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So we waited for the sun to go down and went to the lake, seemed like the perfect time. My sister landed a fish and was upset when all she had was "slop" and it got away but to her surprise there was something else under there. Let's just say she was really happy and proud when "her" bait she picked out for us to use worked. As for me, I didn't catch anything but i am using a new bait caster rig and i do like this setup but i haven't caught anything on it yet. I'm still trying to figure out how i can cast a t-rig senko just out pass the dock and slop and not bringing in slop on every retrieve would be great. <3

Next theres going to be a thread "Has this ever happened to you? " about catching a rod and reel with a fish on it . I had a channel cat yank my rod in the water . I just set it down for a few seconds to do something and off it went .I dove in head first and got it .

Back as 'a professional', I shined a few screws in the sand. And although we had to navigate some outrageously rocky stuff (especially off New England) I was Very Lucky in that I managed to stay out of 'The Captain Crunch Club' - our name for a bottom bouncer. Those are always slow & painful rides back to the barn . . . . A-Jay

In my profile on here it states my PB as being 2-3lbs. That's just for bass purposes. Here's me with my all around PB. A 28" fork length 20lb. North American Paddlefish aka Spoonbill Catfish. It's not a catfish though. Believe it or not, I caught this a couple months or so ago at a dam known as Diversion Canal in La Salle Parish, Louisiana on my $20 Wal Mart 6' Matzuo medium spinning rod using 14lb. Trilene XT line using an 1/8oz crappie jig. Still can't believe it didn't break my rod, but I think it did damage the reel some. The handle sticks now when reeling in.

Came off plane when I shouldn't have

Blast from the past. New Orleans City Park. Annual big bass tournament held in the lagoons of the park every year mother nature permitting. New Orleans City Park lagoons.

10-12" Ribbon tail worm like a culprit, Power Worm, Rage Anaconda....If not producing, start chucking the big 10" Mighty worm. You will catch fish of all sizes, can fish them anyway you prefer, but usually a big worm in summer seems to get bigger bites. A lizard will work if that is a bait you like to fish, I would go to an 8" Lizard for the summer, but all posts are good options. That Zoom ring worm, or whatever they call it, is sometimes a fish catching machine. I like to put it behind a split shot, no idea why they love it some days, but when it works, it is just a fantastic bait. I used to fish some short night tournaments and I used to try and cover all the best water I could with a fast moving bait like a speed worm or swimbait, and once I would find some fish, I would start chucking big worms all over the place. Problem is, I often would not find big fish, but limits in the 4-6 hour tournament in summer of any size can often put you in a good place. Just get a plan and stick to it. Sound like you know the lake so do what normally would do, I don't like trying new stuff in tournaments or new techniques unless I am with someone who is smoking them on something different. Tubes are never a bad choice. You really cant fish one wrong, only issue is having the right size hook for hook sets, but an unpegged tube gets bit when it falls really good at times. Plus you can fish it like a jerkbait, Topater spook, or makes a great bait for gliding behind a c-rig. you can stuff a rattle inside or some foam to make them float which can help if you get them on a drop shot off the bottom.

Tonight I was fishing a night tournament on ouachita and well it could've went better. Not only was the fishing tough but when i thought it was bad I couldn't have envisioned how bad it'd get. Finally got a good bite on an ol monster and set the hook and blam my 4 month old falcon lowrider somehow jumped outta my hand. Got the light turned on just in time to see my rod getting drug to its final resting place. Thought about bailing in after it but had my phome in my pocket. By then it was too late. Has this ever happened to anyone else??

http://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/2017/07/22/fish-attack-at-minnesota-lake-leaves-girl-11-with-deep-lacerations-to-her-foot-leg.html

I watched those videos in the other thread and then remembered I had this pic. Happened on a stretch of river near the house, that I was familiar with, maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Water was low and i had 2 buddies in the boat. Actually got stuck on a rock/sand bar and had to get out of the boat to float it off. One of those cases where I zigged when I should have zagged.

like the guys said, it can be hit or miss, but it is how i caught my pb in the fall of '98. a very small pod of shad had surfaced near a road bed i was fishing, so i threw in the token offering. this time it was a 6" renegade worm in fall pumpkin and my line stopped sinking before it hit the bottom, then it began to move off! an 8.6 wont raise many eyebrows in certain parts on the country, but around here, it's a trophy.

All 5 of my guy's are in the top 30 and I'm at the 98th percentile. Solid event for me.

Most kayak anglers seem to prefer shorter rods so are you sure a really long rod will not be difficult to fish with?

