Leaderboard

Added these this month.

This was a super secret present so I did not show it during the build. So in mid October I get a FB message from Stephanie, a very stressed out Bride to be. Her Fiance had broken his favorite rod a few months ago and her surprise wedding gift was a custom to replace it. The "friend of a friend" builder that had agreed to build it is nowhere to be found and the wedding is six weeks away. I talk her down off the ledge, tell her to worry about more important things, and I will have her rod done in plenty of time to be the very cool wedding present it is going to be. Here is the build. MHX L 904 MM 7-6 light saltwater blank Microwave guides in black duralite AERO spinning seat in black EVA grips Custom camo paint

I saw a lot of this on another forum, but I haven't seen an all-encompassing post on this site for it. 2016 looks to be a huge year for Shimano, and a handful of Hagane styled reels will be coming out. Here's a list with pictures. -Shimano Curado 70 -Shimano Scorpion 70 -Shimano Aldebaran BFS -Shimano Stille 100 -Shimano Casitas 100 -Shimano Metanium MGL -Shimano Caenan 150 -Shimano Antares DC -Shimano Bantam Rods

I'm a Boca dealer. All you need for a reel is ABEC5 for a reel. The sustained speeds aren't there to benefit from 7s. Of course there are other good brands but counterfeiting is a problem in the industry. Super Tuning has nothing to do with bearings. It's a process of polishing of internal parts. Lastly, Spool spin times are meaningless in the big picture. I can get 30sec free spool from most reels with properly cleaning and lubrication. If you'd like advice on improving your specific reel, contact me and I'll tell you how to get the biggest bang for your buck.

Take her to the vet. That is not normal behavior. If she doesn't mess in her kennel, keep her kenneled when you are away. She may be bonded to your girl friend and experience separation anxiety when she is gone. That is also why some dogs chew things including the clothing of the person whose absence is troubling. They equate the scent with that person. One thing you should do is watch her like a hawk, and keep her in your presence. As soon as she starts to go, tell her to stop and whisk her outside. Confine her to the room where you are. Baby gates are a great invention to contain dogs to a certain area. You should never "correct" a dog for any behavior after the fact. They need to associate the act with displeasing you. By nature, though it doesn't seem that way, dogs crave your approval, and behave accordingly. Punishing them after the fact only confuses them. For instance, you enter the house and see the dog has made a mess, chewed a chair leg, pulled a hunk of meat off the counter, etc. The dog comes running to greet you and you scold them for what they did in your absence. It won't be long before the dog stops running to greet you. They will associate your scolding with your return.

Steez= Ferrari Steez TWS= Ferrari with a bumper sticker. I'm sure it will be a winner though.

A 7" MS Slammer in Hitch color caught me a very thick, bug-eyed old gal that went 6 on the nose.

Here we go again. Knocking a reel before anyone has even laid a finger on it. For starters I think from this one isolated picture this reel looks incredible. People, the consumer are the one's who blew this T wing thing way out of proportion. All of my T3 variants have SV spools in them and they are incredible casting machines. No denying that. Wasn't the idea behind the T Wing to decrease line angles so you can can achieve the same cast regardless where your line guide was when you disengage the reel? If people were expecting to gain 20 yards on a cast the fault and disappointment is there own imo. Daiwa isn't ruining anything imo. If you don't want a T Wing Steez there are plenty of other Steez options readily available. I for one am looking forward to several Daiwa new releases this year. Alphas Air, Zillion SV TW and this. Haters gonna hate. Yes, I'm a fan boy

While I do love getting smallies to blow up on a fast moving spook, I look forward to that spring jerkbait bite way more than I do the topwater. I only got after them a few times with jerkbaits this year, but it always produces some of my biggest smallies of the year. This year, it produced the 2 largest in fact.

Crazy deal on Shimano Zodias that I found locally. Literally under 2 for 1 So I don't feel too too bad...Couldn't help myself.

They misrepresent the ABEC rating not the brand. You don't need to own and operate a manufacturing facility to ensure quality and stand behind what you sell. Lews never made a reel but to say the Chinese reels on eBay are the same would be rediculous. Bearing upgrades are (or should be) largely an enthusiast endeavor which are rarely done on a shoestring budget. For a couple extra bucks per reel you can be sure you're getting what you think you're getting.

