I saw him kick the one spinning rod into the drink! I don’t think he knew it 😂 

Gonna head down with the wife here in a few and check out the expo and watch the weigh in. Wife wants to talk trolling motors with a few reps since we are getting ready to upgrade soon. I love my wife! She is a keeper for sure. Especially since her philosphy is that if I'm going to be on the water I should have the best tools and equipment I need to be successful! Jokes on her though. Successful is relative. She calls a 30 pound bag successful I call a boat full of 9 inchers successful! LOL

14 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I saw him kick the one spinning rod into the drink! I don’t think he knew it 😂 

He said later on he lost two...both of his dropshot rods. Yikes.

Gotta be one of the most next level and ballsy moves I've ever seen in pro fishing......Drew Cook just released a boxed male to try and settle down a female....bear in mind he caught the male hours before.  

 

Just wild, if this pays off it will go down as one of the most epic moves ever.  

31 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Gotta be one of the most next level and ballsy moves I've ever seen in pro fishing......Drew Cook just released a boxed male to try and settle down a female....bear in mind he caught the male hours before.  

 

Just wild, if this pays off it will go down as one of the most epic moves ever.  

Supposedly a '7 pounder'. Surprised he hasn't switched baits yet. 

 

*edit- Looks like he switched 

The amount of commercials...smh.

Such a good idea to throw in random commercials.

Like watching an important football game.

There's 2 minutes left in the 4th, very close game.

It's 4th & goal on the 2 yard line  - they are about to snap the ball . . . 

But wait . . .  time for a Depends Commercial.

WTH !

☹️

A-Jay

Yeah BASS's product is hardly watchable.    It got so bad yesterday that I had to look up the next MLF BPT event which is next weekend.    It's mind blowing how much more entertaining, and most importantly informative MLF's product vs BASS's,

 

I've been a BASS man since I was about 8-10yrs old, but at some point I'll stop watching 4-5hrs of the same commercials during a day.   

 

Another thing that drives me crazy is how BASS thinks anglers who got cut are more valuable to listen to than the anglers actually still competing.  

 

This event proves what I've learned over the last several years, sight fishing/bed fishing for LMB is the toughest technique in Bass fishing imho.   It's far more black magic than science.   

11 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

 

 

Another thing that drives me crazy is how BASS thinks anglers who got cut are more valuable to listen to than the anglers actually still competing.  

 

This is quite annoying. Mercer and the guys talking over the angler constantly. Also, we don't need to SEE the guys in the studio. Hearing them is just fine. Having them in split-screen is so unnecessary.

Tried to watch but just couldn’t do it with Jacob P. running from dock to dock, wood to wood while staring at a screen. 
 

Can’t do it, won’t do it. 
 

I never saw him cast in 12 minutes of coverage. Also, the commercials and commentary isn’t interesting. 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Yeah BASS's product is hardly watchable.    It got so bad yesterday that I had to look up the next MLF BPT event which is next weekend.    It's mind blowing how much more entertaining, and most importantly informative MLF's product vs BASS's,

 

I've been a BASS man since I was about 8-10yrs old, but at some point I'll stop watching 4-5hrs of the same commercials during a day.   

 

Another thing that drives me crazy is how BASS thinks anglers who got cut are more valuable to listen to than the anglers actually still competing.  

 

This event proves what I've learned over the last several years, sight fishing/bed fishing for LMB is the toughest technique in Bass fishing imho.   It's far more black magic than science.   

It is hard and rewarding. Randy Howell made 1 cast, the first cast of the day and nailed that 7-11 (I think that weight is right) of course on a Senko..(black magic)

 

A Senko guys.. in every tournament a Senko plays a factor. 😉

I can't stand what FFS has done to our sport - at all levels.

 

It's akin to electrofishing: A great tool for fishery biologists, but not in the hands of anglers.

 

It makes for incredibly boring tournaments....and there's only so much of Dave Mercer I can take....like NONE.

 

14 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Tried to watch but just couldn’t do it with Jacob P. running from dock to dock, wood to wood while staring at a screen. 
 

Can’t do it, won’t do it. 
 

I never saw him cast in 12 minutes of coverage. Also, the commercials and commentary isn’t interesting. 

It is hard and rewarding. Randy Howell made 1 cast, the first cast of the day and nailed that 7-11 (I think that weight is right) of course on a Senko..(black magic)

 

A Senko guys.. in every tournament a Senko plays a factor. 😉

I suspect Randy caught that big fish so easily because he stood back so far from it and casted in the blind.    It's amazing how hard a bigger female is to catch once she's seen you.    This year I started making my first pass casting in the blind on high percentage spawning grounds, and then I'll cruise those areas with my eyeballs as a follow up.

