OCdockskipper

I fish from a smaller boat that is closer to the waters surface, so I prefer a shorter rod (6ft). It allows me to underhand skip and backhand skip easier with the rod being more vertical to the water. I recently went from a M to a MH & didn't like the difference. I throw lighter baits so a little whip in the rod seems to make the baits skip more times & further.

I put mine in a large container called the lake... Years back, I made a livewell out of an old cooler (there was an aeration kit for DIY). If you fish by yourself, you could use that in the back of the boat - it would help counterbalance your weight on the front. If there will normally be 2 of you, then you might have to get a little creative with it and figure out how to get one under the seat.

On the plane flying to Lake Mead for the initial Classic, Ray Scott told the anglers "You wouldn't expect the World Series to be played on a Little league field. Neither would you expect the World Championship of Bass Fishing to be held in a fish hatchery...It will be the toughest challenge of your angling careers but it will be worth it". I get that. In golf, if the course is set up for low scores, it becomes a putting contest. If catching a 20lb bag is done by everyone each day, then luck plays into it as to who finds the one big fish. Now I don't think it should be like that Classic in Pittsburgh where it was totally a dink fest, although if you look at the top 10 for that event, it definitely separated the great from the good (KVD, AMart, Swindle, Cochran, Ike, Evers, Hite, Reese, Rook & Horton). A good, medium tough lake that takes skill to catch a big bag consistently doesn't embarrass the best anglers in the world, it identifies them. For nostalgia's sake, it would be neat if the 50th Classic went back to Lake Mead. The weights wouldn't be the greatest, but that city does know how to market & hold an event. You have a built-in crowd of tourists who are always looking for something free to do and many fishing folks would make the trip because there would be more to do than just go to the weigh-in. Hey Zona, I know you are on this site, pass the Lake Mead suggestion on to your bosses...

I was thinking about this last week but from a little different perspective. It seems like the flow of really good anglers from FLW has been a bit longer, about 5 years & includes Jason Christie, Jacob Powroznic and Brent Ehler to name just a few. Heck, B.A.S.S. even had to change their definition of a rookie because guys like Powz & Ehler were winning ROY even though they had already earned hundreds of thousands of dollars fishing as a pro before joining the Elite series. So now the Elite series has changed. Instead of a dozen or so hammers, 20 or 30 good fisherman and a balance of donaters, you now have 30 plus hammers and the donaters get bounced after 2 years. While this is making the series truly elite, it made me wonder if some of the better fisherman on the FLW tour are loving the change. They now have lesser competition for the same prize money, although as some of you have mentioned, the sponsorship money may be reversed. However, a guy like Scott Martin or Bryan Thrift can stay at FLW, cash in every event & dominate the tour, still make really good sponsorship money and not have their ego's bashed in by ending up in 37th in the Elite series AOY race. It is kind of like poker, are you in it for the money or the challenge? If the latter, then yes, you put yourself up against the toughest competition and work your brains out to see where you end up. However, if it is a business for you, then you want to sit at a table of deep pocketed fish (pun intended). In fact, in poker, there are hundreds of great players throughout the country who many in the poker world have never heard of because these players prefer private high limit games against average players as opposed to the public bright lights of the WSOP.

Like you, my introduction to the Ned Rig was with a TRD. I know many swear by the ZinkerZ cut in half, but the success I have had with the TRD for the past 2 years has been amazing. It is really fun if you are in the backseat of the boat with a good angler (or two) in the front and only you are throwing a Ned Rig. In many instances, it is incredible the number of fish that are missed by the guys in front and are caught by you right behind them.

Just you wait...

What seems odd is the sudden change, the near overnight disappearance of the bigger fish. If they are still there, then they are just living somewhere where they never have before (in most instances, that means suspending). Is there any reason why many of these fish would have chosen to move? If they are no longer there, is there any new predator around? I am not so sure overpopulation of smaller bass would make larger ones disappear. If anything, a bunch of 10" bass become a food source for the 4 lb plus fish. Out of curiosity, are the smaller fish healthy or skinny?

All of the docks on my lake are pretty shallow (4ft or less), so a wacky rigged, weightless senko is my go to skipping bait.

Never watched hockey growing up, not a lot of ice or snow sports support here in Southern California. I have grown to like NHL hockey more than the NFL, NBA or MLB because there doesn't seem to be a prevailing entitlement mentality among the players. Even at the college levels of those sports, many of the players believe what they do is so very important and not just a game that they are very fortunate to be able to be playing. Here in Orange County, the Duck's players have become part of the community, much like the Angel & Rams players did in the late 70's & early 80's. I root for 2 teams now, the Ducks and whoever is currently beating up on the Kings.

I use a "counter app" to keep track of how many fish I catch & what I catch them on while out on the water. It replaced a small white board that was useless when it got wet. Kind of like a digital version of those clicker counters, but with some cool features.

