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Took my 9 yo to the Bassmaster Classic. It was our first time seeing the pros. Special thanks to @Sam for the incredibly helpful advice. We went up on Friday as early as possible, saw the expo each day, went to Saturday's weigh in and then watched the guys come in on Championship Sunday. Biggest single takeaway: the pros are just awesome guys and absolutely make the sport what it is. My son filled up a signature book, but far more importantly, every single one of them took a moment to talk to him: Rick Clunn, David Fritts, Zell Rowland, Gary Yamamoto, Skeet Reece, Chris Lane, Fletcher Shryock, Ike, and many others at the expo; even at the ramp: G-man spotted him and called him over to sign his book even as he and Lulu were rushing to get buttoned up on the last day, Aaron Martins chatted casually about drop shotting with us as he waited at the dock (almost as if he was just out for a leisurely cruise), and Jordan Lee said hello before jumped in the truck to drive up and win it. MDJ (Mark Daniels Jr) was all smiles and talked to us as he was pulled up from the ramp. What an incredible bunch of men. (We were a little torn up about Jason Christie, but that's fishing I guess). It was almost funny at the Bass Pro Shops booth when we talked to a bunch of older pros that I didn't know: they asked where we fish and he replied "mostly ponds" and the guys lit up like they were a bunch of kids themselves: "man, we love fishing ponds too." Topwater? "especially topwater!" Their enthusiasm was completely genuine. Oh yeah, we looked at a lot of cool gear too. Broke a 10 lb XT line at over 19 lbs in the tester (line failed, not my knot). Talked to rod builders and all kinds of gear reps. Went looking to meet Big O and just missed him. The Saturday weigh-in was great. Thanks again to Sam and A-Jay and everyone else for stoking the excitement with this thread. Had to be the best weekend ever for two fishin' dudes. Can't wait for the AOY. Correction: my son described it as "the best weekend of my life."

Decided to go fishing today. It was a bit warm so I waited until late afternoon/evening to go. The water was choppy and after not having much luck with a carolina rig or inline spinners, I noticed it getting pretty cloudy. I put two and two together: why not try some squarebills? On my 5th or so cast I was riding the current, slow rolling it down a grass line when it got hit hard. I set it, thought for sure I had a bass... turns out, it was this little guy: So this confirms the old addage: a catfish will eat ANYTHING! And he committed to it too, front hook!

Here you go:

Told my wife I was just going in to get 1 Mepps comet minnow to fish for trout and I ended up buying a few Rapala lipless crankbaits, Some terminator football jigs, crawfish trailers, and a big musky spinner. Then I broke the tip off my St Croix Bass X medium power spinning rod so I sent it off to St Croix and have a medium/heavy casting rod coming back. So of course I had to order a Daiwa Tatula CT to go with it right away. If I don’t post for a while after my wife sees it all you know what happened ?

As fans of any spectator sport we have the right & luxury of rooting for our favorites as well as making assessments of the participants actions before, during & after the fact. Other than remaining at and fishing from the dock on the final day, I would not characterize any of these angler's performances as choking; far too many variables involved. At that level, seems like anyone of these guys could win and the difference between being at the top of the leader board (and especially staying there) and finishing somewhere else, is often very slim. It's one of the aspects of these derbies that I really enjoy & can appreciate and what may make winning back to back so improbable and impressive. On a separate note - the BASS LIVE streaming of these tournaments is SO GOOD, (especially this one) that it makes me wonder how I ever enjoyed the 'edited' TV version 2 weeks later . . . . . A-Jay

Cold this morning and a little windy, but we found a calm pocket behind a long point. She grabbed a blade bait on bottom about 15 feet deep. 23.5" long and 6.3lbs. Another couple weeks and she would have been alot heavier. Still, She's my new longest LMB! Shes my second citation largemouth of the year. PB by weight is still 6.5lbs (23") from a couple years ago.

