Bent

Agree there isn't enough incentive for the guys at the top to keep fishing hard in these early rounds. Maybe smaller cash prizes or a few extra AOY points (if they do AOY points?) for the guys at the top of each group when weights reset?

Cutting the field into two groups of 40 was a brilliant move, they capture a pretty impressive percentage of the field live and get 6 full days of footage. I'm just hoping the cameras move around a little bit in the 3rd period so the focus shifts to the bubble instead of the few guys who probably didn't even need to show up today in order to advance.

I should stress it is a pretty light rod, definitely not comparable to a MH from most other brands.

I have the FR663 and I really like it for roll casting smaller spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, or occasionally poppers/chug bugs. It can definitely handle a squarebill.

From the Bassmaster website, quoting Trip Wheldon: “This is a violation of Rule C13 reading ‘Marshals are not allowed to help the pro in any way.’ This results in disqualification of Day 2.”

I'm making a decent push up the leader board with Hackney and Kennedy, plus 2 others inside the 50 cut. Unfortunately I also have Elam who has had a rough tournament, he's been a really solid pick for a while now.

OOOOOooooh I get flies with a little help from my friends

The non-clacker model makes an awful, hair-raising squeal right out of the package... it's fantastic!

I agree with all of these points, but the degree of improvement is worth discussing. Better equipment results in marginal improvements, and there are diminishing returns for every extra dollar spent. The difference between a $200 combo and a $1,000 combo is immaterial when compared to the differences introduced by other variables - location and presentation determine success.

Oh come on dude, I was planning on getting stuff done today...

I'm shocked to see how big Christie's lead is given how tight the unofficial weights were at the end of Live. Did he have a big cull right before weigh-in, or did he just low-ball his weights?

This ^^^ if you can find a seller with thousands of successful transactions, buy with confidence. Also, welcome to BR @BobLoblaw - I'm glad you can take a break from lobbing law bombs to discuss bass fishing with the rest of us junkies.

What a time to be alive, somebody needs to rig up a little family of savage gear ducks. Maybe a bat swarm? A "Plague of Frogs" rig? No wait, 10 Whopper Ploppers end to end, a 1300 size!!! More is better right?

Macbride is a lot of fun, in addition to wipers there is also a population of spotted bass. Not sure if you'd be hauling a boat down here, but just in case make sure to check in with the Iowa DNR on motor restrictions - there have been HP limits in place for a long time but I've heard rumors they will be lifted.

It's the only reason I can't bring myself to buy a few Vision 110s, if a pike bit me off there's a good chance my life would turn into some kind of pathetic redneck version of Moby Dick.

Awesome, thanks for the info!

Serious food for thought here! I've heard others emphasize that natural movement is important and say things like "visualize what your bait is doing at all times" - I think they're getting at the same thing, but that idea of sneaking a bait back to the boat undetected is a really intuitive way to describe it.

Going to order a few Rogues to test out this spring, do you fish them straight out of the package or would you recommend upgrading the treble hooks and/or split rings?

Team9nine for Terminology Czar 2018!

You are probably not going to like my advice, but disciplined management of your finances early on will enable you to do so much more once you are financially independent. If you are college bound within the next few years, whatever steps you can take now to minimize your student loans will save you a ton of money in the long run. Don't trick yourself into financing a boat today with extra student loans in a few years. Also, boat ownership (and tournament fishing for that matter) is far from a one time cost. What good is a boat if you can't afford to use it/keep it running? You wouldn't bear much risk of costly repairs with a kayak, and if you want to tournament fish look into kayak tournaments in your area or consider joining a bass club as a co-angler.

I've seen the EMTF recommended for everything from finesse jigs up to 1/2 oz football jigs, but I think the general consensus is that it tops out around the 1/2 oz mark (excluding soft plastic trailer). For a 3/4 oz weight and deep water you might need to go a little bit heavier. If you're thinking Megabass, the 2nd generation Orochi XX rods will be showing up in the next couple of months and there may be better options in the new lineup. Kistler is running a 20% off sale, consider calling them up for a recommendation. A Helium 3 for just over $200 is worth looking into for any technique where sensitivity matters. Disclaimer - I do not own the EMTF, just summarizing a bunch of research.

Welcome to BR! I'm looking forward to hearing about your successes - I've sorted through a few 1 lb spots at Macbride over the last couple of years and wish I knew where to find bigger ones. Not sure if this is up your alley or not but consider adding a trophy wiper to your goals, they are a blast to catch and I'm guessing you could get a big one to munch on a glide/wake bait in the right conditions. Sending you a PM now on a couple of locations that may interest you.

In terms of performance you really can't go wrong here. I own both and lean towards the Tatula SV, but I use my Curado 70 as much as any other reel I own. The feel might be what sets them apart for each individual, the most common complaints I read about these reels are personal preference issues - the small knobs on the Curado 70, the more squared off frame of the Tatula SV, etc.

I use rubber bands to hold hooks up against the plug and then pack any old box full of baits by category. Treble hook safety caps would probably work at least as well, but what I'm getting at is a storage solution with free swinging hooks will use up a lot more space. I take a Plano 3750 that came with my tackle bag packed full of baits with some spare trebles in the smaller compartments at the top. If you have plenty of storage space in a boat this approach is probably not worth the hassle, but I fish as a co-angler and like the fact that I can pack a ton of plugs of varying shapes and sizes in one 3700 box.