Pool 7 Bass Fishing

Went for a drive tonight and checked out the Dresbach Park launch on Pool 7 when I noticed a local Club Tourney weigh in was happening. It was Pete’s Bar in Dresbach Thursday night tournament. So I hung around and saw some decent Bass coming to the scales. Dan McGarry of Tomah was the winner with some really nice 3 – 3.5 lb Largemouth. They weigh your best two fish and take the biggest of the two for your weight. Most of the fish brought in were 2 + lb Smallmouth bass. The launch was pretty tricky as its right off the main channel and flow is rippin pretty good there right now.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Do u have any idea of what they caught their fish on?
Thanks

Yes I do. But it probably wouldnt be very cool of me to voluntarily tell eveyone over the internet without there permission.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Nice reply Hougie, I like it.

RCL?

Bear

Me and my dad were out on Lake Onalaska last night for a little relaxing fishing. The bass were finally starting to turn on a little as the water was clearing some. I wouldn’t say the action was great at all, but it was enough to keep you busy. We landed nine fish, and lost two nice big ones.

We seemed to catch a few on everything. Got them on unwieghted Trick worms, Texas rigged worms., Moss Bosses, buzzbaits, and scum frogs. They were mostly between 12 and 15 inches in size. My dad lost one that was at least 18 inches.

Fish still seemed a little scattered though, some were buried up in the weeds, some were on the edge.

Would be interested in what the guys in the tourney caught theirs on!

That’s the one thing I don’t like about tourney fishing, really seems to limit the tranfer of information and sharing for learning between different anglers.

DK

Moss Boss, I hear you. As someone who used to fish tournaments (still do sometimes) I was always amazed at how seriously some anglers approached the tourneys. Even after the tournament was over many would mislead people instead of sharing information. Of course, not all tournament anglers are like that. I learned alot from talking to those that shared their knowledge. Alot like the people who frequent this board.

Let me clarify what I was saying earlier…I didnt know these guys from adam. The only reason I knew what they were using is that I saw what was on their rods in the boat. And whether there tournament guys or not is not the reason Im withholding that info. It just doesnt feel right thats all. For example if Im at the landing and someone I dont know comes up and peers into my boat looking at whats on my rods and then gets online and says hougie was gettin good fish on cranks and plastics. Im not sure Id respect that too much, tourney guy or otherwise. At any rate, they did have some nice fish!

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Hi Bear,

Its just the way it is and should be, I guess we think alike that way. Im leaning heavily towards fishing it, Id really like the experience of fishing an event of that magnitude, especially when its on our home turf. It will be fun if were both in it as pros! I wont be fishing it as a co-angler.

Are you and Dale fishing the Catfish Days tourney? That one should be fun too. Holst and I plan on fishing it.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Edited by hougie on 06/29/01 01:43 PM.

I understand the ethics in what was said about not revealing info that someone else has pioneered, though Im not sure how I would handle it… for one thing…some tourney guys try and “trick” people by only being seen with something they are not using (so I have been told)…. and if they are not hiding it then they may not be too concerned about it getting out……

my main thought is that in the end, its not whats on the far end of the line that makes a successful angler…. its whats sitting in the boat…. which is to say, there is no substitute for , adaptability, versatility, and skill…….

it seems that secret weapons and silver bullets just dont go far enough…….

and the thing I love about this board is the pretty much open sharing of information….. thats a rare thing…..

now… I seem to have a tendency to get into trouble at times with my words…. so Im NOT trying to ruffle any feathers…. I think Hoggie handled this in a truly admirable way……. but I tend to encourage information exchange…. though I will admit that my income does not depend on fishing.. and that surely makes a difference in my point of view…. I have come to appreciate any bit of info that has been shared here, and I have learned more in a shorter period of time than Ive been able to on my own…… fishing is so much like a giant puzzle…. and to start with you dont even have the pieces of the puzzle, let alone know where to put them……. I finally think Im getting to where I might have most of the pieces….. now if I could just put it together!!!!!

(I appoligize in advance if I have ruffled feathers… I tried to trod a very narrow line…. but Im pretty clumsy and tend to slip from time to time!!), If someone tells me something and tells me to keep it quiet… I do…. its that simple….. otherwise I make my own decisions… and I most likely would have said something general…. like “its seems fish are being caught on chartruese polebenders with hammered spinners”… and not said caught by whom! (oh btw.. as far as I know there is no such lure as a polebender…. so feel free to invent one!)

