Team9nine

With braid, I have 3# Power Pro micro line on most of my outfits. For fluorocarbon, my favorite is 5# TORAY finesse, though I've also been using 6# Stren 100% fluoro recently and have been pleasantly surprised by its performance. -T9

Never lost one myself, but I did once kick my buddies Loomis/Daiwa combo off the front deck into the lake. Couldn't retrieve it - a costly mistake for me I have pulled a couple combos from off the lake bottom over the years, but none have been anything worthwhile. -T9

The past several years, I've averaged between 1,500 - 2,500 bass per year. This year I promised myself I wouldn't track bass so that I could try some new stuff without worrying about catch rates and numbers. If I track, I feel like I'm always in a competition, and it alters the way I fish, as well as what I fish for. Just the way I am, I guess. Since I'm not tracking this year, it's allowed me to do more multi-species fishing than usual, so that has been fun, too. -T9

A couple more to look at: Westwood Run Province Pond White R. (smallies) Wilbur Wright F&W area (Blue R.) -T9

This is the first of two MLF Select competitons, this one having begun on Monday. Qualifying rounds each day, 6 anglers per day by group. It is believed several lakes are being fished. I believe the winner of each round (4 rounds of 6 anglers competing, top angler advances) will automatically earn a berth in one of the Cups. Finishers 2-4 from each round will move into a wild card event to compete for the final 2 Cup spots. Finishers 5-6 in each round will be eliminated. Preliminary rounds Mon-Thu., Wildcard rounds Fri.-Sat. -T9

As mentioned, you'll either want a Boga or a Chatillon for IGFA certifiable results. You can get a BogaGrip 30 pound IGFA Certified scale for $170, or a Chatillon IN-025 (25 lb x 4 oz) for between $65 - $80 and then pay to get it IGFA certified. Either would work, and both are considered top of the line scales when it comes to accuracy and line class/world records. I use and prefer the Chatillon myself. -T9

A-Jay: Some of it, MLF has given out to the public in past press releases and posts (other forums). The rest I know because I'm a close personal friend of one of the contestants. Obviously I can't give out exact (tiny) details as much of that is kept under (his) contract confidentiality, which I completely respect, but did want to give the general details of the basic arrangement for clarification (as I understand them). -T9

There is no qualification system to get in. It is a "made for television" tournament show. The anglers are all basically part owners in the final product, as is the cable TV company (Outdoor Channel). Basically a 50/50 split as I understand it. No entry fees and no tournament winning payouts. Instead, it is a revenue sharing arrangement with the Outdoor Channel. Consider them all stockholders if you will. Each of the 24 put up their own money to help initially fund and create the venture. As such, no one is ever "eliminated" unless they choose to sell out their ownership stake in the company. Nobody has yet. The newest anglers you heard about (MLF Select) is their first attempt at bringing in some "new blood" to the group and slowly expanding. These guys were by invite only, and all had to pay a "buy-in" fee to accept the invite. They will not be replacing any of the original 24, but instead will actually be competing against themselves in groups for a chance to be added to the permanent line-up of guys as I understand it. A few will get in, most won't. They wil have their own televised tourney shows, though, as part of the deal, while they compete to advance for that chance. This will all be in addition to the regular scheduled events of the founding 24 MLF guys. -T9

I agree with what has been stated above, that being the correct "casting" presentation for those depths is actually some form of vertical jigging. You could possibly get away with casting some heavy metal like a jigging spoon, blade bait or heavy jig, and then stripping line off the reel as the lure sinks to allow for some longer length of lure retrieval on a structure, but you'll sacrifice a lot of control to do so. As for trolling, that is likely wire line or downrigger territory for maximum efficiency. -T9

I think you'll be fine with 1/8-oz. +/- stuff. It is definitely lighter in action than the M as I have both. I also have a custom 6'6" ML built on the SC-III blank and it actually turned out to be even lighter still in action compared to the SC-II, which I didn't expect. Not sure how much it will help, but I charted all my spinning rod actions for comparison, and here's what just the 3 mentioned St. Croix's looked like. -T9

Yellow perch aren't nest builders like bass; they are more similar to broadcast spawners. Lay the eggs up around any dead vegetation or woody material. The eggs are very sticky and adhere to the shallow cover. Perch will then move out and hang in the general area for a little while, but don't guard. -T9