How's this for a "first cast" experience?: I fish this one place with stained water where for whatever reason the bass love firetiger crankbaits burned as fast as possible. The louder and bigger and more obnoxious the bait the better. So I got the bright idea that two of my favorite Crankin Raps had to be better then one, and put them on a YUM double up rig. First cast I flung this rig towards a likely spot and with a quick snap of my line I watched the two cranks fly off together like a pilot with his wingman close behind. They floated, but were quickly drifting away on the current. I hastily tied on the biggest, heaviest bait I could find - a 3/4 oz RES and chucked it as hard as I could toward the pair of cranks leisurely floating away. Not sure if it was the hasty knot or the heavy weight but either way it was on the first cast that that thing also snapped off, landing just beyond the cranks. Three lures and a double up rig in two casts... (I got very lucky and the cranks drifted into a shallow bay nearby, and I managed to snag them with a well-placed buzzbait hit, but only after 1/2 hour of "target practice" aiming at the cranks with the buzzbait).

7.2 Pound Largemouth: Caught on corn while grass carp fishing

Heres a lil gator I caught on a D bomb.

Thats like saying your kids can watch porn but cant do it until they get pubes. Your kids..you raise them how you wish.

Though the water temp is not mentioned - given what else is provided, I'd expect some bass to be sucked up tight to whatever cover there was. I'd have fished a Black/blue jig & craw all day in the thickest stuff I could find. A-Jay

Just seeing them hanging on a branch out of reach is the worst

Why would you allow a 6 year old to watch Lone Survivor or American Sniper? lol

I've often wished companies would sell baits cheaper and not put any hooks on them.

Let me be the first to congratulate bassfanatic and his dad on the first place finish in the bass champs tourn on Rayburn today. Took first place by 2 pounds. Great win for a great team. Awesome memories that won't so be forgotten!

We are extremely excited for Wes and his accomplishment. Here are his details with his permission to post. Here is my story: There was no epic battle with climatic finish. There was no bravado, no yelling or touchdown celebrations. This is a story about two knuckle heads doing voice impersonations while swinging 1lb spots into each other. This is a story about my iPhone dying, very bad cell service, a lot of luck and most importantly my friends rallying around me. In this story, the Department of Fish and Wildlife went above and beyond their call of their duty to provide guidance to two guys who weren’t prepared for what transpired that day and who didn’t bring enough cold weather gear. This is a story of one leftover Christmas ham sandwich and one pending world record spotted bass. This story starts back in November. I was originally suppose to get out on the water the last weekend in November up to the lake but,my wife pulled my yard pass on account of bad behavior and put me on landscaping duty. As a result, I had to reschedule the trip. I will never forget the look on my wife's face when I showed her the amazing fish that Paul Bailey had caught that weekend. She apologized several times but still didn't pull me from landscaping duty. Fast-forward a month later. I finally got back out on the water on December 27, 2015. My former tournament partner, John and I were running late to get up to the Lake; so late that literally we only fished for four hours or so. The day was an uneventful. After about an hour we finally started catching some dinks. We moved spot to spot catching a small fish here and there. About 2:00pm we pull up to a SSDD spot. At that point I mentally kind just checked out. I mean I was full on sitting in the old-man chair, sandwich in one hand jig rod in the other dragging a jig on the back deck. I make a cast and I get bit right away. My drag slips and I boat another dink. I remember that was odd and realized I had not adjusted my drag since my last trip in November. I adjust the drag and make the same cast. This time my sandwich is in my mouth, water bottle in between my legs and I get bit. Again my drag slips and now I am like "great, my reel is jack". I quickly reel up the line and see the color of the fish. I tell John get the net. She made one dive and with four full turns of my reel she was in the net. The whole ordeal was a whooping 8-10 seconds. At this time, I am still grubbing my ham sandwich and John tells me "Hey bud, she is big. She is a Double and might be in contention for the world record." I stand up and see her and immediately and get his live-well going. At this point I am concerned about the fish as I do this with all of my big fish. So we get her in the box, I text my friends for help on what to do. While I am waiting for cell service for my text to go through we hung her on John's cheap mustad scale and she bounces between 11.4lbs and 11.05lbs. The scale eventually settled at 11.05lbs on the water. At this point, I remember all the issues Paul had with trying to get his fish submitted. Then I began to worry about what I was going to do because like Paul, I was not willing to kill the fish just for a record. He did the right thing I planned to follow suit. Just then my phone gets reception and my friend tells me he has two certified scales was now running across the lake to get the certified scales. This whole time I was pretty much just in shock and I felt bad that he was going to come over 3 hours to meet me. I squeak out One last call to my amazing wife that I won't be home for dinner. It is now 3:30pm and my phone has died. He boarded our vessel and checked out the fish. Unfortunately, he didn't have a certified scale. The reality is it is not part of their job at all. Their job is to protect our California wildlife resources and prevent related crime. So here we are unprepared on all fronts, in the dark and the temp is dropping into the thirties when we finally see headlight coming down the hill towards the ramp. At this time it had been 4 hours since he left his house. Tim gets out of his car and walks me through everything I needed to do. It as at that point I realized exactly how out of his way he came. He literally left the warm of his home and his family to drive in the snow on his day off 4 hours away to help me, (who he had met twice before) potentially beat his world record. I literally had to say it out loud to him and John for it to set in, for me to realize exactly what a stand up guy he is. Tim walked me through all the steps that I need to do just to be able to submit the application for my fish for a world record. In the end, she settle at 11.00lbs even on Tim's certified scale and was released back into the lake. In the end, I was highly unprepared. I have amazing friends who rallied around me to get help when I needed it. My Setup: The fish ate a 3/4 oz football jig from Siebert Outdoors in a custom color I had him make. Mike is a great guy who offers a quality jig at a reasonable price and will make any color pattern you request. Check him out at Siebert Outdoors. The rod was a Dobyns 744c DX paired with tuned 100 Lexa. I apologized for not responding to people who inquired about my fish several weeks ago. I wasn't ready at that time to tell my story and I really didn't plan on telling it today. I will never forget that day and I am ever grateful for what everyone did to helped my very unprepared self. California has some amazing fisheries and I am confident the record will be broken again. Tight lines.

