gotarheelz14

Thanks for your post fisheranatomy. I have sometimes taken foolish risks wading in rivers all to catch fish. The older I get, the wiser I become. This is just a nice reminder for me to always keep my wits about me while close to water. I would have never thought that you could get in that much trouble from waves. I guess its just something I've never thought about. Is there like a boater's safety course one can take? Carlos

The biggest bass I have ever caught got named. I used to have what is probably the fattest Gerbil in history. I mean this thing was a HOSS. Double the size of his gerbil brother peanut. My girlfriend and I named the fat one "Gus" and called him "Gus-Gus" like the fat mouse in Disney's Cinderella. When I posted the pics of my PB (probably around 10lbs) and I was tagging myself, I decided to tag the fish too. "Gus-Gus" haha!

Thanks Goose and Big O. Big-O, your link to the rage tail website reminded me of the following! I had been having absolutely no luck with one trailer, Netbait's Paca Craw. Now don't get me wrong, when I need less action, these are by far my go to trailers and in certain situations, they are unbeatable. But, when the action is hot or I need a little more action, I go to the Rage Tail Craw. In this case, the Okeechobee Craw color, flipped over to display the blue flake more prominently. Great baits and during the summer and spring months, by far my top producing craw/trailer!

Not really. It was a regular old casting jig. I threw a lot of things today and they simply were not biting. After jigging the deeper water, I moved to the extremely shallow area of the lake. I decided to swim the jig instead of going for a crayfish motion. I quickly caught a c.a. 2.5lber. Light went off in my head. Maybe they were moving in shallower with the couple days of warm weather? Yup. They were.... I definitely don't think they have started transitioning. I'm pretty confident they are still on their winter-ish patterns. However, because of the really hot weather we have had, some may have just decided to move up and get their feed on before going back when the cold spells move through again.

Look, I have had 3 $150-200 dollar Oakleys in the last 4 years. I have also had a pair of $50 dollar Nike sunglasses. All were polarized. All have lasted over 4 years and the simple truth is that I payed more for the Oakleys because they have a cool little circular logo on them that stands for "Oakley". Don't get me wrong. The Oakleys are by far nicer sunglasses in that they feel better on my head and they simply will not break. Having said all this, if I only wanted/had $50 dollars to spend. I would not think twice about buying those $50 Nikes. As long as you take decent care of them, they should last you quite a while. Don't feel like you need to spend $200 on a pair of sunglasses when $50 will do.

A golf flag...but then again I've only been fishing for a year. Hopefully I can catch something more interesting down the road. No dead animals though :-/

Shell Cracker I believe I was told...

Must be something to that, it's one of my favorite trout lures too. The white Rooster Tail works well also. Tom Hahaha that's hilarious. This has been my best producing trout bait too!

Skeet Reese ;D

As far as I'm concerned, it's THE ONLY reel I really need anymore, especially now that they came out with the 7.1 version.

Hey there. I have two Soron stx's for dropshotting and for shaky heads and other heavier finesse techniques. Depending on what line you are using, you might want to conider stepping up to the 40. Size and weight are a huge factor on my consideration for spinning reels so, I chose to go with the 20 instead of the 40. Overall, I think the 20 is the best size. As for the rod, you are probably going to need a M or a MH. I would probably go with the Medium seeing how I typically use lighter jig heads anywhere from 1/16-3/16ths. I feel that a Medium rod give me more feel for bait in this weight than say, a MH would. Carlo

I thought about buying some for wading shoes. Most of the rivers I fish though are EXTREMELY rocky with a few huge boulders thrown into the mix. I don't think they would hold up very well and I certainly wouldn't want to be walking over rocks all day in those. The bottoms don't look thick enough to be walking on rocks without the pressure getting directly to your feet. Ouch!

I forgot to mention that this bait helped me land a 6lber the other day right off the deep end of a laydown. I simply pitched it out there, let it lay for a good 30 second, one hopped it and got smacked!

