Brush Hog20

Really? : X2, didn't we just cover this a couple of weeks ago? Yelp him and ole Skeety should become buddies funny, I was thinking the same thing. Posting up stuff(For lack of a better word) with nothing to back it up. If he wants to see pressure maybe he should hit Rayburn this weekend with the 6,000 + entrants. And that's just one of several tournaments going on. Funny I was under the impression this was a forum where people who had and interest in fishing could discuss their thoughts and opinions...sorry fellas.... So what is the best way to fish a senko.... ;D

If it had been discussed I missed it. As mentioned I don't tournament fish much and as such i don't look at the "tournament talk" board. I will go look for it now tho....thanks...

I was not trying to suggest that tournament anglers are not gentlemen, just wanted to convey how I learned to fished in a very simple old school kinda way as compared to people getting started today getting into fishing thru clubs and tournaments. I don't wish to have water all to myself. I live in Iowa for goodness sake if all I cared about was having water to myself I have plenty of access to dozens of private farm ponds. I only mention the increase numbers created by tournament fishing to simply convey as waters get more crowded the more issues you will get for protecting the watershed and just plain common courtesy. No not all tournament anglers are dis-courteous by any means but I think you'd be fibbing yourself if you said you have never seen a tourney angler act unapropriatley. I 100% agree anglers are more couteous than most others on the water I have just notice that behavior trending the wrong direction and have wondered why? I fully admited that I had no facts on mortality rate and it was only my OPINION. Which I am allowed to have. I just seems like it would not be good for the fishery to be constantly running fish around the lake in a box thats bumping around and from what I see on my local lakes I see much more tourney anglers than meat fisherman. ;D I was actually hoping someone would provide some stats or knowledge on the subject to educate me. Just seems like there would be a better way to weigh in fish for tourneys. Yes it is better mortality rate for this practice than hot crisco...very funny btw.. ;D As a practical matter I have no ax to grind for tourney anglers or any anglers that are fishng within the regs for that matter, and I tried to convey that. I just quite simply never understood the tournament mentality and just wanted to discuss if some of my thoughts were valid if not then why. I understand that communication that takes place by the written word tends to lend itself to putting people on the defensive. You will just have to take my word thats not my intent..

Yes, really..I have no concrete thoughts one way or the other. Just idle thougts I have noticed from my very limited tournament experiece. If my thoughts were set in stone I wouldn't have posed the question in the first place and would not care to know others opinions. If you don't wish to engage me in this conversation then don't, but don't just roll your eyes and insinuate I am just trying to rile people up. I just wanted to have a well thought out discussion on some things I have been thinking and be educated by others opinions. If you don't think so lock it up and throw it away...and we can go back to discussing the best way to fish a senko for the ten thounsandth time...

I have often wondered weather tournament fishing is good for the sport we are all so passionate about. My personal opinion is that I am not so sure that it is. I understand that correctly or incorrectly my opinion is largely formed from the fact I was taught to fish by two true gentlemen my father and my grandfather and I enjoy fishing for what I believe to be the purist aspects of the sport and none of those aspects include a standings chart, weigh in's, nor monetary payouts. I also understand that tournament fishing appeals to a lot of people and this extra appeal generates more interest which can serve the sport well. My thoughts however are at what cost?? There is definatley more boat traffic on our waters and more pressure. Heck I live in a little town in Iowa and most of the big lakes here has a tournament every weekend. All this attention is not necessarily good attention. I have noticed tournament anglers tend to hit the water like they own it an everyone else be damned. This is not what I was raised to think when I thought about fishing. Furthermore, while I have no concrete facts to back this thought up but I suspect the mortality rate of the fish caught in these tournaments, and held in a tank for hours and then "released" cannot be all that good. Again that's just my opinion and I have no facts to back that up. Not to mention all the fish being yanked off beds this time of year and relocated. To be honest the idea of a fishing club does appeal to me. Spending time with people with similar interests and passion for fishing sounds great, but I think that wholesome idea has been perverted by money and overbearing competition for who catches the most and biggest and who has the nicest and fastest rig when they do it. Not trying to stir the pot. With the continued expolosion of tournaments I am just honestly curious what my fellow anglers think. Thanks for your responses..

Thanks for the reply Jon....Thats a bummer....Badger is only 15 mins from my home to..... ;D

That's how I have always thought about fishing. Its much much more than catching fish for me. Quite honestly I have never much understood the tournament angler mentality. Everything else in life is competitive and for the money...Why can't fishing remain pure?? The way my Grandpa taught me...

