Captain Phil

Having a wife that enjoys doing what you enjoy is like hitting life's lottery. My wife and I met in school when we were 16. Her father took her fishing when she was a child and we fished together before and after school. She fished he and she tournaments with me in our bass club and we fished together all over the world. She is Irish with very light skin and green eyes. She eventually developed skin cancer, so she rarely fishes now. Not every woman likes fishing. The important thing is to keep it interesting. You may enjoy waiting for hours to catch a fish, most people don't. I don't know if I would go the bobber route. I think learning to cast would be more fun for her. Have her practice a little at home before you go out in the boat. If you know a place with a lot of small bass, that would be ideal as action is more important than size. I would start her off with a spinning outfit, light line and small plastic worms. Don't let her become bored. If she has some success early on, she will want to go again. Good Luck!

Are you fishing in the front or the back of the boat? If in the front, you should know in advance how and where you are going to fish. If you are going to pay to fish a tournament, prefishing will make the difference between getting a check and being a contributor. Fishing in the back is going to be tougher because you may not know what you will encounter. I would bring three outfits. A heavy action longer rod for flipping, pitching, spinnerbaits and cranking. A medium action rod for soft plastics and a spinning rod for finesse fishing. With this, you should be able to cover most situations. You don't want to show up at the dock toting a gigantic tackle box. Make up a tournament box with your best baits. Bring some assorted leader material and hardware. If this is your first tournament, enjoy yourself and don't overthink your fishing. Learning from others is a big part of becoming a champion.

Don't panic, but don't wait either. Go see an orthopedic doctor. You need an MRI to find out what's going on. A general practitioner is just that.

I think it's a confidence thing. I used 8 pound mono on my spinning rods for years. To me, braid looks like cable in the water. Since experimenting with braid, it seems fish don't care. It is very rare in Florida to find bass water clear enough for the line to make much difference. However, if you believe it does, it will. Mono is cheaper and it's handles better, so you make the choice.

When I grew up, I was taught to believe the Great Lakes were a polluted mess. I pictured them as oceans of oil and sludge. In school we learned about sea lampreys and heard about rivers catching fire. When I was asked if I wanted to go fishing in Lake Erie, I didn't know what to expect. To say I was shocked is an understatement. The water is as clear as the water in the Florida Keys. Fish are abundant and fishing was fantastic. When I asked how this could happen, I was told about Zebra Mussels and Gobies. I only fished there two summers. The lures we used were Goby colored tube jigs. We towed by buddy's Ranger up I-75 and crossed into Canada to take the ferry across to the island. We fished the Glacier Groves around the Island in 15-20 feet of water and caught fish all day everyday. It's was an amazing experience. Having never caught a smallmouth before, I was surprised to discover them to be a different fight than largemouth bass. They seem to jump more and threw the hook more easily than I was used to. Their fight is strong, but different. Largemouth are brutes that pull strong early on. Smallmouth have more overall energy.

Why do you use a weed guard? Can't you skin hook your baits?

Lake Erie has got to be the best brown bass fishery on the planet. I had the pleasure of fishing it two summers in a row and it was the first time I fished for smallies. We rented a home on Pelee Island and fished for a week each time. Unbelievable!

Anyone remember when we bought high speed gears for our round Ambassadors?

There was a time when a 5/1 casting reel was considered High Speed. When the Ambassador 5500C came out it had a high speed label on the side plate. The standard at the time was 3/1. Power fishing is what created the demand for faster reels. Some techniques, like Rattle Trap and buzz bait fishing, work better at high speeds. With other techniques a higher speed reel actually hurts you. You can still buy 5/1 reels if you look hard enough. 5/1 is my preferred ratio for spinnerbait fishing. I have been successful using a 3/1 reel in dead of the winter.

I'm with you Mike. When a person uses profanity in public, it sends a message about how they were raised. Back in the day, people wanted to be seen as moving up in society. Today, it seems people want to move down. It's like there is a rush to get down to the lowest level possible. When I hear someone using the "F" word, I wonder if their parents talked like that? Maybe they did, mine didn't. If you want people to treat you with respect, you have to act like you deserve it.

Back in the 90s I was an active member of the IGFA or International Game Fish Association. Among other things, they are the keepers of world record game fish records. Some of these records are fairly obscure. Some are interesting to anglers, especially those who chase records. Here is a link to the current LMB world records. https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Bass, largemouth My own personal feeling is there is no longer a need to break down these records by sex. I have fished with female anglers who were much tougher anglers than most men. You may be wondering how a large open ocean billfish is caught on fly tackle? It's done with something called bait and switch. Hookless teasers are trolled behind the boat. When a fish is raised, the bait is brought closer with the angler waiting for the fish to be close enough to reach with a cast. The flies that are used are large imitations of bait fish. I have caught bill fish this way and it's not easy. The biggest issue I have with world records is they must be verified, which is not always possible or desired. In the 90s, I caught a potential world record Pacific Sailfish on 8 pound mono. The country where I was fishing, Guatemala, prohibits the killing of sailfish. I also wanted to release the fish, so I did.

Photoshop...

Back when I was fishing tournaments we spent hours gluing rattles in our craws. We believed it helped us catch more fish. Since then, I haven't used rattles and I still catch fish. I'm in the "sight" camp.

In last year's B.A.S.S. tournament, guys were killing it with the Hybrid Hunter. I ordered one and threw it a few times. It does run in shallow grass pretty well. Other than that, I haven't thrown it much.

