hooah212002

White Ice Green Pumpkin Watermelon/red flake All of those are deadly for me.

More important than it being denser and smaller is that it is FAR more sensitive. You can practically map out the bottom contour of where you are fishing with a tungsten weighted texas rig and some good sensitive line. since tungsten is denser, that means it is harder and any feeling gets transferred through the weight instead of, as with a soft lead weight, the material absorbing that feeling. (ok, some other poster, most likely WRB, wrote a great post about this using proper terminology that makes mine look like it was written by someone who speaks English as a 12th language)

My point was that I don't see any way that this pond did not freeze all the way to the bottom since it is so shallow. Would the vegetation stop it from freezing completely? Even if that is the case, I can't see how they would survive with such limited space to move or catch prey.

There is this little pond right off the highway near a baseball diamond that I stop at before work sometimes (fishing before work is a running theme with me) that is at best maybe 4-5 ft deep, but only in the very middle. I can see the bottom throughout most of it even though it is extremely thick with weeds. There are a slew of pretty small, but hungry, bluegill that I can catch with nearly anything plus some similar size largemouth. That was last year. I stopped by last night after work just to poke my flashlight in there to see if any fish were touched by miracles and survived the cold winter because by all rights, that pond was solid ice all winter. Simply not possible for it not to be, right? Much to my surprise, I saw a few swimmers with my light. So I pulled out my rod and tossed a few. Much to even more surprise was the fish I caught: a healthy ~2 lb bass. I asked him where he came from and told him he didn't belong in there, but he didn't respond (my fishinese needs a bit of work). So I ask y'all this: how on earth did these fish not only survive, but thrive and actually get bigger? This pond seems to me to be just something that is there and at some point must have gotten stocked with a few fish but they are kept in check by the extreme weed growth. It doesn't seem to be state owned since there are no creel signs and it is not on private property (at least there are no "no trespassing" signs). Is it possible they survived or is it more likely that there is a mysterious fish stocker? I have only seen one other person ever fishing there one time and I drive by it every day.

I do this as well as following Gene's advice in this video about cabinet liner on the lid of your plano box: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/tackle-box-tips.html I can throw all my plano boxes around like a ragdoll and never have any misplaced hooks.

That also looks like a good fit.

Where can I get one, though? A quick google search leads me to believe they are discontinued.

if I had to choose just one line for one rod: I would go with either a really good mono or Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Fluro and Braid have too many limiting factors to use either one as a one for all. Braid: can't use spooks and I LOVE spook fishing. it also has relatively bad slack line sensitivity. I have found that to personally be a deterrent for me using braid. Fluoro: no topwater or, if you do manage to keep it afloat, it's a pain in the butt. It is also finicky about knots, abrasions and backlashes. **note: I am ONLY using these as reasons to not use either line type as a "one line to rule them all". I am not just pointing out flaws of either for the sake of pointing out their flaws. For their applications, I can see and appreciate the use of both and actually use all 4 line types. A good mono or copoly are far more versatile than fluoro or braid.

split shot rig is just basically a Carolina rig with a split shot....right?

I've started using Skip Gaps nonstop for my flukes and never have any troubles. The ONLY time they fall down the hook now is a missed strike or slithering through a bunch of weeds: both scenarios that should cause you to readjust anyways. The only problem is they are so hard to find in stores. Gander doesn't like to carry them, Wally World rarely does and Dicks never does. Bass Pro is too far for me to go to. #firstworldproblems

I use spoons for panfish, but have yet to catch bass with them. I have a couple spoons that are my second go to when my inline spinners aren't working.

Hmm. I will give one of those a shot. It looks smaller than I thought because I recall spinnerbait boxes being much bigger the last time I looked into them (which was, admittedly, some time ago). Thanks.

I am currently using the pockets inside of my BPS Worm Bag to store a few spinnerbaits, but I would like some different ideas that other people have come up with. I don't have enough to justify the huge boxes dedicated to them, but enough (and growing) that I'd like a better option. I'd like to keep them in the same container so I don't have to search through different bags/boxes just to find the color I want. You may say: "just carry a couple generic colors and leave the rest in the truck". I could, but the places I fish regularly are pretty heavily fished and the fish are picky enough that the slight color difference between green pumpkin with red flakes and plain green pumpkin could mean lots of fish or no fish. The same with a white spinnerbait or a white/chartreuse or gold blades and silver. Long story short, I like to carry all but the most useless gear with me as long as it's not too heavy or unwieldy. For reference: The gear I currently carry is a (pretty big) backpack that has a number of large plano boxes, a smallish shoulder bag and the BPS worm bag.

