Logan S

Annual post/plug for FOBA....2018 schedule is out and as always we are open to all boaters and co-anglers in the MD/DC/NOVA area. We promote learning and sharing so even if you've never fished a tournament before or are new to the locations on the schedule, you'll find that FOBA makes it easy. Feel free to post or message with any questions.

I believe it is total boat sales, as in the # of boats bought....So a little over 9K new bassboats in total were sold from March 2016 to March 2017. ---- I know it's still early, but I can't be the only who was hoping for something a little more than, "We're going to make boats..." I wanted to SEE something!

It is old, but its 12 months rolling so it's a full year of sales...It also has the 2016 and 2015 numbers for the same 1-year period. I'm sure its not exact but I have no reason to think it's not accurate enough for a general idea of the annual sales figures.

Yea, much less than I would have thought. I read a related article recently that stated the bassboat market in the 80s was much bigger, like 50,000 per year. Crazy to think it's so much lower now. I think that these days you can make an older boat do the same things a newer one can by adding/upgrading electronics, poles, etc. If the hull/motor are still functional, you can save $50k buy adding modern accessories to your older rig...

I'm interested to see what this new company is like also, specifically to see of it's a completely new boat/design or a remake/revamp of an existing hull. FYI, Charger is making and selling the Champ 210 and 198 currently, seems to be small production/sales though. It was me , not my data though...I read it on another forum.

300 bass is a lot on the stock hooks! At my last tournament weekend I went through 12 hooks on the same 110 I was using over 4 days. The spotted bass were vicious though and every single fish seemed to mangle them. #6 is the stock size, the #4's will be too big. I would give the Nano Finesse trebles a shot, either #5 or #6 (I've heard they run small, I'd have to see them to be sure). Thicker hooks like the ST-36's are a bit too beefy for my liking on the 110, whichever replacement you choose make sure it's a light wire. I use #6 Katsuge still, but it seems to be harder to find them now...I bought them in bulk from MB-USA a couple seasons ago so I still have a decent stock. I've heard MB-USA doesn't sell them in bulk anymore though. When I finally run out I plan on using the Nano Finesse trebles as replacements.

Been a long time coming unfortunately...Stratos and Triton are both similar brands, mid-level boats...Not super luxury and not budget, so they compete with each other. If you owned both it probably makes sense to eliminate the lower performing brand, which was Stratos. I doubt Triton goes anywhere, they are moving their production into the Legend factory. Some people think Legend is also on the chopping block, but my guess is that JM is going to try to make the Legend production more efficient (profitable) by bringing Triton in house. This isn't my pic or data and its 8 months old now, but it shows annual sales numbers...I think many will be surprised at how small the bass boat market is overall. You see Stratos down there at only 260 boats and down 14% compared to Triton at 961 and up 15%...Easy decision for the executives to make.

Your boat is perfectly fine for local and regional stuff to include BFL's...So you shouldn't even worry about it. IMO a smaller boat when starting out is actually beneficial in the long run since it forces you to manage your time better and fish more thoroughly. A guy in our club won AOY one year out of a 17' jet rig and our schedule includes big water like the Potomac and Upper Bay...We aren't a tiny club either, it was quite an accomplishment. I wouldn't worry about your boat holding you back until you can articulate exactly HOW and WHY it's holding you back. I fished tournaments out of a smaller AL rig for several years before upgrading to a full size bass boat...It made me a better overall angler than I would have been otherwise IMO.

It's actually a Hawg Caller, but it does look similar to the Mann's. Thanks

My last scheduled tournament of the season was last weekend, the FOBA Classic on Lake Gaston. This lake has really changed over the past several years with the spotted bass population finally reaching 'tournament quality' size. The LM fishing was pretty tough, so the majority of fish weighed in overall were spots, I'd guess at least 75%. I was one of the few that got on a LM pattern and weighed 4 LM and 1 spot on the first day and then 2 LM and 3 spots on the second day. Weighed 9-0 on day 1 and 11-12 on day 2, which was good enough for second place...But only 3oz behind the winner . Only two patterns for me...Covering A LOT of shallow water with a spinnerbait for LM's and fishing a Vision 110 on points for spotted bass. On day 2 I had to give up on the LM pattern after getting only 2 fish by noon, spent the rest of the day targeting spots, worked out OK but I wish I would have pulled the plug sooner - might have had time for 1 more cull . Oh well, still fun and getting paid is never bad!