Hi Guys, We recommend at least a 6/0 EWG or flippin hook, but 7/0 or 8/0 would be more ideal. Weight will depend on what you are trying to do and your water's conditions. Typically 1/2 is pretty good for most 10' and shallower water. Hope this helped!!! -D-Troot If you ordered from TackleWarehouse you should receive them soon, we just sent boxes full of goods to them. If you ordered directly through us, shoot us a follow up email or message on social media if you have any concerns. Thanks! -D-Troot

Seriously considering trimming the Optimax to water level, switching out the Tempest Plus for Mercury's newest (and not invented yet) 'ice auger prop' and driving in reverse . . . . . Yea - that's the ticket Either that or perhaps I could somehow convince the local Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment that I have a real need for a MK79 hand held grenade launcher That should get me a little open water at least. A-Jay

Man, I met so many members and BassResource fans! It was incredible! Had a great time meeting and talking to everyone from all walks of life and corners of the country (met more than a few folks that made the trip all the way from California!). And wow, what a Classic! I was pulling for Jason too. But it is what it is. It's a tough tournament, and Jordon earned the win. Congrats!

When I restored my boat, I used these connectors I found on ebay, now granted, I rewired the whole boat so at that point, the hassle of building the connectors was minor: https://www.delcity.net/store/Deutsch-DT-Series-Plugs/p_821870.h_821871.r_IF1003?mkwid=s8Myre8ik&crid=38094426869&mp_kw=&mp_mt=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5vK28In72QIVClqGCh3lDwQqEAQYAiABEgKHsfD_BwE They are waterproof, and I soldered them in, since I used the same pump manufacturer for bilge and livewell, and kept the pumps the "male" end of the connectors, I can switch pumps around quickly in case the bilge pump fails. I used the same type of pump that you have in your picture for bilge and livewell, so the motor/impeller cartridge can come out of either housing and go right into the other housing.

I've been popping all kinds of plastics on a jighead since my grandfather taught me how to rig what he called a "jigworm." This was before I knew anything about a Texas Rig. They work. The shaky head hooks are nice with thicker body baits because of the bigger hooks and the bait holder. Just because they were designed to be rigged weedless doesn't mean you have to use them that way.

Thank you Avalonjohn44 did enough research online to be confident what my father had was baits made by Tennessee Shad company in Mn. You solved my mystery.

Definitely not Bagley, shape is all wrong, bill is wrong, the eyes are wrong; nothing about those say Bagley!