Unless my math is off, the perfect bucket for this tournament was: A - Ott DeFoe 340 pts B - Bobby Lane 272 pts C - Greg Hackney 280 pts D - Fletcher Shryock 285 pts E - Timmy Horton 315 pts 1492 pts, so if you are named Columbus, you win ScaleFace bounced back from the initial event to nap the Bass Resource first place spot for this event. Glenn will soon be contacting him about the Circuit City $1000 gift card and round trip Pan American Airlines voucher that he has won for his choices. Led by three top 5 picks in buckets C, D & E, Reerok has taken the overall lead after 2 events. There is no truth to the rumor that Reerok is currently traveling to Florida to kick Terry Scroggins in the shin.

You may be absolutely correct, however like the old saying goes "If you ever see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn't get there himself". Rick Clunn is a legend, but the opportunity to become a legend was due to the vision of Ray Scott and the monetary support of the sponsors & the fans. If you take any of the legs of that triad out, there is no such thing as professional bass fishing & Rick Clunn would most likely still be a guide on Lake Conroe. It is probably difficult to still have the perspective of humility after failing when one reaches a pinnacle of success as he has, but that doesn't mean one shouldn't. I would suggest the burden to be there for the fans when one has had a successful career like Clunn is greater than for someone who washes out of the Elite series after a couple of years. I have admired Rick Clunn ever since the day I received my very first BassMaster magazine & he was on the cover holding his first Classic trophy. In addition to being a great fisherman, he has been a great face for the sport and is someone that so many look up to. Blowing off a weigh-in because you failed does not seem to be in character with that legend.

Congrats on that Timmy Horton pick, very well done. I bet Clunn's sponsor's really appreciate him not weighing in. I know it may be embarrassing for a legend like Clunn to do poorly & he may get bored with the weigh in process, but I think not showing up is a bad move. Heck, go up to the weigh-in with an empty bag & big smile and proceed to tell the folks what DIDN'T work the past few days. I know it is easy for me to say not being in their position, but it does seem like some of the more seasoned pro's get very cynical & rote about the process, having completely forgotten why they got into the sport in the first place.

I thought it was ironic that Morgenthaler had a great day, jumped inside of the cut for you only to be knocked out a couple of anglers later by Evers, one of your other picks. I was surprised Evers held on, I thought 3 of the final 4 to weigh in might bump him out.

It may not be as dire as it looks. It is looking like the cut line may be around 27/28 lbs, so even guys who are in 30 spots out of the cut will only need a 17 or 18 lb bag to make the cut. Once they are in the cut, if they can back it up with another good day, they can end up in the top 20. Now having 3 or 4 guys finish in the 20's & 30's obviously won't win an event for you, but it will at least negate a bomb. Heck, look at Shaw Grigsby, who is in 95th place with 8-10. He caught but had to release an 8lb fish because he hooked it outside of the mouth while sight fishing. You have to assume that would have been at least a 6 lb cull, meaning he would have been at 14 plus lbs and well within the cutline. The only guys who may be out of contention with making the cut are the last 15 or so. Florida tournaments are so different because of the variance of big fish. It isn't like some of those tournaments where everyone is catching limits of at least 2 lb fish, but the biggest ones are 4 lbs. In those tourneys, there is no room for error. Last years Florida tournament was a great example. Most are aware that after Day 1, Rick Clunn was in 38th & ended up winning. However, you also had Brent Chapman (71st after day 1, ended up in 5th), Cliff Prince (95th after Day one, finished 6th) and Justin Lucas (68th after Day 1, ended up in 12th) make great rebounds while Cliff Crochet went from 3rd to nearly out of the cut, finishing at 46th (of course, I had him on my team). Those jumps are not unusual in Florida. Of Course, I would prefer to have Defoe, Browning, etc as my choices and not have to rely on this upheaval to survive, but such is life...

The good news for those of us in bad position is that it is Florida. Guys with 20 lb bags can turn around with 10 tomorrow & vice versa. The tough part is when you need 4 guys to do it...

After seeing Morganthaler's day 1, I am so glad we don't have the same choices (Although Lucas wasn't that much better) We both should have called Scaleface and gotten his insight on choosing Timmy Horton in bucket E!! You & I were different for all 5 picks: A Alton Jones Sr. B Todd Faircloth C Kevin Van Dam D Jeff Kreit E Justin Lucas Like I said before, bucket C was a tough choice for me. I rarely trust Ish to put together 3 good days unless he is on the California Delta, so it came down to 3 of the more consistent guys Hackney, KVD & Evers. Everyone thought it would be a flipping tournament, so KVD & Evers were better deals & a coinflip for me. Don't know how it will work out. Hope you have a better day tomorrow... For most marshals, their cellphone is their BassTrak device - it is just an app you run on your phone. If that is indeed the case for this marshal, bummer for him...

tough to tell definitively from that picture, but I would venture no. The size of the head, the mouth and the overall body shape look largemouth, not spot.

