gulfcaptain

I never cut it shorter then it is. I may take a few pieces of it out and thin it some, but I don't trim it shorter.

My last post came after fishing an event paying that $500 fee. I had a blast with my two pro's I fished with and they welcomed me to fish with them any time and had great day on the water even with fishing being tough. The points I made are valid. If you're fishing a tournament you are along for the ride as a co-angler. If they are struggling then of course you may suggest some ideas to improve the conditions for both. You have to think about how YOU would want to be treated if you had someone in your boat. If I agreed to meet someone at a certain time I would expect you to be there. I would expect you to be helpful, organized, have your own equipment, treat my boat with respect. IF you could back my trailer up great, one less thing I have to worry about that morning or afternoon when everyone is trying to launch or pull their boats out. And the statement about they need us to fish, um....no, they need the boaters first. Without the boaters there is no tournament. Be respectful and if you fish with one boater one day who's on fish and the next with one who is having trouble, keep your mouth shut about where you were the day before. Those weren't your spots and they aren't yours to share. I was nervous about fishing these but after doing so I have more respect for the pros/boaters. But my attitude and respectfulness also lead me to the ability to fish with the same guys prior to the next tournament.

No, if I was wrong about him being the first, then it was a mistake if someone else had one the Classic on their home lake. But I am in agreement about this "brushgate"....that's what I'm calling it. No congrat's post about how he fished hard to win, just "hey did you know he dropped 50+ brush piles in Lake Heartwell". Then all the posts with the feel that he has done something wrong even though he lives there. Maybe he fishes the lake when he's home!!! Maybe that's why he planted them there over the many years of living there for his enjoyment when he's home fishing. If he planted 50 brush piles at Grand Lake or 50 at Lake of the Ozarks months before a Classic then I could see someone making these statements. When the lake is in your backyard almost literally then what's the big deal. He lives there and he planted structure on his home lake. Again, Congrats to Casey for winning a tough Classic in some very tough conditions.

okay, my mistake. Must have read it wrong. But he still lives there which is my main point of that post.

I wouldn't worry too much unless you're fishing a cheap rod and cheap coarse braid. Have SS guides on an older Lighting Rod and never had a issue with Power Pro, or 832. If you use a good braid you shouldn't have any issues.

Wow, really don't care. He lives there. If he plants structure on the lake he LIVES ON why is that a big deal. If he lived on the lake and had a boat dock, would we be discussing that he fished around it. Come on, this isn't really that big of a deal. Honestly it's not. And he is the first person to EVER win a Classic on his home lake. And that the OP didn't state the timeline or when he planted these brush piles. If I lived on a lake I'd plant brush piles in it too. And if I got lucky enough to fish at that level and had a tournament on my home waters, then it is what it is. Congrats to Casey Ashley for his win in some tough fishing conditions.

The great thing about the A-rig, it's up to you to put the pieces together and find what works for you. Everyone fishes it a bit different and has their own way of rigging it to their preference. Go get some grubs, swimbaits, etc and see what the fish want and adjust. Once you have it dialed it may work a few days, weeks, but then they will decide they want something else and it starts over. Just go fish it and have fun with it.

The timing is normally prespawn. Think if the weather had been what it had been on the west coast the prior month before this. Temps in the 80's water temps pushing into the high 50's. There would have been more limits, bigger fish and thus more what more excitement. Enter Mother Nature to throw Artic Cold Front, freezing temps, low water temps. The dates are set to fish but weather is never certain. The last few years the weather has been a bit cooler then normal but they still catch fish and make it exciting in closer weights. The Classic used to be held in the summer way back when but was moved. I enjoy watching these guys catch fish in conditions most of us scratch our heads, stay inside and decide to wait till it's nicer outside yet they still put together limits of fish, and some nice bags of fish as well. The end of Febuary is a crap shoot when it comes to weather, but it's one factor that plays into the tournament and must be overcome when you're competing on that stage.

I've got two boxes full and have had no issues. Some have sat in that box for over a year. My biggest issue is trying to pull one out of the middle and the skirts get hung up or pinched by the bait next to it. But still stores them nicely.

I would go out and get your own. Fishing as a co-angler this year and being prepaired with your own gear will show you are serious about being there and not expecting them to furnish you a life jacket.

Coming from years of reading Furuno units (both sounders and sonars) running charter boats, we used a bit different style of fathometers. Learned to change the HZ bandwith (on the newer Furuno's instead of just fishing a 50/200 split picture). From my understanding and learning on those units from guys that have been doing it for 20+ years I took their word for how it marked fish. But you may be correct on pulse length for the smaller units. I do like your pictures and display set up on your unit though, you have the two overlapped. Was talking about the units that just show fish shapes in the lower priced units. Your's shows a bit more information with the color arches as well in an overlapped picture alongside the side and down imaging. You have it set up to give you the most information and how you like it presented. But bottom line, he will have to spend time on the water and learn how his meter marks and reads to be efficient using it.

