Fishes in trees

Balance means different things to different people. The prior post defined it for the most part. I have had buds comment on some of my rods feeling "out of balance" to them. A couple of them were rods I really liked and caught fish on. Anyway, the only balance question you need to answer is "Does it feel ok to you? Can you execute the casts you want to?"

I haven't fished lizards much, but what fish I didi catch happened on a power bait lizard.

If it was my canoe, I would for sure use some sort of sealant, just on general principles, now that the holes are there. On the original install,why weren't those pieces just glues on? Some type of waterproof glue would have eliminated the need for holes in the boat. Anyway, too late now. Next time, a Dremel Moto tool with a cutting disc would have made short work of those rusted screws. Rhino is absolutely right about the fasteners - go with a stainless steel approach. In Kansas City, there used to be a store called Boaters World and I am pretty certain that they were part of a chain. They had a monster inventory of stainless steel fittings and fasteners, geared to the boater. For instance, on the leading and trailing edge of the sponsons, you might want to use an eye bolt, just to give yourself a convenient tie down point. That was the cool thing about Boaters World, in that they had numerous fastener options, all geared towards boaters. The downfall of Boaters World in KC was that their neighborhood went "bad", and you didn't feel comfortable parking your car, even during daylight hours. The mall area they were in got lax about security, customers left and never returned. ***edit*** Just googled Boaters World. Apparently they are an E business now and don't have any brick and mortar stores. Oh well. *** further edit*** Apparently Boaters World went bankrupt several years ago. Their web site is "under construction" and will reopen "soon" Sorry, I got no clue where to get all the stainless steel fasteners you will need.

Back in the day when I was a bank fisherman, I found having the right gear helped. In the case of a pond ringed with weeds which impede access, the right gear is a set of waders, or at least hip boots. These will get you off the bank a little bit and improve angles, so that it is easier to fish the outside edge of the weed line. In the summer time, just go wading, don't be afraid to get wet. If you live in an area with lots of leeches, you might want to re-think the "just go wading" part.

I get stuck a lot. It has been over a decade since I've broken a rod getting unstuck. Here is what I do. A - See if you can get to the other side of the snag. Often it will come right off. B- If you can't get to the other side of the snag, get enough slack line to wrap 5 or 6 times around the rod handle. Jerk hard and it will either come off or break the line. C- If B doesn't work, back away from the snag using the trolling motor, that generally does work. Sometimes you will move the snag. Brace yourself and be careful that this process doesn't move you into the water. That isn't good. D- If A, B, & C don't work, cut your losses and cut your line. Don't waste time messing around with a snag when you came to the lake to go fishing. E- Lets say A, B & C didn't work and you don't want to cut the line because you're throwing an expensive/favorite bait. Some times an extendable pole type retriever works. Some times a "hound dog" type retriever works, one that will slide down your line and knock your lure loose. Both of these lure retrievers work best when you can get directly above your bait. If you are at very much of an angle to your bait, they don't work very well. If you are stuck in a tree above the water, the hound dog type of lure retriever won't work at all. F- If step E don't work, go back to D. There isn't any need to break a rod to get a lure unstuck. To your other issue with your line, I fished 14 lb Vanish for years, since it first came out. For the most part I found that it didn't break any more often or any less often that any other 14 lb fluorocarbon line that I tried. With the exception of Invisx or Abrazx. Having said that, I think that there are better fluorocarbon lines out there.

My answer would be yeah. Inserts aren't supposed to fall out on a new rod. They are designed to fall out a few weeks after the rod is out of warranty. I'd be hitting up Airrus for a new rod. Where did you get this rod. A good dealer would help you in this matter.

Float tubes are an option - in June or July or August. My experience with float tubes in chilly water, was that they were uncomfortable. I knew guys who fished float tubes in March, using chest high waders and 2 pair of long underwear underneath. Those guys were nuts. They did occasionally catch big fish in the early spring that I couldn't reach.