My boys do. I go straight to the baitcaters with them no worms under bobbers for my boys. They do well with it to. Since they are starting out they don't know its an aquired skill just the norm. My 10 year old I had to drag off the water that last time we fished and it wasn't like we were tearing em up either. It was slow fishing but he wanted to be out there anyway..I have started teaching my oldest the fly rod as well. Throws nice loops too..but enuff bragging from a proud papa.... ;D

Jon, I have been thinking about getting to badger creek but I don't want to drag my boat on the gravel. Is there a paved road that runs to it?

Winterset here, I fish West Osceola, 3 Mile, Mozingo(Maryville Mo) the most. I also hit dozens of farm ponds and small public electric only lakes...

I picked one up yesterday for 189..thanks for the replies guys...

I need to put a graph on the bow of my rig. I have been looking at the Humminbird 570. Does anybody have any experience's with this unit yet, and does anyone have any other suggestions for a good reliable economical unit? Thanks fellas...

Hey Vinny, I would definately go through the effort of getting that boat checked thoroughly just because of the age of it. As far as others concern to size. Take it with a grain of salt. There are more guys out there with 20 foot 250 HP boats that don't need it than you can shake a stick at and they all want to spend your money to upgrade you... ;D I asked similar questions as you did and they all wanted to push me into a 20 footer even if it was 30 years old. I ended up with a 2009 17.5 foot Triton that was used once and brought back to the dealer becuz it wouldn't fit in the guys 3rd bay in his garage so he traded for a smaller tin boat and I got a new boat at a used price. The boat itself perfect for how and where i fish and I absolutely love fishing in it. Given its your first boat and nowhere near your last and its only 1800 bucks; if everything checks out how can you go wrong??

Thanks for the replies guys!

My imagination or is "Eyra" a wuss name for a bass boat?? ;D All ribbing aside I have heard nothing but awesome things about BCB and this boat looks to be another good one.

Not to steer the convo away from your original question Vinny, but serious congrats on yalls new ball field. I am a big baseball guy (Cards fan) and the worst place i have ever watched a baseball game was that stinking dome yall played in. I have been to independent league games that were more enjoyable. Looks like yall have a gem now!

I am fishing Table Rock Lake in the middle of June for the first time and from what I understand its quite different than the off colored small lakes I fish up here in Iowa. As such I am going to bite the bullet and do something I have never done before and hire a guide. Does anyone have a recommendation? As a side note on guide etiquette what is appropriate to tip a guide? If y'all prefer not to post on open forum please IM me. Thanks...

Go with the big boy Brush hog. Not a big fan of the GYCB Kreature in the slop.. They don't like to hold together very well. The brush hog is durable and will flat catch em....

Barely...I usually fish with the same guys and we will generally toss a sixer in the boat cooler and there is usually still a couple in there after about 8-10 hours of fishing.. Really we just bring it as a matter of principal.. ;D seems wrong to not have a beer or two at least at the ready while fishing even tho not much really gets drank...l ;D After is a WHOLE other story.. ;D

Solitude and serenity that comes with being immersed in nature. Fishing for me always gets my mind right and gets my perspectives back in the order they should be. Its reflective, theraputic, and FUN!

Yall crack me up...I have had between 20-30" of snow on the ground at my place since just before Christmas... :'(

I have had the pleasure of flyfishing the White River during a shad kill. Its absolutley crazy. The trout will hit anything that is white at any water level even strike indicators. They are like pirhannas during this time. It was the one the of single craziest things thats happened to me on the water. Not just small trout either. Literally a half dozen 20 inch plus fish will charge your fly at a time. It makes it hard to hook up cuz you can never tell when they are on and sometimes they just all miss it becuase some many are hitting at the same time. Not to mention the white is gin clear so you see them coming and you get a little anxious with the hook sets.

It's definately well worth the effort to learn to fly fish. For those of you thinking of giving it a try you won't regret it. As stated above a 600 dollar sage rod is not required by any means. I personally own a high dollar flyrod (gloomis streamdance) and my 100 dollar TFO (temple fork outfitters) is my favorite rod to cast. I highly reccomend TFO for first timers and a couple hours in the yard practicing. I also recommend a the book "Essence of Flycasting" by Mel Krieger. Its a very well laid out book and will reduce your learning curve.

Brushhog Buzzbait Spinnerbait Horny Toad Suspending jerkbait A good mix of fun to fish and livewell fillers...

Don't forget the craw patterns for river smallies as well! ther near nuff crawfish is my favorite..