Arches are basiclly the swimbladder of the fish. Each fish will mark a bit differently depending on the species. Once you learn over time what each fish marks as you can quickly identify what you are looking at.. Bait will mark as a big ball or shape. Your's being black and white, I can't go deeper into color. But each "meter" (fishfinder) will mark a bit differently. The more time you spend on it the more you will learn it. Try and stay away from the little fish mark option that they have on some.....junk. Learn to read a baisic meter and the marks and then if you move to a down imaging unit, use a split screen....the down imaging will help you see the structure a bit more clear, the color meter option will let you pick fish up a lot easier. Learn to use the two together then it will give you a better idea of what's going on.

I'm in agreement with the increased population of sunfish/forage base. As for PVC, you can make different arrangements with this.....I would use 4" on the bottom parts then add quickcrete to the piping to keep it down. Now you can reduce and fit all kinds of 1 and 2 inch piping into in. But cover for small fish is most important. Concrete blocks, clay fowerpots, rock piles, concete pipes, etc would be your best bet if you don't want to buy fish attracking cover and if you're going to add brush, use something other then xmas trees. Hard woods are great, maybe you can find someone who is trimming their trees and can get some of the larger branches and use clay pots(more natural then plastic buckets) and concrete to sink them and hold them in place. Keep the cattails trimmed and the roots pulled otherwise they can take over. You can also add base rock in areas to improve bottom composition.

The one I have has plastic clips with different colored tubing. Nothing to get tangled up with. Just make sure you're clips are Stainless Steel otherwise you are going to have rusting issues.

Drink one a day....Monster Low Carb or Zero. And yes energy drinks can be bad for you if you drink a bunch of them a day. It's all about moderation and self control. If you have high blood pressure and a bad heart, then no you shouldn't drink them. Been drinking one a day for 6years or more since I don't drink coffee.....blood pressure is still perfect.

they make a Rockin Road Runner too which is a cross between a chatterbait and a roadrunner. But use both with some nice success.

Word to the wise, if you are looking to fish as a co-anger here is some advice. #1 Be where you said you will meet them early. If they say 6:30, be there at 6:20 that way they aren't waiting on you. #2 Give them or offer some money for gas first thing before the boat launches. Show's character and sets the mood. #3 If you can back a boat up, bonus points. If you can't let them know right away. Anything you can do to help them get the boat in the water quicker and reduce the stress of everything going on before take off is a big help to them. #4 Keep your gear organized. Don't have your crap everywhere. Bring your own lifejacket. Be prepared to fish. #5 Really important, DO NOT backseat fish. You are along for the ride. I fished two very tough days in a recent tournament. Last thing they need is someone questioning everything going on. The less stressed out and easygoing you are, the more relaxed they are as well. And if you do catch fish, DO NOT tell anyone where you fished. You have to keep that info quiet. If they ask you can give generalized answers such as what kind of area (no exact spots). Main thing, just enjoy the day and have fun. Tough days show exactly what kind of fisherman you are. If you make the best of it you are likely to make a new fishing partner down the road that would be more then willing to meet up and pre-fish tournaments with you not to mention give you insight on other venues and techniques that they may not share with you if you're "that annoying guy" that isn't fun to fish with.

There's always something to learn on a fishless day. And I'm betting you would rather have a great day outside fishing although not catching then sitting at work for 8hrs watching the clock and waiting for it to be time to go home. Every day on the water is a blessing and some days you catch them, some days you don't. Some days you don't have the right tackle for what the fish are wanting or keying in on. And although going fishless that day, coming back the next and putting the hurt on them with what you observed the day before I would count as an enjoyable valued fishless day that yielded information to the observant angler willing to pay attention.

Well fish many rods because I can. Rods for everything. Always have atleast 4 in my car when I pond hop, and well restricted to 7 as a co-angler although there will be 10 going with me(need some spares or possibly gear/technique change). Bottom line I fish a bunch of different rods and continue to aquire more simply because I can. Also find the more combos I have the less wear is put on just a couple outfits which tend to lead to longer gear life and some are simply for certain techniques that need a more refined tool to do the job.

Learn how to walk them and vary the retrieve. Pop it, let it sit, walk it a foot or so and twitch pop it again. Repeat until it disappears in a swirl or explosion from below.

this year's half time show was 100 times better then Beyonce. Honestly from a performance view, this one was better then pretty much all of them in the last 10 years. But I would rather see a tribute to our troops overseas that give us the ability to enjoy the things we do. Why can't we give them 30min of tribute and respect they deserve on a national stage?

Falcon's are really close, ***'s are a bit under rated. Their MH could be a heavy in a Falcon, and their M are inbetween a M action and a MH. I've used many 68 hudds on their Green *** MH 7'7" and although not rated for baits of that size, I could still underhand cast them quite well. Think I was an ounce over if not more.

I would get a good plastic/jig rod. Convert your lighting rod into a crankbait rod. The softer action of the IM-6 will work great for squarebills, spinnerbaits, blade baits, etc. I use d one of the lightning shocks for a crankbait rod for about a year as it had a softer tip and a composite blank until I got more of an idea of what I was looking for.

so short answer would be....... Yes. Along with the 2 other baits you're using to look along the tops of the grass, you can drop the swimjigs into holes if you can see them. And then you can punch (with just enough weight to get down)into the thicker areas as well.

Insert a glass rattle into your frogs.....gives it a little bit more noise.