Team9nine

Welcome - and yes, that's me/mine. After 10 years, I've officially "closed" it, though it will stay up for at least another year archived as it still gets a lot of traffic. In the mean time, if you haven't figured it out yet, by clicking on the Spoonplugging book icon on the main page, you'll be taken to my latest interest and site. -T9 I've been to many of the State Parks, but have never been there. Have stayed at Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon which isn't too far away. From what I've read and heard, it's really nice. Cool cabins and great scenery. Electric only lake, so should be really quiet and peaceful compared to many Indiana lakes. We'll expect a fishing report next year if you make it -T9

Good deal - I don't think there is anything even close to under 6 pounds in that hole. The 20-50# fish would eat them . No way to jig around all those bodies without snagging some, so I'll pass - released or not. Be safe though. Takes a lot of cold hard water to make walking out to that spot safe. -T9

Split rings (Owner Hyperwire) and Gammi Magic Eye short shanks (round bend). #6 on the half ouncers. -T9

So you found the catfish wintering hole - a blessing and a curse. For years guys have been harassing those big cats every winter before ice up. Typically, about half the channels you catch from there will actually bite, while the other half will be snagged. The big flatheads live there, too, but that ratio is about 90% snagged to 10% that will bite. This year I actually saw very few boats on them for some reason. Maybe in part because several of the guys who usually fish them the most have moved away, or simply weren't on the water this fall. I've always chosen to ignore the hole and never fished for them there because I see no sport in snagging them. Seems a bit unfair to the fish. -T9

Several do it, and I've never heard anyone mention it damaging or weakening line. Believe it's more personal preference than anything, though I can't ever recall seeing any specific testing done on the matter. For the record, I fall into the "no glue" category myself. -T9

A key to keep in mind is that the actual breaking strength of 10-15# ("light") braid is typically 20-30# or more depending upon brand. It is typically rated around one half the actual breaking strength. As such, having a leader of 10-14# test fluoro isn't that big of a deal. -T9

All the reasons for or against have pretty well been covered above. For the record, I'm almost strictly fluorocarbon. The only exception would be the "crazy long pauses" scenario. Problem is, no telling when you might run into that situation, so I frequently won't have a nylon/copoly setup with me, except when I know or expect the jerkbait bite to be the deal. Doesn't bother me though, because with those 30-45 second pauses, you only end up making 10-12 casts all day since it takes about 15-20 minutes to completely work each 100' cast back to the boat jk -T9

You had the right idea the first time It's how I weigh any of my bigger bass where I want an exact measurement. The small bag is slick and doesn't attract/hold water (think slick garbage bags). Absolute minimal physical damage to a fish since they go in head first and bag attaches to clip/hook. Here's an online pic of a 15# BOGA clipped to your waist...extra attachment is a coiled key holder.

Another vote for incompatible - 2 rods, unless your jerkbaits are all comprised of larger/heavier 128 sized models and up. -T9

Ditto the above. The ZX fishes a tad to the stiff side as Jeff mentioned, but it does a great job with everything from 78 Pointers and MB 110s on up. Lightweight and good balance, and I can't say I've lost a fish to the perceived stiffness. If anything, I think I might get better hook sets. Well worth the money on sale to give one a try! I'd consider 10# line as the norm, then move to 8# or 12# if the baits or waters you typically throw require it. -T9

Yep, LC Staysee 90 -T9

I don't ever see me owning a Livingston Lure, so I guess that covers my thoughts on them and their electronic sound. I don't care how bad you're whipping my butt on one, you'll just never find a lure called the "Pro Sizzle" in my boat - it's simply a matter of principle -T9

For 25 years I paid good money (entry fees) to get the opportunity to fish in tourneys where I had NO control over the quality of the fishery, the status of the water conditions, or the state of the weather. As such, I've had more than my fair share of time on crappy fisheries, at bad times, during major floods and droughts, fishing in both frigid cold temps and snow, as well as thunderstorms and tornados, along with blazing hot heat and no wind in the back of some Ohio River creek with the smell of paper factories filling the air all day....and everything in between. So now days, I don't go looking for tough fishing - I fish when I want, where I want -T9