So I bought the house on Lowery a couple of years ago thinking of it as a weekend get-a-way and eventual retirement home. Well, that plan got accelerated, with the divorce final now, it is my full time home. I did not want to mention the divorce until it was over. I can say this, I'm happier than I have been in nearly a decade, my life is back on track and life is good. I had been working off plastic tables and honestly not doing much in the last few months but I had been planning this rod shop for over a year now. Yesterday I finally got started, it's close to complete. I'm going to build a few rods like it is to see if I want to make changes and then I will finish and paint it. 10 ft 2 in by 26 in work bench

And they miss a FG.....wow if anybody uses twitter, the memes going around about russel wilson are hilarious.

Somewhere Macklemore is crying, possibly in Russell Wilson's pool. I love it.

I think Shimano has hit more "Home runs" than Daiwa has in 2015 and 2016 and I am now exclusively fishing both brands. I will let the dust settle and see what is left by spring when a few new things should be officially introduced by both parties. I have had my Tatula for about a year and half and haven't had any grooving issues. Love the reel just not crazy about the frame. At this point I don't have a strong preference on the T-wing system yet...

How was that even possible? They won't be available for 2 more weeks. Maybe you were able to help Doc fix the Flux capacitor? ?

Hello, OK, here's what I see. 1. She sees the house as a part of her toilet. This is because of the lingering scents from past pottying tells her to. You need to clean these spots thoroughly. Use a mixture of dish soap, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. The exact mix can be found online. There are also commercial cleaners which get the scent completely out. 2. Rubbing her nose in it does nothing. You need to correct the action while she's in the act. Get a pop can, fill it with pennies, and tape the top. Shake it. She won't like this sound and when she squats in the house, start shaking it immediately. Grab her by the scruff of the neck and lead her outside. 3. Praise her when she potties outside. Act like it's the greatest thing you've ever seen. Give food and pettin'. 4. Crate her when she's alone. She will come to love her crate. It's her space and her space only. Do not allow others inside the crate, including playing kids. If she potties in the crate, then there's something wrong with her and you'll need to talk to the vet about it. 5. Dogs who tear things up are anxious. Your dog chewing like she did and pooping in front of your door is simply her telling you that she is insecure and it's your fault. Are you the clear leader? Do you control the food, or can she just eat whenever? That said: 6. Control the food. He who controls the food is boss. Do not let her eat before you eat. Do not let her eat without permission. Keep the food bowl covered with your hand and progress to teaching her to eat on command. Some dogs need this and from what you describe, she's one of them. 7. Pet appropriately. Scratch her ears. Play with the top of her muzzle. Rub her belly. Play with her rump and tail. Hug her. At no time kiss her on the muzzle or anywhere else. Allow her to lick your chin, though. 8. Do not rant, rave, or yell. Be firm and commanding. When you give a command, act like you're giving an order to a subordinate in the military. Do not yell if she doesn't snap to, though. Use a firm, "No," and that rattle can you made. 9. Keep commands to two syllables or less. Accompany with hand commands. Dogs do not understand speech well. They do understand gestures and body language much better. 10. Pick up a book on dog language. Even if you think you know dog language, pick one up anyway. You'll learn something. I've done this all my life and still learn a new meaning now-and-again. Dog language is a pretty intricate thing. Good luck. Keep us posted. Regards, Josh

