John Cullum

Welcome to the site. I know very little about pond management but it would seem to me that bass might already be in there. Before doing ANYTHING be sure to check with the owner about putting fish in there.

Lets hope not. If the bass stop eating stuff that smells like shad,baitfish and craw they'll all starve to death. Not much to eat if they don't eat shad,baitfish and crawfish.

I put off buying a new ride because of the 225 HO that is coming out soon. From what I'm hearing at the shows the E-Tec will out perform everyother outboard on the water. Faster top end,better holeshot, lower emissions than any 4-stroke on the market today and great fuel economy. I hated to wait to but I think it'll be worth it.

I agree it's not the same but thats not how the IGFA is set up. It's unfortunate that the record will someday be beatin that way and not natural but those are the rules.

YES, it should count. It's a tough record to beat. People have been chasing this record for almost 75 years and haven't touched it yet. If the stocking program was a can't miss someone would have broken it already. It'll be sad that science will beat that record not mother nature but thats how it goes.

I have a 99 Ficht 200 horse and haven't had any problems at all. I thought I had heard thou that the new E-Tec motors were replaceing the Ficht line.

From shore or boat? Thats the biggest question here. If your fishing from shore I wouldn't drop a bunch of money on crankbaits cause your probadly gonna lose them. If your just starting to throw crankbaits you are gonna get snagged and won't be able to free them all the time from shore like you can from a boat. Spinnerbaits on the other hand you can fish them pretty much snag free from the beginning. If you are fishing from shore get a few shallow diving crankbaits like the Baby 1- or Strike Kings Scout. Both of these baits will catch fish and are harder to get snagged then deeper diving cranks. Shad Raps are a good buy. They make them in differant sizes and colors so you can cover alot of water depths. They are a bit pricey but their worth it. Besides if your fishing from a boat you'll get them back 99% of the time you get snagged. If your fishing from a boat try to get a 1/4 oz and a 3/8 spinnerbait to start and spend the rest on a few crankbaits that dive to differant depths. You can always buy some differant colored skirts to change your spinnerbaits from clear to stained or muddy for very cheap. You can also buy a few types of blades so you can change your two spinnerbaits into a bunch of differant combinations.

I second what D.Taylor said.

I would have to say its a tie for mine. I like the Cordells Big O and the Bagley BB3 series. I guess it would depend on the lake.

Great point about the polarized glasses. I never leave home without mine and it maybe the most important piece of equiment when it comes to bed fishing. I also agree with you on the Spot-Sticker jig head. It's an awesome jighead and is very versitle.

If you can see the bed heres how I fish for them. First you'll need some 3X or Snap Back soft plastic lizards. Then you'll need a 3/4 to 1oz. egg sinker, the kind used for deep carolina rigging. It doesn't matter if its lead or tungstun. Set your rod up like you are gonna c-rig but don't use any swivels. Take the line up it thru the sinker and tie on a 3/0 off set hook. Take your 3X lizards and place it on the hook. Once you find a bedding bass cast beyond the bed and reel the rig into the bed. The weight will stay in the bed while the 3X soft plastic will float to the surface. Now reel in the slack line and you can vertically fish the bed with the lizard and never move the the sinker. When you give a bit of slack line the lizard will float upwards and when you take back the slack it'll appear as if the lizard is feeding. If the bass is locked in they usually take this rig. The one thing to key on is "locked in fish" the ones that are locked into the bed are more likely to bite. Locked in fish will not flee very far from the nest and will seem to be vey aggresive towards the bait. I look for bass chasing bluegills this is usually a dead give away on a bass that can be caught very quickly. The ones that flee the bed and circle for awhile will be harder to catch.

*Early Spring-water temp 45-55* Fish south facing banks and coves. Upper ends of resesevoirs tributaries. Also fish rip rap. Best Baits-Jig & Pig- heavy spinnerbaits, deep crankbaits, spoons or blade baits. *Pre-Spawn-water temp 55-65* Shallow water bite is good.Migration routes between deep and shallow spawning areas. Shallow flats close to creek channels and any bays or coves. Still fish rip rap Best Bait-Spinnerbaits, crankbait,rattle traps, topwater. *Spawn- water temp 65-75* Shallow coves.bays,flats,chunk rock or pea grazel banks. Look for bedding bass Best baits-worms, tubes,grubs,crankbaits, rattle trap, topwater,lizards *Post spawn-water temp 75-80 Migration routes between shallow and deep and main lake points Best baits-worms,tubes,rattle traps, top water early and late in day. Just a good rule of thumb hope this helps

Senkosam you proved my point. You found the same softness and salt as a Senko. So in all actuality your making a Senko. I've seen and felt alot of the spin off Senko that are to lite have little or no salt or have a flat side from a hand poured mold. In my opinion the Yamamoto has the right action, softness and salt content that separates it from the others I've used. So if you can duplicate this in your Senkos and add a little twist your versions are probadly AWESOME.

