Whack'emGood

Correction... Whack'em-- 1) my handle 2) to catch alot of good'erns. Good'ern-- a nice fish. Nern-- hillbilly slang for "another one." As in... "I just caught a good'ern and now I'm fixin' to catch me a nern." Stob-- a piece of wood sticking up out of the water. Stob Pattern-- a pattern developed by catching several fish next to various stobs.

Correction... Green back carp (largemouth bass)-- 1) what skilled fishermen catch. 2) the greatest sport fish in the world. Hey... you started it! You know I'm just kidding. I respect my trout catching brethren.

Kentucky-- Spotted Bass Chunkin' n' Windin'-- fishing fast: usually done with fast moving lures like crankbaits and/or spinnerbaits. Aw Son!!!-- I have a big'un on the line. 3-4-5 pounder!!! -- The phrase Roland Martin uses to describe a 2 pound fish.

Mortar -- that big object attached to the back of your boat that propels it across the water. Earl -- that thick liquidy subtance that (in combination with gas) your Mortar won't run without.

Does "Lucky Craft" and "on a budget" belong in the same sentence?

That is funny. I was actually thinking really close to those same exact thoughts. What difference does it make what rod you drop shot with? You might as well use a cane pole... or a Snoopy Rod in my opinion. Of course I am kidding about that... but seriously, most techinqes require a specific setup to get the job done correctly and/or efficiently-- but you can drop shot with just about any rod in my opinion. I sure wouldn't spend much money on a rod that I was gonna dedicate to drop shotting. That is just me though-- drop shotting is just not my style, and certainly not my expertise. I'm sure a specific type of drop shot rod is very important to alot of guys and I respect that. Whack'em

Classic movie!!! Now that's a good tip! I personally have never hired a fishing guide. But, no matter what type of service I am getting from someone (food service, hair cut, bag handler, valet, etc.), I always tip on effort and/or "did the person genuinely seem nice and happy to serve you?" Keep in mind though, that everybody deserves something. There always needs to be a minimum tip, no matter what. Just my 2 cents. Whack'em

Champ... Wimping out on Sunday or not-- I'll bet your partner is still tougher than all of us on here put together... evidenced by the courage she has showed recently in a certain non-fishing situation. From the recent reports that have been posted, I would call her backing out on Sunday more like using good sense instead of wimping out. (Don't tell her I said that... we will never live it down!! ) I have been itching to go lately also, but have thought better of it-- I am still mixed on if I really want to go or not. It is always nice to get out no matter what, but I would much rather go when it is 50 degrees and not catch'em than go when it is 25 degrees and not catch'em. On a different note... Get the hatches battened down everyone, in case it is gonna be as bad as they say it is. Be safe and stay warm! Whack'em

That was beautiful Bill... You are right on (as usual) as far as I'm concerned. Whack'em

I personally think Bull Shoals, Table Rock, and Stockton are terrible fisheries... You can't ever get bit, no matter when you fish or what you're fishing with!!! Terrible, terrible, terrible fisheries!!! I wouldn't recommend them to anyone!

Nice hat Bill... I think I've seen that logo before. Representin'. Nice job fellas. Whack'em

Skeeter-- Oh... I didn't know you lived down there in AR. I had it in my head that you were one of the guys in our series that I didn't know well but fished against-- must have had you mixed up with someone else. I love Arkansas by the way-- my dad and his side of the family is from down there. Go Hogs! Well, if you ever come up in the summer for a weekend or something-- consider coming over to Mill Creek and fish in one of our buddy tourneys. I always like to meet good folks like you. You don't have to be signed up in advance... just pay at the ramp. $10 for yearly fee plus $45 (includes BB) total for you and your partner. 100% payback - one place for every 4 entries. It is a good bunch of guys and really good fishermen. Drop me a message this summer if you make plans to make it up some weekend. Whack'em

Eric- thanks for putting that together. Looks great, and will be very helpful. Hey Skeeterp- You fish in the Mill Creek Friday and Saturday Night series don't you? I just got my schedule and am looking forward to it. Joe and Terry always do it right-- it is a great series. Whack'em

