shimmy

the gloves just came off

That is a beauty!!!

i have called them several times and the answer is still the same. The Lews TP lefty 7.1 comes out late November. They say that this is perhaps and overestimation to play it safe so they say to contact retailers and ask if they have any preordering capabilities for this reel in case it is released a few weeks earlier. So, just a few months to go and then she comes out. I am very excited. What would be beneficial, if anyone finds a store that gets them in any earlier than late November, please give some input for us that are waiting. Two more months! Choosing this over the Chronarch.

Just got the Savy 704c in the mail and already love it! Not too fancy of a rod but already feels strong. Will be curious to see what you feel about the champion series.

always a gamble for me. There are sometimes that the fish is swimming towards you on the hook set and you know the hook is not in there deep, especially with a thicker hook. So, i do a second hook set only when i feel i need to. And to no surprise, i pop it out of the fishes mouth sometimes. As i weigh the pros and cons, i have decided to always do a second hook set it i feel the first was poor for any reason. Who is to say the hook would stay in the first place after a poor hook set and if i never did the second, just pure speculation, so i swing again.

always on the day you didn't catch many or caught very small ones, me: how'd you do today? idiot liar: caught a couple today, caught one about 3, 4, 5 pounds (fish always starts with a low weight and miraculously jumps up a pound and sometimes 2 in this instance) me: how do you usually do? moron reply number 2: aw usually can get a few over 4-5 pounds, caught one over 8 pounds last year. (the number will always be 8 pounds) me: oh wow, congratulations, blah blah blah, i would love to see a picture? dumbo: (i'm sure you already know the answer) oh forgot the camera that day. I run into this conversation almost daily on a bad day on the water. These people should be charged in a court of law.

100 % depends on the lake. I think your question is better suited for people that fish your particular lakes. Find out from them. Otherwise you will hear discouraging remarks from people that have access to big bass waters.

That just looks huge.

You are right about the oxygen attracting fish. But the whole replenishing energy thing is not why they automatically turn on when the water rushes in. Stirring up the bait fish and chopped up bait stir up the feeding. The oxygen will bring the bass to the area but the feeding occurs because of what the flowing water does to the baitfish, not because of "replenishing energy faster".

...?

I fish Minnesota every year and yes they are terrible. Here is what i discovered that still works for big bass. I use 20 pound berkley 100% trilene floro and had one trip where i only lost one jig to a northern. I was fishing a lot of jigs that year so as you can imagine setting the hook is where they break you off. If i fish 15 pound floro then i usually break off close to 10 lures a trip. I think that five pound difference makes a huge change. However, after a hookset or reeling in a northern, you'll see your line is hanging by a thread with that 20 but that lure is still there. Now, a northern will still snap it but man 20 pound line saves me a lot of money on lures and time on the boat. So i stick with 20 and the big bass 6+ still bite it in relatively clear water working a jig slow and not just a reaction strike. So, works for me. Any heavier though is not worth it to me. Regardless of line strength, the diameter of this 20 pound line is just right to save your line. My 2 cents.

As the title states, i was curious as to what this drought has done to lakes. While the water levels must be a lot lower, are there any major kill-offs or launching problems? I am considering moving to Dallas in the future and want to know what to expect. Are the lakes still fishable? Any info will be great! Thanks

This is why i am still on the fence. It is just a shame. You get a mount so you can look at that fish of a lifetime and then you get this. I'm sorry, this looks terrible This is not what that man caught and has no resemblance except for length. Just buy a cardboard box and some crayons and make your own replica if this is your thing.Plain and simple and most replica mounts you see look like this with the exception of a few of the bass on the links i saw posted earlier. What i also notice is many people who are against skin mounts also have one already and are now advocating for the other. Hindsight is always 20/20, just remember that you probably cherished that mount for a long time. I think others who want skin mounts should have that same privilege. I think for me, it will depend on where i catch the fish and the particular measurements when i consider a mount. If i catch a giant that has the length and girth that looks like it may be a common size of fish in Texas, California, or Florida than i may consider an uglier replica and do a massive search for a great artist. But i catch an absolute giant that is really short, i just think the replicas will be less likely to have measurements similar to my fish so a skin mount may be a preferable option.

