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Thank you, smalljaw67. I don't know enough to say which brand is better. I've heard a lot of good things about Shimano. But I've heard a lot of good things about Quantum. Mainly because I like watching KVD fish. If I have one of those days where I wonder why I fish at all, I watch clips of him fishing on YouTube and all of a sudden it feels like a Gibbs slap (NCIS anyone?) and I get right back out there. As far as off brands go, I have to go with Shakespeare (is it really an off brand). My $28 rod/reel combo has been through heck and back and has yet to give up on me. Oh, I caught my first bass with the Pinnacle Solene reel this evening, 2#, it did pretty good. Same as the Quantum Lite. The problem with the Quantum Lite turned out to be my fault. I am a stickler for putting everything together in the reverse order that they were taken apart. For some reason I am missing a part and not sure how it happened. I believe it's the drag clicker. I found a similiar object when vacuuming the floor one day and I put it up somewhere not knowing what it was. I can't remember where though.

Okay, I'm gonna keep this short if possible since most of you have seen my other posts. Today, I took my spinnerbait for a swim. The skirt has white with a few strands of black and white in it. It had a rear willow blade and a front colorado blade. Not sure of the size (2"). It is a quarter ounce. The first trip I went around from north to east and to south east (on the eastern side of the "pinky finger"). I had 3 strikes and landed 1 bass. The bass was also my third strike which tells me he really wanted it. I learned a lesson: trailer hooks are your best friend. The first 2 strikes I was lucky enough to see my spinnerbait get knocked sideways. The second strike was a warmouth (rock bass). The second trip was to the "thumb". After landing the 1 bass, 2#, my spinnerbait felt like it bogged down by some weeds. Next thing I know I'm reeling in a bass, but because my brain didn't react quick enough to set the hook, he flipped off despite the trailer hook. The third spot was in the first "finger" (west side). Nothing doing. The important thing about today is that my confidence in spinnerbaits has shot through the roof. Thank you everyone who has steadily encouraged me over the past week to use a spinnerbait. Here's the map of my lake again. Blue is the wind direction, yellow is off limits, orange is the places I got strikes with no hook ups, and red is where I got hook up and did or did not land it.

smalljaw67, I thought about that. As much as I fish, it would be better to have a higher end reel. What happned is that I went looking for a $15 reel/rod like the quantum to tide me over. They had nothing but spinning gear except the brand new Pennacle. I told my wife it was up to her. She went ahead and bought it. Worse case scenario, I will get one later and have this one as a back up just in case.

Great job Rookiepilot2003. The one thing that I have learned the last few days from everyone on this forum is not to get stuck fishing a lure the "traditional" way. The swim jig got it's start because a bass hit it on the retrieve (quickly reeling it back in to make another pitch/flip). Sometimes if you fish a lure differently from everyone else the bass will nail it because it's different from everything else they seen. That's one of Iaconelli's big things: change is a key to catch bass. Sounds, looks, and smells. The slightest change will some times trigger strikes that wasn't happening before.

XPaininthebassX, I have problems like that with every hard plastic lure except Zara Spook. I'm not going to give up on them though because I know that the reward is well worth the effort to learn. Texas-Rigged, I had wondered about that. I did it one time back in prespawn with a half ounce black jig w/red flakes with a zoom chunk trailer w/ matched color. I hope the OP was helped by this post because I know it helped me a bunch.

Has anyone used a Pinnacle Solene SLP10C baitcasting reel before? 6 ball bearings+1 roller bearing. 6.2:1 ratio. I bought it a pawn shop still in the package for $40 (Walmart's price $50) to replace my Quantum Lite that's messed up (which I now believe to be a missing part due to an operator's stupidity). So far it seems pretty good. Haven't caught a bass yet so I don't know what type of reel power it's got. But I threw a half ounce spinnerbait, a quarter oz. crankbait, and a baby brush hog w/ 1/8 oz weight and seemed alright. The winds are S 10-15mph. I did have to turn the brakes up, but I still have a lot to learn about baitcasting in windy conditions. I "professional over ran" a couple of times, but nothing major.