Update #3 Some great news today. After blowing out the motor fuse yesterday I was able to meet with the mechanic today. It doesn't take a mechanic to change the fuse but I also wanted him to look at the motor shutoff issue. I checked continuity of the motor kill wire (on Yamahas it's white) with ground and there was a connection. I had sneakily suspected there was an issue with the CDI but held on to hope that it was something much cheaper. Shelling out 300-900 for a CDI assembly, depending on how used it is, really really sucks. I dropped off the boat in the morning and was very pleasantly surprised when I got a call this afternoon saying it was ready. Turns out it was an issue with the CDI. I was very fortunate this mechanic was honest and helpful. He replaced the CDI assembly and pretty much only charged me for labor (He says he had a spare powerpack lying around). He also fixed my electronic choke. Finally, he helped me fill up my trim fluid on the spot when I asked him for it. All this was $500. That's not that much more than the cost of a used CDI assembly by itself! New ones run for around $900. So for $500 I got some important issues taken care of and a ton of wisdom from a reputable mechanic. Now I get to move on to other things. Right now I'm checking the pumps. I'm again surprised that all the accesory wiring seems to be sound. Also, all pumps work except for the automatic bilge pump. A replacement is already on the way. I'm also replacing the rear aerator pump with a 800gph as opposed to the 500gph unit it came with. The flowrite valve control cable system seems really janky to me but it is what it is I guess. If I can't get those cables to cooperate I'm just going to manually flip the valve as opposed to the slider. I'm going to use the front livewell as an ice chest. It's tiny anyway, won't be that effective holding the massive 10lbers I'll catch (just kidding). You can see in the background the manual bilge pump that came with the boat. It still runs strong. The automatic bilge pump I will install as soon as it gets here. One thing that's annoying is this ranger uses a two pin connector that I can't find anywhere. I have to cut the wire and solder the new pump wires onto the connector. If pumps fail on me I can only change them out so many times before I run out of wire to solder. The livewell pump sliders were stuck. Most boats have a circle switch for the flowrite valves but I guess this boat is old-school. The front valve had a lot of gunk, cleaning that off I was able to use the slider. The other was just seized or something. Popped the panel open and sprayed WD40 into the cable sleeve. Though a little stiff, both work now. Not too concerned since I'm using the front livewell as an icebox. The rear one I'm going to keep on fill until I'm done for the day. Replaced the fuses Did some other things that I didn't take pictures of. Changed the trailer winch. I cleaned the compartments and the livewells. They were beyond filthy. Took out the middle seat in the bench. I need to get rid of the wood backrest in the middle, does anyone know how to do that? The screw heads are inside the boat if that makes in sense. The laundry list is slowly but surely getting smaller. As far as strictly getting it ready to fish, I need to finish replacing the pumps. I have two deep cycle batteries and a circuit breaker along the way for the trolling motor. I have a Minn Kota Ultrex on the way (insanely excited about this). And I need to add steering fluid. If I wanted to fish ASAP, that's it. Of course I also want to replace the carpet, give the fiberglass a good treatment and cleaning, wipe down the vinyl seats, get a new power pedestal, and maybe recess the trolling motor foot pedal. But the end is in sight, just need to not screw anything up. The total cost now is around $5500. This includes the price of the boat (but does not include the price of the Ultrex haha). However, I had to buy a lot of tools, some of which I should have had already. If you subtract the cost of tools and the cost of accessories like a boat cover and a hitch ball, the cost of restoration is around $4600. Most importantly, I've reached a point where I don't think I need to get anything else. The new carpet is sitting in the garage. I have the steering fluid and fiberglass treatment compounds. The Ultrex is on the way. Again, the price does not include the Ultrex. That's a luxury item so to speak, not a necessity. It's also near half the cost of this restoration project by itself :p. Shout out to Leland's Marine and Voyager Marine for helping me with my troubles. I never got the sense I was being shafted by either one. Leland doesn't really work on outboards, but Voyager Marine has 30 years experience working on motors.

Arrived at KY Lake yesterday to prefish for KBF National Championship. First prefishing spot only took about 30 minutes to find my first toad!

Not really weird, but I'd consider this to be pretty rare. Caught a catfish that had a hook stuck in its mouth. Crazy part is I hooked the eye of the hook that was already in the fishes mouth, I didn't actually hook the fish.

In 1976, in his 3rd Classic, Rick Clunn won his very first BASS tournament. He won a small, 20 angler special tournament in 1977 and then followed it up with his 2nd Classic in 4 tries. He went on to finish 2nd in the 1978 Classic and 3rd in the 1979 Classic. The first half of that history is eerily similar to Lee's track record so far, it will be interesting to see if it continues the next few years. In the 2015 Elite Season, Brent Ehrler edged out Jordan Lee for Rookie of the Year and when accepting the award, Ehrler graciously said that due to the number of years he had fished professionally, Jordan was the true ROY (this led to BASS changing the definition of a Rookie). In both 2017 & 2018, Ehrler left the Classic stage on day 3 with a handshake of Jordan Lees hand instead of holding the trophy. This may be just the beginning of a pair of careers that parallel each other. After Jordan Lee won the Classic last year, I thought the sudden influx of commitments as champion would have at least a slight negative effect on his 2017 Elite season. I now don't know if the back-to-back will do the same or if it has released King Kong. Clunn cashed in every tournament in 1978 after his back-to-back (30th or better every tournament) and KVD did the same in the regular season events in 2011 (worst finish 33rd). Jack Nicklaus came into his career challenging a legend (Arnold Palmer) and during his peak, was himself challenged by tough competitors such as Lee Trevino & Tom Watson. If Jordan Lee is coming into his own the same way, will it light an even hotter fire under the Jacob Wheelers & Brandon Palanuiks to make sure their mark in Bass Fishing history isn't overlooked? Great competition between talented individuals leads to some amazing performances by all. As a big brother, I wonder if Matt Lee has ever just shaken his head & then pushed Jordan out of the boat into the lake...

