SammyLee

Ok, I sent it today, # 1308 2950 0000 8397 6885 to Donbeatya in Texas. My takes were Krisel Krietures bag Custom Jigs from ebay Mixed Flukes (about 5) plus one large soft swimbait/ white with skink stick My puts were: Strike King Sexy Swimmer in Sexy Shad color Heddon Torpedo Baby in white and green 3 mixed spinner baits 2 black, 1 white BPS Surface Popper, Gold and Silver BPS XTS Lipless Crank, Silver and Gold If anybody gets a big one on the Sexy Swimmer, please let me know. It just LOOKS like it ought to catch one, yet I've never. Good luck with whatever you take and have fun with it. I almost put in a bm pack but did not want to get banned!

Any problem with bringing a non BassResource friend? He has a nice boat and is a pretty good fisherman (won $700 bucks last weekend in a tournament) along with being a good guy. Plus, he's fished Pickwick many times. It'd solve my "I don't have a boat" issue and room sharing. I've suggested he join BR several times but computers is just not his thing.

I bought the BPS Pro Finesse with a 7' medium, fast to finesse worms, craws and other light baits. At the same time I already owned a Saros on an Avid 6'6" medium, fast. I tried that Pro Finesse many, many times without much satisfaction and went back to the Avid with the spinner for light and very light baits. I can cast a pretty tiny spoon or rooster tail with that thing well, of course I can put a worm just about anywhere I want it. I am still trying to find a spot in the arsenal for the Pro Finesse. No doubt my lack of skill limits what I can do with any combo but I am getting better every day. 10,000 hours, right? Something like 800 down.

Just curious...is it even possible for a bass or any fish for that matter gag to death over his meal after being caught? How would you know? ;D Story goes, two fishermen notice something flapping and spashing like crazy on the surface nearby and it doesn't stop. They go over to investigate and discover a big bass near death and scoop him up. They notice he has a huge bluegill halfway down his throat so they remove it and do the usual to revive a fish. He swims away.

Amazing. I was told, mostly here, that fluro had less stretch, better sensitivity and better hookup capability, so I bought some and loaded it on a baitcaster. Man, I thought that was better line. I really thought it did all those things. I am now running Zo Zuri hybrid at 10# on the Cronarch with a Citori rod and love it. Now, science tells me it isn't so. What should have been purely objective was I guess subjective. I almost wish I had not been exposed to what seems the truth. Guess I'll still fish the hybrid just cause I like it.

You know, after reading this after it's been posted, it sort of seems like I am being rude or "superior" to this fellow at BPS and who in the heck am I to do that? To the best of my limited knowledge he has never given me bad advice or suggested I buy something "just cause". He was 99% right about G. Loomis. I need to watch out how I speak and post.

The local "pro" at BPS told me yesterday that, "The G. Loomis factory was starting back up after they got things straight with the owners, Shimano." He also said that Shimano had always owned G. Loomis and that they were one of his sponsors, back in the day. Really?

I fish the Saros 2500 and like it. If I knew I was going to dunk it all the time I would try to dry it after each outing and accept that it will not last as long as one that stays dry all the time. I have no experience with that, I've only dunked the Saros two or three times in my float but it makes some sense to me that a wet reel will fail faster than a dry one. $129.00 reel that might last three years wet is still not a bad deal. I have the Saros, the Sahara and the Cronarch and love all of them. The fish you see here was caught on the Saros with 8 pound mono in thick weeds with an St. Croix Avid medium, fast 6'6" I think he'd go about 5 pounds and I pulled him out of bu!! kicking hydrilla. Kinda lucky on my part. BTW, That was at Pickwick just fooling around at the boat ramp of the primitive campground.

I wanted to learn to baitcast. Done. I wanted to catch a large bass (for me, anything over 5 pounds is large). Done. I wanted to learn to finesse worms. Done. Now, just all the rest of the infinite art of bass fishing awaits. There are literally thousands of things I must master. In no particular order a few include: Crankbait fishing Flip and pitch (casting accuracy in general) Jerk baits Soft plastics, other than worms. Bass boat management Sight fishing And, just to step it up a level, an 8 plus pound bass.

I'm sorta glad it's not just me. I fished a bunch of hours on Percy Priest near Nashville, skunked. My local lake produced nothing for three weeks, top, bottom and the middle. Cranks, worms or surface lures got nada. Just about 4 days ago, the local 40 acre lake started to wake up on worms on the bottom in about 5 to 10 feet of water. This Saturday they were schooling on the surface and I got about seven. Sunday the same activity but fewer fish. Today, nada again. Oh well. Al my buds say mid October here in West Tennessee will be fun. I'll be back to Picwick in the next few weeks and my wife is looking for a place for us and the dogs at Kentucky Lake too.

Well, I didn't have the bucks for an Avid but I did swap that blade for a Brwoning Citori in 6'8" MH, F. And love it. BPS had the Citori on sale for 80 bucks and it was an even dollar swap. This thing will cast a mile and has great sensitivity. With the Cronarch loaded with Yo Zuri hybrid in 10# and the Citori, I feel like I've picked up a Smith and Wesson .44 mag in stainless. BTW, I really, really, like that line. It's more neutral bouyancy than fluro but strong and "connected" if you know what I mean to the lure. Hook sets seem like I can feel the hook penetrate. It's very smooth and unlikely to overrun. A little KVD conditioner on there and that top water plug is so far out there I can barely see what it's doing.

