coots

Wow Tom. Thank you for some excellent post there....

I'm not going to continue to beat the dead horse about my eyesight anymore. I did at first so it would help others understand why I ask questions that I ask. As mentioned by a couple of the other memebers, that is why I am asking about colored rods. I won't watch my rod in particular while I am fishing like another poster asked. However, considering my condition. The carpet in the boat is Greyish / Darkish charcoal color, so all the rods blend in if they are on the deck. So something that is white / orange / yellow will appear as a straight contrast will allow me to find the rod on the deck quicker and easier. Going back to when I'm fishing.. I can't just look up and spot the line.. .so being able to find the white blank against the background to follow it all the way to the end so I can at least try to see my line will make it easier for that too.... My apologies for firing up a "who cares what color it is", I didn't know it was a man card issue.

What color are they?

So while I was looking at the Veritss rod I realized... I can see this rod against the background (trees, boat, water) easier. So that got me looking around. What are the best 'colored' rods on a budget? So far I've found some orange Carrot Stix, Veritas, Duckett and the yellow Skeet Reece ones. If anyone have any other bright blanks like that let me know!

I don't know of anything to add that hasn't been already. I just want some.

Easy enough then. This is who I'll use.

Does either of these companies support bassresource.com? If so, I'll use them first so I can show my support that way.

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on Molix brand baits. I was watching a couple You Tube videos and people were using their Spinnerbaits, thought I may look into a few of them to stock my box up with. At $10 a spinner I was like... yeah I'm going to ask the guys at the forums about them before I dive in. So for $10/spinner is there something out there that's better and cheaper? Also, what about their plastics, they seem to be about average price.

There is a lot of great technology developed for computers, smart phones etc that allow me to stay connected fairly well. I have issues finding the mouse pointed quite often, so I only assume it takes me a bit longer to navigate than it does most people. As far as reading, I've got more vision in my right eye than my left. So my brain has tricked itself enough to be able to read with only one eye focused. So I can read OK, it just takes me longer to read than a normal person. Different browsers allow me to install custom themes that change colors and contrast automatically. So that helps. I am an IT Analyst (Cisco CCNA Certified) and that is what my job mostly does. So the IT field is where i stay most of the time. I use command line more than I do GUI when I'm actually doing work because I can type a lot better and faster than I can navigate w/ a mouse and pointer. I know that's a long response to a simple question. So basically, yeah it's harder for me than a normal person I would say, but not impossible.

Not to double post, but the idea of used stuff is fine with me too. When I first joined here, I hit the Flea Market and bought a BPS Johnny Morris SIg Series Reel 7:1:1 for $80.00 TYD. It's in fantastic shape, brand new basically.

I like all of the suggestions so far. The Shimano Compre seems to be a very popular rod for the price, along with the *** series, Veritas' and the BPS reels are all the rave in that price range. Honestly, in respect to the 'ask the guys in the club' deal... most of them are very tight lipped when it comes to talking tackle, gear.. what they're using etc. It's like we're trying to win the Bassmasters Classic sometimes... SUPER nice guys.... but don't ask what they be fishin' with or anyhting lol.

Before we started tournament fishing, we would just to spots we knew where fish were 'usually' at. So my question is how do or did you guys start learning the fish habits? I know about things like pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn etc etc. I'm talking about more detailed stuff and things like, well, it's after the spawn... early June... water temps are around 80 degrees. What will they be starting to do now... and where should I 'look' for fish. I know there is a zillion scenarios like that. We fish on Lake Guntersville, actually just above it in the Goosepond area and even further up. Most of what we havce here is lots of grass, millfoil type stuff.... lots of creeks etc that have some deeper water in it. Dad dove the river for shells when he was younger so he knows a good bit about creeks and that type stuff in our area. Anyway, I was wondering if there was any good study materials to try and figure out some patterns and some habits that they take at certain times of the year.

Again, thank you guys for your responses. It takes time out of y'alls day to respond to all my questions and time is pretty short for most these days. Chuck D, that was an excellent post. I have read it over a couple times and it has given me a lot of insight. Reading your last part kind of made me laugh. My current employer, actually the owner stopped me one day and actually said to me (after solving an issue we were having at the time with some logistics and internal issues) - "Brad, you know this is why I hired you and why you stay here, right?" It caught me off guard and I guess my facial expression implied such, he went on to say that while I am limited in my eye sight it gives me different perspectives and the ability to stop and think differently with a critical mindset. Anyway, thought that was funny you said that. -Brad