Bassrun, I assure you that I have tried countless time to come up with a devious plan to get some type of floatation device on the water. This lake has a no boat restriction (see OP) and they won't even allow you to step into the water. If I did so I would risk getting kicked out. The last couple of months I have been trying other lures and I run into problems when I do. 1) Lame I know, but if I don't even get a strike I start getting "ADD". I will change to a different one after 5 minutes. 2) Submerged foliage is a major hinderance, however a lot of replies on here have given me new hope and ideas. 3) until I get another baitcasting reel I am limited to a 5'6" ML Spinning gear that doesn't like anything over 1/4 oz. While plastic worms are my go to baits, I am learning to fish them in different ways. Shaky head, C-rig, wacky rig, dropshot, and weightless. I've also been working with top water quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. During spawning season lizards were my number one lure. There's nothing like watching a bass trying to figure out whether he should kill the lizard or just move it.

I love the "thumb" area, and the left "finger" area. But what I really like the most is the southern point because that point (west to east) runs shallow, deep, shallow. It's good almost year round. I caught 5 there but missed 13 times one time. I know, I suck but then I had only been bass fishing for a month if that. Problem is it takes me 45 minutes to get there. I have kidney problems which causes back pain and leg pains. So imagine carrying 2 cases of hard plastic lures and most of my soft plastics, 2 rods, and a chair (cuz once I get there Ima gonna sit for a while). The key puzzle I have to solve about the thumb is that there's alot of cover not shown in pic. Cover that also becomes an obstruction. Those bass hardly leave the area. I know this because most that I've pulled from there tend to have quite a bit of black. Also note that most of the lakes bottom (that I can reach or see) holds some type of grass or weed that grows up to 4-5 ft tall. Right now, due to lack of rain, some of that are actually an inch or two above surface. The lack of lily pads kinda sucks if you want to use top water frogs. It'll be all open water. There are a few trees/bushes in the thumb area and next to my house that I can skip the frog under though. Heck, I've skipped lizards, worms, and the smallest brush hog Zoom makes under those.

Okay, here it is. But before that, yellow is off limits, green is shallow in middle (3-4 feet deep), blue is the deepest (14-18 feet deep), and red is my trailer . The little thumb in the north west corner runs about 6-8 feet deep. Most of it is walkable, but some of it is people's back yards and either they won't let you fish or (north west corner thumb) it's too thick with trees. That thumb, by the way, is the same spot that my buddy George caught the 8# lmb on Christmas Eve and I caught a 8# second week of January (not sure if it is the same one though).

vapredhunter, I thought about doing that. Just not sure how to go about it. I say this because there's a small part of the lake that belongs to someone else and they won't let anyone fish there. Bassn Blvd, a couple of weeks ago the water was really calm all day long so I figured "Hey, topwater should be good now". I couldn't have been more wrong. I tried several areas and at the usual times of day (sunrise and sunset). Nothing. It was so fustrating. But, they're hitting now and until I can get another baitcasting reel, spooks out of the question. Poppers are doing good though.

No, HeavyDluxe, I am glad you posted and wish now that I had put it the way you did. Maybe more folks would have understood. I am not one of those who think just because I've caught 123 bass so far this year that I'm at a pro angler's level. Far from it. Which is the point. I am one of those guys who, for whatever reason, once I got my first bass I became hooked too. I can step out my front door and walk maybe 50 feet and there's the lake. I swear sometimes when I'm inside I hear it calling me (metaphorically speaking). I want to soak up as much information about this sport and do as much as I can with what's available to me. While I still would love to go pro one day, the main thing I want to do is be able to take all that knowledge and skill that I'll develop over time and give it right back to someone who is just as hungry for bass fishing as I am. Maybe I have a mental problem. I don't know. I do know that in 6 months I can't remember a single night where I didn't catch bass in my sleep (even a peacock bass and we don't even have them here). This is one of those things that a light bulb went off back in December and I knew that this for me. This is what I born to do. This is something that even on my worst days where I consider the possibility of me quitting and I know by the time that thought finishes...I can't quit. As weird as it sounds: Just as I will always be a father, I will always be a bass fisherman. I'm having a hard time describing this.....It's not just something I do. It's who I am. It's at the core of my being. Don't get me wrong, God comes first, then family, then friends, and then bass fishing.

