SpinLight

I have two of the new 24 Certate FC2500LT reels. Love them. Great drag and lighter than the old ones.

I only use high vis line, 3-8 lb test, fishing mostly for spotted bass in a very clear highland lake. Also use it at the coast and in the TN river. Catch a lot of fish. If fish are turned off from visible lines, why do they hit an Alabama rig with a bunch of shiny wires? To each his own.

Several times this year I have stopped on a spot and the screen would be full of thin black arches, spaced evenly apart from top to bottom on my Garmin screen. Not like a bait ball. This screen shot is similar to those I am talking about, but with some small colored arches also in this pic. Was fishing Lake Martin in AL where the most numerous bait fish are threadfin shad and blue back herring. Anybody know what kind of small fish these are on the screen?

Same strategy, except I stop at 3.3 for spots.

I don't have a dogma, but I do have a catma....🙄 Great idea for a discussion, DaubsNU1.

Right. Loons are solitary birds where I fish.

I have been fishing for over 60 years now, and have never had as many fish get off after being pinned for several yards as I did on Wednesday. Must have been a dozen that came off within the first 10-15 yards, or about 15 to 20 feet away from the boat. Landed about 15 bass. Very annoying. Details: fishing for spotted bass with a 3-inch Easy Shiner and 2.8 SI Fat 6# Varivas Super Trout Advance Sight Edition mono (I do not use braid or fluoro), Picasso 1/8th oz. and Gamakatsu 1/8th oz. jigheads with #1 and 1/0 size hooks, ’24 Certate 2500 reels, Megabass Baby Pluggin rod and another rod with a softer tip. Most of the bites were on long casts with most of the slack removed before the bite. I may have been setting the hook too quickly on the first few fish. “Help me if you can I’m feeling down….” All suggestions, ideas, and solutions are appreciated. Thanks.

When fishing small swimbaits for spotted bass, I mostly throw the 3" Easy Shiner or 2.8" Swing Impact Fat. I really have not fished the regular Swing Impact much and wonder if it might perform better. Does anybody here throw the "unfat" Swing Impact much, or have an opinion to share? (I know spots will hit just about any small lure and some large ones.)

I second the motion to all the above. Ichiban Tackle has a limited selection of fishing stuff, mostly lures and terminal tackle, but they have been the fastest getting an order to Alabama from Japan for me. It gets here faster than hook up and TW much of the time.

I first started throwing the "floating worm" back in the mid-60's . We threw the original Creme Scoundrel, and the Creme Shimmy Gal segmented worm with a small flat tail on a small exposed hook. Lots of changes since then in tackle and hooks. I don't fish tournaments anymore and only use spinning tackle and mono by choice. I fish for several different species of fish, but most of my bass fishing now is for spotted bass. For several years now, I simply have not thrown a floating worm. My rod collection is big enough for me to know I have several rods which will work. I am looking for your recommendations of a spinning rod that works best for those of you who fish a Trick worm or reasonable facsimile on 8 or 10 lb. test line. What power, action, and length do you use?

Thanks for all the good ideas, and special thanks to RRocket and TnRiver46 for some nice pics. Steve

Most of my bass fishing in this area is with light tackle for small spotted bass. I enjoy swimming a 3" Easy Shiner and 2.8 Fat Impact, but am looking for other effective small plastics for spots. What other productive, approx. 3" non-creature baits do any of you frequently use on a jig head instead of these two great lures?

Good report. I use Iosso E-Z Snap Zipper and Snap Lubricant on all zippers on all my tackle bags. Bought a small tube years ago. Works great. Zippers move easily and smoothly. It's waterproof too. Walmart and some marine supply places carry it online.

If you throw a Roboworm or other small-diameter worm on a shaky head, what size hook do you use?

Gonna try the free rig for the first time. Will be using 6 lb. test line and small 2 1/2 to 3 inch creature baits. What type, size, and brand of hook or hooks would you recommend?