Troy85

So its official. Staying at the Fort Polk Rec area in Pirates Cove, October 16-21. All paid for by my brothers boss, he knows how much we like to fish so he offered to pay for the lodging and fuel for the entire trip as a gift to my brother. I've never fished TB in the fall, and I've never fished any further south than San Miguel. I'm pretty excited about the change of scenery and time of year. I know its still a few months out, but I'm already excited so I had to post about it.

I think mushroom anchors were created by fish, to keep your boat out of position. Only time I use a mushroom anchor is if I am fishing out of a kayak. On my 18' xpress I use a 8lbs Slip ring mechanical anchor(Danforth) that I got at Cabelas. It holds my boat most of the time, it is rated for a boat up to 22', but I don't see that being realistic in any kind of moderate wind or current.

I think the south is the best place to fish, but that's just because I hate the cold with a passion and I don't think I could survive during ice out. Only time I question my belief is July-September when its 100 degrees with 100% humidity, and jumping into the water isn't refreshing because it feels like a hot tub. Maybe one day I will earn a few million and I can buy a summer home up in Mid west and slay smallies in some of those pristine lakes they have up there........I can dream

wait....but....but.....he listed 647 sponsors at the end of the video! He must know what he is talking about!!!!

You could create a website that has tons and tons of information on bass fishing, then create forums that pool some of the best minds in the bass fishing world. ??

I've done it with the 1/4oz bullet weight Tx rigged. I was fishing this small cove, made a bad cast. Was reeling it back as fast as I could along to surface to make another cast, caught a fish. Ended up catching about 8 fish from that spot doing that, discovered it all by accident of course.

A lot of times if I'm fishing a tournament and I'm coming head on with another boat, they will ask if I'm fishing a tournament. If I say "yes", usually their reply is "do you want me to move so you can fish this area?". I always tell them no, but sometimes they insist and leave the area anyway(I kind of feel guilty when this happens. haha). My reasoning is that they are being extra courteous because they know I put down money to enter the tourney while they may be fun fishing? Not that it gives me any extra rights to fish a specific area.

Had this happen a few months back. Was fishing a canal and had another boat trolling my way on the same bank. We got withing casting distance and I asked which way he wanted to go. We chatted a little as we passed, then he turned around and started going the same way as me but on the opposite bank. We trolled even with each for about 30 minutes and just chatted about fishing and tournaments, turned out he was practicing for a BASS Nation tournament. He was catching 3 fish to my 1, so he tossed me a bag of what he was throwing. It was an interesting and kind of fun experience.

I don't think it makes you a better angler, I just think it gives your more opportunities/locations to fish. Same as having more expensive boat, having a more expensive boat doesn't automatically make you a better angler. The boat is just the tool.

I keep my boat under a carport year round. Always leave my graphs in place, have never had any weather related issues.

I keep my soft plastics pretty simple. In stained/muddy water I throw either Junebug or black/blue. In clear water I throw watermelon red or green pumpkin. I've recently experimented with red shad on a nearby river, but haven't had any luck with it yet.

I only use a swivel with a C-Rig or a fluke.

Sounds like a job for the Fish Whisperer.

LOL. When you catch the first one, you will learn that they are about as durable as wet paper.

Are you implying that Senkos are not durable?!?!?!? ?

Anything that blocks the current can hold a fish. The rivers I fish its all about pitching just up current of w/e object is blocking the current, then letting your bait follow the current around the object(down here its logs and cypress knees). Tx Rigged plastics and jigs seem to work the best.

Worm: Culprit 7.5" jig trailer: Brushhog Soft swimbait: Berkely Pre-Rigged Swim Shad Creature: Rage Craw swimjig trailer: Matrix Shad beaver type bait: I hate beaver type baits. I don't know why, I just have no confidence when I throw them. Fluke: Zoom Super Fluke Topwater: Ribbit Frog

Do I think the sport is made more difficult? I'd say no to that one. I exclusively inshore salt water fished for about 25 years, I switched to primarily bass fishing the past 4 years or so. IMO, it is much more challenging to consistently catch quality bass than it is to catch speckled trout or redfish. Do I think it is made more expensive that it needs to be? Probably so. There is a lot of money that is made in the bass fishing world. A lot spent on advertising as well, just look at the Elite Series, MLF and FLW. Advertisers spend tons of money to promote and sponsor those anglers and events. They gotta recoup that money somehow. For the record, I'm not dogging any of the televised events, I watch the world fishing network so much that I think the logo is burned into my TV screen. Overall tho, I don't think I'm to bad off when it comes to spending. I do have 6 rods, but that is mainly because I hate having to re-tie just to try a different technique. As far as baits, the only thing I have in several colors that don't get used much are probably soft plastics. I use soft plastics all the time, but I generally stick with the same few colors and the others don't get thrown much.

This is true. Senkos do sink faster than yum dingers.

I used senkos for years and loved them. One day the tackle store wes out of senkos in watermelon red so I decided to try the yums. Didn’t notice a difference in catch rate. Now I use yum because they are half the price.

There is a gas station near my house that has Ethanol free. I always use that and probably put a bottle of seafoam in my tank about once every 6 months.

I only have one setup that is straight FC, and thats the rod I use for crank baits. Any other time I use FC, its as a leader attached to braid main line.

I like the Culprit 9” Fat Max worm.

I don’t do it, but I’d say night fishing would probably be your best bet.

Should be a good choice, especially for baits with treble hooks. I switched to MF rod for cranks/traps and I noticed an increase in landing rate.