Logan S

Hey guys, just wanted to do the annual post about FOBA. The 2017 tournament schedule is now complete so I'm posting it here. We are open to all (boaters and co-anglers) and have a great learning/sharing environment. If you want any information feel free shoot me a PM. We have several members here on BR and hopefully we can add some more in the future. Thanks for tolerating my one spam post of the year

Admission that lead tackle is the low hanging fruit....If the people/agencies/organizations actually cared as much as they would have you believe, they would go after the much bigger and more impactful problems. Wrong. Lead does offer benefits. It is widely available, cheap, and easy to pour/manufacture. You can melt/pour lead fishing tackle in your garage. This is not the case with Steel, Brass, or Tungsten...All of which require specialized production facilities as compared to lead. This statement is akin to claiming that by throwing one single 5-gallon bucket of water on a massive wildfire you are 'helping' the situation. It might be accurate in the most technical sense, but not in the actual fixing-the-problem sense. ------------------------------------ You have made your position quite clear and don't seem to be interested in actually considering other points of view, despite asking for them. I wish you luck in your research, although based on your responses it doesn't actually sound like that's what you're doing...I would call it bias confirmation.

The real problems are too hard and/or expensive to fix, so those with an agenda to 'fix' the environment settle on the easier 'problems'...In this case it's lead fishing weights. I'm sure there are some adverse effects from lead if you look hard enough, however I'm extremely skeptical that it actually rises to the level where it would legitimately require this kind of attention.

Tom, I think we are saying the same thing...Just in different ways. I don't disagree with any of that .

Not trying to be a jerk here...But you aren't going to catch them going 30 mph either. Going faster will leave you more time to fish, which is significant if you're travelling longer distances. Driving the boat is wasting fishing time, going slower just means you're wasting more time. Doesn't mean that running around or running long distances is what I do all the time...But if I'm gonna run, I'm gonna RUN . FWIW, I don't really consider 'covering water' to automatically mean running the boat around all day...It's more about how you're fishing. I've had days where I covered a ton of water but didn't run a whole lot. Conversely, I've had days where I ran the boat all over the place and barely covered any water at all becasue I was fishing specific targets at each stop. My answer to the question is...It depends .

Kurita's bass was actually bigger than Perry's and was scrutinized a heck of a lot more. IMO it's the real world record...But according to IGFA rules it counts as a tie since it wasn't more than 2oz heavier. I'm sure a new WR will be caught eventually. I'd put my money on CA or Japan for the location.

It's amazingly versatile that's for sure. The texas-rig was so productive for me because I did a lot of pitching/flipping this year, just the way things happened. Texas-rig gets it in and out of the thick stuff much more effectively. The weighted-hook method just hasn't fit in with the places/times I've fished, I'm sure it will eventually though . From May this year, all on 1/2oz texas-rigged Bug...Not many baits can fish this stuff efficiently, especially that first fish ...The wood is just as thick (if not thicker) below the surface. (Don't mind all the dinks, only the 1st and 2nd fish in this actually culled for me)

Reins Ring Craw.

Cool idea A-Jay, can I join too? My MVP's: Black/Green 3/8 Jig, Texas Rigged Rage Bug (probably the single MVP of the whole year), Bladed Jig (mostly Bluegill colored, sometimes plain GP), and a Trick/Finesse worm on our club's own jig/shakey head (not for sale ). The 2nd tier: Double Willow Spinnerbait, Bronzeye Shad Frog, and a Swinghead with a Rage Bug (occasionally a Menace too). Honorable Mentions: MB Vision 110 (and variants), Mann's Baby 1-Minus, 1/2oz to 1oz Punch Rigs, Zell Pop, Various Squarebills (KVD 1.5, LC 1.5, and MB Knuckle mostly). As you can tell, it's a lot of shallow stuff...Our tournament schedule this year happened to favor shallow water fishing essentially all year, so the deep water stuff I like to throw a lot didn't really play a whole lot. That's normally 5/8oz or 3/4oz Jigs, Mid and Deep Cranks, Drop Shot, and Carolina Rigs. In 13 events this season I think the deepest fish I weighed in was probably 8 feet...and since I basically tailor my whole year to our tournament schedule, I didn't really fish any other places where I wouldn't be fishing shallow. This list would typically be fairly different, it's funny how these things work out like that. Will be interesting to analyze it next year....

I fish the chatterbait in grass 90% of the time...Usually grass that's thick enough to foul a spinnerbait. Sometimes a spinnerbait is interchangeable, but many times its not. Chatterbait will also work on those sunny and windless days when a spinnerbait would be low on the list. The other 10% of the time is mostly dock skipping and slow rolling around rocks/stumps/etc... A spinnerbait is more versatile than a chatterbait IMO...Many people lump them together but for me they are very different baits.

