JHoss

I'm pretty sure that's only the rule for PWCs (jet skis). At least in Virginia, an inflatable is completely fine by VA DWR Regs.

Picked up the frog and shallow cranking rod today plus one of the reels for that cranking stick. Agreed, they seem like they're gonna punch above their price point. I've got a derby Saturday so hope to give them a good test. I'm shocked to see a 10 year warranty on a $120 rod.

I'm holding out for the Baby Jack to be released before I dump another paycheck into chatterbaits.

My point is more that you and I would look at your areas and think of a couple lures that we think are perfect for the area. KVD would go through and have a couple baits for each type of cover and each type of depth. A weedless underspin is like a leatherman multi tool to us and he's dragging a 20 ft trailer of specialized tools for each nail or screw he may encounter.

Jerkbaits, spooks, paddletails, flukes, underspins and chatterbaits all work in the salt. Granted I'm basing that on the Chesapeake Bay where it tends to be less clear. I've even watched big glides become popular with the specks here the last year or so.

And this is the only way I'll explain it to people from now until the end of time. Thank you

Don't get me wrong, I've caught plenty of bass on them and keep a good supply in my box. I would think it's maybe due to the versatility of the bait. It works pretty good at a lot of things, but those guys differentiate themselves by choosing the perfect bait for those exact conditions. So with 10 rods on the deck, there's probably something that does slightly better in each condition than an underspin. I'd think most of the fish caught on underspins by those guys were likely smallmouth on jighead style underspins.

I was shocked to learn recently that the underspin had the fewest catches of all lure types on the MLF BPT last year.

That's very interesting because these are man-made water supply lakes, but they set up opposite of what you have going on. The most depth and traditional structure is by the dams of these lakes and you find the flooded timber in the more riverine-like upper ends.

1) Yes. I haven't seen many beds under a dock per se, but along the pilings on the sides will often have beds. Essentially any hard bottom in the right depth can be a bed. Add cover or protection from the wind and your odds go up. 2) This is kind of a personal preference thing. Depending on the lake or the day, the fish may favor one over the other. I, personally, prefer to find them in stained water- just seems to suit my fishing style best. 3) Again, this is personal preference and situation based. I mostly fish tournaments, so time is money. I try to not to stay on a spot for more than 10-15 minutes without a bite. 4) Generally speaking, you're better off trying to focus on areas they should be in for the current seasonal pattern. But if you're struggling to consistently find fish, sometimes the best move is to just parallel the bank and make as many casts in a day as you can.

I'd expect that hookup percentage to be close to 0. Still curious to see how they work out for y'all.

Got to agree with @WRB on this one. I've been using circle hooks for 25 years now in saltwater and have always had to have the bait/hook fully in a fishes mouth to get the hook to catch. The hooks designed to pivot on the jaw of the fish as the eye of the hook comes out of its mouth which drives the point in. The other big thing with them is you can't set the hook or it will pull out- just got to rell into em.

I'm fairly surprised to see McKinney's boat make it day 1. Have y'all seen the video of him trying to load his boat up during practice?

Garrett may be the hottest angler in the field this week. I'd put my money on him, Livesay or Milliken when it's all said and done.

I would love to see my club implement some sort of rule about keeping fish under a certain relative weight threshold. We regularly have folks show up asking for fish, why not let them keep some of the fish from the system that are struggling?

Good luck dude!

I haven't tested with a scale, but my Curado DC feels like the lightest drag of all the reels I own. I haven't had enough of a problem to need to upgrade drag washers, but they should help in theory. I use mine on my bladed jig rod. I don't think I would throw a frog or punch with it.

There was a study done at UF where they took two identical ponds and fished one with only a senko and one with only a trap. Catch rates fell off quickly and significantly in the trap pond, but not the senko pond. The conclusion is that finesse baits like a senko are harder for bass to become conditioned to. I'd probably avoid fishing really aggressive baits like a trap or plopper that fish could figure out more easily.

Perhaps the opposite is happening. Biologist preach that more bass should be kept and how that would increase the quality of fish in the system. Maybe the accidental harvest from all the tournaments is effectively keeping the population at a healthy number.

A good argument for keeping a bottle in the boat. Makes fishing more fun when they aren't biting, warms you up when its cold, and sanitizes wounds. I'm (half) kidding of course.

Big fish don't usually hang out in the same places as the dinks. Sometimes a pattern is only good for a certain size class of fish. If you want to change size class, you have to change your pattern.

Hobby? More like full blown addiction

To me, I would say it is a pattern if there's some consistency to where you are and are not catching them. Now if it's all over the lake and different types of cover and structure, I'd agree it's just a hot bait and the fish are in the right mood. Patterns are extremely common in many animal species. As a deer hunter, we pattern the deer to plan our next hunt. And we can watch their patterns change throughout a season as pressure increases. I've observed the same with ducks, geese, doves, turkeys, bears, etc. I think it's fairly "normal" for creatures to fall into consistent patterns. Not saying that can't change in a second or that if one individual is following a pattern, that the entire population will. But if conditions are making one bass choose a particular area, cover, temp, clarity, forage, etc then I'd think the chances of other fish in that population replicating that decision tree and forming what we call a pattern.

Oh yeah, happens all the time. I've always treated it as the first bite is luck, second is coincidence, and third is a pattern. When there's no pattern or the pattern falls apart, I go junk fishing with 20 rods on the deck.

I'm no expert, but a few advantages for me are: Keeps the bait above soft bottoms Let's you soak a bait in one spot effectively Presents the bait in a way the fish don't see as often Just gets bit for some reason or another