Like RoadWarrior says "They should be taking drag or coming to you". I am not a skilled cranker but have had sucess on topwater lately and have not lost one in weeks. As soon as they hit and dive, I LEAN back, bringing the rod tip vertical, fast, far and hard, to drive the hooks in and with that Cronarch 7:1 I can keep em coming. Well, gotta go and see what my buddies (the bass I mean, I just love em) are up to this morning.

Great advice Glenn (and Mr. Petersen as well), thanks. It's hard for me, who started bass fishing this spring, to imagine that today, Labor day would be the end of bass fishing. Heck, I've been waiting for some cooler days and cooler water to really get em going. It's already started, to some degree, here in West Tennessee. I picked up seven on topwater Saturday and three yesterday. It's 0500 and I am doing final gear selection to be fishing at 0600. There is no "winter hibernation" in Florida, right? I will be very unhappy if I have to go from November to April and not fish. And surely, here in West Tennessee, on a warm, sunny, winter day, I can still get a few here and there, right?

Four to five times a week, anywhere from 2 hours to 8. I've been fishing three times this weekend already and I still have another day to go! I am thinking about Pickwick for tomorrow.

I watched a pro (on tv) run a drop shot worm over a nesting bass, must have been 20 times, until it just got tired of the darn thing and tried to kill it. I know it's not so easy from the bank but you might be able to cast from down-bank so to speak. I had one like that that I could cast to from a little dock and nada, nothing for two days. I finally got a live minnow and caught her on the first cast. She was back in the spot in 5 minutes.

Been jump fishing in the local lake the past two days. Here's what I observe. Bass in a school, stay in that school. If my lure lands 3 feet outside of the frenzy circle, I might as well be casting into the street. That top water lure needs to land rignt in the middle or quickly be drug into the middle. Kinda fun fishing like this from a lake though. There is a penensula and I run from one side to the other, sometime casting that Cronarch-Citica as far as I can. I picked up a few cruisers when they were not schooling but that was just random.

Hey Guys, I received the box in good condition and whoa baby, what a bunch! I have not yet made up my mind about the takes and puts but I will by Tuesday and it will be in the mail no later than Wednesday. Fun stuff. SammyLee

Yeah, it was a slump for the last two weeks or so. I am used to catching at least two to ten dinks or better each 4 hours of fishing. For two weeks, I could not catch one to save my life and that included fishing Percy Priest lake near Nashville. Finally, three days or so ago, they turned back on and I got a couple of dinks on each outing. I went down to the lake tonight hog hunting and got nothing but I was power fishing a lake from shore. You're not really in a slump so much as you've lost attention to details and you already know the solution. Wish I had that problem. We'll see in the morning when I go back down there float fishing worms.

Hmmm, do I smell something burning? Just kidding but because I just bought the darn thing, I think I'll take it back and get an Avid. Or do you fellows have a good suggestion in that price range?

Put a Cronarch on a 6'6" Medium Heavy, Fast, Bionic Blade the other day and and it seems to lack sensitivity. Is that just me or is it the rod? Running 10# Yo-Zuri hybrid. Threw some T-rigged worms last night, picked up two dinks and was hardly sure they bit or that I had a fish on when I set. Felt kinda dull. If the worms are no good for this rod, what is good for this rod?

I too, say go with the Yo-Zuri. I've used it for a week now on my Sahara 4000, 12# and it seems great. Good casting distance, knot tying is better than pure fulro and it's strong. I don't have the ultra-soft but the standard is a perfect compromise for me and my type fishing. PS They FINALLY seem to be truning back on. I got two last night after two weeks of skunk stink.

I've learned how to handle this kind of stuff from a great rock climber and my nephew, a tank commander in the first Iraq war. Speak calmly about the ISSUE and not the person. Take the legal or civil action that you can. Continue to speak calmly and politely about the issue. "My goodness, dude, you're really making a mess of the fishing around here. What is your goal?" Him, "#$%^^&, @!#$%, etc." You, "Well, sorry you feel that way but removing that structure is hurting the fishing in my opinion." Him, "@#$%@#$%,@#@#$%" You, "Sir, I have a right to my opinion and a free speech right to say it." etc. "Sir, what is your name? My name is Bill Smith, I'd like for those who need to know about your actions to have your name. I already have your boat numbers." All spoken like you were talking to your best friends granddad. Now, he may actually take this to a physical level. That's a crime. But it is very, very unlikely he will pull out a gun and shoot you. If he becomes physical in any way, you must leave. I know, everybody wants to kick bass but it is not practical. Years of concealed carry has changed my way of dealing with stuff like this.

I am really looking forward to getting the box! And, I am thinking about what I'm going to put in there to pass on. I have my eye on a lure that I just think ought to work like crazy but have yet to land a lunker with it. Hopefully, someone with more skill can put some fish mouth on the hooks. (one of my main fishing partners and I have gone through three of these, one is now a squirrel toy and the other a lily pad ornament) If you catch one on this bait, please let me know! Send it on! (when you get a chance ;-) SammyLee

This is Jump! Jump! fishing. I got into them at Pickwick like that but just for a few minutes. Like ol Snook man says, when there on they'll bite your mother's old garter belt. Heck, I might have been afraid to swim in that water. Skinnydipping could cost ya!

It's a shame that mostly honest guys have to lie to keep the bucks coming in. I say to myself, "I would'n do that!" but would I? Under that kind of pressure, I don't know. And by the way too, I have fished 22 hours in the last few days and caught two fish, one of which was a brim. What in the heck is going on? Usually, a finessed worm will pick up at least one an hour even on bad days.