TOXIC

I'll report back as I am doing shows in both Cabela's and Bass Pro the next 2 weekends for a rep group. Just for the record, I was pro staff at Bass Pro for 15 years and I do not think the buyout will even be noticeable to the customers of either retailer. You don't buy a company then change what made it successful. JLM is a very smart man.

There's a difference between becoming "conditioned" and "learning"

And remember......do not wear glass lense sunglasses. Poly-carbonate only. That bit of advice is direct from the guy who made the RX lenses in my Oakley's. If you think a hook to the eye is bad, imagine 1000 shards of glass.

As traditional Fall approaches depending on your location, you will get a feeding frenzy once the water hits a certain temp and the Bass (green and brown) know winter is on it's way. As the water temperatures cool, you need to slow your presentation, no matter what you throw and eventually follow them to where they will spend their winter (relatively speaking).

You are experiencing exactly why Yamamoto developed the Swimming Senko and the Hula Swimmer. Texas rigged and pulled along the top of the aquatic grass and/or letting them fall in the holes, will get viscous strikes. Wacky rigging in grass just gets you fouled in the grass in my experience.

As a courtesy to a local High School fishing club, I used to regularly take young anglers out for both practice and tournaments. They were too young to run the boat but I could let them tell me where they wanted to fish and let them run the TM. I made some very interesting observations. The biggest mistake I saw them make (and this applies to all in a tournament setting) was that while in practice, they were cool headed, analyzed what they needed to and for the most part found fish. Come tournament day with the same anglers in my boat.....once that blast off adrenaline hit along with the excitement of the tourney and the competitive spirit taking over, they would go out and in no way replicate how they were catching them in practice. Fished too fast, no patience on a spot, easily frustrated, over analyzing, second guessing and about a dozen other things that they did right in practice, they did wrong on tournament day. Moral of the story in your case......breathe deep, relax, go fish and don't let it get in your head. It's only a slump if you think it is. Find out why you are not producing and correct. That is the mental side of the sport.

SPRO. They made their bread and butter from swivels and bucktails before they got into all of the other baits they make.

Back on topic..... Straight braid for me. I have fished a crystal clear marl bottomed chain of lakes in Wisconsin for 20 years and Lake St Clair for 15 years straight. My problem with a leader is that you are adding another failure point. I don't like to tempt fate. I usually lose.

When guiding, I took people to the same spots day after day, week after week, year after year. The spots I fished, I also showed to a lot of Tournament Fishermen who hired me. The reason I say that is for the simple fact, if one of those guys caught fish in those areas, they were going for a boat ride to get their weight checked. Some things you can take to the bank: 1. Good spots replenish all the time. 2. Bass have a brain the size of a pea....they do not condition to lures. Now there are a lot of reasons that they will turn off on a bait but it's not because they know a spinnerbait from a crankbait from a plastic worm. Reaction strikes are instinctive. Food strikes depend on how much your lure resembles food and protection strikes (fish on the bed) doesn't matter what you throw as long as you get the bait inside their personal space.

For me, it is just the opposite of weighting, I work them on top with an erratic fast walk the dog type retrieve. I can actually chase the school and throw into the active water and get them to bite. Once the school goes down it's over until they push bait back to the surface again. On a D-Shad, I will change colors if I am not getting bit and they do not look like your regular fluke style bait, no fork on the tail but I have been known to cut the center out of the tail to make a fork. The D-Shad is made out of the same material as a senko and has a totally different fall if you let it drop. It has that senko shimmy. I have also drug them like a tube drift fishing crystal clear water on lake St Clair and they produced when nothing else would. I drag them weightless up there. As you can tell, I fish them a lot.

I encounter this all the time when I go to Wisconsin. My go-to bait is a Yamamoto D-Shad (fluke style bait). It never fails to produce. I keep it very erratic and high in the water column. If the water is more open, I will throw a spook.

I have a dual axle on a 21ft Ranger and the only ramps I have ever rubbed are some super steep Florida ones. Have you checked your hitch height to make sure your tow vehicle isn't squatting too much? On those same Florida ramps, I have seen the center mount flat carriers scrub more than the side mount.

And if your partner is relieving himself off the back of the boat with one foot in the splashwell and holding on to the motor, make sure you take the trolling motor off 80% before you hit the go button.

As will I. I "can" fish in most all conditions but I choose to stay out of the elements this weekend. I've had heat exhaustion from guiding multiple days in this kind of heat and it's not fun. It also takes a log time to fully recover. I have a vacation coming up in Wisconsin and I don't want to be battling the after effects of too much sun here at home!!

You would think.....but I have seen some heated discussions for both sides.

