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the braking force applied by centrifugal brakes varies depending on the speed of the spool: higher at the startup when it is most needed and tapering off at the end of the cast as the spool slows...simple and effective. simple magnetic brakes apply the same amount of braking force throughout the cast. most simple mag brakes are adjusted by manipulating the distance between the magnets and spool. abu-garcia's "linear magnetic brakes" used on some of their revos leave the magnets in place but utilize a shield to cover/expose the magnets (which is perplexing to me since this changes the shape of the magnetic field in a nonlinear fashion). the truly sophisticated braking systems such as daiwa's magforce V or Z or pflueger's ITB (inertia transfer braking) utilize the spinning spool's centrifugal force to move a plate on the spool closer to the magnets in the sideplate, effectively applying variable braking force the more it is needed. the hot trend right now is to combine both centrifugal brakes and magnets together in one reel with the rationale that centrifugal brakes apply their braking force at the beginning at the cast when centrifugal forces are greatest with the mag brakes kicking in at the end of the cast when there is almost no centrifugal force. i have examples of all the above systems and they all work.

For use in central Florida, the 'soft' paddletail minnow will rival any lure. We've fished both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ swimbaits, but our best success has been with "soft” swimbaits. The reason is obvious, soft swimbaits are 'weedless' and can be fished smack in the best cover. They're also cheaper than hard swimbaits, which is a welcome bonus. For my own curiosity, I rated a small cross-section of different paddletail brands, based on the 3 paddletail properties I feel are most important: Low-Speed Action - Tail Vibration - Body Stability Low-Speed Action Low-speed action is arguably the most important property, because slow-rolling and swimbaits go hand-in-hand. The best paddletails remain active to a virtual standstill, and IMO those with tail lobes that stall-out at low speeds belong in the dumpster Tail Vibration Generally speaking, the greater the area of the tail-lobe the greater the throb and vibration. Thump and vibes are very important even in clear water, because underwater visibility is sharply reduced in dense vegetation. Body Stability Although tail-action is desirable, body-action is not. Excessive body action might appeal to the angler, but looks unnatural to the predator. The bugbear of the soft paddletail is "lateral instability", better known as "Tail-Wagging-The-Dog". .Axial rotation is also unnatural, but is not as noticeable as sideward wagging. In the shootout below, the 3 lure properties above are rated from 1 to 4: 4 = Excellent (12 = Perfect Total Score) 3 = Good 2 = Fair 1 = Poor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .............................................SWIM MINNOW SHOOTOUT BIG EZ (Gambler) Low-Speed Action..........4........Excellent.....(Tail-action persists to a virtual standstill) Tail Vibration..............,....4........Excellent.....(Very large tail lobe) Body Stability..................4........Excellent.....(Stability is further enhanced by flank-rigging) TOTAL SCORE............12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SKINNY DIPPER (Reaction Innovations) Low-Speed Action.........4........Excellent.....(Tail-action persists to near standstill) Tail Vibration..................3........Good..........(Medium-sized tail-lobe) Body Stability.................4........Excellent....(Some axial rotation) TOTAL SCORE............11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPLIT-BELLY SWIMBAIT (Berkley) Low-Speed Action.........3........Good............(Tail quits a tad before standstill) Tail Vibration..................4........Excellent......(Big vibes) Body Stability.................3........Good............(Noticeable lateral shimmy) TOTAL SCORE............10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PADDLETAIL SWIMBAIT (Basstrix) Low-Speed Action..........2........Fair..............(Tail-action fizzle is the downfall of the Basstrix) Tail Vibration..................4........Excellent......(Big vibes) Body Stability..................4........Excellent......(Debatably the most stable soft paddletail minnow) TOTAL SCORE............10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLLOW-BELLY SWIMBAIT (Berkley) Low-Speed Action..........2........Fair..............(Tail quits too soon) Tail Vibration...................4........Excellent......(Our top producer in 2009) Body Stability..................3........Good............(Slight 'tail-wagging-the-dog' at high speeds) TOTAL SCORE.............9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EZ SHAD (Roboworm) Low-Speed Action..........2........Fair..............(Tail quits too soon) Tail Vibration...................4........Excellent......(Great throb) Body Stability..................3........Good............(Unstable at high speeds) TOTAL SCORE.............9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BASS MAGIC (Lucky "E" Strike) Low-Speed Action..........2........Fair..............(Tail quits too soon) Tail Vibration...................4........Excellent......(Big vibes) Body Stability..................1........Poor.............(Seriously "unstable") TOTAL SCORE.............7 Roger

JD'sCustomBaits put on another snakehead roundup this past weekend in Broward county. The top team, Steve and Andy killed an astounding 62 snakeheads. The second place team, Corey and Ed killed 31 snakeheads. My co-angler, Capt. Bud, got a 8 3/4# 34.75" snakehead for the Big Fish. Here is a video from our boat and the weigh in.

