bigbassctchr101

Seems like most of my "gotchas" usually have big sounds for tiny parts. Little pins, springs, clamps, etc... A big oh SH** by me and a small, "ting" by them. Lucky for you, you'll know exactly where they'll end up..... the drain lol

I usually lose one deep diving crank bait a week (3-4 tournaments-rodeos/week), depending on the type of fishing I'm doing can vary with other things. Lately a football head has been great, but I usually lose 3-4 per tournament same with a texas rig, several of them because I don't want to go over the fish and the other is just because these lakes are not close to being scarce of rocks of all kinds. I haven't lost a topwater in a long time. And everything else is relatively the same...I don't lose them unless its a freak accident (squirrel fishing, don't retie, stuff like that)

I think a lot of the times it may have to do with a reaction bite. The bass may have no idea what its actually inhaling, they just do it cuz its there. It'd be like swatting at a fly. They don't have hands, so they either use their tails (tail slap, which I have found they usually do this so they can stun prey then turn around to eat it) or they use their mouths. If I saw a big yellow bug across the room, I'd probably stay away, but if it was in front of me... I'd try my best to make sure it wasn't for long. Chartruese under varying depths of water will turn to around a beige (yellow/white and get more "bland") coloration once it gets so much light refraction. So, at a deeper level, it doesn't look nearly as unnatural as it does to us above water.

I fish main channel stuff at night. Most of my summer time tournaments happen at night. Long points, main channel points, hard bends in channel, transition areas. I keep it very simple. Usually two rods will do the trick. One with a jig, greenpumpkin or black/blue. and one with a brush hog or 10+ inch worm. (brush hogs seem to do better at begginning of summer then switch to the worm in hotter periods/ jigs are good year around). 12-15lb flourescent line. I always found this to be the most productive way of fishing at night. Its simple, it takes out a lot of variables, and you just have to find the fish. The other baits mentioned work well and are fun to fish too...along with a spinnerbait. I've just found this to work best for me, and it catches keeper and quality fish both.

I'd use one on the left during the day up to about 8ft and the other color at night and 8+ ft. Ochee craw paca craw on both. The bluest side up on the left color and greenpumpkin side up on the right.

We do this often...sitting in 30+ ft and fishing drops and points anywhere from 12-20ft. Long casts are important in my opinion. I use a stout rod and fast ratio reel, sharp/thin hooks, usually flourocarbon line and anything I can use to help me hook a fish and keep it on. Its a whole different ballgame...and a lot like carolina riggin. Except I feel that you have more options and retreives with the jig. Plus, your always directly connected to the hook. I love it. Crankbait, swimbait, then follow it up with a jig.

I was big on the rig in late fall-winter-early spring. But I haven't had any luck on it for several months. I can kill fish on a crankbait, and not get touched on the rig. I've always said its just another tool. I'll always have it with me. I really hate the elites banned it though. They HAD to realize that not everyone was going to continue murdering bass on them all the time. It would have been interesting to see how some of them guys used it to their benefit.

I use both. If I'm fishing bluff walls I use a single blade because the bait will veer to the right on the retrieve due to it being a single blade. I usually use a double prop (twin arm) when fishing a buzzbait any other time. I like the sound i can produce from it by tuning the two props to clash against each other. A single arm with one larger blade with a smaller prop in the middle counter rotating will also allow your buzzbait to track true. There is nothing wrong with a buzzbait the veers off to one side, you can actually use it to your advantage. I just like the consistency of knowing where I can put the bait and where it will run on the retrieve.

Hey guys. I just picked up two spinning reels really cheap. I rarely use spinning reels, but I'm going to the beach and wanted something to lug around and that I didn't care submersing in salt, then fresh water for a clean. I picked up: Okuma Sentry STr-15 Daiwa Takara 3500 Spincast Both they are both missing a handle. I originally figured they would be similar to most baitcasters with a common size handle, except for Shimano's and a few others. Is that the same with spinning reels? They don't have to be perfect, pretty, balanced, or matching... just useable. Anyone have some ideas?

I keep the net in the water flat side along side the boat and lead the fish into it. If it is on a treble hooked bait, my partner and I always try to boat lift the fish with the net right under the fish. It saves a lot of time trying to fish out the treble hooks from the net. It works for us and haven't lost a fish doing this yet. If its a large fish, its always going in the net. Head first. Unless something weird happens. I've netted smallmouth about everyway you can think about netting a fish. From 5ft down with my arms fully extended in the water, and all the way to catching one overhead that jumped (and had an extra hard pull) and was flying across the boat.

This is my view on this subject as well. And it has nothing to do with getting bites, because I used to get more bites with the 6.3:1 and similar reels. The faster they are the better they reflect off cover. But when it came down to trying to be more comforable...I had to use slower gear ratio with deeper plugs. It wore me out physically and it started giving me tendonitis in my wrists really bad. At 20 (now 26), that wasn't a good thing.

DVT- send me a PM if ya dont mind. I'm decently savvy on cleaning and maintenance, and i've tried running the AR bearings with no lube, light lube, heavy, with grease, I'm not exactly sure what else there is left for me to do. But i'm guessing this would have to a new AR bearing. I'm not sure what else it would be?

Yea, I have a couple of them too, and they are a good reel. I've had the Orra too long to take back and was always to lazy to return them. So they just sit in a corner now.

I have two Orra S's... Very disappointed in them both. Comlpetely worthless, especially with braid. I guess they were some of the first ones released. The AR bearing won't hold anything. Every time I reel it up, it goes back half a turn. I say braid is worse cuz of the no stretch, I guess it just exaggerates the problem.

