Leaderboard

Well the fishing season here is finally done. Temps forecasted in the 30s and 40s and lows in the 20s with snow. Decided to snap a few photos of the casting reels I finished the year with once I removed them from their respective rods. I will work on getting better pictures and lighting when I have more time. These were the "dirty dozen". Half Shimano and half Daiwa so there would be no hard feelings. Group shot of the chosen 12 The 50's For the Hawgtech boys! Some Alphas love! For the TDZ fans! Stealth mode! Team Shimano! Team Daiwa! I will do a photo update at a later date and also do combo photos with the rods. Fish slime to be added later though all have caught and reeled in fish. This will have to do for now.

The bass just taught you the #1 rule of bass fishing which clearly states there aint no rules in bass fishing!

Yep, and it didn't even take 2 whole pages to get there. There's tons of reviews out there on reels, all are going to be subjective, and probably a little bias. Best option is to get somewhere you can compare reels side by side and decide which you actually like best. Bring the rod you want to put them on if possible. Now with that said, LOCKDOWN!!

Is the exsence's drag sound really exciting? Lol

After 20 plus years, no one in your house has figured out how to cook a turkey?

I'd like a calendar with no December, January, or February.

I got out today on southern Lake Champlain to see what was shakin'. On my last trip out, on Veterans' Day, the water was 47* and the fish were willing. I picked up several decent largemouths and a couple of nice smallies. Today was a different story. The water temp was down to just below 45* , a cold front had moved in, and the largemouths were not playing. I threw a lightly-weighted T-rigged Senko in the same spots I hit them on Wednesday. No dice. They didn't want a jig, either. I tied on a blade bait and immediately caught a five or six pound pike. A couple of casts later, a big white perch ate it. No bass. I finally resorted to the ol' Ned Rig and started catching some smallmouths. I got a half-dozen; all the same small size: about 1 1/2 pounds. The wind started blowing out of the North at a pretty good clip. At one point, I was casting straight into it and could feel the line fluffing up on my reel. I turned the magnetic cast control way up and threw again. Major league backlash! I looked at the cast control to find that I turned it way DOWN, not way up! Oops!! Oh well... I needed to put fresh line on that reel anyway. ;-) Eight fish in eight hours of fishing. Not great, but I guess it beats getting skunked! I have tomorrow off and will most likely try again. It will be a little cooler tomorrow with the morning temperature at 26* and a forecasted high of 46*. I have a good feeling it will be my last day out for the season. Tight lines, Bob

Had to get some house work done this weekend, but found an opportunity to get out for a few hours Sunday evening and I'm glad I did! Drove a little further than usual to a lake that is supposed to have some above average sizes and "relatively low fishing pressure". Launched around 1:30 or so and around 2:30 found my first bite of the day and it was a GOOD ONE. OF COURSE the big fish of the day came on the Siebert Outdoors jig, dredge brush w/owner hook black/green color with a rage craw trailer. actually had already made the pitch to cover and was swimming it back when it SLAMMED my jig! 5lb1oz on the scales and a beauty of a fish! missed a couple more bites after that, one on a spinnerbait and one on a worm. But then, about 30 or 40 minutes before dark it really started up. all the critters were moving and the water started to show some life. I managed to bag 4 on the Terminator T1 spinnerbait right before dark. they were 2 at 3# and 2 at 1-1.5#. each one of them absolutely choked the bait too. really nice way to spend the evening after doing some solid house work! Few pics of the big girl and one of the 3's:

The majority of what you read is based on large southern reservoirs with largemouth bass and Shad as baitfish. You can't apply everything you read to a northern River. Tom

I recall reading an article about an individual in scuba gear who was pounding a metal pole while underwater as a part of a dock project. He said he felt a "funny" feeling, like someone was watching him. He turned around to see at least 20 largemouth bass looking at him. The noise and pounding vibrations attracted the bass. As I have posted previously, in one of the Bigmouth productions Uncle Homer Circle said he and Glen Lau noticed that a large female bass would move into structure when she heard the trolling motor. That bass was condition to hearing (or feeling) trolling motors and connecting them with getting caught so she backed off and hid. Hank Parker says to walk at least 50-feet away from the bank when changing places while pond fishing. I have seen bass react to my walking to the bank as they darted away. I would have thought they saw me approaching but they ran away before I got 10-feet from the bank. They must have felt my walking vibrations. We all know that sound travels much faster and farther in water than in air. So a radio or TV may not penetrate the water's surface, especially if there is wind or "chop" on the water. However, if we transmit any sound from the bank or boat into the water via any means, all animals within a "specific distance" in the water will either hear or feel the vibrations. Some of these animals will ignore the sound and vibrations while others will move away or towards the source. As with your favorite baits and tactics, if you believe noise and vibrations entering the water system will have a negative impact on the animals then try to be as silent as you can. If as with your favorite baits and tactics, if you do not believe noise and vibrations entering the water system will have a negative impact on the animals then don't worry about it. Bass boats have carpeted floors. Not for looks but to mute any sound emanating from the boat. I would think bass fishermen would be very upset to fish out of a bass boat without any carpeting. Some of us do fish out of metal and plastic boats and do very well catching fish. However, I believe bass fishermen like the carpeting to mute any sounds they make while moving around in the boat. Stealth is your friend. You don't want to do anything to spook that "personal best" that is waiting for you right around the bend. So I am taking the position that noise matters. Not all the time; but noise from you and your boat can have a negative impact on your prey.

