As the old saying goes, you can tune a buzzbait but you can't tune a fish. "Tuning" a buzzbait may sound a little extreme, but if you've spent any time at all tossing a topwater, then you've probably noticed that the ones that have the "broken in" sound, the one that squeaks and screams like the pistons in a 74 LTD, tend to produce more hits. Why? Because the fish can hear it coming from a mile away, and the noise, flash and flutter of a broken in buzzbait creates the perfect scenario for a reaction strike, much more so than a buzzbait that's just been popped out of its package. So what can you do to get that "broken in" sound without having toss a new buzzbait 2000 times? It's easy. Just take your pliers and fold down the rivet on the blade end of the bait. Then, take your straight file and score the wire, but be careful not to file your way through! The rotation of the blade over the scored surface of the wire will give your new buzzbait that screeching sound right from the first cast. And for even more sound, bend the wire down so the blade makes contact with the head of the bait. This old head-knocker trick along with the screaming screech you've just created will lead to more strikes, guaranteed.

Winter is the perfect time of year to get out your gear on one of those bone chilling days and experiment with not only buzzbaits, but others as well. Remember, fishing season is right around the corner, so this year be ready with a few new tricks up your sleeve.

If this is the year you've decided to take a guided fishing trip, then you have a little homework to do. A good fishing guide can make the difference between a trip of a lifetime and a nightmare! So how do you know who's legitimate? Here are a couple of tips to make sure you book with the best.

First, search the web. Most legitimate guide services have websites that offer everything from pictures of catches to testimonials from previous customers. It's a great way to learn about the trips offered, what to expect, what you need to bring and most importantly, what it will cost. Secondly, attend you local travel sports or boats shows and you'll get a chance to speak one-on-one with guides from both your region and around the country. They'll be happy to show you pictures and you can usually book on the spot if you like what you see. Plus, many guides offer a "boat show" discount so you might be able to save a buck or two.

The very best way to gauge a guide is undoubtedly through personal testimonials. Ask your fishing buddies who is good and why, and I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you. Remember, a happy customer is a repeat customer. Just beware that if your buddy's cousin's best friend's brother-in-law said he caught 800 fish on a particular trip, keep in mind that if it sounds too good to be true... it probably is.

And my best word of advice as an old fishing guide myself is to always remember it's fishing! Some days they bite better than others, so the truest barometer of a great guide is how hard they work to put you on fish when the conditions aren't perfect.

So make this the year you book the dream fishing adventure of a lifetime. Just remember to do your homework.

I recently asked a couple of the talented young anglers competing in Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition to share their experiences from the tournament. This is what Steve Mui, of the University of Illinois, and Scott Brown, of Louisville, had to say about the cold day they met up on Oneida Lake...

Steve Mui, University of Illinois

Round 1 in the Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition was an experience I’ll never forget.

In the first quarter being in the back of the boat first worked out to be an advantage for me. I wasn’t quite sure how the match would pan out. I hadn’t quite put a game plan together either. So it was a good thing that Louisville’s Scott Brown decided to take the boat in the first quarter. I was quite nervous at the start and I received a penalty right away which put me behind from the start. The cameras made me nervous but after a while I just started fishing. I hooked a nice smallie off of Scott’s rock pile, and that really made me settle in.

Going into the second quarter I started to develop a game plan. In practice I noticed nobody had fished the river right by the launch. This water was crystal clear and had numerous docks. I knew there was some big largemouth lurking around these docks, and the docks were very protectable. I was able to put the trolling motor on high and target the docks with finesse style baits. I put 2 keeper largemouths in the well and had backed Scott so far up the river he didn’t want to waste time idling all the way out to the main lake.

The third quarter I could tell Scott was down and he needed 3 fish to catch up. I figured I had this thing in the bag until about 15 minutes were left. Scott picked off a nice largemouth, however I didn’t get a good look at it and I was unsure of its size. So I made the worst decision of the day and decided to fish the fourth.

The fourth quarter I was in a panic and thinking I needed one more keeper, so I decided to head to a main lake spot. However the main lake was a windblown watery mosh pit. I almost fell out of the boat more times than I can remember. This was the worst decision all day. I was throwing a crankbait and killed 4 reels in the process. Towards the end of the match Scott hooked a big smallie out of the back of the boat and my heart just sank because I knew he had it won if he landed the fish. Luckily for me he tried to swing the fish and the leader broke with the fish half way out of the water. The fish plopped back into the water and I headed in.

Feelings on the match: I felt excited after I had the first fish in the livewell. I was very confident fishing the river, and with 3 fish to zero I felt overly confident I had won the event. However I lost my cool and made a bad decision to fish the fourth quarter. I got very lucky that Scott had made an even bigger mistake by trying to dead lift that fish. I dodged a bullet and advanced.

Scott Brown, Louisville

As for thoughts on my match, I can basically sum it up in two words, "cold front." The fish that I had found during the two days of practice leading up to the tournament were pretty much gone when I went after them, due to that BIG drop in temperature.

I haven’t ever had the chance to target smallmouth like I did on Oneida, and my lack of experience hurt me in the fact that I didn’t really know how to adjust when the weather changed. I guess I could have backed off of the shoals a little more and gone with a deeper and slower approach, but my mind didn’t start thinking that until later when I was a long ways back in a no idle zone!

If I had it to do all over again, I should have paid closer attention to that river during practice. From the way it sounded prior to my match, everyone was trying to target largemouth, and I thought I could do something a little different and stomp the competition with some monster smallmouth… but that strategy went to pieces with the high winds and cold front. The river was much more sheltered, less affected by wind, allowed for some sight fishing, and had a good supply of largemouth, which I have more experience catching anyways. Mui’s strategy really worked against me since I was targeting smallmouth on the main lake, and his fish were easier to defend.

