BassNJake

Sucks at feel. If I could catch the same 3 lb fish with all 3 lines during the fight .... with mono I'd guess it would weigh between 2 and 4 lbs With flouro I'd guess between 2.5- 3.5 lbs and with braid I would tell you that fish weighs 3 lbs and 2 oz Try this next time your out with a partner One of you throw mono with a lead weight and the other person throw braid with tungsten. see if you have the same success Now don't get me wrong more fish have been caught with mono than I will ever see in my lifetime The best jig fisherman I ever knew fished 15LB big game only, but I'm not the best jig fisherman So i want as many advantages as I can get I am just of the opinion that there are better tools out there today for me and how I fish

BASS will have stiffer competition because of the chance to qualify for the classic. Costa series will always get pro's fishing their home lakes so it's not like either one is easy. If I were making the decision to fish the BASS opens or the Costa series, this would be my last step when trying to qualify for one of the trails. Based on my own personality I'd challenge myself with BASS and a chance to fish the classic

At times I can disagree with all the popular opinions at other times I can agree with them. It's fishing so sometimes things ring true other times they dont. There are always a lot of other variables that can affect success or failure. Color- I catch a ton of fish in clear shallow water using black but i have also caught a lot of fish using white in dirty water. But we are talking topwater where color may not make as much of a difference. I've seen bass busting shad and the only thing I had to throw was a green pumpkin football head jig. cast it out worked it just below the surface and caught several fish before the bite died. I've had the same scenario occur and i had a bone colored spook or a blue and chrome sammy and couldn't get a bite. There are times that you can have a different colored swimbait on an alabama rig and thats the only one they will hit regardless of where its placed on the rig. I'm trying to catch the active bass, If I've got to throw 3 different colors of the same bait to the same spot to get 1 bite I'm not catching that fish.

Over the last several years I have fished a toad for at least 75% of the time I am on the water. I will sometimes go thru 20-30 toads in a single trip. They mostly would tear at the nose First I bought a wood engraver and once it would get hot I'd run it thru the nose melting the plastic, squeeze the plastic back together and I'd be good to go for a few more fish. These "seconds" did not last as long as the fixed material is just not as good as original. I then decided to see if I could give "remelting" a try. I read quite a bit about how to begin pouring plastics on a budget. So I ended up making some molds using Durhams wood putty. In doing so, I solved the biggest problem for me when fishing a toad. I got them to stop flipping over. By hand pouring the toad all the weight is at the belly. I've got a 5 gallon bucket of greenish baits and a bucket of darker baits. I've got 3 other guys that save their plastics for me too!! The colors are not pretty but I dont care for how I am fishing them. However, this has led me to buying plastic, glitter, colorant, more pyrex, an injector, a respirator, an additional fan, a hot plate and probably another dozen things that continue to add up in the cost. But its worth it for the enjoyment I get from the whole process start to finish

I would take an offset hook over an EWG any day

Awesome!! Thanks for the share and making us jealous!!

Seriously that sucks you had all that stuff stolen. When I lived near in Ohio, I learned to always locked everything. I was at my first tournament and someone stole one of the trailers while the guys were fishing the tournament. So you need a lock for the trailer, the hitch and the spare tire. SMH Now that I live in TN, I routinely see people leave their graphs on their boats parked in the dock My neighbor will leave just the screen door open at night so he can still get a breeze thru the house Meanwhile, I've got everything locked up, motion detector flood lights and cameras set up. Still cant shake the distrust of other people and thats pretty sad Also awesome job getting the lady a car, always good to be the hero every now and then!!

I have never completely seen the high frequency of stupid that occurs while driving until I rode in a semi for a couple of years. It's amazing that there are not more truck vs idiots in cars accidents.

Good job dad!! On her way to her masters and catching Big Bass!!

Unfortunately, cheaters gonna cheat even moving to the digital age

The last few weeks I have used multiple styles of toads, a buzzbait, a Shower Blows topwater and a senko. I'm all about the topwater bite but cant pass up flipping a bush or skipping a dock with a senko. I usually use these 3 topwaters from about 58 degrees in spring to about 50 degrees in late fall (TN) Some days I'll get 20+ fish in a 5-6 hour trip, other days it'll only be a couple but if they are topwater blowups I'm a happy guy. I used to tourney fish all the time- most of my practice time was spent idling around marking areas and/or spots Not so fun but work that has to be done to be competitive. Now I spend my time fishing in a style that gives me the most enjoyment.

