Fishes in trees

Speaking from experience, trying to correctly gear up as a co-angler can drive you nuts. In hindsite, I was the "French general" of tackle organization, i.e. I showed up totally prepared to fish the previous tournament. I haven't fished co-angler for a few years now and I have a better sense of perspective. Step A - get a good rod bag - it makes life much easier transporting rods from your hotel room/vehicle to the boat & back. Gear wise - I carried 2 medium sized bags but they were both only half full. One with boxes and "hard stuff" I had velcro straps and I would strap that bag to the back seat post. That made it easy to slide to one side or another, out of the way, and it was always reachable. The other bag with "soft " stuff I would throw on the bottom of the boat, on the floor and/or underneath the passenger console. Rods would vary according to which lake I was on. Other necessary gear - get a GOOD inflatable life jacket. Don't depend on your boater for your jacket. Get a GOOD rain suit. I got 2 suits - Cabelas Guide Wear and a set of Frogs Toggs. On a windy rainy late May/June day Frogg Toggs are more comfortable than the Guide Wear is. There is such a thing as being too warm. Actually pay a lot of attention to your clothes in general - it makes a big difference - regardless of the weather the more comfortable you can be the better you'll fish. A pair of those stretchy rubber overshoes makes a big difference if it is raining a lot and will keep your feet warmer and dryer. Fishing where you are in Michigan - I'm unfamiliar with local conditions but I would always have a drop shot rod and always have a shakey head rod and it wouldn't be the same rod

I was at my local tackle shop recently. They had the new Diawa that is supposed to debut at the Classic. Nice reel - I'd probably get it if I needed another one - and I'm a 100% Shimano guy as far as bait casters go - not so much as far as spinning tackle.

Back in the day when I was a bank fishing - fish keeping -bush hippie I had a similar rod & reel combo. When I first arrived at a pond, I would cast it out with some kind of catfish bait and stake it down real good AND leave it in free spool. If I ever happened to catch a 4" to 6" bluegill, then I would swap out to that bait - rigged "quick strike style". My favorite spot would be in the corner of a dam on a pond where deep water met shallow water - kinda. I wasn't always successful doing this, it didn't work every time, however over several seasons I caught around a dozen or so channel cats between 6 and 12 pounds. That is what I'd use that rig for. Spool it up with some cheap 17 or 20 lb mono.

If you've won a BUNCH of tournaments wearing that shirt AND you are the hottest stick on your school team by ALOT then don't wash the shirt. Otherwise you're a slob who shows up to a tournament wearing a stinky shirt. Machine wash it on the delicate cycle and air dry it. Take it from me that sharing fish stench is NEVER a good idea. Show some class and show up to the tournament in a clean shirt.

Upgrade probably isn't the correct phrase. You might wan to acquire some "technique specific" rigs. Can't go wrong with a Ned rig. . . can't go wrong with a dedicated frog rod . . . can't go wrong with a medium to top quality jig rod. . .one of my plans is to upgrade my A-rig gear this year. If there is lots of overhanging cover where you fish, or docks, a dedicated skipping rod is a good idea. I was never confident in throwing wacky senkos until I kept one rigged up all the time. I vacillate between thinking bait casting gear or spinning gear is best for senkos. Currently I throw them on a 7' Fenwick HMG MH -xf spinning rig and a braid/fluorocarbon leader . Point being that once you tweak a rig to fish a certain technique you are more confident in it - you will fish it more - and more than likely catch more fish.

I have some rods that I don't mind lending out to people - decent graphite spinning rods that I came across on sale here and there. I fish a charity event at Truman Lake every fall and I bring enough extra gear that the soldier I'm taking fishing can fish any bait that I'm fishing and have a reasonable chance at success - that time of year mostly cranks and spinner baits, but I bring a pitching rod also. However, I don't lend out my first string jig rods, or my first string spinner bait/square bill/ chatter bait rods, or any rigs that it would bug me to have to replace if it got broke and I wasn't the one who broke it.

I don't know how many jerk baits I own. 50 or 60 for sure, maybe more. 95% of the time I have a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP tied on. Generally I start with the Table Rock Shad color, sometimes a clown color.

My lipless crank rod is one of the few that I own that I paid full retail for. I came across a Falcon Bucco Trap Caster one day at Walmart and just had to have it. It is a 7; Med Heavy -ish rod that can throw baits a long ways and is sensitive enough that I can set the hooks a long way from the boat. I use a Calcutta 200 TEGT reel filled with 17 lb Iron Silk. I've found that line to be a great abrasion resistant reaction bait line. I'd recommend that trap caster rod to anyone. I swap out a similar reel with 10 lb line and it makes a decent wiggle wart rod.

