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Even though I own one of those "fancy bass boats", I try not to forget my roots, nor do I forget common courtesy. I spent many years fishing from banks and from small inflatable rafts. Now I give bank anglers enough room so that I don't infringe on their casting range. And if I come upon another angler in a boat, I give them a wide berth - tournament or not. I don't care about the 20', 30', or 40' "rule" in tournaments - give the other person room to fish. Period. Trying to push it to the limit of the "rules" is just being a jerk. You're going to see him at the weigh-in, so don't do anything dumb that you'll have to answer to at the ramp. Nobody, and I mean nobody, will ever fish the same lure as I in exactly the same way. I learned that as a back seater when I tried to copy the guy in the front, and never could no matter how hard I tried. With that in mind, I have no issues giving people room to fish, for I know I can come back and fish that water later in a manner the fish haven't seen before. That's not arrogance, it's confidence. Maybe the other guy has it dialed in and is slaying them. I just know my presentation will be different, so I have no worries about fishing "used" waters. I've learned in any given section of water, there's several different "types" of fish that will react to different presentations while ignoring others. So there's no need to crowd others. They won't catch the same fish I'll catch, and vice versa. Make sense?

What Rhino and K mac said. I was hoping this thread would get closed before I blasted the OP. I help everyone using the lake. I give info, baits, and cold bottled water to shore bound people and "tin" fishermen all the time. I have even taken people I met at the ramp out on the water. I would bet you will not find 1% of the boaters here would do the things you have now accused us all of doing. As many of the members here can attest, If you need info on central Florida, I give tournament winning info to anyone who asks. You lumped me into a group of boat owners who either don't know any better or are just plain A holes.

There was but it... VANISHED

Im amazed at how smooth this reel is. Came in yesterday, threw some power pro on real fast and ran down to the river to test it out. By far the smoothest reel ive ever used before. Very happy with my purchase, just have to figure out how to use the svs braking, lol. Also have a carbon fiber zpi handle coming soon, I have zpi knob bearings and extra shimano knobs waiting....

Excellent - and just imagine how fantastic your cardio will be as your ability to swim across oceans improves day by day . . . . . . . A-Jay

Personally, I find the first post offensive. Why? Because of the first sentence. "Hello boaters. How are you? Enjoying the open water and choice of fishing spots? That's good. Glad you are having a good time fishing. Me? I was until you decided to bring your boat right along into the ONLY PLACE ON THE LAKE FOR US BANKBEATERS STUCK ON LAND." I have never, nor would I ever, under any circumstances do what you are complaining about. You should never paint any group with such a broad brush. Would you appreciate it if a boater lumped you in with all the shore bound slobs that litter up the banks with their trash, or leave dead fish on the banks?

Hooah, I've been following this thread with interest. As a boater I share the local honey-holes with other boaters just like everyone else. Respecting the rights of others is not always common practice. With that said, if someone getting a little close to you while fishing, whether from the bank or a boat, is going to cause you to howl at the moon you probably should find another hobby. Throwing jigs, spoons, or anything else at someone's boat is dangerous and illegal. Some boaters are as protective of their boat as others of their spot on the bank...

Why does the song, "They call me mellow yellow" come to mind?

People wonder why it is difficult to be a pro bass angler, this thread is a micro look at what the tournament angler faces all the time. You pre fish and locate a good area that is holding quality bass that can easily win the contest on the week days. No shore anglers, no other boaters to content with, only bass. The starting gun goes off, you run to your number 1 spot only to find bank anglers with smoking camp fires and local boaters camped out there! This is all part of bass fishing, making the adjustments to catch those green bass to earn a pay check. My biggest bone to pick isn't with the weekenders or the bank people, I should be smart enough to stay ahead the game. What really tics me off is the local "guides" live baiting my hard earned spot on the second day of a multi day event. How the top ranked anglers put up with that BS is beyond me and my hat is off to them! I do not fish tournaments anymore and like to relax and fish during the week days under ideal conditions...life is too short to argue with unsportsmanlike like behavior. Tom

It is customary to Dirty Sanchez it before handing it to him.

When you think about it, the boaters have to same problem with pwc's. if you're that bored you can google how many bass boaters complain the same as you did about sea doos flying around like gnats.. It all rolls downhill

Do you want some cheese with that whine?

Isn't the joke about Berkley Vanish that the line sucks so bad, that you'll watch your fish vanish with your lure when it breaks? Could've sworn there was a thread about this not too long ago.