A bigger boat always helps....But plenty of people run the river just fine in 17' to 19' rigs. You need to make good decisions if the weather gets dicey even in bigger boats. 'Semi-windy' days keeping 20'ers off the water is a little dramatic, I've run my 20'er thru some of the nastiest stuff the river will throw at you. No offense to your buddy, but I wouldn't exactly put much weight on the opinion of someone who claims something like that. Most of the time, any size bass boat will be fine on the river as long as you're smart about it. Those days when it's blowing 15-20+ are when the smaller boats will be severely limited on the main river...But there are enough ramps in creeks that are protected so you could still fish those days if you wanted. FWIW, our club has many 17-19 foot boats that fish our tournaments on both the Potomac and Upper Bay without issue. Having said all that...I'd always recommend a 20 or 21 over an 18 or 19, for a variety of reasons. Many people have trouble storing the larger boats though and they are generally more expensive. You can get by just fine in an 18 or 19 around here if there is something preventing you from going bigger.

Was able to finish out the regular tournament season on a hot streak with two wins and 3rd. No pictures from a win on the Potomac since the fishing was tough and I didn't expect to win with a small limit. Took 1st on Conowingo with a decent limit of smallies on spinnerbaits. Finished up with a 2-day tourny on Deep Creek...Got 3rd with a mixed bag of SM/LM, mostly on jerkbaits.

Its not just an open event...That event is the US Open put on by WON. It's an event with a long history (almost as long as the Classic I think?) and a good amount of prestige. I don't live out there, but from what I've read/heard over the years its THE event for western bass fishing. My point was, if the biggest event out there draws 207...BASS probably sees that more as a negative than a positive since many events without the history or prestige as the US Open can draw many more participants many times throughout the year over on this side of the US. I'm really not defending BASS or trying to stick it to western guys....Just looking at the situation logically and I can see why BASS doesn't make moves out there, I wish they would put an Opens series out there since it would send more western guys to the Elites.

Put it in perspective...Big events like the Basscat Owners or Triton Owners tournaments on this side of the country pump out 350+ boats routinely. 207 is big for western standards but still pretty normal if it were in the central/southern/eastern regions of the country. Not trying to argue about it or anything...But I don't think people would disagree that the physical number of bass anglers out west is lower than it is in the rest of the country. I'd be happy to be proven wrong in the future though.

And it only has 100 boats fishing...Compared to 200+ at some other Costa events. We just had a Costa series here on the Potomac that had 160+ at one of the toughest times of the year. The Costa is the only big national trail out there and they still only draw 100 boats for Clear Lake, one of the top fisheries in the nation. A full field for Costa/Opens is usually 150 boats, the Western series never even got within 20 boats of hitting that number in any of the 3 events. It sucks for guys out west, but the numbers just aren't there. It's unlikely BASS would put an Opens series out there to compete with the Costas for the limited market.

All tournaments are a test of angling ability...The Opens are supposed to be a qualification route to the Elite Series. The old format was qualifying many anglers who either did not accept the invitation in the first place, or did accept and washed out after the 1st year (or before the end of the 1st year). This was apparently an issue for BASS so they changed the format slightly in hopes of increasing the chances for recruiting more accomplished anglers into the Elites. It makes sense to me and as someone that hopes to fish them in the future I actually like the new format. One thing I hope they do is keep some variety in the schedule...The Opens for the past several years have essentially been on the same locations at the same times. 'Regular' guys hoping to fish the classic still have the Federation route, which IMO has always been the more logical choice since the bulk of the events you fish on that path will be on your local waters. Even Co-anglers have qualified for the Classic from the Federation. I know I'm in the minority on this - But I don't believe money to be as big of a limiting factor as most others seem to. Does independent wealth make it easier? Of course...But there are plenty of pros on tour that got there from modest beginnings, just look at recent example like Palaniuk or Swindle. If an angler truly has the skill AND desire to make it to the top, they will find a way to make it work. There is no age limit, you can have a 5 or 10 year plan to give you time to save your money. I think the reason so many point to money is the RISK in trying it....It's really not about having the money, it's about the consequences if you bet on yourself and don't make it. A wealthy person could 'afford' to lose it, so it's easier on them. I would bet that for every Elite angler that was independently wealthy before qualifying, you could find an angler from a modest background that make it through hard work and planning - I'd actually argue there are more Elite anglers in the second category than the first. It seems most people don't like it becasue they can't try to 'jackpot' an Open anymore...Or at least can't do it as easily. I'm pretty sure that was one of the main reasons for the change.

