Champ188

Sometimes you might throw one up in a tree so I'd actually recommend three of each color.

Nothing to show, Titleist Breath. I went to Academy and bought one identical to yours. That's right. I stole your rig. I totally stole it.

Congrats on a great day and thanks for posting a detailed report. Very generous of you.

I'm planning to bring you a couple myself, Randy. I believe both are even custom painted by Mr. Hughes.

Congrats on the weight loss. Not easy for sure.

I don't know that I'd put a lot of stock in what they may have said they caught them on. I believe Pete is fishing the Central Open this week, so honesty would not be the best policy when asked what he used. That said, Pete is one of the best fishermen/guides on the lake and an even better guy. Congrats are certainly in order.

We are no threat at all in a big-bass event, although Donna could be if she wasn't stuck with an old bank-beating river rat like me. I'm lucky to catch a few keepers now and then.

She's joking. I wouldn't even THINK of taking the rod from her or anyone else and deny them the thrill of catching a big bass. Besides, that was the absolute finest job I've ever seen of anyone landing a big bass on 6-pound line. I wish I had videoed it for use in my new instructional guide service. She let the fish run when it wanted by hand-stripping line from the reel and then recovered line when it let her. It took her around the back of the boat and finally came to my hand at the driver's seat. Kinami 4-inch grub in Natural Shad on a 3/16 ballhead. I had her swimming it around a dock where we'd run into a school of nice spots the other day.

Boys, I think we got trolled.

The present model is the Rk Crawler 55. I would think a new one would have a different model number.

Good job to the top Okeechobee pickers. This is fun. Looking forward to the Classic. One certainty ... Ish won't be on my Classic team or probably any other. Never cared much for him anyway.

It's interesting how weather patterns shift through their cycles ... El Nino, La Nina, etc. ... and how they affect our seasonal temps, precipitation, etc. Won't be long until we have another winter where we are buried in snow in the Midwest and upper South.

I try to keep my pot stirring on the fun side. Operative word there is TRY. And thank goodness that actual FISHING season is arriving so we will have some actual fishing trips to talk about.

You might take some good photos of one then send a few to our own Tim Hughes, custom lure painter to the stars. He can perfectly match your desired colors, and I can personally guarantee that his work is unmatched. I believe I even have a couple of those big Rogues that I will give you, or I can relay them to Tim for painting and then he can send them on to you. http://hughescustombaits.com/

I was wondering if that Tennessee comment might draw you out. LOL You are right ... I knew I was treading on thin ice but couldn't resist. All in good fun, my brother.

Vernon, I would challenge you to a debate but I'm sure you'd try to steer us into a golf ball discussion rather than the topic at hand.

Hey, we can all gather on the 86 bridge and shut down traffic while we protest that we didn't win. Heck, we might even march to Golden. Or at least up the hill to L&L Quik Stop.

That 200 series Bandit is tough to beat. I know people also like the 300 but the 200 is by far my favorite.

Now that's funny I don't care who you are.

Actually, Donna and I agreed to quit when we'd caught a fish for every point that Tennessee scored on Missouri last season.

I can only think of one book worth that kind of money. Fortunately, it doesn't cost anywhere near that much.

Beautiful fish. Nice job, Mike.

OK, I misread the original post. And I responded ONE TIME. The other times were people quoting my post. My goodness, I did not mean to start WW III. The RC STX is a Luck-E-Strike bait, not BPS. I do not fish with BPS lures. Not just because they are junk but because I try not to give Johnny any more of my money than I can help. That's a personal choice that I won't try to rationalize here or try to steer others to join me. My choice. I do buy BPS Excel monofilament line. So I do not think Johnny is the devil himself. We've batted this RC STX ball around the park enough, I'm sure. But here's my last word on why I fish it. I've caught a lot of fish on it. Won a decent stack of money on it. Are they perfect? Heck no. The hooks suck, so I change them. Every now and then you get one out of the package that won't suspend right. Sometimes they leak. But it goes back to the fact that I've caught fish on them and I like them. I also fish with Megabass, Spro and several others.

Crazy-good day in the White ... Donna and I started at 8:30 and didn't load up until dark. Keepers were scarce (only 6 all day) but we combined to catch 63 LM and spots (not a single SM) during the course of the day. Arsenal included 3XD and Rock Crawler crank baits, Keitech swim bait, Ned rig, jerk bait and a War Eagle spinnerbait. Water temps ranged from 53 to 59.

Good luck in your derby. At least the BFL boys will be gone by Sunday. Donna and I are headed to Eagle Rock today for a day of fun fishing and to meet up with an old Central Pro-Am buddy for a picnic lunch. Should be a great day. Will post a cryptic report later. I may try to catch one on a blade today. Oh, the horror. lol