TOXIC

Being a Guide on a heavily pressured lake and wanting my clients to catch a fish every so often I was forced into the finesse game to get finicky pressured fish to bite and along the way discovered the big girls will eat finesse baits as well. There are many baits that cover more than one style of fishing depending on how they are rigged. For example you can rig a Senko weightless or wacky which I consider finesse, or you can c-rig it or use a bullet weight which is a heavier presentation. I am also a flyfisherman and that for the most part is extreme finesse. I feel the closer my bass fishing gear gets to flyfishing the more finesse it is. I would rather finesse fish any day.

I am a finesse fisherman first and foremost. My definition is one word....Refined. Refined tackle. Smaller lighter more bait specific. Refined Baits. Smaller, lighter more specific to conditions. Refined Line. Smaller lighter to match Baits/Tackle. Refined presentation. More specific placement and action. For me then there's "normal" fishing. Then "power" fishing. Then Flipping/Pitching.

Let me break it down for you in my most scientific terms. Due to my genetics, I have a non existent gleutius maximus. Due to my propensity for chicken wings and french fries, I have a healthy man shelf for a belly. Both work in tandem exerting equal forces to make regular pants my nemesis. And yeah, it's easier to layer under bibs.

If it is a bass the taps will usually end up with your line moving in a steady motion. If it's a bluegill you will usually end up fouled under a rock on in a branch underwater because those little turds love to bite and run under and through stuff. My advise is to watch your line and not key in on the tap. When it starts to do a steady move, set the hook. I use Yamamoto for all of my plastic presentations and feel that the fish will hold them longer so I have time to make the decision.

My brother in law asked me to outfit him for smallie fishing from a yak. Something that often gets overlooked is whether or not you fish standing up or are required to stay sitting. He has to sit. I originally set him up with a 7 foot Fast rod and he was missing fish due to a bad hookset. I switched him to a medium action and the problem persisted. So, I dropped him down to a 6.6 rod and the problem went away in both actions. He was also better able to skip baits with the shorter rod. YMMV.

Lots of variables go into choosing good eyewear. Prescription or off the shelf? Glass or poly? Lense type, progressive, bifocal, reader? Lense color, because there is no 1 color that is best for all situations, low light, bright light, anti glare, mirror, sight fishing, frame style and type and on and on. It just so happens I have a fishing friend who works in a lab making lenses. I took his advice to get my "fishing" sunglasses. His first comment was if you have cheap eyes, get cheap glasses. Cheap glasses "can" actually damage your eyes. Second, although glass lenses do increase optics somewhat, the risk of getting glass in your eye from an impact is still there with every brand that uses glass. Third, get a frame that fits. An ill fitting frame can be miserable after a long day on the water. I chose a wrap around frame because I use them running in my boat and wind is a factor. As for color he suggested a light grey for "all-around" use which includes off the water wear like driving and mirrored for anti-glare. As for manufacturer, he said to do a little research and see who makes their own lenses because if you get made to order glasses and it requires them to make new lenses you could be paying big bucks for cheap lab lenses and expensive frames. Brand? That's a personal choice. Get the best you can afford.

All these heavier weights attached directly to the hook eye seems to me would allow the fish to throw them easier. At least with the dropshot there's a lot of slack in the line that will absorb (or intensify depending on how the line is positioned when the head shakes start) the shock and allow the hook to stay planted or not wallow out the penetration hole.

There is no depth/cover/time of year or situation that SPRO doesn't have a crank for and I can attest that the pro's who designed them actually designed them. I was talking to John Crews about the Little John and told him he did a good job. His reply..."I think I did too good of a job"!!

I still fall back on my stance that as soon as they give them a location and practice days, the interesting thing of watching how they break down water is lost. I hope they keep that aspect in MLF. Plus there's a big difference between finding fish and finding what used to be called "tournament" fish.

Never leave the dock without a SPRO Little John in Cell Mate tied on.....never.....Spring, summer, fall and winter. The tungsten coated rattle eliminates the choice between rattle or silent because it is a unique sound. More of a "thump" than a click or rattle. Caught Smallmouth, Largemouth, Drum, Snakehead, Catfish (channel/blue/mud), crappie, gills, bowfin, pike, musky, walleye, white bass, stripers, wipers, and probably a lot more I am forgetting. Sometimes I change the colors but I've always got an original Little John tied on.

Spotsticker. The screwlock is good and small enough for a Pro Senko which is what I rig them with 99% of the time.

No fishing for me last weekend. Boat work. Repair Power Pole and replace oil linkage connector that broke off my motor running the Potomac in some big nasty water. I'll be getting on it this weekend. Rapp or Potomac, hasn't been decided. I'm leaning towards the Rapp. I figure it will be the cleanest from the reports I have gotten.

I was on Bass Pro's pro staff for 15 years. I got a lot of rods shipped.....a lot. All in cardboard tubes as is their standard practice. As pro staff for CastAway rods, I had a lot of rods shipped in cardboard tubes as is their standard practice. I have never received a broken rod. Damaged tubes a couple of times but the rods were fine. I'm feeling like I need to buy lottery tickets.

