Good answer jaskoh, but I wouldn't use the word guilty. It does boil down to catching fish. Being a bass fisherman also means having lake fisherman qualities and vica versa. Same with a spot and pattern fisherman. Everyone here could label themselves all 4 at times. But what are we most of the time. That is my question (and you answered it). Thanks guys, some good posts so far.

well, i am all of them. I study the patterns at my lakes, usually find good spots that produce BIG bass all year long. I fish many different lakes. I usually go to certain spots because they are near a trail and hold bass  between 2-8 lbs ( pike walleye and crappie too)

Caught my PB there of 6 1/2 pounds

So in other words, you used the advice of one of the lake fisherman to find a spot he had already found and utilized it to score success. In another example, had you just showed up at Little Dixie, without any information or pre-fishing knowledge, would you have keyed on those jetties like you did immediately or would you have possibly ventured into other areas of the lake and expended valuable time eliminating non-productive water like many others did that day?

First things first, well thought out Cart. For your questions specifically about me. At Shelbyville, a guy gave me a spot and told me to pull up about a long cast away from the shoreline and cast to the shore with a tube and work the area methodically. Before we even had a chance to fish that spot, we locked on to a pattern. We then began to look for specific areas and happened to end up at the location this guy told us about. It just so happened that it had the deep water, shade and willow reeds we were looking for. If this guy had never given me this spot, we would have fished it anyway because it was in our "scouting path". But because he had mentioned it was a good spot, we had confidence that the fish might be there. Like I said, we would have been there anyway.

Now about Little Dixie, I enjoyed prefishing with you and yes I was aware of the only riprap or rocks on that lake because of it. But, honestly it only saved a few minutes of my time. The lake was small enough that you could tell where the rocks were and were not. That was my goal no matter what. Besides, that day we just ran the bank and I knew very little about what was going on. You knew the lake, but as a guy in the back of the boat I only had the depth finder and my eyes. You told me that several spots in that lake were good. The first point, the first big cove on the right, the dam, both sets of jetties and the cove just north of the west jetties. But that was all based on your experience years ago. Neither of us could rely on that. Things change and lakes change. To me, I went there with only three areas in mind. Really only two, because I knew how shallow the West jetties were. In my mind, Little Dixie is a bad example because it was prespawn and the text book areas were in plain sight for everyone to see. Besides I will go a little further, why did you not fish them? If you knew it was that good of a spot, and when I even called you on the water, why did you not spend the majority of the time over there? I give you some credit, but I don't think in fairness to me, that you can take the majority of the credit. I don't think it would have been hard to find those jetties. They kind of stuck out. Besides, I could have spent just as much time in the other areas you pointed out. I hope this clears up my side of it. I enjoy our time fishing together and I am enjoying this conversation. Thanks!

I never got around to fish the jetties simply because Chuck and I got such a late start taking off. Because of his leg injury we had to load on the courtesy dock. By the time we were getting stuff situated the takeoff had happened (you were already fishing that bank right by the ramp cove).  Several boats were already well on their way to that jetty by the time I even was ready to take off.  Because it was a just for fun tourney it didn't really matter.  I merely started fishing in a couple areas know one was at.  Had that been a more serious deal I would've made sure I was on that particular jetty first thing.  As it was, I saw you and perhaps at least another boat on and off that thing most of the day, rather than horn in on your water I let it go.  I did come up on another pattern on the west side with a mud line formed along a bank due to the wind. I had hoped to pick up some larger fish working that bank but it was much like everyone else that day, smaller fish.  I guess it was a matter of life giving me lemons and I was trying to make lemonade.    

I will agree with you on Dixie though, with the upper end of that lake not much more than a mud flat the quality of fishing and areas to fish has diminished.  In all honesty,  our little group that fished there that day was too many for that lake.  There just aren't enough quality fish nor areas that hold decent fish for even a 4 boat tournament on that lake anymore.  I can certainly see why the Little Dixie Bass Club no longer has a single tournament on their clubs namesake lake.