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I tried the 'chicken rig' once, but never again! I'm still finding loose chicken feathers all over the boat Roger

Caught my first fish of 2017 and my first bass after my 8 months overseas. Caught on deep crank bait 8ft Powell endurance cranking rod and lews tournament speed spool reel. She was a small one.mcoming in at 4.7lbs.

None. Avoiding cancer of the mouth, tongue and esophagus.

None of the above. Ever seen someone that had their jaw cut off because they got gum cancer from that stuff? That's a hard pass from me.

Im sure it will catch a fish but I don't see any need coming up with a new name for every slight modification to hook placement. (Statement not intended at OP) I guess from now on when I don't rig a swimbait perfectly straight and I catch some fish I'll tell people I was using the "Alabama twister rig"

"Path of least resistance?" There is no reason not to fish what works for you. I don't use leaders, never have. I have never seen a need. Just because the majority uses leaders here doesn't mean that it's a requirement or you are doing it wrong if you don't use a leader.

I use braid for my main line because of it's sensitivity. I like the line management characteristics as well (no worrying about line twist and coiling). I use a shorter fluoro leader than Horton does because I've had success in doing so. My leaders are usually about 4' - 5' in length. The reason for the fluoro is for it's abrasion resistance and reduced visibility. Smallies lips are filled with tiny, very abrasive teeth. I usually switch out my pre-tied leaders after every 2 or 3 fish boated, even with the fluoro, just to be on the safe side.

I love my Shimano Bantàms. A 100 and a 1000 Professional model. I had been looking for several years for someone to rebuild them for me but everyone I contacted told me to get rid of them because parts were too hard to find. I contacted repairmen from Canada to California but no one wanted to tackle the job. That is until I found a guy who worked for Gander Mountain. He works just thirty miles from where I lived. Could have had them rebuilt years ago. Found him completely by accident. I am glad to have them back in service. I used these years ago while fishing with my brothers who are gone now. I now plan on using them for as long as I can. Made much better than a lot of the reels you can find today, without paying an arm and a leg that is. I replaced the bearings with Boca ceramic bearings and rebuilt the drags with carbon fiber washers. Ģood as new. If you like the reels I say use use and enjoy them :-)

A friend of mine took me out to a couple ponds this morning. I decided to focus on throwing a Mattlures bluegill, as I am dipping my toes into the swimbait world. I quickly landed a smaller fish (my first Mattlures fish, and first of 2017). Feeling confident, I threw my bait past a fallen branch and *Wham*, stuck this pretty lady. Talk about a rush! I can now officially say I'm hooked on swimbaits...

I've been getting very frustrated, being unable to fish, and decided to do a fishing project to help ease my pain (and lighten my wallet). My four favorite reels got upgrades. Fuego-bearings and drag washers Sol#1 Swept handle and star drag Sol#2&3 Swept carbon fiber handles with wood knobs and bearings (all Sols now have bearing and drag washer upgrades). Now, If I can figure out how to add a pic

I'm about 3 months into learning to use a baitcaster... It is difficult to keep up with what I've learned when I only get out about once every three weeks or so this winter. I ran across a fella that was selling his lower end combos cheap, so I got 5 baitcaster rod/reels and one spinning setup for $100. It's been a blessing to have several different reels to use, (one is even rh) to get to know what I do and don't like etc. before spending a lot of money. If you were closer I'd say swing down and you can have a vendetta and a black max to try out. My first day on the water with a baitcaster was "fun", but I at least was in open water bombing 5/8 and 3/4 oz lipless cranks for stripers, so I have worked on finesse since then.

Or "SizeMatters" or what about "It's all about the angle"

For me the most critical setting when learning from nothing was setting the spool tension to stop as soon as a bait touched the ground. This will hinder your casts a lot and your distance will suck but I spent days in my front yard practicing before I ever hit the water. This will prevent a lot of blow-ups in the beginning and make the learning curve a lot less painful. The second most important thing is to realize that the settings for pitching is almost wide open and will not be good if you cast when new with all the brakes and tension turned down.

sadly...lo n slo misread the thread title and was expecting hotties in bikinis. carry on

This is all I could think of.

Bass Pro "sale".

Casting distance depends on several factors including lure shape, rod length, action and power, reel design and last on this list is the line. How about filling in the blanks. Tom

I have over 80 Ambassadeurs,but that reel will never make it in my collection lol! Stick with the Classics,you'll never go wrong. There's a reason AbuGarcia discontinued those reels they sucked!

8.64 lbs deep crankbait caught last February

^^^ This coming from a gentleman angler who's bested the almighty "30-lb Benchmark". As long as your fluorocarbon leader is nestled between two pike teeth, those teeth will serve as ivory line guides. On the other hand, the instant two pike teeth clamp down on a non-metallic leader, it's goodbye Charlie! (As luck would have it...your PB). Today there are a bunch of pliable, tieable, metallic pike leader materials, but my favorite is: AFW 26-lb Surfstrand Micro Supreme - Camo (avoid pre-rigged leaders like the plague) It's 0.014" stainless steel consisting of 49-strands (7x7), capable of boating the next world record Roger

Retired Navy PNC here. 23 enjoyable years. Now completely retired and looking forward to many more days on the water, only this time it will be fishing. GO NAVY

Quality bearings in key spots are more important than total count. Vintage or even antique tackle can be not only fishable but highly effective.

