Fish Chris

Of course I have a whole bunch of REALLY strong opinions on this subject ;-) I LOVE fishing with my G-Loomis SR 720's (rated for 1 to 4 lb mono) and an ultra light Okuma Inspira. But the thing is, regardless of what gear I'm using, or what species I'm fishing for, I absolutely HATE kinky, coily, sttrreeeeeettcchy monofilament (as a main line). I know their are guys who will say, but if your using 10 lb test braid, that's not micro-light..... and in their own minds, thier trying to compare 10 lb braid, to 10 lb mono. However, that's like comparing apples to oranges. If one were to put 2 lb diameter / 10 lb braid, on a medium weight rod rated for 10 lb mono, and then treated it like 10 lb mono (medium to heavy drag settings, hard hook sets, etc) he would be breaking off a lot of fish, and / or ripping hooks out. IMPO, 2lb dia/ 10lb test braid, is WAY better suited for use on a micro-light rod. Also, if a guy feels like he needs to "limit himself / his tackle strength" so that he can feel he has made a bigger acomplishment, then he can just run a 4lb or even 2lb test mono leader, in conjuction with 2/10 braid. Of course this will match up beautifully. Here's a bunch more info if your interested; http://www.trophybassonly.com/id139.htm Peace, Fish PS, The size or species of fish I'm after, has little to do with the gear I choose for it. For me, it's mostly the bait / lures, which determine the size of the gear. In other words, I will use a heavy action rod, with 50 lb braid, for big heavy swimbaits, and I might only catch 3 to 8 lb bass on it. But then I almost always use the micro-light for crawler fishing, where I might be fishing for bass from 10 to 13 lbs, or more.

Typically, I tell people, "I'm letting it go so you > and I, have a chance of catching that fish again. If I kept it, neither you, or I, would have any chance whatsoever, of catching that fish again. I then go on to explain, "I'm not releasing it, because it has zero value to me. I'm releasing it because it's value, alive, and still swimming in a lake I like to fish, is far greater than it's value as my dinner tonight". Oh, but about people laughing at me for fishing a particular lure.... Most people (even trout fishermen) especially nowadays, know what a big 8" to 12" swimbait is used for, even if they will never throw one. However, 7 years ago, I rounded a curve in the shoreline, only to have a whole family totally freak out on my 9" trout swimbait. I guess they might have laughed a little, but it was more mumblings of shock, and disbelief, that anything in that lake could / would eat a lure like that. Five minutes later I was coming back around that bend, holding a 16.5 lb Largemouth, with that lure still completely inhaled in it's huge mouth :-) I didn't say it..... but that was definately one of those, "How ya' like me now" moments ;D Peace, Fish

Thanks again guys. Hey Blake, I've only caught a few trout on crawlers. I know guy fish specifically for trout using crawlers. But I think trout need to be given plenty of time to really suck in a crawler. Whereas, if your fishing "correctly" for bass with crawlers, you wouldn't give them near that much tiime, as bass tend to suck it right in, and swallow it, and you would be deep hooking too many fish. Earlier this year I actually saw a trout swimming around about 3 ft below the surface, so I flipped a crawler out too it. It grabbed it, but I could see it didn't have the hook, so I didn't set. Then it spit it. Then it turned around and granbbed it by the tail again. So again, I didn't set it. It dropped it once more. Then turned around and grabbed it once more, and must have swam 20 feet with it before it finally sucked it all the way in. Swing ! Fish on ;-) Would have never happened if I wasn't actually watching it though. Bass just almost never screw around like that. Peace, Fish

Another awesome "sportfish" ! I think a lot of guys must just be on a different page than I am. If it will bite my hook, and pull on my line, I'm down with it ! Peace, Fish

Thanks for all of your replies. One thing I left out, that I have to admit would make a difference, is that when you are holding a fish 18 inches from your own face, of course it's going to look bigger to "you", than it would look to a guy standing 5 or 10 feet away.... or especially in a boat 20 or 30 feet away. On a couple of occasions, I have actually called guys right over to my boat, telling them, "Don't worry about spooking them.... I already caught the pig I was after" Then when they got right up to me, they were like, "Oh $#%$, that is bigger than I was thinking ! Hey WRB, very good guess on the Smallie. It was 24 1/2" in length, with an 18 1/2" girth, and weighed 8.5 lbs. Oh hey, about the IGFA certifying scales.... Yes, that's true.... but so does nearly every local "Dept of Weights and Measures" for about the same price, usually within a day or two. Plus, they give you one of these cool stickers for your scale ;-) {note: if you need the phone # for your local Dept of Weights and Measures, look for a little sticker on any gas pump the next time you fill up. It will have the # you need on it} Peace, Fish

