R Tilson

On November 18, 2007 there will be a Take A Soldier Fishing event held on Clarks Hill Lake out of the Wildwood ramp. The event is being put on (not sponsored) by the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon, American Bass Anglers, and Fort Gordon. The day is planned out to let our soldiers enjoy a peaceful relaxing day on the lake. There will be a registration and partner pairing the evening of November 17 and weigh-in will begin at 2:00 PM on the 18th. At 7:00 PM there will be a USO show at the Bell Auditorium. If you would like to Take A Soldier Fishing, you can register at www.bassfishinggeorgia.com . The link is on the hme page under Up Coming Events/News. If your interested in donating to the event the contact information is listed below. Shannan Tilson 770-634-9941 rwsgt@charter.net Thanks for all your support!

Marks Outdoors in Birmingham has them and will ship. or Coosa Tackle - http://www.coosatackle.com/site/Scripts/default.asp Either one of these two can get you any and all the Paca Craws you need.

Without a doubt a great rod. All my pitching / flipping rods are 7'-6" Ultra XL Hvy and XHvy models. Very stiff for making long pitches and hauling out big fish yet sensitive enough to feel the fish breeth on your bait. 7'-0" Co-Matrix Hvy for frogs (castability) and 7'-0" XHvy for Stickbaits. I've started playing around with the spinning rods this year (Ultra XL). Been testing the 7'-6" & 7'-0" Med Hvy with finessee jigs and like the sensitivity as well as the action. Can't say enough about Ken. Stand up guy that holds to his word.

I've found the Ardent Reel to be very smooth and a distance caster. No problems with over-runs throwing small crankbaits in the wind. Drag has not stuck or bumped and the 6.0:1 ratio has enough power to pull them up out of the grass. If I'm nnot mistaken, 3 year warranty is the longest in the industury. The 2006 model needs the hex driver to remove the side plate and these are on sale. The 2007 has a quick release tab on the underside to remove the side plate with does not come all the way off so you don't have to worry about it falling in the water.

That's exactly why I've switched all of my rods over to Airrus. I got to spend a little time with Ken recently and he is a very interesting and knowledged person. And he will take time to speak to you, accually perfers it over emails.

Diamond Shad's are all I use. I like the patterns and rough surface of the bait. The sound is different from the others, too me slightly more suttle.

Funny I was just having a conversation about this topic. I do get cross-talk at 50' depths and greater. What you can do is adjust the depth reading to 50' on one and you'll be okay but will not see bottom structure on that graph. So depending on how deep your fishing or if you need both at that depth there could be cross-talk.

Hadn't been since early-December. In the spring it can get pressure from fishing but pleasure boat traffic is much less then other area lakes. There will be tournaments every weekend down there. Now looking at the calender, I'll be there the first 4 full weekends. One to run a tournament and the others to practice for a tournament. Too me it's a hit and miss lake. I've seen it take 20 lbs one day and 10 lbs the next to win.

It's going to be a busy lake that weekend. Georgia BASS Federation State Classic is that weekend. The fishing should be good that time of the year, last spawn and post spawn type of time. Let's keep in touch. I'll be there for the first 3 weekends in March every Saturday and Sunday. Here are 2 good web sites for the lake: http://highlandmarina.com/ westpointlakeinfo.com (might need to google this one)

When is the tourney and which one? I'll help if I can.

There has been a lot of good input and a great topic.! My goal, 5 year plan entering year 2 and ahead of schedule but reality in sight, just using it as a momentum. The plan, to be in the fishing industry, either fishing or related. The passion has put me there since I saw my Grandfather holding up a 10+ pounder from a boat so old the seats were made from Santee Wicker Grass (way before tournment fishing). To All, Wifes can be supportive as mine is (as she is with every thing she in envolved with), just keep your focus. Family is important, the most impantant, point blank (sorry to be so harsh). Remember this, the average age of Professional Angler is 45. Keep your dreams, keep positive, and you (I) will be where we will we want to be. See you on a tour, which ever / where ever, focus for the dream......

Hey bassmaster91, Give us a little more info on where your are using those soft plastics. The good old C-Rig is can be a good choice in the right place at the right time. The baits you are using can be used in a lot of different places at a lot of different times on a lot of different rigs. Let us know where and or what type of lake(s) you are fishing and what kind of structure the lake has to offer. Some of those baits can be very effective on other type of rigs depending on the structure. Some other good info would be the equipment you are or have to use for these baits. The first big fish I ever caught was on a Zoom craw-worm, C-Riged at Santee Cooper.

You won't be disappointed by the Stradic. Very smooth reel, easy to add oil, and the bushings are adjustable to help with flouro.

I started out using right hand retrieve reels but found I was very ineffect and tried a left hand retrieve much to my liking. I relate it to the "goofy foot" you hear about in surfing or stakeboarding. With my right hand working the crank I could not effectively work the bait with the rod in my left hand. Just like riding a board I'm more comfortable with my right foot forward even though I'm righty. At least back when I was of boarding age.

Yea, I'm using their Finesse worms and T-Mac's, love em. After using the Paca Craws I decided to try their otherbaits and have yet to be disappointed. As the colors run out on my other brand, I'll completely switch over. What I like is they are more durable and the scent makes them a put on and use bait that fish will hold on too. Nor do I have to trim the bait for use on jig heads.