Just to be clear, when bassinlou said run the motor, it needs to run with earmuffs off the garden hose. IMO If you plan on keeping the boat awhile and can afford it, there are a few upgrades I think that would make your boat ownership experience an enjoyment than a regret. Tracker is known for skimping on things to keep the price point attractive. A few upgrades and your overall boating experience will be much more positive. If you are able, max out the HP If you are able, upgrade to a 24v trolling motor If I had to make a choice with the above, I'd max out the trolling motor before I got a bigger motor. Let's face it a Pro 160 isn't built for speed. You spend more time using the trolling motor than the big motor, you might as well make that the first upgrade. A must have is an onboard charger with 1 bank per battery. Don't let anyone tell you only need a charger for the trolling motor batteries. In theory, the outboard will keep the starting battery charged. If you are not making long runs this will not be the case and one day you'll be at the ramp and the motor wont start because the last few trips you didn't drive it enough. The standard 3" graphs that Tracker puts on their boats are cute. Not real practical but cute. Normally only one on the console is included. I would recommend getting a minimum 5" graph at both the console and the bow. Invest in some decent dock lines. If the boat is not going to be stored in the garage, buy a cover. Get a transom saver for towing, it is not included with the boat. Boat buckles on the trailer are a nice option. Keep a small tool kit onboard Follow the motor manufacturers instructions during the break in period. The manufacturer reserves the right to decline warranty coverage if the procedure is not followed properly. Treat your fuel on every fill up. Seafoam is a good product to get in the habit of using. Mercury makes their own fuel treatments as well. You need a PFD for every passenger. You need a throwable cushion. You need a marine rated fire extinguisher. You need a first aid kit. If the boat doesn't come with a horn, you need a horn in a can.-If you ever get boarded by the DNR or Coast Guard, they will be looking for these items and will ticket you for not having them. I advise you to check the requirements for your local waters to see if there are any special requirements. Take a boaters safety course and enjoy your time on the water.

A 30 size President on a 6' 8" M/F Ethos and 8lb gamma copolymer

Ugly stick BPS glass rods (the yellow ones)

Are you letting the dog watch american sniper?

Can't go wrong with the Rapala DT series....

I was probably 15 when I first started reading about Spoonplugging in one of the first yearly issues of "The Fisherman's Bible", back in the 50's. Back then I couldn't afford to buy a "set" of spoonplugs, but I gleaned every bit of bass knowledge I could from reading that article, as well as many others, written by Buck Perry, in "Fishing Facts" magazine. The knowledge is still with me today and it still amazes me that many, many fishermen haven't read his book, "Spoonplugging". I wonder, how many fishermen actually know what "structure" really is? Often times when fishing with a partner, I'll see him point to a stump and say, "There's a nice piece of structure!". FYI: you can still buy his books and "lessons" online on his site. Priceless.

I'M GOING TO NEED A FEW MONTHS TO GET OVER THIS ONE.

There's no need for all the different sizes unless you find the progression aesthetically pleasing. On a typical bass Rod you technically don't need anything bigger than the level wind line guide. Generally I use a double foot 6 right into the running guides.

The game we thought was a cake walk was,so far, game of the playoffs. Car vs sea has a lot to live up to

Green Bay's D will be having nightmares for a while. Good Night Irene. A-Jay

Larry Fitz..you're the best. Well deserved. That mans plays are why ARI won.

This is NUTZ ! A-Jay

Omg. . Fitz...

Nothing like Play Off OOOO-Va Time . . . . A-Jay

Wow! Just frigging wow... this has been a crazy game & Rodgers throws another hail mary.. Unbelievable..

