shanksmare

I believe the concept of constricting the coils which come off of a spinning reel with a few guides and then using small guides the rest of the way has more of an effect if you are using mono or flourocarbon. The effect on braid is minimal due to the supple nature of the line.

Carry a file and use it ... often.

I should have recommended this earlier. Watch Glenn's excellent video on spinnerbait fishing at: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/spinnerbaits-bass-fishing.html Towards the end of the video Glenn shows how to execute the underhand loop cast (forehand and backhand). The info in this video should get you on the right tack. If you watch a Jimmy Houston show, he uses this cast all the time. He may have invented it?

Maybe you guys are dealing with old spools of Vanish that have sat on store shelves for a long time. I used Vanish about 10 years ago as leader material when fly fishing the surf for stripers. It indeed was terrible. I had 20# test break on several ocassions while lifting 5# stripers. I finally tossed out the spool because of all the unexplained lost fish caused by broken leaders. However recently I bought a spool of 20# Vanish and used it on a baitcaster with no breakoff issues. I stopped using it because of the curling tendencies it had in cool (here in FL it would be considered cold) weather. Many times when I got snagged in on of the many rocks where I fish, I had a hard time breaking the line. It also breaks at the knot which secures the hook unless you use a Flouro friendly knot like the San Diego Jam or one of its varieties.

Its all about the money. When I was a kid following hockey the Playoffs were over when there was still snow on the ground in MA.

I am quite puzzled by your experience. Sure I occasionally get the line wrapped around the spinnerbait wire, but not anywhere near 50 % of the time. It probably happens to me about 0.01 % of the time or less. I use SB's all the time, I have for the past 40 years and I have never been able to come up with a combo to achieve your results. I used to make my own baits and used all kinds of blade combos usually on a 1/4 oz head. The lighter the head combined with larger blades and a side wind will contribute to the SB spinning on the cast. But even then the line rarely gets twisted around the SB arm at least for me. I usually fish from the bank so I often have to improvise in order to avoid bankside obstructions. So my casts are pitching, overhand, roll, backhand, underhand, bow and arrow, and whatever it takes. Since I'm bank bound I only carry one rod so I wind up throwing SB's on the "rod of the day". So I often end up throwing the SB on an outfit meant for another lure. Despite all this I rarely encounter the issue which plagues you.

The late Jack Lewis made a spinnerbait similar to what you describe. You can read about his version here: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/lure_modifications.html I have experienced some success with this spinnerbait. It really looks great when you stop it and let it fall.

I use PP pretty much exclusively for SW applications. I have not noticed any difference in knot strength between the green and red versions. I like using the red version of PP for fishing jigs on the bottom for redfish. I am a line watcher so it helps tremendously. I like Sirsnookalot use an Albright knot to attach a leader to the braid. Only difference is I use 10 - 12 wraps instead of 7 or 8. Just a security blanket thing I guess. Many years ago (when braid was fairly new) a bait shop owner on Cape Cod told me I could use any knot I used with mono as long as I doubled the line. It seemed to work well for me.

I replaced standard hooks on SW lures with VMC 9626 (I believe) hooks. I've used them for years. I rinse them off with freshwater after use and have had no problems with corrosion. I'd replace the hooks at the end of the season, so maybe thats why I never experienced any issues.

Big fish eat smaller fish both in fresh and saltwater. If the lure is smaller than the fish you are targeting, chances are it will try to eat it. I wouldn't worry about the hooks, they are better than the hooks you would find on a lure specifically designed for FW. Heck after seeing the sizes of some of the swimbaits that are used for bass, I'm thinking of trying some of the 6 and 8" Danny swimmers I used for stripers in the night surf.

A spinnerbait gets my vote.

I would have to say that the most effective multi species lure for freshwater (at least for me) was the original wooden Helin's Flatfish. I think I caught just about every species that inhabited SE Massachusetts on this lure in the 1960's and 1970's. Other versatile lures would include an Al's Goldfish and a plain old 1/8 - 1/4 oz black bucktail jig (with or without a curly tailed trailer). More recently here in SW FLA I've caught numerous species on a 1/4 oz tandem Spinnerbait. In saltwater, its tough to beat a Bomber swimmer. It will catch just about any fish that feeds on smaller fish.