Missouribassman95, finally someone's getting it. Since, I seem to be the only hardcore bass fisherman on my lake and I only have 6 months experience under my belt, it would be nice to have some body with more exp come and say "This looks good" or "This looks promising" or "This lake sucks". Heck they don't even have to fish it, though it would be nice to watch. By hardcore I mean I'm out there for hours. I do not have anything against those who only fish for an hour or so on their days off. Also by hardcore I mean crazy. Back in January as soon as the temperature rose to 33 degrees I was out there fishing. I even did it when it was raining at 35 degrees, but I would have to fish for an hour and warm up for an hour and so on.

You would think the way he acted, Dink, is the way it happened. However, I was on my way back home and wasn't even fishing. It was a 45 minute walk. Where I was fishing at I could see a majority of the lake and I was the only one out there. So, I don't know. Me, I just find another spot. My average bass per day is so low that one spot doesn't make a difference. Like today for instance. I walked a third of the lake (was hurting when I got done) and only pulled 1 bass in. I was using a white spinnerbait for the first round and a red bug Salt Lick made by NetBait. The Salt Lick got me my one and only bass. 3 hours and one bass..................anyways, you could be right. But I may never know. It was the first time I'd ever seen him and it was the last time I saw him. Of course, he did start talking about prepping for the end of the world and teaching his 5 year old how to shoot............

Evidently I am not writing clearly. I wouldn't be fishing against them. I might be crazy but not stupid. Where my feelings would get hurt is when all 3 of them catch their limit in a short time and still would be dragging them in. Once again, the point is to be right there to learn and not watching a video that's been edited. I seen a clip of Jimmy Houston and Charlie Parks from 1986. The clip was 9 minutes long and Jimmy pulled 5 5# bass and 1 4# bass. Not saying it's not possible, but I am saying that an hour long video doesn't really happen in one hour it happens over many hours or even days. And like i've said several times it's just something that I thought would be cool if it happened. It would never happen, I know this. Who knows, maybe I should keep a little notebook on me just in case. Just kidding. I am sorry guys. I thought it would be a fun topic. Some how everything went sideways. Hehe. Oh well.

Sam and Tom, I am no stranger to losing lures. I have a tendency to cast to places that most people would be afraid to cast to. There's this one spot that held my 8lb bass this past winter (if you call it winter). On the other side from it is a great spot to fish from, but there's a few branches in the way. So, I cast over the branches and move my rod to the right to control the line in order to minimize or eliminate any hang ups. I've pulled bass out of that pocket a lot doing that. When you're bank fishing, imo, you should be willing to take chances that you wouldn't normally worry about on a boat. And even more willing to fish spots that most people wouldn't. That usually means losing a few more lures. But I've also learned how to get most of them back when they're hung up. I will say this: my lake is about $50-$80 richer since I started fishing for bass.

BamaBassChaser, you're more than welcome here. Ever heard of Rome, Ga. or Armuchee?

Haha. The idea or premise is to see how they'd do without boats and, of course, to get a chance to be right there as they are catching them while I take notes. We all have dreams and outside of actually being on the boat with them, I think it's a pretty darn good dream. I'm not sure if I will ever lose the passion for catching bass. Sure I have days when I think about throwing in the towl. Then, like a junkie, I start getting that feeling where I need a fix. I do keep record of how many I catch each day. I have it written down on the calendar. I don't, however, keep record of what I catch them on. Unless it's on a lure I haven't been having success with. January 10, February 14, March 21, April 44, and May 34. The reason I don't record what I catch them on is because 8 out of 10 times I'm using a trick worm and most of those are the black trick worm. As I said in my first post, I realize that my feelings would be badly hurt along with my pride. But c'mon guys, you can't tell me that you never wished that your favorite pro was there just to take notes from them. Or to have them trying to talk to you only to be interrupted by a bass every other mid-sentence. Meh, fantasy. That's all it is and it never was meant to be realistic. On the flip side, I refuse to let go of my dream to become a pro in my own right and I will continue to strive for it. <-- Notice the word "strive". I know it won't be easy and it could take me the rest of my life. Until then, I will and always have enjoyed every bass that I catch. Even on days where I pull in zero, I still enjoy those days cause I am outside and I'm alive.