Hey BigBassGuy, where would one find a file, owned by a guy who's mother was unwed ? ....and if you did find one, how would this be beneficial to reel handle filing ? : BTW, I sand the cork handles on my rods lightly, about once a year, to take off all the gunk, and make the cork bright, grippy, and like new. Never tried to reshape the handle, but it sands easy enough, that I'm sure one could do that too. Peace, Fish

Whooo Hooo ! :-) Nothing like a new PB to make for a GREAT trip, huh ? :-) Continued success to you man. I can hear a 10+ out there calling your name ;-) Fish

That's a super-cool bonus fish ! :-) So answer me this; Would it be possible for a guy to go out and specifically target Drums ? I mean, would their be things... places, techniques, that one could do to make it probable that you would catch 1 or more per trip ? Wish we had those.... Peace, Fish

Okay, so I think it's safe to say that guys who are not used to using a scale, are probably quite often disapointed when they do finally start weighing them. Must be a bad scale, right ? ;-) LOL But how many of you have caught a big fish, and "did weight it".... Only to have some goofball say, "Hey, nice fish. What's that about 6 lbs" ? And your like, "Dude, I just weighed it, and it went 9.1 lbs" ! {note: these #'s can be substituted with anything likely for your area} The point I'm making here, is that while people will often over-guess the weights on their own fish, these same guys will often under-guess the weight on somebody elses. The only thing I can think of to explain this, is the adrenalin factor (of the guy that caught it) and the "lack of" the adrenalin factor for the bystander, is what makes the difference. All the more reason I always carry a scale, so when some goofball says, "Hey, nice fish. What's that... about 6 lbs" ? I can say, "Dude, I'm going to guess this fish at 9 lbs.... then I hang it on the scale right in front of the guy and say, "Hey, 9.1 lbs" :-) Not a bad guess there, huh buddy ? ;-) {thinking to myself.... Anymore questions ? How you like me now ;-) LOL Your thoughts ? Peace, Fish

Hey T-rig, nice fish ! I recently caught my first bass on the Wake Jr, myself... about 1 month ago, and since then, I bet I have caught 10 of them on it :-) In fact, I got my only bite yesterday on the Jr :-) Oh but hey.... I bet you could get "two digital scales" for the price of one Wake Jr. ;-) Sorry man. I couldn't help myself :-) Peace, Fish

Hey Paul, the camera was just my Canon A630. I'm tempted to say > nothing special.... But then again, I absolutely LOVE my Canon A630, A640 and A650is cameras. Not expensive, but really nice cameras. But for underwater shots, the ticket is my Canon underwater housing :-) Does this thing look hi-tech, or what ? :-) Peace, Fish

Well, I dumped one last week that was about 8, and one yesterday, that was about 6. But I'm not saying this like > Ahhh man ! It was huge ! I swear it was like an 8 lb'er !!! Ahhh dude ! What a bummer :-[ It's more like, "Yea' I dumped one about 8.... but who really cares (making the fart sound ...at least it wasn't a double digit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matt, we are so often on the same page. It does totally feel like people are "stealing" from me, and from other guys who have worked as hard as I have, when they BS. One time I let that bug me enough, until I finally got into it with a high profile figure {on another forum}. Lots of people like this guy. And he is a "good" fisherman. However, pretty much everyone knows the guy BS's a lot. I was really ruthless on this guy, and publicly bashed the #$#% out him. Later, I felt bad about all that. I mean, everyone already knew the guy BS'ed a lot anyway. So now, they probably felt like they had a guy who BS'ed a lot over there, and a hateful, rude, idiot who bashes people on public forums over here I'm sure that guy is still BS'ing about big fish..... But I learned my lesson, and will no longer allow myself to get so worked up that I call people out on public forums. Peace, Fish

Much thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll probably buy 3 or 4, and just see what works best for me. Anxious to try these.... Peace, Fish PS, I'm not much of a "color fanatic"...... but as long as they are reddish, or brownish, I'll be happy, colorwise.

Hey Tokyo Tony, this is pretty much all I kjnow about fishing crawlers. http://www.trophybassonly.com/id132.htm Oh, and here's a fun little page :-) http://www.trophybassonly.com/id138.htm I will say this though > if a guy wants to fish crawlers correctly, their is a LOT more than just wadding the thing on any ol' hook, throwing it out there, and setting your pole down :-) .....which is the most common misperception, about crawlers, and live bait in general. Hey Matt, I know you guys have some big Bluegills (Coppernose) but how big do your Red Ears get ? My goal is to get a 3.0 :-) .....or a legit 2.0 lb Bluegill. Peace, Fish PS, Sure hoping the Sunfish are up at Clear Lk. tomorrow :-)