If you are going to set a new Tatula up like your "other " reels. SAVE YOUR MONEY. YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY!!!! MagForce Z brakes DO NOT work like every other reel. That is because you can not adjust the centrifugal component of the weights and springs. They are specifically designed to automatically alter the force of the magnets upon the inductor. That inductor is directly attached to the spool. It is the inductor moving within the magnetic field that helps control the initial speed up of the spool. The spool needs to be loose enough to gain speed quickly in order to get the distance, without getting ahead of the line being pulled out by the weight of your lure. This is one source of a backlash. It is also why it sounds backwards, but you get more backlashes with Tatulas if you run them without the side play. Run them loose and let the inductor do its job. Once the lure gets out towards the end of the cast the momentum is slowing down the weights are moved back in by the spring tension. Now the control is being handled by whatever you set the external brake adjustment dial to. These are very different animals than any other designed reel out there. Other members have already mentioned that the reels respond best with a much less aggressive casting motion. Try being softer and smoother and distance will improve. It is a feel thing of course. My friend with his MGL was amazed how differently he needed to setup his Shimano reel than my Tatula CT. Setup wrong and each was a casting nightmare. Set them up correctly and each one was a joy to cast! He also was amazed how different the best casting motion was for each combo. We could have exchanged reels on our rods and it would be exactly the same results.

That should just buff right out. No problem.

Why did I pick Zaldain? Why?

Got out tonight for a couple hours. Boy it sure was hot! Noticed some big mamas up around the weeds swimming around, but they weren't interested in anything I offered. I did manage to catch my first spinnerbait fish, caught a couple on a drop shot, and had a few weak attempts on my jig. It was so hot the fish were sweating so I wasn't surprised it was slow.

I know that feeling...lmbo! Actually it usually goes something like: Her: Where do you wanna go to eat? Me: I don't care, where do you wanna go? Her: I don't care. Me: Ok how about (insert any given name of a place)? Her: Well I don't wanna go there. Me: Ok why did you ask me then? Lmbo! ?

pick-ups and also got a bunch of other random stuff on my trip to Tulsa OK, echo 1.75 and some 6th sense lures

My co-angler at the last tournament snapped this sunrise pic as we were running upriver after launch on the Potomac. Practicing for the next tournament, panorama pic taken from the middle of the Susquehanna Flats on the Upper Chesapeake.

Unless you're speaking of low end models, I've been able to get parts for Shimano reels that were over a decade disco'd. But, yeah as mentioned, just call Daiwa. I used to do about an order a month when I ran my reel repair business. Good people there, that actually answer the phone. Same goes for Shimano.

Big SMB this week on the Quabbin:

The pike that everyone hates (hammer-handles) Snot-rocket, not Roger

Fresh from the taxidermist. So realistic the cat is licking his chops.

I Lost a jig, from a knot that slipped, that stuck in the mouth of a big bass during the spawn. Went back the next day and caught it again on a drop shot and retrieved my lure

Just in case some of you might not know these..... Tip #1: Move your index finger away from the braid when setting the hook.....it slices fingers better than the ginsu 2000. Tip #2: When using your GoPro (mounted on the bill of your hat) to film your fishing adventures and you have the urge to relieve yourself, please turn off GoPro. It will save you some embarrassment and also save cleaning up the beverage of your choice that you just sprayed all over your monitor and computer desk after being surprised by viewing the aforementioned footage. That is all for now....

Gearing up for squirrels already.My woods truck was broke down last year and I couldn't go.This year I'm already chompin at the bit to go. I hunt N Florida,mostly at Guana river.Theres a big oak hammock in there that offers fair to good squirrel hunting.Lots if hogs too. I love hunting in general,but with my limited schedule I can throw a squirrel trip together pretty quick. and it's hard to beat fried squirrel!! Anyone else like squirrel hunting???

Army, 8 years active duty, 8 years reserves.

This is what SS prop repair actually looks like. Unless you have the tools & experience to perform this level repair correctly, I'd encourage you to take it to someone who does. Also once you use a file on a stainless prop, it becomes very difficult to tig weld it if it needs repairs. The file leaves contamination on the stainless steel, use sandpaper instead. A-Jay

They're both great and yes everything is in Japanese. I get a kick out of the Japanese newspaper they pack with. Sometimes they send little extras like candy.

Tackle Wearhouse is your friend......I found tarsus to be the most user friendly, but is the most expensive

Yes, Digitaka is a great company to deal with, ime.

All braid on surface and swimmers, spinners, places where I am not likely to get hung up Braid to FC for Anything that touches bottom my home lake is granite heaven and I am always loosing terminal tackle, and it is easier to break off FC

Bet they would make a good drop shot or wacky rig also. Gonna have to try and find some and try em out. What's the length on them things?

