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The first bass striked just behind the bait... his calculations were a little off It's amazing what these bass can do.

In love with this setup.

Wow! Congrats to Ole Miss, but the Tide threw last night's game away with both hands. Looks like the SEC is wide open with several contenders. Unfortunately my Missouri Tigers don't look like they're ready for prime time.

The picture is the classic example of high sticking and pros do it all the time and when asked why they will tell you it is because they are on the clock. I mentioned before that I spoke to someone who designed rods for a living, he told me that he cringes every time he watches a tournament on T.V. and with the new materials and technology today, companies can manufacture rods that are in the 2oz range but unfortunately people are still going to boat flip fish and they will high stick too and break the rod and expect it to be replaced for free. He told me that more than 90% of rods he saw returned were all user error and the two most common themes were high sticking and boat flipping. He told me the best one he heard was a guy that said, "but it was only a 2lb fish, the rod was a MH it should have no problem" and he tried to explain that even if the fish weight 2 ounces it would still be wrong because the rod was not designed to work that way and even though it can be done with proper technique, it is still wrong to do. Another way that rods hav been breaking are on hook sets and the man told me it is almost always with braid and it happens during a thing called snap setting, the person either gets bite from a big fish or it is a snag and they set the hook, but not just rearing back, they drop the rod and that act is what causes the rod to break as it puts slack in the line and the rod goes from no tension to fully bent in one motion and it shocks the blank and snap! Now the reason it doesn't happen when there is tension is because you feel the pressure as you pull up and you end up stopping at the right moment but when you snap set, the movement is so fast because there is no tension or pressure and the rod is moving super fast for a split second and then full pressure and that speed ends up bending the tip section a little too far. Make no mistake, pros do this and they know it and will tell you that they realize it but they are fishing against the clock so saving seconds gives them as much fishing time as possible and it also means they do some bad things with the rods and what it means for us is that rods won't get any lighter until a material if found that works as good as graphite but won't break when flexed passed 90 degrees.

Reels are marketed to different price points and markets. I am not sure Daiwa is better than Shimano. Is there a better round reel than the conquest? How about Shimano and their DC line of reels. The Exscence DC can be cast without thumbing the reel. Can any other reel do that? I am not touting Daiwa or Shimano being better than the other but they seem to offer reels that appeal to the budget angler and enthusiast alike. I fish 50/50 Daiwa and Shimano. Lews tends to appeal to the low to mid level market but lacks high end and enthusiast level reels. Abu makes nice round reels but their Gen 3 reels are failing in both sales and performance. Get in where you fit in. I have weeded through dozens of reels to find what I like for what I plan to use it for. Fish what you like and fish what you can afford. There aren't any right or wrong choices but rather options that fit your preference and budget.

They are all good brands that make a fine reel. There is no reason to start picking brands and claiming one is superior to the other. I mean cause really if you want to get into it Daiwa is the best hands down. That being said I would have no issue fishing any of those brands. I don't know why there isn't ton's of Daiwa fan boys like there is for shimano. I think maybe because shimano is big in the US but in Japan its Daiwa.

I have a simple answer Just send me your lures

Unfortunately there is no industry standard for rod powers and actions. Dobyns lure weights are pretty spot on but their powers are hard to keep inline. Their "MH" is a 3 power rated at 1/4 - 3/4 which is in line with what would be universally considered a M power rod. On the other hand, their 735 is labeled as a MH but it is every bit of a Heavy and more. If going the Dobyns route and wanting a M action rod, get any of their 3 power casting rods. The 733 is a great stick.

My thoughts exactly. I've sold off every non Daiwa or Shimano reel I owned.

Hate to say it, but largemouth don't even come close in the bass beauty department. Nice work, Wolfy! That's a tank!

