Nathan Ranallo of La Crosse, WI writes:
RE: Swindle's Sunline deal – While I understand the sponsorship aspect of professional fishing, I feel like these anglers are killing their credibility by simply signing with companies that are willing to pay them the most. Gerald has been the face of Vicious Fishing for the last few years and has touted the quality of their products. Now he will flip sides and tell us the same stories about Sunline. It's not just Swindle, but it's an industry-wide problem that I feel is alienating not only viewers of the sport, but fishing-industry consumers in general.

Rick McKlemurry of Brandon, MS. writes:
So what's the difference between the A-Rig and the HydroWave users? I don't see any. Why would there be a negetive impact on professional tournaments? You still have to locate and catch them in a short time. Sounds like a bunch of hoodoo to me – trying to ban something no one hardly knows anything about yet.

I like both products and don't think they need to be banned unless there is already a state or federal law in place.

Carter Northcutt of Frankfort, KY writes:
RE: Tracker layoffs – I'm surprised more boat manufacturers aren't laying people off. The inflated prices they put on their boats have most likely kept a lot of people from buying. I would love to hear a serious answer or reason as to why they think any bass boat is worth the astronomical prices they put on them today.

And as mentioned on here before, it is the same with tackle manufacturers – ridiculously high prices. I always thought horse racing was the sport of kings, but it seems like you practically need a king's ransom for this sport.

Miles "Sonar" Burghoff of Orlando, FL writes:
It is great to see Marty Stone back! He has always been one of the great personalities of the sport in my eyes. I saw his rig parked at a local launch ramp around here yesterday and figured he had caught the bass bug again. I wish you the best, Marty!

Scott Putnam of Brainard, NY writes:
So if I buy a side-imaging depthfinder, a HydroWave and a couple of A-Rigs, I can clean a lake out and devastate a fishery?

Charles Bowman of Kernersville, NC writes:
Marty Stone stated, "I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but until you've played the game, you can't really talk about it as a color analyst."

While I respect his self-confidence, he might want to go back and listen to what Howard Cosell said about former players being analysts.

BassFan says: Yeah, but a lot of us who were around during the heyday of the late "Humble Howard" would seriously question his own capabilities as a color analyst. Remember, there were weekly lotteries held around the country to determine who would get to throw a brick through a TV set while his image was on the screen.

Steve Kirby of Columbus, OH writes:
B.A.S.S. ruled that the umbrella rig had no place at their top-tier event, the Elites. However, they left it intact at the lower rungs of the sport. True, there's plenty of Elite pros who'll dip down into the Opens, etc., to pick up some easy cash and they'll gladly throw it there, and that's fine. The point remains that amongst their peers, they prefer a higher level of competition, one which is more attuned to the one-rod, one-line, on- lure premise we've all seemed to forget so much about.

For those organizatons and circuits that wish to strive to be at the top of their game and maintain a higher level of competition by banning the umbrella rig, so be it. Quit the bellyaching, folks. If you want to throw the umbrella rig, then fine – fish a circuit that doesn't care how their anglers view the road to the top!

Dave Dickherber of Lake St. Louis, MO writes:
The A-Rig is using five lures at once, people. Get over it. Next thing you know guys will be putting five or more hooks on a dropshot. In most tournaments you are not allowed to fish with a second rod if you are hung up, so why should you be allowed to throw five baits at one time? For fun-fishing I have no problem with the A-Rig, but for tournaments it goes against everything I like about the sport, just like live-bait fishing.

As for the HydroWave, where was all of the complaining about it years ago when it first came out? Does anyone know if it actually works? Did you ever think it could just be a marketing ploy to get people to use it? If it was so good all of the pros would have one, and they don't.

Chris Stolz of Lancaster, PA writes:
RE: HydroWave – While I can see that this is an intriguing peice of equipment, I fail to see how it can be "legal" in an Elite Series tournament while an A-Rig is not. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea, but they do the same thing. They work on a predatory instinct. One seems to "make" or does make a school of prey active while the other acts like a school of active prey. What's the difference? At least one looks like the prey.

