smcentee

There's pike in City Lake??? The Jake- I stand partially corrected. There are Pickerel, distant cousin? of pike, in City Lake. I've never hooked one, but have spoken with a few that have. Jeff, worked at the Fish Hut signing folks in, caught two fishing a fluke in the small lagoon north of the back parking lot. Look for the dead pine tree laying out some 20' in the water. Did you know there are also bowfin in the lake? I caught one fishing for channel cat and thought it was a snakehead; strange looking fish. Know of any good ponds in the area?

Hi Steve, I'm in Jamestown and regulary fish City Lake in JT which is about 2 miles from my door. Landlocked, I find this lake to offer good bank fishing; maybe up to a 1/4 mile that can be fished from the bank. Last week I caught a 6# in 3-4' of water on a shallow crank, and a 3 3/4# in about 2 feet on a spinner. Not too bad for this time of year. The lake is pretty shallow; deepest channel is about 35' when the lake is full. With water levels being down past summer and fall, I'm looking for some pretty good size bass this season. The lake does rent boats, but the bummer is that you don't get oars, you get paddles. Rowing solo can be an exercise in frustration. A small trolling motor works well. If you feel like taking a drive some day you may want to check it out. Good bass, catfish, huge carp, crappie, white and yellow perch, garden variety pan fish, and some pike.

I also cast from the shore most of the time. When I think I need to cast about as far I can see, my spinning combo is a Daiwa Tournament SS reel spooled with braid on a 9' Tica rod, probably around $150. The SS has an elongated spool that tapers. In theory, the spool design lets line flow with less resistance, increasing the casting distance. It's a tough reel; not the smoothest reel, but a tough reel (20-30 lb. carp) I'm sure there are much better reels on the market in the $90 range. The Tica rod - well, don't look for a lot of sensitivity for $60.

Shimano Cumara? Very light, sensitive, $175-200, lifetime warranty.

As a P.S., let me say that I've also lost fewer crankbaits since fishing with the Carrot Stix, which speaks to the greater sensitivity.

To the best of my recall, the LTX carrot stick is available in a M, and A MH. Some shops price them around $120 as a lost leader (hot item at low price) which is not far from the L&T rods. Daiwa offers a wider range of actions with the L&T than e21 does for the entry level carrot stix. One thing hard to beat with e21 is the lifetime OTC warranty. I have been known to snap a rod in a car door, or trunk lid. In my inexperienced hands, I find the Cumara and Carrot Stix to be about the same sensitivity. I fish the bottom with the Cumara, and bump crankbaits with the Carrot Stix. Both are more sensitive than the Daiwa L&T. If I were to rate the three on a "bang for buck", I'd go 1. L&T, 2. Carrot Stix LTX, and 3 on the Cumara. Please do keep in mind - I'm a newbie with the bass. Many folks here with more experience may have a totally different opinion, and I would tend to lean more towards their comments than mine.

Though I've fished several years this is only my third year bass fishing, so please feel free to discount my opinion of a Cumara. In addition to a Cumara, I fish three Daiwa L&T rods, and a Carrot Stix, which are the basis for comment. The Cumara is a 7'2" MH-f that I fish jigs, drag and bounce soft plastics, and have even thrown 1/2 oz spinners and chatters. I've swapped out different reels on the rod: Daiwa Advantage HSTA, Steez, Venito; Revo STX; and Pfleuger Supreme. The rod feels good, and casts well in all combinations. My likes: Rod is very sensitive; easily feel bait bumping limbs, stumps, rocks, bottles, cans, etc. Very light and can be fished most all day with little fatigue. Unlike the Carrot Stix, the Cumara grip is a good length. On very cold days, the foam grip actually seems to retain some heat. It gets pretty darn hot here in NC, so I suspect the foam grip won't be getting sweat slick in the summer months. The hook keeper in the bottom of the grip is a nice little feature. The IM-10 blank should be plenty strong, but I can't speak to the issue as I've only fished the rod since December, and a 6 pounder has been my best. And with a little humor, let me add that this rod just looks MEAN! Dislikes: If you use a lot of attractants, the location of the hook keeper can slop up the grip. The rod's price; since buying mine at $20 below average retail, I've learned that a few shops sell the rod around $150-160. Though the IM10 blank has a lot of backbone, it is VERY brittle. I mailed my rod back to Shimano with a snapped tip for replacement. Again, this is only the opinion of a newbie.

Most of my fishing is from the bank so I try to minimize what I carry. I dumped the scissors and picked up pliers from Cabela's made by Rising tools, "Work" pliers. The cutter is ultra sharp and easily cut braid. From the hemostat handle to the snap-ring tip, these pliers are well machined. Come in 6 and 8" length.

I've fished the RS chartreuse shad for several months, and can't say that it out performs any other minnow baits. Though the concept of real skin sounds good, I've not experienced any advantage. I'm a big fan of LC, so I'm not going to say that real skin is a marketing ploy, I just don't think it was worth the few extra bucks. You may have a different experience than I did. Nothing ventured...nothing gained. Good luck.

For several years I fished catfish using small live minnows on a c-rig. Though there are good size bass in this lake, in all those years I never hooked a bass with this rig.

I'm looking for some very elementary information. Most all rods are rated for a range of line and lure weight. Can someone tell me what the basis for these ranges are, and the consequences of exceeding the range? Say a rod is rated for 15-30 lb. line, what is the consequence of fishing an 8 or 60 lb. line? Similarly, if a rod is rated 3/8-1 oz. lure, what 's the result of fishing a 1/8 or 1 1/2 lure? Thanks.

