Josh Smith

Thanks man! Guys, I found 'em. They're shallow. Not much of a fight because they're so close to shore. A small 11-12" smallie that I should have kept for the sake of the population (slot limit): And a 15" smallie, a little on the thin side though. It looked a little... flat..? Last winter they were quite chunky. I tried a 10" weightless Power Worm and it worked very nicely. Unfortunately, the reel needed some tuning and was backlashing every cast until I fixed it at my shop after the outing. Any idea on why the bass are so skinny? Josh

Hi Guys, This could go in a couple forums, but I'm putting it here because I think it will bring a later cross section of members who have experience in several states. I have read it opined that if you can catch bass in Indiana, you can catch 'em anywhere. While I understand this to be a slight derision against this state's fishery, I'm wondering if there's any truth to this. Do you who have fished many states feel like you work harder to catch bass in Indiana waters than elsewhere? Why or why not? Thank you, Josh

I use Palomar and Trilene. The Trilene is just an improved improved clinch knot. Josh

@tstraub what's the clearest river you've seen up this way? I like smaller rivers and creeks that I can bank fish and wade. Before the weed takeover I loved the Salamonie, but wading in slime isn't my idea of a good time. I've not done the Eel because of all the pollution. Been looking at kayaks for next year. I'm in the process of dropping weight first. Also looking at rafts. I want the shallowest draft I can get. We used to fish the Paw Paw Creek when I was a kid, and can't find the place we used to go now. That creek had good fishing. Josh

Why?

Used to be numbers mattered, 20+ years back. Up til last year, it was size. Now it's just getting out and enjoying nature. Fishing is a bonus. Josh

Almost sounds like you're not used to the ratio. Josh

Cherrywood HD for one of them. Josh

The bite has slowed way down in my usual waters. I'm sure the fish are there but I need to play with new techniques. Anyone else having this problem? It's especially prevalent in the Wabash River. Since the floods the river's whole personality has changed. Josh

Leave it running then.

Do they make diesel outboards? I think I'd go with a 24v trolling motor. Gasoline motors don't like to idle (though electronic fuel injection has helped this a lot!) and restarting it a bunch is hard on everything. If you don't have to cover a lot of water a powerful trolling motor just makes sense. Josh

Sounds like a good combo. I prefer 6'6" length. Josh

1. Was the line coming off the top or bottom of the filler spool? If bottom, you have line that's trying to go back to its factory loaded position. 2. Pull the spool and run warm-hot (not boiling) over the line while it's on the spool. This will reset it. 3. How much tension did you put on the line when you were spooling it? Josh

Thank you!

Does anyone know of any bass fishing shows which show bass behavior underwater? How they relate to different lures, how long they watch jigs, etc? Thank you. Josh

I don't like tape gunk though I used to use that method. Now, I just use an overhand knot. Josh

If you're OK with round reels, get a 5500c3 and be done with it. Stay away from the Ambassadeur S crap from the budget stores, though. Those things will die quickly. Josh

I've never caught lake walleye, only river, so maybe that's the difference, but all walleye I've caught are decent fighters. Every one has given at least three runs that peel some drag. I find it interesting that a 12" specimen I recently caught was one of the harder fighters. The more I fish the river, the less impressed I am with lake fish. Josh

My boy, also 8, uses a Black Max, older style low-profile. I rebuilt it and found that the magnetic brakes on this one are stronger than most other reels I've seen. I'm keeping the magnets turned up and, as his control improves, they will be slowly turned down. Josh

As do I, but I'd like to upgrade to a heavy because I sometimes fish long-range with frogs, 30 to 50 yards at times. Josh

I have never experienced problems with any reels in the rain. Josh

The river walleye I catch fight really hard. So do the smallies. The weakest fighting fish I catch regularly are gar. Even the lake largemouth pull drag. Josh

I would have recommended an older Quantum, but not the ones they have currently. The metal-framed 1310 was pretty awesome for its time. I'd still use one but got too used to anti-reverse bearings these past few years. Josh

I've been dissecting a lot of reels this past year. Of those, Shimano seems to have the most logical low-profile setups. Abu Garcia still has the best round reel design, in my opinion. Lew Childress's design is still the basic design for the Shimano low-profile, while the Ambassadeur designs are largely unchanged since the '60s -- they've been simplified on the handle side, have beefed-up axles with the bearings moved inboard, but are the same basic design. I'm an Ambassadeur fanboy, but if I ever go low-profile it will definitely be to Shimano. Josh

Fish is correct. That's the order those parts go into every reel I've ever seen. Ratchet on bottom engages dog. Small drag washer serves as a spacer to clear top of dog. Main gear engages pinion. Large drag washer and pressure plate turn the main gear. Regards, Josh