I would be delighted to answer your question, and none taken on the disrespect. I get the questions all the time in my day-to-day life. I hope you've got a second or two When I was 12 I was diagnosed with an eye condition known by the name Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). If you would like to read more about it and see a couple pictures of "How I see" you can visit this website here: http://www.blindness.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=67 Currently there are no cures for RP, however, there is some amazing research using some cutting edge technology along with some gene therapy and stem cell research to correct the problem. So basically what happens is that my rods and cones don't get the proper things they need to survive in their normal scenarios that normal sighted people have and eventually die off. Photoreceptors end up dying and vision is lost. Right now my current vision is down to only 8 degrees of sight left. My peripheral vision has all but gone away as well as me being VERY night blind and slightly to moderately color blind. One of the best ways to describe it is like seeing through two straws. Along with the photoreceptors dying off, there are these 'flashing blobs' or what some people refer to as migraine aura. It's these neon flashing lights that are constantly in my vision, almost translucent that just sit there and flash... all day... everyday..... even with my eyes closed. So the disease just gets progressively worse. As a teen I was able to drive, go on dates, live a 'fairly' normal life, which I am thankful for. As a young adult (30) things have progressed to be a serious issue in day to day operations of life, however, you learn to adapt and make the best out of what you do got. I have excellent heightened other senses. My hearing is outstanding. On hearing test I can hear a couple more of the lower 'beeps' than normal people can. The hearing Dr. was pretty amazed by that, although not to uncommon for people with vision problems. Also my instincts to be able to react without sight are incredible. Not bragging there but they just are. I've actually caught things out of the air that were dropped by myself and others before it hit the ground just out of instinct reactions. I'm able to navigate without a cane and do other things just by my hearing, instincts to feel with my feet and stuff. Although the cane does help in a lot of situations. So how does this relate to fishing? How do you cast a lure? How do you know WHERE to cast? All valid questions. Here's the answers. Fishing is actually one of the most popular hobbies for sight impaired people. Especially pan fishing. It's all about feeling the fish and not having to see anything really. Walk out on the dock or the edge of the bank... fish away. With the help of someone like my wife, or whatever family is with me, I know that I am in open waters with no trees or anything to mess with me and we'll have a blast. Now bass fishing out of a boat on the Tennessee River has it's challenges. Givin' that most of the time we're fishing cover, banks with overhanging trees etc. My fishing partner in the club is my dad. They actually made a special rule to let me and him fish together permanently instead of me having to swap partners each trip out. So dad has throughout the years figured out how to position the boat to use the sight that I do have left. You may or may not believe me but I've learned to cast with the spinnerbait motion that you see in bassresources video for trying to lay a spinnerbait silently into the water, with about every lure.... a really low trajectory so that if I do sling it to far, it's not sitting in the top of a tree on the bank. Although I do still hit the bank or a tree or something time to time. Being able to use my instincts and judge the power of a throw or hit a certain area where I actually can still see something is one of the key's to my success.... I have to be accurate or it's going to be a miserable time digging lures out all day. So I hope that answers some of your questions and I'll be glad to answer anymore y'all guys have. So to sum it all up, I am legally blind, not COMPLETELY blind. Only 8 degrees of vision left. I'll give some links below to some videos and some pictures of what it's like for me to see. Not all RP is the same, but these are the closest representations I have at the moment. PIC 1 PIC 2 (Now this isn't EXACTLY what it looks like. The brain does an amazing job at tricking me into thinking I can see perfectly normal. That black field isn't there all the time, it's almost a translucent field of vision that my brain takes images of kind of fills in for me, even though I can't see) YouTube Video 2 You Tube 4 (This will give some sort of semi-idea of how the flashes work. Mine are much brighter than that and more pulsating) Anyway, hope you can combine all of that into something that you can figure out what it's like.

Thanks so much for the response here guys. It really does give me a lot to think about. Some really great suggestions. I also look forward to being part of this community for quite some time. Good stuff!

I think my point is being missed. I'm not going to go out and buy all of these at once. I wish I had that money laying around. This is to also help other new anglers that will have these same questions I have about certain rod types / reels etc. Example: What's the best rod / reel for Texas Rigging? What's a good all around crankbait rod in this price range? What should I use to drop-shot with? Just being here the short time I have been, I see them all the time. Thought this might have been a good way to cover all those bases with 6 nice setups that someone could reference back to from time to time.