Whoever's going to be on the water tomorrow be a little more cautious than usual and stay safe. Have a great 4th!!

Day one!

You may want to address your open letter as good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship. Public waterways are open to everyone who has a fishing license to fish. The fishing license isn't a license to disregard someone's space without asking permission to share it. Good sportsmanship is respecting others, if another angler is fishing where you want to fish and they are there before you arrive, ask to share the spot. Bad sportsmanship is moving in on the angler that is already there and without asking. The boater can easily see you are there and vice versa. Casting a heavy weight at another angler could escalate into a fight or worse, not good sportsmanship by either angler. Happy 4 th of July, enjoy the fire works! Tom

You have to mark your territory every way you can.

JIg. This particular fish was by far the hardest strike I've ever had.

Living out in the country like I do... there's alot of ponds in the surrounding area's. With a bit of luck, I've gottin permission to fish a few that are close to home so I get to hit them often. Went out yesterday evening on a pond we call Marlborrow, its probably about 12 acres, average depth is 4.5, deepest being 16ft . It has alittle bit of everything for cover, laydowns, buckbrush, stumps, deep points, grass. I threw my bitsy bug the entire time I was there, an caught several fish in the two to three pound range. and this one fish had some markings on its body that I have know clue about. I thought I would post a pic with the fish, an get some imput from the members of the forum on the subject. Ive yet to do any research on the matter, and I will at some point be on google to see what I can find. Will post more about it as I find the info! This happens to be the lake that Ive been stocking for a couple years now, an the very same lake the I released my PB for this year into. 7.2. Theres a guy that lives 1 mile from the lake that fishes the Patomic river all the time an brings fish from there to this pond as well. So that fish might be a patomic fish, but I've never caught anything looking like that from the patomic so I honestly cant say for certain. That fish actualy got the bait deep, hooked badly, I tried to get the bait back, but feared I would do more damage then good. So I bent the barb in as best I could, an clipped my line an realeased him, hope he does well , as he was a good fighting fish, despite his fugly look! Note - The nice ol lady that lives in that house, owns the lake, and was kind enough to give us permission to fish it. A slight glimps of my two man bassin buddy. DONT at it an dont hate! This lil boat rocks!

The person you spoke with at the conservation level is not wanting to get involved. You and the they guys have to contact the department director with all of the information you have and get his help to start an investigation. If you still run into obstacles then go to the next board meeting and speak up.

I hear what your saying, and please don't take this the wrong way but it is all just opinion. Provide some hard data that shows Lews demands tighter tolerances on their reels than ABU or BPS and you have fact, otherwise it is just your informed opinion. I purchased 5 of the Lews Tournament Pro when they were first released, and I felt the same as many, great reel, cast well, smooth on the retrieve all the things you hear often about these reels. After a little over a year of fishing on them and they were rough, lost casting distance, and 2 of them had mechanical failures that I had to contact Lews about. I replaced all of them with Gen 2 Revo Premiers and have never looked back. I truly believe that the Lews Tournament Pro is about the equivalent of a BPS Carbonlite (Gold) good reels for the money but not special. Bottom line is that we all have our opinions about what reels are good or great, but we have to be careful about what we state as fact.

Apologize for the man boobs. Fox chain on the 4th of July. Water temps 72-76 and water unusually calm this morning. Picked up 1 flipping and the rest on moving baits. Missed a few and got some small ones as well. Looks like the Rt.12 bridge is producing some walleyes. A bunch of boats fishing the bridge. Saw some decent size walleyes caught both early and later in the day.

I bought that exact rod when St. Croix was clearing them out in their Bargain Room. The rod is an attractive, finely crafted, very sensitive, top-quality.....................pool cue with recoil guides (and is a bit tip-heavy as well). It is by FAR the stiffest "M" rated rod that I own. That "XF" action to me seems like an "XXF". I have a problem with tennis elbow in my casting arm and this rod aggravates the heck out of it. This is not a rod for distance casting baits....I tried up to 5/8oz and couldn't really get the rod to load. This rod seems to be made for shorter range, side-arm casts with single-hook baits like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, maybe shakeheads, light jigs, etc. It would probably be good as a shorter range pitching rod as well. I tried to figure out how to fit this rod into my arsenal and still haven't found a "niche" for it. Right now, I have a Scum Frog tied on it - it might make a nifty short range frog rod.... FWIW

Don't forget the Roosterfish! Here is my wife on June 6th last month! Jeff

For hot months, I snagged a pair of $70 Columbia pants (with zip off legs). I use them as shorts until bugs get bad, then toss the legs back on. Got them at Dick's. They are made of that slick under-armory material. Should be able to look at the tags and it will say "quick dry" on the specs. They cost a little bit, but it was the best purchase I've ever made for yak fishing. During the cold months I just wear normal cold gear with a pair of frogg togg pants over them.

