Tokyo Tony

We're talking about smallies, not bluegills I believe if a big smallmouth saw your little contraption drifting by, there's a very good chance she'd ignore it, even if you did get it close enough to her face for her to see it.

I don't have experience with Curados outside of fondling them in Cabela's, but I do have an STX. I don't think you will be disappointed with either reel. The STX is a tremendous reel. One thing I did notice is that Curados have a little bit of backplay, moreso than Revos. I don't like any backplay.

Thanks for the info Reel Mech - until today I had forgotten that I asked the question :

Muddyman, welcome back. I was wondering how you were able to stay away for so long...I think I'm hooked on this site for life 8-)

The bite in central CT has been pretty good lately, but not great. All the fish I've caught recently have been really tight to cover, if not all the way in it. The topwater bite is nonexistent - haven't been able to buy a bite on the frog lately. That's on the small ponds I usually fish though - not sure how the bite is elsewhere. Hopefully it's hot up in NH. Headed up there this weekend.

Nothin' better than fishing on a day off. Good lookin' fish there

Nice! Do you know what the vote counts were? I wonder if by posting on BR you got her the spot.

Holy crap that's hilarious ;D

I think when you foul hook fish, they swipe at your bait but don't committ to it completely (or they did commit but just missed it). It's very unlikely that you snagged them Do you guys notice how bigger bass are rarely foul hooked? They're much more efficient and effective predators. I have tons of respect for some of the nicer fish I catch, as deadly hunters.

I like these baits a lot as well, but for me they aren't effective unless the fish are pretty to very active. I will say that I don't think bass hit any other lure as aggressively as they do a ragetail shad.

Well when the lakes ice over I don't have anywhere to fish for bass, and ice fishing has never appealed to me. I'd rather drink indoors. I catch trout on the weekends to get my fix, but it's just not the same. Plus I can't fish after work, unless I go really crazy and go winter night trout fishing by myself during the week. I actually did that last winter and this might be the only place I'd admit it :-[ By the way, trout fishing this time of year SUCKS. There are just millions of people lining the shore - it's ridiculous. In the winter I only see the occasional fly fisherman. I'd much rather go for trout in the winter.

Cool fish there. You sure that's a rock bass though? I don't remember rock bass having that spot on their gills...

Nice man, a little duct tape oughtta fix that right up I still have no confidence in those baits, but I haven't fished them much...definitely on the list. How big is the baby bass?

Reelmech, what if there's no bend in the rod at all? Then is it that bad for the rods to stay in my trunk? I have 4-5 rods in my trunk all the time unless I'm rigging them, fishing them, or on my way to fish them. It doesn't get that hot in CT, but it still gets pretty hot. How about the winters? Mind you, I am very careful with the line tension, so the rods are perfectly straight. Your insight is appreciated

I assume you'll be stopping by Cabela's in E Hartford to check out your options Unfortunately they don't keep a very good stock of the higher end rods, but you can at least hold some of the different brands them and see what feels right. I'll say the Revo STX is a tremendous reel, $200

Power Pro, Sufix, all the rest of them, then Fireline. Power Pro is softer and casts better than Sufix, although Sufix is a good line. There are some other decent brands, but Fireline is, pardon the language, poop.

Hey guys, take a minute and think back to your winter depression and how you couldn't wait for the ice to clear and for the warm weather to come. Well, it's here! I know it's been here for a while, but I was just thinking about how much I complain about the winter and the ice and snow, and how once we reach about the middle of summer, I start taking the great weather and warmth for granted. Well, I'm definitely not taking this weather for granted - it's absolutely perfect. Highs in the mid to high 80's, sunny, clear, with a slight breeze 8-)

Robert, that's awesome 8-)

Shoot, I wish I would get burned out at least for a bit. I'm so ridiculously addicted to fishing it's kind of scary. I fish literally every single day unless there are serious thunderstorms. Get out of work, fish from shore from 6 or 7 to dark, then all day on the weekends in the canoe or from someone's boat. During the day at work I can't wait to get out and go fishing. This sport is like crack. I'm not getting anything else done in my life - I could use some burnout. But... I guess that's what winter's for right?

If you're gonna freeze them you need to fillet them first and then freeze the fillets.

I'm really sorry to hear that Ronnie. It's a real eye-opener when someone that young passes away. It can happen to anyone at any time, and it's scary. My thoughts and prayers are with your and his families.

Thanks the the kind words fellas. Joez - I'm in central CT, and although I fish mostly in central CT, my favorite part of the state is NW CT. It's absolutely beautiful in that corner of the state, and there's some good smallmouth fishing around there.

The best skipping bait I've found, in terms of ease and accuracy of skipping, is the Yamamoto Kreature. It has a very consistent skipping action so you can guage the distance really well, not to mention it's fish-catching ability. I've been meaning to try skipping docks with plastic toads, but haven't gotten around to it yet...

I use an 11/0 Owner hook and wacky rig 11 Senkos on it. 3", 4", 5", 4", 3", 4", etc. 7.1:1 gear ratio reel, 8' flippin' stick. Just hurl the rig into the trees, yank it back, duck, and just reel as fast as you can. Works like magic

Nice fish there I bet it was fun with a ML rod too...I've been meaning to get one of those.