George is my fishing buddy who, through a too complicated story to tell, doesn't get to fish much. Where I generally fish 60% of the daylight almost 7 days a week, he maybe is allowed an hour 3 days a week (imagine a 56 year old being told what to do). Completely irrelevant except to add a brief background to my topic. George and I have a list of pro bass anglers that we would love to have fish our lake without boats or floating craft. My best day I caught 9 bass, but my average somewhere around 2-3. My average weigh is 1lb. I've gotten a few 2lbers, 1 3lb, and 1 8lb. But most are 2lb or less. So our top 3 pick of pro anglers that should fish our lake would be Kevin Van Dam, Jimmy Houston, and Roland Martin. Not that the others aren't just as good, but I thoroughly enjoy watching Kevin and Jimmy and George likes watching Roland. Because they would have to walk the lake rather than boat it, I'll give them 2 days to practice and 1 day from 9am - 5pm for the actual challenge. While most people would be either trying to get their john hancock or asking them a million questions, George and I will be standing back taking notes on what type of lure they used and what technique they used. Not what brand it is. I've learned that in most cases (there are exception to the rules) one brand's lure will work just as well as another brand's lure (GY Senko and NetBait Salt Lick for example). I'm no pro by any means, but if I'm fishing 5-7hrs a day and only get 1-3 bass each day, then I need to reevaluate everything. I am just curious as to how much better pros or more experienced anglers would fair. There's only a small handful of people who fish for bass on my lake. George and I fish the most and the others I see once or twice a month. Everyone else fish for bream, crappie, or catfish. So I don't have a real way of solidly gauging my success. Have I hit a major learning rut or is this as good as it gets? Before anyone says anything, I do realize that there's a very good chance that my feelings or pride would be badly hurt if the pros were to come here. By the same token though, at least I would be able to see how it's done at my lake and have a standard or goal I can strive for.

SouthrnMisnomer, normally I don't chat with anyone too much. But, my one and only fishing buddy is an older gentleman who has no one to vent to because the people in his house apparently believe that slavery is still legal and he's their slave. I can't for the life of me understand why he continues to put up with it, but I generally just give him a means to vent. Fishing helps him take his mind off of things. Speaking of which I haven't seen him in almost a week............

Sorry Delaware, I meant that when the thumb button is engaged you can turn the real and it will disengage but the spool still never turns. It's a Quantum Lite that I picked up with the Quantum Lite rod for $20 at a local pawn. I may go back there and see if I can get another one. I bought a Pinnacle for $40 last month but had to return it because even with everything tightened up the line still came freely off of there and when you cast it there's no braking at all. My thumb was the brake. I know that you need to use your thumb but it should be in cooperation with the magnetic brake and the spool tension.

Haha. I'm lucky if I get an allowance of $5-10.

LOL! I shouldn't have posted asking about crankbaits because not only did I get my answer here but I ended up with other ideas to try out. Don't get me wrong, I got a lot of great tips and stuff. I love this website.

there's only 8ft of braid. besides when i had it apart i noticed that the reel gear wasn't moving the spool gear unless the spool/line release was engaged.

Speaking of which...This might be suited for a different post but since we're talking about organizing. Z-Man soft plastics absolutely can not be stored next to any other soft plastics. I learned this the hard way. I bought one of their chatterbaits with a split tail grub on it. I put the lure with my other jigs. In no time at all the grub part shriveled to nothing. It can be stored out of the bag, but just not with soft plastics. I'm not sure if putting a Z-man lizard and a Z-Man saw tail worm together would have the same effect, but I will leave that research for someone else.