This is the forecast for our state beginning mid-week and extending well past the current 10 day outlook. Not good. Iced up waters are coming sooner, rather than later, along with the dreaded "Polar Vortex." Fortunately, I was able to get about 3.5 hours on Saturday afternoon. Water temps about 44.x degrees, light stain in most areas, but clearer toward the dam. Heavy cloud cover with a high temperature of 39 degrees for the afternoon, falling to 36 by the time I left. Wind out of the west at 6-9 mph and a steady barometer. Cold but very fishable conditions, and I was able to boat 35 largemouth bass. About 80% came on jerkbaits (which we've been talking quite a bit about lately) while the other 20% came on jigs. As for the jerkbaits, the "pause" is the best speed control right now, as important or even more so than the twitch, rhythm or cadence of the jerks. Here's a couple pics: Well, with deteriorating weather conditions and a work schedule that didn't allow me to get out on Monday, I got my last day on the water yesterday. I had to burn a couple hours of vacation to squeeze it in, but it was worth it. Temps go downhill from here through the weekend, then we have a forecasted 3-5 inches of snow on Sunday, and finally the polar vortex crap comes in mid to late next week and really chills things down (single digits and below). With 43.5 degree surface temps out there today, it won't take long before ice starts forming. Tuesday wasn't perfect weather-wise with a high of 43 when I launched, dropping to 38 by the time I took out 3.5 hours later. No sun, just heavy cloud cover. Winds were 15-21 mph out of the WNW with gusts all afternoon between 27-32 mph and a rising barometer. Perfect conditions but you have to take what you can get. Given the winds, there was no good way to fish jigs or other slower baits unless you moved to areas out of the brunt of the gale, in which case the bite just didn't seem as good overall for me. Fortunately, I had a Megabass Ito 110 FX Tour Premium jerkbait in the box (sounds like a bad PR plug, I know). That's the one with the hinged bill that they claim gives 15-20% further casts by folding in closer to the line tie during casting for a more aerodynamic profile. It at least seemed to work in those 30 mph winds. Anyway, I finished the afternoon with 20 more bass. Time to now relax and begin the long winter process of cleaning up the boat and tackle, reorganizing everything for next year, pulling old line and cleaning/oiling reels, etc. It's been another great year on the water. Hate to see it end, but there is always next year to look forward to. A few pics from yesterday:

Easy to tell who has a good understanding of the basics of catching fish The beauty of "jump lures" as we Spoonpluggers refer to them is that you get to check three different speeds on every cast. There is the speed of the "rip," the speed of the "drop", and then the speed of the pause (non-speed) in between those maneuvers. Speed control, along with depth control, are the absolute bedrock of putting together a successful day on the water when considering presentation of lures. Suspending jerkbaits are no different this time of year. The length of the pause can often be as critical as the rhythm and cadence of the "jerks" or "twitches." -T9

Graphite - Right now my two favorite jerkbait sticks are the Cabela's 6'9" Tourney ZX Topwater/jerkbait ($100), and the Megabass 6'10" Levante Spinnerbait Special ($200). Have caught A BUNCH on both. Both are labeled as Med-fast, but of the two, the Cabela's ZX is a bit stiffer/faster action while the Megabass is almost a moderate. -T9

Some interesting things with the Surgeon's knot. If tying mono to mono, using 3 or even 4 wraps (triple surgeon, quadruple surgeon) vs the two shown in 'Animated Knots' (double surgeon) will make for a stronger connection. When using a braid to mono connection, due to the inherent slickness of braid, using up to 6 wraps will get you the better/stronger connection with less chances of slippage. When tying to fluorocarbon, look for the best "in between" scenario for number of wraps. This is because knots in mono tend to get stronger with more complication (wraps, etc.), while knots with fluorocarbon tend to get weaker. Also keep in mind that the diameters of the line in play will have some control over how many wraps might be feasible. The thicker the lines attached, the harder it will be to use a higher number of wraps. -T9

Ditto Indiana Finesse. I keep a variety of rods rigged, from some nice custom sticks over a couple hundred each to a $50 Lightning Rod. I can assure you I've caught as many or more bass on the inexpensive Lightning Rod using Midwest Finesse tactics as I have the high dollar sticks. To get started, if you want to fish on the cheap, go to Wal-Mart and buy a $25 Berkley Cherrywood rod (6' or 6'6" Med) or similar. May not hold up as long or be as high quality as a more expensive stick, but you won't have any problems catching bass on it with Ned rigs. -T9

Made it yesterday when it was a bit nicer out - 35 bass in 3.5 hrs. Looked like today would have been OK if I could have got on and off by lunch before the rain. Will be out (hopefully) one more time early this week before the frigid stuff moves in and makes life on the water no longer fun. Here's a few pics from Sat.

