AlabamaSpothunter

A great place to always start in the Fall when the temps start really crashing is to fish the last green aquatic vegetation on the lake, if there is lots of stuff like this, focus on the healthiest looking stuff. Pay special focus to any irregularities within those places. Good luck pal!

The week before, the MLF BPT showed the Elite Series guys the way. The Elite Series followed the BPT guys again on the SLR. Don't need way points when you can just watch the MLF live coverage. So stupid the way these organizations schedule events.

It's pretty amazing that BASS's business model is so reliant on city tourism councils paying them to bring a derby there. I've heard it's much harder to get cities out west to pay BASS to come. A number of Elite anglers I've listened to on podcasts have said they'd be open to going west. I think the number one criterion for BASS when making a schedule is what cities will pay them to come. Then you have to really ponder why BASS can't throw in a new format derby occasionally. One of the few things MLF really gets right is the Team events, and especially the Heavy Hitters. I'd argue Heavy Hitters format is the most exciting derby format. If BASS didn't have the Classic, they'd be a fraction of what they are. The whole league is being held up by one event. When you hear the pros talk, they all say that a Classic win is the end all accomplishment in Bass fishing, and I'd agree.

Wow can't even hold one event where the sport was born and current home of BASS. Guess Alabama didn't pay to play, sucks. First three events will be scope fest with a possibility of some sight fishing. Hartwell, Fork and St. Clair will be scope fest. So much for scheduling events that aren't heavy on FFS usage. 3 out of 9 have a chance for diversity of techniques. Only exciting stops are the Albemarle Sound, and Mississippi River imho. Looking forward to the NPFL announcement. Heck at this point I'm looking forward to MLF's announcement and schedule.

So what about a Lake Fork slot limit, or CA's hooked outside the mouth rules for example? BASS has shown they'll amend their 'house rules' to obey individual state laws on numerous occasions.

It's both equally hilarious and hypocritical that BASS thinks trolling, live bait, and baits like the A-Rig and Donkey Rig are too unsporting or easy to allow their usage, but FFS is perfectly fine. Poll 100 Elite pros which tool or rig is easier to catch fish with among those things above, and 100 will tell you it's live sonar. BASS banned Crappie brakes 1000% for optics sake alone. They had to show they were doing something, and the Crappie brakes were the sacrificial lamb. Crappie brakes don't pay the bills for BASS, the big electronic companies have no skin in the Crappie brake game. Meanwhile the rot inside BASS goes unchecked in which live sonar is only a fraction of what the real problems are. The anglers said 90% of arguments and emotions during the recent 4hr meeting involved topics other than live sonar.

BTL had an epic show last night with tons of Elite Series hammers. The gist is they're not happy at all with the new rules. Then if you go around and read all the comments across social media you'll see the vast majority of fans are upset over the new rules and lack of any real meaningful changes. Good luck staying on top of the pro Bass fishing world not making your product or customer happy. At the end of the day, many of us just want to see them catch fish without live sonar at least some of the time. Again the BTL episode is really illuminating.....even the pros talk about how radically different and effective FFS is.

No doubt about it, Dottie. Dottie was the fish that showed Bass anglers weren't dreaming big enough.

This is the least of BASS's concern after this year. The last SLR event was a perfect representation of what the BASS product is currently, and it's deeply flawed. Great news for the NPFL that BASS decided to keep the same product.

Thanks Kent! Look forward to you catching the next WR SM out of Pickwick now that your schedule is a bit more free 😉

The big 3 electronic companies aren't going to proverbial cut off their noses to spite their faces. It's important to remember that those companies sell other products besides FFS units. Shallow water anchor systems, traditional sonar, maps, and GPS systems, and high dollar/high tech trolling motors. The combo of those other business verticals I'm sure outweigh the sales of FFS units.

All those rods you listed are functionally exceptional, but they also offer the 'Gucci' factor. They are aesthetically pleasing rods. They are however made in China. A lot of what you end up paying for is the extra labor and materials that go into making a rod aesthetically pleasing imho. On the other side of that, you have the Alpha Angler Wrench. A rod purposely built for versatility and sensitivity in mind, and almost no consideration for aesthetics. Hints the name 'Wrench', you can use it for everything. It nails the first two requirements of your needs, but I wouldn't call 'fun factor' as an attribute to the rod. It's a very boring rod to the naked eye, however in usage it's about as perfect of a spinning rod that exists. It features a mix of traditional and recoil guides and uses a graphite blend that is also used by Boeing. It's quite the well thought rod in terms of design and materials. I use mine for everything but it really shines with Senkos/Nekos and Jighead Minnows. Recommended Spinning Bass Fishing Rod - Senko Rod – Alpha Angler

I love it, and I'm thinking next year I'm just going to follow the NPFL. After the BASS SLR Elite derby, I was pondering if I still wanted to follow the sport. This announcement has given me renewed optimism for the sport. BASS and MLF have a ton of problems and controversy and it's killing their brands. They are losing integrity so fast.

In terms of buying smaller items like tackle or a reel, there aren't any custom taxes as far as I know. I've never paid them when I bought numerous reels through Digitaka. I think Canada is different sadly though.

