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In an effort to be I the water more I'm taking up other fish to target besides bass. I have a good buddy who exclusively targets trout and travels all over chasing them with a fly rod or center pin. Linked up with him this evening to learn how to target trout better then my accidental hook up when they smash a spinner bait or rattle trap when I'm fishing for smallies. He gave me one of his hand tied 1/32 oz maribu jigs and a float I tied it onto my drop shotting set up and tried it out. Lost my first one that hit but got the second one on the infamous last cast and I'm going home cast. Needless to say I'm hooked I'm getting a trout set up or two and going back Sunday and Monday.

Get some aluminum pliers. I have some from Academy that are a couple years old and still just like knew. They have replaceable titanium cutters on them that cut braid (and any other line), like a hot knife through butter.

1. Sneezing 2. Itchy-watery eyes 3. Runny nose 4. Dry hacking cough 5. Scratchy throat 6. Stuffed up nose 7. Sinus head pressure 8. Sinus draining in the back of my throat 9. Coughing up mucus 10. Zombie like feelings from meds All within the last 48 hours! Yelp Pre-Spawn Is Here

Just finished my first open water rod ( I started with an ice rod early in the winter). This will be my new drop shot/shakey head rod build on a RS Revelation 610MXF. I used Fuji KR concept guides which turned out great and an uplocking Aero reel seat. Built using a homemade wrapper and drier as well. Just order two casting blanks and can't wait to get started on those. Joe

There's really only one choice for me - Knipex Hook Cutters. They cost more but they're worth it because they work. Choose a model you can use correctly with your weak / off hand. A-Jay

A complete tear down would be my course of action, if not, that reel is going to become a problem and sooner rather than later.

A d**n good fisherman who doesn't like getting run over by another boat - just fished with a pro in Florida who said Ish got the wrong end of that deal - he wasn't at fault in the accident but could have kept his temper under control better.

Probably where the mule died a few generations ago.

Fishing with a smaller spinning reel the backing size doesn't make difference, however since the reels don't hold that much line I don't use backing. Fishing for species that can spool a reel, I prefer not to use backing but I will add to the existing braid when I get low. With people always saying how long braid lasts, it's very affordable in the long run, why even use backing?

My own little slice of heaven has been good to me. Got out on Friday evening and had quite a time. Fished nothing but a jerkbait the whole time. I caught a few small ones, and a 2.89 that was pretty fun. I decided to fish the arm adjacent to the arm with homes. I haven't put much time into it at all, but knew it had a steep break and deep water access. Within 4 casts, I'm hooked up with something big. After the first few seconds, I knew it was not a giant Bass, but rather a giant Wiper. After an incredible fight, no net, and a face full of jerkbait treble hooks, I managed to get her on the scales. 9.14 LBS. 27 INCHES. Unbelievable. Biggest Wiper I've seen in person, what a fish. It was an awesome way to end the evening. Water temps were 48-51. My dad came out this morning to see if I could put him on some Crappie at Clinton. It was extremely windy and choppy, and a lot cooler than we anticipated. We bailed on it and went to plan B. I didn't think the weekend could get much better after Friday's trip, but it did. Again, fished nothing but the same jerkbait the whole time. I taught my dad how to properly fish it, and he was on fish in no time. I was so proud. Between us we probably put 20 in the boat, including my 4.23 pounder, which was an amazing bite on a jerkbait. Soon after that fish, I snagged a giant Carp in the tail. Fought it for probably 10 minutes and chased it around with the trolling motor, only to have it shake the jerkbait boatside. I'm not too upset, but it was probably pushing 20 pounds haha. I should have checked my knot afterwards, because shortly after I snagged on deep brush, and lost my Pro Blue. Other than that, it was another great day.

Some guy named Dean rojas...

Take better care of your tools, stainless steel can and does corrode, albeit at slower rates. I have a set of polymer w stainless cutters. I carry those in my gore tex rain parka. Wipe your tools weekly with a rag and a bit of oil. Problem solved! Or, dig deep for titanium. Guess what, I've seen it corrode too!

I have 2 of the original Gen 1 Cumara spinning rods. Unfortunately neither is the model in question. I have the 7'2 ML fast and 7'2 medium xf drop shot rod. They are great rods and fish very well. I am not sure how that model fishes what you want it to so I won't comment there. I believe your rod should be covered under the lifetime warranty even though Shimano has changed their warranty policy. Worst case scenario is that you dont like the rod and have to sell it. The Gen 1 Cumaras still fetch alot of money in good to mint condition.

