desmobob

They are beautiful fish, hard fighters and truly excellent table fare. If the bass fishing is tough, or I'm looking for a relaxing change of pace, I often stop at a spot I know of and throw a little beetle spin on an ultra-light spinning rig for yellow perch and crappies. That's a pretty spot where you were fishing. Tight lines, Bob

I use "battery maintainers" for my stored batteries. They're cheap. They put just the tiniest bit of current in to keep the chemistry active and prevent sulfating, from what I understand. You have to charge them on a normal charger first before storing them on the maintainer. I know a guy who keeps a lot of batteries for various toys, etc, in storage for the winter. He has a bunch of cheap wall-wart trickle chargers hooked to a power strip that's plugged into an appliance timer. It comes on for half an hour every day to keep the batteries active and charged. Tight lines, Bob

Nice fish! Nice tackle!! I'd be worried sick I'd lose that rod out of my kayak.... =:-0 Tight lines, Bob

I'm very eager to do some more fishing with the Kistlers. I love the KLX rods so far, and was very impressed with the Carbon Steels. I loved my St. Croix Premier (made in the USA, like your Falcons), but the imported Carbon Steels seemed as well made, lighter, and just "felt better" to me so far. Time will tell. I know what you mean about moving to FL. I was hoping to do a little more late-fall fishing before the lakes freeze up here, but the state just took out the docks for the winter at my local launch site. I'm going to change my outboard's engine oil and lower unit lube today and get ready to tarp the boat for the winter. A sad time, indeed.... Tight lines, Bob

Experimenting with cheap fluorocarbon is what convinced me to stick with braid. :-) The lines I tried were all used on spinning reels, which I think may be less forgiving of line quality. No loss for me though, as I use the line six feet at a time as leaders on my braid. I think Invisx was the best one I tried; cheap Berkley was the worst. Tight lines, Bob

USN 1982-1986 Tight lines, Bob

I got a chance to fish with the new KLX rods today and, you're right, I'm very happy with them! (And I did have a Tatula mounted up on one of them.) I just wish the fishing season wasn't over for the year so I could really get to know them. A Chronarch or Curado will probably be the reel I choose if I decide to try a Shimano baitcaster. Tight lines, Bob

I got out on the water this afternoon for some fishing and got my first skunking of the year. The water was 44* and I couldn't find any bass around the old bridge pilings that had been one of my late fall hot spots. It was too cold to motor north up the lake to areas where there was more deep water and structure, so I took my skunking and went home early. I did get a chance to fish my new Kistler rods. I used my two new KLX and two all-new 2015 Carbon Steel models. I really like them! The KLX rods are made in the USA (Magnolia, TX) with blanks from Gary Loomis' North Fork Composites in Washington. The KLX rods feel a LOT lighter than my St. Croix Premier, and more sensative. I think they also have slightly softer tips and they cast very well. (I have the KLXs in 6'9" MHF "Finesse Tube, Worm, Jig" and 7' MF "Speck and Red All Purpose".) It's killing me that today was probably my last fishing day of the season... I like these new rods a lot and want to really get to know them. The surprise for me was the new Carbon Steel rods. I actually got them free when I bought the KLXs; they weren't rods I was planning on purchasing. I don't know the actual weights of my rods, but the Carbon Steel rods also feel noticeably lighter than the similarly-priced St. Croix Premier. These are new versions of the Carbon Steel, with "raw" uncoated/unpainted blanks that look like the higher end Kistlers. The fit and finish is excellent. The Carbon Steel 7'6" HF "All Day Power Tool" is a very nice rod and I'm already looking forward to throwing frogs with it next summer. I haven't fished it enough to figure out why, but for some reason, I really like this rod a whole lot. The Carbon Steel 7' MHF "Worm, Jig, Carolina Rig" was also a nice handling rod that I felt is as good or better than my St. Croix Premier 7' MHF. The rods have Fuji's "Micro" and Kigan "Macro" guides which are both a little larger than other micros. I use 30lb. braid with a 20lb. fluoro leader and had no trouble at all with my Albright knot passing through the guides on casts and retrieves. The guys at Kistler are prompt and polite. One of the guys e-mailed and called me the morning after I made my orders on their website to make sure everything was correct. When I returned the call, Trey Kistler answered the phone and talked with me for a bit. I then responded to the e-mail to let the other guy know I got everything in order. He e-mailed back later to thank me for being courteous enough to return his e-mail even though I had already talked to Trey. I'm hoping this is the only kind of customer service I'll ever need from them. :-) It would have been nice if I had been able to land fish on each of the rods, but that wasn't in the cards for me today. It's very likely I won't get a chance to do that until spring. Tight lines, Bob