So as some of you have already found out, I just joined a bass club and am starting to get into "serious" fishing. That being said, all of my equipment is either old, the wrong kind that I've gathered at yard sales and whatnots throughout the years. So I thought maybe this thread will not only help me, but somehow in the future help some new anglers as well with "what rod for this", "what rod for that", etc. So here's the chance. A "new" angler... on a "semi-budget" and is getting ready to get "semi-serious" with his fishing. So why not hash all this out right here and figure out the best setup to get someone started for certain situations. Now I've read an article about "How many rods do you really need?" and it was pretty enlightening about the subject. The end result is that you can "get by" with 6 rods in the boat and manage to do A LOT of fishing. If someone can come up with a 7th rod that just has to be listed as well, we'll talk it out. What I'm going to do is list out the 6 rods that he thinks every angler needs and then we will as a community offer what we think would be the best "for the money" rod/reel/line combination. After the debates we'll take the rod/reel/line most mentioned and make it the winner for that ROD/REEL/LINE and maybe even put the second choice under it that's a non-budget friendly version of the setup. So let's keep this "Semi-budget" friendly. $125 for the Rod and $125 for the reel unless you want to add a non-budget friendly item that gets added separate. So a budget of $250.00 for the Rod and Reel combo. This should open up several nice rods and reels in a "budget" environment. So here we go! #1 7-foot, 6-inch heavy-power baitcaster combo Main purpose: Flipping, pitching, punching, frog rod and swimbaits ROD REEL LINE #2 6-foot, 9-inch medium-power baitcaster combo Main purpose: topwaters and jerkbaits ROD REEL LINE #3 7-foot medium-power glass baitcaster combo Main purpose: crankbaits ROD REEL LINE #4 7-foot medium-heavy power baitcaster combo Main purpose: texas-rigs and jigs ROD REEL LINE #5 7-foot medium-heavy power baitcaster combo Main purpose: spinnerbaits, vibrating and swimming jigs ROD REEL LINE #6 6foot, 9-inch medium power spinning combo Main purpose: shaky heads, drop shots, lightweight plastics or light jerkbaits and topwaters ROD REEL LINE

I will def. look into dropshotting. I love Texas Rig'n and this may be part of why I like it so much. I can relate to him feeling the bottom more. I just attribute it to having to pay more attention to it than maybe someone else would. I also have excellent hearing. I always score a couple notches higher on hearing test than normal levels. If we can figure out a way to hear fish hitting underwater lures... IM GOLDEN! HAH!

As you guys know from my introduction, I am legally blind. Please don't think I am after sympathy when I bring this up on the forums. I tell you guys that because I'm trying to figure some other techniques out for certain aspects of fishing that will make me as effective as a normal sighted person. One lure I am fixing to try and work on is the Senko. Whacky Rig'n really intrigues me. I have developed ways to feel fish while I am texas rigging, top water fishing is easy, other baits where I can 'feel' the fish I have adapted ways to work past. But looking at videos of Senko's and Whacky Rig'n... one of the biggest things is 'watching the line' as it is sinking. I can't see the line at the end of my pole so, do any of you guys have a suggestion as to how I can overcome this when fishing the Senko Whacky Rigged? Texas Rigging I try to keep my line tight enough that I can still feel a bite, but slack enough to still sink down in a straight manner. Might be what I have to do w/ the Senko as well. Any help or ideas is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your advice guys. Those are just the colors out of the certain depths that I liked out of the colors that I've read about. Just trying to narrow it down to a few out of each depth.

I've narrowed it down by depths and which crankbaits I am interested in. If anyone has any input on which colors to cull out or which ones I should add to a certain depth PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know. I am starting from scratch and am going to fill the box up w/ crankbaits at each depth. H2O SCSFW 0' - 6 inches wake baits Chartreuse Shad Sexy Shad Bluegill Hickory Shad Gold Bream Blue / Chartreuse H20 CRS 2' - 5' Black Chartreuse Red Glitter Craw Diamond Dust Chartreuse Shad Sexy Shad Bluegill Hickory Shad Shell Cracker Blue / Chartreuse H2O CRS+ 6' - 12' Red Glitter Craw Chartreuse Shad Sexy Shad Diamond Dust Blue Gill Baby Bass H2O CRM 5' - 8' Diamond Dust Sexy Shad Chartreuse Shad Bluegill H2O CRD 14' Red Glitter Craw Sexy Shad Diamond Dust Blue Chartreuse H2O CRD+ 16'22' Diamond Dust Sexy Shad Chartreuse Shad

And I've noticed in the CRM (Medium Divers) that they don't have a red/orange craw color.. or at least now by the names I am seeing on the Academy website... hmmm..

By the way, thanks in advance for any help.

Guys, I need some help. I am pretty color blind and I am trying to figure out some crankbait colors. I read this article from KVD and his 'favorite' colors to throw certain crankbaits and what time to throw them. However, I think I am going to go with the H2O series of crankbaits instead since I am learning and won't get my feelings hurt if I lose a couple at the $3 price tag instead of $6. That being said, I can't quite figure out some of the colors to pick in the H2O series vs. the KVD series. If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it. Also, if you know of some of the H2O colors that would work well on the Tennessee River / Lake Guntersville area please let me know. KVD colors he uses: Ok, so obviously I can pick a couple of them out just by the names equivalents. H2O CRS Color Equivalents.http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_22314_-1__?color=Tennessee+Shad&N=97009336+4294963664 1. Red Glitter Craw 2. Black Chartreuse 3. Bluegill 4. Sexy Shad 5. ? 6. ?

I bought a perfect condition Johnny Morris Signature Series Right Hand on the forums here from another member for $80 shipped to my house... no complaints about it at all. I like it so far... it's the 7:1:1 gears.