Logan S

Yep, I'm about to order a new one...My current Aurora cover has lasted over 10 years. They custom make the cover for your specific model and features.

I had a great year. For me everything is related to tournaments...I do plenty of fun fishing, but it's always on waters that I have events on so I'm sort of always prefishing . -Won AOY -Cashed in 8 of 13 tournys, worst event all year was a 5th place finish. -Caught a limit every single tournament day but 1 (17 total tourny days) I put it at a solid A-. I can't give it the highest marks because I feel that I left a lot out there. I won only 1 event as opposed to 4 last year. I also made some bad decisions that really cost me in a few events. The biggest blunder was at Smith Mountain. Day 1 of the tournament there was the one day all year I failed to weigh in a limit. I was really trying to force an offshore bite and I just stuck with it way to long. Halfway thru Day 2 I scrapped everything and went to a shallow dock pattern (which is one of my strengths) and put together the heaviest limit of the event to salvage a 3rd place finish. If I had just gone into the event by playing my strengths instead of getting cute with my offshore deal I probably would have done much better. It bothers me just thinking about it now. Getting a limit every tournament day has been a top goal of mine for the past 5 or 6 years. It is very difficult to be that consistent and I've come within 1 day twice now...Boneheaded decisions cost me both times. Missing it by only a day is still something I'm proud of since it took a lot of hard work...Just stings when you know it was likely within reach if not for a bad descision. But all in all it was a great success...and most importantly, I had fun every time the boat left the trailer!

LOL I get what your saying, I guess...But short of sinking your boat or someone getting physically injured there's not much worse blowing your motor up...Replacing a lower unit sucks, replacing the entire motor sucks more . Anyway, sorry for the side track...back to the stories.

Ah, gotcha...You post was a little unclear. Man, it would have been awesome if I could have stuck my co-angler with the bill when my motor blew up during a tournament! (Joking of course)

Do you think it's unreasonable for a boater to expect the co-angler to at least offer to share some of the operating expenses for the day? More to the original point, I've never had any really bad co-anglers...I'm pretty upfront about how I operate in the beginning of the day so there are no surprises or anything like that. Things like where will be fishing, how I will be fishing, netting preferences, and where they can store their stuff....I think this is important to break the ice. I'm also a pretty friendly guy so I get along with everyone, at least so far . As for funny co-angler stories, I have a few but there is one that stands out. At a tournament down on Gaston my co-angler had a limit and caught his first cull-fish. As he was fumbling with the fish he just caught and the one he was culling...Another of his fish jumped straight out of the well and flopped in the lake, culling tag still attached! We chased the culling tag around trying to snag it for about 30 seconds until it was out of sight. Tat was the last keeper he caught and he ended up getting 2nd place on the co-angler side, missed first by less than a pound. I don't know if that fish cost him the win, but I do know it would have been awful close! He learned the hard way to always keep his livewell lid closed!

Flipping is flipping, use the big flipping rod whether you've got a jig, punch rig, or plain Texas rig on. If you're doing anything else...Like casting to open/deep water, swimming a jig, or using a football jig...That big flipping rod is not going to be ideal (at least to me). Jigs have a lot more to offer besides being flipped to heavy cover...and the flipping rod is serious overkill for most of the non-flipping applications. (Do you think I mentioned 'flipping' enough in this post? LOL )

In this case with Ashley, there is a rule that specifically allows what he did. Not a technicality or 'unwritten' rule, an actual rule that allows exactly what he did. Not only that, the practice of planting brushpiles is a part of bass fishing...There's a reason that the rule specifically allows it. Heck, Edwin Evers did an entire episode of the Bass Pro's TV show about how to make/plant brushpiles...Is anyone 'unsure' about him now? I've done it, it's a ton of work for what amounts to a very small reward. It also benefits the fishery and anyone with modern electronics can find them easily.

You will need a MD Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport license for anything that is tidal (boat or shore fishing). MD has a separate non-tidal license for anything not connected to the bay or above the fall line in rivers, which you won't need if you only fish the upper bay/flats. There is also a federal NOAA registration but it's automatically done with the Bay sport license so you don't need to worry about it. You don't need the boat sport fishing license, that covers everyone in the boat...it's similar name to the bay sport license is confusing. Also the fact that the bay sport license covers freshwater and saltwater depending on where you fish is a bit confusing. Boat-wise you don't need to do anything, same safety standards apply everywhere. Quick and easy answer is that you need a non-resident, Chesapeake Bay & Coastal Sport Fish License license to fish the Upper Bay for bass. ETA: Megastink is right about the PRFC license...We never worry about it because the Bay sport license for MD residents is the same price. Might be cheaper for a non-resident to just get the PRFC.