Eric Marsh of Conneaut Lake, PA writes:
So this contraption, the HydroWave, is allowed and the A-Rig is not? What gives?

Bill Williams of Orlando, FL writes:
Could someone explain why the A-Rig was banned by B.A.S.S., but they will allow the HydroWave to be part of the sport? The A-Rig is a lure with multiple baits that will catch more than one fish at a time. The HydroWave is an electronic lure that excites more than one fish to feed at a time. So, is the HydroWave allowed because of the pro tournament ownership by VanDam and Kriet?

I don't use either application, but there seems to be some favortism in what is and is not allowed. I wonder how the old-timers would fair in today's tournaments if they had these to help them stimulate fish.

Mark Allard of Sioux City, Iowa writes:
HydroWave, Color C-Lector, PH meter, snake oil – all the same stuff. What happened to the Sportsman's Society?

Archie Wilson of Maynardville, TN writes:
I hear that sales of the A-Rig, plus its knock-offs, are through the roof. So are swimbait-type lures and lead-heads. Seems nearly all other lures are just sitting on tackle dealers' shelves, although they expect rod and reel sales to go up as most are not made to handle the A-Rig's weight.

I cannot verify any of this – as I said, it's just what I have been hearing.

Mark Richards of Houston, Texas writes:
I've got a great idea to improve the HydroWave. Just clip the transducer wires, change the fuse to 50-amp, shoot the juice right into the water and net the fish as they float up! Just make sure you keep the front of the boat oriented correctly in relation to the current and wind so your non-boater does not catch them behind you!

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Terry Banks of Lexington, SC writes:
Don't believe for a second that the HydroWave will be banned. Who is using it? Is it being used by the bottom 25 of the Elite anglers or the Top 10? Once the top anglers put it in their boat, banning was not an option. Does anyone actually believe B.A.S.S. is going to tell KVD to take it out of his boat?

Tim Cody of Charleston, TN writes:
After reading the article about the HydroWave, I'm wondering how something like this is allowed in B.A.S.S. and a group of lures fished together are banned. KVD claims to have won a Classic on this in its prototype days, and then in the FLW show where Elias did so well on the A-Rig there was a point in the show where he wasn't catching anything and he leaned down and switched sounds on the HydroWave and the bass started biting again.

But the A-Rig is banned and not the Hydowave? Hmmm. There seems to be something very strange about all this. Oh, by the way, read up on the history of the plastic worm. Did you know the state of Texas put a ban on them at one time?

Harold Sharp of Hixson, TN writes:
Has the Elite Rules Committee approved or disapproved of the HydroWave? What about a petition to ban it, has that been started? There's still time to change the rules before the Classic – remember B.A.S.S. Rule C1 (These rules may be changed by B.A.S.S. immediately upon notice by B.A.S.S. to its membership).

Paul Zuest of Klamath Falls, OR writes:
Gee B.A.S.S., the HydroWave is okay, but no A-Rig. I wonder how this came to be? Wouldn't have anything to do do with special interests from certain anglers who also might be on the Rules Committee, would it? Just wondering.

Mark Aaron of Gastonia, NC writes:
If everybody's throwing the A-Rig, who's got the advantage? As far as prototype lures, bring 'em on! That's how the market expands. I don't know what all the crying's about. The rig's got a time and place ... so does everything else you drag along in your boat.

I'll agree with the guy who said, "If B.A.S.S. is going to outlaw the rig, bed-fishing should be outlawed as well." How is that ethical? At least a guy throwing the rig isn't looking at them.

Remember a few years ago when David Dudley fished "defensively" at a Top 150 event and jacked a bunch of bed fish the day before the tournament started because he knew a late flight would make them easy pickings for those in the first flight? Everyone raised more hell than a bunch of outlaw bikers, saying it was unethical. I thought is was smart! If I paid what these guys do for entry fees, there's no way in you-know-what I'm going to leave free money on the table. I wouldn't expect someone to do it for me.

Quit whining and start winding!

Chad Keogh of Black Creek, BC writes:
RE: HydroWave – Like chumming with live bait, but you are doing it electronically via audio sounds. If anything should be banned from "Elite" competition, it is this, not the A-Rig.