BPT Lake Eufaula

[ryanerb]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

 

I literally just got off the phone with Wheeler after talking to him for nearly an hour today about the event. He is in the process of shooting a quick video update on baits, tackle, etc. used and how he won before heading off to Florida, so I'll let Jacob handle the specifics and details of his win.

That’s pretty cool you have a direct line to Wheeler. Obviously that video will be what we all wanna see. I’m not sure we have met before, but I can’t tell much from your username who you are, a past pro, etc. I’m outta the loop. 

 

Johnny is very mathematical and analytical and has his own theories just as we all do. He’s loves fishing, especially offshore, as we all do and was just trying to theorize how it all went down. I’m game to watch ten different videos of how it all went down, but wheelers will be great. Please post it when it’s available. 

[RichF]

My guess is Wheeler will say a lot of the same stuff, maybe with lesser detail. I'm sure he has his own "explanation" of why the fish were there and why they bit one day and not the next.  I take most things the pros say with a grain of salt....especially the fishing commentators.  Their job is to make it sound like the anglers know exactly what they're doing at all times and that they're the best at everything. 

[Jim- Indiana]

14 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

I didn't get all that about light penetrating the water because bass need to see.  How do the bass feed at night I wonder?

Bass do not need to see to feed as they can detect sound and movement taken in by their lateral lines. Trying to get them to eat one specific thing (your bait), it helps if they can see a little, for them to move any distance to get your bait.

[Team9nine]

One of the screenshots Jacob posted of the winning group of fish (and spot), but after he had caught what you saw during coverage and broken up the school.

 

 

 

[12poundbass]

42 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

One of the screenshots Jacob posted of the winning group of fish (and spot), but after he had caught what you saw during coverage and broken up the school.

 

 

 

If all those bright dots are bass, there are a ton down there still. 

[J Francho]

Nice screen shot T9.  My main beef has nothing to do with Wheeler's fish, but how YTer's use anecdotal data, over inflate their theories, and sell the idea of "here's the truth behind" what ever they're spewing at the moment to drive a monetized medium.  

 

You won't believe what happens next!

 

[Team9nine]

40 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Nice screen shot T9.  My main beef has nothing to do with Wheeler's fish, but how YTer's use anecdotal data, over inflate their theories, and sell the idea of "here's the truth behind" what ever they're spewing at the moment to drive a monetized medium.  

 

You won't believe what happens next!

 

Couldn’t agree more. Commercialism and “marketing” are just getting worse and worse on all fronts. What’s sadder to me is seeing the “traffic” that “follows/likes/subscribes” to all the crap. 

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

What’s sadder to me is seeing the “traffic” that “follows/likes/subscribes” to all the crap. 

What's even worse to me is when the video host asks for likes and subs.  Like we all don't know how this YouTube thing works.  If your videos (note I didn't say content) are good enough, likes and subs come naturally.

 

But I digress, keep crushing the game changing content in 2020.

[RichF]

Don't the pros do the same thing? Isn't that what you have to do if you want to make an actual living fishing for bass? 

[J Francho]

I don't know if it's what they HAVE to do.  Seems like the segment is flooded with this type of info.  I'd prefer to see them helping new anglers, or showing how to set up rigs they used.  Not some sales pitch about their new trolling motor, and how it's a game changer.  They're missing the boat on effective marketing.  Seeing a pro use a certain piece of gear, to land a fish, like a brand name net, drives sales for that net up, if it works well.  Telling me all the features of the net is something I can find in that brands marketing - I don't need them to rehash it.  It's just my opinion of the state of things.

[Team9nine]

7 minutes ago, RichF said:

Don't the pros do the same thing? Isn't that what you have to do if you want to make an actual living fishing for bass? 

Kind of sad, isn’t it? Not happy with the way the whole industry is going these days, but a younger and younger demographic are driving it that way. I see the same thing in corporate America. Is what it is - glad I don’t have to participate 

[Tennessee Boy]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

My main beef has nothing to do with Wheeler's fish, but how YTer's use anecdotal data, over inflate their theories, and sell the idea of "here's the truth behind" what ever they're spewing at the moment to drive a monetized medium.  

I agree completely but it started way before YouTube.  90% of what has been said, written, posted about fishing since the beginning of time is speculation.  When I pitch a jig by a stump and catch a fish,  I assume that the fish was on the stump waiting.  Unless, the water was clear enough for me to see the fish in advance,  I’m just speculating.  In this case it’s probably a safe speculation but I can’t say for sure that the fish wasn’t swimming by when my jig hit the water.  Unfortunately most people prefer a confidently delivered narrative over an intellectual honest fact based discussion.  So to be a successful YouTuber or old fashion writer you need to proclaim with certainty that “those fish were waiting in 30 ft of water for 2 days until the water cleared up and the temperature stabilized then they moved up in the afternoon to feed.”  If you say it with confidence,  they will believe you even though you can’t possibly know what the fish have been doing for the last 48 hours.  