For times when I want flipping a bait that has virtually no action, yet "looks" as if it should, I turn to the Zoom Super Hawg. I am fond to the Junebug color because most of the waters I fish it in are really stained to just downright muddy. I must admit the first time I tried this bait, I actually hated it. I didn't catch a fish and it had absolutely no action to it though it certainly looked as if it should have. I gave it a second chance when I ran out of beavers one 99 degree summer afternoon and was surprised at how well it produced. I suggest you give this bait a try. It has caught a TON of fish for me when the bite is off or the water is cold. Carlos

Neither. Soron STX ;D

9 over 3 5lbers...

I had absolutely no idea that some of them had fish in them. Perhaps you have just inspired me to go check some out! Carlos

Like RW said, "the best" will be whatever the responder uses. In this case, the responder has used various Shimano reels and various Abu Garcia reels. I currently have 8 abus to my one shimano. The shimano is getting replaced soon...

How hilarious would it be if a huge tumor that size put a really huge bass into World Record status??? I would be soooo madddd hahaha.

Daiwa Zillion + Revo Premier...Match made in heaven!

I have a virtually new citica I'll sell you for $60 shipped. It has the three tiniest tiniest little pin ***** looking scratches on the side cover plate that covers the centrifugal breaking pins. I have probably used it 6 times. I just don't like it. It's not for me. I have been spoiled by the Abu Garcia Revo Premiers! I love them, but my wallet don't! Carlos

Thanks for the answers guys. I actually don't really fish for salmonoids at all as I live in NC and I don't think many salmon come flying up our creeks and rivers. I was actually thinking about White Bass when I wrote this but from what I have read so far today, most of the same stuff that you guys were saying apply just the same. Thanks guys, Carlos

So as I understand it, some species of fish make a "run" up rivers, creeks and streams that feed into a lake. They spawn in the creeks/rivers/streams I think. So, why do they feel the need to run up into creeks and rivers to spawn? Why can't they just stay in the main lake and spawn there? Also, what do they do when they are done? Do they come back? I've been trying to find information on "running" if anyone has a good website I would be much obliged. Carlos Saravia

Good lord dude. I love crappie fishing. This just makes me want to get out there right now!!!

Here's how I feel about fluorocarbon. I really like it for bottom bouncing baits. (c-rigs, t-rigs, drop shots, jigs, crankbaits) It doesn't have as much stretch and I really like this for setting the hook. You don't have to wail on it as much as mono and if you do wail on it, you get really positive hook sets. It sinks and in situations like drop shotting or finesse stuff, the sink factor really helps to get it down in the zone faster. It has a whole heck of a lot of sensitivity to it. More so than mono and in my own personal experience, almost as much as braid. It is really abrasion resistant. You can drag it over wood, rocks, and it holds out really really well. Try dragging your braid through the bottom of rivers that are rock bottomed... : To top it all off, it is virtually invisible in water. Some people will say that it doesn't matter. To me, it can't hurt though I still have not made a decision on how I feel. I don't really choose Fluorocarbon because of this property but it is nice to have. I have never had a problem with knots. Lube them up real well, take your time trying them, and you should not have any problems either. The really big problem for me though, and one that I can hardly get over? It has so much freakin', stinkin' memory! More so than most of the monos I have tried. It's not like braid where you can ball it up into loops, re spool and it sits perfectly as if it had just come out of the box (a little hyperbole but not much). So, to get around that terrible memory which bugs me so much, I usually just go with braid and tie on a leader of about the length of the rod, sometimes two when I am going to burn through a lot of leader (drop shots). Carlos Note: I should also add that I actually PREFER Vanish Fluorocarbon, something that most people hate. I have absolutely no problems tying knots and breaking off. The line memory is something I have come across most other types of fluorocarbons. Even some of the more expensive ones I tried like P-line, had even MORE memory than the Vanish I used LOL . I do hear from others that some of the more expensive ones like Tatsu don't have as much memory and are a dream to fish. I just can't see myself paying out the ying yang for line though...