Logan S

$60/year for annual membership dues. This is used for operational stuff like scales, permits, weigh bags, meeting spaces, costs for our annual family picnic and banquet, etc... None of the annual dues money goes to tournament payouts. Tournament entries are $30 for single day and $40 for 2-day. 95% of the money from the entries are paid out in each specific tournament with the remaining 5% being held over to be put toward the Classic Championship payout. 100% of entry fee money is paid out in tournaments and none of the entry fees money goes to operational expenses. We're a pretty large club, averaging over 50 members for the last 20 years. We provide a lot of stuff to members including weigh in bags for standard tournaments and identical scales for MLF-format tournaments. Our tournament payouts are pretty decent compared to entries, especially the Classic which is typically over $500 for first on only $40 entry. We have split divisions so we payout top 3 boaters and top 3 Co-anglers for every tournament. It's definitely not the cheapest to fish with us...But in my admittedly bias opinion it's a great value for local organized tournament fishing...Smaller than BFL/ABA for sure, we get 20 boats or so for our tournaments, but it's also significantly cheaper and more personal.

If you have issues breaking bills on the 110's and fish around rocks/docks/etc...But don't want to give up on the 110, try the 110-FX model. The folding lip is much more durable, at least in my experience, and holds up well to those tasks. The standard 110 is my go-to jerkbait, but if I'm fishing shallower than normal or around rocks/docks I'll usually tie on the FX. That folding lip thing is pretty cool in the wind too, usually stays straight as a bullet on casts...Not as much tumbling. I actually the love the stock hooks on the 110's, but they are definitely light wire and do bend fairly easily. I bought a ton of replacements in bulk from MB-USA a few year back and just replace as needed. Unfortunately, I don't believe they sell their trebles in bulk from the factory anymore. FWIW I don't think I've heard of MB declining to replace broken bill 110's until reading this thread. I've had 2 replaced and know several others that have had them replaced as well.

The conspiracy-theory part of me thinks that they are using the anti-livewell stuff to push for states that are already cracking down on tournaments to go over the edge and ban livewell usage....And snowball it from there. MLF has their system in place and would be the only game in town for tournament fishing until other tours adapted. But the smart and logical part of me thinks that it's probably just their way of marketing themselves...Even though I don't buy what they're trying to sell. I think they significantly overplayed that angle. I personally don't care for the BPT and every trickle of info or rumor that comes out about it only furthers those feelings...But I wouldn't go as far as buying into the conspiracy-theory stuff.

Had a good trip to Lake Gaston this past weekend. Took 3rd in 2-day tournament with 10 fish for 23-15. Lot's of 3lb+ fish but no true big ones to put me over the top. Weighed in a few spotted bass too, Gaston is the only lake I fish that has them so it's still cool to catch them for me. Practice... Day 1...Culled a small LM with this Spot for the smallest fish in the limit. Day 2...Couple nice LM's a spot that was eating very well, had 2 shad tails visible in it's gullet. Everything I weighed in came on one of these, most were on the bladed jig.

This goose launched a sneak attack on us this weekend when we came to this dock...Dock defense activated ?

Like I said, that's how we operate, not even including food/drinks...But again, our rules specifically state these things so no one has any expectations otherwise. To put in perspective...I'm a long-time boater that is a firm believer in co-anglers chipping in for expenses during normal tournament days - BUT, expecting a Co to kick in $40+ for a day when you don't even start the outboard is silly. The only exception I could see making sense is if the lake in question is long drive and you catch a ride with the boater, then chipping for gas in the truck makes sense...But generally you aren't going to travel very far for electric-only events. I know for us the only reason we fish them is because they are super close to home for most of our members. If your boater is expecting more than the ramp fee and you don't offer he's going to have some feelings on it...Regardless of whether you or I think that expectation is reasonable or justified. It's a tough call, this is the exact reason our club defines this situation with clear rules.

