This is Dave from central AR. Just started fishing again after a few year layoff. Previously fished crappie tournaments for 13 years. Just got tired of the "work" it took to compete on the scale that I wanted to. I can't seem to do anything half-way. I won a number of tournamnets and a few annual championships thru the years. Nope...there are definitely better minnow drowners than me. But we still have gallons of crappies hid away in the deep freeze. So I must have been doing something right.

I fish out of an old 1988 16' Fisher Marsh Hawk with a li'l ol' 25 HP Mariner eggbeater. I laugh at all those guys with the big motors running all over the lake. I figure I do my best fishing with the trolling motor in the water rather than the gas burner. Many tournaments were won within sight of the launch ramp. And that all said, I just checked the hour-meter on the motor...2175.6 hours on the ENGINE! I wish I'd had an hour-meter for the seat!

I fish with Mitchell 300 series reels (I've worn out a bunch of others and always go back to those 300's) mounted on B'n'M BGJP112 jig rods. Again, I've tried many...cheap to exotic...the Buck's Graphites always work for me. And the promo's and great service B'n'M has given me over the years is a definite plus. I do use artificials from time to time, but prefer minnows - small, big, silver, pink. In fact, if you see me using a jig, it's likely tipped with a shiner. My box also holds 10 & 20 lb braided SpyderWire, worm weights, Thill floats, a variety of thin hooks, rattle-traps, & reflex spinners. The object in terminal tackle is to prepared for what the paper mouths want and how they want it.

I'll be back on the water in a few days. I'm always open to new thoughts.