Fishes in trees

The point of any hook can open the painted eye of a jig and if it can't, then that is a clue that it is a bad hook. I'm curious why did hook didn't work for you. If a safety pin did work, then great - problem solved. Be sure to run a safety pin through your shirt prior to leaving the house and you're good.

Could it have been an old, loose or slick o-ring?

I approach pressured water by driving into the parking lot, unloading gear into the boat, putting in parking trailer. Then as I re-board the boat I ask myself the question, "What do I think is going to work today?" Then like I generally do, then I take some time in the parking lot cove, throwing at various obvious objects, mostly to make sure that my bait casting gear is working right. Then I cross the lake and fish the other parking lot tree line/shelf/deep drop off. The reason that I do this is because I've caught more bigger fish in this one area than the rest of the lake combined & it is unreachable casting from the shore. The majority of bass fishermen who fish this lake are drive around the lake and fish 6' of water or less with spinner baits and/or pitch soft plastic at obvious targets. Not many guys fish tree lines in 10 to 20 feet of water.

The easy answer to this question is - 19 year old boat carpeting.

I've cut shims out of various materials to try to make the rod handle fit my hand better - with mixed results. Easiest & best results have came by using rod wraps or tennis racquet replacement wraps, just trying to layer them up til the rod felt better. I've tried various brands, haven't tried the Winn Grip tape yet. I have tried baseball bat tape, which comes in a variety of thicknesses. For me the thinnest one worked the best. Baseball bat tape is more expensive than tennis racquet tape. This will cost you a little bit of rod sensitivity - at least it seemed to me that it did. NOT A LOT - just a little bit and you get used to it. Something I've tried a couple of times is to get a piece of balsa wood and use my Dremel to shape it into the side that I want. Then I hot glued the wooden piece to the rod handle. The only reason I did this was to get it to stay in place long enough for me to wrap over it. Again, this kinda worked, but every time I got it almost right, but not perfect, I'd have to cut off the rod wrap, sacrifice it to re-work the balsa shim. Before I knew it I had $50 invested in re-working a rod handle. I'd put this chore in the category of a "good winter project".

These days I throw senkos on spinning gear. Back in the day I threw them on bait casting gear. I tried several different rods. There are pro & cons to each approach. I like casting wacky senkos on spinning gear - mostly because I like how the braid acts as a strike indicator on semi-slack line. I caught quite a few fish using the bait casting gear, but over time I felt like it was overkill - that I didn't need to be using that stout gear. A good compromise is the Falcon Finesse Jig rod - either in the Low Rider or Bucco series. 6'10" MH ( on the very medium side of medium/heavy ). This used to be called the Eakins Jig rod, until Eaking & Falcon parted ways, for some reason that I don't know.

I like summer fishing clothes. I have a few SPF 50 microfiber fishing hoodies. My favorites are an ivory/grey refraction style camp and my other favorite is a Patagonia summer fishing hoodie wi several different shades of light green & white. The design blurry the line between camo & paisley. Even in 90 degree weather + , the hoodie seems to pull moisture away from my face and helps my cap on in the wind. I have to wear knee high anti-blood clot socks - so my legs never get sunburned. I like light shorts and then douse my knee and a few inches up with sunscreen. I wear wristbands that soak up sweat that runs down my arms and I change them a couple of times per day. Makes a difference in my hands not getting sweaty and accidentally dropping stuff. I find a white hat compared to a darker colored hat makes a difference in summer sun. Shoe wise - I like the geezer sneaks, i.e. New Balance grey & white nylon fabric walking shoes. It is one thing to gear up - garment wise - while you're fishing. A word of advice - your high tech fishing gear - which kept you perfectly comfortable while you were out fishing in the sun is no fun to drive home in, in your air conditioned fishing truck. (I am presuming that most of us who have fishing trucks, the AC works). It is a great idea to bring spare appropriate clothes along, and change out at the ramp, before you go home. I've never been treated great when it was my fault that I was hot & stinky and stopped somewhere to get something to eat. However, when I changed out into clean, on-sweaty gear, driving home was much more comfortable and people didn't make faces when they walked near me at the BBQ joint on the way home. These have been my current thoughts on summer fishing gear - more to follow - maybe - probably not.

