OCdockskipper

You're stepping all over my punchline . You are correct, I could have written "suspensions" or "warnings", but the word "banning" seems to have more punch when talking about getting in trouble on an internet forum (i.e., facebook ban, twitter ban, etc). Now I'm stepping all over my punchline trying to diagram the joke...

I'm surprised you didn't figure out that I am actually Mike Iaconelli. The frequent bannings should have been the giveaway.

They fill a niche. if I want just a little color to a soft plastic or a stripe, they work well.

I use the crawdad and minnow versions of Fishsticks & like them alot. However, they will melt in the middle of a hot summer day, so if at all possible, store them in an upright position when in the heat. I made a scent/dye box that does just that as well as stops me from dyeing the carpet in my boat.

Maybe its the cynic in me or my dislike of his screaming, but the past "bloopers" I have seen from Ike seem like setups. Like the one on Zona's show where he is running around the boat & falls in, it really looked planned (on his part, not Zona's). Ike would do well in a Bill Dance format, he does teach well and appears to have a passion to do so.

In addition to Christie, Hackney & Ike leaving BPT, Jacob Powroznik & Justin Atkins have left. Atkins currently sits inside the bubble for Opens AOY to get an Elite series invite, & just outside the bubble for the Eastern Opens with 1 Eastern Open left to fish. Powroznik won't qualify via the opens, not sure if BASS may make some kind of sponsor exemption to have him back in the Elites. Powroznik was successful at BPT, winning 2 tournaments in the 2 years of its existence. He, Atkins & Hackney all qualified to fish the 2021 Redcrest, but I'm not sure if BPT will let them or not. Cox qualified for the 2021 Classic. I'm not sure if it bodes well for BPT that the people who have left in the first 2 years are either highly recognizable names or have had success at BPT. None of those who left fall into the journeyman category, the Marty Robinsons or Cliff Crochets of the bass fishing world. If the highly talented want to leave and the mediocre want to stay, I think it means your organization reward system may be off.

While I don't disagree, the devils advocate in me would suggest that there are also some people in the world who are more kind than any animal you would find in the wild or domesticated. The difficulty is discerning which type of person you are dealing with at the moment. Lucky for me, I can tell the difference just by looking at them! ?

The Zman Ned jig is pretty finesse...

Add in the possibility of Jason Christie, Bryan New, Scott Martin & a few others and the Elite series continues to bring back the well known anglers. With the exception of Palaniuk, it seems the anglers who are leaving MLF are established anglers as opposed to younger guys. I thought the Lee's might want to follow Swindle back to the Elites, but that would be a tough sell to Jordan considering the year he had in 2020 (2019 wasn't bad either). Next year, there will be no dropping of the bottom anglers from the Elite roster, a special rule change due to Covid. That means the addition of 12 anglers beings the Elite series back to the 100 angler level.

That's a side effect of being a Mike Iaconnelli fan...

Rare is the day that I can't get bit on a Ned Rig or Senko, but they do occur. About 6 weeks ago, I had a cloudy, overcast day where I found the bass in 6-8 feet of water, but holding at about the 3 foot level in open areas, out away from docks or along seawalls (I'm assuming it was at or close to where the bait was). They wouldn't rise up for a topwater and would not go down to the bottom for a worm or jig. However, I loaded the boat by reeling a small squarebill past them as fast as I could. I couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were, because I believe they were oriented to the bait as opposed to structure or cover, so I had to cover alot of water. When I came across them, they were more than happy to choke the bait, albeit I am assuming it was more of a reaction bite than a feeding bite.

Did you read the post? I wasn't asking what the fish weighed, I have a good idea of that even without putting him on a scale. What I was was surprised how off a person who works with fish every day could be when they had the fish in their hands (or net). I read that article, it was informative. What I found interesting about this was how far he was off while literally holding the fish in his hands (in the net). Maybe he was counting the weight of the net and his arm in his estimation. Further, you don't even need to live in the country to see wildlife, most suburbs have a decent amount as well. Interesting how many people who are city-bound their entire live consider themselves "environmentalists".

I have mentioned in the past that we have a Koi pond that in addition to 5 Koi, has been the home to a largemouth bass for about 6 years. He was 12" long and about a pound in weight when put in the pond and now is close to 20" long & very thick across the back & shoulders. A steady diet of goldfish & nightcrawlers will do that, especially when he doesn't have to travel far to get them. So the other day, we had the company that built the pond out to do an annual cleanout. During this time, they remove the bass & koi and put them in a kiddie pool sized container while they work. I was away from the house, so I asked my wife to get a picture of the bass out of the water and ask the guy to estimate the weight. Below is what Blutarsky (the bass) looks like now and I started laughing out loud when I read that the Pond guy estimated he weighs 7 lbs. He is a healthy, plump fish, but he is lucky if he has pushed past the 4lb mark. I'm guessing the pond guy has never seen a big-headed bass in the 7-8 lb class, because Blutarsky definitely is not that. Fisherman are known for their exaggerations, but what other examples of you had where people completely mis-estimated the weight of a fish that they were in close contact with?

