Have Had My Fill

[Champ188]

Thanks much for the kind words, Bill. Too generous perhaps, but I'll take it. And frankly, I'm darn glad I don't have to tangle with you in derbies on a regular basis. In my mind, you're as tough as they come on Table Rock and I doubt you'd be a pushover elsewhere.

Like Bill, I will gladly share whatever information I have on TR or elsewhere with anyone who wants to PM me providing we're not fishing the same derby. And even if we are, I don't mind sharing a general pattern. But I work a LOT of hours between my regular and secondary jobs and I'm not willing to divulge everything that I've given up sleep for and spent precious time and hard-earned money to learn just to help someone who isn't willing to help themselves. Hope that makes sense.

[Guest csfishinfool]

Yeah well said Champ, plus a few of us get a kick out of beating those guys too :)I'm twenty three and love it when i finsh ahead of those hot heads. Always find my own fish and theres nothing better than winning on a pattern no one else knows about.

[johnboy2bfishin]

Good day gentlemen-

this is the first time i have posted on the site. i have been a memeber for some time. i read and reread all the posts made. And Bill i agree with you !00%. i have only fished this lake for the last three years (tuff lake to learn) and has been a struggle at times. i have fished all my life in clubs and derbys. but i have never went and asked a guide for a spot. with the information that is posted by Don, Eric, and YOU(pardon me if i forget any other guide) i can go on this site and with all the tools that has been put on it from maps to reports i can easily go out and fish this lake. it takes a bit of work but with this site i have learned tremedous amount about this lake. granted it takes a little work on my part, but you the guides that out info on here do make it a might simpler for a fisherman to go out and have a fighting chance at the rock. if that man wants free info maybe its time for him to start with this site and start doing his homework like any quality angler. maybe i am like bill, abit old fashion but if i am going to fish a derby or club this sis the first place i start for thattrip. keep up the great work guys. and not just the guides, everybodys info has been great.

[hoglaw]

Sorry Bill, but you know it's part of being in the service industry. When we make our living off of our knowledge and our ability to apply it to a variety of customer's needs, it's inevitable that we're going to get asked for free advice or services. Often I'm happy to do it to a certain extent because the person I help out today may be the paying client of tomorrow - same for you and this board.

Unfortunately, I guess these derby anglers are just in a hustle to get any info they can and it seems they can be a bit arrogant about it. Fortunately for you, the growing popularity of these tournaments and the sport in general translates into more prospective clients. I guess when the requests for advice get too ornerous, you can just tell them that you have to make a living too. Better yet, maybe you could create a "Bill Babler's Weekly Derby Guide" and recite the same information you post here in a newsletter and offer subscriptions to these guys!

[Sam]

It just goes to show you what a lazy angler he must be to call you like that. Back in the old days a motivated angler would just follow a guide around the lake to find all his hot spots, lol ~

I'm not even a tournament fisherman, or much of a bass fisherman either - but you guys are right. The most fun I get from fishing comes from figuring something out for myself and having it work, and that applies to bass, crappie, walleyes, or any other fish.

But with that said, if I was gonna snoop on a guide's fishing holes I wouldn't follow Bill around. I couldn't keep up with his boat anyway.

Naw, I'd go high-tech and hide my hand-held GPS somewhere in his boat he wouldn't find it - for retrieval later. There's that feature where it'll record a track of everywhere it's been all day, with coordinates.

Bill, you may have to start doing an electronic sweep of your boat before every trip. LOL

[Ranger Z22]

Now that I have a Hacienda at our lake and I have the chance, inbetween fixups and honey dos, to fish this pond more than the 36 years of me and the wife coming down to fish.

I have enjoyed getting out and trying things new, because I know that I will be back very soon to try something else.

This goes with being a fisherman...I like Bill want bites, and refine the pattern from there. When my son and his wife come down they are looking to catch fish, no matter what the size.

The guides here provide A LOT of good information, and if followed you will catch fish, it is up to the fisherman to "find em".

I wonder what the reaction would be if this swamp rat who called Bill was getting quizzed like he was quizzing Bill. They just don't get it. Don't want to talk about the conduct of these "pros" on the water, when they are pushing you off of a spot.

I now call point 9, front end point.

Enough ranting.