Maybe it is just me, but fishing a drop shot rig from the bank just seems to be a bad idea. It seems like you're just asking to lose a bunch of weights, when in my mind there are better alternatives out there for bank fishing. "What alternatives?" you may ask. "Charlie Brewer Slider Heads", I reply. Go to the Charlierewer web site and look at the variety of the tx rig style jig heads they offer. They are relatively cheap, come through grass & light brush and bank snot algae relatively well and they are made for 4" and 5" finesse worms. I have fished 7" ribbon tails on them as well. I fish drop shot presentations from my boat when they make sense, but throwing the drop shot from the bank seems to me like forcing a presentation into a situation it really isn't designed for. Maybe in certain situations, like a sharp dropping bank or a retaining wall, but it wouldn't be my lead off presentation. I can see lots of bank fishing situations where casting a drop shot rig could bet problematic, kinda like trying to fish a Carolina rig from the bank. Good luck with that. Every time I tried that (back when I was a bank fisherman) I got snagged on stuff to the side or behind or above me ALOT. That is what made me learn the rod in front of me all the time pitch cast or when I had my hip boots on and was a couple of steps out into the water a side arm roll cast.

I kinda do that now. I have 3 spinner bait rods that are all alike. Any similar weight reaction bait - spinners - square bills - chatter baits - med to large hollow body swim baits, I can throw and switching from rod to rod isn't an issue. I do the same thing with jig rods - my 2 most commonly used jig rods are the same - I have a Curado 50 on one and a Chronarch 50 on the other so I can tell them apart when I reach down to grab one. Same principle - keeping the rod action the same removed one variable when switching baits. You're in Weatherby Lake - go to Rogers in Liberty, they carry several different lines of rods and they can hook you up. I don't get to Kansas very often but a couple of years ago I did and swung by Mojo tackle in Olathe and they have an interesting assortment of rods. I forgot how to get there, I found the address on the internet and plugged that into my GPS, as I recall it is in kind of an industrial district.

The answer is yeah - kinda. If the spool holds more than 165 yards of line, I don't know how thin this line is but I imagine it is pretty thin, then just putting the braid on the spool will leave the spool under filled, and you'll lose some casting distance. There is no formula that I know of on how to accurately put the correct amount of backing on a spool so that it comes out right and filled perfect. You just have to kind of eye ball it. If you guess too little backing, then your spool will still end up under filled . If you guess too much backing, then your spool will end up over filled and you'll cut some braid and end up with an unusable small amount of braid. Don't do that. What I do is put the backing on, using my best guess. Then load the braid. If it is over filled, take the braid off, remove some backing and try again. I've done this for a few years now and I generally come close enough the first time, but I think that is just experience and the culmination of the many mistakes I've made loading spinning reels over the year. Option B - spend the money and buy a 300 yard spool of braid and fill the spool completely full of braid. Option C - go to a tackle shop that has braid on service spools and have them put it on and pay by the yard and your spool will end up perfectly filled. The tackle store that I commonly frequent will do it either way - backing & braid or braid all the way - they don't care - they just want it to work right for you.

Years ago I bought a 7'4" BPS Extreme "Woo Davis Special" casting rod, after seeing him at a seminar in Springfield. He was promoting it as his pitching rod. BPS rated it as Med/Hvy. Didn't work for me - too "tippy" - back bone in the rod seemed off, didn't really like the handle (and at the time I thought I could reason myself into liking the handle, an early split grip model". Rod set on the bench for a couple of years. Then I thought "what the hell" and tried it for reaction baits. Not a good spinner bait rod, but it worked GREAT for square bills and med. divers, like wiggle warts. The tippy rod would throw a half ounce Timber Tiger DC8 where ever and as far as I wanted on 17 lb mono. Swap out reels to 10 lb mono and I could throw a wiggle wart or something similar far enough. I resolved the handle issue with 2 rolls of tennis racquet tape and made the handle fit my hand. The point of this story is that since BPS is closing out the Extreme series, you might be able to find one cheap. I know 6 years ago I was in BPS and they were marked down to $70 and I bought 3 more of them. A buddy of mine who is just as into gear as I am currently uses a 6'6" Lightning Rod Shock that he got on close out at Walmart as his primary wiggle wart rod. Point is that you don't have to spend a lot of money for a decent square bill/med diver rod. Not a big fan of the graphite/glass composites. I have a older Diawa crank stick that has set on the bench for a while - a buddy of mine kinda wants it because it matches several of his other rods (the old Diawa deer foot handle). Every time we get close to an agreement he waffles. I want his bac rac even up in a trade - maybe this year if I get him drunk enough. . . .