Lars you would probably be better to go and check out each reel seperate and maybe mount on a rod to see which one feels better to you. See if the dealer will let you try casting a plug. Asking which reel is better on this forum, or any forum in that case, tends to flip the kindergarten playground switch of mine is better than yours mentality and you will never get a straight answer. Unfortunately, your question will receive very subjective answers and it will end up only you can answer by doing a side by side comparison. I have to believe there is a bait shop or shops around you that sell the 2 brands for you to check out.

I think there's times it makes a difference. I try to be quiet but I know the pinging of my depthfinders and whirring of the trolling motor are way louder than I'd like to think.

The mere click of the thumb bar on my reel has been known to give bass lock-jaw. Some kinda medical condition I suppose.

You won't find any of my baits in trees, a telescoping lure retriever insures that. When I find someone else's bait in the tree, it does a great job getting that bait out too.

Why did you not have an "all of the above" option??

Lotsa anecdotes/evidence on both sides. Sure you can startle fish, and some things are more apt to do this than others. Fish can also be attracted by disturbances. Both are influenced by context. Here's a quick anecdote: My very young son was with me on a pond and he started tapping a light wand of a stick onto the surface at pond edge, just watching the ripples he could make. Soon the bluegills got interested too. It wasn't long after that that some large eyes and striped sides appeared. Pretty cool. One thing seems to be consistent: Once you've spooked em, you can't attract them. Worth avoiding the former before trying the latter.

I posted a a few nice things about Rainshadow blanks, and my Alps power wrapper. The Batson folks shot me a PM and offered some "swag" for my good comments. I told not necessary, but they insisted. Got a nice package from them about a month ago. Yes, I'm very delinquent in my expression of thanks. Sorry; better late than never, eh? I got two nice hats, some decals, and a really nice Team Rainshadow long sleeve tee; in XL size. Too bad I'm not an XL kinda guy. I'm a 3XL kinda guy. My wife appropriated the shirt. She doesn't wear a tee often, but when she does, she likes "em big, loose and baggy. She likes the shirt, and has already worn it more than I thought she would. So, to the folks at Batson Enterprises, I appreciate the efforts on your part, tuning in here; keeping your finger on the pulse of the fishing world, as it were. It's nice knowing I can make a comment or suggestion, and have it heard. That is all too often not the case. Thanks for making the effort. Cheers, GK

Who ever thought they'd put my ugly mug on a mag cover? No joke man, you're crazy to not sign up for this thing.

I thought I would share this with everyone. It is a video I did last night where I tested seven different trailers on a swim jig to see how each worked. It was eye opening for me, hope it helps others out too.

Ok, I went back and it was there. It's actually a concrete statue, owners must have put it there to scare people, it worked!

I have more St Croix (7) than any other, so I guess they are my favorite. Next is Daiwa and Setyr(6ea). Everything else is a one of; Kistler, Airrus, Fenwick, Pinnacle and Dobyns. I like them all, except that Dobyns Champion. Don't like it at all. It's good for swatting snakes, and that's about it.

What do you want to know, I have well lets say A LOT. I have all three sizes, and all three gear raitos in the 100 size. Actually have 2 of the 6.4's, 2 of the 7.1's, and a 5.3. All are smooth, nice casting (although some people do have issues trying to dial them in), they are comfortable to fish, and so far have held up quite well. Have any questions just ask and I'll try and answer it the best I can.

Empirical: based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. There is plenty of empirical data for both cases to be firmly made; I believe this is another subject that can not be resolved until we sit down and interview a bass. From my youth until today I'll not only walk the bank at water's edge but will often wade calf to thigh deep and still catch bass. On the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend at about mid-lake is Fort Polk, the Army's only Combat Training Center. On certain days they have live fire pratice with M119A2 105mm Howitzers, not only can you hear it but you feel it in you chest and it vabrates the entire landscape under the lake. Does not effect the bass in any way

You could always try.......bacon:

The selection is somewhat limited as well. St Croix, Rainshadow, MHX have robust lines.