What's the deal with this stuff, have you used it before? Been wanting to make my own "Taku powder".

The key word you used in my eyes is 'friend'. If it's a friend of mine, not only is it okay, but I'll do everything but cast their rod in hopes we both catch fish. Not much point to fishing with a friend if you aren't willing to share knowledge, baits, and locations.

Based on the replies, I'm the oddball at 50/50 I'm always trying new baits, altering the times I go fishing, fishing "dead water", changing angles of approach on known spots. I don't feel like I'm growing as an angler if I stick to things I already know and am comfortable with. Not to mention most things just stop working as well, or all together with some baits. You'd catch every fish in the lake with an A-Rig in 2014, flash forward to 2024 and every fish under the sun has seen an A-Rig. If you kept fishing your tried and trued A-Rig since 2014 you'd have seen a massive drop off of your success over the decade. Lastly, I think geography plays a big role in this question. Up north fish receive significantly less pressure especially in areas where the season shuts completely down in the winter. It gives those fish time to reset and forget about anglers and baits. However down here in the South, fish have seen everything and continue to see it all year round. In a similar manner as Japan, and Japanese Bass anglers to a lesser degree, folks in the South need to be always switching things up and trying new things or you just won't have the success many do. Japan is easily my biggest influence in Bass fishing, every time I learn a new Japanese technique, the fish act like they've never seen a lure before. I feel like the phrase pressure creates diamonds really applies to Bass fishing.

Been a Team Daiwa fanboy my whole fishing life, and I think it's stupid Daiwa did away with the "Team Daiwa" marketing. My childhood was filled with saving or waiting on XMAS/B-day to get the latest TD model. I'm currently still fishing with the Team Daiwa - X from pre 2000 on a daily basis. Those old TD reels hold up well to the test of time.

They eat things that don't fit sometimes to their own demise, many of folks have seen a lunker floating with a monster Bluegill choked down its throat. If you scaled up Black Bass 10x, nobody would go swimming in lakes 😁

Did you watch the Lake Fork Elite Series event this year? So many anglers during that event targeted and followed fish. I think it was Mckinney who lost a monster on a jerkbait, and then proceeded to follow that same fish around until it bit again, and he recovered the jerkbait. I've seen these guys follow fish around quite a bit with live sonar. It's no different than bed fishing, some anglers are better than others at reading when a fish is ready to go, either way though the technology gives anglers the same ability to target and chase a fish for as long as they desire, sometimes at the angler's own expense. Then you have the whole snagging debate with FFS, especially when jerkbait fishing. I'm not one of them, but some people thought guys were snagging giants during that Fork event.

Just got home from night fishing, and I fish about 60-75 nights a year.......yet I've never night fished in the true winter. I have night fished in the Fall, mainly just September though, or that first warmer month of Fall. The reason I believe summer night fishing is so extraordinary is because of the relatively stable weather temps, the thermocline eliminating lots of dead water, and the fact that the biggest fish are arguably at their most predictable places which in my area of the world is that 6-12ft zone with isolated cover. All three of those things are completely opposite during the winter here. During the winter, the weather is at its most dynamic of the year, the entire water column is in play, and the fish become nomadic constantly targeting Threadfin and Gizzard Shad. Thought about it a bunch, but once I commit to fishing during the days, I really can't fish nights as it throws my body for a loop. The way I see it is I can either focus on the pre dawn/early morning bite, or I can focus on the pre dusk/night bite. In the winters/springs I fish the early morning bite,and in the summer/fall I fish the later afternoon/night bite. Only one way to find out for sure brother, and that's to just go fishing at those times 🙂

A flogger is basically a reverse periscope, it just allows you to break the surface tension of the water, and peer beneath it. To my knowledge they are only effective for SM bed fishing. The last major derby I saw them used extensively was during the MLF BPT Cayuga event that had so much controversy LureCraft Flogger Underwater Viewer | Tackle Warehouse

Right now it might only be able to lock down on non-moving objects like structure, but it's a very small step until it can lock onto a particular fish, where the TM locks onto the fish via being networked into the FFS. Again the thing that scares me immensely about the tech is that we are only seeing a small fraction of its future capabilities, yet nobody is looking to cap tech. Where does this stop, when is it enough for you to say it's not "fair chase" or sporting anymore? " Take aim with absolute confidence—and complete boat control. Unlike anything else on the water, MEGA Live Imaging® TargetLock® locks on to structure at the push of a button, even while your boat is moving or anchored using Minn Kota® Spot-Lock®. That means you’ll never again have to choose between MEGA Live Imaging and Spot-Lock, two of fishing’s most powerful technologies. And it’s only from Humminbird."

For many folks including myself, the problem with FFS is the future more than the current. BASS or MLF have no plan how to cap technology in the sport, and this is the real scary aspect to FFS tech. We're only scratching a really small surface in terms of what the tech will evolve into.

How many sub species have you caught Alex? Do you have a favorite? If you want to see the amazing beauty of these species, and the small streams and rivers they live in, ShoalBandit on YT is the place to go and learn.