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Corrction: Antique Vintage Reel. Sorry guys, no offense intended. I'm on the back side of my run too.

Darn you Tackle Warehouse and your "Tax Stimulus Sale." Gets me every time

Yes. It's wireless, too.

You all seen these? Pretty sweet!

These past two weekends I've finally gotten the chance to get out on the water and after sitting out for the stupid time of the year most commonly refereed to as winter, it felt great! We didn't catch much the first weekend, but this last weekend we got into them pretty good. I'm just hoping this week long cold front isn't going to turn them back off again for the tourney next weekend.

Ditto

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ I had & fished that reel as a boy - Not feeling too good about seeing it offered as an "Antique". Only because it reminds me that I am . . .getting there. A-Jay

Word of advice though, if you find bass stalking bluegill beds and are keying in on those fish only, you are going to have to throw something that really looks like a bluegill or even a bluegill. I have hit them with jigs, tubes, worms, creature baits and nothing...And i do mean hit them. They didn't move till I hit them 3-4 times. But only the one I hit would move, the rest would stay put as to not blow their cover. So if you think bed fishing is frustrating, well fishing for bass hunting bluegills on beds can be worse. Look for cruising fish....much easier to catch.

You can write 8008 on it, which is instant cool points.

I think the chug bug will fall under the popper category. If it does. I've caught plenty of bass off them.

I use sharp hooks and don't wait for anything. If I "think" there's a fish on my bait, I set it. Note I said think, not feel.

Yesterday I met up with my friend Brandon and fished from 4 until dark on a local pond in the Champlain Valley. A cold front had passed through the day before dropping the air temperature 10 degrees and shifting the wind form south west to north. As typical with a cold front it was bright blue skies when we arrived. The wind blowing 5-10 out of the north had some bite to it, it was chilly. I was dressed for winter and I was warm. The water temperature was showing at 55 degrees but we were under the impression it was reading warmer then what it actually was. I was excited to just get out there. I hadn't been out all year. Our fist couple spots were rocky points that dropped quickly into around 20 feet of water. I started off with a jig and my friend was fishing a crank bait. I had a fish hit my jig three times but couldn't get the hook set. I clearly saw it. Probably was around 2 pounds or so. I was disappointed to have missed it but was hopeful I would have more opportunities. After about half an hour we moved to another rocky point with some deep trees near by. No hits there. Onward to the next deep rocky point. Again we had no hits. We had been fishing an hour and a half with no luck, not a single fish in the boat. We came to the conclusion that we needed to make a move. We decided to fish an more spring like pattern. We went all the way to the northwest corner of the pond. Typically I have experienced consistent success fishing the northwest corners of ponds and lakes in the early spring. They tend to have the warmest water and get the most sun. Once we arrived with in the first 5 minutes we both had caught fish. Nothing big, I had landed one about 2.5 lbs. The area looked good not only was it the northwest corner but it also was were a brook came in, another text book spring spot. The two of us were catching fish on chatterbaits. WE both landed fish on either side of the inlet. It sure did feel good catching bass again. The wind let down a bit and was blowing maybe 5 mph at this point. Thinking to have found a pattern we went to another couple coves that had inlets that were in the northwest corner of the pond. The fish were there and they were slammin our chatterbaits. The action was good. It was very different then the first hour and a half fishing deeper rock points which to me is more of a winter/summer pattern then early spring. The last two hours of the day we consistently caught fish on chatterbaits. The final total of the afternoon was 18 largemouth most between 1 - 2 lbs. We did catch 2 fish about 2.5 lbs. I landed lunker for the day, a 3 lb 9 oz. It felt so good to be out on the water again catching fish and figuring something resembling a pattern in a short amount of time. I am so ready to get out there again.

I'm excited to pick up my new loading bench today. I was informed yesterday that it's completed. We designed it from the ground up. My cabinetmaker says we either have to haul it in two trucks or his trailer. If I learn how to post photos, I'll do so. I may have to get one of my GRANDCHILDREN to help with that!.....lol. It's been 24 years since I've loaded a round. I'm anxious to get back at it.

Remember the old days. You were watching tv, a commercial would come on. You would hurry to the kitchen to grab a coke, and maybe some chips before your show came back on. Now when a commercial comes on, you have time to take a shower, get dressed, go out to dinner, and come back home, and take a nap, before the commercials are over....Sheesh!! Hootie

Only caught one today, but it was nice... Release WolfyBrandon

Tale of two days....sunday, fantastic weather, poor fishing. I caught one 4lber, one 3lber, and one 12"er....Today...well...I had the best day, maybe ever on silver. Wind, sleet, hail, rain, and 50+ largemouth. Best five were a 5-6, 4-14,4-11,4-9,and a 4-6. Countless other 3.5+ to low 4lb range fish. This one will be hard to top. Might as well sell the boat now lol.

This is the Best Time . . . A-Jay

No Worries Mike - Antique A-Jay

I remember when cable first came out. The big sell was no comercials. Where did that go? Thank goodness for DVR.