Mark, makes that long Winter just a distant blur. This is what us Northern Boys live for! After watching your video, I'm Goin' fishin, be back at dark thirty!

Simply stunning. Nice conquest!

Very nice, thehooligan. Gotta love the Conquest - probably my favourite reel.

@ John, what I did was split the flooring into 4 pieces for easy in and out in case of emergencies. It's 1/4" plywood. The total length of wood used was 8'8", and a width of 20 1/2". I then cut the two end pieces into 13" sections and then angled it off at a 45 both ways. The decks are 3/4" sanded pine 4x4 sheet cut into 2x4 then again cut into the sizes needed. 2'x2'3.5". Then they are screwed into 1/2 PVC pipes 2' in length. All in all wood, carpet, glue, staples and pedestal stands in about 90-100$ in right now. Hope this helps any more ? Feel free to fire em my way!

on youtube there is a video of shaw grigsby and a few others tieing a knot they use for floro. not sure they named it but I have two cranks tied on using the knot but have not thrown them yet. as for jigs I use 20lb McCoy and 15lb McCoy on all other rods...have never had a broken line in 15 years..

LEARN THE DROP SHOT! That is an order!!!! Great presentation; easy to use; easy to set up; easy to set the hook. Let me tell you a story about the drop shot. Fishing on the Potomac River my buddy and I were struggling in the grasses that held the bass. We punched, threw Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, Senkos, Dingers, shaky heads, trick worms, Texas-rigs, frogs, and if we could, the kitchen sink. No luck. One or two dinks. So what did "Goober" do? He took his spinning rig and re-set it with a drop shot and had only 8-inches from the hook to the weight. I told him he was going to get hung up in the grass with the exposed hook. So he rigged the small Senko Texas style to hide the hook. And what did he do? He waxed my fanny! The caught four in an hour as I just stood there dropping my shaky head and Senkos in the holes and dragging them over the grass. I then set up a drop shot and got some outstanding hits. Like the rod tip would bend over when the bass hit the drop shot bait. This technique can product strikes so you really need to consider learning it. Once you master the drop shot you will be a better fisherman and your catch ratio will increase. Just a suggestion.

Try vicious flourocarbon its strong smooth and about the same price as vanish but a much better quality id use no less than 17# and wet your line before tying knots on fc. and retie often especially after a fish or snag as they can compromise your knot

I heard the same complaint when I was looking to get one. If you look at the reel itself, you can see how it sticks out.

This brings back memories for me as my first bass was caught 35 years ago on purple fire-tail worm. I remember this so well because my next 9 were caught on the same worm within two hours. All of these were caught without the benefit of Trokar hooks, tungsten weights, or fluorocarbon line. Looking back now, it was a miracle I ever caught these fish. Anyway this has always been a fantastic color combo for me.

I tend to base jig weight on the depth of water I'm fishing and in anything over 10ft. it's a 1/4 or heavier even with a short thin worm. I'm not concerned with a slow fall rate, but it's ability to stay on the bottom in one place while being shook and my ability to feel it being inhaled by Ms. finicky.

I know a few have said this...but I put on 10lb mono and lowered my drag by about 1/2 and tonight I caught 5 bass all over 15" with no issues...the only issue is the line, once again, got tangled above the spool and I had to take the reel apart...definitely need to look at the post that said to spool the reel counter than the line...or whatever that post was (LOL) but thanks about the drag....still learning process for me :-)

The shad shape worm is an excellent drop shot bait...............BUT..........beware, it attracts panfish by the millions, and GYCB plastic is not bluegill/rockbass/perch proof. It get's pretty irritating and frustrating that it takes 3 packs of them to catch a solid limit of bass because the panfish keep biting the tails off. I am not "complain about the durability of baits" guy, but these have baits have long since been a thorn in my side. They produce SO well, yet, for the reason I stated above, why I would go broke using them often. I have found similar, well producing baits from other mfg's. that withstand destruction from the roving band of bait molesters. Like the Berkley twitch tail minnow, Zoom tiny fluke, and a real sleeper..........the Gambler Shakey shad.