The BFL on Douglas had some incredible weights brought in. I honestly though it would take a little longer for people to figure out the long lining technique, but doesn't appear that way. The Tennessee rig came into play a lot in the BFL....I know of one co-angler that caught 2 6+'s on one cast and 2 3+'s on another cast. Several of these guys were fishing for only 5 bites a day though. So its a go big or go home strategy.

I would love to see a fishing show that explains 5-10 viewer questions each episode. Why pick a chart/white over chart/blue? Buzzbait over a pop r, where and when? Summertime patterns, why would you choose back coves over mainlake points? Things like that.

I think everyone sounds right! lol My first guess would be the carp if its jumping completely out of the water. For some reason, I see the buffalo just flashing their back and tail more than I actually see them jump (makes me think its a huge dark smallie hitting some prey, but its always too slow and not exciting enough lol). The gar can make rings that look almost like what boiling bass/school fish rings would look like when they're hitting bait right below the surface. But they usually surface the bill then dive back down to about 2-3 foot and continue. I can't imagine you'd be hearing one of these jump and break the surface. The bass, stripe, hybrid, striper will most usually have bait near the surface before they'll be smacking the water agressively. A paddlefish will usually sound like a wheelbarrow full of bricks has been dropped off a bridge.

I probably cuss more in conversation than I do when I get upset. I've had times I've jumped up and down and look at my partner...buts it's always more like "did you see that!!!" lol And i've hit my buddy in the arm before. lol I don't get mad though. I love fishing too much. It excites the crap out of me as soon as I see or feel that fish until the fight is over. My adrenaline is going and I love every aspect of it. Nothing to get mad about there. NOW...after its done. I'll hate myself for being such an idiot. I mean, how much of a genius do you have to be to trick some little green slimy thing 100X smaller than you to get in a boat.

I have a couple "wounded spooks", they actually work better without the walk the dog retrieve.

Agreed on the hot lips. Maybe the XD trick was sponsor related although I did see some casting of the XD plug. I didn't see anyone use the big motor, but doubt it happened. I think I would probably feel a little different about that, but since thats not the topic, I'm not even going to think about it lol. I troll sometimes on Douglas and Cherokee when prefishing just so I can hit the deep humps and points. I use big bucktails in front of my deep divers though to get them deeper. On Cherokee this usually ends up with a rockfish or hybrid, but you can find out a lot on Douglas like this at times.

Very true- I've seen these books with each bait and depth and stuff like that. But Starks was getting a regular 6XD down below 30ft with no weight added. So the pendulum effect from reaching max depth- running at max depth- and return to the boat was lengthened allowing for a deeper max depth (i dont know this for sure, but its my best guess). I'm not sure what lb test line he was using. And thought maybe a small diameter sinking braid could have been used to lessen line drag. I'm not sure exactly how he did it. But I know that his 6XD and Hot Lips were floating before his retrieve started. And maybe he was using a weight, but if so, it wasn't enough to sink the bait from the start.

The boat was not underpower when the lure was retrieved. So the lure wasn't trailing...it was stationary. He said he retrieved well over 25miles of line. And when watching him, he wasn't using the boat, or motor, to make his retrieve in any way. I just don't see why people are so sore about this method...he got 10-15 cast per hour. I am a very conservative person when it comes to things. lol But I guess i find myself being much more of a liberal person when it comes to fishing. I think its great that people use their heads, and not bend the rules...but figure out what the rules are really saying. (have you ever taken an IQ test?? you have to really read and think about what the questions are asking.) There isn't books written on how to make a 20ft diver dive 35+. There wasn't a rule saying you couldn't use the trolling motor to move farther from a casted plug. And there wasn't a rule stating that 5 baits tied to a single harness wasn't just one bait. I think it takes people like these guys to really advance fishing. We wouldn't have 7.1:1 reels if someone didn't see a need to make a bait go faster than the 4.3:1's or slower geared reels could make them go or get a retrieve in faster. *SIRSNOOK- wasn't directing any of that towards you past just saying the boat wasn't under power on retrieve. In no way am I suggesting anything about IQ or furthermore. Just wanted to make that clear when I was going back over it.

We don't deal a whole lot with grass flats here. But schooling fish we do. I have fired up a school simply by accidently slamming a rod box too hard or by raising the trolling motor and the sounds scary any baitfish around us. Sometime once we catch several out of a school, we will fire up the boat and make a big circle around our area to stir up the shad. Probably not the most effective at all times. But it does work and could be worth a try.

Exactly! I think the article that called this "strolling" is wrong by giving it that name. This method had nothing to do with any type of pulling or movement of the bait by a motor (electric or gas) to catch a fish. And, even if the bait was moving due to the electric trolling motor, I think the rules state that trolling is defined as aid from the big gas motor. I have always called, heard, and understood strolling to be the same as trolling, except using the trolling motor to keep speed, distance, and action all continuous and constant. Starks was simply casting, then using his trolling motor to get as much line out as possible before he started his retrieve. Yes, I am sure that the lure moved due to drag. But he was fishing in open water off points and humps when he was over here, I'm positive that he didn't get any fish by any movement of the trolling motor to his bait.

Can anyone do this color? It may be the wrong place to ask. But I would like to know how to do it, more so the sparkle in the gel coat. But since I'm pretty set on knowing that I can't....would anyone else be able to match it for me on another bait?