Leaderboard

I have been a "member" on here for a few years but I never post anything. I feel bad as I browse throughout the forum, picking up tips and information on all sorts of everything and never have anything to contribute. Literally, every time I do a Google search about something bass related, this site is usually at the top of the results and with multiple articles. This year is the first year that I have actually committed to bass fishing. Ever since I discovered a top water frog and a honey hole to winch out lunkers. I've been updating my arsenal of fishing gear mainly based on what I've learned from here, combined with my quirky preferences which may work against me in some cases. I have 3 Shimano Curado's (201I hg, 71hg, 71xg) and a PENN Conflict 2500. I'm gung-ho for St. Croix rods - have my spinning outfit on a Triumph 6'6" med fast. Casting outfits on Triumph 6'6" med/heavy fast, Premier 7'0" heavy fast and still need a third. Looking forward to jumping into the world of jigs this coming spring and I'd like to use my 7'0" heavy fast paired with the 71xg for frogging and as a heavy cover jig rod. Was thinking of a 6'6" - 7'0" med fast to cover most other jigging. At any rate, I don't want to ramble, just wanted to say thanks! -Tom

This certainly is nowhere near the quality of the Legend model, but a couple months ago I got the St Croix Mojo Glass target cranker 6'10" MM. This is my first glass rod, but I've been very happy with it. It's only 4.3oz, good sensitivity, and plenty of backbone once loaded up. I've thrown lots of sizes and styles of crankbaits with it and had nothing but good experiences. There are definitely some features on the Legend that I envy; the mojo has alum-oxide rings vs alconite on the Legend, mojo has only a 5yr warranty, and the color and finish on the Legend is just incredible. But, for those who can't quite afford the Legend (like me), the mojo glass is a very capable compromise. It actually put in some work this past weekend. Found some wipers that were hammering lipless cranks. I'm definitely a believer in glass rods under the right circumstances.

ive never seen such a fuss made over a little dab of excess glue. knock it off and go fishing for crying out loud

You owe it to yourself to get a good glass rod. I love my Phenix.

There are few experts more capable of unlocking the mysteries involved with the spawning ritual and debunking the myths than Ken Cook. And it is by borrowing from his insight, as well as that of other spawning specialists (pros like Shaw Grigsbyand Guido Hibdon), that the average angler can begin to lock onto the spawn with consistent success. The key is gaining an understanding of the behavioral basics and timing of bedding bass. We act like we know that the males precede the females to the spawning areas, explains Cook, a six-time B.A.S.S. tournament winner. But I don't think that is true because both sexes seem to get very aggressive and very food-oriented during what we call the pre-spawn stage. The come out of the cold winter and the water warms up and their metabolism kicks in. Both sexes really become aggressive as feeders. Then there seems to be a time frame in which the females become less interested in feeding, but the males continue to bite because they pick up the aggressiveness of the spawn. Both are focused on the spawn right on through the spawning period. The females kind of back off of feeding and become less aggressive as the hormonal changes in their body take place as they prepare to actually lay their eggs. Conventional knowledge indicates that the male bass builds the nest, fans it out and guards it (zealously). Generally, a good male that is aggressive and active will attract more than one female to his nest and spawn with each of them. Along with that, an active female will spawn a number of times and, in most cases, ina number of different males' nests. She moves down the shoreline making it with different males. The male sits in one spot and waits for more females to come by. I think that is sort of a hedge (on the part of the female) against an infertile male spoiling the hatch of a good fertile female. So she spread her eggs around and he spreads his fertility around. That ensures a higher success rate for that spawn. That is important knowledge for fishermen, because most people think that once the female leaves the bed, only the male is left. It is true that the female only guards the nest for a short time before moving away, but other females will come to that nest. The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a long, drawn-out process. Once the water reaches the upper 60 degrees, which is ideal, it only takes about three or four days for the eggs to hatch. I think the male will spend about six weeks on the beds as the females rotate through, but the whole spawning season happens over three full moons, bringing a new wave of spawning with get full moon period. Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge. It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning. GET A LOCK ON THE SPAWN By Tim Tucker That's the first part of the article, take what y'all want from it!

That's an eye-popper! However, there's more to it than just breathing, and the key word is "survive." I'd rather the fish "thrive" if I'm releasing them.

For an auto inflate, bite the big one and get the Mustang Hydrostatic. You don't have to worry about moisture setting it off. I bought two, one for me and one for my dad when they first came out and have never had one go off when it wasn't supposed to. Can't say the same for the SoSpenders auto inflates I have that I was using before the Mustangs. I still keep the SoSpenders in the boat with fresh kits in them just incase I happen to have a third and god forbid, a fourth person in the boat but I personally only use the Mustang. I take it out of the boat and put in on before even launching and don't take it back off again until the boat is on the trailer and out of the water. I personally see no reason to assume I am going to be conscious to pull the cord on a manual inflate and the only reason I'm wearing it is to keep me afloat if I'm in the water. Yea, you just fall in is one thing, but if you get ejected or are in a collision or something, (old saying goes "s**t happens") it's very possible you may not be able to personally pull the cord. I want my butt protected in those cases also.

