Zeeter

If you read the article you would have been put off by it. Certainly they go for the limit first. But the article goes on to ask several pros about kicker fish. Basically, the answer was "yes, I go for kicker fish after I get my limit." No insight on what changes they make. Anyone reading the article would have said the same thing: Why write a three page article where pros express that after their limit they go for bigger fish? Was there some notion out there that after fishing for the limit they simply stop and go home?

I was just trying to make a point. I've never actually used a quantum as I am a shimano guy. If a guy is out there 270 days a year he's going to start feeling bites that some of us amateurs wouldn't feel. I guess using a reel was a poor analogy on my part. Maybe go with fishing line, instead. When Ike won the classic a decade ago he used Manns Stone Jigs. I immediately got some of them and they are my go-to jigs. So again - low ticket item and I don't mind using their gear. High ticket item I'll ask around.

Sometimes I'll buy what they're throwing if it doesn't make much difference. Unless I know another brand, or if the price of what they're selling is outrageous then who cares? Especially if I like what he's saying and his video helped me a great deal. In those cases he made me a better fisherman so I don't mind patronizing his sponsors. If it's a high ticket item then it's completely different. I had two Live Target swimbaits in my shopping cart last week based on a video of some guy glowing over them. When I asked around in the forum I deleted them.

Kind of like I mentioned before. These guys make a living fishing. They're out there every day. They could take just about any lure and make it work for them, so it doesn't matter who supplies them as a sponsor. I could never fish with a Quantum reel, but KVD can. If I was out on a boat every day like he is I could make it work for me.

I have a three bank pro onboard charger and am wondering about the indicator lights. This does not appear to be covered in the documentation. Either that or I'm reading it wrong. The charger came with the boat and I did not think to ask how old it was. One battery is new as of last August. The other two are 2-3.5 years old. The seller could not remember but knew they were less than 4 years. 1. Green - good. 2. Four solid red and a blinking 5th 3. One blinking light - cannot find battery. For #3 I'm guessing the battery is bad as I've switched the lead to the first battery and it then turned green. Should have put lead #1 onto battery #3 but I didn't think about that. In any event, lead #3 appears to be working as both 1 and 3 indicated a good charge. Question is on #2. There's nothing in the manual about a four solids and one blinking. If all are blinking then it means the charger is overheating, yet this occurred immediately after turning the charger on. It was in a cool place (pretty chilly, as a matter of fact) so there is little chance that the charger was already overheated before I turned it on. If if is the batteries, I've always had a philosophy. I don't mind buying relatively cheap battery every two years. I'd rather know my battery needs to be replaced in two years than hope my really expensive battery lasts four years. Even if it means more money in the long term. Reason for this is I've been stuck on an electric-only lake before with three dead batteries. It was not fun. Not enough cranking amps and just enough juice to move the motor slightly. The batteries were expensive $400 ones that would probably be around $550 today. From then on I used dual purpose everstarts and never again worried about the batteries. Just replaced them every two years and was good to go.

So Tom, what you're saying is that you come here, online, to share information to help new and veteran anglers so that they don't learn the wrong things by researching...online. Nobody ever suggested that someone will learn more online than being on the water. That's a given. Yet this is March and there's not too much fishing to be done. This is research time up north. I think you missed my point. Some guy in a tackle shop can be filled with as much BS as a guy online can. Yet online I'm getting 20 responses and can sift through the BS. I'm sure you're a fine angler, but perhaps you do something wrong or that doesn't work for everyone. If I listened only to you then I am doing that same wrong thing. Yet if you say it on here I can read it, plus the other responses and say, "hey - Tom may not be right about this." And as for videos? I don't have someone who is going to teach me how to pitch and flip (weak spot for me). The only way I'm going to learn the technique is by watching the videos and then going into my backyard and practicing. Sure, I could wait until it gets warmer and go out with one of the guys in the club and have him teach me, but why do that when I have fifty videos of guys showing the proper method? I'm not talking Joe YouTube here, I'm talking about the pros.

That's another thing with online. We can shop online. We can also talk with people online whom we might never have a chance to talk with in real life. You don't get that personal, look each other in the eye thing. Yet if I put up a question about pitching I can have twelve to twenty people comment on it and can take the best advice from all of them. Not saying anyone here is an old timer, but old timers aren't happy with the situation. Me? I like to get as much information as I can from as many sources as I can. Even when someone gives you wrong information you still learn something from it (what not to do). And I can get this information seven days a week, 365 days a year. Previously it was, "I'll have to ask Otis next time I hit the Beer, Guns, and Tackle shop." That might not be for a couple of weeks. Now we can ask Otis in real time, plus all of Otis' friends.

I think coming here is a good first step. Also, joining clubs. I learned more from the few tournaments I was in than I did through any online research.