I had posted a similar problem with the spool. See http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1202138852 Reelmechanic provided me with some direction, but frankly I'm afraid to force the spool out so I'll leave it alone and have the issue addressed when I have the reel cleaned. From the sound of things, Abu may have a QC issue with the Revo line. I'll be interested to hear how your issue is resolved. Actually, I suspect a few Revo owners will be interested.

.. but does the STX have a bearing pack just behind the engagement pin. If so this is probably sticking in it receiver (especially a new reel). Pull a little harder on the spool and the bearing should come out of the receiver. If it doesn't have one, then it has to be the line is stopping the spool from make it out of the small space in the race of the frame. FYI any line on a spool while working the spool is a hinderance.... Thanks for your input. The schematic doesn't provide part descriptions, only numbers. And quite honestly I have no idea what I'm looking for with respect to an engagemant pin. I will say that it is definitely not the line. The lateral movement of the spool is but app. 1/16", the line never reaches the frame. I removed all the line and the spool keeps hitting the same stop. I tried pressing the empty spool out with my thumbs (light but steady pressure), and it would not release. If it is that tight, then I'd probably have a heck of a time putting the spool back in. This reel was just not ment for quick spool swapping. I'll just chalk it up as a quality issue, and stick with Diawa in the future. Maybe I should have gone with the HSTA in the first place. Again, thanks.

The lipless minnow "wander 80" in ghost", it moves like no other.

Yes, I do have line on the spool, but not loaded to max it out. Even if it was overspooled, the spool isn't sliding far enough where line would make contact with the inner wall of the housing. The movement is about 1/16 of an inch before hitting a stop. Any other thoughts.

I usually carry a spare spool with an alternative line. Swapping spools on my Daiwa reels is a snap. Remove the side plate and the spool practically falls in my hand. Is there a trick for removing the spool from my new Revo STX? Do I need a secret Abu decoder ring. I've got the side plate off, and the spool slides about 1/16 - 1/8" and hits a stop. I can hear it hitting something. Looking at the schematic, not that I can follow it extremely well, I can't see anything that should be holding the spool back. I've even got the spool tension knob off. What's the trick?

Hard call. Are you looking for technique specific rod? I have a 6'9" M carrot stix, and a 7'2" MH Fast cumara, and love em. I use the cumara mainly for fishing bottom. Both rods are extremely light and very sensitive. Bounce a bait off a stump and I'll tell you if it is an oak or a cedar. My one complaint about the e21 is the grip length. A large hand will be holding both foam grip and rod blank (the e21 gold at $250 has addressed this issue). This is not the case with the Shimano which has a longer grip. Both rods carry a lifetime warranty, but the e21 is an over-the counter warranty. The Shimano requires a mailed return. Though trivial, I really like the hook keeper Shimano has integrated into the handle. If you are basing your selection strictly on price, I would lean towards the e21, which on average is available at a lower price than the cumara. One unknown of the e21 is how well the rod will hold up after several seasons, and only time will tell. Good luck.

At a local golf course the workers dump grass clippings in the ponds and the carp devour it. For a killer bait, mix some wet grass clippings into a dough ball.

Lucky Craft Wander 80. This bait has the most unique and diverse action of any bait I've used. Moves like a worm, falls like a senko, give it a jerk and it's a minnow on acid, can be fished as a topwater and a subwalker. Covers the water column from top to bottom. They're becoming hard to find.

Most all my fishing is from the bank, so I'm always interested in reels with good casting distance and the SS series fits the bill. The elongated spool with taper lets line flow from the spool like silk. Easily outcasts my Sedona and Symetre. I have a 1600 and a 2600 that I use primarily for catfish (3-12 lb.) and carp (8-31 lb.), and a carp is one heck of a fighting fish - the SS drag is not an issue. The SS series is one tough reel. I just whish Daiwa would add a few more bearings to make a smoother retrieve.

I use the Glacier Glove with split fingers. Though made of neoprene to combat wind and water, the material does not vent which can imply cold, but the glove is lined with fleece. Two fingers of each glove peel back; good for tying knots and thumbing a baitcaster. They're pretty warm when temps drop to high 30's. I've worn them while picking ice from line guides with little discomfort. For extreme cold, I add a pair of silk glove liners ($7). http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=8060&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults At one time Sierra Trading Post was selling closeouts at $23-25.

Pending the weight you're looking for, you may want to try adding weight with Storm SuspenDots. They're self adhesive, but not permanent.

The reels appeared similar in performance, so it boiled down to diversity. My spinning tackle is Shimano's Symetre and Sedona, and Daiwa's SS series. When I started baitcasting this past Spring I went with Pfleuger and added two Diawa reels. Never had an Abu, so I thought I'd give one a try - call it a learning curve. Sure wish someone had a "rent-a-reel" business, it could eliminate a lot of trial and error.

I used a similar box, the Plano 4741, and like others found the fully loaded weight to be too much. Fishing from the bank, I now use it as a base station in my trunk, and pack smaller units for a multi-pocketed waist pack. One issue I had was the molded door latch. In extreme cold the plastic becomes very brittle and doesn't flex. On several occassions the latch snapped, and being a flex point can't be glued. On my last go-round Plano customer service did supply me in advance with with six replacement doors.

Micropterus- thanks. Went with the STX. Smooth as silk.