J Francho

Almost all my night fishing is steady, especially if there isn't a moon to help them visually locate the bait.

Dude, glue the dividers. Yep. Clear silicone is easily removed if you want to change the layout. For tiny hooks, you can put a small glob of silicone in the tray, and when it dries just stick the hook points in the silicone. makes it very easy to get at them.

I can only add a few things here. Although DS is most often associated with light finesse tackle, I have caught fish using anything from 4# FC and a specialized "DS spinning rod" to 65# braid, a heavy weight, and a flipping stick. There are two key attributes that make up a DS rig. First, the weight is on the bottom. Second, the hook is in direct connection with the rod tip, unlike a Carolina or Texas rig. The purpose of the rig is to hold ANY soft plastic bait in the strike zone longer to entice a strike, even if you are not fishing vertically. It can also be used when drifting, to keep the bait just above nasty cover, such as zebra mussels in the Great Lakes. You can also do a vertical version of "poofing" by dropping the weight repeatedly to the bottom, kicking up bottom debris like a C-rig. Use a hook that is appropriate to the bait and cover you are fishing. I like lite wire Owner Downshot Offset hooks for weedless, and Owner Mosquito hooks for nose hooking. I've even used 7/0 jerkbait hooks when using the magnum flipping rig for "cannonballing" pads with big flukes. Use line that's appropriat for cover. Braid for weeds, FC rocks. Mono works well too, but not as well for deep presentations. FC shines for this since it sinks, and allows you to use the smallest possible weight. Speaking of weight, bigger is not better. Use the smallest possible - just enough to get the bait down, and hold it in place. I like pencil weights for current and round weights everywhere else. The point of the specialized clip on weights is not to clear out your wallet, but to make the rig QUICKLY adjustable. Many times a 6" adjustment in the length of the drop line has meant the difference between fish on or skunked. I also like tungsten due to its smaller profile, which allows it to get down even faster than other alternative weights, like steel or tin (I'm in NY - not much lead to be found). Finally, experiment. Floating type, "shaky head" type baits don't sing, and therefore just shake. Salty baits sink (some pretty quickly, too) and allow you to work the tip. Shake soft and slow, twitch like you are on your first date. The fish will tell you what they want.

All good stuff. Let add that my current season's best, a 5-8 spinnerbait fish was a totally uneventful landing. I wasn't even sure it was a season's best until I weighed it. There have been plenty of 3's and 4's that have been hairy battles, though.

If your desire is to fish competitively, find a club that needs non boaters. I can't help but to notice it is an "off shore" tournament. What does this mean? What species? I think there are missing details in the original question that need to be cleared up before continuing the livewell/basket/stringer/shiskabob debate.

I noticed a down slide, but I don't think its exclusively due to gobies. The lake is changing and so is the forage base, so things are in flux. I'm catching good numbers and even better size class this summer. I don't know if there will 100 fish days like there were in the early 90s, but it isn't all that bad. Many of the fish I've caught have gobies (and big gobies at that) in their craw. That should be a big clue as to how to fish for them. Big tubes have worked consistently for me lately, though other baits catch them as well.

Good luck with this event!