I agree. I would love to fish for a living... everybody has to make a living at something, and why not something you love? It makes perfect sense to me. I once wanted to make a living as a Pro Golfer. I was a top High School Golfer and then went on to play Division I College Golf. I never made it pro-- It would have been nice to do something I loved to do and make a good living at it. I turns out that I didn't really love it as much as I thought-- got burned out and didn't make it. I found out that I bass fishing is my true passion and I never get burned out, tired of it, or frustrated with it to the point that I don't have a great time doing it. I would love to have the time and backing to try to make a living at it. That would be great. RPS asked why do guys fish tournaments? I personally enjoy the competition. I have always been competitive-- in my youth I played competitively in several sports at one time or another-- golf, basketball, football, baseball, track, and bass fishing. I love the competition and the comaraderie in the bass tournaments I fish, just as I enjoyed it in those other sports. I will say this-- being that I do it for fun (and not for a living), I do choose my tournaments wisely. I only fish with tournament groups who demand the utmost sportsmanship and where the competition is friendly, fair, and fun to compete against. It is no fun fishing with cheaters, snobs, or unsavory characters. You don't run into problems in the local tourneys around here very often though. They are mostly a good bunch of guys that enjoy the competition and the friends you meet during them. It is fun. Also-- I won't fish in tourneys that I think "hurt" the fishery. I will only fish in tourneys where the tourney directors take care of the fish and demand that the fishermen do the same. However, I believe most tourneys don't hurt the fishery at all-- the competitors love to fish, so they do their best to take care of the fish and the fishery. I also agree with Skeeterp about which type of crowd annoys me the most... no doubt, I would rather have the lake packed with bass fishermen than with player boats and jet skis!!! What is the worst, though, is when you get both. That is my .02, for what it's worth. Whack'em

Things like that are one of the reasons that, when the water temps are 50 or above (and the air temps are bearable), I try to fish at night mostly. Avoid the day circus of too many other fishermen-- not to mention the player boats and jet skis.

You could always try the White River Lodge B&B. I don't know what exactly you're looking for, but there aint a guy nicer than Bill Babler to support. I have never been to his place, but it looks like a great one, depending on what type of place you need. Check out his link on the top of this page.

Hey... bank fishing and wading is fun too. I'll take fishing any way I can get it. I enjoy wade fishing the creeks and rivers alot... I don't do it enough.

If you are talking about good to eat, I will agree. If you are talking about fun to catch... then I will have to respectfully disagree. Actually, I like to catch them all... if it swims, I love to catch it. I just like catching bass a little better. I know I don't fish for other species as much as I should.

Hey. Anybody wanna go fishin' March 12-15???? Lets all go! It should be a hoot. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!! What are they thinking? If anybody has plans for fun fishing on those days, I suggest you cancel and fish on another lake for sure. What a circus. Whack'em

Yeah Techo... I guess you know how I really feel now!! Yeah, I watch as much fishing on T.V. as I can, and that is why I watch the FLW tournament broadcasts. I just get frustrated every time I watch them... the one on Table Rock really put me over the top because it was bad and I was looking forward to some coverage on our home lake. I usually get frustrated about the FLW broadcasts every time I watch one and my wife asks me, "why do you watch them then?" I tell her because I want to watch some fishing and this is all the fishing that I have to watch! Whack'em

Yep, I noticed the supposed "DD22" right away also... as soon as I saw it, I exclaimed to my wife (who wasn't really interested, but pretended to be interested enough... thanks hon) that it was a Luhr Jensen Hot Lips crankbait. Gabe-- you brought up the stupid clips (when they go to commercial) of the "Pros" standing there posing with their hands on their hips and looking silly-- You are right on, and I forgot to mention how much I hate that also. How dumb is that???!!! The thing that gets my goat the most is the lying and deception... and for what? Why would they make up a location and tell us that is where the angler is fishing? If they are gonna do that, I would rather them just not show the "supposed" area he is fishing at all. And why would they make up the weights of each fish they catch if they aren't accurate? Just say that one looks like it is about 3lbs or whatever. And why would they tell us he is fishing with a DD22 if it is clear to most experienced bass fishermen at home that it is clearly not a DD22, but a Luhr Jensen Hot Lips? Just tell us it is a Hot Lips and get it over with. Bottom line-- the FLW is just a flashy advertisement and is produced for advertisement sake... not coverage of tournament fishing at all. It is a joke. Whack'em

