Fishes in trees

If you're going to stick with a bait casting rig, the pistol grip is a very good suggestion. Me, I use spinning gear for throwing jerk baits. Specifically an older 6'3" Shimano ( rated Med, on the light side of med. ) with a extra fast tip. I have a kinda junky reel (US Reel 240) and the ultra wide spool of this reel works great for throwing jerk baits. Last year I threw 14 lb Fireline, with a very short (18" or so ) fluorocarbon leader. I'm considering a medium weight nanofil next year. I choose the spinning gear because I think that when throwing jerk bait distance is important and throwing into or cross ways into the wind, I get better distance with the spinning gear.

please stay on topic. Pumpkinseed ain't brown. Scuppernog is only kinda brown. Motor oil ain't brown. Oxblood? brown? maybe dried ox blood. . . . Hey, just joking, all these colors are kinda brown, IMO. I have some 10" power worms that are brown or brown-ish. They stay in the large box of 10" power worms in the fishing shed. They haven't made the traveling team for a number of years. The past few years, if a 10" worm isn't blue fleck or red shad or South African special, I haven't thrown it. Not that I'm particularly attached to any certain colors, that's just what has gotten thrown in the past few years.

Guess you could - give it a try & find out. Me, I drop shot quite a bit, most of that is with the bubba drop shot rather than finesse. A foot more or less is where I put the weight. I haven't encountered a situation where I thought the fish were a few feet above the bottom & I thought drop shooting was the best option. Something to be aware of and look for though. If I have an area in mind where I want the bait to end up, a foot leader and bait, half ounce bait makes accuracy problematic and a challenge. Makes me wonder about trying to hit specific spots 15 to 20 feet down with a 4' leader. Challenging to be sure. Of course, your casting skills, depth perception skills and sensitivity to the bait skills might be better than mine. Wouldn't take much for your skills to exceed mine in this area.

If I was buying a new bait casting reel (and in your case I would) I 'd be purchasing something that said Shimano on the side of it. I'd also get the current Tatula reel fixed. No clue how old you are, but it really doesn't matter. I'd be getting a new reel or two, every year, spinning and bait casting, until I was at around 20. If there was some special purpose rig ( like throwing slab spoons into tail race waters, or something for pier fishing in the Great Lakes, maybe something for Striper fishing), I'd get that first.

Keep the reel - I'd use it as a reaction bait reel, spinner baits, square bills, Minus 1's are good for bank fishing. Be mindful that most likely you won't always be a bank fisherman. Fishing out of a boat, having a few extra rigs is handy. You can always purchase more fishing gear - fishing time is much harder to purchase.

I tx rigged them on 12 or 15 lb fluorocarbon line with a 3/16 oz sinker and a 3/0 offset hook, and pitched them at stuff. I also threw them on quarter ounce Brewer Slider Heads. I tried them on split shot/mojo rigs. I tried them with real light line (6 lb) wacky style. I tried them nose hooked on a drop shot rig. Never did try making them shorter. Wasn't throwing/had never heard of a Ned rig at the time. Best results were on the Brewer Head with 10 lb Abrax.

You might/maybe probably/ ned to re-wire for a 24 volt trolling motor and I'd do it. On second thought, I can't see Ranger marketing a new boat and the wiring not being able to accommodate a 24 volt trolling motor. That boat will be kinda heavy for its size, as aluminum boats go. If it is at all possible, go with a 36 volt system, you won't regret it. Buy right - cry once . . . buy wrong, cry many times.

I think that they are a decent pitching bait. I have a plastic shoe box or two full of them. I never saw them for sale at any other place than Walmart, and that's been a few years ago. They were marketed during that time when it seemed like every soft plastic maker had their version of a centipede. It has been a while since I've seen any Arkie plastics at Walmart. These come under that class of baits that I bought a couple of bags, had modest success, they went on close out, bought a bunch of bags, stored them in plastic shoe boxes, and then kinda forgot about them as I went on to the next hot plastic. I think that if I fished more small mouth waters I'd throw them more often. A kinda similar bait that got ignored by almost everyone was the Gene Larew Ring Shad. I keep gallon zip lock with half a dozen different colors of the Ring Shad in the boat, but I almost never fish them. I think that bait got discontinued a long time ago.

