Tennessee Boy

Ranger RT188 - 18ft aluminum bass boat with a 90HP Mercury 4 stroke. Pluses -It’s easy to tow without a huge truck. -It doesn’t use a lot of gas. -I like the layout. It fits my organization style. Minuses -I hate the trailer. If you don’t back down the ramp to the perfect depth it’s a pain to get the boat on the trailer straight. -The boat doesn’t handle well in rough water. That’s the price you pay with lighter aluminum boat. -I wish the gas tank was smaller and there was more space for batteries. I run a lot of electronics and need the power. I can go months on a tank of gas.

Tournament mortality has been studied extensively. The mortality of fish caught in tournaments is substantially higher than fish that are caught and immediately released. However, total mortality due to angling is very low compared to natural mortality. The list of challenges that fish face is long. Fishermen are way down on that list. Here are the numbers from one study. Total annual fish mortality 0.66 Tournament angling mortality 0.06 Non tournament angling mortality 0.02 Considering that non tournament catches are much higher than tournament catches, the mortality of fish caught in tournaments is substantial. Still it’s small compared to natural mortality.

That's certainly true. In the video you posted Hank Parker mentioned that it's possible to make a golf ball that will go further but it is not allowed. In golf the goal is to hit a ball and make it go where you want. If you change that ball you change the sport. It would be like allowing carp to be weighed in a bass tournament. Once you allow carp it is no longer a bass tournament. FFS is a tool that gives you information. It's like using lazer range finders in golf. Range finders give you accurate distances. Most golfers use them but they are not allowed in the PGA events. Pro golfers rely on their caddy to give them distance information and the caddies work hard to learn the golf course and they step off distances for their golfer. A caddy's mistake can cost a pro golfer a championship. To me not allowing range finders is dumb because golf is not suppose to be a competition between caddies. I use a lazer range finder when I play golf. It tells me I need to hit a 100 yard shot but it doesn't make me any better at actually hitting the shot. I think the PGA's reasoning for banning range finders has to do with the sport's tradition. Tradition has a lot to do with many angler's opposition on FFS. It no fun to hit a perfect shot in golf and then realize that you were aiming at the wrong spot due to bad information. For me fishing is more fun if I know where the fish are and can spend my time trying to catch them. It eliminates some of the time you spend casting in an area just to see if the fish are there. Even though you can find fish faster, the technology doesn't make them bite. It's interesting that no one has called for banning the Hydrowave. That's probably because it doesn't work but it is a device that is suppose to make the fish bite. Should it be allowed?

You will see old school tournaments in the short term. Long term I don’t think there will be much demand for them as opposition to the technology diminishes. I think the opposition will slowly decrease as people get over there fear of it and they understand how it changes the game and how it does not change the game. The price will drop and eventually most anglers will have it.

Hank Cherry is looking strong.

Cody Huff has three over 4#. That’s what it takes to win. Jujita is eating sushi during the tournament. That has to be against the rules. No live bait in a tournament also means you can’t eat it.😆

I lived in Kentucky for a while. They think basketball is more important than football! It was crazy. 😮

I live a mile from the lake that produced the world record walleye. You can’t buy a walleye boat here. There are no walleye tournaments. There is no Walleye Pro Shop. I can fish for world record walleye here but I can’t spend any money doing it. What fun would that be? 😁

Interesting that no one has picked Kenta Kimora. He’s going to win. 🙂

You don't have to go offshore to catch fish and have a good time. My PB was caught on Guntersville off a dock in mid June.

Late May / early June is my favorite time to fish Guntersville.

Treat everyone you encounter on the water with respect even if they don't show you respect. Follow the law. Put your life jacket on before you launch and take it off after you trailer your boat. There are three way to determine if the water is deep enough to run at speed. 1 - Personal experience. 2 - The chart on your fish finder. 3 - Navigation buoys. If you don't have two of them telling you it's safe then stay at low speeds. Most of the opinions of other fishermen (include professionals) are based on bad interpretation of data and/or superstition. The color of your lure doesn't matter but pretend it does anyway. A wet lure will always catch more fish than a dry one.

Definitely will be over by then.

Well I typed up a response to the evidence presented but@MIbassyaker posted his and said it all. The 2019 study is the best science on the subject in my opinion and has been discussed at length on this forum. I wouldn’t pay much attention to what the owner of a UV bait company has to say about bass UV vision.

Cool information. I agree with others that there’s not much evidence that bass can see IR and even less that they can see UV as adults. There’s good money to be made in lure colors. You might consider buying lures and reselling them at twice the price with a spectrophotometer chart for that specific lure.

Great write up. Congratulations, you’ve moved from the mythical world of FFS to the real world. It’s not just see, cast, catch. It’s a game changer and you’re in your rookie season of the new game. The new game is a lot of fun but it’s not easy. I’m two years in and I’m still not as good at the new game as I was at the old one. I agree with @casts_by_fly that targeting crappie is a great way to learn and get dialed it.

I’ve learned that the vast majority of bass ain’t buying what we’re selling. I’ve read many scientific studies over the years that suggested this was the case but I needed to see it with my own eyes to believe it. The unanswered question is why. Are we only catching the hungry ones or the dumb ones? My working theory is we only catch the dumb ones, the ones that are so hungry they do something dumb, and the ones that let their curiosity get the best of them. I think the followers are mostly following out of curiosity and being able to observe them greatly increases the chances of catching them. Most bass can tell that most lures are not food.

I really enjoyed that episode. He’s a very likable guy and he definitely shared some great insights on the current issues that have everyone all upset.

It can be treated with antiviral drugs but they are most effective if taken within the first 72 hours. I’ve had the new vaccine. My reaction to it was the worst of any vaccine I’ve received but it was still worth it.

I see two problems. 1. Anglers use the lures that work for them and report the lures that sponsor them. 2. Fish don’t follow our calendar they follow a seasonal calendar roughly based on water temperature so a February tournament could be prespawn or spawn depending on the year and where they are fishing.

There are three parties in this election. Braid, Fluorocarbon, Monofilament. 😆

It’s okay to be strange. You don’t need permission from the Internet. Go fishing and if the rod and reel don’t work for you then try something different.

I use both every time I go. If I had to choose one it would be the foot pedal.

I use Japan Lure Shop the most but have never had a problem with any of them. They have very high standards for customer service in Japan. They take it personal if you're unhappy.

I have no doubt that Humminbird executives are in a panic to catch up in the live sonar race. They are probably working on a great product that will be “ready” in 2026, which means they will release it in 2024 and they will spend the next two years fixing the bugs through software updates. I also predict they will soon add automated fish tracking to Target Lock Live. It won’t work very well.