to make them walk the dog. I feel like it is the most versatile retrieve. Speed of retrieve will vary depending on the mood of the fish.

Let me start off by saying that I am a college student trying to build an affordable arsenal of rods for tournament fishing. I have been fishing in the collegiate tournament series and plan to jump into BFL's and possibly ABA's for the 09 season. I am looking for some feedback on some lines of rods. I would like to try and build this arsenal out of one line to make changing rods fluid. Reels will consist of E series Curado's and Citica's. The series are 1) Shimano Crucial 2) St. Croix Avid 3) Powell Max The only rod I have any experience with so far are the Avids. I have one of the old models and am satisfied though not amazed by these rods. I like the price point and the warranty with the Crucial line up. The warranty is a big plus seeing as how I tend to be a little rough on my equipment during tournaments. The Powell line is also very attractive, especially at their newer price point. However, I do not like how the majority of their rods are all XF in action. Give me your thoughts on these rods and also suggest others. Thanks, Braden

Mike McClelland is my pic. Great guy...real down to earth and will answer any questions you have.

The Natural and Brian hit the key tips...unless it's grass or thick brush I'm throwing a football for the reasons they stated

I buy Pop-R's just to sand the lips down on them. They make them so much more versatile. You can walk, twitch, pop, chug, dart, dive, spit, etc. The more you tinker with the amount of lip you sand the more you find you can do with them

Your Citrus has me drooling

Marty-great shape and colors!

3:16 is one of the older modern swimbait companies still standing. You'd be amazed at the number of baits they sell.

It's hard to say...the Elites fish in areas where you can put up big numbers pretty easily whereas the FLW seems to fish more lakes with tougher conditions and smaller sacks, except Clear Lake. Tough question...a lot of good points have been made.

Like some have already said... 5:0 Deep Cranks/Slow Rolling Spinnerbaits 6:2/3 General fishing, Tx rig, Spinnerbait, shallow cranks, jigs, topwater, jerkbaits, rattle traps, etc 7:0 Burning Spinnerbaits or Traps, when flipping pitching, when fishing nasty cover so I can move fish away quick, grass fishing, frogs.

That looks awesome so far! Just curious...what rod will that be matched to?