BassNJake

It's called the bassroom - pop up tent without a floor

Looks like Cherokee is up 14 ft from my screen shot last Wed. Norris is 7 feet over full pool

I think its funny when adults blame the kids for constantly being on their phones or playing video games. Who gave them the phones? Who introduced them to video games? Who lets them be on them for hours on end? Issues with kids are almost always related to the parenting. When I was a kid, I was always outside, running all over the neighborhood from sun up to sundown. I'd duct tape my 2 piece rod to my BMX and ride it 30 minutes down the back roads to get to the quarry or the river to fish. That was a lot safer practice 40 years ago. I always try to make it about time together while fishing. I have been known to stop along the shoreline and bomb rocks into the water with my son. We have pulled up on a random bank and went exploring along the shoreline for anything of interest. I always have garbage bags with me so my kids learned that litter will always be an issue but as individuals we can make a difference.

I fished as a co-angler in a BFL tourney. My boater that day would trim all but 3 or 4 strands from the weedguard. He'd then bend the weedguard pieces one by one so they had a little "hook/bend" to them Then he would use a small piece of a finesse worm, push it down onto the weedguard and rig the other end on the hook. Similar to WRB using a hitchhiker instead of the weedguard.

Norris is up 12 feet in the last 2 weeks and with the rain forcast for the rest of the week, I'd bet it will be up another 5 feet by the end of the weekend. Leaving us about 4 feet from summer pool. Cherokee has come up 8 feet in the last 2 weeks, however it is still 3 feet lower than it was this year at the same time. It's gonna be muddy, hopefully you can find some water a little clearer than the rest. Good luck!!

Great job!!

He signed a 3 year contract so unless they release him, he'll still be fishing BPT Awesome action with Hite pulling off that hail mary at the end

Anything that floats - there are all types of waters to fish in and around Knoxville from streams and creeks to rivers and lakes. I have a 16 foot aluminum boat with a 25 horse motor and can fish pretty much anywhere. That being said, I stay off the main lake channels when its busy as I'll get tossed around like I'm riding a bull.

Light it up!!

So why even watch before the last day if your only interested in seeing the guys in the first few places catch fish? They are fishing for a chance at Saturday, where the weights are zeroed. Jordan Lee barely made the cut, knocked out his brother and ended up winning the 1st event. Todd Faircloth and IKE were both inside the cut until the last few minutes then the agony of defeat set in These cuts determine who gets a check and who goes home broke. I found there to be a lot of entertaining drama on the cut days. But I'll watch 2 teams in last place play if it has the possibility of being a good game

I thought they just used a swivel with the top half embedded into the lure

I have caught a lot of fish out of pipes in various lakes or right where they empty into the lake at. It's like rip rap, If I see it I'll stop and fish it

I got my team in, thought I was gonna do better in the first tourney I had mixed results with the Canucks as Chris Johnston was a good pick and Gussy bombed. So I picked Gussy again .... hahahaha no wonder i'm not any good at this

Great color - love the Ol' monster in junebug or black grape Also an awesome toad color

Kayak anglers - no problem Kayak pleasure boaters - mainly clueless- have often crossed directly where I am casting Bass boat guys - Most are very respectful/thoughtful but the ones that are not are go from 0 to idiot in a hurry Then look at it as if it were people in cars and the same would apply - Most are very respectful/thoughtful but the ones that are not are go from 0 to idiot in a hurry When I was younger I wanted to beat some sense into the idiots, then I got older and wanted to talk some sense to them and now I just let them be idiots and am grateful I have learned better

Pulled this from tackleunderground- great site for the home luremakers This is the 2.75” double dipper, the one placed differently on the side is a 2.5” Berkley power tube.

Looking forward to seeing how stop 2 plays out. The first stop was pretty exciting.

I also have an old school metal stringer I'll use for other items. I have rescued a few rods, alabama rigs and was able to snag my father in laws watch from about 15 ft. Open the clips, cast and drag

I use one of these with my Bill Dance retriever. Most times I dont use the winder, I'll just wrap it by hand. But it is nice to have when needed. You can pick one up at any type of hardware store possibly even walmart.

And I thought I threw topwaters in any conditions -borrowed from another site-

I was not a fan of the new MLF tour when it was announced. I'm an old school type of guy- the bassmaster classic has always been the biggest tournament in Bass fishing. To get there you had to first qualify for the Elite series, then qualify through AOY standing to get there. You also had a couple long shots at trying to get in from the Opens or from BASS Nation. They then added a college angler and then the team trail which were all improvements. More and more of the best guys from the other trail, FLW were making there way into the Elite series. They added the BASS live shows which changed how fishing would be broadcast to the public. So the Elite series was transforming into the trail I wanted to see as a fan. So the whole MLF poaching 80 of the best anglers from the elite series felt the same to me as when Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. I watched this weeks coverage of the Bass Pro Tour and it was great. The coverage was good, the on water action was great, the service could use improvement as I had to refresh/ wait for their service to come back up. So for the first event it was very good and will improve as they find their feel for what works and what does not work. *** after talking over guys and cutting away from fish catches on day one, this was improved over the duration of the tournament*** I'm really interested to see how Discovery channel edits all the footage to make "their" show. This has so much potential for the non-bass fishing crowd which would lead to more $$$ for the anglers.

Those are gorgeous!!

Probably the difference in fishing for Smallmouth versus Largemouth

In colder water I have better luck with smaller blade baits than spoons with little to no movement. I have found stopping the lure just above the school works better than letting it fall directly into the school. I like the quarter and half ounce sizes for blade baits.

Me: I only fish shallow because pros like Greg Hackney do so without a problem Also Me: I just don't think fishing shallow in winter is cutting the mustard Dont limit yourself because of someone else's ability. If you are tournament fishing you need to be able to adjust to the conditions on the water for that given day. When you can figure out some of the variables below, it allows for a more educated guess as to what some of the fish are doing at that particular time on that body of water. Sometimes fish will be tight to cover/structure Sometimes fish will roam around Sometimes the sun will be shining Sometimes it will be cloudy Sometimes fish will be aggressive Sometimes fish will be passive Sometimes fish will prefer a larger bait Sometimes fish will prefer a smaller bait Sometimes fish will relate to the bottom Sometime fish will suspend in the water Sometimes the fish will be up shallow Sometimes the wind will be blowing Sometimes there will be no wind Lets say you see fish feeding on shad, busting at the waters surface. You know the fish are aggressive and feeding on shad on the surface. You might be able to catch a couple fish during this feeding time. So whats next? Drive around the lake, find fish feeding on shad at the surface and bomb topwaters their way? Not a real successful pattern to try and run. A better approach would be to drive over the spot where the fish had the shad pushed to the surface, using your electronics you could figure out a few more keys that might put you in the right area. Were the fish on a break line such as a point or a ledge or were they on a flat? How deep? Was there a ditch/drain on the flat? Near the main channel or in a feeder creek? Anything else that stands out ... gravel bottom or chunk rock ... weeds? if so what type? After you gather that data you can look for other areas in the lake that are similar. This allows you to possibly predict where the fish might be before they chase the shad to the surface. A long post to emphasize fishing constantly changes and so should you.