I'm not a shallow river guy - the vast majority of my fishing experiences happen in small to medium sized Mo. conservation lakes and reservoirs. But, I'm a fishing "enthusiast" who's on-line and I've read and watched quite a bit of stuff about how & where to fish for all different kinds of fish. And I have opinions & notions. " Seems to me that "How long of a leader" & " How much of a big heavy weight" are totally fair questions? So is " What does this have to do with a Tokyo rig"? There are so many different "rig" that might or might not work in this shallow river scenario that who's to know where to start naming them. OK - I will start . . . I'm pretty sure that you could rig some variation of a Carolina rig, with appropriate rod & reel & line & hook & bait, that might/probably/ maybe - catch a trout in strong river current. Fly gear? Spinning gear? Baitcasting Finesse gear? High-Tech cane pole? I remember reading something about " drift fishing", either in an old Fishing Facts magazine or early In-Fisherman, where guys fishing in strong rivers in Canada, for a variety of species, mostly walleyes & trout & smallmouth & other fish. Anyway - seems like an interesting fishing situation to "tackle".

Sorry about your luck with the Lightning Rod. My $50 Lightning Rod is 5 or 6 years old, sees limited action but does get fished several times each year, not always by me, and it still works great. Berkley very well could have reduced quality in components in the time between when I got mine and you got yours. In a way though, the rod didn't fail - the components did. I think that blank is good enough that if you were into rod building, you could put a better handle/reel seat on it and you'd have a relatively inexpensive gem. I 'd be interested in how much it might cost to replace the reel seat on this rod.

I have numerous finesse rods - none of which are the brands you speak of. My only thought is that there are numerous finesse techniques, some of which might require different actions. I know it is a slippery slope, once you get into finesse style fishing, you aren't going to want to stop & retie. Therefore, my advice is to jump ahead of the curve and buy one of each of the rods you mentioned - it will save you time & anguish later and that's my best advice. Now as far as finesse rods that I can attest to - a St Croix Mojo - 7' Med Action makes a decent finesse drop shot/shakey head rod for me. I have a 6'11" Kistler Argon (rated MH but it isn't close to MH) that works as Neko rig for me. I wondered about how it would handle big fish, but I've caught several in the 4 pound range and it worked fine and I wouldn't be worried about the rod should I catch a bigger one. (I'd be more concerned about operator error). I have a few 5'9" Fenwick HMG rods that I use to throw unweighted or lightly weighted plastics on braid. My favorite Shakey head spinning rod is an old ( late 90's era ) Diawa LT. It is 6'3" Medium to Medium Light with a very stiff butt section. Back then, Diawa was marketing spinning rods with larger than normal guides as distance casting rods and I've never hadn't any issues with how far I can throw a quarter ounce shakey head with this rig. So IMO there are lots of decent to great finesse rods out there and good luck in finding the one for you. When you do find it - don't break it. It will be a challenge to find another one - you might consider buying duplicates of the two different rods you're considering now. Is a way you're pretty lucky on this issue in that this is a fishing dilemma that can be solved by throwing money at it. Not all fishing dilemmas can.

That is a neat story.

For me, that's a lot of money to spend on a reaction bait rig because you can get that kind of versatility much cheaper. I'm a fan of looking through any close out bin I come across and I've found quite a few reaction bait rigs for not a lot of money. A 7" M or MH Berkley Lightning rod comes to mind. 3 years ago? - I came across 3 All Star Spinner bait rods for $40 each (the purple ones). They were more or less clones of the original All Star Zell Rowland Spinner Bait Special. They would do what you're wanting. Currently Academy has similar rods in stock - they are a different color now. Option #B might be to call Loomis or St Croix or some other rod company and ask for advice.