Field & Stream did an article about them way back in 1977, they got the name from their aggressiveness - https://books.google.com/books?id=T4yxQAfkKiAC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=Field+%26+Stream+Meanmouth&source=bl&ots=ZkfhGR84v8&sig=shn-HCUfrwpgMNFInIYSNr5vncA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjg7yH4aLSAhVT_WMKHRThCQoQ6AEIKzAD#v=onepage&q=Field %26 Stream Meanmouth&f=false I'm old enough to have read that when it hit the presses .

I am looking forward to talking with you about Bucket C once the tournament begins and we reveal our choices. The tough thing about that bucket is that everyone in it has bombed in Florida more than once & I believe all that have fished BASS tournaments on Okeechobee have at least 1 time fell flat on their face. Like you, I also stayed away from any favorites and have all guys under 15% who have done well in Florida. What is the chance you & I have the same five picks ??. I'll make you an offer, if we do indeed have the same five picks and we both end up the overall winner for the event, how about we split the 3K BPS gift card instead of the tie breaker breaking one of our hearts? Good luck. I just received a text from Glenn and for this event only, he is adding a voucher for a round trip flight on Pan American World Airways anywhere in the continental United States to the Bass Resource winner.

Even though I prefer to have a lake or area to myself when fishing, I do have a soft spot for kids who are learning the sport. Their interest in fishing, no matter how short lived due to childish attention spans or other distractions, can be stoked with a little success and a realization that results are within their control based on their decisions. So yesterday I am working my way down the eastern side of a cove when I notice a dad helping his 2 boys & daughter fish off their dock at the back of the cove. It was like he was spinning plates, running from kid to kid as they cast over each others lines and tried to figure out how to reel. Kind of humorous. In the 20 minutes it took for me to get closer to their dock, I caught 3 bass, which as would be expected, caught the kids attention. After the 3rd one, the dad asked what I was using for bait. Even though I was tossing a Ned Rig TRD, I thought it might be better (easier) for the kids to use a wacky rigged senko & still get results. I motored over to their dock and was going to give them a pack of the worms when the dad said "Oh, those are Yamasenko's, we have some of those". So I spent about 2 minutes showing them how to wacky rig them and told them that the bass were not really chasing today, showing them how to fish it slowly. I mentioned that the bass were getting ready to spawn, how they would be moving shallow and some different areas that they should cast to. I looked over at the oldest boy (about 10) and told him that he wouldn't feel a strike from the fish, more likely he would just see his line moving, so keep an eye on that. I motor away the opposite direction and no more than 5 minutes later, I hear the 10 year old yelling "Dad, Dad". Sure enough, he had hooked his first bass. His mom was videoing the the whole fight and they took a bunch of pictures after he landed it. Dad was handy enough to get the hook out and release the fish fairly quickly. I gave the boy a sitting ovation from about 50 yards away, to which he waved & yelled "Thanks for the help". With the seed planted, it will be interesting to see over the next few months if he is bit by the fishing bug or if this was just a cool moment he got to share with his parents.

I have multiple "gut" decisions every outing, as I get more & more information of what is happening in the environment and how the fish are behaving. If I would put a number on it, I would estimate that 2 out of 3 of these decisions or choices don't pan out. However, when that third one pays off, immediately I congratulate myself and know that the current Elite pros are fortunate that I never chose professional fishing as a livelihood . Being an eternal optimist is helpful. As the saying goes, "often wrong, but never in doubt".

In regards to leaders vs not, I think the obvious needs to be stated: No one wants to use a leader. Conditions, specifically water clarity, time of the year and the type of presentation dictate whether or not a leader is a better choice than not. To uniformly declare that leaders are never needed or that they should always be used ignores the factors one runs into on each body of water. The reason there are "Midwest Finesse" and "West Coast" tactics is because a majority of the bodies of water in those areas differ substantially from those in the South or East Coast. Using 65 lb braid with no leader to fish a small swim bait or tube in Lake Mead is akin to choosing to use 8 lb test with a leader while flipping a jig in Lake Okeechobee. Neither is the best choice.

Yes, it is Ned Ryerson, also known as "Needlenose Ned" & "Ned the Head". A graduate of Case Western High, he did the belly button whistling trick at the high school talent show. He got shingles real bad his senior year and almost didn't graduate. He now sells insurance in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

12poundbass, I think I can help you. Word on the street is that the water level on Okeechobee was raised about 25 feet, so now all of the grass is way underwater. All of the big fish are being caught either dropshotting or with helicopter lures. I would suggest you load up your fantasy team with guys who have never fished in Florida and who specialize in vertical fishing. The easiest way to identify those anglers is to find the ones with the lowest percentage next to their name. Good Luck!!