AlabamaSpothunter

So the weights reset after the first two days/knockout round? If that's the case I can totally understand, but then why is a guy like Lebrun burning through all his fish?

My buddy who just missed qualifying for the BPT by a spot or two roomed with Jake Lawerance last year on the invitationals. He said the dude is next level good, and genuinely a really nice guy. Obviously he's a savant on the scope but watching his second period you really get the sense that he's a well rounded angler. The BPT only takes 6 anglers from the Invitationals whereas the Elites take 9 from the Opens. I wonder if this is partly the reason we haven't seen the rookies outside of Drew Gill dominate the BPT like the rookie Open guys dominated the Elites last year. Surprising to see Wheeler fall down the leaderboard today after such a dominate day yesterday. Wonder what changed for him.

Yeah I seem to recall him losing one perhaps on a frog, and then casting back with the whacky worm. Not sure if it was the same fish, but he was clued in by missing or losing a fish before the monster. He came close to winning it, I think he lost another giant fish on the last day that would have given him the win.

OG Steez is my jerkbait reel TDX air metal is my free rig reel Calais 100a is a general purpose reel Reel tech doesn't move nearly as fast as line, hook, or lure tech in my experience. I wouldn't dream of using hooks and FC from the years those reels were made in.

Yeah that's the one, still one of my all time favorite catches. I love the Marshall's reaction 🤣

Pretty sure Justin Hamner's Lake Fork 11lb+ fish caught on a jerkbait was big fish of the year. 2023 Big Fish was Jason Christie with a Lay Lake 9.4lb fish caught ultra shallow on a whacky worm out of pads.

Bassblaster just included this fantastic test in his recent newsletter Loop knots are the ones in green.

That a boy Pat!!!! @FishTax Lol, I'm pretty sure I saw that exact same FB reel of a guy bow N arrow skipping a bait in between two dock floats.

If it was a 5 fish format, I'd say 4/5 fish would be FFS ones. So maybe 75-80%. Every fish counts format kind of muddies the water. There's just no way that traditional methods will hold a candle to the scope.

Gents above me nailed it, and if you want to watch some of the craziest Bass fishing videos on YT, check out his youtube series called Off the Grid IIrc. Or just check his channel out. The places he takes a Bass boat is unimaginable.

Amazing how much more enjoyable Bass fishing is to watch with diversity of techniques and locations. Gonna be really hard to watch the Elite Series after seeing this format and then getting to watch pure Bass fishing with the NPFL. Sure hope BASS changes next year.

I have zero doubts that the luck is going to change for you NC boys! Never fails, the longer you go without having a banger day, the bigger and better that banger will be when it comes. You and Pat will have lots to post soon enough, if not the world has ended 😁

Oh no doubt, with or without a scope, both of those guys would be in the top 5 greatest Bass pros alive. Drew Gill on the other hand is the guy this new change should effect the most. He crushed last year during his rookie year on BPT, so it'll be obvious how much of an effect this has by the end of the year using just his case.

Wheeler, Connell, and Gill. Gill is arguably the best scoper on the BPT. ETA: Only savant scoper not at the top is Alton Jones Jr

This is about to get really interesting.......the best scopers on the BPT just happened to be in 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Here shortly we'll get two periods where those guys don't get to use it, what are the odds others are able to overtake them?

This sucks, they should be allowed to all shake a minnow in a 100 acre location.....I mean who doesn't like watching paint peel 😁 This is the first year I'm watching the MLF, and have it on in the background right now. I doubt they lost any viewers from last year, meanwhile I'm sure there's many more people like me who decided to tune in for the first time because of the limited FFS usage.

I'm back in the game Katie, I just dropped one on your post......good thing they seem to refill after a few hours 🤣

Beautiful fish @N Florida Mike! There's gotta be a monster Bass in that lake that you're always posting these big BGs from, and now seeing the monster Shiners. You should chunk that 12" Shiner out there on a hook, and see what lives there for real 😎

They do make micro A-Rigs and I think my lightest micro rig without any hooks or swimbaits is 1/4oz. I then add five 1/8th heads and five swimbaits so it's well over an ounce at that point. The Hog Farmer Tactical Bassin Micro Flex rig rigged with 3 jigheads and 2 dummies is the lightest a-rig setup I've heard of, but I don't own one. I think it's under 1oz. Either way, I would just throw a spinnerbait verse throwing a 1oz+ a-rig on a sub 7" MH rod.

Out of reactions, but Amen Eric!!! @Eric 26 We're here for the full paradise experience 😀

Agree fully with @Eric 26 sentiments. While it's honestly tragic what these dang Otters are doing, the reason I love this thread has very little to do with the fact Bass are living in the pond. I've said it a few times before, but Bob is living a dream. Rural beautiful property, a pond, and perhaps most important a tractor....that's paradise! That said, we've got to kill or trap these Otters. I wanna see feed trained 5lbers eating out of your hands 😎

Really appreciate the kind words friends!!! @FishTax I was too busy hooking myself to fall in the water, it's definitely still on the table if I ever catch another one like that though 🤣

Valid points @Team9nine, and one that was the main counter point in a FB thread about it. While there are no doubts folks specifically move into Alabama to professionally fish, or go to college like MN native Easton Fothergill, it's still hard to understand why the anglers aren't moving to Texas, FL, or TN who have every bit as good of local trails and fisheries as Alabama. The amount of non Alabamians that have moved to Guntersville alone to pursue professional fishing is significant. It would be great if pro fishing could figure out a way to incorporate western states more into the mix. It's a sport dominated by the eastern half of the country, and even moreso the southeastern portion of the country. It's impressive how many top level pros come from northern states that are iced over half the year as well.

We could all throw in some money and hire @TnRiver46 to do the needful.......we wanna see Otter heads on pikes 🤣

The worst thing about those Otters is that I believe they'll kill just for "fun". It's one thing to have Herons or Cormorants that eat what they need to survive, but having a critter that is just out there killing for fun or sport would be hard to swallow 😢 Can you put up some game cameras in the areas you think they are accessing the pond? I've found many critters are creatures of habit, you might be able to dial in a better time window when those suckers are murdering your fish. I look forward to the day those Otters gets what coming to them! I can only imagine the feelings of frustration and anger. To me they're killing your pets.