Eggs: I'd guess yellow perch - one of the earliest spawning fishes. -T9

Last year I used the 3# yellow PP microline for a majority of my finesse bass/crappie fishing and never had a single issue. It comes in 100, 150, and 300 yd spools. Absolutely loved the stuff, though I also carry outfits and spools with 5# and 8# PP. After you've used line this thin for a while, everything from 10/2 on up seems like anchor rope LOL -T9

^^^ What he said ^^^ Those would be right at the top of my list, and if you're talking clear natural lakes in Michigan, I'd almost guarantee the blade bait as the best immediately after iceout. -Brian

It's been touched upon, but basically find another angler who is (much) better than you and willing to help you out, 'mentor you' if you will (this applies to all levels of fishing experience). While some things have to be learned through experience or trial-and-error, having someone that can answer your questions and help you avoid making the same mistakes that most all anglers eventually encounter is the best way I know of. -Brian

^^^ What Catt said ^^^ Very easy to get by in the bassin' world without TS rods, it's just getting harder and harder to find any companies that don't list their rods that way, especially their mid and high end rods. Such is the market... -T9

My average last year was 30 bass per trip. Didn't track in 2012, but 2011 was 28 bass per trip, so pretty much the same numbers. A lot depends on your waters, your trip length and your goals (if any). Those are just averages, but my goal most every trip out is to catch 50 bass or more. I actually had one day last year where I broke 100, but that was only the 4th time that has ever happened over a period of many, many years. -T9

Original Team Daiwa TD1/2-Hi's Original One-knock P-70s Original Bomber Long A's from the 80s, the old plastic version used for waking BPS Stud Fry soft plastics that were discontinued about 10 years ago Lead tuning bill Bagley DBs from the 70s/80s There are likely more I'm forgetting... -T9

My fishing goals are the same this year as they were last year...NONE. Just gonna' go and enjoy my time on the water this year... -T9

Started fishing a local jackpot tourney on a 10hp limit lake about 15 years ago. Everyone ran small aluminum rigs like Bass Trackers and such, all with 10hp engines. Even though we were all in small rigs, the competition (especially the bragging rights) was just as fierce as the larger tourney circuits. As a joke based on the thought of sponsorships at that level, my partner and I started calling ourselves "Team 9.9" (after the engine size we all ran) , similar to guys now who might be part of a pro-staff group such as Team Triton, Team Lew's, Team Daiwa, etc. Anyway, "Team9" stuck, and I've used a version of the nick ever since. We even got personalized plates for the tow vehicle with the name so guys would know we were on the water when they pulled into the parking lot -T9

New and Innovative! - "The ArrayBait" by RedShad - hybrid spinnerbait/A-rig mimic. Working well around here. Legal on some circuits where A-rigs aren't allowed since it's a spinnerbait design with a single hook/swimbait outfit. -T9

Great reference J Francho - thanks. RichZ is an adamant back reeler. They show it on the second half of the show ("Chico and the Man - Part 2"), available online. -T9

I've got one of the dropshot models in spinning, and other than being just a tad tip-heavy, I've had no issues with it and use it regularly. So far, so good. Enjoy - -T9

Do whichever you are more comfortable with. Personally, I backreel all the time with spinning. I also "thumb bar" with baitcasters instead of using the drag. Always done it, and have complete confidence with both techniques. To me, it's all about my comfort level of control and feel. -T9

The Auburn group never came up with a definitive conclusion. A new group has now taken up the research, so we'll see if they can come up with anything. To the best of my knowledge, and from all the biologists and researchers I've spoken with, there is still no published studies stating a specific cause, so any conclusions drawn at this point would need to be taken as speculation. Some waters it is very prevalent in, and some waters it is almost non-existent, even within the same area of a given state. I've got pictures of bass I've caught going back to the late 80s showing these marks, so it has been around for quite a while. One would also need to come up with an explanation of why this appears to be almost completely relegated to the LMB/SMB. In some of the waters I fish where it is very prevalent, I have never caught a white bass, crappie, bluegill, or catfish that had these markings to the best of my recollection. Seems very odd that if it was a water born pollution-based cause that it would only affect a single species to this degree. -T9