Champ188

Saban is a mastermind and not someone you want to get into a gunfight against. He proved that a few years back when he pulled his starting QB at halftime and put Tua in ... a FRESHMAN who totally flipped the field horizontally (being a lefty changes everything for the defense) and came from behind to beat Clemson in the national title game.

He won fishing shallow? No livescope? Say it ain't so, bro!!!! 😂

You don't change hardware on your stickbaits? Like Daichi hooks?

1. Yes, there were definitely some problems with the early models. Broke a couple myself. I'm using mostly Denali stuff these days but still have some newer model Ducketts that work well. My biggest complaint with the older ones was not breaking the blanks but those dastardly micro guides. 2. Don't think for a minute that I don't hear everything you say, Mr. Bill. Yes, I thought it odd that you were pitching docks spiderweb line. But whatever is good enough for you and the late Mr. Beck is good enough for me to go out and try. These days, it is others who cast a sideways look when I pick up a spinning rod and thread a leadhead worm, Ned (aka The Little Guy) or teeny tiny jig back into the dark corners of those docks.

No laughing here. Just wish the ones I have didn't have those cursed, dainty micro guides. I swear that I stared at one with a mean look one day and it fell off. Rod sleeves don't help much coz the dang things just poke thru the webbing. I bought a newer model a couple of years ago that has the solid metal guides and I really love it ... enough that it's my primary spinnerbait rod.

I have a deal with Keitech, too ... I pay and they smile. 😁

Deep, deep waters here, Mr. Bill. Reaching the point of having too much money would come pretty quick for me because I would want to help every homeless or struggling armed forces veteran and every needy animal I came across, and so on. Although, if my funds were truly unlimited, I suppose I'd be OK in that respect. As for spending it on myself and Donna, I'd want a sensible yet roomy home with a boat garage big enough for a couple of rigs. And garage doors on each end so I could just drive straight thru. A Vexus would have to be in the picture. Livescope but only for crappie fishing. Beyond that, I'm afraid the simple fact that nothing was out of reach might leave me unmotivated to chase my dreams. I've certainly never had everything I've wanted at a particular time in life, but the thought of it is kind of scary to me. Seems like I'm always in pursuit of something and if anything and everything was in easy reach, I'd probably miss the thrill of the chase. Maybe I'd buy back all of the Ozarks properties and amenities that Johnny Moneybags has grabbed up and restore them to "everyman" status ... no more paying to launch your boat at ramps the taxpayers already paid for ... and affordable golf fees at every golf course in the Ozarks.

See, now here's a case for never betting your heart. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you're a big Georgia fan. That's great! Without dedicated fans, our sports world suffers. But this game basically meant "notta" to Georgia. Win or lose, the Dawgs were bound for the playoffs. On the other hand, if Bama had lost, they risked falling out of the playoffs. I try to never bet against motivation. It'll bite you fast and hard.

Saw several fish floating belly-up in livewells on the Johnny-palooza coverage last week. Appeared they were deep-caught fish that weren't properly cared for.

A hot July day is one of the best times to catch spots on top. I've seen them schooling on top at all hours of the day in July, August and September.

Nice call, Willy. Hope you got in on some of that action.

Nice job, Cheese. You are a skinny-water man after my own heart.

Shoot, I could get all 5 of my normal catch in that one cylinder. 😁

Had a 94 Evinrude Intruder 150 for several years. Great engine but the trim relays were bad to go out. Fortunately, they were easily replaced and even better, the two relays (up and down) were interchangeable. Fished an entire tournament one day with one relay. I kept switching them around depending on whether I needed to trim up or down. LOL After that day, I bought a couple of spares and kept them in the boat.

No point about jerk baits is ever moot.

I'm no lawyer but pretty sure that poor dog has solid grounds for a lawsuit against whoever put that tinsel on his tail. 😁

Awesome. It'll be like War Eagle ... when PRADCO bought them out, they immediately reduced to about half the product choices (colors, blade combos, etc.) that Keith Brashers worked for so many years to build up.

That one's an RC STX in Purple Green Apple. It's a killer in slightly stained water. Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn STX Jerkbait - Tackle Warehouse The one I really have high hopes for this year is the new Berkley Stunna designed by Hank Cherry. That guy does know what he's doing with a jerk bait. My top three color choices in it would be Northern Lights, Table Rock and Shad Fillet. Berkley Stunna Jerkbait 112 - Tackle Warehouse And QB just thinks he's seen my FAVORITE secret color ... only Tim Hughes (forum member and custom lure painter to the stars) knows my REAL secret color. 😁

I heard participation trophies were on backorder after each member of the Cornhusker football team received one for their 3-9 season. Sorry, it was a hanging curve on the outside corner. Had to take a swing. 😁

Crank baits vary widely in weight and resistance when retrieved, so ... in keeping with your $150 budget, I'm not going to suggest two rods. Instead, I'm going to presume that you'll be tossing something in the middle weight range, like a Wiggle Wart or Strike King XD3. My favorite midsize cranking rod by far is the Denali Kovert series 7-2 MH Crankbait model. It has a moderate tip action (a bit limber) for making long casts and helping absorb the pressure of a bite so you don't pull the bait away from a fish, but it also has enough backbone to handle a large fish. I pair mine with a Lew's BB1 reel (6.4:1), which is not a $400 team reel but neither is it a bargain bin model. It's very important that your crank bait reel is capable of casting a long way, as the farther you can throw it, the longer it will stay in the "strike zone" during the retrieve. I love the old P-Line CXX mono in 10-lb test for cranking. It's plenty tough while also being small enough in diameter to allow for those all-important long casts. Denali Rods - Kovert Winn - Bass

Dang it, C4F, I've told you a dozen times to GET OFF MY FISHIN HOLES! Now scram! Go find your own lifeless, barren, apocalyptic places to fish!

LOZ's water is more fertile. More nutrients, more baitfish, and so on ...

Drinkwitz is still getting his footing as an SEC head coach. I would not be at all surprised if he accomplishes big things at Mizzou.

Don't forget there's a slot limit of 16-24 inches on Fork. Gotta return those immediately to the water from whence they came. Big difference when those prime breeding sized fish don't spend half of their lives riding around in a livewell and getting dragged up on a stage to be weighed.

How could it not be? Every tournament organization in creation wants to hold their championship there. The big-bass event (another Johnny-palooza) comes in the spring and HOPEFULLY doesn't land on top of the spawn, not to mention five-fish limit tournaments fishing right thru the spawn, taking thousands of fish off their beds at a critical point in the reproductive cycle. We can't keep exploiting this great resource and not see a dropoff in fishing quality. The question is, how long will we keep beating it down before someone says, "Hey, let's go play in another pond. This one sucks!"