Champ188

Good job, Mike. That's a fat sack for a short tournament.

Yes, a fine idea, but Mike, you know from experience that there are a fair number of teams out there who are gonna bring in 5 bass pretty much every tournament. And it's also a given that none of those guys want to open the door to lesser-skilled anglers by reducing the limit to 3. Targeting bigger bass, especially on Beaver, is not an easy proposition. Neither is catching a 5-bass limit much of the time. So the way things are now favor the better anglers, and if you try and change it, a bunch of them will stay home. And when that happens, purses drop, everyone loses interest and the tournament circuit folds.

Yes, a fine idea, but Mike, you know from experience that there are a fair number of teams out there who are gonna bring in 5 bass pretty much every tournament. And it's also a given that none of those guys want to open the door to lesser-skilled anglers by reducing the limit to 3. Targeting bigger bass, especially on Beaver, is not an easy proposition. Neither is catching a 5-bass limit much of the time. So the way things are now favor the better anglers, and if you try and change it, a bunch of them will stay home. And when that happens, purses drop, everyone loses interest and the tournament circuit folds.

OK, I'm gonna play devil's advocate again. First, most of the better tournament fishermen aren't gonna go for a 3-fish limit because they feel --- and are somewhat right --- that the fewer fish you need to catch, the more chances the lesser-skilled anglers have to "luck out" and catch a couple of good ones. Again, until the pro circuits set the example, the locals aren't gonna go for it. Not collectively, anyway. Another thing about having observers is a lot of the old guard doesn't want to share their locations or techniques with anyone. That's why pro-am tournaments struggle and draw tournaments don't even exist anymore. They will take their team tournament buddy to their spots but no one else. Especially not a total stranger who just happened to be put into their boat as an observer. Don't take this as my personal feelings. It's not. I fished Central Pro-Am for 7 years and hated that the format went away. Also fished a lot of BFL events under the pro-am structure. I had three co-anglers win their side of derbies --- two in CPA and one in BFL --- and was proud as peaches that they won out of my boat. In retrospect, I probably shared too much water, knowledge and even tackle, but it's just my nature to try to help folks catch fish. I was known as one of the boaters who co-anglers hoped to draw. Not many are that way and a big bunch of them will stay home if you try to force them to allow a stranger in their boat.

Donna and I fished the Everett series its first year. Twice we were home and on the golf course by 1 p.m. Such epic lack of interest is why my efforts are concentrated elsewhere these days.

There are some good strings of bass being caught on long runout points on the James, especially where timber is present. Most of the fish are 20-30 feet deep. PBJ football jig with a green pumpkin double tail trailer will catch 'em as good as anything. If you see them chasing, have a swimbait or smallish flutter spoon (Dixie Jet) handy to hurl into them.

You ain't kidding about the heat being brutal on us portly folks. Donna and I have been playing afternoon golf in it. You'll sweat off 5 pounds a round.

Glad you got out and got bit. Thanks for the report and pic.

Great pic. Congrats to you and your daughter.

Does this mean my seat repair has been pushed back?

Sad deal. And a reminder of just how quickly something like that can happen.

I am all for it. I am just saying that the present collective mentality among local tournament fishermen is not going to allow it to happen. If they're gonna throw down $50, $100 or more for a 1-in-5 chance to get it back (most derbies pay 1 place every 5 entries), they want to SEE the fish that beat them out of their money. Is that the most intelligent way to look at things? Absolutely not. But it's the prevailing mindset and one that isn't likely to change anytime soon, especially as long as BASS and FLW aren't on board. MLF is a made-for-TV deal. That is their audience, period. BASS and FLW want butts in seats at their weigh-ins. Hence the reason BASS hired Dave (MegaMouth) Mercer as their emcee. It wouldn't appear that they are willing to cancel weigh-in events anytime soon (and lose sponsor exposure) and until the example comes down from above, you can't reasonably expect it to happen at the local level.

Dramamine

The old guard, who make up a big portion of tournament entries, is never going to go for anything but traditional weigh-ins. Seeing is believing. I don't care how many pics you take and save or what kind of measuring board/tournament bracelet you include in the pics. It's already possible to cheat in a traditional tournament. The good ol' boys aren't about to open the door to more possibilities of shenanigans. Not saying those immediate release derbies aren't a good thing. They are great for the health of the fish. I'm just saying we aren't gonna see it happen anytime soon.

Me, too. No interest in hunting anymore. Lonesome fall days on the lake are the best!

Hard to draw interest in the fall. Most guys have their minds on deer.

Mmm hmm.

Just save a Yammy or Reaction Innovations bag and put the cheapos in it. Then when you pull it out and hand one to a client, they'll think they're fishing with the good stuff.

I've never eaten any but they sure look like they'd be good. Gonna have to try em someday.

Forgot to mention, your PBJ look-alike color in the Missile D-Bomb will be Love Bug. In the Sweet Beaver, it's called Violator.

I personally like the Missile D-Bomb or the original beaver --- the Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20. Both are available at tacklewarehouse.com. Or you could just message Quillback, as he is their dedicated sales rep for OAF.

Good report, Sprint. Appreciate it!

Hopefully they saved some money for ice and Rejuvenade for their livewells. Otherwise, they'll kill a bunch of keeper bass. And with reports of another oxygen-related fish kill already starting just a few days into official summer, we sure as heck don't need fish dying needlessly because a tournament organization decides to make their annual stop at Table Rock six weeks later than usual.

You had me at half-price Sonic shakes. I won't comment on the white bass limit because I have no experience fishing for them on Beaver. But I'd SURE like to see these "citizens" busted if they're selling their catch, and I'd bet they are. Unless, like you said, they're feeding everyone they know with them.

Incredible. You're trying to introduce a relatively new species to a lake and get them up to fishable numbers. You protect them from rod-and-reel anglers with length limits (a very good thing, IMO) and then you shoot yourself in the foot by allowing divers to run a spear thru them. Oh, wait. I forgot. You have to accommodate all user groups. Man, how many times have we heard that one in regards to AGFC regs? I'm sure the rule-making folks at the commission will say the spearfishing harvest is negligible, and they're likely right. But I also guarantee you that if a rod-and-reel fisherman got caught with a short walleye, he couldn't get off by saying, "It's just one fish. It's negligible." If one short fish is too many for one group, it's too many for all groups. Rant done. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.