My first choice of a pitching bait is generally a stick worm, something with a little tougher plastic than a senko, like a dinger or a stick-o or a big bite baits trick stick. Second choice would be a magnum trick worm or magnum Fin-eke worm. If I'm throwing anything else I'm just experimenting OR someone has given me an idea of what to throw. First choice of line would be 15 lb Abrazx, 17 and 20 is generally available. First choice of weights would be 3/16 tungsten, if it is really windy 5/16 or 3/8. First choice of hooks would be a 3/0 or 4/0 regular size round bend or O'shaughnessy offset hook. I'll go 5/0 on the magnum trick worms, 6" stick-os, stuff like that. Unlikely that I'd go to a wide gap unless I'm throwing a real thick plastic.

Not a fan of generalized rigs. Decide what you're going to do most & get a rig suited for that. THEN try to apply it to other techniques and see how you like it. My advice would be to get a decent drop shot rig. Once you learn how to drop shot, you can put a bait where the fish are any time of the year. I've never had a "great" day throwing the drop shot. ( great day = 50+ fish or more ) HOWEVER - I've had many days where the drop shot turned a rotten or slow day into a decent day, so for me it is a situational rig.

Not a fan of long pants, unless I got to wear them because of a rain suit or something like that while fishing. Summer time, I wear shorts, generally shorts with many pockets. Should I be fishing and need to be a little warmer I prefer long underwear underneath the shorts. I'm a big fan of long underwear & shorts. If I didn't need the pockets I wouldn't wear the shorts.

Not a fan of the spiral. Back when I first became of this - late80's or early 90's, throwing tubes with the internal weight molded onto the jig hook - I liked the spiral but didn't like the line twist it caused. Over time I realized, for me, that I didn't think the the spiral got me that many more bites that the line twist was worth it. I don't throw tubes much these days because I think that , in nearly every situation there are better options, but when I do, I use a tx rig with a pegged tungsten worm weight.

I've only got one and I use it for spinner baits. Once I got it adjusted right it works great.

What is the length/width of that boat? Something about where that butt seat is located says, "tippy" to me.

Shop around - close outs happen with spinning gear. This past year alone, I got a couple of All Star spinning rods at Academy for more than half off from list. I spent $25 on one of their H2O rods, that is my new favorite rod to throw light cranks. Shopping around for close outs over the years, I've acquired a set of 6'6" spinning rods & reels in various actions, that only see use once per year - when I go to do the Fishing for Freedom Event that the Leavenworth Bass Club puts on. Wait until the Berkley trailer comes in to Rogers this spring - they generally have some decent to great deals on Fenwick HMG rods and Pflueger reels. 3 years ago I got 3 5'9" Fenwick HMG spinning rods Med/Extra fast. Those rods are great for throwing flukes, wacky rigs, lightly weighted & tail weighted stick baits and such. They could throw light cranks as well, but I like my light crank rods to have a little bend in the tip caused by the retrieve and these Fenwick don't do that. A 6'6" Medium/ ML / moderate tip works better for throwing light cranks, IMO. Also, when the Berkley trailer comes to town, the Lew's reps will be there with some deals of their own. If you're going to get into throwing Ned rigs, I recommend getting a dedicated Ned Rig. Mine is a 10 year old or older, I'm not sure) 5'4" Fenwick HMG Medium/Extra fast tip. I bought it on close out at a tackle shop near Kentucky Lake, where the clerk referred to it as a "kinda short hair jig rod". I know lots of guys use much longer rods for throwing the Ned, but this works for me, paired with a 1000 size Pflueger President and 6 or 8 lb braid or 6 to 12 lb Nanofil. I've probably got a dozen other spinning rigs, all for specific purposes, Finesse drop shot, lighter shakey heads, fluke style baits, in-line spinners & other white bass baits, crappie jigs, trout drift rigs and more I don't remember right now. Point is, I didn't pay full retail for any of these, just shop around and be alert for close outs and bargains that suit your style of fishing will happen. Don't get in a hurry and think that you've got to get all these technique specific rigs at once.