My inexperience with smallmouth not only hurt me in adjusting, but also in landing them. Usually when largemouth get to the boat, they are pretty much done. Smallmouth seem like they pretend to be done, until they get right next to the boat, and then they make one last charge… a charge that can break one’s line, frayed or not! Lesson learned, and one that will never be forgotten, no matter how hard I try!

Oneida Lake is a beautiful lake, and one that I hope to soon return to. I even got to see Niagara Falls on my way home for the first time, and it was amazing! The experience as a whole was one I won’t soon forget. It was an honor just to be able to compete in such an exciting event. All people involved were extremely nice and a pleasure to hang out with. Mark Randolph, as stern as he may look on television, is a heck of a great guy and one whom I enjoyed talking to the most. I wouldn’t mind spending a day on the lake with him, he could probably teach me a few things… and maybe even Joe Thomas too! Ha ha ha!

I really do appreciate, along with every other college angler, what Joe Thomas and Reel in the Outdoors is doing for college angling. College angling is still a relatively new concept, and getting bigger every year. It takes shows and events like these to help make it even bigger, and it is something the sport really needs to help draw new anglers. I was lucky enough to get in on college angling late in my college career, and I am very proud of the work and effort I have done to help the University of Louisville’s bass club continue to expand and progress. Probably the most rewarding aspect of it all was introducing new guys to the sport, and seeing them catch the bass fishing fever. It seemed like after their first tournament, or even their first ride in a bass boat, they were hooked and making trips to the tackle stores on a daily basis! The excitement and camaraderie of each and every member was a lot of fun, and I hope that many others get to experience the same. Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition is awesome and I thank everyone involved for letting me compete and to have an experience of a lifetime!

Is it possible? In the age of carbon composite boron graphite kevlar and who-knows-what exotic material that today's rod makers use, have they made rods that are too sensitive? In one particular situation, the answer is probably yes.

When it comes to fishing crank baits, there has been an exodus away from the ultra modern multi modular blanks. You know the rods I'm talking about... the ones where you can feel a gnat land on the rod tip. I'm not knocking these rods because for just about every style and type of fishing you can imagine, these super-sensitive super rods have lead to greater success for both professional and weekend anglers. That's good. But when it comes to fishing crank baits, it may be bad. And here's why.

According to my friend (OK, I'm a name dropper) and ultra Zen guru of crank bait fishing Rick Clunn, the new super sensitive rods may be too sensitive, causing you to set the hook just a microsecond quicker than if you were fishing a less sensitive rod. And what are the consequences? Well, in less time than it takes to blink your eye, a fish can either be hooked right, or hooked wrong. In other words, that split second of response may not give the fish enough time to totally inhale a crank bait, leading to a less secure hook set, and before you know it that beautiful 6-pound largemouth breaks the surface, shakes his head a time or two, and your crank bait comes flying back at you like a bullet with treble hooks. Many of today's top pros, following Rick Clunn's lead, have moved back to fiberglass rods because they are just a bit less sensitive and seem to lend themselves to more secure hook sets and less lost fish. I have made the move, and it really works. Plus, there's more fish fighting power in a fiberglass rod with a fast tip, and when you make a living getting fish in the boat, that matters big time! The move back to glass for crank baiting has become so popular, that many of today's top rod manufacturers are making fiberglass rods again. So grab one if you get the chance and see for yourself if fiberglass increases your success. Hey, if it's good enough for Rick Clunn...

Let me ask you a question. Who took you fishing for the very first time? Was it your Dad? Maybe it was your grandfather? Or was it just a friendly neighbor with a little extra time and an extreme love of angling that he or she wanted to pass along to you? Regardless of your answer, my guess is that that very first fishing trip left a lasting impression on you. Can you remember the feeling when your bobber plunged below the surface for the first time, or the first jump of the first largemouth bass you ever landed? Were you hooked?

I remember my Dad taking me to a small farm pond not far from our home. He patiently tied on my hook and bobber while letting me pick the perfect worm from among the many we had found the night before. I couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 years old, but I remember it like it happened yesterday. Dad taught me how to cast the old Johnson reel and after a couple of “practice” throws I had it down. Then, he told me to keep an eye on the bobber really closely because when it disappeared, I’d have a fish. Sure enough, the bobber took a plunge and I can remember literally running up the bank to land my first bluegill. Hey, I was ready to head straight to the taxidermist and have it mounted, but Dad told me to gently release him back into the water so he could grow up a little and we could come back and catch him again another time. And while I was a bit disappointed, it didn’t take long to understand as Dad and I caught and released dozens of bluegills and even a few small bass that day.

Obviously that experience has stayed with me, and I’ve passed it along to my son and daughters. But today, as the average age of fishing license holders continues to rise, it’s more important than ever for us to pass along the legacy of angling to young people.

And now there’s an organization that’s primary mission is to do just that. It’s the Anglers Legacy program from the “Take Me Fishing” Foundation. The Take Me Fishing Foundation is a national effort to get avid anglers to take young people boating and fishing and to introduce them to our enthusiasm and love of fishing and the outdoors.

So do your part to insure that fishing remains America’s favorite pastime. Take someone you know fishing and give a little back of what you’ve been given... the gift of angling. And get involved locally by taking the Anglers Legacy pledge to continue to promote the ethics and joy of fishing. There’s no membership fee or obligation, just a promise to do your part in helping to promote our sport. Join with me and noted anglers such as Denny Brauer, Bill Dance, Gerald Swindle, Kevin VanDam, Shaw Grigsby and many more in this effort to insure that what was given to us is passed along to others. Visit anglerslegacy.org today to get started.