timsford

Black spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and jigs. T-rigged 10 inch worms with a rattle inserted and if im going after stripers, walleye or smallies its hard to beat a minnowbait like a long a reeled slowly so it wakes. I use bone or white on moonlit nights and black on dark nights. Jitterbugs work great too. I use a headlamp that has both red and white led lights and try to use only the red ones because it attracts less bugs and scares less fish in the super shallow water i often fish. My favorite tailwater has a spot that is only a foot or two deep where a creek runs in and u can count on all the fish leaving if you shine a light on the water. Its suprising how shallow big fish get at night as ive caught several stripers over 10 pounds in thay spot and there dorsal fins were out of the water

I use the super spots, bomber square a, and rebel weer's out of these boxes all the time. They also jave some pretty good plastics like yum and strike king in these bins and my Walmart has a 5 buck rapala bin i always check out

Hudd 68 in waters where shad or herring are the main forage and mattlures ultimate gill or hardgill where sunfish are the main forage

Sadly i dont have one. Id give anything to have a pic of that fish but i was fishing alone at daybreak and didnt want to kill her for just a pic. I put her on a stringer and waited for someone else to come along so they could hold my phone and take a pic of with it but after 2 hours of waiting it was getting hot and i worried i was stressing her too bad and let her go. I knew no one would ever believe me but that's what it weighed on a digital scale. It was worth no proof to see her swim away but i still go there almost every weekend hoping to catch her again and i wouldnt have the chance if i had kept her for a pic or a mount. Now i always have a buddy with me bevause next time im definitely getting a pic if i catch one over 5

Crawfish in creeks and rivers. Ive never failed to catch a bass in clear water when i could see it and cast a live crawfish in front of it. Bluegill hooked behind the dorsal in ponds or for stripers in Rivers

I like rattle traps, red eye shads, and cotton cordell super spots in the 3/4 ounce or larger sizes. Try varying your retrieve. Usually burning it or yo yoing it works best for me. Other baits to try are large minnow baits like red fins, zoom mag super flukes, underspins like the sworming hornet, swimbaits, and bucktail jigs in white or chartruese. Lipless baits catch a lot of atripers for me i just use bigger sizes than i use for largemouth

I dont do a lot of catfishing but i fish for stripers a lot. I use several different low profile reels from cheap shakespeares up to daiwa tatula type r's. almost anything will work as long as you have the drag set right but if im going aftet really big fish in current i use a lexa 300 for the line capacity as ive been spooled a few times on regular sized low profiles. Use braid and that way you can set the drag tighter without worrying about line breakage.

Im trying to find a rod under 7'3" to fish swimabaits, 3/4 ounce spinnerbaits, and swimjigs with a trailer. I mostly use mattlures u2 gills and ultimate gills(1-2 ounces) and other reaction baits over 1/2 ounce. The shorter the better as im using them in small ponds with overhanging trees. My budget is under $150. Any suggestions? Id like something with a fast or extra fast tip for hard hooksets and backbone to horse big bass away from cover. Ive been using an okuma 7'11" big bait rod but its too long to get a good cast in most of the places i fish. Sensitivity isn't as important as backbone bur i dont really want a broomstick rod

You can try taking it apart and cleaning, lubing amd put it back together. If its still in warranty though id just send it back

Check out ebay. Ive seen the tatula type r for 130 and lews tournament pro and bb1 pro for 150

My biggest smallie was 7 lbs 3 oz and i caught it on a 3 inch luck e strike hollow swimbait in a local tailwater.

Thanks guys i figured it out. This is a great place for info on catching more and bigger bass and for learning about new equipment before you buy. I wish i had found this place a long time ago!