The truth is that I will sometimes use a trailer and sometimes not. It depends on the hair jig I'm using, if I'm fishing a marabou jig, I'm usually using 1/16oz to 1/8oz range and it will never have a trailer. Now buck tail is different, sometimes I'll tie on a rabbit zonker on the back and that will act as a trailer, but I also just leave it with plain buck tail and if I need more bulk to entice the fish or perhaps to slow the fall, I'll use a either a Zoom tiny salty chunk or a Venom lures Ron Yurko Finesse chunk. Rabbit hair is the same, and I tie one that I intended to use with a trailer all the time. I know this is more confusing than ever but here is the way I go about it. If the water is stained, then I'm using a trailer, iff I'm not getting any bites, and I'll fish it for an hour, depending on water temp, before I take it off and use it without. If I'm fishing in clear water and the temp has dropped or stayed the same, I'll go without a trailer, if there is a warming trend I'll add a trailer as sometimes a slight uptick in water temp will make them a little more active and the larger fish will hit the bulkier jig. That is about the only way I can explain, it is trial and error, good luck.

Congrats on the find but the cop in me wants to know where the sellers got the rod and reel from.

I have and have quite a few of them. They are nice baits and at that price a great find/steal. Look up the baits on TW. Several reviews there for you to read.

It clearly is, says so right there on the box.

Maybe Shimano cares about fixing that in future reels so they asked him to send it in? How is it a joke to want to fix things in future reels that could be a problem? Do you want to keep having to replace the new handles in future models?

i prefer turkey but we always have both. To me though it is all about the sides....the meat of choice is an afterthought

I think the clearer the water, the clearer the skies, the calmer the wind, the more stealth matters (and often making longer casts). Classic finesse conditions. Water with a little stain, cloud cover or low light, a little breeze disturbing the surface, the odds start tipping in our favor and stealth matters less. Classic power fishing conditions.

Like others have mentioned it depends on the situation. Even then, sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't. Say you moonshot a jig right on top of a bass near the shore. Some days he reacts instantly and crushes it, other days he might think its a bird trying swoop down and eat him so he flees in terror. I try to be as quiet as possible with out making it a chore to do so. If I accidentally slam a rod-locker I'm not gonna assume the fish in the area are spooked and leave.

The local PA trees love a good topwater lure.

I thought the OP was joking, but reading his other posts in this thread, maybe that is incorrect. It is absolutely not a grinnel, a sturgeon, or an alligator gar as none of those fish look like this. I am quite certain this an inanimate object. You said it rained 4 inches in the last 36 hours. Is this near a playground or some other area that became submerged from the heavy rain? On another note, I took the following picture on a lake near my house. We were all terrified and I will never fish that lake again.

Tight lines, Chef ... I mean, Bob

3.3 Keitech rigged on a 1/2football, reel as slow as possible back to the boat.

Plenty of opinions for this question. In my experience, Gamakatsu. That's just my opinion....

I hate fundraisers....I mean I hate them with a passion. That being said....My son's baseball team's organization has come up with what I think is a pretty cool fundraiser. They are raffling off 6 fireams.....I just love the fact that it is not candy, cookies, popcorn...it is firearms. SMITH & WESSON MP SHIELD .40 CAL PISTOL REMINGTON 783 308 RIFLE REMINGTON 700 270 RIFLE BENELLIE SUPERNOVA 12 GAUGE SHOTGUN SMITH & WESSON MP15 22 RIFLE HIGHPOINT 995 TX 9MM RIFLE They have done other things....like golf tourneys, college sporting event concession work, ect. But this one is by far the best idea they have had...in my opinon........I like the idea that it that it helps reinforce the 2nd ammendment right with the kids. I am so tired of the politically correct crud we have to put up with. Whatever happened to the 'take responsibilty for your actions' or ' self accountabilty' ? Why do people think that their right to dislike something should trump another persons right to like it? Sorry...didn't mean to get up on the soapbox. Just wanted to share what I consider a great idea and maybe let the idea spread to others.

Did I get it right quakenshake? Lol

Typical lews stuff. Knobs peel, brakes turn themselves on, and level wind sticks.

You may be right. Even with a perfect cast, a squarebill is often deep in the woods! Having spent a lot of time night fishing I agree with Tom and A-Jay. There are times when the lost bait is easier to accept than the professional overrun that goes with it.

Way to stick with it ~ Congrats Good Luck tomorrow Stay Safe A-Jay

Checking the auctions every day for a green I'ze Personal to match my NRX. Maybe a red one too. You know, Christmas colors. If I end up with gift cards or some $ left after I buy presents for everyone, hellooo XX Tour Versatile.

Is this a new topic from your new reel post regarding Lew's BB2, you owe answers to a few replies. Tom

Cowards wont even stand up and fight. Gotta recruit teens, sucker punch the innocent, duck out instead of facing repercussions. These people are the worst of the worst. Hell is too good of a punishment for these dogs.

That new Lund will have a lot better rod storage

If Charlie Brown was an angler he would throw squarebills!

I keep them sealed in their packages in my house.

I don't know who the mastermind is behind Tackle Warehouse, but he should be the one buying out Cabelas, not BPS.