A little help to keep you motivated thru winter. I was downloading some florida pictures & this was still on the memory card. Think spring.

had five more around 1.25 or so. big one weighed in at 3.25

I just spent a couple of days on the Salmon River in NY. It was my second trip up but my first in the fall season. After some tinkering to get good drifts and practice reading the water, I manged three hookups on Wednesday. I expected a fight but these things surprised me with how incredibly strong and determined they are. I was able to net one small native rainbow and had two steelhead right at my feet and broke them off before I could get a hold of them. Since this was largely a learning trip, here are some of the lessons I learned: 1. Felt soles suck and Korkers rule 2. Fair weather in November brings out the hordes 3. Hooking a steelhead doesn't mean you've caught them 4. Center pin fishing is THE way to float fish 5. The bait monkey is going on a feeding frenzy 6. My wife is in for a rude awakening if she still thinks fishing season ends this month

Wow, I've been hearing a lot of stories about people stealing or trying to scam others in the last month or so. It was a good thing that you paid with PayPal. Glad you got your money back. Here's some information that buyers should know: -If you sent money via PayPal GIFT and have a problem, PayPal will NOT cover you. -If you sent money via PayPal, you have 45 days of the purchase to file a claim. PayPal will reimburse you with the funds and go after the seller to recover the money. -If you received an item not describe, PayPal will try to resolve the issue, but you are not covered 100%. Usually if you've made a purchase outside of eBay, PayPal only verifies that the item been delivered. You'll have to convince them that the item was not described so it's a good idea to save pictures, emails, IMs, etc.

I've read comments like that all the time, one of the reasons why I keep picking up curados is that I'm use to them and other reels might have a different effect on my throwing ability and setup

Their braid is decent, and their mono is proven to be just plain regular mono. However, I think their fluorocarbon is absolute trash. Also, if your looking for a good mono look no further than Sufix Seige. It's one of the most popular mono's on this board for good reason.

I didn't think the "Fishing Women" section was open for guys to read...but I kept seeing the 'respect' issue being brought up...as I scrolled by, so I stopped in. I'm older than most on this site but perhaps not as well informed as I should be. Been told that I didn't know when to 'shut up'. Just seems to me that as long as people think that there is a need for a different section for anyone...that there will be a 'respect' issue. I'm afraid that in this case, the fish have the right idea...If you're good enough then you're gonna catch'em. Maybe by separating one set of fishermen from another...everybody misses out on valuable experience. Anybody that watched an early "Jimmy Houston" show knew his wife could outfish him...just like mine outfishes me. Like I said, been told I don't know when to 'shut up'. . Grampa.....

This relationship alone is gigantic to catching bigger fish. If you think in this frame of mind, rather than fishing in "spots," you're going a long way to improving your catch.

I'm going to go to a local tackle shop, go to the salt water fishing section, and pick up one of the smaller "umbrella rigs" I used to use for stripers and bluefish. About $5 or $6 and essentially the same thing.

I knew there was something I liked about you other than your impeccable taste in fishing equipment. Raider Nation 4 Life

jr1945: i loved your scale design soo much i wanted to try it myself!

St. Croix: 3S69 MLXF 4S610 MLXF 3S70 MLF 3S76 MLXF Pick your favorite length, all will fit the bill.

Funny a bass sized crankbait can destroy a spinning rod and reel. I catch tarpon, jacks, reds, black drum snook ,flathead catfish, blues, stripers,alligator gar, peacock bass and sharks on bass sized spinning gear for years and none of those fish can do what a rapala balsa bait did to your gear. Its to each his own. Why do the internet experts always have to tell people they dont have the right gear and have to buy something else. Baits dont eat up gear operator error does. Reels dont fight fish the rod does.

Yes sir. If a guy can fish 8" hudds on spinning gear, a puny little crankbait should pose no problems. Don't believe me? Ask Fish Chris