I really like Jason Christie as a Bass Fisherman, but only 4 on the last day. Come on man!!! Watching him spin out was tough, I was pulling for him until the end. He seemed to be fishing to fast. Its not easy, and I'm sure I will never know the pressure he felt after leading day two. What do you think he could have done differently to get that 5th bite? I was wondering why if the fish were on the docks, especially on day 3, why we didn't see more wacky rigs or weightless senko type presentations skipped under them?

Don't tell the bait monkey lol, I'm a slight push away from replacing like 3 reels lol. There's nothing wrong with them I just like the CT more.

Yes. EXACTLY the same. I've said this over and over folks. I cannot be any clearer - same mold, same materials, same manufacturing process...identical in every way. The Same

Cold front and winter storm will push them back into the deeper water. When the water temps start to warm the spawn will begin. Watch those dogwood trees. They have buds on them now but they are not progressing during this coming winter cold front and storm headed our way. It will be soon. It will be soon.

BG X2 Way Better than the penn etc knockoff

Guess I got in too much of a hurry. I sent mine to Blue already.

Is this 4th Nor'easter that's going to whack us tomorrow your doing? Who do you know in the "man upstairs weather department"? Or do you own stock in a marshmallow factory? Ugh!!!!! I like winter, but enough is enough...Happy Vernal Equinox everyone!

I'll take the easy one first, YES, bluegill is a good color this time of year. I like a more neutral one, but I'll go with a brighter one if that's not doing it, or if the vis goes bad. As always, let the fish decide. Now for retrieves, It depends, but this time of year, when I'm throwing a squarebill (and I am throwing it right now) I am trying to make it almost act like a jerk bait, or start and stop in varying distance/pause, so I'll go with one that doesn't want to race to the surface, and lingers before slowly rising. I'm usually looking for fish in or around the first break to the spawning shallow areas, as well as the shallow themselves. I am not looking to hit stuff, but I'm not avoiding it unless there is sticky grass or goop. These fish usually are just laying on the bottom in 2-6 feet of water and won't go far to grab a bait, but will bite readily if you run it passed their face, so I'm covering water until I find some, and I usually catch a few close together. Once I think I have an idea, I'll try to duplicate expanding, then come back with a t-rig or the like to pick up the ones I missed. One of my favorite times to fish.

Hey guys, I haven’t been on here in a few months but have been back lurking around this week, so many of you don’t know me. Anyways, over the last few months I’ve realized a valueable lesson about life and fishing that I felt the need to share. I learned that time is an extremely valuable thing... especially when it comes to time that we have to go fishing. I know this is a cliché saying but many people do not realize the truth in this statement until life hits and they can’t do the thing they love as much as they used to anymore. Back in high school I used to fish tournaments every weekend, fish every break, and every other time I had a chance. Normally about three to four days a week. I gruaduated in last may and decided to join the army and start college around the same time. (Not a great idea there’s no extra minutes in life). Long story short last weekend was the first time I’ve been fishing since I graduated. I remember being mad if I didn’t have more than four hours to fish and wouldn’t go. Now I’m just thankful to be back on the water at least for a few hours a week. You can bet that even if I only have one hour I’m going to take it now. I guess the moral of my story is no matter how old you are, don’t take the time you have to chase these little green fish for granted. I’m just glad I learned at 19 instead of 49 and had regrets looking back.

I learned two of my favorite lakes have live cam feed, and no matter how long I stare at them, it doesn't make the ice out happen any sooner

What I don't get is the name, Vexus (Vex us) vex [veks] VERB make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters. "the memory of the conversation still vexed him" · [more] synonyms: annoy · irritate · infuriate · anger · incense · inflame · enrage · irk · chagrin · exasperate · madden · pique · provoke · nettle · disturb · upset · perturb · discompose · put out · try · [more]

I hope all you guys that got, are getting the Heritage Edition have as much fun and excitement with your new boat as you've had on this thread. But, you've got a long way to go to catch the Pelican, Bass Raider owner's thread. Good luck to all of you. Don't let the naysayers get you down.