I picked up a few bladed jigs made by a fellow here in FL. He uses the same type head as you. Wow, that thing "hunts" without trying! Most of my bladed jigs were made by Siebert. I believe he was trying to emulate the very popular Karu bladed jig when they stopped making them (they are now back in business). He uses a football jig. The blade hits the head so it creates more commotion. So I think the shape and weight of the head probably enter into the equation. You also bend your blade much more than I do. I'm sure this also enters into the way the bladed jig performs. Its may just be me, but if I don't retrieve bladed jigs with the coffin style blades faster than the ones with the Shakee blades, I soon lose them to the rocks which are prevalent where I usually fish (I'm bank bound so once they're hung, they're gone - usually).

I have played around with all three styles of bladed jigs : Original Chatterbait style, unbent Shakee head style and the bent Shakee head style. These were my observations concerning the three. Original Chatterbait style Vibration: High pitched buzz, least thump Running depth: Deepest Hunting Ability: Exhibits the least, pretty much a straight line Spinnerbait blade analogy – Willow Leaf Unbent Shakee Bladed Jig Vibration: Hardest thump Running depth: Shallowest Hunting Ability: Exhibits the most, a little twitch is all it takes Spinnerbait blade analogy – Colorado Blade Bent Shakee Bladed Jig Vibration: A little less thump than the unbent variety Running depth: Deeper than the unbent Hunting Ability: A little harder to get to hunt than the unbent Spinnerbait blade analogy – Indiana Naturally the amount and degree of bend effects the results acchieved with the bent design. As a side note, I was able to get the Original style to hunt quite well by accident. I inadvertently put the trailer on a little off center. This caused the bait to hunt easily with a little twitch. I have noticed at times the fish seem to greatly prefer one style over another.

It sounds as if you are setting the hook too quickly. I always (well most of the time when I can control myself) pause a second or two before setting the hook. Its sort of like fishing a frog. Generally when I strike immediately, I miss the fish. At least thats what works for me fishing Skinny Dipper style baits. Check out Mikeballz on youtube. He has a couple of videos that show him fishing these baits and pausing when he gets a strike before setting the hook.

Glad you had a successful trip with a great variety of fish. Too bad you didn't bump into any snook in freshwater. They would have been a blast! I guess that would give you a reason to return in the future (that and the lure of a 10+ lb bass).

Happy to hear that your surgery went well. Be sure to attack your physical therapy with vigor. My younger brother has had rotator cuff surgeries on both shoulders in the past 3 years. He has a great physical therapist and he always does more reps and sets of the exercises. It is key in his quick recovery, Both times he was able to play ice hockey within 3 months of the surgery (he's 59). He was working (light duty) within days of the surgery. Good luck with your rehab. You should be back to normal by deer hunting season. If you hunt north of Eustis, maybe my brother and I will see you in the woods.

Lets try to be real about this. When its 3rd and 20, everybody in the stadium has a "feeling" the team will pass. Do they ever complete it? Sure of course they so! Make no mistake about it, the 22 players on the field determine the outcome of the game. Even if you know what the opponent is going to do, it doesn't mean you will be successful in countering it. Ever notice that when players leave the Patriots they don't seem to do as well as they did with the Pats. Why? Because they don't cheat anymore? Its because Belicheck knows their skills and puts them in a position to succeed. The teams the ex-Pats go to expect them to perhaps do more than they are capable of doing to justify their lofty salaries. Maybe thats why the Pats wouldn't match the salary offers of the other teams to begin with. By the way I believe that the video taping of the Rams was found to be a lie. Funny that the Ravens were unable to figure out who to cover in their playoff game against the Pats, even after the refs told them who not to cover. Plays similar to this have been used since the 1950's and before. We used it in high school. The refs didn't tell anyone who to cover. These high school kids managed to figure it out on their own. Nobody claimed cheating. I loved it when Harbough claimed deception. Isn't that what football is all about? You think they are going left and they go right, you think pass and they run.

The colors of bluegills seem to vary with the location they are caught in. Baby bluegills seem to have a little different color pattern than the adults. Will exactly matching the color patterns of the smaller bluegills in your area? If you think it will help, then absolutely! Confidence is key. Comfidence equals concentration which equates to more bass.