Of all the things that are now common in modern bass fishing, pulling the 'sporting' card on dropping brushpiles is funny to me. It's been around as long as the sport has and has been a long accepted practice of enhancing a spot. I can honestly say this is first I've ever heard of bass fisherman believing it to be negative or unsporting practice...Everyone's got their own way of looking at things, though...It doesn't bother me any. If Ashley wins it will be because he turned in 3 impressive days of fishing in tough and changing conditions against the best fisherman in the world....Nothing more, nothing less.

Ashley caught his entire limit plus one good cull live on camera, he has probably 13 to 14 lbs. He caught most on a fish-head spin with a fluke style bait. Ike caught 2 fish in the 4.5 lb+ class plus a smaller keeper. Caught them on a jig in a deep brush pile. Howell caught 4 fish, 3 are 3lbs+ and then lost one that was over 4. All caught on a crankbait Those were the big moments I saw, Basstrack shows Skeet in the lead unofficially with 17 lbs. The live stuff was pretty incredible, very cool. No issues for me at all. FYI the live coverage is only from 9AM - 1PM.

It's not a huge deal, some new users are a little more prone to backlashing...But taking it easy for the first few will help you adjust. Wet your knots and check for fraying periodically, but that should be standard practice with any line already . As long as you know that it will handle differently you'll be ahead of the curve. I don't change it because the line suddenly becomes poorer in quality. It is still usable, I just prefer to replace it for a few different reasons. Most guys I know have a similar methodology. It's common to see guys respooling a few rods in the evenings on our tournament trips...Not saying one way is right and the other is wrong, just pointing out that this is not an uncommon practice.

I replace mine frequently as well, sometimes day to day if I'm using a particular rod a whole lot. Line is a consumable product to me, I don't hesitate to change it out. I usually replace line after 1 or 2 full days of heavy use (meaning actual usage time, not just time spooled or time on the deck). I know that I change it more than most but that's just how I roll, it works for me . To the OP...Flouro reviews/recommendations are tricky to navigate. If it is your first time using flouro remember that it IS different from other lines you will have used. Go easy on your first few casts and prepare yourself for the learning curve. Give the line you bought a try, figure out what you like and don't like and then go from there. If you don't like it at all, you'll at least know what it is that you don't like so that you can research for your next purchase. (FWIW, my choice for flouro gets it's fair share of poor reviews but I find it to be an excellent line...Reviews don't always tell the whole story)

I just drive it on with the trolling motor, hold the TM out of the water with the rope and pull it out at the last minute. You'll have to put the trailer in a little deeper but it's not too hard. You can always just watch a few guys load their boats first to see the process. No shortage of bass boats on Black Hills...and for good reason . Electric-only lakes will put your batteries and motor to the test. There are fish all over that lake so don't get too hung up on 'running' around at first. ETA: Our club is holding a free USCG Boat Safety Check at Black Hills at the end of March and many of us plan to fish after. It's open to the public, PM me if you want details...You can get a crash course in loading and unloading there for sure.

It's always been 3 days. In the 2008 Classic on Hartwell the winning weight was just under 50 lbs and Alton finished about 5 pounds ahead of Cliff Pace. Most of the top 10 was in the low 40's. I imagine it will pretty similar to those numbers . 15 lbs a day will probably put an angler on the stage for the final show down.

White/Gold spinnerbait, fished fast over the top of grass. Like BlueBasser, I was also 16 at the time . It was April 2002 on the Potomac River, fished Arkindale Flats all day. I had a 5-fish limit for 13 lbs 15 oz.

There is a massive difference between effecting a single fish (or bed) and effecting an entire fishery. What you are talking about falls into the categories of statistical insignificance and acceptable losses. As for the part about money, you are seriously overestimating the impact of bass fisherman. Summertime boat and vacation traffic dwarf the spring fishing traffic by an order of magnitude. There's a reason it's significantly cheaper to book rentals on lakes before Memorial Day and after Labor day... There might be a few lakes throughout the country that see a slight bump in the local economy from fishermen, but hardly enough to sway DNR biologists. How would they even get a cut of that anyway? As the Tournament Director for one of the largest bass clubs in our area I have dealt with our DNR more than your average person...I can tell you that every single person I've dealt with takes their job very seriously and they are laser-focused on the health of the fisheries. I have complete faith that they are managing the resources properly.

Nobody is disputing that a bass behaves differently during the spawn. The question is over the sportsmanship/ethics of targeting these fish. If someone thinks that it is less sporting to target bass because of those behavioral traits, fine...They don't have to fish for them. Some of us feel differently and view it as simply another viable method for success (IE, a pattern) regardless of the reasons behind the behavior My post you were originally responding to was a tongue-in-cheek way of asking where you draw the line about what is sporting and what isn't, not an analytical assessment of bass biology.