[Team9nine]

On 2/15/2020 at 7:32 PM, ryanerb said:

I’m game to watch ten different videos of how it all went down, but wheelers will be great. Please post it when it’s available. 

Day 1 video has been posted. Most of the fish catches are in the middle of the video, starting around the 11:00 minute mark if that's all you want to see. He also does a recap of baits around 2/3rd through the video before the end of day stuff. There is a practice video released yesterday, I believe, but it doesn't have near as much in the way of fish catches.

 

Wheeler - Eufala Day 1 Action

 

[Troy85]

21 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I agree completely but it started way before YouTube.  90% of what has been said, written, posted about fishing since the beginning of time is speculation.  When I pitch a jig by a stump and catch a fish,  I assume that the fish was on the stump waiting.  Unless, the water was clear enough for me to see the fish in advance,  I’m just speculating.  In this case it’s probably a safe speculation but I can’t say for sure that the fish wasn’t swimming by when my jig hit the water.  Unfortunately most people prefer a confidently delivered narrative over an intellectual honest fact based discussion.  So to be a successful YouTuber or old fashion writer you need to proclaim with certainty that “those fish were waiting in 30 ft of water for 2 days until the water cleared up and the temperature stabilized then they moved up in the afternoon to feed.”  If you say it with confidence,  they will believe you even though you can’t possibly know what the fish have been doing for the last 48 hours.  

I agree.  You can't just bumble through without confidence in what you are saying and expect to make it as a content creator.  What if different fish are there for different reasons, or biting a specific bait for different reasons?

 

Just last week I was fishing a grass edge with my brother.  We pulled up, he started a with spinner bait, and I started with a dropshot. He was burning his spinner bait along the grass edge, I was dead sticking my dropshot. After a couple casts we both started catching fish every couple casts.  If I had been alone, I may have theorized that fish were sitting near the bottom, in a post frontal funk, looking for a subtle presentation.  If my brother had been alone, he may have reached a completely different conclusion about the mood and positioning of the fish.   Was he catching actively feeding fish or getting a reaction strike?  Was I catching only the inactive fish that were sitting near the bottom? Were the fish positioned near the bottom and going up to grab his spinner bait, or were their bass throughout the water column?  Would the fish that bit my dropshot, have been willing to up and grab his spinner bait and vice versa?  

 

[ryanerb]

3 hours ago, Troy85 said:

I agree.  You can't just bumble through without confidence in what you are saying and expect to make it as a content creator.  What if different fish are there for different reasons, or biting a specific bait for different reasons?

 

Just last week I was fishing a grass edge with my brother.  We pulled up, he started a with spinner bait, and I started with a dropshot. He was burning his spinner bait along the grass edge, I was dead sticking my dropshot. After a couple casts we both started catching fish every couple casts.  If I had been alone, I may have theorized that fish were sitting near the bottom, in a post frontal funk, looking for a subtle presentation.  If my brother had been alone, he may have reached a completely different conclusion about the mood and positioning of the fish.   Was he catching actively feeding fish or getting a reaction strike?  Was I catching only the inactive fish that were sitting near the bottom? Were the fish positioned near the bottom and going up to grab his spinner bait, or were their bass throughout the water column?  Would the fish that bit my dropshot, have been willing to up and grab his spinner bait and vice versa?  

 

Troy, I love this. GREAT POINT!! Nailed it on the head. 

 

I'm also brainstorming, what if he had thrown a spinnerbait, didn't get bit.. then started throwing a drop shot and got bit... you maybe be able to deduce something. Yes... everything is 'just a theory' but... some theories come from experience and testing... (such as a guy testing 10 different baits or 10 different colors, and only 1 bait or 1 color is getting bit, etc...) Some days the bass bite everything, everywhere, other days there is much more of a specific pattern... so .. as with everything in life... it all just depends...

 

 

[Team9nine]

4 hours ago, Troy85 said:

I agree.  You can't just bumble through without confidence in what you are saying and expect to make it as a content creator.  What if different fish are there for different reasons, or biting a specific bait for different reasons?

 

Just last week I was fishing a grass edge with my brother.  We pulled up, he started a with spinner bait, and I started with a dropshot. He was burning his spinner bait along the grass edge, I was dead sticking my dropshot. After a couple casts we both started catching fish every couple casts.  If I had been alone, I may have theorized that fish were sitting near the bottom, in a post frontal funk, looking for a subtle presentation.  If my brother had been alone, he may have reached a completely different conclusion about the mood and positioning of the fish.   Was he catching actively feeding fish or getting a reaction strike?  Was I catching only the inactive fish that were sitting near the bottom? Were the fish positioned near the bottom and going up to grab his spinner bait, or were their bass throughout the water column?  Would the fish that bit my dropshot, have been willing to up and grab his spinner bait and vice versa?  

 

Nice take. This is where my mindset is at presently - identify with your ignorance of the situation, not your overconfident interpretation. You can still create good content by stating, “Here is what I think was happening” without having to tear down someone else’s assessment of the situation first. Turns out some of his guesses were right, and some wrong, with a lot of unsubstantiated/contradictory personal commentary in-between (my assessment of his video).

