AlabamaSpothunter

He actually got 9th, so he would have been in either way, but he started out the day in 10th, which was the last spot because of Kenta, mid day he was as high as 12th, and then he finished in 9th. Absolute rollercoaster of a day for him.

DEAL! 😎 Yeah I think he even surprised himself, I mean he threw the equivalent of a 50yd Hail Mary at Harris Chain this weekend, crazy!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.....wow way to go Mr. Milliken, can't wait to watch him on BASS Live next year all the time on the Elites as BASS is going to really showcase him next year I'm sure. Other the Ben, BASS has to be the most happy that he snuck in there. Let's Go MFers!

This is what really gets me! Imagine banning an A-Rig, but not FFS......this is when I realized that it's all about the money, there was no "Big A-Rig" to save A-Rigs, but there is most certainly "Big Electronics" to save FFS on the professional level, this is why at the end of the day I don't think FFS is going anywhere. Money talks and so on.

Man I wish BASS would hire better IT people, BASS Live is a joke most days, whether it's audio issues, or now today they've missed 30mins of action by not having transitioned from FS1 to Bass Live....seriously disappointing, and hard to be a fan when you can't follow the sport.

He never fished Toledo Bend except for one day right before they closed off limits period as well. I think the common denotator is that he excels fishing for big FLGM, Ben seems to be in play more on big Bass fisheries. Eufaula, Toledo Bend, and now Harris Chain. He sucked at the grinders, and also sucked at the SM events up north but I suspect that will change in the future. 3/9 events he's fished extremely well....might just be enough to get him on the Elite Series next year.

Awesome, and agreed about the folks up north......I will say they've made the most of it though, bunch of Yankee Hammers in this thread. I caught my first double up on a crankbait a few days ago, got two Spots just like that on a Rocco 5. There are few things in Bass fishing as exciting as Fall time Spotted Bass fishing to me. It's incredible the violence, and aggression they show especially this time of year.

Minimax in Spot Remover or Gizzard Shad with a 3" Armor Shad or 3.5" Spunk Shad trailer 1/4th-3/8th Buzzbait with a Shad swimbait or shad colored skirt Rapala Rocco 5, SPRO Little Jon 50 Type R, and really a dozen other cranks....lots of baits I would happily throw in the crank category. Megabass Vision 110/Jr/+1 line of baits in GG Threadfin and MB Sexy Shad I have far more success this time of year on downsized profiles than bigger ones......exact opposite of what I find to be the case right after the Spawn where I can't throw a big enough bait.

LET'S GO BENNY MILLS! 20.14 currently in 2nd place. Might be fishing tomorrow on FS1! Let's go, please make it to FS1 Ben!

Joey Cifuentes and Patrick Walters are right there as well.....you can imagine a number of guys are quite nervous right now. While others are praying it happens, and they have a fighting chance again. IIrc in the video they say Walters was the first one to win a big derby on FFS.

With the +2 baits I'll throw them on a 6'6 MH F GLX or GL2 older Loomis rods that are more M than MH by today's standard. Everything else gets thrown on a dedicated Jerkbait setup as I fish them extensively. You can throw them on that baitcaster setup, might not be perfect, but you'll get a feel if it's a good technique for you or not.

Find the bait with 2D/Side Scan, then hit em with A-Rigs, +1/2/3 sized Jerks, Damaki Axe Blade, Yo Yo a Lipless or Blade Bait. Hover Juggle, and Damaki Rig if you want to finesse them, but we don't have to finesse them down here, they only bite better as the winter goes along. If I'm catching them deep in the winter it's 100% based on Shad, again finding that bait is the biggest step in my equation. My most electric number days last winter came off a Damaki Axe Blade over 30-40fow. Find the depth at which you see the Spaghetti above or below the carpeted baitfish, and then simply count your bait down to them, be it an A-Rig, or much faster sinking 1oz Axe Blade.

Monkey just told me I need a son so I can buy him fishing stuff 🤣 That's awesome, and I can't imagine a better present for Jake than those molds. I'd like to try it down the road as well, making your plastics sounds fun as heck.

This is how it is down here, Fall continues to be random with electric days throughout the drop in temps where it leads to the ultimate peak of the entire year.....the months of Dec, Jan, and Feb.

My good friend's kid is an awesome young man, he got worm molds for Xmas last year, and I've been saving, sorting by color, and then donating them to him since that time. Apparently, he's all the rage in the neighborhood, all the boys come over and make worms in garage. The best recycling I've ever done.

Agreed, my USDM Levante series was made in Vietnam, sadly the JDM P5 I just bought had a "made in China" sticker on the heel. They must have to put those stickers on by law or something, never understood why companies would go out of their way to illuminate that fact. That said, this rod is incredible in every aspect sans country of origin.

I hear you guys, personally though I'll keep supporting mom and pop tackle shops, along with site sponsors. I'm sure Dick's thanks you for your business 🙂

The irony is excellent indeed 🤣 The CEO and board are almost all female......you know they hate the name 😆

The board of Dick's hates your average American, they loathe the 2nd Amendment, and overall don't care a bit about hunters or anglers. I wouldn't buy a bottle of water from them if it was the last drop of water on Earth. They cater to the suburban demo....soccer moms, yoga folks, granola eating hikers, etc.

From now until the Spawn, all guys do in my local monkey hangouts is talk about seeing fish run away from their A-Rigs on the scope. There's no doubt fish evolve, but when you got a dozen other options besides an A Rig including stuff like Hover Juggles, you learn to put the A Rig down, and use the fairy wand on them. Milliken's video over the last few years have proven this. He still catches them on big baits, but he is using the Hover Juggle a lot more to fool these wary big fish.

The SM Elite series derby weights up north have been smashed each successive year starting a few years ago. One guy broke the century belt on SLR a year or two ago, 3 did it this, and the only reason a 4th didn't was because he lost half a day with a broken boat. Ben Milliken almost broke the all time Opens record for a winning weight at Toledo Bend. I barely follow the MLF but they were blowing out records scoping on Guntersville, and all the SM derbies up north as well. All that said, they're only as good as the fisheries they were at and that's not a constant factor for a three year period. You're 1000% right, it's not magic, but people who really try to learn it seem to learn it and go on to become vastly better anglers in terms of numbers/size. AOY winner Kyle Welcher is an awesome case study.......dude is an absolute hammer with zero electronics on the boat, but he said a few ago he saw the future and he spent all his free time learning to scope. Flash forward to this year, and he scoped his way to AOY, because by his own words essentially, he had too. If not him, somebody would use the tech to win as long as it's allowed.

Thanks brother! Beautiful fish as always, and I know you made the Whopper Plopper Queen happy 🤣

Haha, she pulled so hard, and that first Tarpon jump made me think she was bigger....but the appreciation is still the same for that encounter with her. The odd thing is that every fish over 7lbs I've caught this year fought way less than this fish, and I've found that the best fighting size LGM are easily the 5-6lb class fish. I'm sure teeners pull crazy, but I do know that 5-6lb LGMs pull harder than 7-10lb ones. I still remember a 6.10 in the Spring that went bananas and I could really lay into her with a big worm hook and a 7ft MH/16lb Shooter.

Broke in the 110 Stick this afternoon with a Vision 110 in GG Threadfin, it's a keeper after landing one of the harder fighting LGMs I've caught in some time. She was only 6.6 but she was magnificent in fight and overall health.

I have no problem with livebaiters, but like Pat I find I'm too lazy for livebait, and enjoy all the various techniques. People blowing up earthworms, or catching shiners on bread balls is way more work than throwing a Zoom Ol Monster or a Shiner colored Swimbait 😁