Line management is the big thing for me with braided mainline. No jumping off the spool and all that. The leader, for me, is just the way I roll. I always tie a leader. A big reason, again, for me, is that I may have to change it once during an outing. As opposed to changing lures, or tying new hooks on several times cutting in to the amount of braided mainline I have on my reel. The leader saves time with the mainline for me. You also have abrasion resistance with some leader lines, less visibility, and so on....

My best friend has two tickets for the 2017 SUPER BOWL, both box seats. He paid $2,000 each ticket, but he didn't realize last year when he bought them, it was going to be on the same day as his wedding. If you are interested, he is looking for someone to take his place... It's at St. Patrick's Church, in Fall River at Noon. Her name is Jennifer. She's 5'4, about 120 lbs. She's a good cook, too. She'll be the one in the white.

Couple of Deps 250s and a few 8 inch huddlestons. Got some slammers too. Small collection. But always growing.

Love mine

1. My better half is my #1 fishing partner, nobody can take her place. Second to her is family members, third is close friends. 2.Ugly Stik fishing rod\ Shimano or Penn spinning reel combos, many of these combos are under $150. Caught most of my trophy bass on these setups, and many saltwater gamefish such as dolphin, kingfish, grouper,permit,snapper, shark, snook,tarpon, etc. 3.Spend quality time with the ones you love and make having fun your #1 priority in bass fishing.

How about... Biggerthanitlooks

If it is cheap enough but if it breaks you are done as far as warranty. Can it be fixed maybe? I would pass unless it feels real good and it is super cheap. With the price of a Diawa Exceler $69 and Tatulas available for less than $100 or so I would not spend much on an off brand reel especially if it is going off the market.

I've owned Guidewear and a currently have a 100 mph suit from BPS. I wish I could trade my suit now for another set of Guidewear. The Guidewear was great, the 100 mph suit isn't worth half what I paid for it.

Much like the Sunfish from Live Target, this duck bait looks like something I could throw until I need a new shoulder without a single bite. I'm dubious to say the least.

I thought you were talking about this video.

There is a huge following for classic reels like the Pixy, Steeze, TDZ, Calcutta, Chronarch D, etc. For a lot of folks no new reel will replace them.

We anchor our boat to prevent it from drifting in the wind or current....RIGHT? I confess to employing a 12-ft Minn Kota Talon, BUT, the closer to nature the greater my respect. Accordingly, I'm an ostensible fan of the "Throw-down pole" as Catt refers to them, because the ends justifies the means. Go For It Roger

It makes sense for drop shotting. Fluorocarbon on spinning gear is a mess in my opinion.

USMC - June 1972 through December 1995 0311 0331 0351 6112 6113 6115 6119 Master Sergeant of Marines (Retarded) Semper Fi

Texas rigged; casting, flipping, pitching, & punching!

Hooah, Retired Army Enlisted 1983-2010 Fort Jackson, Fort McClellan, Germany, Fort Knox, Johnston Island, Korea, Fort Irwin, and many other exotic locations...and now a DoD Civilian. GO ARMY!

God bless you all! P.S. Did anybody else meet their daily like quota??? Sorry to the rest of you on page 3. I'd "Like this" if I could.

Something was wrong with your bait that caused the fish to turn away at the last moment. No idea what it was or if you could have seen it, but the bass saw something that gave them lockjaw. Or, the bass did not like your bait in their space and were trying to chase it away. Problem is that we will never know.

I'd recommend a SK 1.5 or 2.5 Squarebill Crank with 20 lb mono to help keep your bait up. Make repeated casts to targets using a slow steady retrieve while bumping & banging that bait off every potential Hawg Holding cypress. A brief pause thrown in after contact might help. btw - Chartreuse with a black back isn't a bad color either. A-Jay

Maybe try a slightly heavier jig. Sometimes the faster rate of fall will get a reaction bite.

The new addition. 2017 Lowe Stinger 175. Tin Boat. 10 foot Talons, 60 hp Merc, Jenson radio, Hummingbird Helix 7,9 and Lowrance. Two 23 gallon livewells, plenty of storage. .

Sounds like swimming a jig might have been a good idea.

I doubt that there's much you could've done. A fish that makes "2" false starts indicates a fish in a passive disposition, where triggering 2 impulsive reactions might be the best you can expect. Roger

US Army, 2010-2013 A BTRY, 5/25 FAR, 4BDE, 10MTN DIV (L) OEF 10 & 11 Link to a photo album of pics I have from my deployment - https://www.flickr.com/photos/cybrslydr/sets/72157626205272993

Wild caught shiners are the ticket on the big o. They're expensive tho. You might try to learn how to throw a net. At 14 that skill would serve you well living in Florida.

This is one of those "ounce of prevention" deals, barbless hooks are much easier to remove from game fish you intend to release. oe

OnePostWonder

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ How about ~ Augustus Prime. btw - remind me again why we are helping you . . A-Jay