As for a reel with extra line capacity i like the lews reels and the tatula r. If im using heavy line or fishing for stripers(they pull a lot of drag and ive been spooled a few times) i use a lexa 300 but im thinking about getting a curado 300 or one of the tatula hd reels daiwa is about to release

Reel speed depends on the angler. A 7 to 1 or higher makes it easier to gather in slack quickly for a hookset or when fighting fish that are running towards you. I feel like i fish to fast with a reel faster than 6.3:1 so i only use 7:1 reels for buzzbaits, frogs, or burning spinnerbaits or lipless cranks but thats all up to the angler. I have a tendency to fish to fast so i try to use slower reels for everything. (i use a 5.3:1 for all cranks and slow rolling spinnerbaits and 6.3:1 for everything else except the techniques i mentioned above). Thays all up to the angler though and if i could slow myself down i'd probably use faster ratios

I must be in the minority because i rarely use braid. there is no grass on my home lake so i rarely do feogging or punching and its pretty clear so i always worry about fish seeing my line. About the only time i use it is night fishing for striped bass or when using swimbaits in small ponds i fish because theres not a lot of room to play fish. To me its more fun fishing with lighter line instead of winching in a 2 lb bass on 50 lb braid. I enjoy the fight is why i fish. In the ponds though i use a lot of bluegill swimbaits and have been catching some big bass so i use braid. Id hate to lose the 10 lb bass ive been trying to catch for years. In most situations though braid isnt really needed and because of rocks and clear water i feel it hurts me more than it helps. I know i could use it and flouro or mono leaders but thats just another knot that has the potential of failing. This is all a matter of opinion but thats my opinion on braid

I would definitely try to check the reel against the schematic. You might try pulling the spool off and cleaning and check for wear on any of the parts. I had one of these for 14 years and only cleaned and did maintenance twice the whole time i had it. When i sold it to help pay some bills it worked as good as the day i bought it. I know this doesnt help much with your problem but it has to have something worn out or out of place. These are the most bulletproof reels ever designed IMHO

Ive used wine corks and sanded them to turn them into powder and mixed with elmers glue. Fill in imperfections then sand until smooth and use sealer. Still going strong after a year of pretty heavy use but i dont know for sure how long it will last

My favorite bait for ponds is a bluegill swimbait. I like the mattlures u2 bluegill in smaller ponds but use the ultimate bluegill in bigger ponds or in ones i know there are hawgs in. Ive caught 10 bass between 8 and 9 1/2 pounds on these and the hardgill. Hopefully soon i break the 10 lb mark

Typo lol how do i finish filling out my profile?

Hoe do i finish filling out my profile?

If usually fish from the bank and while i normally carry 4-5 rods if i carried 3 i would carry: 6'6"-7' medium action spinning rod for anything under 1/4 ounce 7' or so MH fast baitcast for single hook baits 6'6" or 7' MH moderate action for treble hook baits

If i had that rod id use it for texas rigs, smaller carolina rigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and jigs but you may find other uses for it as well. Good luck those are great rods

Since you already have an ugly stick which has a softer action because its fiberglass, i'd go with a medium action rod with a fast tip for bottom contact baits. You can use your ugly stick for treble hooked baits like cranks and the new rod for worms, jigs, and anything else with single hooks like spinnerbaits. As far as brands go there are a lot of good rods in that price range but some have better warranties than others. Carrot sticks are light and sensitive but have poor customer service from what i hear. I use a powell deisel spinning rod i got from tackle warehouse and its a very nice rod for the 54 bucks i paid for it but it has no warranty. Abu garcia vendetta and veritas can be found for those prices as well if you really want to keep it under 80. The shimano convergence and clarus lines are also in your price range and so are the daiwa t rods. Do some research on warranties from whatever rod interests you is the best advice i can give. If you decide to spend 100 id probably go with the *** *** black as there are tons of happy users out there and about the only thing i heard bad about them is some people dont like the reel seat. Good luck in your search for a new rod

I dont know any guides on center hill but the lake i fish most is in southern tennesse and is a lot like center hill. There is excellent smallmouth fishing around here. Try rip rap or bluff banks with jigs and soft plastics, cranks on main lake points, and if you dont do well during the day fish shallower rocky areas at night with spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jigs, and worms in black or dark colors. Good luck fishing in tennessee! Center hill is an excellent fishery and if you are set on a guide try searching on the web or check with the local chamber of commerce

Id use the spinning setup you've been using for everything under 1/4 ounce. Put the shimano on the mh falcon crankbait rod and use it for anything with treble hooks, but you might want to go with lighter line depending on cover and size of the fish in your area. Lighter line will give you more casting distance and allow cranks to dive deeper. Put the abu on the g loomis mbr and use it for jigs and worms and anything the other two setups wont handle. Thats what i would do with what you have anyway but you might find something different works better for you