deep

Bass make their beds singly. Bluegill beds are like a colony. The point of the original question was, if they were bluegill beds, bass will hang around them next year, and of course I marked the spots. Three more locations to fish. This lake is shore-fishing only, and the "beds" are about 50-60 feet offshore at full pool. No way I can detect them 10 feet under water standing on the shore, even with my polarized 7-eye glasses.

With the water level of my favorite lake at least 7 feet below full pool, instead of fishing, this evening I hiked all around the lake (it's only 45 acres) taking extensive photos of the entire shoreline, and trying to find new structures/ covers. I came across these: see photos. Each indentation had a diameter of about a foot, were maybe five to six inches deep, and each cluster had 10-12 of those. Found three of these clusters. Well, are these abandoned bluegill beds? Or beds of some other (forage) fish? There's crappie and probably carp in this lake.

Unit conversion trouble strikes again? Maybe the scale read 6 lbs, instead of 6 kgs? Nice fish regardless, and cool write-up. EDIT: Totally unrelated, but just saw a cool post from Butch Brown over at the SBNation forum. All three photos are of the same 2 lb bass

I have a Pinnacle Perfecta 7'8" MH cranking stick, and a Powell Max 7'3" M/XF spinning rod. Very happy with both. Comparing apples to oranges, but considering that each cost $170, I feel that the Powell is more of a rod for the money. I also like the looks of the Powell much better, but that is of course a personal preference. No complaint about the Pinnacle though. It's just that it feels like a good $170 rod, which is what it is. The Powell fishes like a much more expensive rod, not that I've fished too many of those (except a Dobyns Champion and a St Croix Legend Tournament). EDIT: in case anyone's interested, this is the review I wrote about the Pinnacle about a year back.

Not a problem dude.

PBs are always special. Great photos too. WTG!

It's still fun though.. Mine is a quarter ounce jig with a rage craw trailer. A 5" weightless T- or wacky rigged GY senko is a close second, and a 1/2 oz rattletrap is a distant third.

UPS broke a rod that I bought from TW, and beat up another so bad that the guides were all bent. TW fixed that at no extra charge, but I've learnt to spend 10 extra bucks and get my rods by FedEx next day air. Not hating on UPS, just saying. I'm sure stuff like that happens with USPS or FedEx too..

I wish you could buy online. I don't know about the Dicks Sporting Goods you plan to go to, but the one near in Charlottesville (the town I live in) sort of sucks. They have some Avids, but that's about it as far as decent rods are concerned. The tec specs are supposedly good. My Dicks sells St Croix Triumphs for around $70. Not the best sub $100 rod, but it's all right; I have one. They also have Mojos, which is an upgrade from the Triumphs (around $100). Could you make a trip to your local Dicks, and maybe provide a little more info on the rods they have there? P.S. You're spot on with your observation about that white Abu rod. Couldn't agree more.

FedEx Ground works for me when I sell my rods on ebay or the forums. The last time it cost me $25 to ship a 7'3" rod. Probably slightly more expensive than UPS, but I've "heard" too many horror stories about broken rods shipped with UPS. Never tried UPS, so I don't know any better.

If you know where the fish are, before changing the color or bait, I'd change the retrieve. A spinnerbait, just like a jig, is a very versatile lure. I don't like throwing spinnerbaits at all, but that's another matter. You can bottom bounce and hop that spinner bait, rip it, yo-yo it, reel and pause, wake it, whatever; you get the idea. Sure sometimes changing colors (matching the hatch) can turn a good day into a great day, but if you aren't getting any strikes at all, chances are there's something wrong that's more important than the color. IMHO of course.

I've often spent one whole trip with a black and blue jig tied to the end of my line. Less frequently, with a 6" weedless hudd. Just gotta find the fish. Put that jig in front of an active fish; he'll bite it.

You definitely need a 300 size reel, especially if you're using 17 lb CXX. I use 15 lb Yo-zuri hybrid (20 lb true test), and even then I almost spool my Curado 301E throwing an aerodynamic bait like a 6" plastic Punker. Since it seems you reel right hand, your options are basically endless, and depends totally on your budget. I don't have a Cardiff, but the Cardiff 300A is a pretty good starting point as I hear from the discussions I read on the SBNation forum. I'm currently on the lookout for a second swimbait set-up for soft swimbaits upto 2.5 oz, and the Cardiff 301A is one of the reels I'm seriously considering. No experience with either rod, but once again I'm looking at the Dobyns 795ML among others. Good luck!