 

Agree on the senko, the Wacky Rig senko is THE king of Spring baits imho.    

2 hours ago, Glenn said:

....and there's only so much of Dave Mercer I can take....like NONE.

 

You mean you don't like "BOOM SHAKALAKA!!" or "G-G-G-G-GIANT BASS!"? 

Randy Howell got a 6th place finish. He’s the only one in the top 10 I’m even familiar with. 

8 hours ago, F14A-B said:

Randy Howell got a 6th place finish. He’s the only one in the top 10 I’m even familiar with. 

Already forgot the classic champ ?? 
 

also drew cook is widely regarded as the best sight fisherman on tour, looks like he ran out of big ones on the bed. He won sight fishing on santee a couple

Years ago. Luke Palmer won santee last year as well 

 

powroznik is also a notable angler, he was one of the dozen or so guys that went to BPT initially and came back to the BASS tour 

 

and if you don’t know pzrekurat by now you will soon, he wins everything 

55 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Already forgot the classic champ ?? 
 

also drew cook is widely regarded as the best sight fisherman on tour, looks like he ran out of big ones on the bed. He won sight fishing on santee a couple

Years ago. Luke Palmer won santee last year as well 

 

powroznik is also a notable angler, he was one of the dozen or so guys that went to BPT initially and came back to the BASS tour 

 

and if you don’t know pzrekurat by now you will soon, he wins everything 

For me I’d call that vaguely familiar, I meant to say of the veteran guys like Randy, Greg , Gerald.. maybe I should have said “traditional” 

Gerald was looking good after day 1 but slipped on down 

On 4/26/2025 at 2:02 PM, NorthernBasser said:

He just redeemed himself. Boat flipped another and came off in the boat. Also lost 2 rods in the water while trying to grab the bass that got off and fell back in the water lol. 

Thought it was funny that he went back the next day to get them, but then they showed a clip of Fothergill losing one over the side and he didn't even bother trying for it as he watched is slowly sink to the bottom... guess a classic win means you get those replaced pretty easily.

 

22 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Gotta be one of the most next level and ballsy moves I've ever seen in pro fishing......Drew Cook just released a boxed male to try and settle down a female....bear in mind he caught the male hours before.  

 

Just wild, if this pays off it will go down as one of the most epic moves ever.  

Did it pay off? I didn't catch this part of the coverage.

Naw, and the more I think about it, the more I think Cook lost this event, more than anybody else winning it.    

 

It's wild that Cook only lost by about 3lbs and his final day's weight was like 8lb 2ozs.

 

He let a single fish cost him $100k.   He seemingly made the biggest mistake in bed fishing which is to never let it get personal with an individual fish.   

 

He could have stopped sight fishing at 11-12 and still had time to scope a couple 2.5lb spots or find another couple 2-3lb LMB on bed, he could have won this event doing just about anything but what he did.     

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Naw, and the more I think about it, the more I think Cook lost this event, more than anybody else winning it.    

 

It's wild that Cook only lost by about 3lbs and his final day's weight was like 8lb 2ozs.

 

He let a single fish cost him $100k.   He seemingly made the biggest mistake in bed fishing which is to never let it get personal with an individual fish.   

 

He could have stopped sight fishing at 11-12 and still had time to scope a couple 2.5lb spots or find another couple 2-3lb LMB on bed, he could have won this event doing just about anything but what he did.     

Rumor has it if he hadn't had to come weigh in he would still be there trying to catch that 5 pounder...

Hahaha. Gotta dance with the one that brought ya, you win some you lose some. And when cook wins he is bed fishing 

9 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

Rumor has it if he hadn't had to come weigh in he would still be there trying to catch that 5 pounder...

Haha, I actually asked him on facebook if he went back and tried to catch it.   

 

Doing the math on the move where he gambled and released the 2.5lb male.........it cost him $7500, he would have ended up in 2nd but instead finished 4th.  He dumped a 2.5lb fish for a 12oz fish.  

 

I don't blame him on that move because he was already pot committed to that fish and strategy that late in the day, but not leaving that fish mid day was the move that cost him it seems.  

Got to meet alot of the elites yesterday and the wife and I had a great time! I have alot more pics but these were my favorites to share. Also I would like to thank Ben Milliken for letting me interrupt his getting dinner for him and his kid. I apologized for bothering him during mealtime and he took the time for an autograph and pic anyway thanking me for being a fan.

I know a lot of people find Ben to be pretty abrasive and some of his actions (the way he handles fish for instance) bother me too. But......he is very respectful to fans and always makes time to talk to them and sign autographs. He is also absolutely great with kids. I believe that he does a fair amount of charity work (don't know for sure, it is just what I have seen posted here and there). So, love him or hate him, he does have his good points. And like it or not, the man can catch fish.