No one is forcing you to do it, so don't. Lot of people looking down their nose on other fisherman for practicing a method that is 100% legal. Having an opinion is fine, but trying to force it on others isn't a polite thing to do . I put a lot more faith in DNR biologists doing their job then I do on some fisherman's feelings....In other words, I trust that if it were truly a threat to the fishery the DNR would impose limitations. BTW, some states actually do this for certain waters. We have certain areas on the Potomac that are completely off-limits to fishing (even C&R is prohibited) during spawning season. In my opinion/experience, those who say it's too easy typically don't have much real experience actually doing it. SOME fish can be easy to catch, but far more prove to be very difficult to catch...Especially the bigger ones. I have won and placed in tournaments by exclusively sight fishing and can tell you it's not an easy feat by any stretch.... If you say it's not sporting to sight fish...Do you also not cast to cruising fish should you see them? Do you not cast to breaking fish? If you see a fish break/boil while fishing something else do you not make a cast in the general direction? I mean, you can see them so it's not sporting right?

They work . I like them as a deeper diving jerkbait more than a Pointer DD. I don't fish them as a crankbait but they do deflect off cover pretty well with the unique shaped bill. It's a great bait, I know the Pointer is sort of the flagship for LC but I'm still surprised it's not more popular.

There's no perfect line, so you are always compromising on something. In deeper water and on longer casts, the only time the line is truly 'tight' is when you are actually moving the bait. The rest of the time it's either slack or semi-slack. While flouro is slightly less sensitive than braid, I have contact or feel on the bait for a much higher percentage of the time. To me, line-watching is not a substitute for feel...I have done a considerable amount of sight fishing and have seen fish eat a bait with zero movement in the line at the surface. These are the reasons that I use flouro over braid for most techniques. Doesn't mean that's all I use...I will use all 3 types, each when it is most advantageous to me. But I also have enough equipment to be able dedicate one rod solely to one thing, so I don't need to worry about a 'universally' good line. I can also carry all of them with me in my rod locker and pull them out as needed. My decisions would likely be different if I couldn't do this. Since everyone has different criteria for deciding on line, it's important to try them out for yourself and make a decision based on what YOU perceive is the best fit.

Before you decide on green or blue, do yourself a favor and check out the silver mirror lenses. I have a pair of silver mirror 580g's and can tell you that they are fantastic....Copper base and silver mirror finish. Excellent in both low-light and bright conditions. The green and blue are way more popular, but IMO the silver mirror 580g is best you can get for bass fishing. (I have used all 3 too, FWIW)

Nice fish! I'll play along too since we're dodging snowstorms (flurries for you midwest guys) here in MD. Not the biggest all year, but a great day on my favorite lake. From day 1 of our club classic on Gaston of which I placed 2nd. Largemouth and a nice sized Spot that rounded out a decent limit that day.

It always seems like the most vocal opponents are those with least amount of actual experience fishing it. To be completely honest, I didn't like the idea of it at first....But I decided that I wanted to at least learn how to use it so I didn't get beat by it. Since then I've become indifferent, if it'll work I use it just like anything else. Also realize that the major tours banned it for public image purposes...Not because it's some magical or brainless fish catcher.

It's not magic and it's not unfair if the whole field has equal ability to use it. As for tournaments banning it...Their organizations, their rules. I have no issue with it. I have been using it more and more on the waters in the area that support it. It's very fun when you can get on a good A-Rig bite...I have caught multiples and have also caught fish on the outside arms, even a double with both on the outside arms (shameless bragging ). More to the original point...I don't see why anyone would be up in arms about a tournament trail banning it unless they actually fished that particular trail. Further, If you are against the A-Rig for a specific reason then simply don't fish it...But if you are against it because you think it's too easy or takes no skill, I'd suggest you try it for yourself first. You would quickly find that it takes just as much skill/experience to be successful with as any other technique. In short, it's another another tool in the toolbox.

Having a budget sucks in general, not just for fishing...Wait til you get older . Like the above poster said...Work! When I was in high school (which was not that long ago) I fed my fishing habit by working as much as I could... I actually bought my first bass boat (17' BassTracker) when I was 16, plus all the tackle to go in it. It was hard work, but I really loved fishing and wanted a boat so I made it happen...I sort of took it to the extreme though, working every night after school so I could rack up hours and kept the weekends mostly free for fishing. If you've got free time, especially in the winter...You can turn that directly into tackle .