Where do you get this stuff RE? A PoleBender?? LMAO!! I have to wipe my eyes!!! It’s a good thing you made a little disclosure statement there or I’d have had to say I found one of those in gramp’s old tackle box! I can’t stop laughing!!!! I think tackle names are half the fun of owning them! Like Mann’s Chug N Spit! What’s that? Leftovers from a Yankee’s game? :O)

Rivereyes,

I would have to say that the name POlebender would indeed be very marketable!! You buy this lure and it makes your pole bend(fish on the end?) Hmmmmmmm I’ll take 50!!!!

That is your opinion which your are entilted to. However, Id feel like a real scumbag rummaging through boats and telling people what is attatched to joe bassguy’s rods. Its a chicken manure way to exchange info, especially in a public forum like the Internet. You would get a reputation in a hurry doing that and certainly wouldnt make alot of friends. Bass Boy asked a simple and honest question bless his heart and Im certainly not picking on him, its just how I choose to handle this type of scenario. I choose to respect the angler who is on fish, they have the right to not spill. And anyone that uses a PUBLIC forum to divulge that info without prior consent or at least knows the angler is ok with it is wrong in my opinion. Now, if its me to you or you to someone else privately, I think thats a little different. But when its on a website that gets 17000 hits a day, and in my case how bad would I look as the co-producer of the site to be known to scrounge the launches for info to post! lol.

Its not a very big piece of info, but it COULD be. Like I mentioned earlier it just doesnt feel like the thing to do If they were FTR guys or someone that I knew and said “Hey hougs, let everyone know in the bass forum whats working”, I would be more inclinded to spill. Rivereyes, my feathers arent ruffled just so you know, Im OK with this discussion, I just think its important for me to make myself very clear on how I feel about it.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

*sheese*… now I have a market for a lure that dont yet exist!! lol…… hey.. stillapup… how bout that lure your inventing….. wanna call it a polebender??

lol

I understand Hougie!!! Im probably just bored out of my mind to day and dying to get out and do some fishing…. and I have a lot of respect for the way you handled it….. and Im sure everyone else does too…… and of course it was my poor choice to attach this to your line of posts where it puts you in a position where you have to respond….. I should have opened my own line for general comments about information sharing….. my mouth has always been quicker than my brain… just ask anyone who knows me….

we are in entirely different positions, you are in the profession, and Im not,… I dont even hardly get a chance to rumage through my boat, let alone anyone elses…. Ive seldom even attended a tourney weighin, and I wouldnt know the anglers involved anyway….. all that makes a total difference in how/when to share information….

so in my clumsy way, all I was trying to say is that the FTR is a great board for open information sharing and I support that where its appropriate….. and as we know, its not always appropriate…. I certainly have been privately told things to keep quiet, and I do… these “secrets” are usually small, very small in fact, and they usually are locations or patterns that barely support one boat, let alone possibly hundreds….

I have great respect for hougie, james and all the FTR staff….. they have done a wonderful job setting up and maintaining this site…… and I know it will continue…..

(man… Im getting so I love the taste of crow… someone pass the barbecue sauce… I think it tastes a little like chicken!!) LOL

You’re killing me! You and stillachild (lol) have a real standup comedy routine going!

I know you didnt mean anthing by it! And your points are well taken.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Riverguy………………you catchin’ that crow on a Chartreuse Polebender? LMAO……………..ROFL!

Maybe you should try a Bubble Jumpin’ Splash Dancer in the Christmas Tree pattern! LOL!

oh no…. Im NOT telling anyone what I catch CROW on!!! lol….. but I WILL share my recipe!! cuz they CAN leave a nasty after taste if you dont prepare them just right!!!!

but guess I would be willing to take YOU on a crow catching expedition…. its a little like sniping…… I will get ya a gunny sack and flashlight… and put a blindfold on ya so you can sneak up on em (and you wont be blinded by your flashlight!)…. then of course you gotta get dressped up just right, so you dont scare them too much,

then after your astounding success, we can cook up a mess of them for the FTR get together!!! what do ya think???

Hougie, when I posted earlier I wasn’t referring to your earlier posts. I was making an observation from my tournament days of yesteryear. I agree, one should not assume that the lures you saw were the ones they caught the fish on. Also after posting the name of the winner it would have been inappropiate to say what he caught them on even if you knew without his permissiion. (unless he publically stated what he caught them on at the weigh-in.) I hope you did’nt take my earlier post as criticism because it wasn’t meant that way.

Hmmm interesting conversation going on here. I agree with the general consensus about sharing info when it’s appropriate (i.e. probably a good idea to keep your info from the ramp to yourself). Gosh, I just hope I haven’t come off as too much of a weasel looking for everyone’s spots/techniques. The thing is, I have a tendency to become a bit of a bank beater as I dont have your guys’ level of experience. So if I’m picking your guys’ brains too much, it’s just because I want to expand my knowledge, not steal your water. Here’s a perfect example…I read all the time about “deep water bass fishing.” (points, humps, the old river channel, etc.) Here’s the problem…all that info corresponds to lakes and reservoirs and last I checked, the river is a whole different beast! Basically, I have no idea if such features translate into rivers and since there are no topo maps featuring this stuff, I’m a bit stuck.