We do 1 or 2 electric-only tournaments a year since there are a couple good electric-only lakes in our area. Only thing we expect the co-angler to split with the boater is the ramp fees....As opposed to 'normal' tournaments where co-anglers are expected to chip in up to a max of $40 (including ramp). Just how our club operates, but it's worked out well for us. We actually have rules on the books about both situations though...So it's easy to work out. If a boater asks for more than half the ramp for electric-only he's breaking a rule - And conversely, if a Co doesn't offer something for a normal tournament he's also breaking a rule. Might sound funny to some, but those rules make things go so much more smoothly on this topic.

Different perspectives I guess. I'm sure we can agree it's at least more palatable than the floggers/cones though

Guys have been using the dish soap trick for probably as long as bass fishing (or dish soap) has existed...Live coverage is just showing it to the masses now. It slicks off the water surface and can push pollen away making it easier to see fish/beds/whatever. It's not pure dish soap - Only a light mixture.... A few ounces of soap in the lake isn't hurting anything, heck it might even be helping things since I know Dawn is supposedly the #1 clean-up product for environmental disasters like oils spills. I'm surprised that people think negatively of it.

No clue lol...Now that they do the Classic sort of midstream and not at the end or beginning of a season, it makes things weird. The rule would seem to indicate that they wouldn't get an auto-invite just like Ott, but the Classic win also comes with auto-invite to Elite series, so maybe there's a contingency for if they accept that invite?

Unless something's changed, which I guess is possible given all the changes in all the tours...The Classic winner gets an automatic spot in the next classic only if he's registered for and competes in all the Elite Series events for the next season. Ott's already out in that case, since the 'next season' is the current 2019 season and it has already started with Ott not fishing it. That rule has been in place for a long time, I think since 2000 or 2001, so BASS isn't trying to stick it to Ott - He and all the BPT guys knew the deal going in. I'm guessing that Ott's Classic spot will be treated like the double-qualifiers where they'll just take the next guy on the AOY-qualifiers list.

Fished a little 10-boat 'ice breaker' open tournament this past weekend before my regular season starts and won with a limit weighing 11-15 . This was the big fish of the day, came on a spinnerbait in/around shallow wood...One of my favorite ways to catch em.

No, I said I don't bother with claiming an estimate if I didn't actually weigh the fish...Usually anyway, or unless someone asks. You didn't quote my whole post...It was off on a slight tangent, but I thought the general idea of it was in agreement with you.

If the pics were wider angle, you'd probably see all the boats too ...My boat is in the background of one of the other pics...No secrets there ?. I did catch 2 fish in clear water on the main lake though .

Well, the FOBA Black Hill tournament went on as scheduled on Saturday. We had a good turnout of 10 boats considering the weather and fishing conditions...Several guys here tried to get in and I'm really sorry we couldn't get everyone entered, we just ran out of boats and members that were committed to fishing that day. There's another one at Black Hill on May 8th, same format - And I'd expect a much higher turnout there. I'll post about it as we get closer. The fishing was pretty brutal - 20 anglers and only 22 total fish were caught. It was cold, windy, and the fish definitely didn't cooperate for the most part....But some fish were still caught and 4 people made a little spending money. Water was clear and 43 to 45 degrees at launch and for most of the lake. Yours truly figured out a little something and had a decent bag , but it was certainly not easy and could have very easily gone another way. Caught 2 on a jerkbait in the wind before getting way up a creek to find muddy water. Caught the other 3 back there on shallow cover with a jig and spinnerbait. When it's cold, mud makes it easier to find em . Had 11-15 with a big fish of 3-10. If anyone cares, full results and some pics are updated on our site. If it's seen as too spammy to post it someone yell at me and I'll quit doing it...I just figure local guys might care and it's easier than copy/pasting. https://www.fishonbassanglers.com/Events/Derbies/2019/March-FOBA-Derby-Tournament---03%2F16%2F19/Results