Z22

[MstStudent10]

If people really wanna find out how to catch fish, put some money in and fish the CPA Amateur side. As a junior in college this is my first year doing that and I have been lucky enough to get paired up with the likes of Jackie Davis and Shane, who took 2nd this past weekend. I was always the kid that just got out the 10 inch power worm and started chucking it at 45 degree banks, boy has that changed. I have learned so much so far by watching and being around all these great and experienced fishing. Sure some entry fees can get steep, especially when in school, but it pays off with some of the things you can learn from these guys....

...On a different note, been dating a girl for 2 and a half years that I'll prolly marry and she comes fishing with me all the time and has only managed to catch an 11 in bass as her biggest!!! And even then only 1 or 2 every time we even go out. Screw these monster fish, how bought getting back to the basics...If I could get her to hook onto just one bass over 15 inches she would go nuts!!! And we all know how great life would be if the love of your life was also in love with fishing too... I've caught 15 and 16 inch bass and she freaks out saying its the biggest thing ever! Now I just gotta get her some!

[hoglaw]

she freaks out saying its the biggest thing ever! Now I just gotta get her some!

How come my lady never says things like this?

Seriously though, take her canoeing on enough of our rivers and she'll hook a big one eventually. Welcome to the board.

[Whack'emGood]

Not that laziness hasn't always existed, but in my opinion, it's at epidemic stage these days. Too many folks want everything for nothing. In this case, they want to know where the fish are but they don't want to put forth any effort to find them. They just want to be holding the winner's check when the derby is said and done and it really doesn't matter how they get it, short of cheating.

Sense of accomplishment means nothing. A true fisherman takes a big portion of his enjoyment from hunting the fish, figuring out how to catch them, formulating a detailed plan and then executing that plan perfectly on derby day. The ones Bill speaks of are just as happy to win by letting a guide (or anyone else) do all the work for them and then taking all the glory for themselves.

I'll say this ... if I was good enough (and obviously I'm not by my weak showing in CPA last weekend) to locate a single hump where I could catch 18 keepers, I'd be ashamed to admit I was too dadgum lazy to take what I already knew to the next level and improve on the size.

Just for the record, I didn't call or privately message anyone prior to last weekend's CPA derby. I read all the posts here and elsewhere, then put in five days of practice over a three-week period and never got much going. So be it. I'm not a good deep water fisherman and tend to struggle when that's the pattern, but my time of year is coming soon and I fully expect to be back in the check line. Meanwhile, I'll WORK on becoming better at deep fishing.

Thanks to the guides for all the info posted here. And to those who want more for free, try getting your lazy a** out on the lake and doing things the respectable way.

+1

Nice post Champ. Hope you and Donna are doing well.

Whack'em

[Troy Gregg]

Not that laziness hasn't always existed, but in my opinion, it's at epidemic stage these days. Too many folks want everything for nothing. In this case, they want to know where the fish are but they don't want to put forth any effort to find them. They just want to be holding the winner's check when the derby is said and done and it really doesn't matter how they get it, short of cheating.

Sense of accomplishment means nothing. A true fisherman takes a big portion of his enjoyment from hunting the fish, figuring out how to catch them, formulating a detailed plan and then executing that plan perfectly on derby day. The ones Bill speaks of are just as happy to win by letting a guide (or anyone else) do all the work for them and then taking all the glory for themselves.

I'll say this ... if I was good enough (and obviously I'm not by my weak showing in CPA last weekend) to locate a single hump where I could catch 18 keepers, I'd be ashamed to admit I was too dadgum lazy to take what I already knew to the next level and improve on the size.

Just for the record, I didn't call or privately message anyone prior to last weekend's CPA derby. I read all the posts here and elsewhere, then put in five days of practice over a three-week period and never got much going. So be it. I'm not a good deep water fisherman and tend to struggle when that's the pattern, but my time of year is coming soon and I fully expect to be back in the check line. Meanwhile, I'll WORK on becoming better at deep fishing.

Thanks to the guides for all the info posted here. And to those who want more for free, try getting your lazy a** out on the lake and doing things the respectable way.

Champ Well Said, I couldn't agree more. Like you, i read all the information I could on this forum before that derby and spent only a couple of days prefishing. As a co-angler I had a good draw and got to fish my style... I had an 11th place showing for my efforts.

These guys who are asking for free information obviously are to lazy to try and figure out what it takes... They are most likely not willing to try something new for risk of failure. I would tell them to invest in a new humminbird fish finder and learn to use it.