It's California where people are allergic to eating bread.

Quick review of the St. Croix Glass. It's very sensitive. Even with mono, you can really feel what's going on. Casts very accurately. It's well balanced. I've seen posts where people were worried about glass rods being heavy. This 6'10" rod only weighs 5oz. For me, this is lite. So far, I'm very happy with this purchase. I've only caught a couple of fish, but hopefully this weekend, this will change.

you know your management team and ownership absolutely sucks when you give the coach an extension, then fire him 1 week later, for doing the same thing he has done all along.

Once you go Hair - you'll never go back A-Jay

I always try to be unique and this one is --As soon as i get my samples you guys can have some--None for Glenn

Have I got an underspin for you - Will have them at the BassMasters Classic-

Was fortunate enough to be able to take this guy out to Wolf yesterday. Some of you might recognize him if you spend time watching fishing videos on YouTube. I got him down here and promised a stellar day, and a stellar day was had. The video will be out on his channel at 7pm tonight (Andrew Flair Outdoors).

Noel showed me this trick, and I do it too. Except with Mustad KVD 2x short triple grips. Has never been and issue. I will loose the bait to a pike, or a snag on the bottom before I ever pull the hook eye open enough for it to be a problem. I get too much fouling of the front treble around the nose of the bait using split rings.

My thoughts are if ya think you're interrupting the spawn by catching em off the nest why does it not interrupt the spawn catching em between nest? "Ken Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge. It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning." GET A LOCK ON THE SPAWN By Tim Tucker

When we were working with biologists and the DEC to get an extended catch and release, the biologists stated that approximately 75% of the bass population in a given lake do not spawn. They can generally be found in emerging weed beds in somewhat close proximity to spawning areas.

I boat flipped a 4.5lb smallmouth on a spinning rod and 8lb test a couple years ago She was rocketing towards the surface and angling slightly towards the boat and going to break the surface a couple feet away from the boat, just seemed like the thing to do at the time. This one in fact.

Welcome to the forum! Lots of stupid inside jokes with an occasional fishing report to be found on this thread.

Hey everyone. I have been a longtime lurker to forums and have finally decided to start posting. My buddy and I got out over the weekend and do some crappie fishing. We were both able to limit out in a few hours after we found them. It was a great day. Our biggest fish was around 14". We are hoping to get out again this weekend.

Calcutta: solid as an anvil, versatile as a pair of Channellocks®, & dependable as a 30/30

I do the hiking thing too , especially if we get a couple of inches of snow . Play with knives , shoot a couple of rabbits , sip bourbon and smoke a cigar if I can get a fire lit . I take a fire starter, no lighter , no matches . Sometimes its difficult to get that fire going . No sense staying inside ,its the best hiking time of the year.

Put a Livre handle on my Met. I put the stock knobs on it, the ones that came on the handle are huge. I know some of you don't like the bigger handles, but for me, this feels good.

Glass rods are so much fun to fish.

I do a ton of hiking in the winter, the lack of ticks and thorns is very nice. I also plan to do some wading this winter and see what's still biting. I mean, the fish have to still be in the water somewhere in all the small rivers around here.

Recently purchased. Some TW. Some miscellaneous. Rage craws, chunks, bugs, Nd a pack of toads. with one pack of the swimmers. Stocked up on the IKAs , 6 packs ? A few more packs of dt hula grubs. Even though I have so many. A few jigs Trusty mepps spinner Flutter spoon Small spinner bait and z man chatter bait. 2bomber model A's in a color I can't find anymore (bought them from a private seller) chartreuse blush. And I can't hardly purchase anything fishing without throwing another rapala in the mix. In this case it's 5 more ? dtfat , dt6, 2 xraps and shallow shad rap.

My Zillions came in today. Such beautiful pieces of equipment, and so smooth right out of the box. One is going on my 7'9" AGS flipping stick and the other is waiting for a home. Can't wait till Toledo is full of grass mats again so I can put this thing to work!

Here in Orlando there is only a slowish season, no offseason. I spend my time working a shakey head or dragging jigs. I'll even toss some topwaters and lipless cranks here and there too. I'm not sure I could ever get into ice fishing, and I love drinking beer and shootin the ****.