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I almost always carry a couple of drop shot rods in the boat with me. I have a regular or "finesse" rig which is spinning gear. Currently that is a 100 size mid range Shimano reel on a 7' St. Croix Mojo rod (Med- Fast action I believe) All the time I also carry a bubba drop shot rig for when I want to drop shot a bait into heavier cover, like the edges of a beaver dam or right next to thorn trees in7 to 15 feet of water. The current rig for this is a 7'5" Kistler Flipping/pitching rods (I like this rod because it is telescopic and stores in the boat easy and the rod is paired with a Chronarch 50 and 20 lb Abrazx. Most of the time I throw half ounce weights, reason being that drop shotting is a bottom technique IMO and why not get the bait to the bottom asap. Basically I let the situation decide which rig to use. Little to light cover gets the spinning approach while more gnarly areas get the bubba approach. Like I said I always carry both these rigs in the boat. I've never had a day where drop shooting only produced a great day, however I've had days where drop shot fishing has turned a mediocre day into a good day.

I'm going to have to set my computer to filter out all jerk bait threads with pictures. I have complete sets ( all the colors I think I need for where I fish ) of Pointers, Rogues, X-Raps, Husky Jerks, Stacy King Lucky Crafts, Long A's and another couple of boxes of various 1 of's that I've acquired over the years. I just can't be buying any more jerk baits. There is such a thing as ENOUGH and I've reached that stage in jerk baits, I'm telling myself that for now, anyway. . . . now in the category of oversize square bills, I haven't even filled out my second box yet. . . . . Haven't even got started in the category of over sized deep diving cranks . . . the large swim bait bug hasn't really bit me yet.

Karma . . Karma . . Karma . . most of those thrift stores exist to fund some charity or cause, which on some level is probably worthy. That reel was mis-marked because some pricing volunteer didn't know what they had. I'd consider throwing them another $30 - $40 and you'd still have a great deal. You got a GREAT deal and you don't have to do anything, consider whether the charity should be shorted because of some volunteer error.

I've been telling myself for 3 decades now that I should start & continue a fishing log. I've tried various things. . . keeping the log in the truck . . . .keeping a voice recorder in my pocket and dictating comments from time to time . . .. combination of the above .. For me, none of that works for very long because after a day of fishing I'm pretty tired and I either forget to do it or tell myself that I'll do it later. I hope you have more success in maintaining your fishing log than I have over the years. It is hard enough to keep my mileage log straight on my fishing truck.

I am bigoted against Motor Guide because back in the day when I was fishing BFL co-angler I had 2 tournaments ruined because the steering cable of my boaters Motor Guide trolling motor broke. Once was when he tried to reverse direction in a fairly heavy chop. The other was I don't know exactly why. Don't really care all that much. All that I know is that once the steering broke, tournament was over for the day for me. A year or so later, before I purchased my current boat I was introduced to a regional Minn Kota sales manager by a pro fisherman that I kinda knew. Anyway, after hearing my tale of woe, he told me that the Minn Kota Maxxum steering was "more or less indestructible" and should I ever bust one he'd replace it. That was 15 years ago. I have worn out one Maxxum trolling motor, but the steering was still fine on it. On my second one, have't worn it out yet, but steering is still fine. That is the story why I choose one over the other - I was snake bit by Motor Guide - twice.

Let me preface this by mentioning that I'm 64 now and I have NO plans to bank fish any time soon. All of these comments are based on my previous bank fishing experiences from when I was 20 something to 40 something. IMO heavier jigs are unnecessary for bank fishing. More trouble than they are worth. I have a similar opinion on drop shot fishing from the bank, there may be certain situations where it is a viable option, but most of the time there are better options. Not a big fan of those pre-tied drop shot rigs. As mentioned previously I think some top water old school Rapala bait would be in order. If you're fishing from the bank, something to fish slop might be in order, like a frog. Back when I was a meat fishing bush hippie I had some very good days walking the bank and just throwing a spinner bait, going as parallel to the bank as I could. These days a chatter bait would be just as good. Maybe a buzz bait. I think for bank fishing that there are other finesse jig heads that come through bank slop better than the Chompers heads you've chosen. Brewer slider heads come to mind. The scale seems unnecessary to me, unless you are really planning on catching big fish to have something to brag about, I'd call that scale extra weight. If you're carrying a couple of rods or more, having some system to bungee them together when you're moving from place to place is a good idea. I'm not sure that you need the TRD baits unless you're going full on NED RIG. Those elaz-tech baits can be a pain to tx rig on jig heads. If you're staying with BPS products I think the BPS Stick-O and the Stick-O with the paddle tail are excellent baits. The BPS version of the trick worm isn't a bad bait. There are a few items that I found necessary when I was bank fishing, foremost among them is a decent pair of hip waders. These make it easy to get off the bank a little bit and make the whole paralleling the bank thing easier. A decent pair of hiking boots and a water proof bag to keep them in is a good idea. Back in the day I frequently had to walk in half a mile or so (and walk back). The water proof bag is to leave the boots in on the bank while you're fishing. Don't try walking half a mile in hip waders - you'll get blisters all over your feet. I'm aware that the conditions I faced bank fishing, i.e. ponds, small reservoirs, strip pits that I fished in central & western MO are different than what you might be facing in Washington. Maybe all of these comments are wrong - I don't know.

