Silas

When I'm fishing a spot that I've caught fish in before, I start with the one that was most successful in the area. After about 10 casts, I lay the rod down and pick up another baited rod from the deck with a different type lure.....about 10 casts with it. Finally, I try a bottom bait.....worm, Senko, shaky head, Rage claw.....for about 10 casts. If I get nothing I pull up the trolling motor and fire up the big motor and move on. That's why I have the boat, I figure. For areas I'm fishing for the first time, I do about the same, starting on top with a frog or fluke or spinnerbait, then work down the column to the bottom. But......I might make only 4-5 casts per bait. I keep about 4-6 rods in the boat with different baits. Those baits are invariably my "confidence" baits!

I didn't mean to bring up an old topic that would end up in a slew of hot comments, so I apologize in advance if I've touched any sensitive nerves. It wasn't that I wanted so much to do much CASTING as I wanted to just do the PITCHING. That way there wouldn't be much reeling actually involved.....just a few turns of the handle and I would be prepared to pitch again. Thanks for all the replies, and especially for those that have converted successfully in the pitching mode. It gives me hope that it is not a really difficult task. For regular casting, I'll probably just stick to my old tried and true switch hands method.....has served me well for decades. The guy that is selling me the old Curado 100B says he has used it for exactly the purpose of pitching with his right hand, reeling with his left, and his suggestion was to just take the ONE rod/reel set up for the day and concentrate with it and I should have a good chance at it. Sounds like pretty good advice to me. Reel comes in Thursday and I'll try it out Friday. Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate your patience.

I'm right handed and have cast with my right and reeled with my left all my life (over 50 years!) Down here in the bayous of Louisiana we cast to the brush and stumps along the little winding, slow moving bayous and by casting with my right hand, i'm pretty accurate and can lay the bait right next to the stump. I CAN cast with my left and sometimes do with a flip cast for speed, but the accuracy is just not there. I'm just starting to learn to PITCH and am trying to learn to pitch with my left and reel with my right. Well, this old dog's left hand doesn't quite do the "flip" of the wrist that gets the job done! So I thought.....why not just buy a LEFT HANDED REEL and then I could cast with my right and reel with my left. After all, I do that with spinning gear. It should be easy. Last night, I ordered an old Shimano Curado 100B left handed just to try this out ($50).......will put it on a brand new Powell Diesel 7'2" MedHeavy Extra fast rod I just got. This will be a great "experiment." If you have any suggestions, I'd certainly be glad to hear them! My question: How many of you right handed guys have ever switched over like this for pitching, and how successful were you? I just want to know what I'm up against and the odds of succeeding!

Wow! Thanks so much for all the replies and info, guys! So far, I've decided that there is a "mixed" set of opinions, and all are to be considered. For the time being, I'll be washing my hands to make sure they are free of sunscreen, DEET, oil, gas, etc. Back 60 years ago.....I know, I'm an old dude, my uncle, 60 years old then, a "Master Fisherman" in HIS day, used to bring cans of SARDINES and boxes of crackers with us. His take was that we needed to smell like a fish, so we wouldn't scare it off. Of course, sardines were quick and easy to bring and we ate them with relish. Didn't wash our hands much in those days, so everything we touched in the boat got sardine flaver to it. Maybe the old man was on to something......he was a "fish catching machine!"

I'm just starting to learn to pitch. And, most of the guys I've seen pitching, hold the bait in their hand each time they pitch. I have heard that some people have a chemical on their bodies (is it Lysine?) that REPELS fish. And that is one of the reasons we use scents on baits....to cover or eliminate the chemical scent. In a fishing situation, we may have other scents on our hands also: oil, gas, grease, mosquito repellent, sunscreen. And if so, each time we touch the bait, we impart some of that scent, which may be repelling rather than attracting fish. What do you guys find actually happens when you are pitching, and do you think it really matters at all? Or somewhat?

Discovered the Ribbit a few months ago. I found it worked well with a 4/0 Owner hook with screw in. The color that worked for me was the Watermelon/red flake with pink bottom. As to action, almost all of my hits have come in the lily pads as I kind of hop it along from one open area to another. In fact, I have never caught a fish just reeling it in and letting the legs flutter. So the action is plenty enough for me. My hook up rate is not spectacular.....about 70%. But, I feel I always am a little quick on setting the hook. Takes me a few strikes to calm down and wait. Lots of strikes are when I let it fall about 6 inches, then work it back up to top.