Bud if you think you need to spend all that money on a fishing pole you're sorely mistaken. Are they nice ? You bet your ace... in every way. But, I've had 40+ fish days on a 30$ spinning combo. And also caught my personal best on a 29.99 Jimmy Houston spinning rod. my most expensive combo is a casting and it was 169$. I'm 9 years your senior and been in the real world for about 7 years. Moral of the story is get what you can afford ? Do we all want to drive a Lamborghini? Sure... but that civic gets you goin where you need to go every day. At 15 years old you have alot of time.. don't try to keep up with everyone else.. half these men are 40+ years old and have put their time in ! You seem very keen for your age. Get what you want while you can... Before you have kids... dun dun dunnn.

Let's start this thinking process differently. Over 40+ years fishing I have owned 11 different boats to fit different fishing conditions and my tackle has adjusted accordingly, so behind me, in my room here, sits well over 30 rods that my wife and I fish. Some do not fit my fishing areas now, but I use them when I go on vacation. We have fly fished across much of this country and even on our honeymoon in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Those rods do not fit much of my angling today. We have some very expensive 7 foot G Loomis rods. They are extremely sensitive, light action spinning rods that used to do lots of work when I fish on the Pennsylvania rivers for smallies. We also fished a very deep, clear, PA lake for fresh water white perch, so we setup some 5.5 ultralights and two 7 ft medium rods with line counter reels equipped with 6 pound braid. These look like trolling gear for walleyes, but they were setup to troll for the white perch. Occasionally you would tag into some big walleyes while trolling, so we had to look out when it happened, drag adjustments were critical! Man those fish tasted great! I miss having them in my freezer. I own 6 different spinning rods that belong to my wife. She regularly fishes these when we fish for light tackle stripers or bass. My arsenal includes 4 spinning combos and about 14 or 15 baitcasters for bass and stripers. I usually have 2 or 3 spinning outfits and maybe 9 or so baitcasters in the rod box on any given day. Here at home in MD. I fish the tidal rivers feeding the Chesapeake Bay. For the most part we are talking dirty off color water, lots of shallow water targets and the term "deep drop off" might refer to 15 feet, unless I am fishing a river channel. Most of my fishing is targeting wood, rock pilings, docks etc. The rods I carry for this are much different than when we go fish out in the TN and KY. Those lakes are deep, 100 foot plus, 60 or 70 mile long impoundments, like Dale Hollow, Center Hill and others. It is easy to see at least 5 to 8 feet down. I can leave my big punching rod and frog rod at home, but I better have a rod for Ned rigs, traps for fishing submerged grass flats, and jerkbaits. Jigs are real important there as well. I am not saying YOU need to invest thousands of dollars or own the numbers of rods we have. Actually I believe 4 or 5 rods can do it all well, if you identify which 5 meet your needs the most. Here is where we turn the question around. What type of water do you fish? Are they small, slow meandering streams and rivers, Are they big fast major rivers, perhaps ones with commercial traffic on them. Are they small ponds and small local lakes, perhaps drinking reservoirs (these are usually clearer and deeper bodies of waters). Do you fish major impoundments that are miles and miles long. How clear is the water and what are your major fishing targets, perhaps lily pads and heavy vegetation, rocky outcroppings, docks, bridges etc. Are there more smallies than largies or are there both?Do you fish from shore or from a boat and if so what type or configuration. What I mean is is it a jon boat, kayak, aluminum bass boat, or big fiberglass rocket ship. Each type has different storage abilities and restrictions. My aluminum bass boat can handle 13 rods in the rod storage compartment but it can not fit a rod 1 inch over 7 ft. this makes a difference when selecting a punching rod or a frog rod. All of these answers help determine what fits your needs best, Give me a mental picture of the majority of fishing conditions you will encounter and we can both come up with a plan or strategy, You already own some good equipment, the next step is learning how to use it best for your conditions and then that will help decide what to add to complement it. Of course my approach is to identify lures/techniques that work best on each of the rods you already have before moving on. This will require you doing some "practice fishing" with a set of lures on each rod. We can go rod by rod together. This will help you understand what "feels" good on that particular rod. Once we determine what it does well we can determine what we are missing. You biggest need could be a frog rod, a big heavy flipping & punching rod or it might be a second lighter action finesse spinning rod. Perhaps a dedicate jerkbait/topwater rod. I look forward to hearing from you so we can explore your toys and how to make them play. I am sorry if I make you go fishing as homework, but someone has to do it! LOL

Everybody should have a silver Aglia or three somewhere in the box. Yup, I do to.

Maybe I should have put it by the spinner bait and flutter spoon? Lol mepps spinner is one of my panic baits ! Its a true multi species bait and I have a huge plano full of them. Yea GY and SK are my favorite brands for plastics. I made a thread mid summer with a poll. SK vs GY . Pick one and you can't use the other ever again.. with 88 votes and it came out dead even

How can you go wrong with a few more Rapala baits? ?