Mine is kind of lame...It was a 2lb class fish and it actually made it in my boat because my co-angler caught it. The story needs a little framing... I'm a tournament guy, nothing super high stakes just local stuff with my club and various others. 20-ish boat tournaments with occasional bigger ones and smaller ones...But my goal every year is to weigh in a limit on every tournament day. I've never done it, but it's a pretty tall order when you have 17 to 20+ tournament days during the season on many different bodies of water and ranging from March thru November...You need to be really dang consistent to pull it off - and that's why it's always my top goal. So in 2011 I came up 1 single fish short of doing it. 18 tournament days that year, so I went 89 for 90. March thru late October and on 8 different fisheries...Ranging from shallow, tidal river largemouth to deep, clear mountain lakes for smallmouth and almost every water type in between - So I am a little proud of coming that close, but that 1 fish I didn't get is all I remember. It was the 2nd day of a tournament on Smith Mountain Lake and I was having a rough day. I had 4 fish early and then went a long time without getting another keeper bite. It's essentially the end of the day and I spotted a fry-guarder on a dock post. Normally if I see a fish I'm targeting I tell my Co about and ask him to let me have my chances at it before trying..However I didn't do that this time. I pitch in there and the fish bites, I miss it and it balls up my worm...I reel in to fix and make the next pitch in, but as I'm doing so my co-angler unknowingly pitches to the dock piling - The fish eats his bait and he lands it...Only had about 5 mins left before weigh in we basically had to leave right after landing. So I know with almost 100% certainty I would have hooked and landed that fish to complete the 'perfect season' . It burns a little more since the exact fish came into my boat and got weighed in, just not by me ?. It's 100% my fault for not mentioning the fish to my Co...Who is actually a good friend of mine, he didn't know and had every right to make a cast there without knowing the situation. All I had to do was what I normally do, "Hey there's a fish here, give me a few casts at it before casting up here," and I know he would have been fine with since we've both been in the same situation before. I've come close in several other seasons, 2 or 3 fish off the perfect season...But never just 1 fish and certainly not with those circumstances. I've obviously lost some giant bass over the years that hurt, but my disappointment is maxed with this stupid little fish story here ?.

I almost never weigh fish if I'm not in a tournament...Don't even have a scale in my boat. A nice fish is a nice fish and if you're not in a tournament and/or it's not a record (state/lake/world/personal/otherwise) there's no real significance to knowing the exact weight of a fish. I guess what I'm getting at is, if you catch a nice fish be proud of it...Doesn't matter what the number on a scale is (or isn't if you don't weigh it). If I'm posting or showing off a fish I didn't weigh I generally don't bother with a weight estimate unless someone asks. It's a shame when a guy catches a nice fish only to be 'disappointed' if it doesn't reach a certain threshold...Especially newer anglers if they fall just short of 'milestone' sized fish. Like a 4-15 not cracking the 5lb mark or whatever the local benchmark number is for a big fish. Bass weights can be funky, especially LM vs SM vs Spots and also at different times of the year...I've weighed in mixed limits of Spots and LM where my heaviest fish was a Spotted Bass, yet it looked like one of the smaller fish in my bag. For pictures I always hold my fish out and try to make the center of attention...Why not make them look good? The fish is the reason for the picture in the first place.

Yea...How dare they introduce an optional accessory to provide additional features that customers want? Even if Livesight isn't on par with the latest Panoptix...There are TONS of Lowrance users out there that now have a relatively cheap and easy option (compared to buying/installing an entire Garmin unit + Panoptix) to add this feature....With the added bonus that the unit with Livesight will part of the existing Lowrance network on their boats and not isolated like it would be with a standalone Garmin unit to run the tech. Not bad for a first attempt...Once they are officially released and 'real' people can starting using/reviewing we'll know exactly how well it stacks up to Garmin.

Green Top sporting goods down in Richmond is a great store, better selections than BPS or Cabelas for both fishing gear and gun stuff if you're into that too. Right off 95, I occasionally stop in on the way to or from Gaston/Kerr or anywhere else down south since I drive right by. SFT is awesome too...I just have a hard time making the drive since their free shipping is basically next day to us since we're so close, no sales tax either. I order from the frequently. Definitely worth a drive if you want to look at stuff in person though, they have almost everything...It's the east coast TackleWarehouse equivalent.

Work, home stuff, and winter weather all combined at just the right times to make me start this season much later than normal...Had a decent first day on Monday though. Caught a few like this and some smaller ones. Third year in a row this same little balsa crank has captured my first fish of the year, I think it's officially a tradition now.