Awesome progress. Just an FYI, I have made many a run to Radio Shack to get oddball connectors. Last time was replacing my old style Water Pressure Gauge with the new style. Ranger sent the wrong wiring pigtail and we headed out and made one ourselves. Depending on the level of oxidation in the gel, it will be well worth you time to wet sand. Some products will make it look new only to have the dull finish return in a month. Been there done that.

IMO, choking is acting & making decisions in a manner differently & negatively due to the pressure of a situation. Based on what I have seen, I would agree with you. I didn't watch Live, so I can't comment on Christies actions or decisions. However, when the top 4 guys all weigh in under 10 lbs, it leads me to believe they were all fooled into believing that which worked the 2 days before was going to work on Sunday. If only one of the top 10 had such low weights, then it would be appropriate to say someone choked. Since more anglers came in with low weights than high weights, I prefer to give Jordan Lee, Brent Erhler & Matt Lee credit for seeing something different and making the proper decisions to be able to catch the 16-18 lb bags. I think that is what made Roland Martin & KVD a step above the competition during their peaks, their ability to anticipate and recognize exactly what was happening as situations changed and the killer instinct to then capitalize on it.

I bet that would look good in the water, but the lack of any significant gap between the hook point and the thick body would concern me with hooking fish & keeping them stuck.

Guy cleaning a largemouth next to me found at least a two foot garter snake in its belly. I was quite surprised and needed a picture

It was an Autumn, end of the year event until 1979, when it became a late summer event with 1 or 2 events following it. It stayed that way until 2006, when it became a late winter, early spring event to begin the season. The reason for the first change was to open up more lakes as potential sites, the second change was to get back to it being the final event for a season (even though it was held in different calendar year). They took a cue from NASCAR, who kicks off their season with the Championship from the previous season. It made more sense & gave them time to prepare months for their Super Bowl instead of just a couple of weeks following the last event. However, after a rash of very cold Classics, including Hartwell in 2015 where boats were frozen to their trailers & couldn't be launched, in 2017 BASS pushed the Classic to mid March in hopes of avoiding ice fishing tourneys. The problem with that is it is a bit too late to then start the Elite series in April, so they decided to hold an event or two before the Classic so as to not cram the entire season into a compressed schedule. Unfortunately, they are now back to where the Classic neither ends nor kicks off the season. Interestingly enough, the last two Classics have been very compelling with weather changes causing major shakeups in the standings every day. The last 1st day leader to win was Cliff Pace in 2013 at Grand Lake. Further, NO day 1 leaders NOR day 2 leaders for the last five Classics have ended up winning, it has always been someone from down in the pack.

Here are some links to download the outboard manual from Mercury's download center. The manual is for 2017. I haven't received the boat yet so I can't verify the 2017 manual is the same as for the 2018 model year. Perhaps those who now have the boat can verify if the online version is the same as the printed one. Operational and Maintenance Manual ---------------------------------- 30/40 FOURSTROKE_ 8M0118488R- http://download.brunswick-marine.com/filereader/file/pdf/4/enen/outboard/2016/4-stroke/8m0118488r.pdf Drawings ---------- 40/50/60 FOURSTROKE (2008 & NEWER) ELPT BF & EXLPT BF _ 8M0000085 - http://download.brunswick-marine.com/filereader/file/pdf/7/enen/outboard/2014/4-stroke/8m0000085.pdf Brunswick Marine Download Center (select filters next to "Launch" until list disappears and then click on "Launch") - http://download.brunswick-marine.com/download/preparesearch?mod=4&lang=EN

I think if you lose a fish, it breaks the rod it's on and throws itself in the lake.

The whole catfish as scavenging bottom feeders is a myth. I have caught catfish on pretty much every bait and even on my fly rod while throwing poppers....they are a lot of fun to catch and you always think you have a big bass on till you feel them shake their head or roll then if you are like me, you are like d**n lol

You did eat that crappie right???? I know some ppl may smash on me for asking since it's a slab but man that's fantastic table fare ???

