Fishes in trees

And now, for the next step in your fishing evolution, get a reel that says SHIMANO on the side of it. Like a Curado or a Calais or something that says Calcutta on the side of it. Just saying. . .

This is going to happen every so often. To make it happen less often, try the following. Lose the snap swivel. Tie a loop knot instead. When casting, don't try to go for maximum distance. Instead, try to stop the bait in the air using your finger on the spool and let the line straighten out before the lure lands. After a while, that maneuver just becomes reflex and you don't have to think about it any more.

Agree with Fadetoblack about supporting local/regional companies. Chompers makes a quality product, not just their twin tail grub, they make a hula style grub, a senko imitation, tubes. lizards, etc. Plus if you ever need your sinus cleaned out, open up a fresh bag of Chompers, a strong, intense garlic aroma, not as rank as Powerbait. Should you leave a freshly opened bag of Chompers unsealed in your fishing truck and park it for a week or so, your truck will smell like an Italian kitchen for a while. It doesn't really smell "bad" per se, just an intense aroma. They don't skimp on their scent additives.

Are you sure a 3 1/2 car garage will be enough? With one slot for the boat and another slot for your tow vehicle, that only leaves 1 1/2 slots for storing fishing gear. You may want to build a car port or something for your go to town/work car. Where are you going to put your lawn gear? Riding mower, push mower, weed eater, DR trimmer, assorted lawn and maintenance tools are all going to need a roof over them as well. You may need to build an additional tool shed. Just know that no matter how much covered storage space you've got, it is never enough. Or it will only be enough for a while. When I decided to build a storage shed big enough to pull my boat and truck into and not have to unhook it, I thought I had solved my storage issues. Sorry, only just for a while. Now that shed is pretty full. Now, if I need some open space to work on some project, I've got to move either my fishing boat or my go †o work car. It is a dilemma. The next time I've got some spare money to upgrade my fishing/storage space, I'm going to build something in the 150' x 90' range. With that being said, it is cool that you've got a 3 1/2 car garage. Lots of guys don't have that much and they are constantly tripping over their gear, tools and toys. How high is the ceiling in your garage? I've managed to create quite a bit of overhead storage (of light things) in my garage. Where in the Table Rock neighborhood are you buying? I know that Table Rock is a big neighborhood, covering parts of several different counties.

I like to tie some kind of loop knot for poppers and spooks. A king sling? I'm uncertain about the name of it. I think that the loop adds to the walking action I want out of these baits. On other top waters, like a wake bait or a buzz bait, I will tie a know tight to the bait, generally a palomar knot.

Look up the Rod Saver Vehicle storage system. I have one in my Ford Explorer and I can fit 20 or so rods on it.

Cordell Spots are an old time lure. I think that they are a better lure overall than the Lewis Rattle Trap. I keep a few of them in my boat, and I don't keep any Rattle Traps in my boat. For the record, I think that the old Berkley Frenzy Rattle bait is a better bait than either the Spot or the Rattle Trap.

Carolina rigs and deep cranks aren't really similar techniques. You can do whatever you want. Carolina Rigs require a pretty stiff rod, as you are often setting the hook at a distance. Flexibility in a deep cranking rod will give you more casting distance, up to a point. Again, why not, if it works for you go ahead. Very few of my rod choices for various techniques are etched in stone, and I am sure that given an increase in disposable income, I would upgrade every rod I've got.

I've looked at those turquoise Rick Clunn rods in the store, BPS & Rogers, not at Dicks. In my opinion, at 2 for $50, the longer, heavier ones would make great all purpose catfish rods. The flexibility of those rods would really help in setting circle hooks, which you really don't set, just tighten up as the fish moves. As bass fishing rods go, they are just too heavy for me. I've found other rods that can do a decent job throwing cranks and are much lighter. For me, in this situation, the rod weight is a deal killer. If I was alot younger, didn't have wrist issues and tennis elbow issues, etc, I think that they would be a decent deal.

I've got a few Falcon rods, but no spinning rods. I like them. They weren't too expensive. One of them I got at WalMart - the Bucoo "trap caster", I wanted enough that I paid full price and didn't ***** or wait for it to go on sale. It is a good rattle trap rod. I can throw as far as I could with my older trap casting rod, but it is lighter and doesn't take as much effort. It has micro guides - I'm not totally sold on the micro guides in cool to cold weather.

Many reels have been mentioned. Lots of options. It can get confusing. The only way to know for sure is to buy one of each, test them extensively and a couple of years from now sell the ones you don't like here in our flea market section and recoup some of your money. Good luck with your tests and I expect to see some decend second hand reels for sale a couple of years from now. Thank you in advance.

