Tennessee Boy

I just need to say that threads like this make it extremely difficult to follow the forum guidelines but so far so good. 😆

I personally love the SV reels for light baits but can't stand them for heavier baits. I think the reel would be great for t-rigs but you mentioned C-rigs. I like to use 1/2-3/4 oz weighs on C-Rigs and I hate the SV reels for that. They seem to have a maximum distance you can cast. That max distance is beyond what you can throw a light lure so you don't notice it but with a 3/4 oz weight it drives me crazy.

Here are the latest number after Stage 4. The average FFS period advantage for the season continued to drop to 50% from 58% as the Stage 1 FFS numbers are further diluted. Stage 1 was an absolute Scope fest and has drastically impacted the numbers. I've included some numbers without Stage 1 to demonstrate this. Stage 4 Total Weight: 4184.6 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period With FFS: 9.85 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period Without FFS: 8.26 lbs Average FFS Weight Advantage Per Period: 1.59 lbs Percentage Increase in Catch Rate with FFS: 19% Season Total Total Weight: 22365.1 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period With FFS: 12.67 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period Without FFS: 8.43 lbs Average FFS Weight Advantage Per Period: 4.24 lbs Percentage Increase in Catch Rate with FFS: 50% Season Total minus Stage 1 Total Weight: 16723.1 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period With FFS: 10.61 lbs Average Weight per Angler Period Without FFS: 8.55 lbs Average FFS Weight Advantage Per Period: 2.06 lbs Percentage Increase in Catch Rate with FFS: 24% Here are the top 10 Scopers based the percentage increase in weight their average FFS period is over their average non-FFS period weight. This shows which anglers rely on FFS the most. Angler FFS Advantage % Avg Weight/Period Avg Weight/FFS Avg Weight/Non-FFS Drew Gill 502.20% 13.87 lbs 31.23 lbs 5.19 lbs Marty Robinson 191.61% 4.57 lbs 8.54 lbs 2.93 lbs Jake Lawrence 189.31% 15.54 lbs 27.57 lbs 9.53 lbs Justin Cooper 179.30% 12.75 lbs 22.29 lbs 7.98 lbs Colby Miller 160.85% 12.25 lbs 20.80 lbs 7.97 lbs Jeremy Lawyer 138.31% 7.17 lbs 12.18 lbs 5.11 lbs Jacob Wheeler 136.79% 16.20 lbs 27.35 lbs 11.55 lbs Greg Vinson 113.98% 5.55 lbs 8.61 lbs 4.02 lbs Justin Lucas 109.73% 11.91 lbs 18.29 lbs 8.72 lbs Zack Birge 102.41% 12.86 lbs 20.82 lbs 10.28 lbs SORRY, I KNOW THESE NUMBERS ARE HARD TO READ ON SOME DEVICES.

Wheeler and Lawrence are both great guys that deserved to win. Personally, I was cheering for another victory for Tennessee river smallmouth but the largemouth pulled it out at the last minute. The MLF rules are a little weird but there is no denying that they produce an exciting product. I've said fishing will never be a spectator sport but it was today.

I have someone that does the figuring for me when I'm placing an order.

Jake Lawrence caught an 8 pounder on a buzz bait. Now that had to be fun.

Yeah I like doing figures.

It's gonna be a good day. Wheeler is looking strong. It will be interesting to see how well the guy who made the run down stream do.

Wheeler and Gill are the top two in the AOY race. Here are their numbers for the year through today. Wheeler Average weight per period with FFS: 30.13 lbs Average weight per period without FFS: 15.39 lbs Gill Average weight per period with FFS: 33.83 lbs Average weight per period without FFS: 5.31 lbs I think Wheeler is probably better with FFS when you consider how much Gill focuses on and prepares for his FFS round.

Strader is catching them everywhere he goes. It's amazing how somedays everything works for some and not for others.

A lot of people have the boat that are not dominating.

I had to go run an errand. Now I'm back and everything has changed. NICKAJACK!!!

That 4 pounder certainly helps. If I was MLF I would put a camera on his boat.

12 lbs is very doable. Can Gill scope his way into fishing tomorrow? If I was betting I would say no.

I don't understand why Strader is fishing so hard. I guess he just likes catching fish.

I think Drew Gill is as good as any scoper on the Elite tour. I think Wheeler's strategy in every tournament is to win while everyone else is trying to cash a check. My guess is Wheeler spent more practice time on Nick than anyone else.

It is my understanding that the $800 exemption ends today (May 2) but only on items from China. It is supposed to end for all countries but the timeline has not been announced. I could be wrong.

Here’s a direct link to the video in the article @ike8120 linked to earlier. You can judge for yourself how quickly colors are filtered out at depth. Also UV light does not penetrate deeper than blue light and while some fish may be able to see in the UV spectrum there is no evidence that adult bass can see UV. https://www.marinescienceexplained.org/post/how-color-changes-with-water-depth

It's not a choice between side scan and FFS. I don't think there is a fish finder on the market that will display FFS data that does not also have side scan. FFS is an add-on so start with side scan and add FFS when you're ready.

Yeah that doesn't make sense to me. It wouldn't be so bad if they did it for the final day but for the knock out round? The leader would be crazy to skip the knockout.

I'm loving what Ott DeFoe is doing.

Dr Keith Jones is his book Knowing Bass discusses research done at Berkley Fishing where they put strands of mono and FC line vertically in a tank with bass. They attached the lines to sensors to detect when the bass ran into the line. They also moved the lines periodically. They found that the fish ran into the FC line more often than the mono. Assuming bass don't like to run into line they assumed that this meant that the FC was less visible to the bass. This was not a study on line color. It also does not say anything about whether fish are line shy and associate line with danger.

I wear them for eye protection more than for seeing under water. One downside not mentioned is they limit the angle you can view your electronics from.

Yes, definitely a good smallmouth bait.