A large portion of my career revolved around Training & Instructing Professional, Commercial & Civilian mariners on the proper & effective use of Survival Equipment. My Perspective on Personal Floatation Devices goes like this; The device has to be reasonably comfortable. I say this first because regardless of the type, if you don’t wear it it’s useless. However, there is a tradeoff between “Comfortable” and effectiveness. Generally the lighter, less bulky types / designs are more comfortable but provide less buoyancy which is what the PFD is all about. Learning which types are required by law and how each performs allows one to make an educated decision. Going overboard unexpectedly is always a life threatening event and a shock, regardless of the circumstances. There are several factors that can & will complicate and magnify this emergency. They include but are not limited to Cold ~ both Air & Water temps (regardless of the survival equipment worn), Rough water, meaning wind & waves, operating in current, (like rivers and tidal water), being ALONE, fishing from a smaller craft, being injured on the way over the side, not being able to swim and obviously not wearing a Life Jacket. Other things to think about: going overboard fully dressed is not like swimming at the beach. A cotton hoodie & denim jeans make moving at all in the water very difficult – PFD really helps here. Getting back on board ones vessel in water logged clothes is very difficult; especially when fishing alone. On boats large enough to have one, a boarding ladder is a must. On smaller boats, (canoes, kayaks & smaller john boats) these boats often capsize as part of the event. Depending on a long list of factors, re-righting the boat may or may not be an option. But getting out of cold water ASAP is not an option and needs to happen sooner rather than later. Climbing up onto a capsized hull is even good just to get out of cold water. Your Life Jacket will assist a conscious victim to stay afloat until help arrives (hopefully). Hyperthermia Kills people. Years of searching for victims has proven that it is best to Stay With Your Boat. Whether it is capsized or if it’s up right and you just can’t board it. The craft offers two important benefits; first it makes a much better locating target. A persons head bobbing around in waves in really hard to see & find. Second, your boat provides something to hang on to. Personally, I fish from a 16 ft canoe. The vast majority of the time I’m alone and there’s NO One else on the water with me. In the warmer months, I fish at night. I carry two type III PFD’s in the boat that are laid on the deck up on the bow so that if the canoe capsizes they will float free. I wear an inflatable Mustang HIT type PFD. In my mind the two most important factors that I can control every trip I make are; that my wife knows exactly where I’m going and when I’ll be back; and I’m wearing that life jacket while I’m out there. A-Jay​ ​

[ September 18, 2015 ] Where do I begin? It is now the middle of September... the weather is getting worse, the water is cooling down, and the Fall Season is in full swing. The fishing has been great the past few weeks as I have caught great numbers of fish in a short amount of time. I have seen bass schooled up in numbers roaming around in the shallows and have been able to catch them on almost every cast. It didn't matter if it was calm, windy, sunny, rainy, early, or late... they have been biting. That was until a few days ago where it seemed like most of my fish came during the day and then the bite seemed to slow down during the evening. I took note of this and have been trying to fish as much as I can, as early as I can - which for me would be the afternoon. Well today I got off work early at 2:00pm and started making my way out to the lake. I have been consistent catching bass for the past 85 days that I have fished, and today I was starting to feel a little burnt out. Since I had extra time to fish, I planned to spend a few hours at the marina, then possibly head out in the boat for the rest of the day... I arrived at the lake around 2:30pm, grabbed two of my combos (first with a Tube softbait, other with a LiveTarget Blueback Herring Swimbait) and started fishing. The sky was mostly cloudy, with little to no wind. The water has about 10+ ft clarity with a bit of color to it, and the temperature is 62F. The lake is also currently over a foot low, and seems to be slowly falling as the days progress. I made only 2 or 3 casts, then dropped the tube next to a piling in about ~25ft of water. I was watching the line as it was starting to sink and when it got down about 5-7ft deep, I saw the line stop. I immediately dropped the rod, reeled up the slack, and set the hook hard. First impression was I thought I just had a decent one on... then a few seconds later I knew I had a good one on... and when I got it near the surface and it started going crazy I knew I had a great one on (but I didn't think it was a PB). That was until I put it on the scale and learned that it was... 5lb 1oz, 21 & 1/2'' I will point out that my digital scale which I believe to be fairly accurate said 5lb 01oz (and I double checked the weight and even re-zeroed it). However my BogaGrip which is a $100+ fish gripper that can be officially certified said it was around 6lb. I don't know if I can believe it was 6lb... so for now I'm going with the lower weight that was on my digital scale. In the future I might decide to invest in a new scale (AccuScale) to be sure. Anyway I continued fishing to catch another 7-10 smaller bass and also hooked into a nice bonus fish. It was a great day, and just what I needed to spark my enthusiasm again. What a way to start my weekend... 86 Days Consistent. WolfyBrandon

First decent fish of the year! Bassresource scale puts it right at 5.5 lbs. Yesterday was a slow day, this ended up being the only fish I caught aside from a small one lost on a brush hog! Caught it at 7:30 p.m. on a dirty jigs green pumpkin finesse football jig:

Hi all with all the lure choices available if you could only have one "artificial" lure what would it be. Mine would be a Rebel wee craw but first thing I do is upgrade the hooks. Junebugman

War Eagle makes great spinnerbaits. Mostly what I use.

