gotarheelz14

Nice fish man! It's not winter unless the lakes are frozen in at least the shaded side hahaha! In all seriousness though, how are you liking your abu soron stx? Is it the stx 40? I am debating on whether to get the 20 or 40 for a shakey head, wacky rigged, grubs and others...

Went out today to fish for Crappie. My best friend said he would only go with me if I fished for bass with him. I thought it would be a waste of time but fishing and not catching fish is better than NOT fishing and not catching fish. I was fishing a 1/4 blue and black King Sling jig from Dave's Tournament Tackle With a blue Baby Paca Craw trailer. Great jigs, built like TANKS!!! You can drag them through rocks, brush, logs and nothing, not even the eyes will fall off. I was dragging the jig across a border line between rip rap and a tiny creek bed, near some deep water. I felt a couple of taps and I could not believe it. Had I really just hooked my first Winter bass????

When I need to break off on braid I'll just wrap the line around the handle of my pliers a couple times and give a nice pull. A lot of times I will just straighten the hook or uproot whatever I'm stuck on. A couple of times I've wrapped it around a mooring cleat and backed up with the tm. Works every time I tried doing the same thing with 15 lb. CXX once. The boat lost, LOL. You got a weak trolling motor then

I have had two Triumphs. The first was a 7'0 M F action. It fell into the bottom of a lake never to be seen again. I loved that rod for anything from dropshot to shakey heads to jigs and texas rigs. The one I have now is a 5'6 UL Fast action beauty. I have caught more fish on that rod than all my other rods combined. It is extremely sensitive for what it is. It is really nice, the craftsmanship is ridiculously good when you think about the price. Triumphs and the Crucials definitely fall under the the best rods for the money category.

Hey guys I need a couple of Spinning Reels, one for my drop shot, one for shakey heads and other "bigger' finesse techniques. Drop Shot Setup: 6'9 ML XF Daiwa Fuego Spinning Rod (1/16oz-3/8oz). I know I'm going to buy an Abu Garcia Soron STX but I can't decide between: 1.) STX 10---6lbs/110yds 2.) STX 20---8lbs/110yds I will be using braid, with a 6lb fluorocarbon leader. I just cannot put up with the PITA aspects of Fluoro :. "Other Finesse": 6'10 Daiwa Fuego Spinning Rod (3/16oz-1/2oz). Once again, abu garcia soron but cannot decide between: 1.) Soron STX 20---8lbs/110yds 2.) Soron STX 40---10lb/110yds Once again, I will be using braid with probably an 8-10 fluorocarbon leader. So, what do yo guys think? What reel should I go with for each set up? What do you think will balance the rod vs reel weight? What will provide me with enough capacity?

What the previous poster said also clarifies a lot of things. The fish do need some time to grow and become a good meal size for the bigger bass. Thus, it is not only during the spawning time that you should look to throw this type of colors but also well beyond that, possibly even during winter? Depending on how fast they grow, possibly during the next spring? Look at all you learn here hahaha. Ain't this site great?

What the previous poster said also clarifies a lot of things. The fish do need some time to grow and become a good meal size for the bigger bass. Thus, it is not only during the spawning time that you should look to throw this type of colors but also well beyond that, possibly even during winter? Depending on how fast they grow, possibly during the next spring? Look at all you learn here hahaha. Ain't this site great?

What the previous poster said also clarifies a lot of things. The fish do need some time to grow and become a good meal size for the bigger bass. Thus, it is not only during the spawning time that you should look to throw this type of colors but also well beyond that, possibly even during winter? Depending on how fast they grow, possibly during the next spring? Look at all you learn here hahaha. Ain't this site great?