That Bucco Amistad is a nice rod - I've looked at it alot and nearly bought it, only a matter of time before I go ahead and pull the trigger. IMO the Low Rider Amistad is a better rod, that's probably the one I'll pop for. I'd use it for heavier jigs, my home made jika rigs, maybe a Biffle Bug, stuff like that. I can't speak to the other rods mentioned or the Bass X rods. I don't own any 12" worms, but I throw 10" worms quite a bit. Over the years I've tried a number of rods, I keep coming back to my original All Star WR1. 6'6" MH fast action, with a tip like no other IMO. That rod just gives me the most confidence, and when I feel that little tick and the fish darts to the other side of the tree, I'm very confident that I can yank that fish out. ( I fish 17 or 20 lb Seaguar Abrazx). Over the years, I just don't feel that an ultra long rod is necessary for throwing 10" worms.

$75 isn't alot to spend on cranks. You're gonna be throwing them from a kayak, right? Spinning gear or bait casting gear? OK, right now, in your situation, that doesn't really matter. Later, once you get a serious jones for collecting cranks, that will matter more. First, take the suggestion from a couple of previous posters and get an extendable pole to retrieve errant casts. Get a good one. Mine has literally saved hundreds of dollars of crank baits over the years. Fishing from a kayak, get the gear to keep it strapped to the kayak. With the money you got left, I'd think about a few lipless cranks. My personal favorite is an old Berkley Frenzy (from the first time Berkley tried to get into the crank business, I have 5 left ). Of the readily available brands I like the Cordell Spots. Many guys on this board are fans of the Strike King Red Eye Shad - me, I wouldn't know, I have a few but haven't thrown them enough to know. You'll get into collecting poppers later - right now you only need one. I'd get a medium sized Pop-R and leave it stock right now. No need to get into sanding down lips to get them to spit different, etc. Maybe you'll want to get a spook or two - maybe not. Personally I like the Lucky Craft version of the spook, the Sammy, but those are $15 a hit, more or less. Lots of previous posts have given their opinion on square bills & medium divers - I can't argue with any of them, except to say my favorite square bill is a DC8 Timber Tiger, second favorite is a DC5 Timber Tiger , 3rd favorite is a DC4 Timber Tiger. I think that these are available through Tackle Warehouse, I'm not sure. I know I haven't seen them in any stores I frequent for a long time. Medium or Deep Divers, I like Wiggle Warts or DC13 or DC16 Timber Tigers. Some guys on this boards have favorable opinions on the H2O line of baits available at Academy Sports. I have some but haven't fished them all that much. I have fished the big square bills that weigh a little over an ounce and I like them. You may want some stick baits - I think that Rogues or Rapala Husky Jerks are a good place to start.. If you're going to start messing with stick baits, get a pack of suspend dots - in cooler water baits that suspend seem to work better for me than baits that don't. Just keep at it and over time you'll accumulate an assortment of crank baits. Then you'll have other stuff to occupy your finances. For instance spinning gear or bait casting gear for cranks? (I'm a fan of both, different tools for different circumstances ). Do you need a specific rig to throw square bills with? (yes). Is this different than the rig to throw medium divers with? ( yes, kinda ) Sooner or later you're gonna want a bass boat because you can throw cranks farther from the front deck of a bass boat than you can sitting down in a kayak. How much of that $75 is left? Glad I could help.

It shouldn't be that hard to tell if one rod is more or less powerful than the other. Just grab it and flex it. Action has more to do with how fast the tip springs back straight. Or you can take both rods out to the fishing shed and using the same reel and same practice plug, see how they cast throwing the same bait out across the yard.

I waffle between 2 different rods for throwing A-rings with a bait caster. Choice #A would be a Fenwick AETOS 7'9" Heavy Action Rod. Choice #B would be an old 7' Team Diawa Muskie rod that I purchased in 1997. Both throw A-rigs that are 3 ounces more or less ok - get a little more distance with the longer rod, but the shorter rod fits into my fishing truck much better. With either rod, I have a Curado 300 E that I came across on a close out at Cabelas right around the time they were being acquired by Bass Pro. I don't throw an A- rig all that much, but I do like to throw it when appropriate. Last couple of years the 7'9" AETOS got most of the action, but I think that this coming season I'm going to start with the 7' Team Diawa Muskie rod, mostly because it fits into the truck better. Time will tell - it's a work in progress.