Heck, I started this whole thing, but I wasn’t even meaning “in this case” Hougie should tell us what the guys were using. In fact, I respect that he didn’t, since it wasn’t his info, and who knows what the other guys would think of him if he did.

My point was just that, if everyone was out there just fishing for fun, catch and release, I think info and learning would flow alot more freely.

Before anyone even thinks it, I am not anti-tournament, and have fished in some myself. Just thinking out loud about how good of fisherman we all could become if we shared “our secrets”. It’s a lot easier finding patterns using many people in many pools than it is pounding the water by yourself. Pounding the water is the fun way, but I keep running into this damn thing called work that allows me to buy boats, rods, reels, lures, etc. etc. etc.

Good luck all, tight lines, and hope to see you on the river.

DK

Birdman, Moss Boss, and bassboy, absolutely 0 offense taken! Thanks for contributing to this thread, its been a good open discusssion. One of the things were really excited about is this Bass forum and all the new faces that are showing up every day, were thrilled to have you here contributing to this good cause. I think there are alot of Bass folks out there that can benefit from this forum.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

Just wondering if you two have ever met in person it seems to me you too have a pretty common bond! It is good to see two people having so much fun when they are not on the water. You two keep the comedy rolling and James and Hougie will have you two doing some stand up comedy at the FTR get together LOL! I hope both of you can make it to the get together I am looking forward to meeting both of you on and off the water.

Dustin

I guess I should have mentioned that I was refering to Stillakid2 and Rivereyes in the above post.

Good luck and may the fish gods be with you!

Dustin

Thanks Dustin…………..we like to have a good time! Truth is, if it’s comedy you want, just watch us fish on Aug. 25th!! That’ll be all the laughs you need for one day!! LOL! Laughing and fishing………………..they’re like chocolate and peanut butter, it’s just meant to be!

If you are not laughing and fishing at the same time your not having fun and thats what it’s all about! All though it is nice to catch a lot of fish but if it were that easy we would have to call it fish catching and change the contents of this message board!

See ya on the river!

Dustin

P.S Should FTR sell tickets to watch you two fish on the 25th? LOL! see ya on Aug 25th

I wanted to follow up RiverDances last post but when he started mentioning things like “dressing me up just right” I started thinking it was time to hit the brakes………………..this is a family show! I do want to point out though that what RiverRaid was trying to say back there is that chicken tastes like shoeleather…..LOL!………read it and will become evident to you as well!

Tickets??? What a wonderful idea! Problem is they can watch 2 idiots everywhere else we go for free! “Where you looking at me? That’ll be $2.00!” LOL! I think I’d lose a smile or two! However, if you really wanted to expose us, get the press involved and maybe a call to “Real Video” or make a FOX special like, “When Idiots Fish” or “When Animals Laugh”……………….. :O)

Because I can’t let this go without throwing in my opinion:

Disclaimer: The above situation was a tournament situation which I’ve never dealt with before. That said…

If I’m catching fish on whatever, wherever, I’ll share both location and tackle information. Fish shouldn’t be hard to find, and I think one of the most gut-wrenching things I can hear is someone at work saying, “There aren’t any fish in this state.”

I work at a place where people have moved to Iowa from all sorts of places, and a lot of them complain about the fishing. While I do my own share of complaining about the DNR and their spending habits, it cannot possibly help the sport if beginners are getting frustrated and quitting.

Let me catch more fish than the other guy based on skill and technique, not because I have the ‘oh so secret that James Bond doesn’t even know about it’ spot.

Trying to fool people by tying on different lures is downright childish in my opinion. Why not just cut it off and tie the line off on a guide if you’re doing that? I expect my 6-year old to be more mature than that, and these are the “professional” representatives of our sport? Two words: Puh-leeeeze

my….my….. I leave for 24 hours and look what happens!! all these posts!!!! lol…..

well not that it would suprise anyone, but StillaGoofBall and I are planning on fishing together at the FTR get together…. thats mostly becuase I want to have a chance at hooking the biggest “fish” at the get together…. what do you guys think he will go? 200+?… wonder if he will put up a good fight?…. oh well… time will tell…. and if hes nice it will be catch and release… otherwise… does anyone have a REALLY BIG frying pan?? and of course.. the real question.. wonder what he will bite on? Naaaaaaaaaaaa…… I aint going ANY farther with that!!.. nope, nope, nope……. cuz I KNOW how you guys think!!….