Carolina Rig

I think you guys are under the impression that I disagree with you. I’ve said plenty of times that it won’t be apples to apples because there are so many variables in nature. However, you CAN learn things by conducting experiments in a laboratory environment, simply put. I’m not saying you can learn how to immediately catch more and bigger bass by conducting controlled research; but to discount it wholesale is unwise.

Not at all. You said we can’t learn anything in a lab that relates to the wild and that’s bogus and if you have this degree, you’re well aware of it. Believe me, I understand the difference between lab work and field sampling. But to imply that a correlation can’t be drawn between experiments conducted in a laboratory and what happens in the natural world is foolish, at best.

Then you clearly know that the reason most don’t want to study wildlife in the wild is that there are far too many variables to execute the scientific method and account for variables. You also understand, then, that manipulating one variable in a controlled environment with subsequent research/experimentation being done on an identical control specimen is far superior than what nature has to offer in regards to supporting a hypothesis. Regardless, I know what you’re trying to say, I just don’t think you articulated it very well. No - one can’t take information from a laboratory and go out on any lake in the country and guarantee more and bigger bass. However, one can use a laboratory environment to determine biological, ecological, and physiological tendencies and apply that information to fishing to increase odds. But like I always say, as soon as we figure out the answer, they change the question.

Agreed and well said.

Doesn’t make the results less accurate. Might make them irrelevant, refutable, biased, abnormal, etc. But, the accuracy of an experiment isn’t inherently affected by human influence. In fact, I’m struggling to visualize a scientific experiment without human influence. Regardless, do you have a link to any of the peer-reviews? That could prove to be equally educational, specifically if they’re refuting his information based on their own research/experiments and elaborate on their methods, findings, interpretations, etc. Also, I replied because your responses seemed to indicate the concept of scientifically studying fish as a whole, not specifically Dr. Jones’ book.

Yes, you can study mule deer in a barn in south Louisiana. No, wildlife doesn’t need to be in the wild to be studied properly. Learning the ecosystem and predator-prey relationships IS a scientific approach. It’s called studying their ecology. ? All of this can be manipulated to mimic nature. True, there are far more variables involved in nature and you’ll likely never find an apples to apples comparison from a lab to a lake. However, results are no less accurate because a human is involved. Perhaps they’re less applicable to bass fishing, but saying they aren’t accurate isn’t, well, accurate.

I have a copy I’d sell. However, I’ll admit to having paid a ridiculous price for mine and would want to recover that amount by selling it to an equally insane person. I’d never let it go but I’ve moved to Alaska and won’t be doing much bass fishing ever again, so it’s probably better off on someone else’s shelf. Shoot me a PM if interested.

All of the colors.

Always go smaller if you’re having trouble with trout.

Any way to install a livewell? Otherwise you’re stuck with catch, photo, release, and I don’t think the kayak folks would let you play with them come tournament day.

I don’t think so. I googled the population of the US and divided it by 65,000.

That means roughly one out of every five thousand people in this great country is a member of this forum. Bananas.

I’d be in if there’s room...

I’m just glad they’re still making them. I used to use them 15 years ago and loved them back then, so I’m sure they’re even better now.

Custom rifle build.

Will do. We pay for Hulu and it’s not on there. I’m gonna check with Sling today.

I think sometimes they bite because they’re hungry and sometimes they bite because they’re ticked off. I’m not sure lure color has much to do with either of those situations, to be honest. I think it’s fun to consider that the way a lure looks might influence a desired response - and lure companies have made fortunes off of our desire to get it all sorted out. However, nearly every angler I know has some story about having thrown everything he/she thought would work only to give up, either change the targeted species for the day OR try something completely off the wall, and then hook one up. For me, it happened towards the end of a tournament day and we’d literally had no bites all day long. We decided to skip the weigh-in since it’d be a waste of time and start fishing for catfish so maybe we could have a little fish fry later that evening. First cast and my buddy is hung up in some vegetation on the bottom and starts reeling in a circle hook with some bread and a mess of weeds on it, about 6” long with about a 1.5” diameter - you know how they look when the hook is covered in weeds. He got hit by a bass about 15’ from the boat and landed it. So, while I’ll admit that I enjoy the heck out of trying to figure out what they want on a given day, and if you’ve seen my photos in the bait monkey thread, I’ll buy/try nearly anything, at the end of the day, I have to agree with the sentiment above that we’re giving a fish with a brain the size of a pea a little too much credit. Won’t stop me from trying, though!

Sounds good. We’re supposed to take it out next weekend. It’s a friend of a friend that I really trust and he told me he knows the owner and can assure me the boat has been meticulously maintained. I did find out that the owner intends to keep the Ultrex that’s currently on it and put the original trolling motor that came with the boat back on it before he sells.

Thanks for the detailed response! I’m hoping to go take a look at it next weekend and will be sure to hit you up with questions between now and then.

Got the details of the lake I’ll be fishing a tournament on next weekend and immediately thought about slow rolling a spinnerbait deep.

I bought a few Bass Mafia boxes and I’m thoroughly impressed with the quality and how well they seal up. I bought one of their 3700 sized bait coffins that should be here tomorrow and I plan to use it for hooks. I’ll let you know what I think; but, if it’s like the rest of their stuff, I bet it’s gonna do the trick.

Interesting.

I'll probably be fishing solo quite a bit. In the past, I'd just tie the bow line to the trailer, drop the boat, jump out of the truck, shimmy my way out on the trailer tongue, untie the rope, and then tie the boat off to the pier and go park the truck. If this is a much easier way, I'd love to hear more about it. I understand dropping the boat and then dropping the poles, I'm just coming up blank with how you then get to the boat without getting into the water. From this picture, it looks like you've got quite a bit of water to figure out to get to the boat... Or are you guys just keeping it really close to the pier, dropping the poles, and then being able to hop into the boat from the pier? I'm hoping to be buying a boat within the next couple of weeks and had decided to forego the poles for the time being; but, if it makes it that much easier to load/unload while solo, I think they're worth considering, again.

Good Morning, I have a line on a boat that I'm considering purchasing. It already has Talons on it and the electronics have been upgraded; but, that was several years ago and they aren't currently top of the line. I believe it has the ability to spot lock and comes with a tandem axle/fiberglass fender trailer. The motor is the original motor that came with the boat and has about 450 hours on it. I'm curious what folks think about a rig like this? I have never bought a used boat so I'd planned to go out for a ride in it and also run it by a dealership for a thorough looking-over. Is anyone familiar with this year/model? Anyone familiar with this motor (looks like a VMAX)? Any words of caution/advice? I haven't been in a bass boat in years so I'm all ears when it comes to buying a used one after not having paid any attention to them in so long. Thanks in advance...