Arlo Smithereen

I've never used them and never felt a need to. I recently bought a KVD spinnerbait and I didn't realize it came with a trailer hook. I caught fish with it, but I notice that I don't throw it right into the grass like I do with a spinnerbait with no trailer hook. So while I might catch a few fish with the trailer hook that I wouldn't otherwise, I feel like I don't have the confidence to fish it like I want to for fear of getting hung up. Maybe it's just a mental thing, but mental things matter.

the haters are going to hate no matter what happens

I've heard Boyd Duckett talk about the anglers having to take polygraph tests for MLF.

Another vote for Power Pro here. Can't beat it for the $$ in my opinion.

MLF has been going on for several years and is quite popular, so I'd say it's already working. As far as the BPT tour goes, it's something new and different that I'm looking forward to. Most people who don't like it complain that they like the 5 biggest fish format better. To each their own, I like watching both and am glad there is more fishing to watch. MLF/BPT is aiming to attract fans who aren't that familiar with tournament fishing, who would be entertained by watching nonstop action for an hour. I have a hard time believing they would have stolen as many Elite anglers as they did, if the anglers didn't believe this would work.

I am not anywhere near as knowledgeable as many here, but this is my personal experience. I live in central Iowa, our state record is 10#12 oz I believe, so 5+ pound bass are fairly rare. That being said, this year I've caught a dozen or so 5 pounders, a handful of 6 pounders, and the biggest going 7 and a half (yes, they were weighed on a scale that I've tested for accuracy lol). My experience was I never threw a bait for bigger fish. I caught them all fishing what worked for the body of water I was on. Jigs, spinnerbaits, frogs and worms accounted for most if not all of them. What made the difference was being in the right place at the right time.

I'm not from the south, born and lived in Iowa my whole life. Hunting and fishing is a big part of life for most around here, pretty sure it's not just a southern thing.

I want to participate in a few bass tournaments, I'm thinking some online challenges to begin, hopefully a couple trail tournaments as well. My goal for 2018 was to catch a 6 pound largie, I caught a 7.46# on Halloween day. I'd like to say my goal for 2019 is to get a 8 pounder, but I live in Iowa and the record is 10.5# or thereabouts, so I don't know how realistic that is. I also want to try catching a big flathead catfish. I've only caught channels, but I know the river near me has some nice flats.

I don't know what that word is, so I don't know what it pays, either. My work involves cleanup of all different kinds, including suicides, etc. It pays pretty d**n well.

I've never had any paranormal experiences, but it's not for lack of trying. I want so bad to believe. I fish a lot at night, and occasionally get spooked by noises, but that's about it, Unrelated to fishing, but in my line of work I occasionally work in places where people have died violent deaths. I call out to the ghosts/spirits/demons, I ask them to give me a sign, I tell them they don't scare me, so far none of them have ever showed themselves to me in any way. I'll keep trying though.

I fish mostly fairly shallow lakes/ponds. If I'm checking out a new body of water from the bank during warm weather, I'll chuck a frog at any shallow cover I can reach. Even if I don't get bites, a lot of times they'll swirl or boil around it, which lets me know they're there.

I don't have anything to add to your post, I just wanted to say hi because I'm also in central Iowa and I'm looking to get into tournament fishing next year. Kayak tournaments, though.

There is only one 'mom/pop' hunting/fishing shop near me. They do far more business with hunting than fishing, but they do have a good variety of fishing tackle. Most of it is geared toward walleye/panfish/catfish than bass. But still they have a good variety of hard baits and soft plastics. I bought alot of tackle there, because I'm happy to spend a little more to support a local vendor. The only fluorocarbon they stocked was Berkley Vanish, which I never liked due to my bad experiences with it. I mentioned to them that if they carried a better line of fluoro I'd happily buy it, I suggested Berkley Professional 100% fluoro, since it's also Berkley. The owner looked at me like I was an idiot, and didn't even acknowledge what I had said. At that moment, I decided I would never step foot in that store again. Maybe I was being petty, but even if he didn't agree with me about Berkley Vanish, I'm a paying customer and the only reason I'm in your store is to help you out. If you don't want to help me out with my tackle needs, I no longer have any use for you and will take my business elsewhere. I'm sure they didn't give it a second thought, but they lost me as a customer.

http://www.majorleaguefishing.com/article/where-can-i-watch-mlf-in-2019/21234 that's the latest I've seen