A trailer hitch for my Cadillac

For Jeremy Starks, the $100,000 prize for winning on Douglas Lake was incentive enough to go ahead and buy that sleek Cadillac coupe he'd been dreaming about. Now he just has to figure out how to tow his boat with it.

Jeremy Starks was all aglow during his B.A.S.S. Twitter chat earlier today. Life for Starks right now is pretty darn good; today his Yorkie, Ernie, was playing fetch in the yard with him while a sparkly new Cadillac CTS was parked in the garage and an Elite Series trophy was sitting in the house.

Just this morning, Starks bought his new coupe from the dealer. The $100,000 prize he earned by winning the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series Douglas Lake Challenge was incentive enough for him to go ahead and buy that sleek Cadillac he’d been dreaming about. Now he just has to figure out how to tow his boat with it. “I need a trailer hitch for it,” he said with a laugh.

Below is a transcript of the chat. The tweets have been lightly edited to improve clarity and fix spelling errors.

Keep up with Twitter chats, tournament news and bass fishing advice by following B.A.S.S. on Twitter at @BASS_Nation.

 

kwe_shark What are your 3 favorite fisheries in WV and have you tried long lining on Summersville? Good job & let’s go Mountaineers!

StarksJeremy I’ve tried long-lining on Summersville, and it works. It’s real specific on where you can, there are a lot of rocks. My favorite three lakes in W.V. are Kanawha River, Summersville, and Stonewall Jackson.

 

skiele On a video I couldn’t understand what was the red rod you had in your boat, you mentioned a prototype, was that a Lamiglas?

StarksJeremy No, it was an @AirrusRods prototype and a KVD Quantum crankbait rod.

 

jamesvaldes Do you keep a fishing report log? If so, what info do you record and where do you post them online notebook etc.?

StarksJeremy I do keep a log. I keep track of water temp, weather temps and the depth I was fishing. And I don’t post it anywhere.

 

twreed I’ve seen you get a lot of love from West Virginia after your win. You must have a lot of support there!

StarksJeremy I think W.V. is a pretty tight community. Now with a W.V. angler, the anglers in the state have more confidence.

 

MK_Bassfishing Congratulations on your win! When you were strolling, were you running your crankbait through cover or structure?

StarksJeremy I wasn’t strolling, I was long-lining; these are two completely different things. There was structure but no cover.

 

KingdomOfMass What was your first boat and do you have advice on purchasing your first bass boat?

StarksJeremy My first bass boat was a Bass Tracker Tournament TX17, and my advice is to try to find something affordable.

 

Blinkous1 I’m going to Douglas in two weeks. What would you suggest a successful pattern would be?

StarksJeremy Probably secondary points and be sure to look for spawning fish!

 

BhamJen What’s one fun thing you will buy with your winnings from the tournament?

StarksJeremy I bought a Cadillac CTS this morning!! I’m trying to figure out if I can put a hitch on it to tow my boat. 🙂

BhamJen That’s great! What was going through your mind before you took the weigh-in stage & won?

StarksJeremy I’m fixing to win $100,000! I felt pretty confident, but I didn’t know. Britt looked pretty panicked backstage.

twreed What color is your new Caddy?

StarksJeremy It’s silver. I replaced the Caddy emblem on the front with the trophy. It’s a little heavy but…

 

 

Flippingjigs Did you ever try to throw a hollow belly at those schools of fish on Douglas?

StarksJeremy I didn’t throw a hollow belly, but I threw several different swimbaits with no results.

 

mgaryhanson Being as busy as you are, do you have time to attend any kids fishing events in your area?

StarksJeremy Yes, I work closely with the W.V. @Bass_nation Federation Nation and the Youth Director.

 

bafirewrestler What’s the secret to getting those @StrikeKingLures 6XD crankbaits down to 50+ ft? You ever gonna tell?

StarksJeremy Definitely not! I tried to get @Ztrain1 not to show it on the show, but he said “not a chance pal”!

 

MK_Bassfishing When you longline your crankbait, how does it make it go deeper? Since a crankbait has a specific depth range.

StarksJeremy The further you pull it through the water column, the deeper the crankbait dives. Crankbaits’ depth range are rated on an average cast.

 

KingdomOfMass What baits do you prefer on rainy days?

StarksJeremy I like to slow roll a Joe’s Fly on 20-pound line 🙂 but really a spinnerbait on rainy days!

 

chefchadwells What is the most effective way to work a chatterbait? Jigging, slow roll? Havnt had any luck. Size recommendations?

StarksJeremy A chatterbait is better in the spring and you can fish it from 1 to 30 feet. But remember to fish it slow.

 

JAF24Fishing Why the Strike King 6XD instead of a DT series or a Mann’s 30+ crank? What’s special about the 6XD?

StarksJeremy KVD designed it, enough said.

 

TheBassPunk What length/action Rod are you using to dig that deep, What gear ration on your baitcaster? Braid or mono or fluoro.

StarksJeremy Fluoro, 7-11 rod, 5.1:1 gear ratio reel

 

twreed What would be a good backup bait for the umbrella rig?

StarksJeremy There’s nothing like the Alabama Rig, but I guess a double fluke rig could work.

 

twreed How did this win compare to your first win at Wheeler Lake?

StarksJeremy There’s nothing like the first, it’s the most important one in your career.

 

jkleino When you see a school of fish on down imaging is there a way to tell if it is what you’re looking for vs. junk fish?

StarksJeremy Yes, if you zoom in you should be able to see the shape of the fish.

 

twreed What do you plan to do with your time between Elite Series tournaments?

StarksJeremy I think I’ll probably fish as much as possible, do some yard work and wash my new Cadillac.

 

bafirewrestler How do you feel about fishing the classic on Grand Lake in February? Could be snow/ice or it could be 80 degrees

StarksJeremy I’m actually looking forward to it. I like to fish a jerkbait offshore and I think that lake is set up for it

 

skiele Did you had a backup plan to the crankbait?

StarksJeremy If those fish had disappeared it was my backup plan to throw a shaky head.

 

LPfishing What color Crankbait was you throwing?

StarksJeremy I was throwing three different colors – Chartreuse Blue Back, Green Gizzard and Sexy Blue Back Herring

 

ditchell what do you think about Toledo Bend?

StarksJeremy I was near Toledo Bend, but I’ve never had the opportunity to fish it.

 

jcBASS MASTER What was going through your mind before you hit the stage for the final weigh-in?

StarksJeremy I was thinking I hope I’m about to win $100,000!

 

trey_corbett How did you hear about and learn the long lining technique?

StarksJeremy I’ve been doing that for years on bigger bodies of water. My roommate @hardwarequinn was the first one to start that

 

jkleino Did all of your fish for the week come off that same point in Muddy?

StarksJeremy No, they were kind of scattered. The majority did, though.

 

skiele What are the spec of the Airrus prototype you used?

StarksJeremy It’s a 7-11 medium-heavy cranking rod.

 

Tune in to the next B.A.S.S. Twitter chat Tuesday, May 15, from 1 to 1:30 p.m. ET to talk with Randy Howell, current leader in the 2012 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.