Been doing this for a couple of years now on family fishing trips and some of the things we say are so funny and last for half an hour of laughing to tears on the boat. These conversations are recorded and are really fun to re-listen to. I'll never do another family trip without it.

well a go pro is the best it seems. For a cheaper solution, i use a kodak playsport and screw it onto my hat or put it on a tripod and buy 10 batteries 2 bucks a piece. Very cheap set up and it's HD. Hard to get better than this. I have put some heavy use on this. I use a 16 SD card inside which records 4 hours of HD. And the set up is water proof and easier to deal with the rain than the gopro because the casing in the go pro muzzles the sound when in water proof mode. Just some thoughts. Good luck.

Just curious if anyone knows what Shimano plans on doing after downgrading their product line? It seems like a lot of people are jumping ship and i cannot imagine them not noticing that people are starting to look elsewhere for reels in the 200 dollar range and under area. Does anyone know what they plan on doing next or is this what we can expect from their product line from here on out?

if you are at the point of using hot dogs to catch bass, just go to the market and buy fresh fish.

Thanks Jon, yeh i'll have to send details. I have thought about using lead strips on the bottom of cranks but have no experience with it and am unsure whether or not it hurts the action too much.

So, i need to establish a better way of fishing crankbaits at 20 feet. I understand that thinner diameter line will get a crankbait deeper and longer casts will improve the diving ability, and i don't troll. The lake i fish is all rock bottom and it tears 10 pound line real easily (have to retie line every 3 casts). I try to upgrade to heavier line which prevents having to retie but cannot get deeper than 20 feet...I use a 7 foot rod and put it mostly in the water as i am cranking to get the desired depth also. So, what are some tricks you guys do to get line deeper in the 20 foot range without tearing up the line? So, i use DD22's and Manns depth plus series but they just can't get down to 20 unless i have 10-8 pound line which involves excessive retie. Those with experience in fishing 20 feet dealing with these circumstances, what are some things i can do? Thanks, Shimmy

obviously depends on what you want. In my opinion, if size of bass is not an issue, go to Minnesota. Easiest place in my opinion to catch 5 and 6 pounders and ridiculous amounts of fish, so many unpressured waters, and rated one of the best places to live.

In the zone...Not sure what you mean. What i have noticed with mine is that i have a hard time waking it on the surface until it gets within 20 yards and then it wakes at the surface. Until then, it seems to be just slightly under the surface. Is this normal? Been using Mono only and holding the rod high but seems to no be enough...

left retrieve is better all around. It is the right thing to do. Stay with it. Don't stop till you get it. You know you will get it. You will start catching bigger bass as well. Been proven by science. Get the net.

You caught that bluegill on the fat ika??? That is awesome. Looks like a lot of fun out there. How big do the bass get in that little pond? Attached to a culvert to another lake or is it just an isolated pond? Looks kinda small. Looks like an incredibly fun fishing pond. While i do work for the bass police, i do enjoy all of the posts so keep em coming.

Well lets state the obvious. That is a great fish and the memory will last forever and i'd love to catch that thing any day. Nevertheless, if fishing is not about the weight and all about catching, then there is absolutely no conceivable reason to add a few pounds to the fish's weight since it doesn't matter. Here is a good comparison of a 6 pounder to yours. ww2Farmer http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/105658-goodbye-july/ Looks like a bigger stronger guy like you as well so should be good for comparison, and he isn't doing the long arm extension. Not sure what you weighed it on (maybe you didn't even weigh it and did the old measurement mulligan stuff to plug into online). One consistent problem i find are the fish weighed on these ancient artifacts. They can give a man a PB on a bad fishing day. And yes we all know the old adage, "can't tell by a photo", but there is such an incredible difference in size between a 5-6 and 8-9 pounder regardless of the size of the fisherman and mm camera. They should ban these scales from fishing. Or at least market them at 200 dollars so no one ever buys them.

that is just a thing of beauty