That idea will work - as long as the blade doesn't interfere with the hook set. Back in the day (mid 80's to early 90's) a similar bait was popular on Truman Lake. Basically it was a 1/2 or 5/8 oz ball headed spinner bait with a very short top arm (3/4 to a little over an inch or so) A medium to large sized Colorado blade was fixed to the top arm using a ball bearing swivel. (ball bearing swivels weren't all that common then) A plastic bait was threaded on to the hook of the spinnerbait, usually a regular sized Guido Bug. The approach was that you would pitch this like a jig to woody cover, weed lines, whatever and allow it to helicopter down. When it hit bottom or was a deep as you wanted, you'd jig or slow roll it back to the boat. Basically you fished it like a jig with "thump". It worked best in very dingy to muddy water. Most strikes happened on the initial drop or within a few seconds after hitting bottom. The whole rig was alot more snag free than you might think. That bait has fallen out of favor, the last time I was at Truman, I didn't see any in the home made spinner bait racks of the different tackle stores I entered.

Don't worry about different lures right now. Right now, what you need is different rigs to throw the different baits you've already got. You are going to need a spinnerbait rod. You are going to need a top water rod. You are going to need a medium diving crank bait rod. (Not to be confused with a deep diving crank bait rod or a square bill rod) Oh year, you will need reels for all those rods, in the interest of saving time while you are on the water. You can't effectively throw those tiny jigs with any of those rigs effectively, so you are going to need a finesse rod. In a pinch, maybe you could throw the tiny Rapala with the same finesse rod you throw jigs with. You will need a reel for that also. You might try to multi-task, and use the same rod for different baits, but that approach has been known to cause significant self esteem issues in lesser men. Good luck. Oh yeah, back to the point of the post. Rattle Traps or Spots are good baits. Color really doesn't matter, I prefer shiny ones. When you are bank fishing, throw them out as far as you can and then pull it back, keeping it a foot or so beneath the surface. Should you continue to get stuck on woody type cover, get a Timber Tiger DC1. A medium sized Mann's Minus 1 is more readily available and is kinda a similar bait. Doesn't come through bushes, branches, etc. like a Timber Tiger does though. Have I added to your confusion, if so, then my task is done. Please be aware in addition to having fun while fishing, you have an added responsibility to buy more tackle all the time and in that way support the entire industry.

I haven't used toothpicks for a long time, or any of the other pegging methods, for that matter. If I feel the need to peg a bait (which isn't very often) I use the Gambler or some other brand of screw in sinkers. Gembler good weights work ok also.

Save your pennies and go to eat at Gaston's one night. Get there right at sundown. It is a beautiful place to eat.

If you're stuck on the bank I would focus on rattle trap type baits, looking for a reaction strike. Fishing medium divers and deep divers from the bank frequently leads to hang ups and lost baits.

Yesterday, I had to go in to work on my day off for a shift bid, for the next 6 months. Anyway, on the way home, there was this fishing tackle store. It drew me in, even though it knew I really didn't need anything and last week I got a Fenwick Aetos rod and a 5'9" Fenwick HMX spinning rod. The point is it made me stop in again. This time I was drawn to the close out clothes rack, towards the back of the store. I found a set of Hunters Specialties polar fleece long underwear, list is $68 per piece. $35 for the set, tops & bottoms.

When I am fishing drop shots, I find that I get stuck less with the window sash style weights as opposed to the ball style. There is a fine line here, primarily fishing bubba shot ( 1/2 ounce weights and 20 lb abrazax fluorocarbon). I want my weight to "hang", that is how you find underwater structure & cover. I don't want them to get "stuck" For me, the sash style weights "hang" better and don't get stuck as often. So anyway, back to the original question, I like the line clips, rather than having to tie a knot on the weight eye.