If we take everything we know about bass including the things you have mentioned; that they eat their fry during certain times, that they do not all spawn at the same time, and that they are opportunistic feeders, we can draw some pretty favorable conclusions as they relate to baby bass colored lures. Because they eat their young, the lure should work pretty efficiently during certain times of the year. But, because bass do not all spawn at the same time, you can see that the window of opportunity in which you can use the color effectively, becomes a lot wider. Even if the fish are well beyond the point of spawning, being the opportunistic feeders that they are, if you present a baby bass colored lure in front of them at any other time of the year and the conditions are right, I see no reason why a fish wouldn't target the lure. Finally, as others have stated, the lure also probably works simply because it is such a good "natural" color. Think of how many other fish or animals for that matter might have the same broad coloration in the body of water you are fishing in. Some species of sunfish, frogs, insects, perch, etc etc have many of the same colors as do "baby bass" colored lures. Particularly, if the lures are presented "at speed" and you draw a reaction bite, a fish usually isn't going to stop to see how naturally colored the lure looks. Instinct dictates that this fish will likely operate under "Eat first, ask questions later"---especially when the lure is as naturally colored as are baby bass lures. You can probably tell that I have enjoyed pretty good success throwing "baby bass" colored lures. I do not have much money to spend on lures and the fact that the majority of my lures are this pattern---you can tell how crazy I am about them. PS. I caught this fish (my pb) in the very middle of summer. All fish were probably completely spawned out by this point. I had not gotten a freakin' bite all day, 4 hours of fishing to be exact. I was getting ready to call it quits and decided to change up the color and throw a baby bass version to my cotton cordell lipless crankbait (love these things). I landed her on the first cast of this bait in this color....

If we take everything we know about bass including the things you have mentioned; that they eat their fry during certain times, that they do not all spawn at the same time, and that they are opportunistic feeders, we can draw some pretty favorable conclusions as they relate to baby bass colored lures. Because they eat their young, the lure should work pretty efficiently during certain times of the year. But, because bass do not all spawn at the same time, you can see that the window of opportunity in which you can use the color effectively, becomes a lot wider. Even if the fish are well beyond the point of spawning, being the opportunistic feeders that they are, if you present a baby bass colored lure in front of them at any other time of the year and the conditions are right, I see no reason why a fish wouldn't target the lure. Finally, as others have stated, the lure also probably works simply because it is such a good "natural" color. Think of how many other fish or animals for that matter might have the same broad coloration in the body of water you are fishing in. Some species of sunfish, frogs, insects, perch, etc etc have many of the same colors as do "baby bass" colored lures. Particularly, if the lures are presented "at speed" and you draw a reaction bite, a fish usually isn't going to stop to see how naturally colored the lure looks. Instinct dictates that this fish will likely operate under "Eat first, ask questions later"---especially when the lure is as naturally colored as are baby bass lures. You can probably tell that I have enjoyed pretty good success throwing "baby bass" colored lures. I do not have much money to spend on lures and the fact that the majority of my lures are this pattern---you can tell how crazy I am about them. PS. I caught this fish (my pb) in the very middle of summer. All fish were probably completely spawned out by this point. I had not gotten a freakin' bite all day, 4 hours of fishing to be exact. I was getting ready to call it quits and decided to change up the color and throw a baby bass version to my cotton cordell lipless crankbait (love these things). I landed her on the first cast of this bait in this color....

If we take everything we know about bass including the things you have mentioned; that they eat their fry during certain times, that they do not all spawn at the same time, and that they are opportunistic feeders, we can draw some pretty favorable conclusions as they relate to baby bass colored lures. Because they eat their young, the lure should work pretty efficiently during certain times of the year. But, because bass do not all spawn at the same time, you can see that the window of opportunity in which you can use the color effectively, becomes a lot wider. Even if the fish are well beyond the point of spawning, being the opportunistic feeders that they are, if you present a baby bass colored lure in front of them at any other time of the year and the conditions are right, I see no reason why a fish wouldn't target the lure. Finally, as others have stated, the lure also probably works simply because it is such a good "natural" color. Think of how many other fish or animals for that matter might have the same broad coloration in the body of water you are fishing in. Some species of sunfish, frogs, insects, perch, etc etc have many of the same colors as do "baby bass" colored lures. Particularly, if the lures are presented "at speed" and you draw a reaction bite, a fish usually isn't going to stop to see how naturally colored the lure looks. Instinct dictates that this fish will likely operate under "Eat first, ask questions later"---especially when the lure is as naturally colored as are baby bass lures. You can probably tell that I have enjoyed pretty good success throwing "baby bass" colored lures. I do not have much money to spend on lures and the fact that the majority of my lures are this pattern---you can tell how crazy I am about them. PS. I caught this fish (my pb) in the very middle of summer. All fish were probably completely spawned out by this point. I had not gotten a freakin' bite all day, 4 hours of fishing to be exact. I was getting ready to call it quits and decided to change up the color and throw a baby bass version to my cotton cordell lipless crankbait (love these things). I landed her on the first cast of this bait in this color....