Fishing is always funner for me when I have the sense that I'm playing hooky from something. I mean, there are lots of responsible things that I could be doing, but instead I'm CHOOSING to go fishing. I know that I could "reward" myself by going fishing after all my other myriad responsibilities real & imagined are performed, but why would I do that? I found out last spring during quarantine that when there was nothing to play hooky from that motivating myself to go fishing was a challenge.

It is a trick - believe me when I say that guys with reels that cost more than yours do touch the spool from time to time ( like every cast ) I have a couple of Curado 150 DC reels and while they do help me cast farther with the same amount of effort, if I didn't stop the spool with my thumb, it would backlash. I know I've heard of guys adjusting their reels so that the spool stops turning when the bait hits the water - but I don't believe it, I'd have to see it happen - several times in a row - before I thought that more than a parlor trick. In my opinion, the primary rule of purchasing bait casting gear is to buy the best one that you can afford at the time - maybe going over budget $50 or so if necessary. I'm more or less a bait casting reel bigot - so I'd recommend that you purchase Shimano. Over the decades, I've had very few issues with Shimano reels. I have strayed from Shimano a few times and for the most part - got what I paid for. Your results may differ. One of my fishing buddies is a big Lew's fan - primarily because of price - I've handled various Lew's reels at different tackle shops and while there isn't anything obviously wrong with them - the don't say SHIMANO on the side of them and that's enough for me.

Here in Missouri, it seems like we've had quite a bit of rain in May & early June. Don't know how much because my rain gauge froze last winter and then it got smacked and it shattered. Hasn't been replaced yet. Weather men on TV say we've had a "close to average" amount of rain fall - I don't know, but it seems like alot to me, but the Missouri River hasn't flooded yet, so we haven't had too much yet and upstream of us hasn't had too much either. The lake that I mostly fish week to week is FULL - maybe foot and a half to 2 feet high.

I've done something similar to this and found out that I had missed the hole on the level wind when I spooled it up. It worked kinda ok and it was a couple of weeks later, when the line bulging in my case was slightly worse than yours is in the picture that I noticed what the problem was. I cut the bait off and ran the line through the level wind hole from the back - then putted up the lake to run all the line out of the spool and when I reeled it back up it was perfect. With the level wind shielded the was it is on many Shimano reels, it is an easy mistake to make.

I don't flip very much. I do carry a bubba drop shot rig in the boat all the time. I use a Calcutta 50 on that rig. It handles 20 lb Abrazx well and weighs next to nothing. I have a several Chronarch 50s that I pitch with. I use a Curado 70 for my dedicated 10" worm rig, which is more or less pitching distances most of the time.

The short answer is yes. For a longer answer you can research into the details of setting your brakes and cast control knob, which very some from reel brand to reel brand and at the end of the day the answer is still yes.

I've got more tackle than I need - but who doesn't? The whole paradigm of need versus want is a philosophical discussion for another time. Besides, I kind of like listening to my various rods & reels talk to me, trying to convince me in the most earnest terms why they deserve to be on the traveling team and once we're out on the water, why they deserve the workout. It gives me a sense of power that in many other areas of my life I lack. Changing the subject again - the guy who posted earlier who "ain't gonna wear no tights . ." you need to try them. They are lighter, cooler, don't absorb sweat, prevent sun burn, did I mention that they are lighter and don't absorb sweat. Anyway, on all fishing trips, except June, July & August, I'll wear some version of high tech long underwear & shorts. If I didn't need the pockets I wouldn't wear the shorts. But much more often than not I do need the pockets for keys & clean snot rags, and assorted other stuff. In October & November, this combo is extremely comfortable underneath rain gear. Give it a try.

My position on scales in the boat has been relatively constant for the past 10 years, i.e. I'll tell my own lies about fish weight - I don't need a scale to lie to me. My thinking changed this winter when I ran into and talked to the conservation agent who oversees many of the lakes that I fish from time to time. He told me that knowing the length of the fish was helpful, but knowing the weight of the fish in addition to the length was even more helpful, in that it let him know more about the health of the fish and the forage base that the fish is living in. For example, I've had a 15" fish, on the lake that I fish most often to weigh in at 2 lbs, more or less. The conservation agent told me that a healthy 15" fish, in a forage rich environment, should weigh more than that. The question then becomes, is the reduced weight a function of the fish health? Fish genetics? Inadequate forage base? So anyway, after this conversation this past winter, I'm going to carry a scale in the boat, haven't decided which one yet, just so maybe I'll have more information for the conservation agent the next time I see him.

