MichaelCopeland

I'm really excited to be in a position to not only learn some new things but also to pass on some things I have learned. I give all thanks to God for leading me to this forum, the ability to retain the knowledge gained from all of you, the ability to pass on that knowledge, the job I start in the morning, all the kind words from all of you and just everything He has done and will do for me. @Mike L if that's what God wants me to do, I'll be running the joint sooner than 5 years...lol. Determination is one of my best God given abilities. Thanks again everyone, y'all are Awesome! ?

Thank You Lord the wait is over! I've been waiting a long time for this and finally I start my new job at Academy Sports as an Outdoor Specialist. My first day is tomorrow at 9am to get all my new hire paperwork done and whatever else they need me to do. I'm so happy. Thank you to all that believed in me and kept me in their prayers for this job. It has paid off. God Bless you all! ?

Howdy and welcome to our fishing family! Thank you for your service! ?

Last Saturday my son and my 2 grandkids(they're my girlfriend's grandkids but they call me Pawpaw) came up for my girlfriend's sister's memorial. It was great seeing them again. Hadn't seen them in a couple months. Wish it had been under happier circumstances and lasted longer. I'll see them again soon I hope. ?

The biggest one I hauled in last year was only 4lbs caught on a red bug 10.5" Ol' Monster. I sure do miss that little pond by the house I used to live in down in Pineville. Will be doing my very best to top that this year. Who knows, maybe tomorrow it will happen or at least my first bass of the year. I'm going to Wallace Lake in the morning to try out some of my new baits/lures my awesome friend @A-Jay sent me. ?

Howdy J D and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Howdy and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Howdy and welcome back to our fishing family! ?

Howdy and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Howdy Bryan and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Howdy Mitch and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Not sure we have smallmouth bass around here with the exception of maybe Toledo Bend and possibly Caddo Lake because they border with Texas. However, I always catch and release largemouth bass. ?

Ol' Monsters(red bug, junebug red and black red glitter) and 1/2oz chatterbaits have aided in catching my biggest bass. I read a book by Bud Andrews and he's caught quite a few trophy size bass by dead sticking a worm near areas he believes hold bass. He would let the worm sit still in that area on slack line for up to 30 mins. It agitates the bass due to their territorial instincts. They see something that doesn't belong there and they will move it away. When you see your line moving off, reel up slack and set the hook. I'm gonna try that soon to see how it works. ?

I have one more question involving the tie breaker. What's an example of a reasonable guesstimation for a total weight for an event? Not asking what y'all put for yours. I've never done this before and I don't want to guess too high or too low.

Howdy and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Bass want the easiest meal they can catch. So if the lure/bait even remotely looks like food and it's easier to get than whatever forage is available then they will take the lure/bait. When the water temp is around 65-72 degrees they will exert more energy to catch a lure/bait or forage. There's probably other reasons too. I'm still learning myself.

There's been a change to my lineup. Jonathon VanDam was replaced by Randy Howell and Caleb Sumrall was replaced by Wesley Strader. I've been watching MLF on the Outdoor channel. Howell and Strader are fun to watch.

Being new to this I have a few questions. Are these tournaments televised? If so, what channel? Otherwise, how do I keep up with the stats?

Ok I signed up. I'm Bassassin13 in our group. My picks are as follows: A. Mark Daniels (I've met him and he's a real nice guy) B. Jonathon VanDam C. Marty Robinson D. Cliff Crochet E. Caleb Sumrall Good luck everyone! ?

Howdy Todd and welcome to our fishing family! ?

Gonna try to get out tomorrow and see if I can get some bass to bite. Some fatties would be nice but I'll settle for any size right now. I've yet to catch a bass this year. With my new baits and lures I have no doubt that will change soon. I plan to catch a new PB with at least one of those. This year I'll be mainly big bass fishing and I'm sure that with the new stuff I'll be catching in no time. @A-Jay and @Catt are definitely great stand up guys. Both have given me great advice since I've been a member and are always nice to chat with. There's alot of great guys and gals on here as well and I'm truly thankful and Blessed for being a part of such an awesome forum. Thank you all for your kind words on my loss. She will be truly missed. God Bless you all! ?

A few days or so ago I received a PM from @A-Jay saying he wanted to send me something and not to worry that it was fishing related. He asked for my mailing address. Not knowing what to think about it, God assured me that it was ok. Being thankful for just the thought of me I replied with the info he needed. A couple days later he messaged me back that the package was on the way with a link for me to track it. I had to go out of town over the weekend for my girlfriend's sister's memorial(God rest her soul) and received an email letting me know the package had been delivered yesterday. I couldn't wait to see what it was, but I had to wait until today when I got back home. I feel like I've won the Bait Monkey Lottery. To my surprise the package was full of bass fishing goodies. Baits, lures and a little bit of tackle. I was speechless and felt very Blessed. Inside the package was: 3 packs of Mega Strike 4.5" Mega Bugs(watermelon black flake, green pumpkin black and red flake and black blue flake) 3 packs of Mega Strike 4" Mega Tubes(green pumpkin black flake, black blue flake and crawdad) 1 Mega Strike 1/4oz Cavitron buzzbait in black with black blade 1 pack of Strike King Rage Tail Smokin' Roosters in watermelon red flake 5 packs of Gary Yamamoto 5" single tail Hula Grubs(motor oil red flake, purple pearl blue flake, smoke/black purple flake, red/large black silver flake and rootbeer gold flake) 4 packs of Berkley Powerbait 4" Crazy Legs Chigger Craws(watermelon, green pumpkin blue flake and 2 black blue flake) 1 pack of 3 Berkley Powerbait 5" SwimBaits natural color with a weighted looks to be 6/O or bigger EWG offset hook and a decent sized treble hook) 2 packs of Power Team Lures 3.5" Craw D'oeuvres(black blue swirl and green pumpkin blue swirl) 2 Booyah 1/2oz Bankroll Jigs(wild card and runt) 1 Booyah 3/8oz Vibra Wire spinnerbait with willow leaf and Colorado blades in chartreuse pearl white 1 Booyah 1/2oz One Knocker in Rayburn red 1 big pack of Fisherman's Choice about 4.5 or 5" curl tail worms in looks like red bug or junebug red color gotta be at least 50 of them in the bag 1 Savage Gear 7/8oz Ti-Flex spinnerbait with titanium blade arm, trailer blades and 3D details and finish in black/red 1 pack of 2 Savage Gear 3" 3D Crayfish with real 3D scan color appears to be green pumpkin purple flake with 1/5oz jighead 1 pack of Savage Gear 5.5" real 3D scan Armor Tube Worms in watermelon red 2 I think Dredge jigheads 5/O or so with pigtail wire bait keeper 3/8 or 1/2oz 3 football head jigs not sure brand 3/8 or 1/2oz(2 green pumpkin blue, 1 black each with Rage Craw trailer already rigged uniformly) and 2 single willow leaf blade chartreuse spinnerbaits 1/2oz or so. Seriously I won the Bait Monkey Lottery! I'm still in awe! Thank you, thank you, thank you and God Bless you, God Bless you, God Bless you my friend A-Jay! You are awesome! I can't wait to catch some bass with my new baits and lures! ?

I'd have to say Toledo Bend Reservoir. Although I've only fished there once in my life and it was at a pretty dangerous time with lake force winds it was the greatest experience I've had on any body of water. The scenery is beautiful and the bass were biting. Hoping to get back there very soon. ?

Sorry for your loss. My sincerest condolences and prayers to you and your family.

That's cool. I'm in Shreveport. You're not missing much...lol. Being a bank angler I haven't found much bank to fish from around here. I don't get many chances to get out on a boat.