I usually use 15lb. If it's just backing its never going to really matter because you shouldn't be getting spooled with 20lb braid. I use it for 25-30lb salmon that fight a thousand times stronger. You'll never end up back to the backing and if you're getting close you need to reline your reel.

Welcome to the club.

I second the duo bait and the river2sea bubble walker. They have both caught a bunch of fish for me.

lol i like riley cooper but idk about bowe because chip let go desean jackson go because of his attitude he was arrested on possession and suspended before for performance enhancing drugs so he might be more of a problem than a solution but we shall see

Let's see how Reggie does here in SF. Perhaps a change of team/venue is what he needs.

Holler if you hear me! It's 85 degrees here right now in So Cal at 6:05 PM, calling for a high in the 90's tomorrow. My hats off to you guys for fishing in those conditions. Frost bite vs. heat stroke! If you do fish tomorrow I hope you catch your personal best!

Gambler ez swimmer 4-5" soft plastics. I've thrown all kinda colors, different style hooks! I so badly want them to work!

i was looking a reggie bush's stats and i can't believe how much they've decreased last season (remember when he got hit by sheldon brown) lol but I'm not a fan of the steelers either especially ben rothlisberger since he "allegedly" raped that girl but hopefully marshall does good I've looked at him differently since he came out with personality disorder and for harvin back with rex i don't care for either of them

Check out the Duo Realis pencil 110. Really great bait & easy to work.

I managed to get a line wet this afternoon at a pond in frederick. Water temp at the shore was 47.3. No fish but got to break in my new baitcaster. Picked up an abu garcia silver max on a 7 foot med/fast rod Im going to try the canal at Dickerson tomorrow and maybe check out the potomac and see how it looks

Man I have to check out this Seibert's place. Do they carry fishing attire for your favorite monkey?

I ended up getting an Ugly Stick Elite 6'6" Med with a Daiwa Exceler 2500 with 8lb Trilene XT line. Picked up some crank bait, stick bait and spinner bait as well. Now to wait for the 2015 season to begin. Scott

Always been a Duke fan, so I just can't like UK, even though my nephew attends there.

Not a big fan but my kids are into basketball. With that said we tend to focus on our local teams. University of Albany made it to the dance for the 3rd year in a row. Unlikely to go far BUT still exciting for this local community.

Baitmonkey struck again as I have already just ordered the following: Abu garcia revo elite 8 Abu garcia revo winch gen 3 Abu garcia revo Ltd Lews tournament pro Not that any of those are new releases but new none the less Pinnacle dhc5 6'6" med-fast Robyn champion 735c fh. I also have an order sitting in my tw cart calling to me. The fact that it's 64° here in minnesota but we still have a hard water problem makes the baitmonkey's pull that much harder to resist.

Yes. Big difference. As for Cabela's to Berkley, all I can add is who makes the Cabela's line? Seaguar makes the BPS line so you know it has to be good, especially with KVD putting his name on it. Find out who makes your line with the understanding that when a company like Seaguar makes the line for BPS they will use BPS specifications.

I'd just look for areas where they could spawn with a hard bottom. Fish all around those areas with multiple casts to the same spot if the water is stained up. I'd start with a square bill and hit up those hard bottom areas. If you catch a smaller one, throw back to the same spot. You might catch a bigger one. If its clear, take a walk around a good ways from the bank to see if you can see them.

Got another order in about a week ago, thought we should get this thread going again. Left: Punchin jigs-Blue Bug(Top),Blue Craw(Bottom) Middle:Grid Iron Brush Jigs-Blue Bug (Top), Summer Craw(Bottom) Right:Grid Iron Arkey Jigs-PB&J(Top), Green Pumpkin(Bottom)

Looks great. Where is the trolling motor.

I guess I'm a little late on most of the hottest baits. After watching the Classic I tried to get my hands on some chin spins for some spotties on my home lake. Too late, all sold out. I had a few, three, that I bought a few years ago and had limited success. But watching Casey Ashley use them gave me some new ideas. I was fishing them too fast. So I put out a few hours with them today, slow grinding them on the bottom and was pleasantly surprised. I caught about twelve spots and smallies, and over half of them came on the chin spin. Thanx Casey!