"better" is a very relative term. I'm pretty sure that you could say that the rods are "better" than before and not be lying. I have 2 of the Wild Black rods that are several years old. I'm pretty sure that they have lasted this long because I'm not that hard on my gear and I haven't fished them very often. Given all the prior bad press, I'm unlikely to buy another one no matter how much "better" they are than previous versions.

I use whatever brand of 17 lb mono is on sale at Walmart. I think that the abrasion resistance of the 17 lb mono is worth the slightly lessened casting distance.

To echo previous comments - DON'T SCRIMP ON RAIN GEAR . . . sorry for shouting, but wanted together your attention. Buy a good set & take care of it and it will last as long as you do. Me - I got several sets. For early spring & fall I have a set of uninsulated Guide Wear. Mine is going on 15 years old and still looks excellent. I have an even older set of 10x Jacket & pants. The jacket is my everyday jacket - pants don't get worn very often. For later in the spring, summer & early fall I have a set of Frogg Toggs. They last a long time also if you take care of them and don't do stupid stuff in them. They are not bank fishing gear at all.

If you wear glasses - there isn't any substitute for prescription polarized lenses. I've tried the Fit over styles (seems to me there are a few different brands, of varying quality) and maybe it is just me, but they all seemed like unnecessary extra weight. I've worn glasses since college and since I've been old enough to buy my own stuff I've always had polarized prescription sunglasses. They ain't cheap -as I recall $500 more or less. (When I get new glasses, I always get 2 pairs - reg & sunglasses. When I get the bill for the new glasses, with all the deductions from my vision plan at work are applied, the revised total is around $500. I'm glad I don't have to do it very often) I have the photo gray lenses now on my regular glasses, and when I'm outside doing stuff and going in & out of buildings, cars , etc, they work ok but they aren't a substitute for the darker polarized lenses. I like the very darkest grey that I can get.

IMO - there is no such thing as an all purpose line. Choose which like will work the best for the purpose you will use most often, and accept the compromise when you use the rig for other purposes. For me - jerk baits are a spinning gear thing. Lipless cranks & Squarebills - abrasion resistance is a priority. Lipless cranks are likely to be fished around vegetation, so a line with less stretch where I can give the bait a rip when I feel I've caught a some vegetation is important. Square bills for me generally get thrown around woody/brushy cover so Abrasion resistance is a priority - how much a line stretches or doesn't is less a priority. Top waters - like Pop'rs or Sammies - I prefer a floating line. I know this sounds like 4 different rigs and for me it is - which gets back to the original advice which is too choose which line will work the best for the application you use most often and accept the inevitable compromises when you use the rig for other techniques. Now for a line opinion - I avoid Big Game line at all costs. I'd advise everyone to avoid Big Game line. No matter how cheap it gets at Walmart, I won't buy it. If they paid me to take it, I would pass. Over the years I've had one too many bad experiences with Big Game. I wouldn't even use it to hang picture frames. (If you are hanging picture frames, use the right tool for the job and get a decent quality flexible wire )

I use spinning gear nearly all the time for fishing hard jerk baits, like Pointers & Rogues. I do this because when it is good jerk bait fishing it is generally a little windy and I find spinning gear a little easier to use in the wind than bait casting gear, especially when I'm casting into or quartering into the wind. I cast into the wind when possible because I think that all things being equal, fish will choose to face into the wind. I know that there are MANY exceptions to this rule and I've encountered most of them, but still I prefer spinning gear. For specific gear, currently I use a 6'3" Shimano rod. I bought it in 2000 or 2001. Med Action with an extra fast tip. I've used various spinning reels over the years, currently I use an older US Reels 180 Supercaster. I know this isn't a particularly good reel but it does have the widest spool of any reel I currently own and I think that gives me more distance in this situation - and distance is part of the equation is this game. I've tried using 7' and 7.5' spinning reels and they do give me a little more distance however I find myself smacking the boat with the downward jerk of the rod that I commonly use. I think that a sideways jerk doesn't get the bait down as good and the straight down jerk. . . . compromises. . . .. . I use 14 lb Fireline Crystal for line with a relatively short (18" or so) fluorocarbon leader of 15 or 17 lb test. I think the sinking action of the leader gives the bait a very slight head down position - which I like. On your jerks, the bait tends to head down - which I like. So, there you got it - my current thoughts on jerk bait gear. This isn't etched in stone, might change up something this year, might not.

Unusable is a situational concept. For instance, deeper diving cranks are unusable in shallow weedy areas. For the most part, so are hard jerk baits. Exposed hook soft plastics are unusable in some brushy situations. For a better, refined answer, got to have the situation first, then decide which is or ain't unusable.