InfantryMP

I agree, and I am guilty

I think if you leave it on the long middle wire it would be a lot better. Similar principal to a trailer hook on a spinner bait or buzzbait. Either way, 1 hook on there kind of stinks. I thought Indiana was bad with it's regulations.

I would always lock mine up if I am camping out or something, and leaving the boat out all night. I ride with mine connected from the lake back to the house, and then it goes locked up in the garage. I have never had a problem back and forth to the lake.

Can you just cut the hook off the jig head, and leave the bait keeper prong on there to slide the swimbait onto? In Indiana, you can have 3 hooks. So with the 5 wire alabama rig, I should be fine if I cut off two of the hooks from the jig head and just slide the bait on it? That is how I am reading these regulations.

This is exactly my setup with it to the T. Rage swimmers in white, or Shad colors. I throw it on my 7'4 MH and my 7'5 H setups just fine with 55lb braid

Yea the local club scene is where I think I am going to start out. It will be cheap enough, and hopefully pretty cool. I am from here originally, but I was gone for 12 years with the military, so I do not really know anyone around here anymore so it will also be good for networking around and meeting other guys as well!

I have a call at 4:15 with the local club from the area. They are accepting new members, so I think I will start here for now. I think they put on like 4 to 5 tournaments locally. Yea I def do not have the biggest boat. I actually have to have a 16 or larger, and I am at a 17. The rest of the stuff I feel like I am good with. I know I can get better on my graphs for sure, and skipping docks etc. I feel like I would be very competitive once I get out on some of these waters. It will also allow me to fish a few other lakes I have not been too.

When I think of techniques, I think of things like: Power fishing- Cranking, moving baits etc Finesse- Shaky heads, ned rigs etc I think you are referring to "how people fish them". I can drag a worm a bunch of different ways in a bunch of different places, but it is still considered finesse to a lot of people. Same with moving baits

Thanks for the reply! I am not concerned with losing the money at all. I guess my thought process was stressing to just make it back while on the water just because I did spend it. The local tournaments here from my understanding are pretty low, like $30 each entry or something close. I would rather spend $30-$50 on a tournament than going to the movies or out to eat etc. The equipment piece is a tough one for me. I think I am good to go rod, reel, and bait wise. I would love to have spot lock or shallow water anchoring of course. I know it is not needed, and like you mentioned people win tournaments with less all the time. It makes me feel though like I should invest in a new TM with spot lock at least. Or maybe going to the tournaments will solidify that for me, or show me that I really do not need it right now. Yea, that makes sense. The losing it is no big deal unless I cant catch anything out there!

Hey guys! I want to fish a tournament to see if I like it. I have been fishing for a long time, and figured why the hell not. I want to discuss equipment and mindset. I have a boat, and can fish solo on the local tournaments here (not the BFL's etc.) Equipment: Triton TR-17 Mariner 115hp. Front deck extended to console 3 HDS 7s. 2 Bow, 1 console with SI/ DI/ 2D Motorguide X5 (my only crap piece of equipment in my opinion) 10 casting setups 3 spinning setups Mindset: I would like to this to be a "fun" yet challenging adventure, but part of me cannot stop thinking about the fact that I could easily become addicted to this. I love fishing more than my fiancé would like to admit to her friends. On the other hand, I could absolutely hate it due to the stress of not winning or weighing in anything. Or the added pressure to try to win money back etc. Should I be nervous about it? For some reason my biggest fear is messing up at the ramp, but I have launched hundreds of times successfully, and very quickly. I also am nervous about going out there and failing...it is easier to swallow getting skunked fun fishing, than the shame of weighing not weighing in. I am very competitive. What is the best advice you can give a new tournament guy on my equipment, and my mindset going in?

Yea def a learning curve. I just cant get myself to idle long enough to learn more. I cant keep my lures out of the water long enough to go figure it out better. I need a weekend where I go graphing on my home waters.

A goal for me is to get better with my graphs. I have Lowrance HDS units, with SI/ DI. I want to be able to better utilize them, and actually make plans to catch fish when I can find them. I think I am secretly training for tournament participation here in the next year or so...or at least that is what I want to do! I also want to upgrade my TM to an Ultrex, or Ghost this year. It may be late in the year, but I definitely want spot lock.

I cant wait to get rid of my DTV. I think I have turned it one maybe 4 times since I have had it. I should just pay the early term fee, so I can save some cash over the next year or so. I stream Netflix, Amazon Prime video, and that about does it for me, and that is usually only when it is cold outside. During late Spring, Summer, Fall, I am outside too much for TV.

I called DC, saying he was due when we started this thread! I am hoping he continues to hammer em. He needs this win to keep up! Plus he is pretty darn entertaining!

I will catch flack for this probably, but oh well... I would use the Googan Baits Bandito Bug in either Natural or Okeechobee Craw. You can flip it, Carolina rig it, T-rig it, and also you can swim it T-rigged and has great action doing so. I believe it to be versatile enough to handle a few different scenarios.

Yea I mean they are catching some spawning bass now in the Red Crest tournament, and it seems the rest are not far behind. It is like 45 days+ until OP's trip. I would imagine at this point based on what is going on with the lake today. It would be post spawn IMO.

Yea for real. He fell twice and still had it hooked. I like his enthusiasm. You can tell he is there to win it all. If Wheeler pulls this off, he may be the King of Eufala. He is so good especially off shore here. If he gets dialed in through the 2nd round, and in to the 3rd. He will be very hard to beat. I wonder if Thrift is struggling with the extra boat traffic. I saw him make his run, and passed like 3 boats within seconds of each other...

Watch the Red Crest going on right now, it may help out. I know you said April, and it will probably be post spawn, but you may get some tips watching the MLF live feed.

In the off season (winter time) for me, I bring everything inside. That helps out for me. I also have a catch all type of area. So if I tie something else on, I do not throw it back in the 3700 right away. I throw it in my catch all. What that does, is allow the bait to be completely dry before I put it back. This has helped me out a bunch. The plano edge boxes, and others have the built in protection from rust. Those are always an option too.

I agree. With two though, I should be good still. If they work on Skiffs, they should work on my TR17 just fine.

This is his lake. He has more experience here than anyone I think. I think he will have the best chance at winning this tournament. I do not think Ott, Wheeler, or anyone has the confidence to win this event as Thrift does.

If each one is able to hold 1500lbs, I would imagine having two could hold a lot more. I do not want to spend money for power poles on this small boat. My next boat will be at least 19 or larger and will have poles already. I just figured it is cheaper to get two micros, than one pole, and it would eliminate the spins using only one.

I am doing some research, on the power pole micros. Does anyone have any experience with them on a bass boat? I have a Triton TR-17. Gross weight is 1050 so it will work with at least 1 according to the site. I wanted to add two of them to my boat so I do not spin with just the one pole. I am wondering if you can sync two separate poles with one controller? Does anyone have any experience with them?

Just because it is weightless doesn't mean you have to try to muscle the cast out. I learned that the hard way learning the casting setup. I always tried to whip that sucker out there as far as I could...it always ended up bad. You could always try a weighted swimbait hook, with the lowest weight possible. It will sink faster, but it may help out?

Was wondering when those red colored lipless, and cranks would be coming in to play. Montgomery just got him a 3lber off of what looked like a 3/4oz red lipless.