Tom Spence

I have 1 pro qualifier and so far I have found it to be a very good reel for the money. I bought it when they were $100 and have had it about a year. Very smooth, smooth drag, good braking system, comfortable for my small hands. Since I've only had it a year I can't say much for it's longevity, but I hope it lasts cause it is nice to use. I got the 7.1:1 and have it on a football jig rod. So it sees alot of action with the way I fish. Like I said, no complaints so far but I wouldn't think twice about buying more of them since I fish on a pretty tight budget. Before the pro qualifiers I used several of the green bass pro extreme reals and had very few problems. For the money at that time I think they were pretty good reels. Smooth reel over all. The drag could have been a little better but again they are a pretty chead reel. Out of about 6 of them I only gutted one and that was on a flipping stick so it took some punishment with hook sets and heavy line.

Heres what I do. Hope it helps. Put the jig in the vice, then get a ten inch length of your wire. Hold up 2 fingers, wrap the wire around them twice to make a double loop. You should have a couple inches of tag ends of wire. Hang the wire over the jig so it hangs at the bottom of the hook. Hold your skirt material around the jig head with one hand. You want the skirt material to hang down through the loop in the wire. With the free hand grab the wire by the tag ends, work it up in placearound the skirt material and jig head. Grab both tag ends with one hand and pull while still holding the skirt with the other hand. Go slow. As the wire loop gets tightens around the skirt material you can let it go and work it in to place to keep it uniform around the jig head. Once the loop is tight I just cross the tags ends of the wire, pull tight, wrap each around the jig head once more, then cross them and cinch with needle nose pliers. I hope this makes sense. I realized its harder to describe than I though it would be.

Saw a couple schools Tuesday in the late morning around the mouth of Aunts. They were up quick and down quicker.

Great post. I am pretty good in warm weather but in cold weather, especially in a tourney, I have to force myself to stop and drink (and eat). Anyway, again great post.

2009 Champion 198CX Dual or single console (console was modified by Rick Lisek to come in and out in minutes) 225 Mercury Pro XS under warranty until )Oct. 2013 Motor Guide Digital Tour 82 lb 24 volt trolling motor Lowrance 520C color fishfinder/GPS in console Lowrance 27C color fishfinder/GPS on bow, linked with console unit Keel guard Pro mariner 3 bank charger Hot foot Pro trim Lock R bar Beautiful boat, asking $33,500. Look at pictures on Craigslist (Springfield)

Hey buddy. Fished Baxter to Campbell Point. Yeah I fished with Jim. For us, they seemed to be suspended up in the water around and in timber. If we let the grub get too deep then we got moss or goggle eye. If we hadn't been in a tourney we would have brought home a nice mess of goggle eye to fillet! Wouldn't take many of the ones we were catching to make a meal. In fact, if I can get back down in the next few days I'll probably do that.

No wind? What lake were you on buddy? It was a tough day for the most part. We had a limit by 10 just couldn't upgrade. Caught fish all day but only 7keepers. Grub for the most part with some split shotting mixed in.

My favorite jerkbait rod is an American Rodsmith Zell Roland topwater rod. 6'6" medium with fast tip. Its a great setup. The reel I have on it now is an Okuma baitcaster. Excellent rod for jerkbaits and of course topwater.

Hey Champ, I'll be there Sunday. Say hi if you're there. I'll look for ya.

the fish docotor is a soft plastic made by Zoom. -ts a simple 4 inch french fry that's flat on one side. One of the best baits on the rock.f

Sounds like a great day!

I had 83.5 to almost 84 by late afternoon.

Took the kids out yesterday for 5 hours, worked between Aunts and the mouth of the White. Caught 15-20 fish with two keepers, both being smallmouth. Got some night crawlers for the kids and had them drop shotting with them. The 8 year old lost interest pretty quick but she had some bites. My son caught 3 shorts (2 spots and 1 smallmouth). I was droping a Robo Worm (aaron's magic) and a Chompers drop shot worm (plum). Caught several fish but couldn't get on any keepers. Worked in closer to the bushes dragging a FB jig (Jewell 5/8 brown and purple flash with GP paca chunk). Worked it from right in front of the bushes out to 20'. Most bites came in 15-20'. Caught several smallies off one point near the mouth of the white with a shakey head. Watermelon red Chompers on a 1/4 oz Chompers stand up head. Also threw a Reaction Innovations shakey head worm in GP. Caught 3-4 short smallies on it. Not much of a report but between swimming breaks and rebaiting hooks for the kids we did catch a few. Also saw whites schooling. Largest bunch was tearing up a patch of water 50' feet across for over a minute. Got close to them and tossed in a spoon. Caught 2-3 with a spot mixed in before they quit.

Deep breath...in 1,2,3, out 1, 2, 3.....ahhhhh. I thought this thread was nothing more than interesting reading and was not going to get in it until I read ColdWater's comments. darn my never ending need for confrontation and the inability to walk away from it. Here goes: My thoughts. 1) Boo hoo yourself. What, you never griped about work? For that matter Bill wasn't complaining about his job. I've never met Bill personally but by just reading his reports and talking to a good friend who hired him once I know he loves his job and takes alot of satisfaction in the years of work he's put into it. Theres nothing wrong with having the expectation that people should be willing to put some effort into things (in this case fishing) instead of getting immediate results by following someone around who has put the time in. Theres a hell a difference in following a pro during a tourney and following a guide. I won't get into them because Bill allready addressed them. Staying on fish on a body of water ALL YEAR LONG to provide clients with a good time is much different than establishing 2 or 3 patterns that will hold up for 3-4 days. 2) Yes he takes people fishing. Yes they pay for it. And yes it is work. Is it a dream job? I think so and I envy him. Is it digging ditches or hanging sheet rock all day? No. But its a job and Bill puts as much effort into it as any other profession out there. I hope to do the same thing after I retire. I can't think of a better job in the world. The things he has complained about are things that 1) Can hurt his business and 2) Take the work out of fishing. Some (and I emphasize SOME) people have forgotten that part of the satisfaction in fishing is the hunt. Figuring out things and making them produce ON YOUR OWN! 3) Guides provide a service. Everyday, somewhere, a guide takes someone out who has never fished before or has fished but not had success. They learn a few things and hopefully fall in love with the sport as all of us have. When you speak of pros I'm going to assume you just mean tournament fishermen. Well, I'm not a pro but I fish tourneys and love it. I love being on the water period...whether Im taking my kids out, or fishing a derby. If you have been wronged in some way by a tournament fishermen then I'm sorry. I mean that. I know there are guys out there that have given the sport a bad rap, and in turn given the rest of us a bad rap. I hate it but thats the way it is in everything.

I'm in.