Salt water fishing with hollow braid we glue wind on leaders to keep the profile as small as possible. Glue does make the line ridgid wherever the glue is on the line. Bass fishing the braid isn't hollow so covering knots with glue just adds to the knot size and see no advantage over a good knot. Tom

This is one of my favorites we did. Stone cuts like butter compared to all the others. We did the floor too and the round cuts around the toilet were a breeze compared to porcelain/ceramic This is a different one of a tub and floor that turned out pretty sweet ! It's alot of work. Whenever a tile job comes up I don't jump with joy.. but.. it's pretty good money and it's satisfying in the end..

Missile Fuze 5 Siebert Dredge Jigs 2 Siebert Shot Caller Swim Jigs IMA Crank Luckycraft Crank Savage Armor Worms Roboworms Plasma Tails 2 packs ShadZ Netbait Paca Slim Mister Twister Bubbly Worms Pepper Customs Jig and a little terminal tackle

Yep..I noticed that,that's legit.

Can't be bothered doing that stuff. Takes too much time, and you can't catch anything unless your line is wet. I never have problems with line at the knots. Glue always gets on my fingers!

A key to keep in mind is that the actual breaking strength of 10-15# ("light") braid is typically 20-30# or more depending upon brand. It is typically rated around one half the actual breaking strength. As such, having a leader of 10-14# test fluoro isn't that big of a deal. -T9

While a lot of the previous responses are great, I thought I'd chime in a little bit on the price aspect. I joined this forum when I was 14 years old ( I turn 20 in a few weeks). I never realized how expensive the sport can be until I saw some of these tackle junkies and the stuff they bought. Since I was 14 I've, worked 3 different jobs (never unemployed) owned 4 boats, owned two vehicles, and have started college. The only thing that's stayed consistent is I've bought quality gear, and only had to buy it once. Besides for the stuff that's been stolen, or the stuff that fell off my boat while on the trailer, my quality gear has given me service all these years. My advice, look for good deals on quality gear and later on when life gets more hectic, you take on more responsibilities, and pay bills, you'll atleast not have to replace worn out and broken rods and reels.

From the title, I thought this was going to be a picture of a side of beef you were having delivered to break in the Big Green Egg

Do IT ! A-Jay

In case anyone needs some quality rain gear. I have the fishing parka and bibs, and these are probably just as good of quality. http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-mens-softshell-fishing-parka#repChildCatid=3858544 http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-mens-softshell-fishing-bib#repChildCatid=3849001

Package just shipped to Gaylord, MI, should arrive early next week. Hope you enjoy the baits!

Which of your children is your favorite? my favorite is usually the one I just broke down for a deep cleaning and/ or the one with the freshest line.

I just got familiar with a baitcaster this year. Started with an Abu Garcia silvermax and wasn't long before I wanted something "better". Ended up with a Curado 201I and fell in love. Smooth and sturdy. Just recently read some reviews on the 70/71 series and wanted to get something palm-able as I have smaller hands. So I just picked up a 71hg and 71xg. Won't get to try em out til spring but I'll be ready!

OP kind of sounds like me a little bit. I was pretty conservative with money growing up and saved a lot of it up from birthdays and Christmas and never really had a hobby I was spending much money on... Until about 4 years ago when I learned about all the different techniques there were for various conditions and all the new tackle "I needed to buy". I wish I had enough for a boat though haha. But make sure you focus on knowledge and how to fish effectively more than on gear itself. Certain things you do "need" to buy but don't feel like you need a technique specific rod for absolutely everything. Learn what you like and what you use most in your areas and then hone your gear from there.

No Crusty, kidding. I wrestled in high school. It was the best six years of my life.

Holy smokes! If I had your budget when I was 15!!! I have 4 boys from 12 to 19, so my gear isn't quite as pricey as yours on the whole, but they sure do work! If you've got the $$ go ahead and spend it!! I'd love to have done that at your age. Expensive gear is not necessary, but can be very nice to use, no doubt. My most expensive gear is a $200 Chronarch 50e and a great Legend Tournament Walleye spinning rod paired with a Shimano Stradic. I have 4 Stradics, for the record, over the past many years. All bought on great deals. Listen, I caught my PB on a 6' rod from Dick's Sporting Goods with a Quantum Accurist casting reel I got during BPS Spring Classic (back when it was actually good). Total for that combo was *maybe* $120. I've recently bought 2 spinning rods from BPS, both Micro Lites, one a travel 5'6" L and the other a 6' ML. These are fantastic rods, to be honest. I've also got Carbonlites, Compres for spinning. They all are good, though I'd put sensitivity edge (in the less-expensive range) with the Carbonlite, then the Micro Lites. All that said, I return to my second paragraph. If money is no issue, get what you want. If you feel you are showing off or whatever, then tone it down a bit. Realize it isn't the gear that makes you a great fisherman, but YOU that makes you a great fisherman.