So far buffalo looks like....buffalo.

The true fixation is not on minimalism, it is on always bringing everything and encumbering yourself awkwardly with things you don't need and won't plausibly make use of during an outing. By selectively downsizing you save energy lugging it around, you reduce frustration of keeping track of it all, you save time searching through your stuff and making decisions about lure selection, and you cut the risk of losing or damaging some of it. You spend more time fishing and catching, and less time fiddling and fumbling with your equipment.

Yup A-Jay, that is a comprehensive write up on a very important topic. Very well done. I would only add one thing I find disturbing.. If folks are going to invest in auto inflation ( co2 cartridge actuated devices ) why not test them? Many never fire the life saving device, ever.. I'm of the opinion that they should be fired off & tested. Expense always seems to be the reason not to. I would say, skip the new crank baits, jigs, breakfast at Cracker Barrel, Starbucks coffee.. Anything, but test your device, your life may well depend on it.

Thanks A-Jay for the proficient advice.

As far as Dobyns rods go their 3 power is a medium. 703/733 is what you'd wanna look at.

Don't know either! But it feels so right. Thanks man.

You must have ESPN ! I was thinking the same thing. I have used this trick for many of years behind jet boats , inboard outdrives and outboards . Its always worked for me.

Yup some builds just make you think you've been sent for.

Another thought about getting back in your boat is to use the engine. If you have an electric tilt you can step on the lower unit then tilt the engine up to help you get back in.

Great looking combo. I particularly like the messy work station. It make me feel better about my mess.

Are you using size 1, 2 or 4 (not aught) ewg hooks for this? I use a 1/0 EWG. AND, I SHOULD MENTION, that I use a swivel with about a 24-30" leader above the hook - a single-tail grub will spin like crazy if you let it...

I would think hookup ratio would be terrible with circle hooks on a crankbait. The way they're designed to hook fish just doesn't seem like it would work well for them. Single hooks will work on a crank. You can also use a long shank, single hook ran through the back split ring but actually attached to the front split ring so it's not hanging down a long ways and isn't swinging around as much.

I'd stay away from the cranking sticks (or any cranking stick) for soft plastics, without a doubt. They're just too soft in the midsection of the rod, which works great for sticking fish with reaction lures, but would work very poorly for Texas Rigged baits. I tried my 705c Graphite with some soft jerkbaits, and it was not easy to drive some of the hooks home on long casts. What lures are you primarily going to be fishing with it? IAbass8 is 100% correct in his assessment of the Dobyns power-rating system. From what I've seen, the 3-powers are "mediums" and the 4-powers are "med-heavy" basically. Don't sleep on the 734c; it's the best "all-purpose" rod I've ever used. Hands down, my favorite next to the 744c, which has a little more backbone and excels at bottom-contact lures rather that "all-purpose". I own two 734 and use them for spinners, buzzers, spooks, chatterbaits, squarebills, lipless cranks, some swim jigs, soft jerkbaits, light T-rigs, you name it. They probably have more miles on them that any rod I own.

Owner sells single hook treble replacement hooks .

+1000!

5 stars my butt. You're ex sister in law is far from a 5 star escort. I give her a star because she's as big as a star.

Ok so here my latest.. I ordered a Powell Max 3D 734. I'll have it in hand Tuesday.

LOL exactly what I was thinking about people who buy shimano and daiwa... Why spend so much when you can just buy a a reel just as good if not better for way cheaper (Lew's)

In my last report, we were crushing largies in the deep weeds. Since then, that bite has died off a bit, but not before my buddy smoked a 6+ pounder, his biggest of the year. On Sunday we had a club tournament on a smaller lake and the weather was nuts. It was 8C (46F) with 40kmh winds and pouring rain. I could not figure the fish out. I tried fishing smallies, I tried largies in milfoil, on rocks. I fished slow, I fished fast. I had 1 small fish at 1pm. Then I punched a mat and got a fish over 4. I kept going. In the next 2 hours, I landed 12 more keepers and managed a 3rd place finish. Punching mats in 1-2 ft of water. I spent this past week exploring a bunch of smaller lakes in the Haliburtons. I went looking for big fish, but was instead rewarded with numbers. Big numbers. Over 2 days I landed close to 100 fish, mostly on jerkbaits in 18-45 feet of water. So much fun. Had a trip out to the main lake Simcoe yesterday, Found lots, but with high pressure and lack of wind, it was a tough bite. Still managed some good ones though.