Possibly. Sometimes a pattern is a type of retrieve that will work everywhere, because the fish are everywhere & biting (typically in the spring). Other times that retrieve will work over & over only if you are fishing a certain type of structure and/or cover. In your example, if that retrieve resulted in bites no matter where you threw it, but a steady retrieve with the same lure didn't, then you were on a pattern. However, if you noticed that you only got bit in areas where the deep water transitioned to shallow quickly and that it was fruitless where the deep to shallow transition was gradual, then the retrieve was only half the pattern. The structure was the other half of the pattern.

I wasn't saying that a 40 second retrieve is slow, but rather was giving an example of fishing a T-Rig in a power fishing method versus a finesse method. 40 seconds was just a off the top of my head estimate of the minimum amount of time one would take to finesse a TRig through some kind of cover or structure. Obviously if the area you are covering is larger or you have no idea at what depth you are going to get bit, a finesse retrieve with a TRig could take 5 minutes.

It is an out of body experience the first time you are able to do it. You know exactly what you need to do to get bit, yet are still amazed that each time you replicate it, you get bit again.

No, but the life vest made me look like the Michelin man. Add in the buff, sunglasses & hat and I was completely unrecognizable.

It also makes Marshalling that much more fun. The Eufaula event was broadcast live & I recorded them while I marshaled. It was fun later to watch it & see yourself on TV or see footage you shot on your phone being used live.

I would say it depends on how you use it. When you are flippin' & pitchin' a TRig, quickly moving from target to target, I would consider that power fishing (especially with heavy gear in decent to heavy cover). However, if you are slowly moving a TRig through a location, making each cast last 40 seconds or so, then I say that you are finessing them. I am of the opinion that most types of baits can be fished in either a power or finesse method, but I may in the minority with that kind of thinking.

Considering you live in Florida, I'd call you smart. Those are proven, successful methods in the waters of your state. Now if you came out to some Western lakes with 20 feet of visibility and no vegetation in sight and still used those methods, then we might call you something else

I was struggling to define my style until I read DitchPanda's post & realized I too am a pattern fisherman. Growing up reading Bassmaster magazine in the 1970's, everything was about finding the pattern. Junk fishing is done as a way to dial in a pattern. I prefer moving baits and that is the way I typically start most days, but I am more than willing to slow down and downsize depending on what the results are. I enjoy a day where I dial them in on squarebills as much as a day where I'm catching them on a Ned rig. The only time I ditch the idea of finding pattern and do just one thing is when I have gone 4 hours or so with only a few bites. If I am out of ideas where they may be and what they may be hitting, I sometimes just say the heck with it, and skip a wacky rig or small jig under every single dock on the lake. I know I will catch a few, but feel like the fish beat me that day because I didn't figure them out.

I REALLY want to see someone throw that!! My choice is a Ned Rig. Over the years, I have noticed that if I am not getting bit with most other lures/techniques, my thought process is they want something else, at a different speed or different depth. If I am not getting bit with a Ned rig, then my mind goes to "There are no bass here". However, that doesn't mean a Ned rig is always the best tool for the job, but it often helps me figure out what that tool is.

I don't believe being an expert & having fun at something are mutually exclusive. If one's goal is to become an expert, than I could see what you mean, but if the expertise is gained as a byproduct of doing something you like and the passion to learn more about it, that would seem to be fun. For example, I consider you & Team9nine to be experts on the Ned rig and I am aware that both of you look at Ned Kehde as the true expert for that technique. While you two may never gain Neds expertise, that doesn't mean you aren't experts yourself. I would be willing to bet that if Ned ever spent a day in a boat with either of you, there would be something you did that made him go "Hmmm, hadn't thought of that, that makes sense". In other words, I believe experts can still learn in their area of expertise. As Jaderose mentioned, access is a good part about why others consider someone an expert. 5 years ago, I had no way of conversing with Ned Kehde, but I did have access to you & Team9Nine. I was able to use that access to learn a technique that changed the way I fish and has influenced the other techniques I use. Ironically, while I wouldn't consider myself an expert on the Ned rig, there are people who fish my lake that do. It is most likely one of those "can't see the forest for the trees" things, if we are close to a situation, our perspective is skewed. Back to keeping things fun, I believe that comes down to how one uses the expertise they have gained. In fishing, I have no interest in participating in tournaments (although I enjoy following them), I just enjoy the outdoor experience and don't want competition to change that experience. Now when it comes to bowling or poker, those are interests where I find the competition is what makes it fun for me. Just bowling a good game or series isn't enough, the fun comes in trying to beat someone else head to head under the same conditions. But fishing, for me, just being outdoors is the fun for me & if someone considers me an expert at what I'm doing, that is a cherry on top.

I would agree with this, for there isn't a limit on the number of people who can become an expert. Being an expert is different than being elite at something, for expertise is based on the ability to acquire skills while being elite means you are among the top of a group of experts. Experts can often "call their shot", in other words they can get into situations where they know what is going to happen before it does. Not because of luck, not because of confidence, but because of a combination of acquired skills and experience tell them that doing certain things will result in a particular result. I would suggest that a good number of anglers on this forum are experts, even if we aren't professional or fall into the elite class. Sometimes that expertise may be on a certain body of water or a region, but it is expertise nonetheless.

Wouldn't that be distracting? I mean, trying to focus on getting that concrete poured while those safety videos are yammering on at the same time would probably result in alot of concrete going into places that it shouldn't. That is the best I can do impersonating Emily Litella...