I think MKK identified the overall structures and how to reference them, and J Francho just gave an example of a similar creature with the same features and nomenclature, corroborating MKK's assessment. I could easily be wrong, but I'm guessing Florida F&W won't have a clue, or at least won't have anything beyond what MKK posted. I think we'll also find out it actually serves no direct purpose, otherwise it would have likely already been named and described in literature somewhere. I'm thinking it's just a feature formed by the underlying structures, and nothing special or unique to bass, but be certain to let us know.

Shaky head is the only way I didn't fish them today. I didn't get any bites on them, for that matter, I didn't get any bites on anything except u tail Zoom worms. Those bites were just bream or something too small for even those little worms. I have to say, fishing has been rather frustrating this week for me. At least I got to go though. Guess you could say it was fun but not as fun as it would've been had I been catching some. I'll have to try the shaky head with them next time. Plus I got me some Gammy octopus hooks today so I can better rig a drop shot or wacky rig.

As far as braid, folks choose color for many reasons. some like high vis as they really want to watch the line. Others god to the teens as they are less visible to fish. the black manic market is usually used when the line fades and one believes the black is better than the lighter line. i use moss green for everything i never use a black marker.......it just doesn't matter

Another yinzer. Welcome! The big girls are still biting around here. Caught this one last week.

And if your partner is relieving himself off the back of the boat with one foot in the splashwell and holding on to the motor, make sure you take the trolling motor off 80% before you hit the go button.

Since last report I fished 3 times. Sunday evening on Silver: I caught half a dozen, one good one 4+ Tuesday evening on Silver: I caught 4, three small keepers and a 3 lber. Thursday on Conesus: I held a weekday open tournament, single angler format. I finished 4th and just out side the money with a 17.20lb bag...Winner + 2nd had 21.02, and 20.29 respectively, and BR member wnybassman was 3rd and just clipped me out of the money with 17.75lbs. It was one of the funner tournaments I have fished in a while. I caught 50+ fish during the day, culling up ounces at a time all day long. I just couldn't get the elusive kicker. I wish I lived just 10 mins closer to that lake. As it is it's only a 30 min drive for me, but it's just far enough to be a PITA to go on all my after work evening trips.

Ain't fishing strange like that sometimes. Last trip out they would'nt touch the Spook or Gunfish, but were all over the Sammy. Go figure...

I had one particularly magical May morning where I slayed the bass on a Spook. I motored into a cove and sat on my favorite spot of all time at the local hydro lake. I caught 5 bass on 5 casts with another fisherman watching me while he trolled up the bank in my direction. I got a 6th bite, but it broke me off because I'd gotten so excited I had forgotten to check my line. I only had one Spook, so I tied on one of the few other topwaters I had, a Pop R. I didn't get another bite, even after switching to other baits.

Did he also say you can't go swimming?

Ebay

I've been wanting one of these since I was a kid .Traded for it . Nylon 66 ,, cherry .

Picasso had that mold made, like Munkin said, it is spin cast and not hand poured. If someone for the exact mold it is either a custom that was made to copy it and is a one of a kind or it is a discarded spin cast mold. Most of these companies only have R&D capabilities, they use some type of CAD software and design the head and either use an existing hook or have a special hook made and then they send that information to a bulk manufacturer like cast industries to have them make a spin cast mold and produce the jig in large numbers. There may be a dozen or so know brands that spin casts their own products, but you won't find too many Do-it type molds that are exact replicas of marketed products.

I was fishing a tiny pond that I found with Google maps on public land by a reservoir. I'd caught some very healthy fish up to 3 pounds, but the size of the pond lead me to believe that was probably as big as they got. I snagged a good sized submerged limb with a Senko, drug the limb most of the way in before my bait popped off. The Senko was pushed up on the bend of the hook, spiraled the whole way in. I was pretty much ready to leave after the commotion I made dragging the limb until a huge wake pushed up behind my bait and I watched a big mouth flare open and suck in my bait. Of course I set the hook back into my kinked up Senko and missed the fish. 1 week to the day later, I returned with nothing but my swimbait rod and several swimbaits intent on covering every inch of that little pond to get that fish to bite. Various retrieves all across the pond with a Deps 175 and weedless 68 Hudd came up empty, so I switched to my Ol' Faithful 7" MS Slammer. First cast was under an overhanging tree that's roots protruded into the water. Waited a solid minute after the splashdown. A single, soft twitch and the bait disappeared into a giant boil. Now I don't know 100% for sure this is the same fish, but because of the size of the pond it came from, odds of there being another this large or bigger are really slim.

Squirrel hunting I enjoy because it is like a hike and if I see something I can shoot it.

I used to hunt squirrels all of the time there was an older woman down the road that would fix them for her and her spouse once they died I quit hunting them I don't eat them anymore and I don't kill things I don't eat