Cranks are often a winter option, more so in the Ozarks than northern Missouri. When I was fishing BFLs in the Ozark division, some guys lived and died with Warts in winter/early spring tournaments. Other pros that I met were of the opinion that the Wart bite was a very specific set of conditions that sometimes were present and often weren't present on tournament day. To get a little more depth, try putting a suspend dot or two on the belly, in front of the hook hanger, this also slows the rise of the bait a little bit when you smack it off something, the few times I got on multiple fish throwing a Wart, I was using the suspend dot. Sometimes I've found that Rapala Shad Raps, thrown on a pretty light line, like 6 lb mono or nanofil, has worked better for me. Other time, throwing a crank like a Timber Tiger DC 13 or DC 16 has worked for me, (another specific situation where there were quite a few bushes on the points I wanted to fish and a Wart got stuck every cast and a Timber Tiger didn't ) I can't get too worked up over "width of wiggle" when throwing cranks, mostly because I don't know where the line is. I mean I know where the one is, it is attached to the bait at one end and to the reel at the other end an hopefully it is strung through the guides correctly. Being slightly more serious, at what point does a "tight" wiggle become a "wide" wiggle. Is there such a thing as a medium wiggle? Who sets the standard for degree of wiggle? Maybe a more fair question is, "What is the standard for degree of wiggle?" I don't know, seems like a discussion where more than a few IPA's need to get involved. I think if the fish are relating very close to the banks, a crank like a Wiggle Wart or Shad Rap can work ok. When the fish are relating more to schools of shad close to but not on the bank, I think that a jerk bait works better. If Charlie Brewer was to come back from the dead, he'd tell you that a Slider Head, or a Spider Slider Head and a 4" worm, fish in a "polishing the rocks" style, works better than any crank in any winter situation. There you go, my current thoughts on throwing cranks in general and Wiggle Warts in particular during the winter.

You got to respect BPS employees. They are so knowledgeable. Who else would have thought to put 8 lb braid on a bait caster? On a positive note, some 8 lb braid did get sold, so he/she will probably get a waytogo from a manager. I am constantly amazed by the product knowledge (or lack of it ) possessed by BPS floor employees. I've patronized BPS for 30+ years, and maybe 5 or 6 times I've come across a floor employee who demonstrated a solid knowledge of the gear they're tasked with selling. On a positive note, when I used to drive all night and sleep in the parking lot ( at the Springfield store ) to score some gear enroute to Table Rock or Bull Shoals, the young women who set up the breakfast buffet were very kind, very helpful and very tolerant of a hungry, sleepy middle aged guy. I went to a few fishing seminars at the Springfield store back in the day and the bartenders those days were very skilled in their craft, i.e. shooting the breeze with whoever was setting at their bar about whatever the patron wanted to discuss.

I wouldn't think that the plug knocker style of lure retriever would work very well from the bank. As one post mentioned earlier, you kinda got to get on top of the bait for it to have a chance to work. In my boat, I carry both kinds, the plug knocker and the extendable pole - both have their place and uses. Either one though, I get a lure stuck, I have the 5 minute rule. I feel like I have a good working knowledge of how these bait retrievers work. If I mess with it for 5 minutes without positive results, I wrap the line around the boat cleat and back off with the trolling motor. This usually solves the issue. Should I get a Lucky Craft or any of my "beloved" baits stuck, I'll work at it as long as it takes.

My experience has been that mid-range rods go on close out often enough that I don't have to dabble in the true low end, budget category. I only got a few rods that I paid full price for. One of them - a Loomis bait casting drop shot rod, doesn't get used very often. When I ran across a Falcon Bucco Trap Caster, it was such an improvement over what I was using to throw lipless cranks that I immediately bought it, never regretted that purchase. It lets me throw lipless cranks a long ways AND set the hook at a distance.

I use the Al's Goldfish ones. They work good. Be prepared to buy more lure boxes. Once the lures have the hook bonnets on them you can't pack them together as tight, that is a good thing in that it keeps the finishes of the baits more intact. I haven't found that pulling the bonnets off the hooks to be any great issue.

ok