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I think Tebow is awesome....and I'm a Steelers fan. Too many douchebags in the NFL with some talent. This guy has about as good a character as you will find ANYWHERE, let alone in professional sports. Throw in the fact that yes, he is talented, and I dont know what people's issues with him are. I hope the best for him and honestly I think Belicheck is the one guy who can use Tebow's skills effectively. I hope he plays goal line fullback against the Jets both games this year and scores about 6 touchdowns.

When I lose a fish I come down with a bad case of profane torrets, or throw a senko in on another pole where it missed, or both.

for buzzbaits, it's all in the wrist. no popflies, just linedrives, dont let any wind get under them when you throw it.

Hmm... Were any of you guys watching football in 2011? Tebow Time ring a bell? You did not have to be a Broncos fan to be a part of the excitment Tim brought to the league. The guy flat out brings it to the game, 100%, 100% of the time. He is a great athelet with tremendous work ethic, but perhaps more importantly, Tim Tebow is a solid citizen and an inspiration for many. Whatever his role with the Patriots, Tim will give it his very best. I wish him all the luck in the world. Congratulations to the owners, coaches and fans, this will be a great addition to your team!

I broke my bass drought today, but snakes ruled again. Caught a 35 inch one and some smaller ones. Saw some with fry but they didn't even mess with my frog, even swimming it through the ball. I left them be. I have pics but am too lazy to upload, wish the site had tapatalk so I could just link from my phone.

Fstr385, you may have caught only a few, but they are gorgeous!

Fellow Anglers, I am one of the sisters of your fellow angler Aaron Singleton who lost his life Saturday while fishing a tournament. I want to thank Mike for posting the forum and to all who express prayers to our family. Aaron (Ed) Singleton is a member of the Royal Palm Bassmasters club. It's ok to say if you do or don't get off the water during a storm but we know he was trying to get off but the storm came quick. Our brother like all of you lived to fish and at home in Kentucky also lived to hunt when fishing season was over. Again thank you all...we aren't ready to let him...but he left doing what he loved. God Bless you all!

Anything I throw I am still amazed that they hit it.

should of brought that one home for the koi pond,blend right in..

There was a boater struck and killed by lightening on Lake Okeechobee yesterday during a local club tournament. From what I was told by 2 co anglers who were there, a thunderstorm moved in and he was trying to beat it to ramp, or was looking for some type of cover [which there isnt much] The co angler was knocked out and when he came to, tryed to revive him but was too late. He had passed. The co angler waved down a passing boat who picked up the co angler and called Fish and Wildlife officers who came and towed the boat with the boater back to the ramp. [A strange note..All the fish in the livewell behind the boater were dead but those in the other were still alive.] Here in Florida as it is in other states, those storms are nothing to mess with.. We all should remember to be continually aware of the weather and our surroundings while on the water, just not checking the forecast before we go. May God Bless him, and may he Rest in Peace Mike

Yes, I said finesse and swimbaits. I alternated between throwing a High Power Herring and Jackall Flick Shake worms on 1/16 oz. wacky jigs. I threw several colors of worms, and that didn't seem to matter much. This may sound strange, but I used the swimbait as a search tool, covering flats with sparse weeds. I caught several bass this way, but nothing noteworthy, save the one below, lol. All I can figure is it was merely defending a nest with eggs or babies. The biggest of the day, pictured below, followed the herring, but wouldn't commit. No matter, it exposed itself, and the finesse tactics got him to the boat. I used a Pinnacle Tournament Class Perfecta DHC5 Rod / Performa XT spooled with 20# Sufix 832 and 12# Seaguar Tatsu for a leader. The rod is tippy enough to toss and skip the light baits, but plenty of rear end to control a big fish. I had one last drag stripping run when I got it to the boat, and the reel performed flawlessly. I did get a few minor wind knots, but that's to be expected with braid and light baits, mixed with wind. Water temps ranged from 59 in the main lake to 66 in the shallow coves. Air temps in the high 60s, N/NW winds around 10 mph, clear skies. Fished from 9 until 3. All in all, a nice day on the water. I think I boated 8 bass and lord knows how many rockies. Top notch equipment provided a hassle free fishing experience.

I use snap swivels for in line spinners and spoons because it helps reduce line twist. Everything else I tie direct.