Why I am a better swim jig fisherman than you. I have fished the swim jig a lot and have many patterns with it for different times of the year. Just like anything else it doesn't always catch them but I have figured out enough patterns to keep it tied on all year. First off a usually throw it on a 6' 10" medium heavy action rod. I like this rod because the rod being a little shorter makes it easier to cast in hard to reach places. I use a 7 to 1 gear ratio reel because sometimes burning the bait can cause reaction strikes. Also sometimes the fish eat the bait and runs towards you so its easier to catch up and set the hook. I usually throw it on 15lb fluorocarbon line since its sort of a finesse technique. If the water is a little more stained you can get away with throwing it on 15lb braid. Some of the seasonal patterns and colors I use. Usually the swim jig bite picks up when the water gets around 60 in the spring. That time of year I throw a crawdad colored swim jig since the craws are usually out and about. Then around spawn and especially post spawn I match it to a bluegill color. The fry guarders go crazy for it and it seems to get the bigger bites even when the females are still lethargic from the spawn. Then in the summer this year I started experimenting with deeper swim jigs like a 3/4 ounce. Around that time I change to a shad color and also throw the shad color in the fall but switch to a lighter jig. The swim jig bite usually goes pretty far into the fall. Usually I throw a rage craw as a trailer but sometimes throw a bigger craw and rip off some of the back of it. Sometimes the bigger profile with more vibration works but usually the rage craw is the ticket since its very subtle and natural looking. In the summer and fall I sometimes switch to a 5 inch white swimbait for a trailer as well. For retrieves usually you just reel at a moderate speed and fish it like you would fish a spinnerbait. Sometimes burning it can be good and sometimes letting it fall by cover gets a lot of bites. Just like anything else experiment with retrieves until you find what the fish want. Just hold on because some of the strikes are very violent. I hope some of this helps I think the swim jig is overlooked a lot and fish dont see them as much as a spinnerbait or chatterbait. It has helped me catch a lot of fish even on tough bites when it seems like they wont hit anything else.

I hear ya, it's kind of funny every year they say the reel is X% lighter than previous model, and casts Y% better. Seems like by now they should be weightless and cast to the moon. Reels have as many catch phrases as new cars.

Well first thing I see is muddy water? Like A-Jay said (beat me to it) no water temp mentioned? If the outside air was 54 I'm guessing it was a cold rain....cold muddy water not much fun. Jig with a rattle in black and blue or any other color that is black and blue fished tight to cover. Cast, sip coffee, shake, sip coffee, wait, shake again, sip coffee. Wait. Move slightly and repeat. I'd stay out of any shade areas, fish sunny spots in the afternoon (let things warm up) and enjoy the outdoors.

Aruku shad..casted it and for a split second i thought i made the furthest cast ever. It went 100 yards..no line attached.

The lews speed spool lfs is right at $100.

I use a single Talon on a 20ft boat. IMO unless you bed fish a lot or need to hold the boat nose forward in heavy current, I feel it is not needed. As far as the pivot, use the pivot to your advantage. I can pull in between 2 docks and use the trolling motor in conjunction with the anchor to fish both docks without moving the boat. You can always order 1 and if you feel you need a second at a later date, then order it.

Money saving tip #1: Block BR, 'that auction site' and all international storefronts from your browser haha Really though, elaztechs whenever possible and mend-it for all the other soft baits. Plastics are often overlooked in terms of expense, but the longer they last the less they cost. One would be wise to squeeze every cast possible out of a bait before you retire it. I throw all my broken plastics in a ziploc bag and go through them when I get home to see if anything is salvageable, there always is. In terms of hard goods like rods and reels I enjoy having nice things so I patiently watch and wait until I can find a really good deal on something. I'm honestly not willing to skimp on any link in the rod-reel-line Holy Trinity so I have to make up ground elsewhere, be it a reel that needs repair or one that has a bit of age, etc. I am pretty much maxed out for rod slots right now too, so I have to sell something to get something and rolling the sale money into the purchase of the next item helps take some out-of-pocket sting out. Also I've recently developed a way to help my passion pay for itself. I originally got a cheap aluminum boat for the simple fact that I couldn't afford a bigger better one. I've been a custom metal fabrication guy pretty much my whole life, so it obviously ended up turning into a project that spiraled into an actual long-term plan after I experienced nonstop positive feedback everywhere I brought it. Long story short, in the past year I've started plucking cheap but solid aluminum boats off CL and stockpiling them over the winter. Come spring I will have a couple fully rebuilt like the one I made for myself (shown below) so I can sell them, reinvesting the cash threefold: a ~5hp or less gas motor for my boat shown below (I want to Quabbin seal it this year), a new kayak and at least one more project boat to rehab and flip to keep the work/gear/cash/fish/rinse/repeat flow alive. See, I may not *have* the money for much of what I want, but with hard work and some determination I know I can work my way into where I want to be over time and that's important to remember. Having a side gig does help compartmentalize the cost of fishing though too. My PayPal is almost like my ghetto fishing/business account lol. I mean, who wouldn't want one of these little guys? Full custom configuration too, imagination and money are the only limiting factors for a buyer. So yeah, it's all about examining your strengths and developing a plan to get where you want to be. There's always a way, even if it requires a lot of effort, time, research and planning. Anything worth having is worth earning though IMO. I don't mind spending dough because I like nice things, but I do need to feel like I got a good value before I will spend my hard earned cash, that much I will say for sure.