[Troy85]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

Nice take. This is where my mindset is at presently - identify with your ignorance of the situation, not your overconfident interpretation. You can still create good content by stating, “Here is what I think was happening” without having to tear down someone else’s assessment of the situation first. Turns out some of his guesses were right, and some wrong, with a lot of unsubstantiated/contradictory personal commentary in-between (my assessment of his video).

Good point. 

I personally try to avoid the over confident approach in almost everything I do, especially in bass fishing(haha).  I've only been bass fishing for about 3 years, so I still have a ton of stuff to learn.  I'd say for me, the area where I have the most ignorance of a situation, is when I'm not getting bit in a new area.  Is that the fish aren't there, or do they not want what I'm throwing.  Even if I try several different presentations, I'm still never quite sure if its a location thing, or a presentation thing.  I guess being more confident in that respect comes with experience.  

[RichF]

Skimmed through Wheeler's first video.  Slightly off topic and not to be too conspiracy theory-ie....but 3 guys that made the final all roomed together.  Not saying they shared info (since I'm pretty sure it's not allowed, per BPT rules) but a non-pro like myself can't help but wonder. Also, didn't hear much about the spot and what the fish were actually doing.  Maybe in the next video?

[Hawkeye21]

19 hours ago, RichF said:

Skimmed through Wheeler's first video.  Slightly off topic and not to be too conspiracy theory-ie....but 3 guys that made the final all roomed together.  Not saying they shared info (since I'm pretty sure it's not allowed, per BPT rules) but a non-pro like myself can't help but wonder. Also, didn't hear much about the spot and what the fish were actually doing.  Maybe in the next video?

They are not allowed to share info and if they did they managed to pass the polygraph test afterwards.  They do have a rule in place that if anyone does receive any info then it must be shared to everyone else competing in order to keep an even playing field.  That keeps people from breaking any rules and failing the polygraph.

[redux]

Solution to "talking" - Leave all your baits on deck and your graphs showing all your way points when you get back to the house.

[Team9nine]

Speaking of talking and info sharing...I didn’t get to catch all of the live coverage, but there was a moment during one of the days when the boat officials had to relay to their pros that Jacob was catching his fish cranking. I haven’t got the full story yet, but believe it was a case of some observer must have made that comment to another competitor, and in fairness to all competitors that day, and to not break the no-info rule, the info had to be shared with all competitors so there was no advantage gained by the info. Seemed strange and a bit “sucky” for Wheeler, but interesting. I’ll try and remember to ask him the next time we talk.

[Team9nine]

23 hours ago, RichF said:

Skimmed through Wheeler's first video.  Slightly off topic and not to be too conspiracy theory-ie....but 3 guys that made the final all roomed together.  Not saying they shared info (since I'm pretty sure it's not allowed, per BPT rules) but a non-pro like myself can't help but wonder. Also, didn't hear much about the spot and what the fish were actually doing.  Maybe in the next video?

Next video from MLF site: Wheeler recap

[dickenscpa]

On 2/12/2020 at 9:32 AM, jbsoonerfan said:

Ha! I just sent my wife a couple pictures. One was Jacob Wheeler in his tackle compartment. She makes fun of me because I have a label maker and I label everything (not just my tackle, but a lot of things in the house). I told her the best fishermen in the world use them as well. My second pic was of Thrift's front deck, I also told her the best fishermen in the world need a setup for every situation.

 

Edit* Her response: Well, he's getting paid to catch fish......You barely even catch any, much less getting paid.....You should just stick with what you have now till you get better

 

I really love her

 

So you've met my wife? She tells me the same thing about archery AND fishing.

 

A few of my thoughts -

(1)I liked this new MLF format and weight limit

(2)I liked the previous one too and the old Cup format. I enjoy seeing big bass OR lots of bass.

(3)I still like BASS, FLW and the 5 fish deal as well.

(4)I don't think I like one format better than the other. I'd rather watch any of them as opposed to most crap on TV.

(5)I used to not care for Jacob Wheeler, I could maybe explain why but you would just figure out how shallow my thought process was. I subscribed to his YT channel and got to quasi get to know him better and I was wrong, seems like a cool dude. In the process got to know DC and MDJ better and like them too.

[Hawkeye21]

5 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Speaking of talking and info sharing...I didn’t get to catch all of the live coverage, but there was a moment during one of the days when the boat officials had to relay to their pros that Jacob was catching his fish cranking. I haven’t got the full story yet, but believe it was a case of some observer must have made that comment to another competitor, and in fairness to all competitors that day, and to not break the no-info rule, the info had to be shared with all competitors so there was no advantage gained by the info. Seemed strange and a bit “sucky” for Wheeler, but interesting. I’ll try and remember to ask him the next time we talk.

I've listened to a couple podcasts and they went over what happened a little.  That rule has been in place with MLF for a while but I think this was the first time the public heard it happening live.  Some people were saying it was cheating but they just didn't know what the rules were.