The Spygate infraction that the patriots were involved in was not for video taping. The video taping was perfectly legal. The infraction was for videotaping in an area without a roof. If you were going to intentionally cheat would you do it with 85,000 witnesses? If Belicheck wanted video from near the field I'm sure he could have gotten thousands to volunteer. Or even simpler - use a telephoto lens. This was another example of an NFL rule that many teams were violating .. until that magical day the NFL decided to enforce it. Interestingly enough the team that reported the violation were doing the same thing at Foxboro the year before. But if it makes you feel better about your less than stellar teams, keep rationalizing that the Patriots MUST be cheating! Otherwise I guess you might have to admit that your favorite team and its management suck. Ya HATE us cause you AIN't us!!!

A terrible tragedy. Sorry for your loss.

I have not had long lasting success with knots that pass through guides. I can tie braid to a leader and have it last ast long as there is any of the leader left as long as the leader stays outside the guides.. I have not been so successful with knots that pass through guides. They all seem to eventually fail. The friction of the knot going through the guides appears to be the problem. Why not just use straight 14# mono or flouro? I wouldn't use anything lighter since I'm usually throwing a spinnerbait into the junk. Since moving to FL I have moved up to 20# test for SB's. I find the stretch of mono to be an advantage when fishing SB's. chatterbaits and cranks. Many more of my hits turn into hooked fish.

Yesterday I was at the local BPS. I was checking the chatterbait section. I noticed 2 of the Original Zman CB's had had the blades fall off the hook loop while in the package. I then looked at the CB's that Zman makes for BPS. All of them that I looked at had the hook loop open a bit (enough for the blade to fall off it looked). It looked like you could find yourself retrieving just a blade at some point with these lures (I have had this happen with the Original one). So unless you want to be very angry at some point, I suggest closing the loop with pliers or filling the gap with epoxy. I wouldn't expect to have to modify an $8 lure to prevent it from falling apart.

While I'm sure you can catch plenty of bass with a chatterbait using a fast action graphite rod, I believe over the long haul you will hook more with a rod exibiting a more parabolic action. I base this on observations of missed fish in shallow clear water. The delay that the glass rod provides seemed to let the fish get the bait deeper while the fast action graphite rod seemed to pull the bait away from the fish before they had it fully in their mouths. The trailer you use can make a big difference in a CB's action. I personally like to use paddle tail swim baits, Super Flukes and Flukes and LFT Magic Shads. Paddletails have a great action and provide drag on the end of the CB which seems to tone down its thump somewhat, super flukes, flukes and Magic shad have a nice action and really look good when the CB deflects off of weeds. I retrieve a CB somewhat like a spinnerbait, which is to say I almost never just retrieve it straight in. I am continually stopping, starting twitching and speeding it ip. So the action I give it is quite erratic. It works for me, it may not for you. Good luck, I'm sure that you will figure out what works in your area and will be very successful using them. The CB's with blades directly attached to the hook seem to exibit a more high speed buzz, whereas those attached with split rings seem to give more thump. The split ring attached balded CB's seem to "hunt" much easier than the others.

Maybe you should try looking at a site called "Your Team Cheats". It gives you the number of time each team has been caught cheating and what the infractions really were. Take for example Spygaye. There is much misinformation about what it actually involved. It was not what was done ... but where in the stadium it was done. I'm not quite sure how much of an advantage one location is over another but ... Funny the "cheating Patriots" were only ranked as middle of the road cheaters by this site. They acheived a ranking of 25. How did other teams fair? Well the squeeky clean SF 49ers got a 31, Baltiumnore 35, Pittsburg 46, Denver 49, NY Giants 35, NY Jets 40. oh ya Seattle 25. Wells certainly has a great deal of credibility. He defended the Tobacco industry claiming second hand smoke is not harmfulk to you. And he had all the evidence to prove it. We all know how well that theory turned out. His investigation of Richie Incognito seemed to follow his usual pattern. He made his conclusion rior to the investigation. He then picked info fom the investigation to support this conclusion. He chose to ignore the info which did not support the conclusion. As some have previously stated one of the biggest problems in the NFL is Roger Goodell!