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As a co-angler in tournaments I try to be as flexible as possible. That means carrying much more than I would ever need to cover as many scenarios as possible. With that said one problem I always faced was with managing spinnerbaits. I have one little nook where I put a bunch in and it never fails ... they get tangled, wrapped up in one another etc. I decided to tackle the problem and came up with a very simple solution ... At Staples the sell horizontal badge holders. They are about 4 x 4 and hold a spinnerbait perfect. When stacking them in my plano the end result is a piled up deck of cards which you can sort through much easier. It's not proven yet but I am sure happy with the results thus far ... thought I would share in case it would help someone else.

After years of mentioning to my wife (she probably classified it as whining) that I wanted a bass boat, she surprised me the other day by showing me a picture of a boat for sale in our area. After debating for a week or so I called the guy up and finally pulled the trigger and brought it home. It's a 1997 Trtiton TR21 with a Johnson Venom 200. The gentleman had bought it in 1999 and fished a lot of local tournaments. It has a few dings and scratches (which is okay because I do not have to worry about being the first to scratch it now) and the carpet will probably need replaced in a few years but mechanically the boat is in great shape. The engine starts right up and is as clean as you could ask for with its age. I've primarily been a bank fisherman the last 20 years so this is going to be a very big learning experience. But, a day on the water is still better than a day at work.

My uncle called me and asked to go down to tallahasee to go redfishing with him and of course I never pass up a good fishing trip so I told him alright and went down there today, I barely ever get to go saltwater fishing so I really try to get the most out of these trip, we caught a lot of redfish and even got some catfish, jacks, trout, and mackerel! Caught a pretty big 24.5" redfish and my uncle caught a 28" most of them came on shrimp but some came on artificials. It's a blast catching reds on spinning rods hearing that drag screaming!

That's odd... That same japanese reel fairy is supposed to drop off two Metanium 15 DC's later on this week (6.2 and 7.4). Should be getting my 2 - Zodias in the next couple hours by UPS. Pic's of the setups later **edit** speak of the devil, delivery of rods just now. lol Teaser; Should have everything by the end of the week. *hopefully.*

I like my 20s crispy bro.

I remember when gas we $ .99 a gallon.

I would do the following: Take a black plastic 55gallon drum and use a 2" hole saw to punch a bunch of 2" holes in it all over the top half. Now take a bunch of sections of 2" PVC and stick them through the holes and out both sides like branches of a tree. Might want to throw a screw into each one so it stays put. Now use a smaller drill and blast tons and tons of small holes in the 2" PVC to give room for fry and baitfish to move in and out of the 2" PVC (actually this may be easier to do first). Now use a jigsaw to cut some big 12"-18"ish holes lower down on the side of the barrel and in the top to allow places for big fish to move in & out (and panfish to move around the tangle of tubes up top). Now fill the bottom 12" or so of the barrel with cement, allow to dry and sink it in your favorite place. It will support literally any size fish from fry to lunker and last forever. Please forgive the crude visual aid that lacks detail but perhaps it will help to see what I'm talking about.

About 3 years ago we had a baby gator following us around. I almost upgraded my 7' MH Jupiter for a Heavy Fast flyswatter, but was able to refrain. Kidding aside....nope...no stories. I upgrade just to keep the wife upset. Got to find your pleasure where you can. Example: Recently picked up a second guitar. Can't play the first one yet. EDIT: My rods might be better than yours, but I can't remember what you have, and not 100% sure what I have.

Use only Spro lures? Sounds like you didn't participate in a tournament, you participated in a commercial. Hootie

The japanese reel fairy dropped of an Aldebaran 51hg on my door step today...pics later!

Guys talk bad about it or are uncertain, then I take them fishing and by the end of the day it's like

Braid.

Best Largemouth 7 lbs 13 oz caught in Maine Best Smallie is a tie at 4 lbs 1 oz. One from Maine and one from Vermont. Hopefully will be able to upgrade by the end of the year.