Yep, I, too, found that guy in White, Georgia at a Rod and Reel shop! Just a tad over $200 and brand new!! Great personal service when I called, and super quick shipping1 Only had mine for a few weeks and am still learning what it's capable of......it certainly is better than what I thought it would be. Swapped it back and forth with a St. Croix Legend Tournament Finesse, and a Dobyns Champion Extreme drop shot.....both are SO good I can't pick one over the other. Now I'm going to experiment with different lines. In my part of the Swamp, I've not seen another one on the water. And it's easy to spot on the boat deck.......SOL......bright as the Sun!

Skeletor, glad to see you got the SOL! I saw one on the bay that went for $168. I almost bid on it for an extra one, I like the one I just got so much. The Ebay one looked hardly used and a good buy. I'd like to know how you do with the 6 or 8 lb diameter line. I'm very pleased with the Fireline Tracer Braid 20# with 6 lb diameter. You will also love it on the St. Croix Tournament rod. I just switched rods on mine yesterday from the St. Croix and put in on the Dobyns 7ft Champion Extreme Finesse Drop shot rod and found it may even be better than the St. Croix for my light wacky worming.....weightless 3-4" Dingers and Senkos. Pitched a few 1/8 oz Megastrike Shakey Heads with Baby Rage Claw with great results too.

Just to update this news, I was at my local Bass Pro in Denham Springs, La. and found the last of their stock which covered about an 8x5 foot board full of Lucky Craft RC's. Going price was $7.88!! Picked up 4 of them. The Bait Monkey was whispering in my ear.....but my girl was shushing it in the other.....so 4 was the limit!

Just talked to my local dealer today. Said he would have a few in a couple of weeks and was going to sell them for $109. I asked about the Veritas rods, but not very popular rod around this area of South Louisiana. I'm interested to see how everyone likes them before I commit. I've looked at the Daiwa Tierra in comparison. I'll compare the reviews on both of those.

When I was very young, my dad died. We were dirt poor! I would actually walk down the levee about 4 miles to some "borrow pits" or little ponds. The fish I brought home we ate. So my mom always liked me to fish.....it meant more food for the 3 kids. I started off fly fishing, then finally used a baitcaster after I saw an adult pull in 5 bass on a Sidewinder while thowing in the pond. Later,while in my teens, my uncle would drive us to a bayou where they rented bateaus and we would paddle about 5 miles fishing the bank catching bass, bream, catfish, sacalait....a mixed bag, and have a great fish fry when we got home. Those were glorious days....the days of "Wine and Roses." I didn't realize how poor we were. If you could just find a buddy, or better yet, a relative, an uncle, to take you with him a few times, that would be great!

I know just how you feel, Lou!! Got mine a week ago and water has been so high, the water ways have been closed, and the water is still rising tonite. Great rods at fantastic prices! On the fisherman's elbow.....can you learn to cast with the other hand? Or does it hurt to reel also? I've never heard of the malady. Very interesting. I'm sorry you are confined......good luck!

I don't have it on film, but years ago I had an OWL swoop down and grab my ZARA SPOOK and fly off with it. The hook caught his claw, I reeled and he hit the water and I pulled him in very carefully. He was looking at me the whole time......I grabbed the Spook and it came unhooked and he flew off to land in a tree and stare at me. The only BIG thing I ever caught with a SPOOK. But, filming the Osprey was BIG!! Great show!

"Man, you should have been here yesterday! We were KILLIN' em'."

As an addendum to my original post about a worm melting my other worms, today I found the CULPRIT: The ZMAN WORM made of ELAZTECH! Talked to my local tackle dealer and he confirmed that these baits need to be kept separate from other baits or there will be a chemical reaction. So, after just buying the ZMan Flappin Crawz, I am going to keep it in a bag all to itself. Looking forward to using it as a shakey head stand up jig trailer since the claws float up. Actually, if I had read the fine print on the back of the package.(with my glasses on)....and I DO mean FINE print, in light white color, I might add, it states:" Caution: Elaztech cannot be stored with any other kind of plastic baits.." Guess I better start reading ALL of the info on my bait packages!

Let's also have a sub category for CUSTOM HAND MADE CRANKBAITS! I have 15 of those! And I much prefer to use them instead of the factory made ones.....of course, when I lose one, it's very hard to take. But....you can't beat it for a CONFIDENCE BAIT! Something that cost that much must be a real fish catcher! If you don't catch fish on it, it's YOUR fault, not the bait's.

I went to Bass Pro today and found this little BPS Finesse binder for plastics....for $18. I examined it and it looked PERFECT, so I came home with it and filled it with ORIGINAL PACKS of worms, senkos, frogs, creatures and what nots. I really like the set up: not too big, not too small.....just right! Thanks, TN Basser!

I really like this idea as the Strike King soft box has several side pockets: The front and back are web......I think I'll put the original packs that I use most, like you suggest, in the front pocket. Great idea! Thanks! I didn't know about the chemical reaction, and also had thought that Ziplocs would be fine, but now I see they won't. Great point!