How strange. BPS and Cabela's are listed as dealers on the Ardent web site, yet neither company has a picture of Ardent reels in their 2013 master catalog. Everharts in Clinton, MO ( west edge of Truman Lake) is listed as a dealer and the last time I was in there, they only had a couple and price wise they weren't competitive with what I can get Shimano reels for here in Kansas City. Their web site says that they are based in St. Louis. Another place on their web site says to write to them in Macon, MO. And they don't have any dealers in Kansas City? What up with that? A major metro area in their "home" state and they don't bother to have any dealers there? I generally don't buy reels unless I can touch and play with them before I buy them. I wish Ardent made it easier for me to do that. I know I could do the Tackle Warehouse demo program, but I'm not a big fan of back and forth mail order, so I'm probably not going to do that. Anyway, I think that if they were serious, they would make it easier to get hands on products. JMO

A number of years ago, In-fisherman magazine published a Rich Zaleski article about drop shotting with bait casters - they called it the "bubba shot". It involved using a flipping/ pitching stick and 20 lb line (fluorocarbon strongly recommended. Basically drop shot is just another method of presenting soft plastic. You can go ultra finesse to mega heavy. Although I carry a spinning drop shot rig in my boat, I turn to the bubba shot rig much more often, primarily due to the brush/cover on the lakes I primarily fish.

A few suggestions. First, joining a bass club as a non-boater isn't a bad idea. Secondly, find some old geezer who has a boat and a truck and would go fishing more often if he had someone to help him drive to the lake, load/unload the boat, and what not. Third, considering that you are getting ready to start college, I'd suggest that maybe, just maybe, your bank fishing game could use some more polish. I know that I wasn't at the top of my bank fishing game when I was a freshman in college. JMO

I'd like to try them, but they aren't easy to find. They aren't in the 2013 BPS catalog or the 2013 Cabela's Spring master catalog. Rogers Lures in Liberty doesn't carry them and they are one of, if not the largest independent tackle stores in the state. I saw a couple of them at a tackle store in Clinton, MO., but I didn't think that they were competitively priced compared to Shimano. (And really, is there any other standard to hold them to?) Anyway, for a company selling made in USA equipment, they make it difficult to sample their product. I would try one if they made one comparable to a Curado 50E, for a similar amount of money. JMO

I like the Falcon K-wacky hooks. They come in a 3/0 size. A long time ago I found some in a 6/0 size at a tackle store in Columbia, MO, but I have long since ran out of those hooks and I don't make it to Columbia very often to check if they have more. Falcon K-wacky hooks come in a variety of weights, I like the 1/16 oz best.

I like my uninsulated Guide Wear for cooler weather and Frogg Toggs for late spring/summer fishing. If you are bank bound, hiking around pond banks, through weeds and cockleburs and such, Frogg Toggs are NOT for you. p

Back in the day (mid-80's) Berkley Lightning rods were the most readily available quality fishing rod around. They really haven't changed. Some of the graphics on the rod have changed and over the years different handle styles have come and gone, but basically they are the same rods as they were then. They are good rods. As mentioned on an earlier post they are a little heavier compared, but compared to other rods at their price point, they are all about the same. It is a good rod that will last you until you decide you need a better one. I've never broke one, except where it was my fault. (car doors and whatnot.) As mentioned in a prior post, Walmart might have some models of Lightning rods and a lower price, but they might not have the one you are looking for. They are still a decent deal at BPS, I think anyway.

My understanding is that the bait was called the "Sweet Beaver" because Andre Moore won two big FLW tournaments on Beaver Lake 2 years in a row using a prototype of that bait.

I like the Royals. I've been a home town fan for a long time. I love summers on the deck listening to ball games. I want to believe that they are trying to get better. I can see that they have made some changes. But they are the Royals, they have established a multiple decade tradition of losing. My expectations are low. If they just give me a few moments of entertainment through the season, that is really all I can expect.

We have all had the experience of a lure working great one year and then not as good the next. Freshman Logic - Occam's Razor - More often than not the easy answer is the right answer. This leads me to believe that fish in any specific body of water can get conditioned to any specific bait. As I consider this question in depth, considering multiple possibilities, my answer is "beats me, maybe probably, I dunno." If you believe that fish in one body of water can communicate with other fish in other bodies of water through space and time through some unknown means, then that would completely explain my overall mediocre fishing success. I think that the moment I hit the water, fish see me and say (think?), "That d**n blue boat is here now, don't bite his baits." Some fish don't get the message and those are the ones that strike my baits. Of course, that isn't any reason not to go fishing.

I carry marker buoys, but I don't use them nearly as often as I should.