Team9nine

Pulled another limit of bass out of the mud today despite a completely blown (pun intended) wind forecast. Was supposed to be calm, and it was until 30 minutes after I launched, when SW winds kicked up 15-20 the rest of the afternoon - whitecaps everywhere. Did get one over 4 and another at 5, so it all worked out.

I really don’t know. From what I’ve read, Zona/Sanders seemed to suggest Herren’s was much more egregious than what Herron suggested in his video explanation, and Scott Martin’s also seems much more nefarious than the happy picture BASS has painted. Would he have ever self reported on his own if not threatened/extorted? So I’m going with Crosby’s was the least deserving - lol - or most likely to be an honest mistake.

If the Rapala digital reads 5.95, can we just call it a 6 pounder and assume it reads a few hundredths of a pound light 😆

I agree on the no-info rules starting to cause more issues than their worth. Something needs to change, IMO. However, just based on what I've read...so take it with a grain of salt as it might just be Internet chatter - lol - but "Buck" was his traveling roomate. If "Buck" had driven past him during the event and he asked him how he was doing, there would be no problem. However, since he asked a camera guy who is not in the tourney to share how he was doing, he is basically soliciting info to gain an advantage. Being roomies, you know he knows pretty much where, what and/or how his buddy is fishing. If the camera guy says, "Yeah, he's killing them," then that tips "Skeeter" off about the bite and where and how the weather or water is affecting it, allowing him to adjust his strategy. Likewise, if the guy says, "No, he's struggling, too," then he knows not to waste time trying to duplicate what or where his buddy is fishing. Just my thoughts on this one instance, as I don't follow NPFL.

Yeah, different routes to the same place. Wheeler was 20 y.o. when he won the All-American and 21 when he won the Forrest Wood Cup, both well before FFS. He's had the non-Scope game down for a long time, but was able to master the Scope quickly and is now considered one of the Top-10 Scopers across all tours. Makes for a potent combination. If Gill stays with MLF and they stay with their hybrid format, he'll be forced to put a little more effort into bringing up his non-Scope game. It kind of sounds like he almost doesn't want to go there by his many little (snide-like) comments throughout the day when he doesn't have it to use. That's why I could see him making the move to BASS where he wouldn't be FFS restricted. Might be easier in the short run than trying to learn the non-Scope game. Will be interesting to see. Kind of like when, if at all, will Wheeler get bored with his MLF records and decide to jump to BASS to cement his resume and be considered one of the sport's GOATs, a discussion his name already gets brought up in when had.

This is one of the most important observations that most haven't realized yet from all the discussions I've seen/heard. In the MLF format, being a great scoper will get you in position to make the Championship round, but to finish in the Top-10 or win, you actually have to have a good non-Scope game to back it up. For example, if you look at the first event on Conroe, the Top-5 in weight during their Scope period were not the final Top-5 in the standings. The Top-5 ended up being the 5 guys with the highest non-Scope weight over those 2 periods. Likewise, there were a lot of guys who never even utilized their Scope period option on certain days during the second event. In regard to Gill, in particular, since he is such an exceptional Scoper and bases (nearly) his entire approach around it, it would make a lot of sense for him to move to the Bassmaster trail at some point since they don't restrict usage at any time during an event (at least at this point). He can easily adapt to the hybrid MLF format, and I predict he and Wheeler will have an impressive rivalry going while they're both still fishing that trail, but he could likely dominate at BASS, kind of like Wheeler does presently at MLF. He (Gill) would do horrible at NPFL.

Returned to the mud today and expanded on the bite from Tues. Ended with a double limit caught on a mix of cranks and jigs in 51-53 deg. water.

He wasn’t trying to catch any. He didn’t need to. All looking around for those last 2 periods checking previously marked spots and looking at new water. Probably shook some off though with hooks bent down or cut off. Just about guarantee it 😉

OP - fluoro, fluoro, fluoro, mono… Looks like there are actually 3 of us 😎 Braid doesn’t belong on a baitcaster except for when it does 😉

I believe they made a lot of 4.7:1 reels along with 5:1’s, plus some slower 3.x ones. Just find an imperfection somewhere on the spool, or put a sliver of tape, knotted line, etc. on the spool, grab the handle and make one full revolution counting the number of times the imperfection passes by. You’ll get a real close estimation of gear ratio that way.

Finally got to change lakes to a much shallower, almost muddy water lake today with water temps in the low 50s (51-53). As I thought, I found active fish fairly shallow despite the lake being down 2-3 ft below normal. Was a nice change of pace from the past 2 months of fishing.

Though started in the 1930s in Europe, its move to the US began around 1952; It was 1959 when Ron Weber first got introduced to “the minnow” which would largely start the chain of events. But it wasn’t until 1962 that the lure literally took off due to the fortunate timing of having a small article about it appear in Life Magazine that just happened to feature Marilyn Monroe on the cover and the story of her recent passing - one of the most popular issues ever. Full story here for those interested: Rapala - Marilyn history

I try and avoid 3 in the boat even when fun fishing. Like others mentioned, I’d withdraw from the event if paired that way, especially if this first event will be dealing with life threatening cold water (or bad weather). They should just cancel or reschedule the event for later in the season.

Same for me ^^

If you're still interested in the "cheapest" route, I have a Echomap Plus 73sv that I upgraded from I'd be willing to sell, just the unit/screen and cover only, in original box, if that is what you're after. Feel free to msg me if you'd like pics or video of the unit. I'd do $375 shipped. Just been hanging on to it as an emergency backup.

Bassmaster is a joke - Actually, most all of professional bass angling has become one. Pretty sad state of affairs (IMHO).

Wishing you the best of outcomes in all stages of the process 🙏

Been a slow week, but we’re not starving. Think the bass are back in transition with this warming trend this week. Mostly smaller keepers, but getting a few a little bit better. Then there are those crappies - got a couple from 2.6-2.75 lbs, plus a few smaller ones.

Just me, but I rarely drop shot “inside” a brush pile. Not that you won’t get bit, but it’s not the most efficient presentation IMO. So I’ll drop shot around, next to, or swim it over cover instead. If I’m going into the brush pile, I’m usually throwing a jig or a TR plastic on heavier line. Before FFS, you either used lineups or shoreline references combined with feel, or graphed the pile, tossed a marker buoy nearby, then backed off and cast it. Years and years of doing this for both bass and crappie back when all we had were flashers and paper graphs, you got pretty good with the technique. Modern tech just makes it a breeze these days.

Initially, the home lake wasn’t quite home yet, so 90% looking. Pure searching slowly tapers off after that as do those percentages. But the graph is never not on, and since I run and fish from the back of the boat (tiller) 95% of the time, I’m never not looking at my graph. With FFS now, I’m 80% scanning everyday while fishing, so I’m always finding new little intricacies on my waters. It’s part of the program I’ve adopted for targeting a better quality fish this past year (and repeating again this year).

Just one small bass today, so no posts in that thread, but I did find a couple more good crappie - One just missing the magic mark at 2.91 lbs and another right at 2 lbs. The pipe flange in the second picture is 18” for perspective.

We must share a bit of the same practicality (or is it frugality?)...at least until it comes to jeans Then I probably get you there - lol

Pretty brutal front moved through mid-week. First day post front and I knew it would be tough. Missed a good bite, broke one off, but was able to land a pair of 3 pounders…just so happens one was a crappie, and it was the bigger of the two (3.30) 😎 These fish are Lake Menderchuck Bait & Tackle approved (last pic) 😉

We now return you to our most current Big Bass thread where our members expound, for pages and pages, on all the incredible presentation details, skill, effort and knowledge required to catch big bass… Carry on 😆