IMO, the 6935 is on the large/heavy side. I'd suggest the 6930 unless you use it for heavy duty stuff. But for an inland spinning outfit, I can't think of anywhere outside of the everglades or the bayou that needs a reel that big. As far as the rod is concerned, if you are going for an all around application, go with a 6'6" or 7' M/MH with a moderate to maybe a fast tip. Medium action, moderate tip may not have sufficient backbone for an all around set up, though. I would suggest a Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth rod, maybe a *** Black or even a St. Croix (insert model here). I have a Abu Veritas casting rod that I would not mind one bit if I got in spinning version. You can't really go wrong with the tried and true brands. The best and most surefire way to get what you want is to go somewhere that has a good selection and then pair it up in store to test it out. A good fishing supply store ought to have no issue allowing you to do this provided they are convinced you are there to actually buy something and not just wasting their time.

I took my boys out this evening after supper for the first time of the year and my youngest did the best (I didn't fish because they still need my help and I wanted to make certain they didn't get too frustrated). He hooked into 3, but since his cheap-o rod has no backbone and he doesn't yet know to set the hook, he only landed the one in the picture. The first one he nearly landed was an ok size trout (the pond gets stocked with trout and is the only place in town dedicated to shore fisherman, so all the fish are pretty small). My older son got jealous really fast even though they were using the same baits and were only a few feet apart from one another. It was nice to finally take them out and have them catch something. I just wish my older son would get to catch something for once. It always seems like my youngest is the only one to catch fish. Which is funny because: my brother and I are 5 years apart, so are my boys. I am the youngest and I like to fish and am/was more athletic than my brother, so is my youngest. Anyways, here is the itty bitty bass he got and refused to lip: here's another shout out to this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/136824-lure-question/ because he was using an inline spinner on a crappy zebco in serious need of repair. The fish didn't care what kind of reel he had, but they sure liked that inline spinner.

They produce so well for the waters I fish and are so versatile that I have a 3600 dedicated just to different sizes and blade styles of white ones. No other color seems to do it like those.

A white inline spinner. That will catch darn near anything, actually. Crappie, pike, bass, bluegill or trout.

The barometric pressure associated with storms is what effects fish more than the storm itself. Here is an article: http://www.lake-link.com/info/barometric_pressure.cfm. I am positive there is an article here on BR about it, but I cannot find it. It is not a prefect science and you can easily find sources saying there is no effect or the data is insufficient to say one way or another, such as this In Fisherman article: http://www.in-fisherman.com/2012/08/24/barometric-pressure-and-bass/. I think WRB has done a few good write ups about it as well, but finding them will require quite a bit of digging.

Yes: http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Region_5_Report/html/crayfish.html

If you have a smartphone or tablet, check out the knot wars app. It will tell you when, where, how, why and what flavor gum to chew while doing so.

The Presidents currently have a $10 mail in rebate making them only $50. You cannot go wrong here.

Can't go wrong with some 12# Yo-Zuri or 12-15# Invizx. Depends on what you are going to use it for, though. ::edit:: MCS is right. Sufix Mono is cheap and REALLY good. Elite is good stuff, if just a tad bit stretchy. Haven't tried the Seige but it gets plenty of praise around here that I am comfortable recommending it. Since it is your first baitcaster (correct me if I am wrong and I don't mean to offend), maybe just some cheap Trilene while you learn to cast it. No sense spending $20 on a spool of good stuff just to have to snip it all due to birds nests. get some KVD Line Conditioner to ease that pain. However, I think it would be better to learn to cast without line conditioner so you don't train yourself to be dependent on it. very few lines are so terrible that you really NEED line conditioner.

My rod holder causes my rods to bow slightly due to the weight of the reel. It is a horizontal rack in my truck and I have both rack pieces as close to one another as possible, but they still bow. My UL rod is the worst because I can only get the rod tip in the other end. Since it is my truck rod holder, they do not stay in there for any real length of time, maybe a week at the very absolute longest. If I know I won't be fishing any time soon (LMAO, sure, like that ever happens), they come inside and stand vertical in a closet. How long is too long for this stress on the rods?

It seems like they (or at least the one I go to) are getting rid of the good Rage SK soft plastics. The last pack of Toads are in my car now and the shelf space for them is taken up by other stuff. I hope I am wrong.

Where can I find one of those? Haven't seen anything other than white LED ones.