Yup, after Kerosene, ( great eye candy vid ) I lost interest in her... Blake Shelton puts on a great show.. He maybe going the way of Hank Jr. With the whole booze thing, lol oh well.. Life in the fast lane!

Yes. But, your best investment was the one that cost you nothing and got you here on BR.

Why would anyone have slack in their line?

And in the old days TV came through an antenna for free. Now days it's even worse when think how much you pay to watch commercials. I rarely watch live tv anymore. DVR makes an hour show 30 minutes of commercial free tv.

Dug through my reel box and found this. I think the gold tone of the body plays well with the green of the blank.

The only way you are going to learn is by doing it. Then you can figure out if it's something you can do yourself. A carb is a very simple device but if you are not very knowledgeable of exactly how they work and what all you have to do when cleaning and rebuilding one, then how to adjust them when done, it will probably drive you nuts trying to get the motor to run right when done. You will be back on here asking what's wrong with it, you just rebuilt the carbs, but it just won't run right, so there has to be something else wrong. Which there could be, but it's highly likely the carbs are screwed up. It's also a great feeling if you get them right, the motor runs perfect and you just saved a few hundred bucks by doing them yourself. Things can go either way, but I do encourage anyone to always at least try to do as much as they can themselves. I've always said If man made it, I can fix it, and that knowledge didn't come by paying someone else to do everything for me. Ever since I was a kid, I've pulled stuff apart just to see how it was made, and at almost 69 years old I still do. I figure if I'm going to have to buy a new part to fix something, what am I out of if I take the old one apart first to see if I can fix it, and many time I do fix it for pennies of what the new one would cost, sometimes it's totally destroyed when it was not designed to be taken apart, but I do anyway.

Note: This is part of a series targeting toward beginners about straightening your learning curve with a baitcast reel. To see part one on why to get a baitcast combo, click here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154372-trials-and-errors-with-a-baitcaster-pt-1-why-get-a-baitcast-combo/. To see part two on buying your first combo, click here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/155082-trials-and-errors-with-a-baitcast-reel-pt-2-buying-your-first-combo/ So we’ve talked about why you should get a baitcast reel, and some guidelines for buying your first combo. The combo has come in the mail, and you’ve played around with the braking system of the reel, spun the handle at least a million times, and felt the combo in your hand. Feels a lot better than a spinning combo, right? You have realized the rather obvious fact that a reel is no good without line, and so you’ve started Googling and looking for Youtube videos on the subject. Man, it gets complicated! The fancy knots they tie would take hours to get down. And they tie them so fast that you have to pause the video a couple hundred times to get the different loops. You tighten it down on the spool, only to have the the whole darn thing slip out of the reel and fall on the floor. Hopefully you have the self control not to throw the combo on the floor! Here are some things to help make it a little simpler. Before anything else, make sure you get a heavier line test than what you would normally put on a spinning reel. Before you begin spooling up, make sure you have the right line. You don’t want to have complications. Rule of thumb: it’s best not to put line under 12 lb. test on. 14 is the most common. Don’t overcomplicate things Just remember, you’ll rarely reach the end of your spool. Obviously it’s important to have a strong knot nevertheless, but you don’t need a super-fancy knot. Honestly, some overhand knots would work just fine. For what it’s worth, even if you disagree, I’ve been using very simple knots and they’ve worked just fine. Find a good video This is my favorite video on the subject. He goes slow enough that you can follow his steps, and I’ve been following that process every since I got my reel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsdl7_4268o. Don’t fill the spool too full. Typically, you want the line to reach just about 1/8s of an inch from the top of the spool, or some companies put a small bevel or circular indentation in the spool to guide you. If you spool it too full, you’ll run into some complications. Keep your fingers on the line above the reel as you fill the spool. Keep tension on the line above the reel with your thumb and pointer finger as you wind in the line. You want to reel fast, but you don't want it to be loose. Here's a tip from an FLW co-angler: Put some tape across the spool once it's 2/3s of the way full. This will help prevent backlashes building up from the core of the spool later on once you cast. Thanks for reading! Hopefully as you follow this series, you’ll learn how use your reel more effectively. Let me know in the comments any more tips or if you learned anything. Next up, we’ll look at setting up the brakes. BTW: The video will teach you most of what I said, probably more clearly .