Get off my lawn!! Do you think these spoiled entitled brats created this environment or are they figuring out a way to succeed in it? I find it sad how quickly the older generations blame the kids for the world that they were given. Do you think its the kids that said hey use some cheap materials, exploit the foreign work rules, over price the product and lets reap the millions? No, it's probably someone from your or my generation that saw all the followers these kids had and found a way to exploit them for their own personal gain. Everybody wants to blame the kids that received the participation trophy instead of blaming the parents that gave them out.

In my not so elegant way of saying things > some people nerd out over things more than others. This happens in all walks of life- ever talk to the "car guy" or how about the "I.T. person". Try talking to an audiophile about what type of headphones to get .... They can get into the most minute details about stuff I have no knowledge about. Years ago, I had the pleasure of going on a blind date with a woman who knew everything there was about every type of wine and when was the best time for the grapes to be smashed and how this one had such lovely floral notes with a hint of sage. I'm thinking I just met the fanciest alcoholic in town. Nerd out at your own pace!!

Great advice has already been given to you. I make sure to carry some slime, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands with me. The floor jack is quick and easy and carrys a pretty small footprint when stored away. The jack stands are a life saver if you need them, I went thru an accident site and somehow managed to flatten both trailer tires. Also pack all your tools last. I packed them first so they would be out of the way. Well at 2:30am on the side of the highway, I had to unload 1/2 the truck just to get to what I needed.

Exactly this.

I cant find the one that was originally posted here last week. It had the link to the article on sdfish.com and the Mike Long Video. WRB- started another thread that indicates the old one was no longer there.(We were discussing the controversy and then that other thread was deleted) There would not have been a need to post a second thread if the original still existed. I tried to post on that original thread and received a message indicating it no longer exists. Can you point me in the direction to find the original thread?

I wonder if this was in reference to the various Mike Long threads that were deleted. Perhaps the person making these claims is not aware of the difference between an article or a forum thread. My dad calls everything he reads on the internet an "article"

Only enough to weigh that side of the hook more so than the chunk of plastic on the other side. The angle of retrieve sets the centerline on the bait, if more weight is above the centerline it will flip to the other side. That is why a toad such as the Keitech Noisy flapper is designed so that this occurs less frequently. It is also designed to accommodate a single or double hook The problem with using a weighted hook is that you have to reel it faster to keep it on top. I get the most bites when I am crawling the bait across the surface. Now all of the above is just my opinion, however so far this year I have poured and used almost 75 toads. Since, I began hand pouring my own version of keitech toads they never flip over because all of the weight is on the bottom side and the tops are completely flat because it is a hand pour. The problem with the bait flipping over is when you hook the fish in the tongue it's a death sentence. I rather gut hook a fish and be able to cut the hook than to hook one in the tongue

Congrats on the win!!

I agree. Even on lakes that do not take as much weight, its the fish that are a little bigger that make the difference. I have seen where 2nd thru 10th have all been 12lbs and some change and the guy that wins has 14-15 lbs. Those one or two 3 Lb fish are what makes the difference. In lakes with a bunch of smaller fish, the bigger ones are doing something a little different and so should the tournament angler to target them.

With the higher quality electronics we have now, this could extend well past the spawn. I have sat over a schools of deep bass and smashed them by snapping a spoon. Some do get hooked in the side when doing this. Chris Zaldain was just using this technique at Guntersville last week.

Way to keep after it!! You didn't give and they didn't beat you. I like to view the time that I am not catching fish as the time that I am spending practicing my casting skills. That way I can look at the situation in a positive way instead of a negative one.

Well thanks to @slonezp , everytime you post something I'm gonna read it in that guys voice. What does this meeeeen?

Congrats on the new PB and thanks for the share. ps.That was a nasty looking trout

Somebody had a little too much medicinal medicine ....