SDoolittle

Looks pretty aluminum to me!

For those of y'all who didn't read every word of every sentence; I've already agreed with you (twice) that there are no new lures or techniques! What I am saying is that I am not proficient in all of them. If you are, then congratulations! And thank you for finally answering my question. By the way, this has been one of my more enjoyable debates, so thank you for keeping it civil.

If you really want to know how much that fished weighed, you should contact this guy.

Is there a way to positively identify a tiger muskie?

No kidding!

I think you're right. And I think that OU will beat TT, creating a three way tie in the big 12 south. OU, having just knocked off the #2 team will will rank highest in the BCS and play for the big 12 championship. My prediction is Florida/Oklahoma in the BCS title game.

Usually it's "fish on", but when I'm feeling cocky, I'll tell my partner "schools in session".

Catt, I have agreed with most of what you're saying, but you're still not answering my question. You know your lake, its structure, cover and baitfish because you've been fishing there for 36 years. You are satisfied that there are no new lures or techniques for you to learn. What are you learning? I'm not asking you this to be a smart aleck, I'm really trying to figure out what I'm missing here. As an active duty service member, I have to pack up and move every few years. I don't have 36 years to learn a lake. I'm not complaining because fishing all over the country has made me a very versital angler. Last year I spent a couple of days on the lake fishing nothing but drop shot. This may be an old tactic, but it was new to me and something I felt like I needed to learn. If I had treated those outings as tounaments, that drop shot never would have come out of the rod box. I'm sure that I could have caught more fish using one of my confidence baits, but now drop shotting is one of my confidence baits. If I never took the time to try to learn something new (to me), I would still be fishing with beetle spins on a zebco 33 like I did when I was 6 years old. You said "Man often responds to failure and frustration by over-complicating theory and technique. As much as it helps our egos to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you and your fishing success." I agree and I addressed my own failure and frustration in a thread last week. I overcame those issues and placed well in that tournament because I simplified things. But it didn't happen during the tournament. It happened in the days leading up to it when I just went fishing. By slowing down and removing the pressure I had put on myself, I started catching more fish and regained my confidence.

Okay Catt, now I'm really curious. You treat every outing as a tournament, but... First you said that you know the structure you're fishing will produce kicker fish or you wouldn't be fishing there. Are you prefishing like you are in a tournament; sore-lipping all your quality fish before the tournament? Next, you said that you would never experiment with new lures during a tournament. Later, you said that there are no new lures or techniques. I would have to agree with you on that, but I realize that I am not proficient with all of them. If there are no new lures or techniques and you would never experiment during a tournament, when do you try something new? Are you saying that you are proficient with every lure? Are you saying that you don't want to add anything to your arsenal? I'm sure thats not it because you learn something new every outing. What exactly are you learning? One last thing. Can you please explain to me how going fishing with a primary purpose of learning a new technique translates into turning off my mental preperation and accepting defeat.

I've always prefered rooster tails for trout fishing. The panther martin blades do spin better, but they seem to have a larger profile and I like small lures for trout.

#1 Strike King #2 Terminator I agree with Bass fisherman that you only need those few colors, but I would add bleeding white to that list.

Catt, I can only hope that someday I have the vast amount of knowledge and experience that you possess. Perhaps then, when I have nothing left to learn, I will treat every outing as a tournament.

Great pics!

Nice fish!

This isn't food, but it cracked me up!

Most of the stripers I've caught have been by accident. They are a lot of fun though and Lake Murray is supposed to be a great striper lake.

The first tournament I ever fished was on Milford Lake. The wind was blowing like crazy and the tournament probably should have been called off. 60 fishermen brought in a total of two fish that day! Fortunately, one of them was mine. I took second place with 2.75 lbs. I think the winners fish weighed a little over three lbs.

Yes, the goal is to catch fish, but not neccesarily in a "mental tournament" mindset. Would you go into a tournament with a plan to use a technique you had never practiced? I wouldn't. Today I went out wanting to try out the jig tips that Joe S. posted. I knew that there were a lot of bass holding in thick grass, but I didn't think that would be the ideal place for this experiment, so I left those fish to move to a more suitable area. In a tournament, would you leave active fish because you wanted to catch fish on a different type of lure? I wouldn't.

I'm like diver_sniper in that I sometimes fish a mental tournament, sometimes fish to experiment, and sometimes I just go fishing.

My brother lives near Lake Hudson. He says the fishing has been "fair". He suggested checking out the Spavinaw Creek area.

I'm going to say crankbaits. Probably not the most productive year round bait, but they are my favorite way to fish.

Usually I just chuck 'em in the trash, but I keep the ones from states I haven't fished before. My goal is to have one from every state. Nine down and 41 to go!

I would love to see all three of those teams lose! I think OSU/TT will be the best game.

Maybe if the bait monkey would have struck my exwife from time to time I would still be married!

I had no idea that some people are offended by the use of a landing net!