Watched the vid, thanks for linking and giving the timestamp @Mn_Moose The HS anglers were likely fishing a tournament themselves...Two anglers and the 'coach' (adult in the driver seat) is the standard HS tournament format/look. The big question is...Were they planning on fishing that area anyway and yielded to Latimer until he moved off -OR- Were they trying to cash in (literally and figuratively) by locating the pro tournament leader (and perhaps others) and fishing his waters instead of relying on their own skills/experience/knowledge to succeed in their tournament??? One makes them look pretty respectable, the other makes them look awful. In reality, the only people that will really know the truth are those HS anglers and their coach. Latimer's comments about getting a reputation and that stuff leads me to believe he thought they were doing the latter...I don't know since I wasn't there, but I do know that Latimer has a reputation as one of the 'good guys' in the sport and isn't known as a high-drama person. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt for thinking there might have been 'other than honorable' intentions on the part of the other boat. No matter what though..."That's not cool," is hardly an outburst or something to hate a guy over. He said what was on his mind and didn't go overboard.

I love using the GoPro and I'm not really into the videos that much...The action shots are great and you don't even have to try. A lot easier getting fish pictures, especially alone...Just hold it up and screen capture later. I've found it's great when taking my daughter fishing too...I obviously want pictures all the time, but stopping and trying to pictures takes away from the moment. GoPro solves it and also gives you good pictures you wouldn't otherwise know of or be able to take, like when she was trying to drive us around on the trolling motor for the first time .

The 'un-named' and 'unspecified' baits are sort of the new way pros are dealing with this and I think it's a nice change....Some pros handle it better than others. When Martens won on the Chesapeake he admitted on camera he wasn't using a Picasso bladed-jig even though he's sponsored by them, he said the ZMan was better for what he was doing. Lots of other examples out there of anglers being honest too. This was one of my favorite posts related to the topic after Lee won the classic...Everyone knew what the jerkbait was but Lee never mentioned it specifically .

On March 16th FOBA is having a semi-open tournament on Black Hill (Little Seneca Lake). I posted about these a while ago but we were't sure if the March 16th one would be held since the park was doing causeway repairs....The repairs are done and the ramp is open, so the tournament is on. March 16th - Black Hill Regional Park 7:30AM - 2:30PM (weigh in will be on the water in front of the boat rental docks) 5 bass limit, 12" minimum size Catch-Weigh-Release (MLF style) - Scales and official weigh sheets provided by FOBA. Boater/Co-angler divisional format (not team) $25 per person entry ($5 from each entry goes to FOBA as fund raiser) 80% for 1st, 20% for second. Boater and co-angler divisions have their own pots Must be two anglers in each boat (no solo boaters) and one angler must be a FOBA member (due to CWR) Obviously the entry is low...This is meant to be a fun, early-season icebreaker type thing before the full season kicks off. Non-members are more than welcome if they want to check us out or just want to fish with us, no strings attached...We just need 1 FOBA member per boat, mostly for familiarity with our CWR process. FOBA's Tournament Director is running the tournament and we have been using the CWR system for many tournaments for 2 years now, so it will be a well organized and run event just like any of our normal tournaments. Anyone interested can shoot me a PM or post here...We want non-members or people interested in FOBA to check us out so we'll try to pair up non-members with members to fish (boater or co-angler). Can also use the contact info on the event page here... https://www.fishonbassanglers.com/black-hill-open I've got an open back deck as of right now and I know at least a couple other boaters do also.

I have one of those SimpleHuman trashcans too ...Was a wedding gift. We love it! For me, I splurged on a pair of Hestra ski gloves about 8 or 9 years ago...Even on sale they were like $150 I think! Anyway, they're obviously great for snowboarding (which I've 'retired' from), but I use them all the time when it's cold...Especially when fishing. Running the boat when its freezing out side can turn your hands to ice, these gloves completely negate that so I can still fish and run without my hands stopping me. Even just working outside, hiking, or shoveling snow they're fantastic. At the time, I had a little buyers remorse for spending that much on gloves...But now all these years later I'm thankful for them.