I think he's holed up somewhere, reading the responses to the 49 questions he asked in his first 50 posts.... ;-) As for the jig question, I don't think you could go wrong by buying some 3/8 or 1/2 oz. jigs at Wal-Mart. I like green, brown/green, PBJ, or black/blue. I think it's hard to go wrong with trailers, either; just get something that looks sort of crayfishy... I like Missile D-Bombs, Berkley Pit Boss, Strike King KVD Chunks and Yamamoto Flappin' Craws. Tight lines, Bob

I need a few reels... I just picked up four new Kistler rods last week when they had their "Buy a KLX rod and get a Carbon Steel rod FREE" sale. I already picked up a Lew's Tournament Pro (my favorite). I'm planning on buying another one of those, a Tatula, and will probably take the plunge and buy my first Shimano baitcaster (haven't decided which one yet). If I can't decide on a Shimano, I'll by another Tournament Pro. Tight lines, Bob

Excellent!!! There is a great satisfaction in learning to detect a bite and hook the fish. I think that's what makes jig fishing so much fun. It's also why people spend a lot of money on really sensitive rods. Have fun and know from now on it's only going to get better! Tight lines, Bob

I don't think anyone here is going to judge you.... (Although I have to admit it makes me uncomfortable to read that.) ;-) I use a straight overhead cast a lot; especially when lateral accuracy is important, like when casting between two rows of pilings, etc. I do notice that when I'm lawn fishing, I often get a backlash when casting straight overhead. There must be something different about the way I apply power to my casting stroke in an overhead cast. Tight lines, Bob

Most all of my 40 years of fishing have been primarily fly fishing. Really good fly rods and reels cost really big dollars. But they cast and feel so good, they get used the most. I feel the same about the bass fishing gear I'm slowly acquiring. I try to buy the best tools for the job at hand. And once I get them, it makes doing the job more enjoyable! Use the living daylights out of that combo, Hootie! Tight lines, Bob

Every time I buy new string for my fishin' pole, I notice it says "Fishing Line" on the box... I like to try and fool people by sounding like I know what I'm talking about, so I use the fancy term on the box. Taut strings, Bob

I've never really thought about it until reading your post but now, thinking about it, I think it's pretty amazing that out of the untold numbers of fish of all kinds that I've caught in the last 40+ years of fishing, I don't remember one ever pooping on me or my boat/float tube/canoe/kayak/etc. On the other hand, over the years, I've probably been peed on by hundreds or more bluegills and sunfish, though (I'm not sure if it's really pee, but I prefer to think so...). Tight lines, Bob

Here in the north country, fishermen use a fishing rod. Those who say "pole" instead of "rod" are usually children, non-fishermen, or folks who didn't have the benefit of an education. Call it what you want; we all know what you mean! Tight lines, Bob

After I started using braid, going back to fishing mono felt like I was using a long rubber band. I'm hooked on braid! Tight lines, Bob

Good stuff! Just forwarded the link to an old high school buddy who coaches soccer. He'll love it. Tight lines, Bob

The "In Fisherman" series on Bass fishing is an outstanding read. There's one intro book, then three numbered books. They're all full of great information. I refer back to the books regularly. I also enjoyed Doug "The Bass Professor" Hannan's "Big Bass Magic." It's a book focusing on the biggest bass. Tight lines, Bob

You can find Daiwa Tatulas for about $95. They are S-M-O-O-T-H and solid reels with a great braking system and a steal at under a hundred bucks. I bought one this summer and plan to buy more. Tight lines, Bob

I bought a really cheap digital scale for general purpose use and it works great. I think I bought it from an EvilBay auction for ten or fifteen bucks. Tight lines, Bob

Here you go: I'm in my Orvis Silver Label bootfoot breathables comfortably fishing while slush and small chunks of ice are bouncing off me in the C-O-L-D currents of the West Branch of the Ausable River up near Lake Placid, NY. Tight lines, Bob

This thread, especially with Wayne's images and explanations, has been fascinating! Thanks very much to everyone who contributed! I've been thinking about purchasing some electronics. Now I'm PLANNING on purchasing some new electronics. :-) (Just got to figure out what to sell so I can afford something good!) Tight lines, Bob

Over the years, I've read a lot of things about the pressure affecting the fishing. But as explained above, it's hard to match that up with facts. To bring it along a bit further, the normal changes in barometric pressure over the course of the day, or day-to-day, are more like the equivalent of the fish changing depths by just several inches. Scientists say a link to barometric pressure and fish activity does not exist, but LOTS of experienced fishermen do. Just another one of life's little mysteries! Tight lines, Bob

I'll be sure to post my opinion. I just hope I get to fish them before the local lakes freeze up! The weather is holding up nicely here in northern NY, but it could change any time. I have the week before Thanksgiving week off and hope to get on the water for a day or three then, weather permitting. Tight lines, Bob