Riddle me this AJ, (I did not read the book) Does the rule of thumb apply that 90% of the bass are in 10% of the water, and if so, are you targeting the 10% living in the 90% of water? I live in a similar area where 7lbs is a huge fish. My biggest local fish have been around the 5lb mark with most caught in the prespawn/spawn phase. A few caught during the heat of the summer. All caught in less than 3fow. My home water is not a candidate for this technique. Most of the water in northern IL is not. I'm thinking it may be successful on a couple lakes I currently fish, but then again these may be the same 5lbrs I've already caught. Does Bill address such situations?

In my novice mind i was having the same thoughts about 20 ft of water. While some big bass definitely occupy that depth year round, it seems that the depths between 10-20 are the most beneficial in that many of the huge bass we hear about are caught at these depths. This depth range seems to just carry so many big bass year round and seems more of a highway for prespawn, spawn, and postspawn than 20 feet. I agree that the 20 feet depth here is probably never fished by most anglers and you are targeting the potentially big bass that occupies that area without ever getting pressured, but it just seems that the 10-20 foot range would bring better results and increase the numbers of opportunities for big bass. I'm sure with ultra clear water this depth may vary, but even then, still feels like it may be a hair too deep. Again, i post this for debate sake and am not trying to come off as a guru. I do remember a lot of Catt's older posts discussing this money depth and it just seems from so many articles i read that the 10-20 would increase your chances. Thoughts? Shimmy

Bang for buck wise a PQ on sale is hard to beat.

in the $100 range, the ***. Also take a look at the kistler carbon steel. I used 2 today and they fished well. Go on up the $140 range and look at the dobyn savvys.

If there's one thing the Pats/Belichick have had a knack for it is picking up discarded talent that's been forced to get rid of ego and then cashing in on it. Tebow will get in line with the Pat's mindset... He'll play several roles on the field, including a down-the-line-backup for Brady. And he'll do pretty well, too, I would think. Say what you want about the guy, he's a solid athlete.

Cut off you lure, tie a large loop in the end of the line, place the loop over the rod handle and tighten the line with the reel, then wrap the line around the rod eyes one time. P.S. There are no dumb questions here, just some dumb answers at times.

its gonna be a defensive battle. rask and crawford have both proved that they are great playoff goalies. all of the games are gonna be close. chicago in 7

I tie everything direct.

I'm glad someone took him. I think Bill will prove everyone else wrong with this move. He tends to have a knack for doing that. I'm excited to see how this plays out. Plus he didn't get put on by a team in the AFC West! So we ain't gotta deal with him. Go Raiders!

Senkos don't really cover water so I'd stick with the spinner bait or a swim bait and cover water looking for reaction strikes. Once you find bass holding an area wear out what lure got you there, then throw some finesse to attract the more finicky ones.

H2O Xpress black and yellow. i use the smaller one more than the large, drag it off the moss and hold on.

I've had one for a couple of years. It's nice, small, palms well. Casts decent. It's handled several fish up to 5 pounds or so. My gripe is that the gears make a lot of noise when you reel it in. I have taken it down and greased them with no change. I'm not really impressed with the bearings either. I clean and lube them a lot more than my other reels and they still make a little noise. I paid full retail for mine and wanted a Lews, but they were sold out. I needed a reel right then, so...if I had to do it all over, I'd have gotten something else.

The way Mcdaniels is on this guy they may have cameras on more than practice fields...j/k Zing! Who do u like that wiseass comment deak? Lol

Caught a bass on a hollow-body frog for the first time today. Was around 5 p.m. in a little pond that I frequent. Only a pound or so, but was excited to finally hook up with the frog, have missed several due to user error.

This year I've been catching fish on the H2O Xpress frog, their new version looks basically identical to the SPRO or KVD. Been catching most of my fish on the all black body with black/blue legs, and the rest on the black/gray belley.

Agree, don't overthink it. All colors catch fish and you need to use what you have confidence in. There are some general guidelines that many people believe in, but bass break the rules so often that you need to think outside the box a lot. If you really want to know the science behind it, check out Knowing Bass, by Dr. Keith A. Jones.

There won't be a press conference with him saying 75 times how excited he is to be there.