What I only saw mentioned once in all of the articles that I have read is that Duckett and company pitched the idea of this new "combined" TX format and BASS flat refused. So......here we are.

We have freezing temps here in VA and I have never winterized my 250 Yammie. I just make sure it is drained thoroughly between trips and I unscrew and drain the speedo tube at the motor. I have the new style Water Pressure gauge that is wire driven so no worries there. I have heard of some running RV anti freeze in their livewells but I never have. You should be fine. As long as theres room for the water to expand when it freezes you won't hurt anything and since you have some antifreeze in there that's insurance.

IMHO it's common practice on bigger bodies of water and if there are a lot of tournaments on that water. Take the Potomac for example, tons of tournaments every weekend that bring a lot of anglers in from a lot of other states to pre-fish and compete. Rudeness is a way of life on that river and it's because 1. everyone or most are in tournament mode and have the competitive juices flowing and 2. they are from out of state or know they won't be a regular on the river and therefore, will never have to deal with the "locals" again. I have found that for those of us who fish the river on a regular basis, boats and fishermen become recognizable and it's not uncommon to have a little "talk" at a weigh in or at the ramp if the person is a repeat or aggressive offender.

While I never allowed firearms in my boat guiding, there are situations where protecting yourself is warranted. There is a lot of crime at some boat ramps, and an angler was shot dead at a hotel when he caught a thief breaking into his boat in the parking lot. There was also the instance of an Elite Series angler getting shot at in Louisiana if I remember correctly. My guide partner had someone take a shot at him (hit the water right next to the boat) on a local lake here in Virginia. And then there always the chance that a poisonous snake or aggressive gator would need to be dispatched with extreme prejudice. Do I carry.....no. Would I be wrong in thinking that there are people out on the water with small brains and large pistolas? No again. Personal choice is just that. I would like to think that most carry for "protection" not "aggression".

Let me backup a second and explain why I like an offset EWG hook as opposed to a regular offset worm hook. When Senko fishing the bite is usually an all or nothing strike as opposed to tail biting. It is my opinion that the EWG hook protruding farther out from the bait does 2 things, 1. Allows you to detect bites faster since it will make contact with the fish sooner and 2. minimizes the number of fish gut hooked since the EWG will lodge quicker than a straight shank. I see no increase of bites or fish from straight shanks which would be my main reason for switching.

What's not in the equation is where the sponsor $$ goes and to what level. I'm sure they will want to be represented in all of the tours but it's a well known fact that sponsor $$ has been getting squeezed pretty thin. There are some (sponsors) who will have to make choices on who and in what tour they sponsor. Could make the difference between some anglers even being able to fish.

On a 5" senko I use 3, 4 or 5.0 Gamakatsu EWG. Not the Superline series which are the thicker flipping hooks. I use the different hook sizes to get a faster/slower fall rate and to compensate for wind or tide. I have no problem rigging with these hooks and none affect the action of the bait. I would say that with a 6" senko I would not use anything below a 4.0.

Ahhhh....the Old Glory color. Those work great on Florida Bass!!

I learned that the proportional degree to which you will get wet is directly related to the amount of $$ you spent on your rain gear. Took my lightweight cheap rainsuit out and got caught in a very heavy downpour. Had the river Nile running down my buttcrack. I was not comfortable.

It seems that when there is $$ on the line, courtesy goes out the window. I will say that if you met most of the rude fishermen off the water, they are probably pretty nice guys. As I have eluded to before, the bigger the name the bigger the problem as can be as evidenced with friends of mine who got in a tiff with an Elite Series angler and sponsors got involved, attorneys got involved and employers got involved.

I have a few of the original rattletraps for use on the Potomac because they make a color that is very productive on that body of water. I only have that one color in them because all of my others are the SPRO Aruku Shad that has a unique sound, fall and nose down resting position in the water. When the trap bite is on at Lake St Clair, we wear them out on Aruku's.

You sparked a memory of mine. We were fishing the Hot Side of Lake Anna and there was a small tournament on the same day. I'll keep my mouth shut on who ran the TX and will say that for the most part all of the competitors were courteous since that is the "private" side of the lake and at that time you couldn't hold tournaments over there. We were in a smaller creek and as we fished up a bank, noticed a sticker boat in a small cut. We switched to the other side of the creek to avoid any confrontation even though we were behind them and fishing water they already covered. When we got directly across from them they put their troller on high and shot across to the side we were fishing missing out boat by less than 10 feet. Funny thing about those who sticker their boats up, their "sponsors" are on there. After a few calls when we got off the water to some firms that I knew personally, an apology was forthcoming and I hope sincere. You can be assured it's just not the weekend warrior who has to deal with rudeness on the water. I had some friends who had a run in with an Elite Series Pro and it got downright nasty....very nasty with threats of lawsuits, video sent to employers and much much more. It was a very sobering experience.