Mini update

The Buzz Jet is a wake bait and it works well on a slow steady retrieve, but I found that if you vary your speed during a retrieve it makes it even more effective. I'm different than A-Jay as I don't pause them or any other wake bait, but I do like to speed up and slow down during the retrieve, this will often give you clues to how they want it. Sometimes the back has to be out of the water and other times that want the entire bait under the surface, but it is exciting to fish.

Excellent information A-Jay. As noted in earlier threads on this topic the majority of bass boat anglers only wear PFD's when required by tournament rules, otherwise they are stored. The suspenders types are the most common, about 50% are automatic inflation the other half manual Co2 cartridge types. If yoo are traveling at trolling motor speed, the suspenders will work if the cartridge works. If you have this type PFD keep the Co2 cartridge up to date! In my youth I water skied at high speeds and raced boats at very high speeds, hitting the water at over 50 mph will cause severe internal damage and can break arms and legs. PFD's for bass boats traveling over 50 mph, suspenders may not stay on, you need a high speed chest and neck protection that the padding and multiple straps provide. No PFD works stored, the kill switch doesn't work unless it's attached to you. If you fish alone you need to be able to get back into your boat after falling in the water. My boat doesn't have a swim step, so I use a heavy rope about 6' long attached to the rear cleat in a loop to use as a rope step, it works! Tom

I'd rather discuss the best rod for $100

I'd really like to turn this video into a sticky

With my experiences no, none of the fishing apps have been accurate for me, i catch alot of fish on poor days and no fish on good days. The most i use those apps for now is to get weather info and sun rise times

Good Idea testing your equipment. Not all of the five types of Personal Floatation Device are designed to re-right an unconscious victim. In fact only the Type I will do it with any regularity and not every time in every condition. Each type has it's pro's & con's along with varying levels of inherent flotation / Buoyancy. Along with meeting legal requirements, it's up to the user to get what's best for their particular needs. A false sense of security can sometimes be attributed to not being informed and thus having unrealistic expectations. A-Jay http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/pfdselection.asp#recreational http://mustangsurvival.com/blog/2011-04/five-types-pfds?country=25 ​ ​

He's just static testing it.

Excellent! I'd be excited about it. Even if it will have a Shimano on it. That rod would look cherce with a Certate.

That's why it's an indulgence. To me, it's worth it for the ergonomic and mechanical advantages afforded by casting gear. However, it is getting less expensive to go the BFS route. You can get a serious set up for about $350 if you shop around. I've seen Alphas sv105's go for $200 and major craft volkey bfs rods go for $150, both shipped. That's still a lot more than a spinning setup, yeah, but it is becoming more attainable.

6 lb. 14 oz. Quabbin Reservoir largemouth whupped May 6 on 8 lb. copolymer. She mistook a Super Fluke Jr., nose hooked, for a real meal.

I grew up in Boston. For many years, I chased striped bass up & down the east coast from North Caronilna to Maine. There's a lot to learn and much of it revolves around the migration & habitat. This is where the saltwater model is quite a bit different from the freshwater version. The two sites linked below have a ton of useful information to help you out. btw - it's really tough to beat live bait for trophy stripers. Good Luck A-Jay http://www.stripersonline.com/​ http://stripersurf.com/ ​

I don't fish tournaments so I don't have anything about that, however if I plan on going fishing and plan on going alone ( if buddy goes or not) and I ask a buddy to go for some company I expect to float the bill if he offers a little gas money sure I'll accept but on the flip side if a buddy asks me to take him fishing yes I expect half of gas or he fills up the boat and I fill up the truck or vice versa. Just my opinion

? Your revo sx should be just fine as a flipping reel. What rod is it on? (It doesn't much matter actually. ..) First of all. ....I believe you are actually talking about pitching - as spool tension is irrelevent when flipping. And when pitching- any decent reel will do the job just fine. Its only letting out 15yds of line or (much) less. I believe this is actually a case of bad technique than any sort of perceived gear issue. The only "problems" and hence only "advantages" you should be experiencing as a novice pitcher are distance and backlashing. Neither of which is specifically the reels fault. Your revo sx and any 6'6"+ rod should be able to pitch a 3/8oz jig all day just fine. If you're trying to pitch more than 30-40ft you should be casting. Especially since your new to the technique.