cyclops2

I use the Whimpy wire hooks. Have some chance of straightening them out to save a lure. Too big of a pike with a heavy line & drag WILL straighten them enough to loose him in heavy weeds. All part of the sport. I fish with some lures that have no hooks.. The real test is finding & getting a clamp down strike. The rest is so easy a caveman can do it.

I carry 2 different rods ready to go with the right lures . 4# & 1 1/2" floater . Rebel / Rapala 40 year old Ande pink 60# on a big Penn saltwater reel With a huge floater that is colored like a perch When a big guy starts grabbing the perch ? I feed him the sucker. Not a sure cure. Some big fish get caught 3 times in a row. Pike are all mouth & stomach. Not much fear when they can load up on free perch & be released. I have 1 pike spot where they know the boat & me sitting & casting for perch. They WILL ? DO follow behind the boat. Stupid ??? Not really. They are grabbing the perch while I reel and yank as fast as I can. If they want the perch. They do run it down. Another senior was standing on the 30' cliff watching me cast for small fish. He yells down to let the perch struggle out there. Said a huge Pike or muskie was trailing most of the fish to my boat. I saw nothing seated in the shallow hulled Lowe 15 " transom boat. I have caught several over 36" pike on Flicker Spinners & 4# test. I use very different tactics on them & 4# test. Pike are almost always deep dense weed ambushers. Most Flicker Spinner hook ups are the TOUGH outer lip grisle or the very far back corner of the jaw.

My very clear rivers. I can catch anything that travels in........LARGE SCHOOLS.....1/2 hour before sunrise to about 1.5 hours after sunrise. Then they leave the choice feeding places & scatter into smaller groups. Sun down is a waste compared to all other times. Any cover is loaded or they are cruising just off the bottom from 10 to 4 pm out in very open areas. Structure is not used by these fish. Fully exposed to other larger predators. All species. Almost all are wearing sunglasses.

I spoke to B & M factory. Said Bucks Deluxe telescope would be what I wanted & were for sale at Walmarts. The telescope is a HUGE plus on the 19' boat. Could just buy 4.... 12' & I am set for spring. Thank you all. Rich

Came back from BP. It is either Bucks telescopic or B & M telescopic. Bucks did show the reel seats & locks. The B & M did not show any reel section. Just a oversight ? on the B & M picture ?

I have 4 kids swinging perch in as fast as possible. So Do new adults. There are times I ask them to slow down to make it tolerable for me. Even breaking off 2 of 3 hooks on a treble & crushing the barbs. The kids soon get competitive & & the perch are hanging in air & dumping. Tall kids get shorter rods. Short get long. All you tournament guys should take kids out for a trip at least once a week. Thank you all. The crappie rods sound like the perfect answer. Will go with them. BP & Walmart get the order. Really hoped guys like you would save my trying to do a complete rod build. 2 X. MANY sincere thanks. Rich

I will say it. ALL reels are NORMALLY designed to be great. The reject ratio is usually not that high for any run. But if the outspoken person gets a reject ?? It will be posted all over the web. So get lucky. Get a good one & enjoy fishing.

I take back Mitchell being so perfect. Long ago Mitchell was bought out & remanufactured to startup problems. NO counterweight was installed. They said they were having a problem. Asked if I could install the weight or would need to send it back. I did the simple installation. They had a CORRECT FIX READY & worked to help me.......... At 77 I can not wait a year or more for repairs.

Yes

They forget to lift high enough to clear the high side of the boat.. SPLAT on the side. Many are just too short to remember in their excitement to lift high enough Gave a short kid my longest flyrod. Lifted easily over the side several big perch. A 12" perch taking a dump on your boat is a nice sized clean up.

