I have been following this thread and feel a need to chime in. As for the bass fishing. Tournaments have been the worst thing to happen to bass fishing all across the nation more than anything else. The only thing bass tournament fishing is about is MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. I am originally from Florida and have bass fished since I was 4 years old (started with my father), and remember the days when we would have 150 (no exageration) bass a day catches (and release most except those to eat) with at least one over 6lbs and the occasional 10+. Largest one to date was 16 1/2 and all on artificial baits. This was throughout the 60's and 70's. Then came Tom Mann and Bassmasters in the 70's. In the early 80's when B.A.S.S. was getting popular and everyone and their brother called themselves a Bass fisherman, entering tournaments with rocket sleds and rude as he%$ on the water, putting 100 to 150 boats on a lake every Saturday, destroyed the fishery and it has never recovered. Nowadays they go out and beat the water to death to catch 5 measley fish looking like Patch Pirate Indy car drivers and acting like rock stars at weigh-ins. It is disgusting and you cannot tell me that after the way the fish are handled that they have any form of a long term survival rate as well as return to their original haunts. I have witnessed the demise first hand. I have also seen the same effect with Walleye tournaments on some compounds in the midwest. I am sorry if I offend the tournament fisherman, nice folks or otherwise, but tournaments do nothing but destroy fisheries. Of course marinas and bait shops and resorts love them because of the MONEY they bring in. So sad. So when it comes to the "modern bass fisherman" and the true love of catching bass, STOP promoting the tournamnet trails and start promoting fishery and habitat restoration. As for the Stripers, they are a blast if you can catch one.