There spinning rods, medium power x-fast tip. At 5'8 they still have alot of back bone but you need a fast tip in order to get the tip action. If your rod is to heavy you won't be able to get the "whip" at the top of your skip. I had 2 other proto-types made before I can up with these. Ordered one tried it out and loved it, ordered 3 more that same day. Fenwich makes a Eagle GT that is 5'9 I believe and isn't a bad rod to start with. Also BPS makes a Walleye Jigging Rod that is 5'9 medium which I have also used. Quantum makes a 5'9 med but it's much to lite for what I was looking for. Then I tried a glass rod and hated it. So I have been thru several rods before finding this one. It the perfect rod to skip docks with in stained to dirty water.

Samething as a Senko but not the same if you know what I mean. They all seem to look the same as a Senko but none of them seem to fish like one. There are 50 companies now making thier own version of the Senko and none of them seem to catch fish like it.

Tiki Stacks were born and raised in Texas. I believe they are still made there. Yamamoto I thought was Arizona but I'm not sure if their poured there.

Both of my shirts were part of my deal. This thread got me wondering how much a shirt really is. I never had anything embroidered before so I wasn't sure if the cost was based on stitch count or what. I didn't even think about set up fee and digitizing.

I'm not saying the shirt alone is $300 its the imbroidering that gets expensive. The shirt is probadly right about what you said at $60-$75. But add in a big logo across the back plus a logo on each applet, sleeve tip and neck and it will add up quickly. Then add in a vented back and your last name under the vent I believe then your pushing the $300 range. I guess it just depends what you want on your shirt that will determine the price. When you got your shirt was is $59 for the shirt plus embroidering?

The seat probadly is but the mount in the floor may not be. Thats alot of stress on the base if your in waves and leaning on it. What kind of boat is it?

I doesn't make me mad but I don't understand it. But thats alright because people that harvest fish really don't understand fishing in tournaments. I fish with a guy from time to time and he likes to keep a few for the table. I told him if he is in my boat I would appreciate it if he turned them loose and he's cool with that. But when we hit a pond from shore he'll keep a few and I'm cool with that. Bottomline is thats it's legal and who am I to question the law. He buys his fishing license just like I do. We all fish for one reason or another and we need to stay on the same team. PETA hates us all whether you keep fish or not. I've been on a few lakes that people I don't even know hate me because I fish tournaments and that doesn't sit well with me. I wouldn't wanna be mad at someone just because I don't understand what they do. Thats the job of PETA they hate us because they don't understand what we do.

Is it worth dropping $300 out of your pocket on one? NO!!!! I believe they are like 60% polyester and 40% cotton. I don't wear mine in the summer heat all day. If it's to hot I'll wear the Pacific Fly shirt that is alot lighter and is 45% cotton during the day. On my way back to the weight in I'll put my tourney shirt on. Expensive tournament shirts photograph well and will seperate you from the average Joe in the looks department. If your after a custum look and not the mass-produced Ranger or Triton shirts that all look them same I'd say YES it is worth the extra money to custumize your own shirt. But trust me a tee-shirt is alot more comfortable and alot cheaper.

I have both. My sponsor tourney shirt and the guide series shirt. My tourney shirt has a vented back and is made by Pro Image Line. It has my sponsors logos as well as my name on it. The logos are very detailed and sharp. My guide series shirt also has a vented back and is made by Pacific Fly. It also has two logos on it but they are silk screen and not near the quality of the other. Both shirts are high quality and wear well. I'm not sure of the cost for either but I guess the Pro Image Line tourney shirt is around $300 and the Pacific Fly around $75. I'm not sure what your budget is but if you can get you sponsors to pay for it get the Pro Image Line shirt. BASS and FLW pros wear his line and the product is top notch. Mike Gordon is the guy that designed my shirt and I'm very happy with it. If I can figure out how to post a picture I'll post it. I'm not sponsored by Pro Image Line in anyway but the guy does top-notch work. If you wanna look like a pro he will hook you up.

I listen and respond just to be social but never take what anyone says very serious. I did however fish with Zeke Wright at Top 8 about 5 years ago. I drew him as a non-boater and I let him run my boat all 8 hours. The guy is a legend out on Freeman and Shafer. I barely fished at all I just watched him like a hawk. Every cast and retrieve he made I studied. I learned more that day than in 50 times fishing those lakes. He was the best non-baoter I ever had. He told me every single secret he knew and I listened. He grew up on the lake and has been fishing it for 20 years. He also told me that he has offered to help every boater he has ever drawn and none of them would listen to a word he said. So there are a few guys out there that will spill the beans if you asked them but only a few.

In a clear pond or smaller lake I think noise and reflections might come into play.I'm not sure it's so much color as what flake you have. The sun will reflect of the water of the side of your boat and back into the water. I'm sure if a bass sees the 10,000 light beams coming from the surface it may spook them a bit in clear water. The noise thing I believe is way over rated. Most of our lakes on the weekends are so busy I would think the bass would get conditioned to boat noise,reflection, music,talking and normal traffic noise. I'm not saying it's a good idea to throw a few rocks or bang around things in the bottom of your metal boat. But normal motor noise and music or talking probadly doesn't spook the fish on a busy lake. On the other hand I think all of the above will probadly spook them ina pond or smaller lake that doesn't get alot of traffic. These fish aren't used to noise and will be less likely to bit if your loud or have your motor running.