[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-21-06 AT 08:54PM (EST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-21-06 AT 08:53*PM (EST)[/font]

First of all, what does being from Boston or New England have to do with an anglers skill level? If you think there isn't any bass fishing up there you are dead wrong!

I'm originally from New England and I can tell you first hand, the fishing is fantastic, fresh water or salt! The Mass. state record LM bass is 15+ lbs., thats bigger than some of the southern and mid west states if I'm not mistaken, including the state I now call home, Kentucky. And the Smallmouth record is 8+ as well, (I actually saw the state record SM an hour after it was caught at Wachusettes Reservoir in Mass), those are real toads in anyones book!

There are world class fisheries in NE, ever heard of Champlain or Lake Winnipisaukie? Champlain has been called one of the Top Ten in the US by Bassmaster and some of the Pros put it even higher.

Winni is an unbelievable smallmouth fishery, many TV pros have done shows about it, Billy Westmoreland, Hank Parker, Bill Dance, Roland Martin to name a few. I can tell you from first hand experience, in the spring 50-100 fish days are not out of the ordinary. And I'm not talking about 1-2 pounders, my personal best at Winni was a 6-13 SM caught in the 1992 ABA Nationals only to be beat by an angler named Rick Lillegard (now a BASS Pro) with a 6-15 SM (I still hate him LOL)!

You go to NE and try to fish in those gin clear waters and bring fish to the scale under Tournament conditions on a regular basis and see how you do. Think Dale Hollow or Laurel Lakes waters are clear? That water is stained compared to the gin clear waters of most of the lakes back there. I have seen SM swimming on the bottom in 20ft of water so clear it looked no deeper that 5ft deep! I am talking about tap water clear guys, no lie! Seems logical to me that making the leap from fishing waters that clear (and barren of any wood to boot) to the stained waters on most of the southern impoundments would be a much easier adjustment. And I found that to be true when I moved here, I could use heavier lines, rely more on sound and vibration rather than sight, not to mention the abundance of shallow cover that is practically non existent in those natural lakes in NE where any wood rotted away decades ago. Back there you had to be good at deep water structure fishing or you were not in the hunt or even close to the money on any of the T's, with the exception of spring T's. Oh yeah, did I mention, outside of Massachusettes you cant even Bass fish in the spring until the spawn is over? Thats right no easy pickings spring bass patterns to rely on, post spawn, summer and fall patterns only!

I'm not defending Charlie Moore, whether you like Charlie Moore or Ikes antics is up to each individual, some don't others do. They are not my cup of tea, I'm more traditional, but who am I to judge others. A few of my old buddies back in NE who have fished against CM on some of the NE trails tell me he can flat out fish! But to pass judgement on any anglers skill level because of his actions and/or especially the geographical location where he calls home is absurd!