Profanity itself is OK with me, but I rarely use it in public and never around women. Old people like me have a different perspective on many things considered common in today's society. I was raised to have respect for women. Using the "F" word around a lady is disrespectful to her. Tattoos, nose jewelry and weird colored hair were considered low class or downright weird. For some reason, many young people today seem to want to look as poor as possible. This is confusing to us old folks. When our jeans got holes, we threw them away. The only man I ever saw as a kid with a piercing was a wildman in a circus sideshow. Nose septum jewelry makes you look like you have a runny nose. Man buns make me laugh. As the Baby Boomer generation fads into history, these things are now common. I am not wishing for a return to the past. The "Old Days" weren't all that good. Many of us don't remember that.

Some time ago Bass Pro Shop offered their Graphite Series brand IM6 casting rods for $39.95 each. I believe they are still available for around $50. I used to buy them 3-4 at a time. I still have two of them. They are pretty decent rods for the money.

I have flipped and pitched with just about every soft plastic bait that's been made. Tubes work great, especially when bed fishing. I once spent an afternoon watching Shaw Grigsby fish bedding fish. It looked like he was using a white tube so he could see when the fish had it in it's mouth. 4 inches is just about right for larger bass.

I once fished with a guy who fished a spinnerbait this way. He would drop the lure into the same holes where I would drop a soft plastic bait. The fish hit the lure as it helicoptered down. Up until then, the only time I fished similarly was when fishing a single Colorado blade spinnerbait down the sides of a canal. This technique is deadly in South Florida canals and the Okeechobee rim ditch. I believe a spinnerbait is one of the most versatile bass baits we have.

I use heavier tackle when I fish spinnerbaits. Here in Florida our cover is dense and our fish can grow large. Most spinnerbait bass I catch are 3 pounds and up. The pads I fish are like iron. I use a 7 ft heavy action graphite rod and an old school round 5/1 casting reel. My favorite reel for spinnerbaits is an old Shimano Calcutta 200 that I have used for years. It's the perfect retrieve ratio for the 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits I use. It's loaded with 20 pound Big Game Mono only because that's what I'm used to. You could use braid if you want. In either case you want heavy line so you can reduce the need to go in the cover to get your lure. I like the trailer hook to swing free. I have tried pegging it and the swinging hook works better for me.

I always use a trailer hook on traditional style spinnerbaits. Spinnerbait bass are normally larger than those caught on a worm, so I use a 3/0 spinnerbait trailer hook from BPS. My spinnerbait trailer hooks are extra strong wide gap round bend hooks with a large line tie so the trailer will slide over the spinnerbait hook. I make my own keepers with a round paper punch from clear plastic package material. Spinnerbaits points tend to dull easily. I sharpen mine often with a pocket file. Spinnerbaits work best when fished near cover. Using a trailer hook means you will have more hangups. I consider this is a cost of doing business. One of my favorite tactics is to fish a spinnerbait around isolated pads. I cast beyond the pads and run my lure directly under them. You don't want to use a treble hook as a trailer as this will make matters much worse. Other than hanging off plugs, the only time I use treble hooks is in the nose of a Zoom Fluke. Rigged this way, a weightless fluke is an awesome schooling bass lure. Using a trailer hook on a spinnerbait is not convenient or easy. It forces you to make more accurate casts. It can be annoying. It will also allow you to catch more fish. If this matters to you, try it.

It is very common for a bass to short strike these baits. Bass are unbelievably adept at sucking in a bait and spitting it out without you realize it happened. This is where modern no stretch lines and sensitive rods give you an advantage. If you feel anything different, there is a good chance you just got a hit. Without a trailer hook, that fish is lost. If you don't use a trailer, you will catch aggressive fish. If you want to catch all the fish, use a trailer hook.

Many anglers don't like trailer hooks. I get it. They say they don't miss fish and that trailer hooks are not needed. It's the fish to don't know about that you are missing. If you are fishing for fun, missing fish doesn't matter because you won't know. If you are fishing for money, a trailer hook can mean the difference between getting a check and being a contributor.

I have always been an optimist. I come from a family of optimists. I was always told I could do or be anything I wanted and every new day is a new opportunity. I often wonder how I accomplished some of the things I did? No one told me I couldn't. Being an optimist has it's downside. You have to be realistic. It helps if you partner with someone who is more analytical. My wife is that person for me. Being overly optimistic can get you in trouble. Get good advisors. Listen to them, but don't let them snuff out your dreams. You can get where you want, but the road may take some unexpected turns before you get there.

I'm 76 and have had tinnitus for twenty years. My wife, who is the same age, has had it nearly as long. It's part of getting old. I'm used to it. You will too. I don't have hearing aids, my wife does. Have your hearing checked.

At 220,000 miles your truck is at the stage where it may cost you more in repairs than buying a new vehicle. Buying another two year old truck with factory warranty left is a good option. I have had excellent luck with Factory Certified vehicles. They cost a little more, but often the warranty is better than a new vehicle. Do not buy a third party auto warranty. If you want another Toyota, go to a Toyota Dealer and ask them to show you used vehicles with an extended factory warranty option. This goes for all makes of vehicles. I believe buying a new vehicle is something everyone should experience at least once in their lives. This may not be the right time for you. If you buy new, keep it until it's paid for. Once you pay for a vehicle completely, it will be much easier to buy your next vehicle.