The Rooster

Topwater spook. Had a few many years back and never used them so I got rid of them. Now I want to get a few again. That's my old lure. My new lure would be the Rapala scatter raps.

It's ok for the price. It's just a basic spinnerbait with a ball bearing swivel and silicone skirt. Nothing extra, nothing missing. It will get the job done.

Is it a Quantum EX500, and not a 5000? If so, I'd probably just give it to him. It's too old to be worth any real value, not aluminum frame, and bulky in hand, not to mention probably inferior in a lot of ways to what he could just buy for $60 new today (think BPS Extreme on sale). I had a similar one to it, the EX250, which is a step down. I just passed it on to my nephew. It works like it did when new but that's still not real well.

Ad that reel isn't all that bad for size. I'd rather have a 5000, 5500, or 5600 size, which are all the same, but if you put some heavy line on it, it will do fine. I think it's just too large for comfortable palming.

If it's inside of 80' to 100' then I can catch it. If it's farther out than that then oh well.

I'd quit that job right now. Or in bed asleep from being so sick, or at the doctor when not at home. I swear I despise companies that think they own employees and they're not allowed to have recovery time since its costing them money or some inconvenience.

With all that work, where does the family fit in, let alone fishing? I personally refuse to work more than a standard work day's length, and only for 5 days a week, less if I can get away with it. It's easier to do now that I'm self employed, but even when I was working a regular job I would do this. Bosses didn't like it but I just said I work to live, not live to work. Without a family life and/or personal time, what's even the point?

I like Booyah spinnerbaits for a quality spinnerbait, they have nice, full skirts (but sometimes you want a thinner skirt). Mainly, I look for ball bearing swivels on the rear blade, and a quality hook that is sharp (I'm not brand particular there, Mustad, Gamakatsu, or whatever). I like several colors available but mainly white, white/chartreuse, chartreuse, firetiger, and most importantly.....black or black/blue for muddy water or night fishing. That color really stands out where visibility is limited. Some kind of natural baitfish color is nice too for clearer waters. I am drawn to baitfish heads on spinnerbaits as opposed to just a cone shape or round ball as on some, but that's just a personal choice and probably makes no difference to any fish.

Best post here. I'm just the same. You should see some of the old Hank Parker and Bill Dance shows from the 90's. I loved those. Orlando Wilson was good too, and Shaw Grigsby, In those day, Al Linder was on In-Fisherman and that was about as exciting and energized as it ever got on those shows. I even liked Mark Sosin's saltwater journal show, even though I don't live near, and don't plan to fish salt water, or ever fly fish either. I liked it just for the laid back, easy atmosphere it had.

The Gander we have closest to me is still 1 1/2 hours away, and the fishing area is just ok. Plenty of lures, not so much rods or reels. Been there twice in the same week in late October, early November. Never before though so maybe I was just seeing seasonal set ups in the store. Seemed 95% of it was hunting, dog training, bullets and guns galore. Fishing was just over in one corner of the store. I wondered then if the store was always like that or if they were just sitting on a stockpile of fall hunting goods.

We're getting a regular DSG store. I'm interested since it will be just ten minutes, maybe not even that long, away from my house, but it will just have the same stuff I can buy at my local tackle shops. I hope it doesn't cause problems for those guys, I'd far rather shop with them over a box store. I know they will have things that DSG won't, plus I get deals with them sometimes, and also, there's just the "feeling" you get when you go in and they know you and you know them.

I tied palomar knots with line directly to lures or hooks. Albright or Alberto when joining braid to fluoro leaders, and then speed knots with leaders to lures. I really liked the albright knot for its super slim profile to pass through line guides with ease. Now, I don't use braid anymore though. No real need.

Forgot to say that but I do that too, on the screen anyway. Sunglasses? Really? Didn't know that. I would have thought it might leave streaks or greasy looking lenses with smears to look through.

KVD here for me. I swear I think my line lasts longer because of it. I know I get longer casts from it and the line is easier to manage. If nothing else, I get less tangles on spinning reels and that makes it worth it right there. I put it on line and also wipe down the line guides with it using a soaked Q-tip. I even soaked braided line in it when I was using it. I never tried braid without it so I couldn't give a comparison there, but fluoro and mono and copolymer lines, night and day differences. Try cleaning your rod line guides with a Q-tip soaked in it. It wipes the crud off that builds up from winding line back in from nasty water. I think it also leaves a slick layer on the guides afterwards that helps reduce friction. My guides feel silky smooth, almost lubricated even when dry. I know this has to help cast distance.