From the post-spawn through summer into early fall (in Florida: Apr thru Sep). Topwaters are especially good during a mild ripple, during twilight (dawn & dusk) and at night Roger

I think the bait monkey will be away until next year, unless I end up losing these...? (Fingers crossed) really looking forward to trying all these baits, surprising the duo spinbait caught me a 10 lb steelhead! (Savage Gear 6 inch trout sink and floater.) (Duo Realis spinbait 80) (luckycraft pointers) (deps buzzbait jr w custom bass color) (Duo realis g87 deep cranks) (Black Dog Shellcracker) (Megabass S-Cranks) Finally took the plunge to find out if thsee expensive brands live up to the hype...? Good luck fellas!

I thought I had A.D.D. one time, but I can't remember why.

Got me again at academy walked in and walked out with 100 less than I did...

Gotcha, I get it now. You want two bunk buddy style guides. They are adjustable and clamp on to your trailer. Cabelas has them on sale for $100. They call them mini bunks. They worked back when I had a little 15' boat.

I'm not being sarcastic when I write this post. I truly thank you as I've had a friend wanting me to join a club and hit a little circuit with him. I've been very leary in doing so for a multitude of reasons,but you have just helped me make up my mind. First off let me say when I fish I go at it mighty hard and just like any other human I want to catch fish. I'll fish in any weather that's safe and pretty much go anywhere, BUT ME personaly I fish to relax. I don't need a third job. I've trained bird dogs for a good number of years now and have seen first hand how some people can have something that's pretty nice and NEVER and I mean NEVER be happy. They always have to have a champion instead of being happy with a dog that will d**n near kill itself to go find a bird. Give it a try. If it's for you than you learned what makes you happy. Different strokes for different folk. Whatever you choose I wish you luck and HAVE FUN!!! Remeber something an ole timer told me once, he said boy, you're dead for long time.

It's not my favorite colors it what color the fish can see. I use every color bait do to the light conditions, the hues in the water and the water conditions. Clear water conditions its smaller baits, natural colors baits, fished fast.. Stained water conditions its medium sized baits, brighter colors fished slow. Muddy water conditions its larger sized baits, brightest colors fished the slowest. In any condition having a rattle and a shot of scent is a plus. When in doubt throw fire tiger. The water conditions we see on the surface can change as you go deeper. Now what crank bait colors do I use all of them. The orange belly crank baits seem to have an edge sometimes.

Maybe fish with him first before signing up.

Oh, I see....just 'most', not all. That makes it better.

Wow. Tell us how you really feel. Working in a car wash if they didn't excel at sports? I'll have you know that many of these players are extremely intelligent and could get into most any line of work they want. I find your post highly offensive!

Many thanks. I'm from England, where we virtually invented catch and release fishing as a standard practice. Believe me, if you were seem boat flipping fish here it wouldn't be long before someone had a word! I completely get what you're saying and dislike people fishing too light and exhausting fish unnecessarily. I'm amazed the IFGA still promotes line class records as it leads to things like people trying to catch marlin on 4lb line. Very clever, but not for the fish.

I tried to come up with a good answer using heavier gear than a ml rod and 2500. It's difficult to explain if one has little experience in this venue, short answer just as easy to catch a 45" barracuda as a 1# blue runner. One aspect that never gets discussed is having respect for the fish if the intent is C & R. It's common practice to land a bass real fast as not to stress it, should these fish be treated differently. My answer is no, an overslot snook or tarpon should be handled with care, if the fight is too long those fish should be broke off IMO. Being illegal to keep them there is no reason a responsible fisherman would risk those fish dying from exhaustion. Just like wanting to catch a big bass again by treating it with care, I want to catch these fish again too. Just a little bit of rant...........I dislike when people come to Florida and abuse our resources, you don't mishandle your bass, don't mishandle my tarpon and snook.

Good baits, great price. Like the squarebill sand frogs

Yah, mom chased me out of the house when i put some bass i caught in the bath tub, and then caught them againLOLOL (joking:)

They look great, FD! Those two tone EVA handles and SK2 reel seats are my favorite! Here's my version.

I did not like the way the cork and the aluminum trim rings matched up so I changed them to two tone eva. Grips and reel seats are done.