For those who compete regularly, it comes as no surprise, but recent survey results from AnglerSurvey.com and Southwick & Associates say it is absolutely true–tournaments are popular among anglers. In fact, the information just released suggested that “…for every one competing professional angler there are roughly nine fishermen who compete at least occasionally in amateur tournaments.” (more…)

UPDATED (2:50 p.m.) Getting a bass fishing report out Lake Elsinore is like picking the quagga mussels out of Lake Matthews–virtually impossible. However, I found another masochist to join me in the morning for six hours of “What the heck were we thinking?” time, so soon we’ll all know.

On the positive, the lake level is only about 15 inches or so below the high water mark of the spring and at 1247. 71, well above the troublesome elevation of 1240 when we start to see oxygen levels sag in the heat of summer. (more…)

LESS MIGHT BE MORE in the big picture...

Maybe somebody needs to speak up on this. In the West with co-anglers fishing for themselves or in other cases fishing for a shared weight, rewards ought to go for what they accomplish (catch, weigh, contribute) and not how much their carry-on gear exceeds the hull rating.

Strong words, I know, (more…)

LOOK AT THE NEW growth...

Before I go on a weekful of rants of other matters, I had to pass on some great photos of the “new” Lake Mead, home of the 2011 U.S. Open. These have been provided by John O’Brien, the man who has spent much time chronicling the history of the event for a new book (release date unknown, but highly anticipated).

It has been some four decades (heck the 1971 Bassmasters Classic comes to mind) when anglers instinctively went (more…)

CAN'T WIN IT HERE, but...

UPDATED, 1:38 p.m. Just in: Gary Klein, 2-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year has just entered the Open.

Hopefully you haven’t wasted all of your tournament resources by fishing some circuit that no one will remember in six months. Then, if suddenly in June, you read some of this way-too-late-to-act propaganda about fishing the U.S. Open, you might think, “I can’t do it.”

Well, I’m telling you that you can! No, I’m not shilling for the company I used to work for. (more…)

Gary Klein, former Golden Stater, may have had about his worst season in 33 years, but after chatting with him earlier Monday, it’s clear, he will be making adjustments and coming back with a fresh slate and the goal of his 30th trip to the Bassmasters Classic. So let’s not bury the guy.

Right now, Klein and his perfect summer sponsor Repel Outdoor Gear/Sporting Goods, are hosting a great Sweepstakes (Repel Nothing Biting But the Fish Sweepstakes, to be specific) (more…)

ALL GONE...

You probably didn’t notice they weren’t available–but I did. You can’t get 4-inch ribworm/ringworm style plastic worms in watermelon/red flake. In fact, it’s so bad, you can’t get that style in any color from either YUM or Berkley, two of the most potent “scented” baits you can find.

And it’s a complete curiosity to me, because we’re really talking about three fundamental elements here.

The first one, of course, is the shape. For over the last 30 years, nothing has flashed any higher peaks in popularity than the 4-inch ringer. From the Alabama River to the California Delta, (more…)

(Click on photo to enlarge)

UPDATED WITH NEW VISUAL CLUE–More digging in the archives has turned up yet another discovery. This historic, mid 1980’s photo shows two legendary bass fishermen while on a rare visit to the West. They were part of a cadre of major stars from the B.A.S.S. circuit that may have inspired many younger anglers at the time.

Look closely at the photo. What I want you to do is, first, identify each angler, and secondly, tell me what was each angler’s biggest claim to fame in bass fishing. And then, (more…)

As announced today on FLWoutdoors.com today, Dobyns Rods, one of the most popular of the new breed of fishing products, will now be a sponsor of FLW. Yet the move likely signals several things–not the least of which, the end of Gary Dobyns’ fishing career as a tour player.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s not dead (more…)