With braid on a baitcaster, I'd get 50 pound. The diameter of it should be similar to 12 pound mono, which keeps it from digging in on the spool. Sure, you probably won't need 50 pound test strength but you'll really appreciate it when big moe comes along and slurps up your jig. You know that line ain't breakin'! If you go with smaller pound braid, the line can dig in on the spool from being a smaller diameter and cause some issues when casting. Smaller braids are for spinning rods, like 20 pound or so. 50 pound braid won't affect your cast either like 50 pound mono. It will fly off the reel with any weighted lure and make nice long casts. Braid is noisy though, which is why I stopped using it. In the past, it's been hard on some rod line guides that weren't made for it. Ate them up. Most rods today can take it though, but I'd still get a quality rod to be sure. Nothing cheap cheap. With fluoro, I'd get 14 pound or more for a MH jig/worm rod. I use 12 pound on medium rods for 1/4 oz crankbaits and some lighter worm throwing situations with smaller weight sinkers, or weightless plastics even. I go up a size or two on line for jigging deeper waters or tossing larger plastics with heavier sinkers.

I remember being mesmerized by the 5500C3 because it had the IAR. Never mind it was big and heavy and hard to palm, but even low profile reels of the mid 90's were also.

There's great reels in the $100 range, too. And even the $80 range when the PQ is on sale, which it currently is.

I don't give a fart where it's made as long as it works like "I" want it to (whether it works like it is supposed to or not). I don't let "made in U.S.A.", "made in Japan", or even "made in China" influence me at all. Could completely care less. It also has to be affordable to my budget. I'm just a punk like that, I expect, nay, I demand quality that rivals more expensive reels, for less, and it is out there. I know, because I have found them. I enjoy my Shimanos and will buy more, but they wouldn't be my first choice now, mostly because I like extra features in a reel for less money than what you pay to get that in a Shimano. I believe more bearings do make a difference, and I don't believe that non-Shimano reels that have more bearings just have inferior ones that won't last, or work well while they do. Now, I do believe that Shimano baitcasters can get me just a bit further cast due to their bearings, but we're talking about 80' vs 100' in most cases, and 80' is all anyone even needs, and any baitcaster out there will do that. I'll trade the extra 20' of cast for nice, slick handle bearings to enhance my user experience while fishing.

Reminds me of the classic pond fish from around here with a big head and long skinny body.

I started out with a rod/reel combo that wasn't even a shadow of what that one is, and I had a blast! Now, I actually have that same reel you have, but I've had mine for about 5 years, going on 6. It's a real workhorse and has held up great even against abuse and being loaned to friends who were not easy on it. Still slick smooth. I'm thinking of getting another spinning rod, maybe two, and the Trion is probably what I'll be getting for a reel on them. For a $40 reel, these are nicer than some a good bit more expensive. Shoot, I should probably stock a few of these back for when my current reels wear out while they're still making them. At the $40 range it really just doesn't get any better than the Trion.

In my area, if you come into waters where the gar are on the surface, just leave. No fish will bite that day.

I absolutely hate reading that some clubs think it would be best for women to try another place. I'm not currently a member of a bass club but I wouldn't join one that wouldn't allow female members.

I was asked to go fishing and I remember going with very little prior experience, and thinking it was going to be dull and boring. I used a borrowed ultra light micro rod and tore up the fish from bluegills to what I consider dink bass now using live night crawlers. But that small rod made it so much fun I couldn't wait for more. Mostly, make it fun, whether fish are caught or not, and leave when she's ready to. Don't force anything, and if she isn't into it after all then some girls are just that way and then if that's the case, you just have to leave her. Oh sorry, did I say that out loud? I meant just accept it (no, seriously, leave her.....oops, there I go again).

Surprise: Jigs! I went for years and wouldn't fish one of these "do nothing" lures because it didn't have a built in action that I could see working to attract fish. It was just a heavy lead ball and hook that would sink to the bottom and disappear in the muck. Well, one cold November day, I was invited to go fishing with my brother-in-law and while there I wanted to test the sensitivity of a new rod, and since I figured I wouldn't catch fish from this particularly notorious lake where bass hardly bite anyway, I thought this would be the perfect time to throw a jig and see if I could feel the bottom. I was rewarded with two back to back keeper fish, and later on I got one more. Since then I'm never without one tied on and have had similar luck with it on other lakes too. Disappointment: Renegade branded lures from Walmart. Years ago they had a bunch of cheap baits at $2 each. I didn't expect much for the cost and figured I'd have maybe a few crankbaits that need tuned before use, but I sure didn't expect them all to have the finish crack down the middle of their backs after a while, or swim crooked, or warp just lying in the box making them unusable, and the suspending models actually sink backwards, rear hook first, instead of suspending. Every one of them sucked, and the hooks rusted off of them too. The floating jerkbait wasn't bad but when I dumped the others, I just dumped them all.

It might make a slight difference in how buoyant it is, like when you hit an underwater log and wait a second for the bait to float up again, it might not rise as fast if the hook you put on is larger, and therefore heavier.