The only advice I've got for the original poster is to buy what you want/can afford and go from there. If you feel "cheated" when you purchase soft plastic baits - well, that's on you - you're entitled to feel what you feel. I would contend that you aren't "cheated" - but that is an entirely different philosophical discussion. I would offer that you don't really "own" any of the hard or soft bass baits in your current collection. You don't. What you do have is temporary custody. You can keep these baits safe in the shelter of your fishing gear storage area or you're taking these baits, hard plastic or soft and tying them on to a relatively thin piece of fishing line and throwing them out into who knows what. There is the potential to lose any bait at any cast. My personal best is $40 more or less of Terminator spinnerbaits in less than 5 minutes, but as baits tend to cost more these days, that record could be broken any trip now.

I've owned 2 telescoping fishing rods, and I used and liked them both. For almost 2 decades I had a made in America All Star SJ2 - a 6'10" telescoping jig rod - it was my go to 10" worm rod. This spring, due to operator error this rod is permanently broke. It is stapled to the side of my fishing shed as a constant warning not to do dumb stuff with quality fishing rods. The other telescopic casting rod that I have is a 7'5" Kistler All day flipping/pitching rod. This is my designated bubba drop shot rod. This rod is always in the boat. Never had a great day with it ( a great day is 30 or more fish - same rod & same technique), but on a dozen or more occasions it has turned a poor day into a decent day with 4 or 5 decent fish on slow bite days. I've thought about using this rig for other baits, but I've got jig rods that I like better and pretty recently I got a close out Carolina rig/Biffle Bug rig that I like alot better, if I need to have a back up jig rod. Back to the question, I haven't seen any decent telescopic bait casting rods in person at the various tackle shops that I frequent for a long time. Good luck finding one that you like. Option A - ship gear down there to where ever you're staying, insure the heck out of it, then you'll have what you need, or think you need. Option B - I'm pretty sure that in Austin, Texas there are a couple of tackle shops - get on line or on the phone and purchase what you need/want and have it waiting for you there. Option C - you don't know where you're going, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere near Austin, Texas there are fishing guide who do - find one of them, hire them and use their gear. Option D - my guess is that there are a few members of this board who live in or around Austin, Texas. Perhaps one of them could hook you up, take you fishing - maybe in exchange for dinner or something like that. I don't know - it is an interesting challenge and you've got enough time to plan. Let us know how it turns out.

I like the cylinders rather than the tear drop ones because I think they don't get stuck as much for me.

I like Academy best for quality All Star Rods or their H2O brand close outs. They must be selling too well, because the last few times I've been to Academy, there haven't been any close outs. This is disappointing to me. I wish the tackle department buyers would over order, so that a few decent fishing rod close outs would trickle down to me. Note to Academy tackle department buyers who might be reading this: Generally when I pick up a close out rod or 2, I will buy some other stuff at the same time, so I ain't just a close out cherry picker, but that is what gets me in the door - that and knocking 50% off your spf 50 fishing shirts. They make great summer lawn mowing shirts.

Just perused this whole post, didn't realize until a few posts ago that it was started in 2014. They I reflected on how some things don't change. I don't use the cheap spinner baits at all - by cheap spinner baits I mean wire that is unnecessarily too heavy. Ball bearing swivels & dull hooks. I suppose you could change out the swivels & blades and make the baits marginally better - but I choose to waste the time I've allocated to messing with fishing gear in different manners. So I just buy better quality spinner baits. I'm ok with the notion that I might lose it at any cast - dense gnarly cover really isn't a reason to use a cheap spinner bait. Dense gnarly cover is prime spinner bait territory and a good reason to use a quality spinner bait. I generally throw spinner baits on 17 or 20 lb line. I don't throw them on braid very often.