The basic rule for buying trolling motors is to buy the biggest one that will fit on your boat. Like Wayne & Mitch mentioned in previous posts, I am in the foot control camp. Now as to which brand, everyone has their own opinion. In the 7 years I fish co-angler in BFL, I had 3 tournaments spoiled because my boaters trolling motor failed, specifically because their foot control cable snapped, trying to reverse course in a moderate to high wind. In each case, it was a Motor Guide Trolling Motor. Back when I bought my current boat, in 2002, I was debating between Motor Guide and Minn Kota and I ran into the regional sales manager for Minn Kota. He told me that if I managed to break a Maxxum trolling motor cable under normal fishing conditions, he'd give me a new trolling motor. This warranty was made after several beers in a motel parking lot after a long day of pre-fishing and I don't think it is a factory deal, so to speak. Anyway, 11 years later and counting I still haven't broken the Maxxum steering cable. I think it is out of warranty now, I haven't fished BFL or seen the guy for several years. That is my Minn Kota vs Motor Guide story.

Barrel swivels = bad. Ball bearing swivels = good. If you are going to do that, might as well go to a braid to swivel to fluorocarbon leader set up. In my experience, a foot to foot and a half leader works ok. No need to go longer. Just reel up to the swivel and cast.

Lube them up with some spit and work them in from the tail end, as close to the front as you can get them. It is doable. You can also find tube insert hooks, which make the process easier.

Flipping and pitching are pretty simple. Basically, you pitch when you are too far to flip and you flip when you are too close to pitch. Me, I pitch most of the time, so I seldom flip. The more stained to muddy your water is, the more opportunities to flip you've got. JMO

I've got a few Fenwick spinning rods. I like them. I think mine are HMG though. I don't know the difference.

Yes, you can probably get pedestal seat posts that will fit the standard Lowe fitting. I got mine from BPS in 2002, shortly after I got my boat. Go ahead and get the hydraulic one that you can adjust. It is more comfortable and allows you to change your fishing position somewhat.

Considering all the money I spend on various fishing items, I consider rod wraps a fairly minor expense. I find the regular rod wraps on sale occasionally, check out bicycle shops and their handlebar wraps, tennis racket wraps and so forth. I like the wraps because they make the rod fit my hand a little better and I like the grip better than cork. Secondly, having handle wraps of different colors makes rod identification a little easier when I am reaching down to grab a different rod. I do have a couple of foam handled rods that I haven't bothered to put wraps on yet.

What kind of question is this? To start with, for the ultimate tackle box, you are going to need more than one. Just for comparison purposes if nothing else, for how can it be "ultimate" if there isn't anything to compare it to? For the record, I consider my boat an 18' tackle box. MY 98 Explorer Sport has I don't know how much usable cubic feet of storage, including the passenger seat. If I have a passenger in the Explorer or the boat storage & deck space are diminished somewhat. While the boat & fishing truck are "adequate" for my current fishing needs, they are in no way "ultimate".

I'd say your brother and/or his friends owe you $50 or so. Either that or you've learned a valuable lesson about loaning fishing tackle to your brother and his friends. Over the years, I have accumulated a back log of tackle that I consider "borrowers gear", i.e. gear that I don't mind lending out, and you find out about your buddies character depending on the shape it comes back in. That being said, I would never, ever, lend out any rod or reel that has currently made the traveling team and is stored in my fishing truck. Never, ever, may be harsh, but I haven't encountered the situation where I would consider it.

A short answer to your question is yes.

After years of experimenting, my current favorite for jerk baits is braid with a 2' or so fluorocarbon leader. Currently I'm using 14 lb Fireline crystal and a 10 or 14 lb fluorocarbon leader.

Check out the WalMart close outs - here around Kansas City, there are still some left over. My current favorite is a little over your budget, but right now, on close out at Tackle Warehouse, they have the 6'3" Diawa Light & tough Finesse rod for $130. Spinning reels - take your pick, I have low standards for spinning reels, all they have to do is hold the line and not be line eaters during the retrieve. Other guys on this site, who fish around big small mouth much more than I do have considerably higher standards for what they need out of a spinning reel.

I miss the 6" Berkley Power Pulse worm. I am down to my last few packs. They are a good pitching worm.

If you're throwing square bills around woody/brushy cover, I think that it is hard to beat Timber Tigers. The sizes I use the most are DC4, DC5 & DC8. I use the DC8 the most. If you have sunken trees in 10 -15 feet, the DC16 on a 14 lb abrasion resistant line is a great bait. I have dozens of other brands of square bills, but I seldom throw anything other than a Timber Tiger.