BassNJake

Awesome job!! 1st tournament and gets his first win!!

One of the reasons I like the Keitech is that it will run right side up almost every time.(rage toad is also pretty good) The horny toad is about 50/50. This leads to me hooking bass thru the tongue area causing blood loss and eventual death(in my experience). I've tried different knots, the hooking of the frog so it has its belly downward, weighted hooks and the double frog hooks. Keitech solved that by creating a bait that has a heavier bottom than the top, which allows it to run true. I have not tried the yum tip toad but I'd be willing to bet it runs upside down quite often as well. For a little perspective I went out Sat, Sun and Mon morning from 630ish to noon, I threw the Keitech 90% and I flipped a senko the other 10% of the time. I'm not sure how many casts I made, but it was a lot. This is my typical weekend fishing pattern anytime the water temps are 55 degrees or more unless I am tournament fishing where I would then take seasonal patterns and try to find schools of fish not just the active ones in shallower water.

Keitech noisy flapper

That's because it's fishing. Fishing is all about conflicting information. What works today may or may not work tomorrow. What works for 1 person does not for another at the same body of water. To move to the next level, one must understand what level they are on. If you're consistently finishing at the top; you have established that you can find and catch fish. The next step is to fine tune your presentations in and around the spots you are already catching fish. Be more thorough in recording the information from the bigger catches. Put that data together to try and find some similarities surrounding your better catches. On my lake the fish will move out toward the main channel when they are pulling water creating current. Often you will find fish off of the points extending in the main channel. You can run this pattern all day, everyday when they are pulling water. Thats all well and good if you want to have a decent finish and end up middle of the pack. To win you find some of these points but they also need to have a channel bend along with scattered rock extending into the main channel. Now, you mark about 2 dozen of these and go running because there are always boats fishing the points and often it is a timing deal. Almost all of my biggest fish have come off of what they call the spot on a spot. This is my simplified approach to tourney fishing: Find the bait > find the fish > examine and break down the spot > find the spot on the spot = catch bigger fish

Fisherman's Central has a pretty big selection

This is where the teaching should have continued. Did he mention anything he noticed differently from your presentation to his? Same bait, same weight, same color? Did his flips land very quietly with little to no splash and yours were a bit louder? Was he hitting an edge(or center) of the target and you just a little outside of that area. Identifying the differences (sometimes subtle) between successful actions vs unsuccessful actions are the keys to adding more pieces to help solve the puzzle for that given day. Some days it will be a jig and other days it will be a senko, sometimes its right in the heart of the laydown/weeds other times its the outside edge that will produce. Everyday is a mystery and a challenge. In my experience if you catch a couple on the edges or if you catch a couple in the heart of the cover thats how the majority will be. That allows me to be more efficient and hit the higher percentage spot with the first flip.

This is pretty perplexing as there are no water marks on the pavement, so its not like he just got it out of the water. Thats a pretty flat road, I wouldn't think it just slid off. Drag racing? Swindle convinced him it would be like a tractor pull? 1st step in getting a fiberglass boat converted to a jet boat?

This was kinda like the Alabama rig when it first came out. After Paul Elias won that FLW event on Guntersville, everybody else caught on and started using it making their own versions of it. I know a guy whose 5 best bass weighed almost 40 lbs and he was using an Alabama rig on Lake Chickamuaga. I bet he'd say it was a magic lure that day. When the Alabama rig bite is on, there's nothing like it for numbers or size IMO. I just hate throwing it.

I'll echo the green pumpkin for Norris, I also like black for topwaters.

This is why I fish alone unless it's tourney day. I'm trying to enjoy my time on the water and learn a little something, not babysit a grown man that doesn't understand common courtesy.

Great tourney and I'm positive that we have not seen the last of Nolan on the big stage!! He had me on the edge of my seat all day

***swears*** ***cries*** *** heartbroken for the young man***

Nick just caught a good one to tighten it up. This is making me anxious!!

I'm gonna use up all my likes on this thread alone.

I have been really impressed with his poise. The camera hasn't fazed him, being behind didn't have an impact and neither did hooking one in the side. This guys talent is shining, both the fishing and the personality are being showcased.

He's making a comeback!! Sure was nice of him to spot Nick a 9 lb lead before closing the gap. Gotta love being able to sneak in this LIVE coverage during work!!

Great job Nolan!! Best of luck to you tomorrow on your way to locking up your Bassmaster classic berth!!

Sometimes I set the hook on a laydown because the branch will pull back when I apply pressure. I not only mark this spot as a potential spot to fish but also to come back and check it out once they drop the water 20 feet like they do on my lake. I have named one of these laydowns the jig whisperer as every year I'll grab half a dozen jigs off of it when the water is down.

I hope he can enjoy the moment. He has a 1 in 4 chance at making the Bassmaster Classic. Thats pretty freaking awesome!! Cant wait for his detailed write up

Quick update ... He got a pretty good one early. They are using basstrack and his opponent has not registered a fish yet. (often times cell service is spotty and updates don't always happen live) https://www.bassmaster.com/basstrakk/tournaments/2018-carhartt-bassmaster-college-series-classic-bracket-presented-bass-pro-shops

Tomorrow is the start of the College Bracket Championship. The winner will get a chance to fish in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic held in Knoxville TN. One of our own @everythingthatswims is representing West Virginia. Good luck !! (there will be some Live coverage on the bassmaster website starting Wed)

I'm a topwater guy and I'll tell you why. I went out on a Saturday and tried targeting bass based off of the seasonal pattern they should have been in. This was post spawn just before they move out towards deep water. I caught 2 on a deep diving crankbait and 2 on the drop shot in the 4 hours I was on the water. seemed like I idled over every point leading towards the main channel looking for fish on the graph I went out Sunday and just cruised the shoreline throwing a buzz toad. I caught 2 fish both smaller than anything I caught Saturday but the strike(blowups) were incredible. I also had this giant blowup right at the end of a laydown about 10 feet in front of the boat. I was caught off guard and jerked like a madman missing completely. The whole entire week I could not wait to get back on the water and none of it was because of the four fish I caught on Saturday.

What is the main source of forage on the little lake? Find the food then you'll find the fatties.

That would be a great comeback story as last year was a bad year for him.

I use Knipex diagonal cutters I think I have the 8 inch ones https://www.ebay.com/itm/KNIPEX-74-21-200-8-High-Leverage-Angled-Diagonal-Cutters/273017777312?epid=13014573787&hash=item3f9120aca0%3Ag%3AVv4AAOSwXMZaVNAO&_sacat=0&_nkw=KNIPEX++High+Leverage+Diagonal+Cutters&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313