A different (see: better) reel will most certainly make a world of difference. A combo under $100 is a tough sell, but not impossible. At that price point you could find an Abu Garcia Black Max combo at Wally World or Dicks and that would be fine, but not have that great of a rod. However, I would suggest saving even a little bit and getting a Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier (regularly on sale for $80) and *** *** Black rod for $100 or a Powell Diesel for $70. You also have an H2O Mettle at Academy for $50, but on sale right now for $40. American Legacy fishing has a $25 coupon for subscribing to their newsletter and they carry the *** rods making one only $75. Pair that with a Mettle and you are just barely over your $100 limit. Save a bit more dough and it will make a world of difference. I say that as someone who utterly despises that answer. It's just the truth. Cheap baitcast reels will make you dislike all baitcast reels, but high quality ones will make you love fishing even more. edit: You should also note that if you are just learning on a baitcast reel, a good one won't backlash as much. I can throw my Pro Qualifier with virtually zero thumb and not backlash and still get good distance. My other reels require me to actually fish properly. My old old reels (el-cheapos) regularly backlashed even fishing them right. You won't ruin the reel, just learn with cheap line (spiderwire mono is totally sufficient, as is Sufix Elite and Trilene Big Game. All are cheap too) bathed in line conditioner.

It seems to me you're over thinking. There is a time and place for everything such as colour. Sometimes it makes all the difference and other times, it doesn't matter. Since your struggling to understand, I would keep it simple. Soft plastics, I use 3 colours most of the time, Green Pumpkin in stained, Black and Blue in dirty and Watermelon in clear. Crankbaits, I always match the hatch and size of the baitfish. I prefer the bluegill colours in clear water and chartreuse to show up in dirty water. Keep this in mind. Clear water situtaions, downsize, tight wobble, natural colours, transparent colours. Dirty water, you want your bait to show up so bright/flashy colours, rattles, bigger baits, more vibration. Same rules applies when fishing water tempatures as well as fish aggressiveness. In cold water, you would want to slow it down with a bait that has less action and the opposite in warmer tempatures. If they are active, you can get away with a lot, but when the bite is tough, you need to figure it out. Nothing is set in stone and this is what I generally stick to. There will be times when I notice something and make changes accordingly.

First, just a note to wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Now, with the amenities out of the way, there is some information you're going to need in the next 30 years; #1, you can no longer consider yourself a "kid" as you just went "over the hill". #2, You will not be old enough to be an "Old Fart" for another 30 years. #3, that means you have about 30 years of relatively good health and energy levels to accomplish whatever you want in life so you can afford to sit back and enjoy life when you get to be an "Old Fart". I wish somebody had pointed this out to me when I turned 30. Not attempting to rain on your parade just passing on some hard learned facts........

Mine is excellent at evading. Haven't caught a fish yet. Hootie

Bruins in 5. They are playing extremely well.

Lmao I ordered the lefty the other day. I had gotten the accurist one with memorial day sale for 65 with a reel cover. Called back to order another and they wouldn't match the sale price again so ordered the antix. I tried out dicks version called escalade and it seems like a decent reel. It's not a chronarch by any means but for 50 I don't think you can go wrong. ... so ill be guinea pig let you guys know what the deal is when it comes in this week.

The reviews on TW are horrible. If you have any issues out of it, send that sucker back. They have the lefty version for $50 and I'm tempted to pull the trigger and at least give it a shot. Hope it works out well for you.

For the spinning combo, your local StuffMart should have a Pflueger President combo (6935 President reel on a 6'6 M/F spinning rod). Runs about $70. Ridiculous value, IMNSHO. It will serve you well, and the reel would be transportable onto any future spinning rod you'd like to upgrade to. I thought I 'upgraded' my rod this year, so I gave the 6'6 M to my son. I want it back now, but he's refusing. It's a really solid setup. As far as baitcasters, I dunno.. I would think you'd want to go with a MH/F to compliment the spinning setup above. Since I only fish spinning gear, I'd have to leave that to someone else for a recommendation. Good luck!