I did the same thing as you did, Bill... looked at the tape closely several times-- and I figured out one thing for sure... the location sure wasn't across from the Hwy 13 bridge like they said it was. Also, I also love the Bassmaster Elite broadcasts. It seems that they film those guys fishing and ask them the where, what, why, etc and then those guys are Professional enough to answer those questions in great detail-- or those guys are just good enough to volunteer it to the camera as they fish. It makes the show very educational and informative (not to mention very interesting). Man, there aint anything better than hearing guys like Van Dam, Steve Kennedy, Ike, and others share a little piece of the puzzle with you. Also, like I said before, Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders are great at doing that same thing-- giving us quite a bit of the details of what those guys are doing out there. The Elite fishermen, and the coverage, are more than just a cut above the FLW series. Whack'em

Oh yeah... I bet there are alot more of that size and bigger down there than most of us think... They are just so tough to catch that you don't see them too often. They were able to grow that big for a reason... they are very wise and easily spooked. Nice job Doug... great fish. Congrats! Also, congrats on the new boat and electronics. Enjoy. Whack'em

I agree with you 100% on all counts Bill. The coverage of the fishing is awful. All they do is show most of them setting the hook and reeling in the fish! They don't show how they are fishing or anything. There is way too much commercialism. Plugging this and spoofing that, etc. It also cracks me up how they will catch one and then they'll put the weight on the screen (example 4lb 2oz)... how do they know how much it weighed?? They don't... they're just guessing... and by looking at some of the fish they catch, they are way off in some cases. I noticed that it showed a list of the weights of the fish in one of the guy's livewell and he had a 1lb 0oz and a 1lb 2oz fish in there... BULL! If a fish weighed that light, it wouldn't make 15"!!! Even a skinny 15" fish runs a pound and a half at least. They are full of it. I also think their weigh-ins (especially the FLW Cup Series) are a joke. They parade the boats to a convention center or something and back them all into a stage... then they all sit in their boats waiting for their turn to weigh. It doesn't make much sense to me to take these fish on such a ride away from the lake. I don't think that is very ethical or good for the fish. They should just weigh the fish lake-side (like the Bassmasters) and get them back into the lake as quickly as possible-- instead of making such a show of it. I laughed about the "boat set-up" segment as well... ... we put our tackle in the tackle storage boxes... and we put our rods in the rod box... and look at this livewell... it is aereated and it helps keep the fish alive... REALLY! NO KIDDING? I agree with you on the quality of the fishermen also... There are some good fishermen, but they don't hold a candle to the Bassmasters... the Bassmaster Elite boys (top to bottom of the field) can just flat out fish and are far and away the best in the World in my opinion. I was all ready to see how those boys handled TR, and really didn't get to see squat. I was very disappointed. Whack'em

Fox Sports Net is the title given to the network of the Fox Sports regional channels as a whole. In our area, we get only the one for our region "Fox Sports Midwest"... even if you have Dish. I have Dish and I get Fox Sports Midwest only. The Stren Series Championship was aired on Saturday on FSNMW and it was the most recent tourney (that took place in early November). It is too bad they didn't show more fishing action though... I don't care for the FLW TV coverage... they hype and talk too much and show too little fishing. Bassmasters coverage is far and away better, in my opinion, because they show more fishing and go more into the details of how they are catching them, types of locations, etc. Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders (Bassmasters) are way better hosts than those yahoos that they have on the FLW coverage also (in my opinion). Even though FLW coverage is sub-par, it was still interesting because they were at TR. Whack'em