I think you guys will like this story. I started fishing because of a VCU Summer Discoveries camp called “Go Fish”. It’s run by a catfish guide on the James and a VCU Fisheries Biologist. I’m still really good friends with both of them, and work for Mike, the guide, in the summer. During the Go Fish week we fished a few ponds for bass, catfished on the river, and waded a smaller river for smallmouth and bream. I actually caught a 10 lb. 2 oz. bass at one of the ponds on a live gill, but I don’t consider that my PB. Anyways, after the last year of Go Fish that I was young enough to do, I had the bug. One of the catfishing days we stopped at a pond very close to my house and caught a bunch of bluegill to use for shovelheads later that day. I remembered where it was, and the summer after the camp, went back with my brother and dad. Earlier in the day I had bought a 6’6” MH Berkley Cherrywood and a Shimano Callisto to put on it, spooled with 12# Trilene XL. At this time I was still very new to fishing. I had three or four lures, one of them being a ½ oz. Booyah jig in black/blue. After half an hour of not catching anything, my brother and I saw a big fish cruising the shore. We both were trying really hard to coax it to bite, but with no luck. Keep in mind this is the first time I had ever gone fishing besides the camp. Right as we were about to give up and go home, I looked down and there she was just looking at me, no more than three feet away. I dropped the jig in the water and instantaneously she SLAMMED the jig. I was so excited I didn’t even set the hook, just pulled her up on shore. That fish weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz, and was the fish that kind of started it all for me. I bested that fish two years ago, pitching the exact same jig on the exact same combo to a laydown at a different pond. That fish was 8 lbs. 15 oz. She had just spawned and was rail thin. Wish I had caught her a few weeks earlier. I'm sure she's over 10 now. I've had her pinned a few times, once on a wacky Trick Worm and once on a frog, but she has eluded me. It's weird, ever since catching her, the biggest I've caught from that pond is ~5, and numbers have gone WAY down. I used to go out and catch 20 fish a day, with the majority of them being 4-5 pounders.

Another title could be "Bloody Fish Butts and Sticky Slime," but I think I'll leave it with these two quotes by Noel: "Dude, that fish is bleeding from it's butt!" "I though that was fishing line, but it was a big stringy booger coming off that fish!" I don't have any explanation for all the gross things that happened to me today, but it was all worth it. Even the bad case of the dropsies I had early in the day. Noel Good called me yesterday to invite me for a day on Erie. It took all of 3 milliseconds to make the arrangements. The weather was perfect, light chop on the water receding to glass, and bugs everywhere. ERIE! I love this place. Reminds me so much of my home waters on Lake Ontario, but way better structure and much bigger fish. We started with jigging spoons,with Noel boating a few fish fairly quickly. I had a few on, but kept losing them. I discovered a bent hook, then realized I was using my 6-8 m/XF jerk bait rod, not the slower, beefier 7' MH/M that suits my style better. Get a 3X treble on the spoon, attached to the right rod, and I was hooking up. The fish we marked stopped responding to the spoons, so we both switched to drop shot rigs. This is where we really started picking the fish off. Action was fairly slow, but with flourishes of catches. Many of the fish we caught we're spotted on the graph, and we would watch them come up to the baits, and then we'd really sell the bait. Sometimes two or three fish came right up to the bait. Most fish the came up off the bottom to the bait ended up on the hook. Had I caught all my bites, we'd easily had a 50 fish day. I had plenty of technical issues, but was having a ball. Deep fishing in open water is one of my favorite ways to fish. Hook them, and Hang on! Size wasn't all there, but we had two significant fish. Noel had a nice fish that was about 4 lbs.,and I set a new personal record for smallies that has stood since the mid 90s. I really didn't think it was a PB, until I got it on the scale, and the numbers kept going up and up, LOL. "Noel, you just put me on a PB smallmouth!" Erie smallmouth are like a different species of fish. Heavy, surly, and thick. Even their mouths are strong as hell. I bent hooks trying to get them unbuttoned for a quick release back to the depths. Gear: Spoons, St. Croix Avid AVC70MHM, Daiwa Alphas, 10 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. Drop shot, St. Croix Avid AVS63MLXF, Shimano Stradic CI4, 6lb. Seaguar InvisX. Thanks to Smooth Drags Carbontex replacement washers for controlling those beasts! Now the part you're all waiting for.....pics! A decent fish finally, after fixing my "technical issues." Noel with a pretty little chunk. Look at the belly on this fish! Here's what they were eating. They are never ready to come in boat. Noel: "This is the type of fish we want more of!" 5 lbs. 12 oz. Awesome fish, but I'm gunning for a 6 now!. Another view of that fish. Another great day on the water with a great host. Noel is a VERY good stick, and an even better host. Thanks for the great day!

Were I fish we use a lot of live bait and the rods I have favored are in the 7-7'4ft ML spinning category. The length helps get the line and bait farther away from the boat and the ML still has a good back bone when you hook into a monster cat or in most cases a northern pike. I personal like 2 rods: St. Croix, Mojo Bass, Drop Shot (6'9ML) Use it for for casting splitshot rigs, and for dragging or drifting I like my Quantum KVD Tour Signature Spinning 7'4M. This rod has a really soft tip and a solid back bone with a comfortable length. Both of these are paired with Quantum Energy PTi30's with 8-10lb P-Line fluorocarbon.