^^ THIS ^^ Yes and No. Quality of bearings matters, as does specific location within the reel. High numbers sound impressive, but can be relatively meaningless in the overall picture (and the long term performance of the reel). -T9

Don't give up on them - they do produce. We've caught 125 bass in the past two weeks on jerkbaits. Most everything has been covered above. Where you fish them matters...for numbers. That and try and get out with someone who is experienced with the bait (if possible) - it will help tremendously. -T9

Use of Teflon goes way back in the fishing business. This, by no means, is meant to be exhaustive, but... Back in 1976, Gladding applied it to their fly lines, and Gudebrod used it to coat their braided Dacron for ease of lines through guides to aid casting. The Easy-Set Hook Co. of Springfield, Mo. is credited as the first to market Teflon-coated hooks. They won a "Best of Show" award at the 1993 AFTMA show for the advance. They claimed a 40% increase in hook setting penetration as a result, as well as better corrosion protection. Eagle Claw followed in the mid to late 1990s with the coating applied to their Featherlite hooks, including worm hooks. And Bill Lewis Lure Co., which used Eagle Claw hooks on their line of Rat-L-Traps, came out with a Tour Premium version featuring Teflon-coated hooks around 1997. -T9

Hey, I resemble that remark I read Tom's comment with interest and had some time to kill last night, so I grabbed a reel and started measuring. I had a Shimano Castaic CA200 sitting around that I won't be using any more before things freeze up over here. Capacity is listed at 125 yds of 14# test. I had a nearly full spool of16# fluorocarbon on it. It has a 6.2:1 gear ratio, and the tested IPT was around 24.5" The initial starting diameter of the line filled spool was 1.233" (radius = 0.616"). After stripping off about 40 yds of line, the effective gear ratio only dropped to just above 5:1. That would be about as long a cast as I'd normally ever make with that outfit. I kept stripping line off, passing the 82 yd mark that is factory placed on the line and continuing until I had nearly 100 yds stripped off. At this point the filled diameter was just 3/4 of an inch, with a spool radius of 0.385". I was well into my backing and likely only had another 20 or so yds of line left as I could see my arbor knot starting to appear. The calculated "effective gear ratio" at that point was 3.9:1 which was an IPT of 15", a 37% decrease from initial starting capacity. Your mileage will certainly vary, as every reel is different, and a lot of variables affect the overall outcome. In general though, I'd say a typical long cast will likely decrease your overall effective gear ratio by at least 1+ spool revolutions per handle turn (a 7.x:1 becomes a 6:1, etc.). This would only happen during the initial part of your retrieve. As the line gets built back on the spool, the effective gear ratio continues to climb back to "normal." Wider spool reels would probably show less of an effect because they hold more of the line on the "outside" of the spool, while heavier lines, because they are thicker diameter, would likely exaggerate this effect. I also carried out the "shoe test" at all stages (as suggested in one of my other posts). At full spool and attached to a 6' musky rod, it was a big struggle to lift and wind a 10.4 oz. shoe off the ground using only the reel handle and the drag clamped down. After stripping off the 100 yds of line and retesting, even though the gear ratio is still technically 6.2:1, since your IPT has decreased so much, the effective gear ratio of 3.9:1 made the task a pretty simple affair. A very noticeable difference and considerably easier to accomplish with much less effort in winding. -T9

No affect on speed - lighter pound test used will just require more line. I buy one big bulk spool of 8# or 10# and use it for all my reels. If you are doing things right, the line and the knot will never come into play. -T9

Been around for quite a while in the U.S. Never really caught on first time around and you stopped seeing them. Maybe the market wasn't ready for them back then. Doubt if I'd buy them myself. -T9