I was in the same dilemma. What to get for a finesse reel? So, in the past month I have purchased several reels: Curado 200E5, Curado 100D, Brand New Daiwa SOL, and an ebay pickup of a used Team Daiwa-X 105HV. The 2 Daiwas came in a couple of days ago and I just spooled some line on them. Trying to decide which rod for which reel.....but since there is water all around my house at the moment, and a line of Asplundh and electric trucks on the road, restoring electricity and cutting down trees that are on power lines......I haven't been really able to complete the project. Just playing around with the free spool mechanisms I find that the Daiwa SOL spins free est and longest and smoothest. Next would be the Curado 100D. Then the Team Daiwa X and finally the Curado 200E5. ALL of them spin very freely and I am satisfied with all. But from initial inspection and examining, I think I prefer the SOL! I looked around for awhile and found a place in White, Georgia that had 2 brand new ones for sale.....there is a "sale" price on the last one at the moment for $212. I know.....big bucks, but I wanted a brand new one....and I got it and am well pleased. I don't see how it could be made faster, but I suppose it could by putting ceramic bearings in it. Maybe a future fun project.. Sorry I can't give a casting report just now, but will get back in about a week with one.

I just bought a new Strike King Soft tackle box with 4 plastic boxes inside. I filled one with crankbaits, one with Frogs, one with worms and one with creature baits. In about 3 weeks, one of the compartments of the worm box had begun MELTING and that one compartment was almost a solid mass. The other compartments which all held worms, seem unaffected. There are all types of worms in there. Some with salt, some with pork fat and salt, whatever. My question is: what is the BEST way to carry the worms? I had taken about 6 from each pack and put them in the plastic compartment. Should I just buy the Zip Lock bags from Bass Pro with the grommets on top? Or just leave them in the original bags and put in another soft tackle box> What do you guys do?

I guess that's why I like my Original Lew's Speed Spools!! I bought 2 of them New Old Stock, and the third in excellent condition. Very smooth and I DO feel connected to the bait better.....especially crankbaits. Just bought several new reels: Curado 200E5, Curado 100D, Daiwa SOL (incoming) but I will ALWAYS have one Original Lews in the boat.....probably with a custom square billed medium running crankbait on it: color.....Taco Salad!!

Yeah, Mike, I may have come on a bit strong. Just come home today to my house in the swamp that was entirely surrounded by rising waters for last 5 days. Massive flooding of houses by Isaac. Lots of people without homes. My house was actually spared and my buddies pulled my brand new boat from being pinned under a boat shed. Had to take off the windshield. 3 boats were pinned because the water rose about 8 feet overnite. Now that I came home, the mosquitoes will be the other threat. Just fired up my Mosquito Magnet. that should take care of my little space. We have a truck that sprays once a week at dusk to keep the population down. Didn't mean to offend anyone. Just a little on edge. But.....I DID manage to get a new rod that came in with FedEx. The ONE bright spot so far. The St. Croix Legend that Capt. Bob spoke of.

Proper precautions here in Louisiansa. are necessary. Several people have contracted it in MY area and having severe results. Dallas having an epidemic. Wear long sleeves....NOT a BLUE shirt....they like blue it seems. Not really a laughing matter in the Swamps of Southeast Louisiana. But we all wear some kind of repellent and wear those Thermacells, or Off machines. In my area, we all use MOSQUITO MAGNETS. These are run by propane and decimate a huge portion of the mosquitoes around us for an acre. True, only a small percentage actually get the neuroinvasive part.....but when it's YOU who are the small percentage, it's little comfort.

Finally able to drive to my house in the swamp.....water on road was 5e feet deep. My boat was banging at the top of the boatshed when my neighbors got it out before it sank! While staying at a Value Place for a week, FedEx emailed to say they could not deliver the rod because the road was underwater and couldn't move it from their facility because it was labeled HAZARDOUS MATERIAL!! Pretty weird. I drove in the rain and picked up the 6'9" LTournament. Brought it back to the hotel with all of the refugees from Hurricane Isaac. They were laughing because I was concerned about getting my rod when I might be losing my house. Well, today, the water subsided enough to get through and my buddies had saved my boat....house was ok. when they saw the rod coming out of the car, they all had a good laugh! I'm happy! I got my rod, and my Daiwa SOL is coming in late this week! Woohoo! Life is good!

I've got a 200 GTB....almost brand new. Who did the polishing and abec 7's, and carbonex drag for you DVT? He is sending me back a cleaned Vintage ABU 1500C in a few days. Does the abec 7's make that much of a difference?