I am seriously thinking of buying some LONG blanks & converting them to spinning reels. Reason is simple. I do not mind perch banging & flopping around in the Lowe 16' Aluminum with metal seats. I hate the goop & blood And **** a fish passes when out of the water & over the white Naugahyde of my Chaparral 186 bow rider. Long & cheap blanks ? Something like the Crappie guys use. Would probably work. I am sure their rods cost. Just remembered about Noodle rods ? I can net the 12" perch. Thank you Rich

I let kids & virgins use the cheapos rods & reels. Most last at least 5 years May to mid September. I do completely pull apart any reel that falls in the water. Most reels break the bail springs pretty quick. The 3 Mitchells are pure time machines for me. The 2 ultra lights will probably wind up on the other peoples hands. ........I am looking at & felling up 1 as I type. Pervert !!! Thank you Mitchell.

Big fish need HEAT & light to see & catch those smaller fish. Low sun angles penetrate far back under boats & docks. Vertical sun rays hide him even at the edge of a dock.

Hi JFrancho. I do the Lake Ontario, Clayton , NY river stretch. My weeds have dropped off so badly in 3 years that No more spawning of any larger game fish. Even the perch are less. Cormorants & Great Blue Herons, gulls almost gone. We are dying. Want to blame the dam Green People For stopping all the sewage being eliminated & piped to treatment plants. Seasonal fishing groups are dropping off. Tackle shops down. It all follows for PRETTY BLUE WATER. Smart charters are running to the lake. That V H S fish disease is doing a good job also. Gobies & bait are almost gone. Hope your fishing places are up & getting better.

I still am putting tiny red marks in the jaws of all the same fish. No barbs. Rebel & Rapala keep doing the job. Why change after 40 years ?

At 77. They get me Long Horn & Olive Garden cards............This year I received 3 Mitchells & a 7' ultralight rod. I can only do eating & fishing now. What was that other thing I enjoyed a lot ?? Will post when I remember.

I just bought 3 more Mitchell reels. I expect to out live them again.

How can anyone say money buys quality on any reel ? Are there people using that reel everyday for several hours ? Several decades? Does it satisfy EVERYONES preferences ? It would take years to test & write up purely PERSONAL opinions by each user. None of that will happen. Why not ? The company KNOWS it can keep bringing out a NEWER model & charge even more outrageous prices. The buyers will be " Pre ordering " with a deposit or FULL payment. There really are people on a constant ego trip with anything the most expensive. Do some people feel much better after buying a $ 1000 to $ 10000 reel. Of course there are. Should I feel like dog crap because I do not agree with the company pandering to them ? I had a Mitchell 400 ?? as a teenager. I just retired it for parts to another person. I am 77. Is the $1,000 reel going to last with original parts as long ? Not a snowball in hells chance. We are a for profit reel company. Not a place creating reels that will last a century. !!! Sales Department. Hype it up reel good.

Sales hype is all that companies can use to sell a BRUTALLY SIMPLE product. Some sales clown will say wind tests at NASA prove monofilament CAN cast farther due to the NEW IMPROVED SLICK FINISH now being used. DUUHHHH Quick Throw away all your braided lines. They are not the best anymore.

Old mind. I use both Rebel 1 5/8 " and Rapala 1 5/8" floating lures to catch shiners. The standard # 12 trebles are too big for most baitfish. I can buy a few small trebles. The tiny trebles reduce shock & early death rates greatly. I have been using the # 18. But Owner Hooks has a # 20.This spring a full change over to the # 20s used for bait collecting.

Become a tree hugging animal lover by taking a political office . Going to stop Daytona racing motorcycles & +200 mph cars also from racing on public roads & cutting off others ? USA is CHOCK FULL of showoffs paying any price to be reckless jerks.

Who uses or needs a leader with hungry fish ? I just use the braided line tied to whatever. I see 0 difference. Are you fishing for bass or very spooky virgin trout attacked by eagles 3 times a day ?

When I get over a school of smallmouths. They will bite on any type, weight or color of line. They go into the ME FIRST attitude of feeding.

NEVER FULLY switch to something you have no long term experience with. Do it 1 at a time..

The Shimano includes a guide & boat for a week..........Always someone to run around waving the latest most expensive item. Yelling. I paid the most money possible for a fishing reel. Please step forward & tell me how great I am. At that price a deposit which is returnable should be included. What if feels ordinary or even worse than less expensive reels.