Good Gosh J! What a freakin' fish. I get tired of only being able to catch LM here in my neck of the woods. It's kind of the only interesting thing really... I have recently switched over and started fishing heavily for Crappie. That's about as exciting of a change as I get around here. This spring/summer I intend on hitting the few smallmouth areas in NC hard but until then, Here's to looking at your pics!

haha right on. Pretty funny. Carlos

hehehe! And Merry Christmas to YOU and ALL! Carlos

hehehe! And Merry Christmas to YOU and ALL! Carlos

hehehe! And Merry Christmas to YOU and ALL! Carlos

Christmas is the best time of the year! Despite that the lakes up here were frozen and I could only cast to about 10% of the lake :| In all seriousness though, I hope everyone has had a great year, and a great one coming up. Merry Christmas!!!! ;D Carlos

Christmas is the best time of the year! Despite that the lakes up here were frozen and I could only cast to about 10% of the lake :| In all seriousness though, I hope everyone has had a great year, and a great one coming up. Merry Christmas!!!! ;D Carlos

Christmas is the best time of the year! Despite that the lakes up here were frozen and I could only cast to about 10% of the lake :| In all seriousness though, I hope everyone has had a great year, and a great one coming up. Merry Christmas!!!! ;D Carlos

I held a Steez rod for the first time at BPS this past Sunday. I nearly messed my pants when I held it. Then, to add insult to injury, the guy hands me the steez baitcaster to go along with it. The best way I can describe it is that it felt like holding a cloud. It was so smooth and it felt "just right". I nearly dropped to the floor. I handled many other rods including the top offerings from just about every other brand including the new NRXs. By far, the Steez are the LIGHTEST, and most comfortable gear that I have ever held or even imagined possible. I have never actually fished one but my god I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to fish one of them. Right now, I am in no position to buy one and probably, will never have the income to spend on those rods. Plus, the gear I own right now is TOP quality stuff and does me more than just fine. I'm just saying, if I were to ever be in an income level that would allow me to purchase the rods while fulfilling all my other needs without sacrificing my family's quality of life, I would purchase those rods/reels in a heartbeat! Carlos

Thanks for the responses thus far guys. I am not dead set on braid necessarily. I just want something that is going to give me more sensitivity than mono and at the same time won't hinder the topwater bait's performance. As far as CXX though since it is fluorocarbon coated, won't that affect topwaters pretty bad? Does it sink or float? I'm having such a tough time deciding lol!!!!

It's 6'6 M, XF. I will mostly be throwing smaller to medium soft plastics, T-rigged with this rod. I will also use it though for jerkbaits and topwaters. I was thinking on going with braid as the all around choice. I think it will provide awesome sensitivity for the plastics. I do feel like I can manage to avoid pulling out trebles on the smaller fish when I set the hook on jerkbaits and topwaters. I really don't set the hook hard anyways. Do you think this would be ok or would the braid and top waters/jerkbaits on an xf rod just be a huge no no?

Hey guys, I was fishing today in my local neighborhood lake. I knew there were bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill but I had no idea there were shad in there! I was ultra light fishing for some crappie today when I felt something hit my line. I set the hook immediately and pulled out this guy... I always thought shad were fish found in well planned out and established reservoirs. So, it's kind of shocking to me that the people who stocked the lake did such a thorough job. So, what's the deal with shad? Are they pretty common to be stocked into places or do you think this neighborhood lake may have just always natrally existed, so to speak...?

Hey guys, I was fishing today in my local neighborhood lake. I knew there were bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill but I had no idea there were shad in there! I was ultra light fishing for some crappie today when I felt something hit my line. I set the hook immediately and pulled out this guy... I always thought shad were fish found in well planned out and established reservoirs. So, it's kind of shocking to me that the people who stocked the lake did such a thorough job. So, what's the deal with shad? Are they pretty common to be stocked into places or do you think this neighborhood lake may have just always natrally existed, so to speak...?

Hey guys, I was fishing today in my local neighborhood lake. I knew there were bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill but I had no idea there were shad in there! I was ultra light fishing for some crappie today when I felt something hit my line. I set the hook immediately and pulled out this guy... I always thought shad were fish found in well planned out and established reservoirs. So, it's kind of shocking to me that the people who stocked the lake did such a thorough job. So, what's the deal with shad? Are they pretty common to be stocked into places or do you think this neighborhood lake may have just always natrally existed, so to speak...?