> Charlie Campbell is revered by Rick Clunn. …Clunn…says the world of professional bass fishing would be in a state of perfection if all its participants and managers were able to acquit themselves as gracefully and honorably as Campbell has done throughout his life.

> According to Campbell, when the line tie is under the nose, it adversely affects an angler’s ability to consistently execute straight and accurate casts — especially if there is some wind.

> [About the One Knocker Spook, which is a lot of pros’ favorite Spook version] …after he made a dozen casts and retrieves with it, he declared that it worked better than he had anticipated.

> Campbell likes to work his Zara Spooks on a 5.5′ ML-action rod. 2′ of the butt section of the rod are made of graphite — the top 3.5′ of the rod are made with fiberglass. His reel has 5.4:1 gear ratio and it’s spooled with 14-lb monofilament line. He attaches a #3 Interlock Snap to the line.

> “Bullfrog” and “black shore minnow” [color] Zara Spooks had gold hooks.

> …a properly retrieved Zara Spook can allure a bass from depths of 15′ or more in extremely clear waterways, while in stained conditions, he suspects that its alluring abilities is no more than 6′.

> …says the biggest error many anglers make when they work with a Zara Spook is that they overwork it and move it too rapidly. The ideal retrieve pivots around subtle or short twitches of the wrist, and it is devoid of any movement of the forearm. He calls it “one twitch of the wrist and one rotation of the reel handle.”

I’ll throw a 1 at it. I think the absolute best place for us to be, whether alone or with our immediate family right now, is on the water or in the woods. And when that’s no longer an option, it’s pretty damn scary.

I feel we’re all smart-enough outdoorsmen and women that we can be safe and smart and enjoy the outdoors, especially in this dark time. I really believe that. I stay up at night thinking about that.

I’d get in trouble for saying that [what he was thinking at first], hold on….

To me it’s those — literally I’m staring at one right now — it’s those yard trampolines. Who in their right mind would let their children go on one of those ever in the history of life? If you look at a yard trampoline it’s screaming, “Accident waiting to happen!”

So I would say having a yard trampoline is right up there with making as little sense as this state order we’re in right now. It is a mousetrap of pain.

No. You know me — I can be upset but I can get out of it really fast. I can’t get outta this. I can’t put together how irrational this truly is.

Here’s what that’s not — that’s not being selfish, Democrat or Republican. To me it’s just a lack of common sense. That’s all this comes down to.

> “A lot of people want to look for a fish and just see that fish swimming around out there. If the water isn’t crystal clear then that’s hard to do. [His bud Gene Brown, a BFLer] taught me to look for just the tip of their tail. It’s usually a different color than the rest of their body, and once you find that, the fish will reveal itself.”

> “I find myself always looking for the tip of the tail or the black line on a bass’ back because that’s what I had to look for in MS.”

> The water temperature range for flathead catfish [spawning] is 66 to 75 degrees, and 70 to 84 degrees for blue and channel catfish.

> The spawn will always begin at the reservoir’s headwaters, which tend to be shallower and receive warm inflow spring rains.

> Catfish tend to spawn in a nest or bed located in some type of cavity, which could be natural areas between rocks, undercut banks and hollow logs. Anything that creates a secluded nesting site for catfish, including an old car tire, a barrel or a stump…offers protection for the nest and protection from any strong water current.

> The male catfish plays the prominent role…selects the nesting site, clears the nesting site of any debris and then attracts the female…. Once the eggs hatch, the male catfish guards and protects the small catfish fry until they leave the nesting area after a few days.

> They coexist in almost same place [as bass], catfish fry can’t swim quickly, and they don’t have poison, hard scales [and] big spines when they small. I have felt that the average size of bass are usually good where there is a good number of catfish — maybe because catfish are high-protein?

> The biggest surprise when I fished this bait [for the last 2 years] was the bait has been never spit out when a bass bit. [And] I always waited to set the hook 3 to 5 seconds after I felt the bite because bass need time to inhale it completely. I guess bass believe the Namazu bait is real, more than common soft-plastics, and I have caught many big largemouth on it.

> For smallmouth in the Great Lakes…it amazingly works good when smallmouth are guarding their nests. I just deadstick it around the nest and it’s very easy to get smallmouth to attack.