deep

Thanks, found them. Time to study.

Umm Mattlures? Not the baits I fish most often, not the ones I catch most or the biggest fish on, but definitely my favorite. Get some.

I fish yamamotos, reaction innovations, roboworms & upton customs.

What does fishing in a crowded area have to do anything with leader length? Have a leader that just long enough so that the connecting knot does not get into the reel. Why are you fishing in a crowd anyway?

Ok, that helps. Are both reels inconsistent? Between the two, I'd pick the Daiwa to learn casting. Does it have mag-V or mag-Z brakes? Are you doing anything special- like putting a little extra oomph- on the errant casts? As has been mentioned, try some heavier and aerodynamic baits, like a rattle trap or just a plain weight. I'd also try some heavier line on that Daiwa; 30# braid is sort of thin for baitcasters. As for the original question, baitcasters are indispensable for me- even for conventional bass fishing. I don't even have a spinning combo (other than an ultralight I bought to help a friend out, one that I'm trying to sell actually). I don't fish anything lighter than 1/4 oz though, or techniques like dropshot.

So what's the problem? Are you getting backlashes, or just not casting as far as you'd like? Please elaborate on the "inconsistent" part.

I know you have a toledo bend thread. But do a thread on fishing structure Catt, please, if you have the time. We can all learn from you if you begin from the beginning. Your posts are sometimes a little too hard to follow, since most of us do not have the time on water that folks like you have had.

Thank you for sharing that Roger. One of my pet peeves is confusing cover with structure. The other is saying action, when you really mean power. Structure is the bottom of the reservoir itself. More precisely, it's a discernible part of the bottom. Anything that's settled on it, or grows on it, etc etc, is cover. Now, there's a reason that aquatic grass stops growing at a certain depth, or creates points and pockets, or one type of vegetation gives way to another type; and these often correspond with what I refer to as soft structure (soil type breaks for example).

Cosmic clock. 'Nuff said. Study it, and come back with more specific questions. It's a long winter, and no one's going anywhere.

Go easy on the pound test unless you're fishing a lot of cover- in which case I'd try other jigheads anyway. 12# Tatsu is what I use for 3/8 to 1/2 oz horizontal jigs. It seems that has the same diameter as 8# trilene. Medium to medium-heavy power is fine depending on your tastes, I like fast action. Rod length and reel speed depend on your personal preferences.

Nothing wrong with them PQs. Clean and lube it, and if necessary get it checked out by a reel tech. If it still doesn't cast as far as you'd like, maybe try a longer/ more suitable rod.

Depends on what the bass wants.

Bring on the banhammer Speed. Oh wait, wrong website!

Yes, except that what appears to us to be a very realistic paintjob might not look the same to the bass. I like certain colors* on my hardbaits- I'm not picky about "how" those colors are painted on to represent a certain forage. Also like the firetiger/ chartreuse blue color, for clear water. I do not like chrome/ reflective anything (prefer solid/ dull/ muted colors). That has turned out to be poor producer in my reservoirs. * white belly, dark top, a little yellow/ chartreuse, a little purple/ blue, a little pink/ red/ orange.

Happy new year guys, and girls.

Re: trimming skirts. This is something I learnt from Matt Allen, and found to work well for me. Do NOT trim bucktails, by the way. I like the longest strands to be no longer than 3/4" past the hook. Get yourself a pair of thinning scissors (very cheap)- works good on silicone; rubber, not so much. (But I doubt you're thinking about rubber or hair jigs.) Separate the two skirt layers. For the outer layer, I do a three stage cut. One-third of the strand gets the finesse cut (pretty close to the head so that they stand out), one-third gets cut short, but not as short. Half of the inner layer gets cut short too, maybe just around the length of the hook shank. The idea is to get the different strands to have different lengths and give the bait a non-uniform look. Oh, and in case you didn't know, out of the pack jigs catch fish too.

What I've come to realize over the years is that there are only a few duds in the $100 and up range. It's going to come down to your preferences regarding length, action, power, handle length, etc etc. Between those three, I'll pick the Crucial.

Take a good good look at the handle lengths, and action (no, I don't mean power) of the blank, before buying.

last chance tackle. 15% off.

Wow. That's all; I'm feeling rather magnanimous.

They feed whenever the hell they want to feed. The real question is when are they easier to fool. The answer, for me (strictly speaking of NLMBs in clear highland reservoirs), is during low light periods. (Low light includes but is not limited to early and late in the day.) Ya'll have fun getting a suntan.

Might be able to help you regarding the UVA bass fishing scene. Send me a PM please.

I think you're describing what I call newts. When I start seeing them in Spring, I know it's time to get serious about fishing.

This is the dual of setting up a milk-run vs fishing a particular spot until your (big) fish decides to choose a particular offering. You can look at your topo map and find several spots that you believe have the ingredients (structure) to hold big fish, and visit them periodically thoroughout the day. Or you can camp out on one or two good spots (good as determined by your prior experiences on that fishery for that particular season) and fish all different kinds of baits to determine what the fish wants. Most of the time, I believe the fish were there on that spot, as evidenced by the follows I got. It's just that I couldn't give them what they really wanted. I look at the issue of timing from a large scale, and a fine scale. On the large scale, I have my moon phases and the barometer trends. There is no question in my mind that on certain moon phases/ weather trends, I'm more likely to stick a big fish, compared to others. I sometimes (though not always) have the luxury of choosing the days I can be on the water. When I do, you can bet I pick the days I feel will be more productive for me. I might still get skunked, but big bass fishing is a game of playing the percentages. You pick the high percentage spots, and fish them with the high percentage baits, and if you have the chance, during the good times of the month. If you're serious about catching bigger fish, start keeping notes about significant catches, and see if you can find a trend. Maybe there's one, maybe not; but something to do over the winter. If there aren't enough data points for 7# plus fish (I don't have that many), start including adult fish (4# plus). There is nothing accidental about sticking a big fish. You did something right when you made that happen, even if it was unintentional. What has always confounded me is the deal about daily activity. Timing on a fine scale. Bill Murphy made a point about keeping an eye out for subtle changes in the weather while you're fishing. Some of my bigger catches corroborate this, some don't (probably I was fishing the wrong spot). Details matter when fishing for big fish, keeping your mind and your eyes open can help discern some of them. The topic of moon phases and barometric trends have been beaten to death, but I would love to have a discussion about daily activity periods.