Bass fishing changes or evolves. Bass fishing products get better, get worse, new ideas, old ideas, things change, I change! What I’m getting at is, I have written many articles for Ultimate Bass and have made over 35,000 posts on the Ultimate Bass Forums; there is a lot of information I have put in print. Those ideas, those things I have said are out there permanently. That data base is so large I don’t have the time, nor the “want to” to go back through it and remove or change things that are different now. So don’t hold it against me, instead, learn with me as I have. I’ll touch on a couple examples in this blog:
Bass Fishing Rods are a great example of change. Most of us started with less expensive rods because we could not justify the need for, the expensive, more sensitive rods. As our skills advanced, the idea that a more expensive and advanced product may be better, for a specific application, became easier to understand. If you dig back in the beginning, of the rod and reel section of the forum, you will see that I swore by All Star rods. If anyone asked me, that’s what I told them to buy. In my opinion, you couldn’t go wrong with them. You could find them on sale at Academy Sports for $45 at times, and you could get expensive models through custom rod builders. They were a great rod and offered something for everyone. Then I found Shimano. Wow, the Shimano Crucial was the perfect rod. It was a little bit more expensive but, for several years, it was the rod I used and I told everyone to buy them. Everyone that did also loved them. I should have been on the Shimano team for as many rods as I sold for them. Then about two years ago Clark Rheem introduced myself and Laurie to Dobyns Rods and then to Garry Dobyns and a new love was born. I can’t imagine fishing with anything else now. They are light, sensitive, and some aches and pains that I used to endure as part of fishing have disappeared (I can only assume because of balance in equipment).
Does all that mean that I now think All Star and Shimano are junk? By no means, they are still good rods. However, I do think Dobyns Rods are better and just like with All Star and Shimano I will tell everyone that asks that I highly recommend Dobyns Rods.
Another good example would be hooks. For years, I thought the best hook on the market was the Tru-Turn. I still think it is a good hook, but I don’t use them anymore. For most applications, I use Gamakatsu hooks, and for Flipping or when I need a straight shank hook I use Trokar hooks. If you dig back through my history in print you will see that, at one time, I swore that the best flipping hook was a Gamakatsu Super Wire Offset, then I switched to the Reaction Innovation BMF, but now I have settled in on the Trokar Flipping hook. Does that mean that the other hooks are no good? Not at all, just that for me, I have found something better.
The list of things that change goes on and on. If we don’t change in this industry, we get left in the dust. Sure you can still catch fish on a Mann’s Jelly Purple worm with a white tail but is it the best presentation? Could be?
If you see where I have contradicted myself, don’t hesitate to call me out on it. There is a reason and I’d be glad to share it. I’m learning every day as I hope you are too. Unless you’re a bass, there is no way you can know every situation and the way a fish will react to that given situation. The only thing we can do is put the best tools in our hands, the most knowledge and experience that we can at our disposal and give it our best shot!
Get the Net it’s a Hawg
Mike Cork
Ultimate Bass
Legend Boats
Mercury Marine
Dobyn’s Rods
Power Pole
Elite Tungsten
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