Hit Gaston last weekend for a team tournament...Had a great practice day and disappointing tournament day (we got 4th), but it's always fun to fish my favorite lake . Most fish were caught on Jigs and Swingheads with several also coming on shakeyheads. The wind kicked into overdrive about an hour before weigh in and made for a pretty hellish ride back to the ramp...Thankfully we only had to go a few miles but crossing the main lake was bad. Several boats did not make it to weigh in because they couldn't get across the main lake. I've seen some rough stuff on the Potomac, Upper Bay, and Erie...and this ride ranked right up there with the worst I've been in. We were both wearing PFDs and it's a good reminder to always wear them...I've never seen Gaston get even close to this rough, but with 40-50 mph winds anything is possible.

The Tatula is the best value in casting reels right now IMO...And I say that as someone that's fully on the Shimano bandwagon. It's a great reel at a great price. My reels are mostly Shimano's above that price point, but I do have 1 Tatula and I don't see myself getting rid of it anytime soon.

I don't think the sonar 'scares' fish, but I do think that they can get conditioned to it on heavily pressured waters. Trolling motors, closing compartment lids, and waves slapping the hull fall into this category as well....Boats are noisy. I've also caught plenty of fish directly under my boat and also at very close range with everything on - So it's definitely not something that's too much of a deterrent. I usually turn my console sonar off when I'm fishing but I do it mostly to save a little power (I dim the screen too). When I go into something like a small marsh creek I'll usually turn everything off and use the lowest power possible on the trolling motor, I try to minimize the commotion my boat makes in those confined waters. Sometimes when fishing crowded grass flats on the river or bay I'll turn everything off as well. Can't define whether it helps or how much, but I do know that it certainly can't hurt. I also know that I've been successful in those situations I described when others weren't, but there are many other factors at play there as well . This is a sport with never-ending variables... .

It's rare that a professional angler like Zaldain gets to fish a major event on their home waters, so all of those guys are reliant on developing patterns. Put one of them on their home waters and the specific spots come into play big time...Look at Evers at the Classic or Ike at the Delaware River Elite a few years ago. I'm sure patterns came into play for both, but their ace in the hole was the decades of experience on those specific spots. It sounds like his main point was that relying only on past history is a setting yourself up for disaster if it doesn't pan out. If you know the body of water well enough, exact spots can be much more valuable than a pattern. If you don't know the body of water very well, a pattern will often be you're best chance at success. Pretty simple logic IMO. If you fish one of your historic spots that coincides with your successful pattern...Are you spot fishing or pattern fishing?

I usually land the fish to get my bait back...But I will intentionally break off bigger pike every now and then when I hook them on lighter line. I'd have to retie anyway even if I did land them so as long as it's just a soft plastic and hook/weight/jighead, I'll just let them cut the line. Some fish like pike, pickeral, and catfish are not allowed in my boat ...So even if I do 'land' them, they stay in the water.

15 or 17 lb flourocarbon depending on cover....Most of the time it's 15 lb.

Both are paired with Scorpion DC's. Casting distance is fine for me, but I'm not usually looking for extra long distances when I fish spinnerbaits. Low rod angles and low trajectory casts are pretty normal when I fish both baits so the shorter rod is preferable. It's a lightweight rod, probably not the lightest rod out there but its definitely not heavy...Especially considering it's a MH powered rod. If extra long casting distance is your top priority I'd probably go with a longer rod, but the SS is excellent for most normal spinnerbait fishing - at least for me. I don't throw the swimbaits as much, but the same thing applies.

My tackle room is usually pretty empty since a lot of my gear stays in the boat, but I had a fair amount of stuff inside today getting ready for Gaston this weekend. All of my awards live down here too...Since according to my wife, a living room full of fishing awards is not fashionable . I like to telework from down here when I can so I can tinker with tackle during the work day (and surf BR). It also doubles as my storage area for dive gear and gun stuff, which are not pictured...

I'm a huge fan of the XX Spinnerbait Special (I have 2), it's true to it's name and is perfect for the task. I've thrown 3/4oz line-thru swimbaits on it as well and it handles them just fine. I also use it for squarebills and buzzbaits...There's not much it can't do. I'm sure the DSR would be great too, but I like a little bit of a shorter rod for spinnerbaits since I'm usually casting in/around/under stuff. Only downside to your plan is that MB products never go on sale, even for Black Friday .