G. Loomis GLX PR844S/ Stella 2500FE/ Yo-Zuri Hybrid #4 (blue smoke) The rod is a "popping rod" designed for saltwater fishing. http://www.gloomis.c...pping_rods.html /

My rod is a 68mxf st croix legend elite paired with a shimano stradic 2500.......but I love RW's rod more....glx something or other paired with a shimano stella! He will chime in here sooner or later! Jeff

7' Medium Light action spinning rod. Softer tip, but get some good backbone in the lower half of the rod. 4-12lb. test rating on the blank should do nicely. I used to use a setup exactly like this on a couple of rivers locally and it was absolutely perfect for the live bait application. Just my personal preference, but if I was doing what you're doing that's how I'd be doing it.....

My goals are simple enough. In no particular order: 1. Spend some more time fishing with the BR guys down here. 2. Beat my PB with a 13+ pound Largemouth. I've got the right lake, just need to go out and spend the time targeting nothing but giants. 3. Break the state record for a Peacock bass. Odds are this means finding one on a bed, or breaking out the live shiners. 4. Take somebody bass fishing that's never done it before.

A friend and I decided to brave the 30mph winds and rains today to try to get one last afternoon of fishing in at his uncle's ponds before they freeze up. Both of us were saying we'd be surprised if we catch anything on the way there but thankfully we were wrong I was fishing a new color Erratic shad while my friend was fishing a spinnerbait and redeye shad. I started catching dinks almost right away on my jerkbait and never really slowed down. There is 6 ponds all connected so were were just walking between all of them. My friend was telling me the south pond has the biggest fish so we made the short walk and I quickly caught a healthy 14 incher. One of my first cast into the big, south pond I felt like my jerkbait was hanging on a branch. I leaned into it a little bit to try to pull the "branch" in when it started swimming slowly. I thought I'd hooked a monster bass when it streaked off and broke surface. After a 10 minute tug of war I managed to see the big grass carp I'd snagged in the fin. Right as it was getting tired and looking like I might actually land it she made a last lunge after a big branch and my hooks caught and pulled out. We each started walking opposite directions around the pond, fancasting and not catching much. Then I got a good "tick" on my jerkbait and set into a solid fish. After a pretty good fight I managed to get ahold of my biggest of the day. Didn't have a scale but I'm guessing around 19-20 inches and 4-4.5 pounds. Had to try to take my own picture so it didn't turn out great. A couple minutes after I turned my fish loose my buddy hooked a good fish on the jerkbait I finally talked him into using since his spinnerbait and trap weren't doing it. I ended with 19 and my friend got 3 and we each got a solid fish. Turned out to be a great day despite the weather and a great way to spend a few hours before work

I too love to read a lot, but not fiction generally speaking. Admittedly, I am a bit nerdy, but I have gotten most of the books I have read from the public library and kept the pertinent information (author, isbn, etc) to find the book quickly if I ever need to reference it for the future. If I deem the book a must have, then I will buy it. Knowing Bass Keith A. Jones, PhD ISBN: 1-59228-616-X ISBN: 1-58574-523-5 paperback IB’s note: A Scientific Approach to Catching more bass. Good information here. Largemouth Bass Don Oster ISBN: 0-86573-005-9 ISBN: 0-86573-016-4 (paperback) Successful Bass Fishing Ken Schultz ISBN: 0-07-057236-4 Circle on Bass - Bass Wisdom from a Master Homer Circle ISBN: 1-55821-463-1 In Pursuit of Giant Bass Bill Murphy ISBN: 0-9633120-0-6 IB’s Note: Great Read – Covers the stitching technique and how to anchor your boat. Another keeper. Bass Angler’s Almanac John Weiss ISBN: 1-58574-214-7 Sow Belly Monte Burke ISBN: 0-525-94863-5 ISBN: 0-452-28715-4 Paperback IB’s Note: Great book about the search for big bass. Not a Bass book but still well worth the reading. Title: What Fish See Author: Colin J, Kageyama, O.D., F.C.O.V.D. ISBN: 1-57188-140-9 IB’s Note: Tons of information about the color shift that happens underwater. While it mainly focuses on steelhead and salmon, the knowledge Dr. Kageyama imparts is invaluable for bass anglers too. BTW, there is a bass section that I found most informative. I have become a better angler after reading this book. Make better, more educated selections in your choices for lure colors. This book is now part of my personal library.

I love when the bucks 'herd' up before the rut, then they hate each other afterward 6 buck and 2 doe were in this group. They were about 100 yards out, pushing the limits of my lens, so they are kind of blurry!

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