slothman

The biggest reason I joined a bass club and started tournament fishing regularly ☝️☝️. It is much easier for me to get to go fishing when I have it on the schedule months in advance. If I want to go on a whim (even if we have nothing else going on) it is much more difficult for me to get my wife on board.

I have certainly learned a lot since fishing in tournaments. Just a few years ago I never would have considered fishing in a tournament. Now, I fish in a local club of pretty darn good sticks and fish occasional local tournaments when it works out. I still like to go out and fun fish as much as ever. I have just learned to be a bit more deliberate with my fishing and my time management. I have also learned that the way I grew up fishing is not the way I most consistently catch competitive sacks. I most appreciate fishing in my club because it puts fishing on the schedule and is much easier to justify with my wife that I should get to go fishing if I can plan for it months in advance. I’m still learning, but I can tell that I have definitely improved in the past few years of competitive fishing (probably in part because I have fished more). Example: I never did any pitching before. Never even considered it. I had to spend some time in the yard learning that skill so that I could more effectively fish docks in a more effective way for tournaments. Before, it didn’t seem like something I needed to be able to do.

If you are going to bass fish I was doing really well yesterday on spinnerbaits and a carrot cake jig. My fish were all close to the bank. I caught probably 15-20 keepers and had a couple in the 4-4.5 range. I lost a really nice one when my spinnerbait broke in half at the boat. He was without a doubt the biggest I had on all day and I know would have gone more than 5 pounds easy. White spinnerbait, white/chartreuse, and purple shad war eagle spinnerbaits were the ticket in the wind. This is the jig I caught them on on bluff banks and chunk rock: PM me if you’d like to get some of these jigs.

I heard they had 135 boats take off yesterday.

I didn’t fish the bash this fall because I had to work, but I’ve been out a few times in the past week. We have been doing pretty decent on a brown and orange jig (carrot cake) I make. I can get some for anyone that is interested, just shoot me a pm. I found this Craw in my livewell a week ago. If you add a green pumpkin trailer to my carrot cake jig it matches pretty well. These jigs have been producing for me and my buddies.

I haven’t heard. I know a few people are waiting to register to see how the weather plays out because they don’t want to spend yet another BBB fishing in the rain all weekend. I would definitely consider fishing in it, but it is always the first weekend of October and I always have work obligations that weekend every year. I may set up a booth to sell my wares in the spring. Not sure just yet, but I am giving it some consideration.

I’m planning on trying out fishing a swinghead jig in that style in the next year too.

I enjoy going gigging suckers from time to time (although I haven’t been in quite a few years). We do it old school with Coleman lanterns lined with aluminum foil. We usually end up with less than ten suckers in a night where we gig. You can’t see much with those and it definitely isn’t like using the big lights and generators that most guys use. I think those guys with the big lights pretty well gig out all the suckers where we go. I see them with a lot more suckers than I would want to clean. I too, have always wondered why it is strictly a nighttime activity. I see them when floating during the daytime just as much as I do when gigging at night.

The change at Grand Pass is kinda nice on years that it doesn’t freeze up and sucks in years when it does (which is most years).

The zones changed just a few years ago. For example, Grand Pass CA used to be in the North Zone. Now it is in Middle Zone.

I haven’t been out to scout it, but I may try to go for a short bit tomorrow morning if I can.

In short, the south zone line is wack. It goes more or less straight across the state then takes a hard turn south to appease “somebody” then turns abruptly north again. The new north zone is pretty screwed up too. Somebody certainly had influence over those lines and it wasn’t geography or science.

I have no doubt at all that they “listen to public feedback”. However, it isn’t the majority of the population they listen to, it is the majority of the $$$. You want your opinion heard and taken seriously? You better have lots of 💰. Don't believe me, look at the duck hunting zone boundary lines. You can’t tell me that there wasn’t somebody that had some power and influence making some illogical decisions to benefit the few special people.

Go Bears! That is all.

I’m always surprised at how many boats run at the shootout that top out at 80mph or less. I mean, what’s the point. You certainly aren’t showing off or impressing me with your “performance boat” when I see bass boats that can do that. Now those 100+mph pontoon boats...wow! BALLS!!! No thanks. There will I’ll be a LOT of money on the lake this weekend though, for sure.