cant think of a specific example of this. but one time i was having a tough time fishing a pond, hadnt caught a fish in the two hours i was there. went to my old reliable berkley red shad shakey worm, t-rigged. was tossing it around with no luck either. as i was starting to lose interest i was thinking a few more casts and ill go. next i proceeded to make an errant cast, it was in the water but not where i wanted. so i start burning it back in. as im getting near the bank i see a streak shooting the water 100mph toward me. i quickly kill my bait which stops right at the edge of the bank in the water. this bass comes into less than a foot of water and goes absolutely bananas on the worm when it strikes, it was real vicious looking to me. i set the hook, a couple handle cranks and i swing the bass on shore. unhook it, release it and called it a day...i believed i could catch a fish on that bait, just not the way it happened... then there was the time i was also losing interest so i tied on a crickhopper to catch some of the nice bluegill in the same pond as above. i cast out and start my retrieve, looking out at the highway and the farm across the street in kind of a lull i feel a tug on my line, look back and its a small bluegill on my crickhopper. being lazy i was letting it jerk around hoping it would free itself. this is in shallow very clear water right near the bank. as im watching the bluegill, this bass shoots out from under an algae patch and crushes this bluegill and goes into a tail walk twice. the bass starts to head for deeper water, feeling the the tension of my line which wasnt out very far to begin with, it circles back towards shore, dives out of the water like superman straight towards me. im wanting to catch this bass but dont see how im gonna do it since my lure is hooked into a bluegill. so as this bass is flying towards me through the air, i can see clearly in its mouth. the bluegill was halfway down the basses throat tail first. all while in mid air i decided to yank like a hookset. when i do this i see the bluegill go down the basses throat completely and one of the small trebles on my crickhopper catches the bass in the top lip and reel her in. she was 19 inches and 4lbs. i got my wish of not having to unhook that bluegill and instead got to unhook a nice bass...if i had blinked i wouldve missed it all, it happened so fast...this is when i learned i could use small bluegill to catch nice bass...

BPS pro qualifier or LEWS Speed Spool has done well for me. Great products under $100.

Im not sure what time warner offers as i have directv, but NBC Sports which used to be Versus shows fishing shows. Then you have the Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, and Pursuit Channel which all show fishing shows, but they also show hunting shows. In the fall and winter you wont see many fishing shows at all, mostly just hunting, then come january or february most of the fishing shows start coming back on. directv doesnt offer WFN, but thats of no concern to you with time warner. just listing known channels that have fishing shows on them, but they will also show hunting too...

Took a quarter, drilled holes on each side, added a split ring and a treble hook and jigged it like a spoon and caught a spot on it

Make sure you keep a little bit of slack in the line to keep it walking. As it's getting closer it's easier for you to maintain a tight line to the bait and that's probably what you're doing without realizing it. If the bait doesn't have any slack it can't do the side to side glide that calls fish in so well.

Caught lots of them.....this is a small one but the picture shows it's colors well.

back when i was little i put a hook through a cigarette butt and slayed sunfish on it in a neighborhood pond.

A carpenter went into the lumber yard to buy some 2 X 4s. The clerk asked how long he wanted them. The carpenter said that they were going to use them to build a house, so they would need them for a long time.

I have a couple thoughts on that: 1. If you are not confident that what you are doing is the right thing, you're probably right. 2. This is where the "tournament mentality" of most guys begins to get in the way. You "have" to catch fish or your "have" to be good at a bunch of different stuff. No, you don't. You HAVE to be good at one technique. That's it really. The better you are with one technique, the more you will use it and become familiar with the nuances of that technique. This breeds confidence. Confidence catches fish. "Beware the man with only one gun. He probably knows how to use it."

The 3 tap theory as explained by Shaw Grisby First tap the bass inhaled your lure Second tap the bass spit your lure Third is me tapping you on the shoulder asking why you didn't set hook! The biggest reason the average angle has hookup problems with Texas rigs or jigs is because they are to slow. Believe me the average bass is way faster than the average angler! The lightest/smallest tap will be the biggest bass!!!

I am going to suggest just the opposite. Forget pre-fishing, unless it's a body of water you have zero knowledge of. But if it's a place you know well, just go out and "go fishing" on tournament day. Fish your strengths, and see what happens. Don't be bummed out if you lay an egg or two, it's not personal, it's just fishing, and you have to realize that some days are just not "your" day. I have been tournament fishing for about 10 years now. The first year, when I didn't know any better............I just went fishing and put no pressure on myself. And we won one, and cashed often. The next few years, I put a ton of pressure on myself to do well, and just struggled. The last two years I pretty much said F-it, and treated tournament day like a regular day on the water, fish the way I want to fish, and have returned to cashing often and winning a few. If I made a living fishing I would worry about it, but I don't.................so I won't.

I think that might be illegal...

I do the same thing when I'm out fishing by myself. Although my music is a little more intense than George Straight. Try walking the dog to some Godsmack lol!