Shad_Master

Yeah, your'e right - he doesn't really dominate 3 Classic wins 5 AOY 17 1st place 11 2nd place 16 3rd place $4.1 million in earnings Yeah, everybody's records look like that : Besides, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds never struck out and Tiger Woods never made a bogey. Come on, the guy is dominant in this sport. That's a given. The question is what affect does it have on the sport? Is he a hero to those comming up or does he make it less appealing?

Well, by all accounts it looks like KVD has wrapped up another one, although it has been pretty exciting - waiting to see the weigh-in and the wrap-up show later this evening. But can't help wondering, does having one angler totally dominate make you more or less excited about watching? Not trying to take anything away from this guy, and untill they weigh-in, can't even be certain that he has it. But I find myself among those waiting for the train wreck that you know ain't gonna come.

I have said it before and I will say it again -- GULP! is fish candy - rig 'em texas style and throw 'em on the edges of grass mats or under docks. They don't have all the features of a Senko, but Senko don't have that GULP! sent. Use 'em to find the fish and then switch to some other bait to catch 'em.

When I first got by bi-focals, our bedroom was on the lower level of the house - that night when it was time to go to bed, I had to sit down and scoot on my butt to get down the stairs - it does get easier

I use those plastic shoe boxes and have one for each of the different styles of baits: Senko type trailers worms tubes etc., etc. - then if I am fishing as a non-boater, I can gather up some from each of the categories to fill my smaller tackle box.

Actually not a bad question - I have been working on this for a couple of years now - the "Mike's Special" color is kind of a robin's egg blue - and I have found crawdad pinchers to be this color in this area - but there aren't any trailers that match. I have tried taking a white trailer and dying it blue and this is about the closest I have come so far. Other than that, I have tried using green pumpkin and some sort of rootbeer to try to imitate craws. I pretty good jig and I think if the trailers ever do catch up with this color it will be awsome.

I have a clear plastic "spook-like" lure that I have gotten a few reaction bites on - if that helps at all. I suppose those lures might lend some interesting input into the importance of color when choosing a lure. Let us know how that works out for you.

They could be ZOOM swimming chunks

I personally prefer the ZOOM Horney Toads - mostly because I am a fan of most ZOOM products and the price is right - but I have used other brands as well and have not found any that I truly don't like. I usually rig 'em on a 4/0 hook EWG (the same one I would use for other soft plastics - that way I can switch up if I need to), weightless and fish 'em over the tops of weeds and along bank edges early and late in the day.

I think fish are like people in one particular way - some are smarter than others. I don't believe that fish have the capacity for rational thought (e.g. oh, this is that same lure I tried to eat last week and got yanked out of the water - I better leave it alone). I do think that instinct is the major factor in why fish do what they do and instinct come from experience combined with natural traits.

keep hook wet

A couple of years ago I was fishing a tournament in the fall - my partner was stuck on throwing a white spinner bait as the report was that bass were feeding on shad - he experienced a "professional overrun" and after he got it picked out and began to reel in, he discovered he had our first bass of the day - the light bulb went off and I tied on a whilte jig and began fishing it on bottom and filled out my card. Water was slightly stained with pretty strong winds - he stuck with the spinner bait and didn't do nearly as well on the day.

X2 X2.....

The lottery is a tax on mathematical ignorance

The thing that struck me was that it looked like after almost every series Gilbert was sitting by himself on the sidelines with no head phones on - shouldn't there have been some coach helping him work through what was going on - later in the game one player could be seen sitting with him and talking to him. Not much support for a young kid in a pressure situation.

18" on the ground on Tuesday - an additional 3" to 4" yesterday - winds 30 - 40 mph today with wind-chills -15* to -22* - drifting all over the place - why the h**l am I living this far north?

Don't know how they work; Don't know why they work - they just work. I usually keep both the small ones and the larger one's in my tackle box - esp when I am fishing in a lot of grass or brush piles. Try 'em - you'll like 'em.

Personally I just consider it something else to be messing with when I could be fishing - if the water is too muddy for the fish to see the lure, I use something besides a worm - now this is my opinion, but others may have anohter one.

This is similar to fishing a spoon and can be effective at times - I find it especially effective in the early spring and late fall - not so much in between. Another bait that can be yo-yo'd with some success is a chatter bait.

Really cool - been there done that - thanks for sharing

Thanks for the reply - you have an interesting point.

I had posted this originally in the General Bass Fishing section in hopes of getting some insight into how the PAA came to this decision...so if you happen to be stumbling around in the dark and run across this post and have any information - I would appreciate a response - thanks.

I've been watching the Professional Anglers Association tournaments the last couple of weeks and noticed that these guys are carrying nets in their boats and using them some of the time - why would they do this when they can't do it on the Elite Tourney Schedule?

As a transplanted southerner living up here in the frozen tundra of Nebraska, I have been having this problem for a long time. Bass Pro Shops sells "Boot Insulators" that you put on over your boots to hold in warmth. I haven't had a chance to try them out on the water yet, but have worn them while traveling around and working in the grarage during the recent snow storm and sub-zero temperatures and they seem to work great. They are not made for hiking in the woods, but are comfortable and do seem to do the trick. You might check them out -- BTW, they are on sale right now so watch the price when you check out.

Defense gets no respect. That's just the way it is. :-/ If that is the case, then they need to stop calling it the best college player and call it the award for the best offensive player. All of these guys are good, there is no doubt, but when you have five guys sitting there and one just mopped the floor with another one the week before - there is no way the mop should end up ranked higher.