Even though spinning reels traditionally have 'lower' gear ratios their actual speed is usually faster than average casting reels. Example...Stradic Ci4 2500 has a ratio of 6.0 but does 34 IPT, compared to a Metanium XG which had an 8.5 ratio and does 35 IPT - So the standard spinning reel is just as fast as one of the fastest casting reels on the market. Ratio is just a number, IPT is the real metric. But then again, most spinning techniques are moved with the rod and not reel anyway.... I generally user faster reels for most things, but it's really just about function to me...I just like using the best tool for the job. Example...Early in the year I use a 6.2 for chatterbaits on the river becasue the grass is not very thick, however as the year goes on and it gets thicker I swap to a 7.0 because I have to reel too fast with the 6.2 to keep it at the level I want. Is it a requirement? No, but it's a lot easier to control the bait and actually 'fish' when I'm not forced to reel like a mad man to keep the bait where it needs to be. I don't like limiting the tools available to me, no sense in discounting anything whether it's old school or modern.

You don't catch fish with the warranty/replacement/insurance program.....But if the insurance policy is that important to you, go with St Croix. It's not like either choice is a dud. Personally? I'd take the XX over any St Croix rod series. It's a better rod than LTB in its price point and it's very close to the Legend Elite/Extreme but $100ish less in cost.

Some 4-blades will have better holeshot...But 50hp on a an 18' glass bass boat is underpowered and your mechanic is probably right that a different prop won't help simply becasue the horsepower isn't there to make enough of a difference. The blade configuration is only one aspect too...Pitch, diameter, and venting are all big factors on the holeshot. Different props have different combinations of these attributes so it's not just 3-blade vs 4-blade.

Hasn't burst into flames yet...

I'm sure we can debate how big each circle should be...I'm sure the Gear/Equipment circle will spark some discussion ...But I made this to be easy to read so it's not 'to scale'. Although I personally believe Gear/Equipment is actually a very important factor when applied appropriately. (I literally made this in 2 minutes, don't put any thought into the physical size of each circle in this image ) Now, for actual steps to take. I would recommend reading the In-Fisherman books on Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass, they will seem a little dated compared to what you might see online these days but the information is as good as it gets. I read both as a young angler and re-read them from time to time as refreshers. I would also suggest joining a bass club and fishing some tournaments. Even if the tournament side of bass fishing isn't as interesting to you, 1 season in a local club would be a literal crash course in bass fishing.

The Curado DC exists already in Japan as the new Scorpion DC. You can buy one right now for $250 plus shipping, should be $275ish or less to your door in 3 or 4 business days. I don't think you'll see upgraded Citica's, but you can get a Castias MGL from Japan for $140ish. It's not DC or 50/70 sized, but it might fit your 'budget w/performance-spool' need. I know they aren't USDM models, but the buying process from Japan is so easy now that they might as well be. USDM models would be more expensive over here anyway since the exchange rate is still in our favor....You can actually buy USDM model reels from Japan and even with shipping they're cheaper than the US retail price (just as an example, Chronarch MGL is $230 vs the $280 US retail).

They just didn't sell in the US if I had to guess. I think the fact that JDM reels are now very easily ordered from Japan is also cutting into the US DC reel prospects...Shimano probably realizes that most of the guys that want a DC reel are just getting them from Japan right now and not waiting/wishing for a US model. When the previous model Exsence DC was available for $250ish it was one of the best values out there...I still kick myself for not picking up a few more. But the exchange rate helped with that big time so it wasn't really a 'fair' comparison to other US reels in that price point I do agree that the Tatula line is cutting into Citica/Curado sales. I'm a Shimano guy, but at the price point I'd pick Tatula over Curado....Daiwa hit a home run with that line of reels. A Curado DC would be too expensive to go up against the Tatula though, it would be competing with the Zillion at that point...But the Chronarch series is already there and would actually be cheaper (most likely) than a Curado DC. Would be awesome if we did get a US DC reel series, but I doubt it will happen.

Every few years one of the commercial fisherman will catch one in the Potomac and other tidal rivers around here...I'm sure they are in there fairly regularly, we just don't see them. We see saltwater species while bass fishing in the summertime every year, even more if its a year light on rain. If there are no physical barriers on a warm-water river connected to the ocean it's a pretty good bet that Bull Sharks will visit from time to time. I'm pretty skeptical of Bull Sharks in Lake Michigan though, the amount of physical barriers and the fact that for most of the year it's too cold for them makes it seem like more of an urban legend to me - But stranger things have happened I suppose.