Jigfishn10

If your comfortable and feel you are more accurate with spinning reels then stick with them. IMHO. I use BC's 90% (the other 10% is when I cast very light lures) of the time because that's what I like and I'm used to. There are some spinning reels out there that have the capability of catching some very large saltwater fish, so don't sell them short.

Sounds like you were fishing near the banks? What was the day like? Sunny/Overcast? Temps/water and air? Time of day? The bass you caught, where were they, shallow, near deep water (I know from a weedbed, but where were the beds near)? Just trying to help piece it together as well.

It is what it is RW. You go to a gun fight with a knife and sometimes you lose. Get up the next morning and bite the dog that bit ya.

g52...I find up here in New England ponds, the bass will be on the edge of the thick weeds during a stable condition. If a front is in, then they will tuck under. Despite being "book taught" that the bass will tuck in the weeds during a "blue bird" day, I'm finding that bass are still out on the weed edge at this time of year on a pond here and will be active. The bigger boys will be out further from the bank adjacent to deeper water and the little guys are around the bank. You will find some bigger bass at times shallow, but they are very finicky. I'm mostly a bank fisherman during the week. I try and get out about 3 times a week after work and my advice I just gave you is based on what I've been seeing thus far. This is clearly MHO. I've been making long cast to the outer weed edge with a 1/4 oz jig and chunk trailer or a 3" or 4" grub. The average 2 hours I fish for will yield 4-6 nice bass from the bank. I also find that on a natural pond an arky jig works really well. In man made ponds/reservoirs I tend to lean towards a flipping or casting jig like a Strike King Bitsy jig or Bitsy Flip. If you really think that the bass are holed up in the thick weeds and you can't cast past the edge, then a 1/2oz is what I use, especially during those days when the front is in. If you can cast past the thick stuff and work your 1/4oz into it and thru it (don't be afraid to lose some jigs), then I find that's the way to go. Please, take this with a grain of salt, but here in MA, that's what's been working for me. Good luck.

GREAT JOB! That jig weight is my choice as well for that application.

I usually have green or black...I personally think that the trailer is the triggering component...again, mho

Awesome! Do you mind pushing a few North?

Fishing has been awesome since I last posted in here. I've been catching some nice quality bass on trick sticks, spinnerbaits and jigs. The bite has been agressive with the exception of a couple of slow days after a front has moved in. The bigger fish have moved out to weedlines adjacent to deeper water and long casts are needed to reach them from shore. They seem to be along the edges with some over the tops. The smaller fish are still shallow and relating to cover and structure. You'll see cruisers along the spawning flats where the remaining gills and seeds are still spawning. I know that panfish spawn multiple times, but it seems like this year has been an extended period. I'm also finding that the bass are a little bigger this year which is a good change from the past 2 years. Good luck to you all...tight lines

My son (he's 5 yrs old) learned a baitcaster on a hookless crankbait this year.

I think I'm going to try that. I like how the snelled knot wraps around the shank eliminating a pivot point like an improved clinch knot would and to some degree a palomar knot. It does seem like you would get a much more solid hookset with that setup. Good post Crestliner.

I managed to get out for the first time last weekend in K-Port ME, with no luck. My neighbor had caught a couple of schoolies during the week, but he said it's been slow. I'll be giving it a try again this weekend. Anyone having any luck?

Welcome...Loved TN when I went down there

Welcome to BR

Welcome to BR

Welcome

Welcome...enjoy your stay

That's AWESOME CJ! I just got my 5 yr old son Dillon into fishing this year. We haven't been able to get out a lot, but I'm hoping he catches his first bass so I can post a thread like this. Congrats on the nice fish and I'm glad you have a great partner.

IMHO: I'm sure I'll get resistance with this statement, but what helped me when I first started fishing jigs and detecting strikes, I used a cranking rod. The tip is soft with enough backbone for landing fish. I've found that the soft tip helped me to detect strikes, rock, brush, grass etc. You will sacrifice hook-sets with this rod (you go cross-eyed on the hook-set), but, in my experience, you'll will feel a lot coming from the rod tip with this set-up. The other thing I did was to really have a taught line in the water. After the cast I would feed line out and watch when the line stopped moving forward. This provided me the most vertical presentation. I would reel up the slack with my rod tip @ 10 o'clock and the only line that would touch the surface of the water would be at the point of entry. From there you learn to watch your line as well as fish the weight of the lure as described by Catt and K_Mac. I used these techniques until "I got it". Good luck and hope this helps

I use either a 3" or 4" curly tail grub. I rig with the curl tail pointed down and I'm trying to imitate a wounded fish. Match the forage in your lake/pond. Up here it's bluegill, perch or pumpkinseed. I like to pop the rod tip like I'm fishing a Zara Spook on a semi-slack line, it will pull line up and at the end of the pop the lure will move about a foot. Practice with it a bit and you'll get it. Your initial reaction would be to pull the lure on a tight line. Just leave out a little more line until you get the action you want. After popping, reel up some slack and let the lure fall 6" -12" before you pop again. The bite more than likely will be aggressive like a spinnerbait bite. Good luck

I'm not sure if this is the case, but you sound as if you're being really dedicated to jig fishing and you left everything at home to learn these lures which is the way to go if that's what your doing. I'm also not sure what type of presentation you used, was it a standard lift drop retrieve hopping along the bottom, or a drag along the bottom maintaining complete contact with bottom or did you swim? When the first 2 presentation don't work for me I swim. Sometimes just a steady and constant crank like a slow rolled spinnerbait, or I like to cast out let it sink just below the surface and with your rod tip I pump the slack line twice pulling the jig about a foot or so, reel up most of the slack and pump the tip again. I vary the presentation, sometimes longer or shorter, multiple or singular pumps, etc. All I'm trying to achieve is an erratic action like a wounded fish and I'm looking for that reflex strike. Good luck on your next outing. Hope this helps.

I think some bites are similar for both jigs and soft plastics, but I think the jig bite has a few more additional bites associated with it which makes the jig a little more unique. MHO

If you're on a budget, then I don't think you can go wrong with an Ugly Stik. I know a lot of people using them and really like them. I personally like the 3 St. Croix rods I built and wouldn't trade them for anything. Back in 2000 I was on a retail development which had Home Depot and WalMart as anchor stores. A contractor asked me to go fishing and I went to WalMart and bought a Shakespeare SBC2804 round baitcaster for $40. I still have and use that baitcaster to this day. In 2005 I had the levelwind pawl lock up on the worm shaft and damaged both parts as well as the levelwind gear. I called Shakespeare Customer Service to order parts and they couldn't have been easier to deal with. I think the replacement parts cost around $5.00 and I got 2 of each part. They were on my door step 2 days after ordering. IMHO I think that their higher end reels (Pfluegar) are not bad reels. I can't really comment on any other Pfluegar products as I have not used those products.

Nice tip Redtail. How well do they hold up after soldering surgery?

2008 Ford F150 on a missed hook set. Caught the drivers side mirror on a lipless crankbait. It spooled me. Does that count?