Please help us find the children. On July 27th, from 7:30-10am in Buck Thomas Park, in Moore, Oklahoma, Tackle The Storm in partnership with the State of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Fisheries, the city of Moore Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Oklahoma B.A.S.S. Nation will hold an event for the young anglers of Oklahoma who have lost their fishing stuff to the tornadoes...our goal is to put every child who lost their fishing stuff, back on the water. And I mean EVERY child, help us find them. Please share this story with everyone. Help us find EVERY child. http://www.bassresource.com/fish-fishing/moore-oklahoma-fishing.html

It's good to here 27 produced for you. Right now the hotspot is Lox. Many members on here have posted some nice catches from there recently.

If you can save a little more cash grab a Revo S. If not they're both quality reels, but the Laguna has an awkward mag brake dail.

If you could pick out any one rod for drop-shotting, what would it be?

I got a decent spin cast for my grandson and I can tell you that for the type of fishing you do that you don't want braid. The issue with the line twisting is because a spin cast is like a spinning reel in the sense that both have a fixed spool, it makes for easy casting but you will get line twist, it is unavoidable. The way to deal with line twist is to just tie a swivel on to the main line and then tie a 2 foot leader to the other end of the swivel and tie on the bait you want to use, this will really help with the line twist. Investing in much better equipment will help but I don't recommend doing it unless you plan on really getting into it as a serious hobby rather than just having it as a past time. The reason is the better equipment is much more expensive and much more complicated than what you currently are using so get the hang of the spin cast down then if you plan on getting in to fishing a little more then move to spinning but for right now go back to the 10lb mono, Berkley trilene is a good line and you can get it in XL for easier handling (which I think would be what you need) or the XT which is better if you have a lot of cover around. Spool that up and use a size #6 or a #4 barrel swivel, not a snap swivel, and see how that will help.

I had the 7'11" Mojo flipping stick.................it was a beast. Long, heavy, power full, heavy, and did I mention heavy? Sensitivity was fine. I just got rid of it and replaced it with a Shimano Clarus 7'11" flipping rod...............which is no better in the weight/balance department, but at least it's telescopic so it fit's in my rod locker with ease, the Mojo took a little bit of careful planning, gentile shoving, and a few swear words to get in. The other day I was playing with Vendetta and Veritas 7'6" rod sat Dicks and Gander Mtn. The 7'6" MH, and 7'11" H Veritas is WAY lighter than any thing St Croix or Shimano makes in the price range............in fact it's lighter than the 7'6" St Croix Legend Tournament I had, and so are the 7'6 MH and H Vendetta's. I am not wild about getting another 7'11" that I have to cram in my rod locker, but a 7'6" fits fine, so I might grab the 7'6" H Vendetta, and pass the Clarus along to some one with more upper body strength LOL.

Topwaters. Spook type baits, frogs, jitter bugs

Awesome, well if having to run 30 pounders down with boat using conventional gear is awesome, I guess they are..... Hardest place I catch them is off the beach, once they hit the swash they are almost immovable, we walk backwards when landing them, legs are stronger than arms, my biggest off the beach is between 20 and 25lb. Change of pace caught a few these little terrors this afternoon, great color.

Think I saw you on the street yesterday http://youtu.be/K-Op1Mng4oY

Be sure to hit Pat O'Brien's in the Quarter. Get the Hurricane glasses for both yourself and your girlfriend. Watch those Hurricanes and Cyclones. They are rum and after two they will hit you upside the head as you walk on Bourbon Street. Put your change in the glass each day and after six months you will have enough to go out for dinner. And don't look through the open doors at the dancers on stage. Something you have not ever seen before and we don't want you to have a heart attack or go blind. Have a strawberry Daiquiri for me. Sincerely appreciate it. Have fun - leave wallets in hotel room and bring your important cards and cash in your front pants pocket - stay together - don't venture outside of the Quarter other than to go fishing - and if a punk asks you if he can tell you where you got your shoes don't fall for it - you got "dem shoes" on your feet in New Orleans - when in doubt as to what to say just say "Go Tigers" - and have a great time. Remember, "Come to Louisiana As You Are - Leave Different!" Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler - Let The Good Times Roll!

Up north here we been throwing the rebel crawfish crank in every pool and behind every rock too. The bass go crazy for these lures but we're using the tiny ones. Right now mister twister has a clearances on there crawfish cranks. The bass in rivers to me fight harder.

Silicone the hook hole in the butt, and drill a hole in the top, near the rear. Works on Spros and Yum frogs.

Hahaha after reading this thread, i was looking all over the web at the NRX, after hours of seeing prices in the 500s, i started looking at GLX