JT Bagwell

After being sponsored by Yamamoto for 15+ years and Lucky Craft for several years, I have enough unopened tackle that I could stock a few shops without any trouble. Good thing my kids like to fish.

I saw this video several weeks back, except it was much clearer. If I remember right, there were 2 or 3 small bass that were visible swimming away after the one hit the ice.

I wear Wiley X glasses. Here are a few points on them: Good Polarization All frames and lenses are impact rated (some are even ballistic rated) The company was founded by US Military Vets Most polarized versions of their glasses are around $125

I started doing some Spybaiting this year. I had never done it before but I got some of the Lucky Craft Screw Pointers and was told that was the technique they were designed for. It was actually kind of fun. Normally I don't pick up a spinning rod unless I have no choice but I caught some good fish on this technique.

Some people think Ice fishing is super cool. I am not one of those people. I would rather go bass fishing any time. Ice fishing is just something that I do in the winter to occupy my time when the lakes are frozen after bow season ends.

I have a section of my garage that has a 4' x 8' peg board loaded with everything from hooks to line and tons of Lucky Craft baits. Then I have a 5' x 6' section of steel shelving that is loaded with storage tubs of different Yamamoto baits (each tub is a different bait, Senkos, Frogs, etc). Then I have another section of the steel shelving that is about waist high. I use the top as a work bench for cleaning reels and stuff like that. The lower shelves are loaded with plano boxes full of jigs, hard baits, terminal tackle and then there are tackle bags on it too.

In my full time job we are going through a merger/buy out. My company (Valspar) is being bought by Sherwin-Williams. This merger will make us the largest paint company in the WORLD. (Right now they are #3 and we are #4). The merger was announced earlier this year and it isn't expected to complete until February or March of 2017. This stuff just takes time. They have told us that virtually nothing will change for the first year. The companies are so big that it will take that long to figure out what's what. I suspect it is going to be about the same for BPS and Cabela's. One thing is for sure, changes will be made. It is just a matter of when and how major they will be.

I bow hunt, go ice fishing and get in some much needed couch time.

My 9 year old loves his Whopper Ploppers. His favorite color is called Munkey Butt. Wonder why? I think this is a great bait for kids. They don't have to have much skill to catch fish on it. They basically just cast, reel and set the hook. My 5 year old caught a Bass on his 2nd cast with the WP 90. On an unrelated note, after being a member here for a very, very long time this is my 1,300th post. lol I see dudes that have been here a week with more posts than I have.

I have several different hard bait styles in this color, not just one particular bait. With that said, MS American Shad by Lucky Craft is by far the most productive hard bait color that I have ever thrown. I don't know of any color that has even come close to it. I tried to upload a picture to show the color but I wasn't able to so here is a link to a picture of one on my Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207889666584165&set=pb.1371158367.-2207520000.1472395539.&type=3&theater

My 3 biggest Bass fishing influences (that helped me learn the most) as a kid were my late Grandpa Arnie King, Hank Parker and Bassmaster (magazine & tv show).

I have witnessed this several times and it just drives me nuts: There will be a family on a dock fishing with their kids and a tournament angler will pull up and start fishing that same dock. We have the whole lake/river and these people have their dock and that is it. Looks bad for Bass anglers.

I fish alone the majority of the time. I usually try to take my kids a couple of times per week after baseball season is over though.

I have multiple pairs of Wiley X sunglasses and shooting glasses. Besides the great polarization, I love how all Wiley X glasses are impact rated and many are even Ballistic rated. So if you miss on the hook set and a big jig comes back and drills you in the face, at least your eyes are protected.

Good Stuff Wayne

I agree, that whole concept will help some people understand it better.

I am just curious how many of you have purchased Side Imaging units only to realize that most of the time you don't even know for sure what you are seeing on the screen? I've seen tons of posts online where people are trying to figure out what it is that they are looking at and in many cases it ends up being several people going back and forth and not agreeing on what they are looking at. Do any of you wish now that you wouldn't have spent the extra cash on Side Imaging?

Have any of you guys used AnglerTrack.net before? If so, what were your experiences? I couldn't tell a whole lot from their site. Supposed to be able to track your activity for sponsors. I did a search on here but didn't come across anything. Thanks JT Bagwell

I am on most social media platforms. I use some more than others. See Below

I am going to have to check this out. I used to watch all of the episodes in the 80's and 90's. Good old Bob Cobb.

I just looked today to see if these were still on sale and they have some left but now they are $6.99 (still over half off though).

Exactly! And as I stated, I have 2 off them casting at the same time. It is not uncommon that a 1/2 ounce lipless crankbait or a 1/4 ounce Texas rig goes flying by uncomfortably close. Usually that results in a short recess for a reminder on how bad it will hurt if someone gets hooked.

Well I guess you are doing everything right, so I will only address your question about the sunglasses. Using cheap sunglasses is a two fold issue. #1 - Most do not have good UV protection. So the dark lenses cause the pupil to dilate (open up) which will allow more of the sun's harmful rays in because there is no UV protection to keep the rays out. #2 The lenses are not impact rated so if by chance they do get hit in the lenses, it is much more likely that the lenses can shatter allowing the flying object (i.e. sinker, hook or whatever) into the eye along with the shattered lens material. You are probably fine since your kid only fishes for an hour. My kids fish for several hours at a time and they often catch decent sized fish.

I have 5 and 9 year old boys. I started them each when they were about 3 years old and that was likely a year or two to early. Here are the 2 things that helped make our trips a lot more enjoyable. (They sucked really bad prior to this) 1. Do not buy those stupid Mickey Mouse type poles. If you already did, throw them away. They suck and will cause so much trouble for the kids and for you. 2. Do not use monofilament. Spend a little extra money and buy some 15# braided line. This will all but eliminate all of the the loops and knots the kids get in their lines. This was a game changer for us. The line is a little more expensive but it lasts a long time because you aren't constantly cutting knots out of the line. On a side note: I MAKE my kids wear good sunglasses. I want to protect their eyes from the sun but I also want them to protect their eyes from themselves and each other. Your kid could be ruined for life if they get a hook square in the eyeball. The cost of sunglasses won't be anything compared to the cost of the medical bills. And don't get them crappy ones. They can end up doing more damage. My kids have good polarized glasses but they can only wear them when we go fishing and any other time they are in their cases in my truck. My 9 year old is getting pretty proficient with many different baits but the lipless crankbait is probably his favorite. While the 5 year old is the king of the Beetle Spin. I ordered them a whole case of them.

According to an email advertisement that I got from Cabela's today, it looks like this sale is going to end either on or after 3/15 (not sure which ). I have no clue if they will extend it. Looks like they have a bunch of other deals too.