Soft and pliable. Yes, it's (almost) as good as new.

BUMP. Any more reviews? I kinda dig the idea of a very low-stretch line. Anyone use this for single hook applications like jigs or T-rigs or C-rigs? I'm thinking of trying it for my weedless hudds.

Catt, I believe I have figured out how to catch 5 twelve-inch keepers consistently, but big fish, even 3 pounders are few and far between for me when I fish my local lake. I know for a fact there are some nice fish in there.. I've even caught a few, including a 8+. The trouble is I guess, I fish the lake the same way as always. And of course, I end up with the same results. That's still better than how I see others, who beat the banks, fare on that lake. I am out of ideas. I keep trying to fish offshore, points, creeks, channels, ridges, humps; and still catch those 15-16 inchers. It's more fun than beating the shoreline cover, but honestly, I'm sick of catching those 1-2 pound bass. I do believe that catching bigger bass consistently needs a different mindset. Do you have any tips for me?

this bait? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-MUSKy-NIBBLER-SWIM-BAIT-MUSKIE-TROUT-LURE-/290605792440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a9747cb8#ht_895wt_1272 $795.00??

Depends on what you want to throw on that rod. Anything as big or bigger than a 8" hudd, you'd probably want a Shimano 400 size reel or equivalent. For swimbaiting, the Calcutta 400TE is gold. A cheaper alternative would be the Cardiff 400A. The Daiwa Luna 300 size too. The trouble with those big swimbaits is that you would need capacity for enough 25 to 30 lb test line (mono/ copoly). The Daiwa Pluton has a smaller line capacity, but it was designed to be used with braid. 50 lb braid has what, 12 lb mono diameter? I'd like to have thicker line than that if I were you. The problem is not line strength, but shock strength. The big baits take a tremendous toll on the rod, reel, line, the whole system. There's some great info here: http://southerntrouteaters.com/SouthernTroutEaters/Products.html

I don't see any reason to "trim" them down. They will work, at least they (sort of) work for me. But, the best trailers for swimjigs are the paddletails like RI Skinny Dippers, 5" Big Hammers, etc. BTW, the skinny dipper is the best trailer I found for the 1/4 oz SK KVD swimjigs. Don't trim it or anything, just chop off the head of the bait (maybe 0.25") and fish it.

And if you're using braid, it pays to be a line-watcher; slack line sensitivity with braided line is not the greatest. I tend to fish plastics and jigs on at least a semi-slack line to achieve the vertical fall that I feel is necessary.

Uhhh, idk if it's as simple as that. Big baits doesn't always equal a big fish. It's more about the location. Big fish get to choose the best location in the whole lake.. A 6" swimbait is not a very big bait, a 8" or a 10" is a more standard "big" bait. A 18" bass can eat a 10" bass, no problems. And a 10" worm is certainly not a big bait. Not trying to criticize you, I'm a huge believer in the big bait- big bass theory, and throw the tournament grade swimbaits (Matt's baits, 6" hudds, Ospreys, 316 softbaits, Spro BBZ, small slammers, punkers, hardgills) on a regular basis. But you gotta know where to throw them..

Pinnacle Perfecta 7'8" MH. For cranks heavier than 3/4 oz, this is the BOMB. The perfect action, perfect sensitivity and great power. It's got enough power to fish even matt's baby bass..

You could also keep your eyes out for an used Curado B38 or B5...

So YOU are the one who got them...

For plain old wacky rigging, I use the Gammy finesse wide gaps (NOT the weedless ones - I hate them). You set the hook just by starting to reel in. It helps a lot if you don't horse the fish, and use a slower (fast action) rod. For weedless wacky (basically a Texas rig in the middle of the worm), I like regular EWG hooks. The hookset is a regular cross their eyes T-rig hookset. An extra-fast rod is what I use. P.S. Fishing regular wacky rigs on an ultralight with a 3" or 4" senko is a hoot! Try it sometime.