The Beauty of Bass Forums
By: John R. Pulliam

Having a place where questions can be answered in a timely manner, where friends are made in the matter of days, and having a place to gain better understanding about the things that you are interested about are just some of the reasons why forums abound on the internet. As bass fisherman, having a forum that is dedicated solely to bass fishing, and the topics that are related to bass fishing is a huge advantage.
There literally are millions upon millions of various bass forums. After being on several of those in the past few years, I can honestly say sclakes.com has the best forums. The truth is that these forums contain a community of people that are dedicated to fishing, who respect one another and one another's opinions, and that will answer any question, no matter how small or large, in a matter of hours. Not many forums on the internet can say that they are able to do any one of those things, more or less, all of them.
Bass fisherman have a tough hobby. It is one of the few hobbies that exist that you can never know everything, and that something new is always coming along. Having an outlet where getting information about the newest products, newest techniques, and any additional news is of great importance.
Magazines that are dedicated to bass fishing take a whole month to get out to their viewers. By the time that you get the magazine, if you have a membership to a forum, the information concerning the contents of the magazine have already been discussed in depth. Magazines will not be replaced by forums, as magazines have the opinions and view points of the professional bass anglers that are on the major tournament trails, and although there may be several anglers that fish tournaments, there are very few professional bass anglers that grace forums.
Another great advantage of having a forum is the chance of making a friend, that you never knew before, that actually lives down the road from you, in the next town, or even in a town in a nearby state. You have the chance of getting to know that person, fish with them, and develop a friendship that will last a lifetime. While developing that friendship, you might find someone that you are able to fish tournaments with, which is a great way of testing the knowledge that you have gained from reading the forums.
Finally, forums are great because the topics that are discussed are usually discussed in depth, and often times, the anglers that visit the websites might have fished a lure in a different way that the others have fished. A great example of this are the different ways to fish a stickworm. Most anglers will fish them on a weightless Texas rig, but other anglers might suggest fishing them on a Carolina rig, or even fishing them wacky style. Often times, those suggestions are things that we have thought about doing, but have never tried due to lack of information, lack of confidence, or lack of understanding.
My personal recommendation is that joining the SCLakes.com forums will be a postive experience that will reward you with greater understanding, excellent information, and friendships that will last a long time.

As always, be safe and tight lines.

John R. Pulliam