Terrific! I've noticed that 7-1/4 lb is an extremely stubborn weight ceiling for smallmouth bass. I say that because many state records are (or were) within a few ounces of 7lb 4oz. Roger

Well being you're in Indiana. When the bass are spawning, the bluegill are pre-spawn. Then bass post spawn and bluegill spawn (all summer). Beds are easy to find as they are gouped up in the same area's bass like. Shallow gravel/hard bottom. Any kind of structure/cover will hold bluegill. Some days they will be high, other days they sink out. Bigger Bullgills relate to deeper weed edges and spawn a bit deeper then the tasty 4" models the bass really like. I would suggest looking for the beds of bluegills after the bass get done spawning. They aren't going to be hard to find as they will be numouros pits in shallow water sometimes in the weedbeds other times on hard bottom (base of riprap banks that have a shallow flat would be a good spot). The bass will be just outside the beds and will school up and sneak up on the bedding fish. I have watched groups of 4-5 fish sit just a few feet away from the bluegill community and wait till they stop worrying about the bass and go back to fighting among one another to only be rushed and ambushed by the 4 to 5 bass that all rush in at the same time. Look around private docks as well in the back of coves. The fish will simply slide out further to the closest deep cover when the water cools in the winter. Hope this helps you some.

I tried it at KFC once...it was alright.

Throw the same lures winter, spring, summer, or fall! Just in different locations

Just ordered a new Lew's BB1 for $117 from Dick's. They are on sale for $139 from $159 w/ free shipping, I added my $10 dollar rewards coupon, and bought an $138 Egift card from Raise.com for $117 and put towards the purchase.

Looked, can't find them fast.. I believe they were call a "sled head" I think... I've got some, somewhere.

Straight shank round bend hooks Wait for what? The bass to spit it! If a bass farts near my bait I drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook!

Put it on your epitaph. "He usually wore a PFD, but the day he departed was triple digits." But seriously, I actually find that the technical SPF shirts and pants are cooler than shorts and no shirt.

10 - 20 lb braid is what's on the spinning reels for most of my bass fishing. The 30 lb goes on casting reels. A-Jay

I used to get that a lot.

Personally, yes, for bass fishing. But that's me. I choose 10lb Power Pro and it has hauled in waterlogged tree branches several inches in diameter. That said, if I bought some, I'd use it. I'm not deriding your purchase, it is just that I have decided that for my needs, 10 is sufficient, and 15 would be heavy. I use 20 on bait casting reels...

If it has to be white and under $130, shop around for a gently used Shimano Chronarch 50 or 200E.

Yeah... it's pretty simple really. If you know something melts if you take it out of the original packaging then common sense would say to leave it in there. They are a NED rig must, and work extremely well for trailers. You can't beat the durability of them.

I don't know, but it's probably a bbbbig watch, in fact it's a Boom Shockalocka! GGGGIAANT! watch!

Bass fishing awareness in Orange County is low among the general population, even with those who live on a lake. Given most folks here view the lake as a decorative water feature and that fishing is what people do in the ocean, here are some of the questions & comments I hear the most: "Is that a trout?" "Is that a catfish?" "You will catch more fish if you use hotdogs instead of lures". "Do they stock this lake?" "Throw over here, I saw a huge fish there yesterday". Most folks are just being friendly & striking up a conversation, so I keep my answers simple. I could tell them I'm fishing for Steelhead & they wouldn't know the difference. What is fun is while we are chatting (me in my boat, they on their dock), I'll casually skip a lure under their dock. The look on their face of "What the...?" is great, even better if I then wrestle a fish out from under their feet.

My coworkers are baffled that I throw fish back. They've all told me to call them and they'll come pick up the fish if I'm just going to throw them back. They don't understand the concept of fishing for fun

Look at it this way -- you were a good sport and you made a few fishermen happy. You did the right thing when you shared. I bet your parents are proud of you. Those who share will be rewarded in many ways. I'm always up front when asked about any spot that I had good luck at.

The only good snake is a dead snake, and even those creep me out. I've been that way since I was a little kid. My body is moving before my brain even realizes what is going on. My wife and kids know to not get between me and the exit if there is a snake. Seriously... I'm so bad about snakes, that when I'm driving and see one crossing the road, I lift my feet up (inside the freaking car) as I hit it. Dead serious....

While I like most Xcalibur stuff, I see no reason to buy a zell pop over a Rebel pop r. They are the exact same bait with different paint job, except pop r is cheaper.

The primer bulb and fuel line to the motor wouldn't be covered under warranty because they are not part of the motor. That would be like expecting a company that makes trolling motors to warranty the wires run in a boat from the batteries to the plug. If something goes wrong with the wires in the boat that's on you or the boat's warranty.

Welcome to the forums!

Went out today on a good little pond water was warming up fast there and it was an easy paddle so I figured I'd put. Fished a jig painfully painfully slow with a Rage Craw in watermelon color managed to land this fish being the first NH bass of the 2015 season it was a decent sized one too.

Fished Horn Pond today.Still ice on the lake but everything was navigable in the boat. Main pond was 40 degrees caught 1 largemouth on a slow moving chatterbait on a rocky hump in 10 ft of water. I went to the feeder cove on the north part of the lake it was 47 and chuck full of 2-4lb bass spent a whole hour throwing everything I had without one single bite so I put my gopro camera on a stick and took some under water video, here's just one rock of those stubborn bass. I sure wished I could have found a way to catch them. Here's the video I did today.