Ordered these for my birthday in december. Love the shad paint. The crappie is a little more blue than I wanted.

I have seen it a million times in the spring.....go into a really really shallow backwater area on a warm afternoon, that had rising water temps throughout the day, and it's game on. Come back the next morning after a clear cold night, or after a hard cold rain, and water temps have dropped...it's a ghost town. And they won't be back until another stable warming trend, with mild nights. And depending on water temps on the main lake, they might not come back at all if it's starting to get to their liking out there.

My daddy introduced me to the sport. He was a meat fisherman and never understood catch and release. That said he taught me the basics and mechanics of fishing, fish identification, how-to clean and fry fish, and a healthy appreciation for the great outdoors. I would also add the community in general had a great influence on my fishing. I grew up in the rural South and at that time you could ride your bike to numerous fishing spots and there was never a worry about your safety. That community looked out for everyone. There was never a time when l didn't know that if I needed anything on these adventures the nearest house would kindly oblige. And they knew the reverse was true. It was a tremendous time and an outstanding place to grow up. There were many that would gladly take any fish you took to them and were always more than happy to share their fishing knowledge and on occasion a bait. My daddy and those folks laid the foundation for me to be the fisherman I am today.

Nope. I use it to clean old cork, and then seal it.

Daily surface temps changes are normal. In spring, when the temps drop over night, the surface will cool a bit then come up as the day warms up. When the days stay warm and the night time temps don't drop too much, the water a couple of feet down gradually warms up which gets the bass in the spawning mood. A continued cold spell with gradually falling water temps definitely shuts down the bite where I fish.

An offset worm hook sticking out of the "exit end" of a largemouth. Removed the hook and sent her on her way.

My boys said they would take my man card of they caught me skipping! There isn't a lot of situations around here that requires skipping. Toledo Bend has boat docks but the majority are floating docks with no room under them to skip. Most over hanging limbs can be fished by roll casting or backhanded cast. How far can I skip? Maybe 5 yards before my knees give out ?

Well both of you forgot to include one of the most versatile rod Gary makes. That would be a Champion XP DC 734C. I would go with the following: Champion XP DC 703SF spinning rod for all my finesse stuff. Champion XP DC 734C This is Gary's most versatile rod he build ( in all his series) Champion XP DC 735C This would be my frog, heavy jig and carolina rod. Champion XP DC 735 CB Glass These are available in a mislabelled rod for a discount. Go to the "store" menu then select "mislabeled. My last choice would be decided by the way I liked to fish, I would look at my fishing style. If I had bodies of water to fish that were covered with heavy vegetation or stumps I would add a rod like a dedicated flipping stick ( 765Flip), if not I would add another rod like a heavy crankbait rod. It would be a 765C or perhaps a 736CB glass. Otherwise if I do not need a dedicated flipping stick ( the 735C will handle frogs and flipping good enough) I would consider another all purpose rod like the 734c or perhaps a 744C

If your lower unit is off and someone is cleaning everything, have the exhaust horns changed to improve performance for little cost to add 25 hp. Also listen to advice and change out the fuel lines. The Pantera Classic is a fast hull but underpowered with stock 150 Opti 2.5L engine that can put out 200 hp. Having fished as both a front and back seater from 19' Pantera there is ample room and it's a very stable and safe fishing platform,enjoy your boat. Tom

Whatever you do I would recommend getting a rod that will do a certain thing well. If that certain thing is 1-3oz smaller treble lures like swaver 186, 7" slammers and stuff, then get it. You can always add to your arsenal. Where I think guys regret later on is they try to start out with a "jack of all trades" rod, and then when they realize they do want to throw the bigger baits they realize they really need to upgrade anyways, and their "jack of all trades" rod turns into 3 separate combos and ultimately gets sold or forgotten about. I'm still pretty new to swimbait fishing myself but if I could do it all over again I would have bought the 795 and then maybe gotten the 806 or 867 at a later point.

Still fighting tough conditions over here, with water temps hovering around 43 degrees, but had another enjoyable afternoon out on the water. Last couple stops saved the day for me.

Most people can't even cast 40 yards