I feel for the mom and pop stores like that, but then again times change. In the past if I wanted something that the store didn't have I could ask them to order it for me. Then in maybe a week or so they would get it in stock. Now I can go to TW or Amazon and get it two days later. As a consumer this is a good sign. Maybe we'll get bit if we find we need something on tournament day, but I know I've become accustomed now to not letting anything get down to the last couple of days. As a store owner it sucks. Just the same as it sucked for horseshoe makers when cars came along.

Makes sense to stock what is needed for the area. Unfortunately I live in Maryland where there is a big salt water fishing segment. Probably cuts down on the stock they can carry.

Hi - shortly after posting this I found a club that I am applying for. So unless something weird happens and they don't accept me this is closed. Though feel free to use this thread for your own if you want to start one. Sorry - I forgot I had posted this or I would have edited it.

Which one were you using?

Care to elaborate?

As for Amazon, yes Prime - for sure. But if you also have their credit card you get some pretty good rebates.

I was wondering about that when I posted earlier.

It's really what the world is coming to. Either drive from store to store filling out the shopping list, or order online. You can research online, look at reviews, and generally get exactly the style you want. Plus if you order enough they usually give you free shipping, so all that gas money driving from store to store is saved, too. Brick and Mortar stores just can't do that. And it's not just fishing. The only reason to really go into a store nowadays is for food and clothes. Just about everything else is easier to buy online. And heck, if I know what style and size fits me in a pair of jeans I'll even order those online.

I like the hook out the top action on them, plus the fin acting as a weed guard. Not that I plan on throwing it in the weeds, but cheap happens.

I've been a big advocate of the BPS senko clones. Don't really see a difference, but you get more for your money buying the store brand.

I had a list of about 50 items. I'm not going to call and go down my list with them. This wasn't a mom an pop store I was at. This was a Large Tackle Store that gets a lot of press and sends out 300 page catalogs every quarter. Mom and pop stores are great, but unfortunately they don't always have a good stock and generally it targets what sells for that particular area.

I do the same. No question about getting what I want when I order it online. Just yesterday I felt like getting out of the house for a while. Another problem is that it's an hour away and I almost feel obligated to buy at least a few things while I'm there. Now I'm downsizing my TW order since I spent so much yesterday, and I did get a few useful items. Just not some of the things I specifically was hoping to pickup.

Over the previous week I've been researching all of the remaining tackle I need for this season. This is the first year in a while where I'll need a full setup for almost any presentation rather than only taking exactly what I need for the few lakes I fish. So I need a lot of gear. After filling out my order on TW and Amazon (depending on who had the item and who had it cheaper), I thought: It's Saturday. Why not head on down to the Large Tackle Outlet store (we all know the one, but I don't want to call it out by name in case they're a sponsor). Figured - I can just get it all in one day. Tell you what. They did not have ONE item that was on my list. Not a single one - even down to the terminal tackle. Now, I replaced some obvious items, such as a rod sock, where I don't really care what model it is, and a couple of hooks. But for the crankbaits I was looking for? The swimbaits? Tubes? Nothing. Yet all along the shelves I saw about 80% store brand merchandise vs. other manufacturers. I also saw in the reel department that they don't carry much in the way of higher end gear. This I can understand because they probably don't get as much interest in store. For example, they have the low end Shimanos but not the high end. For rods, they don't have any G. Loomis, though you can get it, and the higher end reels on their website. Conclusion: The stores are not intended for serious anglers. They are intended for people who aren't sure exactly what they need and are presented with such a wide array of store brand merchandise that it can be overwhelming. If I don't have this, the the store has two rows dedicated to it, then I probably need it. Right? That's the thought process. I still wound up paying over $250 on items where I wasn't so interested in the brand, such as the Senko wacky rig ring applicator, waterproof fishing gloves, and some extra stock on items that work for me. Plus I got a pretty nice early-spring weather jacket for the first tournament. This is another reason I went: I don't like buying clothes online. Bottom line: If you know what you want just order it online rather than hoping the store has it. You'll get exactly what you want and save the hassle of driving there, only to find they don't have what you're looking for.

Has anyone used Live Target swimbaits? I'm thinking of picking up a couple and am looking for some reviews.

I read years ago that bed fishing has little, if any effect on the bass population. Here's an older article - not the one I am referring to, but it shows the negligible effect of fish populations when there are no bed fishing regulations: http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/Bass_on_Beds_Final.pdf

I got some of the swivel hooks this year. Will see if that helps. Spooling counter-clockwise from the spool is also a good measure to take. And I agree, closing the bail by hand rather than by the reel mechanism. Not sure how this would prevent twisting, but it is better for the reel.

I fished with a guy who spent a day in the back of Clunn's boat once. This guy has fished a lot of opens with a lot of guys. Maybe Clunn was just in a bad mood, but my friend said he never fished with a pro who was such an a-hole in his life. This was around 2000 or so. Wouldn't talk to him; my friend never asks for advice but most pros (in his experience) make suggestions here and there and tell them the day's strategy. Clunn didn't say a thing other than we're moving now and other procedural stuff like that.