Just a little reminder. The heat index here in Virginia is supposed to be 105-110 for the next few days and through the weekend. I guarantee you that it isn't a dry heat either!! For those that may not be used to those types of temps, it's a good idea to be very careful. Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke are nothing to mess around with. Hydrate and be aware of your condition at all times!! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average, over 600 people die from complications related to extreme heat each year in the United States - more than tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, lightning or any other weather event combined. Heat-related deaths and illnesses are preventable, but it’s important to identify the warning signs and to react swiftly and appropriately when they arise. What’s the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke? Heat exhaustion is the precursor to heatstroke and is a direct result of the body overheating. According to Mayo Clinic, heat exhaustion is identifiable by heavy sweating, rapid pulse, dizziness, fatigue, cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat, muscle cramps, nausea and headache. These symptoms may develop over time or come on suddenly, especially during or following periods of prolonged exercise. When heat exhaustion is not addressed, heatstroke can follow. Heatstroke is the most severe heat-related illness and, without emergency treatment, it can lead to death. It results when your body temperature rises to 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. "This is pretty complicated because a lot of things can happen. The short answer is it certainly can be fatal...," Peter Sananman, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Penn Medicine, said. At this temperature, your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles can also become damaged, leading to serious complications or death. In the case of heatstroke, seeking medical attention is an absolute must, Sananman said. In addition to a high body temperatures, the symptoms of heatstroke include altered mental state or behavior, nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing and racing heart rate. "Generally with heat exhaustion, a patient is sweating a lot, whereas with heat stroke, they’ve stopped sweating and are actually dry. It’s a good rule of thumb but isn’t always true," he said.

First off, everybody think before they answer. No emotional outbursts!! The age old question comes up all the time about guys fishing the bent rod pattern, spot poaching, encroaching, etc. Here's my question: When a "professional" trail comes to your home body of water, FLW/Elite Series/Weekend Series/Opens, do you fish or do you find another activity for the weekend? Now I'm going to eliminate the obvious answers.... It's a public body of water....fish it. These are pro's who feed their families by fishing.....don't fish it, stay off the water. I'll give my opinion and why. I fish the Potomac where all summer long you will not find a weekend when there are no tournaments and some of the tournaments are higher level. Personally, I have hosted Elite Series anglers at my home on many occasions while pre-fishing and actually during the tournament and my experience is that at that level, they expect there to be "locals" on the water whether it be jetskis/pontoons/wakeboats and or other fishermen. IT becomes a problem when the local anglers follow them and then fish behind them or compete for the same spots so my answer is a blend. Will I fish? Yes. Will I vacate any area a pro pulls into? Yes again. And yes, I am aware some of the "Pro's" are not so "Pro"fessional at times but I feel that I can and should giveway to them. Not to say that I don't personally know of situations where the pro got totally out of line as well with local anglers. What say you?

Good deal. Good Job!! and Good that you were paying attention. I launched one brisk fall morning and was running down the lake WOT and out of my blurry eyes, I see a big cabin cruiser out in the middle of nowhere just sitting. As I pass by I see a plume of black smoke rise out of the back and chuckle to myself thinking that the operator must have really flooded the motor for it to smoke like that. Then it hit me that a rich burn of fuel would not be black and I wheeled the boat back around just to see flames coming out of the back hatch and a gentleman, his daughter and a Labrador dog getting life vests on and preparing to go into the lake. I cruised up alongside and yelled at them to get in my boat (20 foot NITRO 929 at the time) and after they tossed the dog across they did and I motored away from their boat. After watching it for a bit it seemed to be heavy smoke but no more flames so I grabbed my fire extinguisher out of my front compartment and boarded their boat and put out what was left of the wiring in the back of the boat. It was an electrical short. I then towed them back to the marina.

I have an old Zell Rowland Super Spook in Baby Bass with his name on the side of it. I marshaled for him in an Elite Series tournament and forgot to bring it with me for him to sign.

First and foremost, check your state regs. Where I fish in Wisconsin, the pads are protected. You cant legally eliminate them. As for the Grass Goat, we fish on the Potomac in HEAVY aquatic vegetation and the Goat is a good piece of equipment. You will still get some salad above the grass goat on the shaft of your TM going slow but it keeps your prop free to spin and still move the boat. In normal to moderate grass, it runs with no problem. Also depends on what type of grass you are running through. I actually know the boat that vid was filmed on.

Marketing events is my best guess.

Followed closely by the "Wind Knot" thread!!

SPRO Aruku Shad in Cell Mate color. Stands on it's nose when it falls.

I'll check it out......Thanks!!

I use fluorescent on all my mono applications if I can. Especially my Senko rods where I watch the line more than feel the bite. My old favorite line that is no longer produces was Berkley Trilene Tournament Strength in Photochromic. Best line watcher mono ever produced. I have yet to find any that was as visible above the water and invisible below the water.