Hello to all,I just registered with this site and thought first thing to do would be to introduce myself My name is John,I have been fishing for 40+ years 30+ of those have been bass(small and largemouth) I am from Quebec Canada so although we don't get the hawgs that are famous down south it is pretty common to pull some 4-6lb largemouth and suprisingly smallies that are not far are from that I am constantly looking for new places that may have some cover(logs,old structure etc)in hopes of landing a giant and always carry some form of tackle and rod/reel in my car my Favourite technique(weather permitting) is flipping or pitching or punching,I generally use a 7ft med heavy fast action rod with 18lb braided line when flipping punching especially around structures or fallen trees/tall weeds works better in stained water and for the reaction bite I will sitch over to 10-12 lb fluro when fishing swimbaits in clearer water(mostly for smallies) Recently I have had much success on a havoc brown craw red flake and the havoc fat craw blue flake both on a 3 aught hook texas rigged in stained cold water(inactive bass so had to try many different retrival methods and tie on everything till the havoc on a slow retrieve worked)also found a 3 inch storm gobi worked well on early season largies as I usually use them on smallmouth but hey whatever works Recent outing 2 weeks back had me pull in 5 nice 5 lbs a few 4lbs and the rest between 1lb or so up to 3 lbs, All in all a good day out,waiting for the weather to clear up and the water to stay above 60 so I can hopefully snag a few more,of course I am strictly catch and release on bass Anyhow just thought I would introduce myself (if I have somehow posted this in the wrong area,please accept my apologies and point me in the right direction Nice site,love the pics,would add a few of mine but my 5 pounders look like lunch for some of the hawgs you guys got good luck to all on the water and stay safe John

Meh, spots could have been learned in many, many other ways so I could care less. Would it have ok if they had emailed the waypoint coordinates before they knew they were going to fish the tournament? Is anyone with a secret spot privy to an unfair advantage? When I think of cheating, I think of putting big fish in a cage and using them for weigh in. Or cramming lead down a fish's throat. Or sabotaging a competitor. But spot sharing? Get over it. You got beat. Try again next time.

I can't say that I have had those problems or experiences so for the most part, I am a very happy customer.

So. . Pitchforks and torches?

I've been watching some of his videos for some time now his work is insane. I want to try some of the eva inlay/overlay technique he does he has videos and a write up of how he does it.

I say the 55lb trust will be perfect. Also if you're thinking about a Minn Kota (which I use & like) Highly Recommend getting a model with the Digital Maximizer provides up to five times longer run time on a single charge and go with variable speeds - rather than 5 set ones Good Luck with your purchase and Congrats on your First & New Boat. A-Jay

Hop on one foot and pat you head with your left hand while waving a pirate flag with your right hand and whistle Oh Susanna in the key of G

Send them to me and I will tune them for you.

I agree with your priorities regarding fear, despite its lack of support in the recent snake thread ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I own several rifles, shotguns & sidearms for hunting and benchrest shooting but never pack a firearm for personal protection. Sliding a handgun under your belt comes with enormous responsibility that is fraught with grave liabilities. If someone is bent on taking you out, the odds are low that you'll get an opportunity to use your gun. Aileen Wuornos used a little 22 caliber handgun to kill 7 men in 7 separate instances during a 12-month period. I don’t know how many of her Johns were packing, but all were defenseless against Aileen. Even in an otherwise benign situation, exposing a firearm can trigger a deadly reaction in your adversary, who now believes it’s his life in jeopardy. In a panic-driven situation, there’s always an outside chance of shooting an unarmed assailant or innocent bystander. Right or wrong, it will turn your life upside down, empty your pockets and have you spending many days in a courtroom, or worse, many years in prison. In Newark, NJ, I was involved in an armed robbery. While inserting the key in my car door, I was confronted by 4 men and a revolver with a silencer pointed at my face. Obviously, if I dared to go for a gun, I wouldn’t be typing this today. Attitude is underrated, and can be more effective than the gun you never get a chance to use. When adrenalin mixes with testosterone, it straightens the spine, lifts the chin and has you staring directly into the eyes of your alleged adversary. I firmly believe that appearing like the mugger rather than the muggee has spared me from serious harm on more than one occasion (offered solely as food for thought). Roger

The thing about braid and line twist is that it doesn't cause any issues for a while, then once it gets twisted enough and you let some slack in the line, it will twist up on itself like crazy and tie itself into knots. So, every once in a while you need to untwist it, even if it doesn't appear to be twisted.

This.

I would suggest a little bigger line on the reel throwing the 10XD than I would on your 5XD reel. I personally use 12lb. Sniper FC for most of my deep cranking (10-20ft). If I were to throw an 8/10XD, I'd probably want to use 14/16lb.

Theres a beer in this photo. I like beer . If I feel like having a beer , I have one and dont think anything of it .

I be fishing it this morning!

Lol at black.... I have heard it since I was a kid. It is just bad info that has been passed along for years. Does black work at night? yes and thats why guys swear by it. But black does NOT work any better then regular colors. If anything its the worst choice of color for using on the bottom or under the surface. Just about the only time a bass can see black better is when it floating creating a silhouette. If anything White would be the most visable color. The truth is, at night the color probably doesn't matter at all and if it does its very little. I have tested my theory many times at night using the same baits but different colors with no noticeable difference. The only color that made a difference was glow and it had a negative effect.

Y'all crack me up Single handed casting started long before pistol grips, this was my first tournament combo!

I went out today and tested out the Senko rig per your advice (thank you) at my pond. I couldn't keep the bass off the line. I didn't stay long enough to catch any size however rigging the senkos whacky made the difference. It was a lot of fun. I am posting a picture of one of the little dudes caught today below:

They don't need to be black or dark colored. A bass' forage doesn't change colors at night and they have no trouble feeding then. Bass have excellent night vision up close, much better than humans. A dark color does let them perceive your offering at a greater distance, but their strike zone doesn't change because of it. If their strike zone is 3ft.,they are going to be able to see it no matter the color. Whatever lures you use during the day are just as productive at night, but if you have one in black, I'd use that one.

i am a big fan of stradics but to be fair, I haven't fished many other high end spinning reels because after finding the stradic i really didn't see the need to try others

Thanks for all the replies guys just bought a brand new alumacraft with motor and trailer for 3000 on the dot had to do some haggling but we got it

Rather than replace your line, you can just replace the 60yrds. or so that is used. Fill the base of your spool with cheap mono and the rest with your favorite fluorocarbon. When it comes time to replace it, you'll only need 60yrds. Depending on the size of the spool you purchase, you should be able to do this at least two times.

Got some good news. I won't be having surgery. The tendon wasn't completely torn. I have 6-8 weeks of rehab. I'm prepared to not fish at all this year but I'm more optimistic than I was yesterday. Good luck out there, keep posting

It gave them an unfair advantage that not all other anglers had access to. Why use the other persons electronics if you don't use the waypoints?

You are one BAD dude. I'm stealing that idea just so you know.

If he passes, he's not a fisherman!

LIe detectors for fishermen? Seems paradoxical!

Perfection! I'm easy to please though.

I only drink when fishing buzzbaits , its part of the strategy .

The bite has been hot over here in VT. Smallmouth fishing was great last week. Hooked into a lot of fish 3 - 3.5 lbs, biggest was a 4 lb 1 oz. A couple day ago I fished another lake near me after work for about 6 hours. The largemouth were post spawn, lots of empty bass beds and sunfish were spawning. I saw water temps 72-78 depending on where you were on the lake. Fished 6 hours and landed 84 largemouth mostly 2-2.5 lbs. It was some amazingly fast action. Didn't land any lunkers though which was a bit surprising. Fishing has been great lately. 4-1

If the man wants to start a poll then let him. Either participate or leave the thread, but do not start your own inquisition. Leave it to the Moderators to handle any infractions of the rules.

And that is why I carry, especially if I'm by myself.

Nothing like Bull Reds

When using a hand wrapper you just slide the rod down till you have your working section in front of you and use the spare stand to support the butt section. It can be a real pain on softer rods or ice rods to wrap the top couple guides.

The first step is admitting it works. Don't fight it. Feel the flow...circular...you pay your quarter and you go round and round...harness the good, block out the bad...all good things