That Largemouths were kind of tough. Didn't get any on a wake bait, or swimbait, but managed to get 3 from 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 lbs on crawlers and the micro-light. And I got a pretty cool shot of the 5 1/2 ;-) Yes, the fish in front is hooked, and fighting, but you totally can't see the 10 lb fluorocarbon leader. Check out the one watching watching this one fight, like, "What the heck are you tripping on" ? :-) Also caught 4 Catfish from 4 to 7 lbs too. Another reason I like fishing crawlers. Love the bonus fish ;-) But probably the coolest part of the trip was when I stumbled onto some BIG Red Ear sunfish ! I'm telling you guys, I caught 11 that must have went 15 to 16 lbs ! This was the biggest, at 13 3/4", and 1.90 lbs :-) And this thing absolutely RIPPED, like a 3 lb Smallmouth ! Oh... see the kitty in the live well ? I just kept it around for company though, then at the end of the trip, I decided I didn't feel like cleaning fish. Very lucky kitty Oh, here's a nice 4 lb+ Smallie from last week (same lake) that I never got around to posting.... Anyway, going to a different lake today. Probably not as much "catching", but a better chance at a DD Largemouth :-) ....and Clear Lk. tomorrow :-) Peace, Fish

I swear I haven't thrown a crank bait in close to 20 years. I used to throw Bomber's sometimes. But anyway, the need has arisen, for a big, deep-diving, crawdad patterned crank bait. I'm hoping I can get it down to 20 to 25ft depth, trolling on a long line (with very thin, low drag, 30 lb braid). Hoping to get a monster Smallie on it. What would be your pick, for a quality crank to fit this situation ? Don't really care about the hooks, as I will replace them anyway (unless they are Owners). Nor do I care about the price. I've paid $75 for swimbaits ;-) Thank you, Fish

About 5 in 40+ years. Not too bad I guess. Most memorable rod breakage was on the first DD bass of my life.... an 11-11, and I still landed the fish with the rod broke off right above the first guide ;-) Peace, Fish

Uhhhh, excuse me guys.... But Yellowjackets "do not sting".... > they bite. Yes, I suppose somebody can have an allergic reaction to the bite of a Yellowjacket, just as they could, to the sting of Bees, Wasps, etc. In that case, I sure wouldn't spend any time asking about that situation on an Internet forum. I'd say if a person thinks they are having an alergic reaction to any kind of a bite or sting, seek immediate medical attention, or call 911. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For myself on the other hand, I once picked up an old aluminum can, intending to use it for target practice. As I walked out to set it in place, I felt something that felt like dirt pouring out of it, over my hand. As I got to where I wanted to set it, my hand startled to tingle a little. I look down to see about 50 Yellowjackets biting all over my hand. My hand tingled for about 15 minutes afterwards, while I counted like 30 bites. After about an hour, my hand felt totally normal, with no sign of a bite ? What I learned from this is, "Yellow Jackets can't touch this" ;-) LOL Peace, Fish

Senko's are the best lures I've never fished ;-) Fish

Koi are in fact, domesticated Carp. Then you have Goldfish, both wild, and domesticated. Carp and Goldfish are two totally different species though. Both will revert back to their wild colorations, and finnages, after only a few generations in the wild. If the OP could show me a photo of one, I could give a positive ID with a quick glance. Fish

Well hey now guys, the palomar is a great knot, which I use a lot. But their are some situations where they just won't work. I also use a bloodknot to connect my braided main line, to my mono / fluoro leader. And I still use an imroved clinch for tying on big swimbaits. Yes, you could make a huge enough loop to bring all the way over your swimbait, so as to use a palomar knot for this.... However, I have found that by the time you cinch a palomar with that huge of a loop all the way down, you will have introduced at least a twist or two into your knot, and "that particular palomar knot" won't be worth a $### ! Peace, Fish

Alcohol is the most destructive "drug" on the planet. Fish

I make it a point to consume as much mercury as possible, so when I die, they can turn me into a big @$$ thermometer Fish PS, Don't know what the nutritional aspects of LB are, but IMPO, they taste like crap..... I'll stick to Halibut and Salmon, thanks. Heck, if I were going to eat freshwater fish, I'd prefer Catfish or Crappie anyway.

....and / or use them (sometimes illegally) as bait. Some escape, while others are dumped at the end of a trip. But either way, Goldfish will thrive in most any North American waters, and are "exceedingly common" across most of the US. The wild color form, mostly just a bronze gold, is very often mistaken as a Common Carp, which they only have a superficial resemblence to. Small heads, and tails, wider, more compressed bodies, etc. We have them all over the place around me. I've caught lots on crawlers, in the 3 to 7 lb range, and hooked one in the mouth, with a Rattletrap, that went 10 1/4 lbs ! Peace, Fish

Thanks guys. Hey dmac, yea', it's kind of funny.... I've actually done a TON of stuff to my truck, but without any chrome, it's anything but flashy. I call it the anti-bling truck ;-) ....or the Army truck... or the Warden truck :-) LOL As much as I like, and as fitting as it is for an oddball like myself, I still think it looks better with my camo finished boat behind it..... which nowdays, is most of the time. ....and I'm the first to admit, my truck looks just flat out WRONG in front of the mall :-) .....which is fine, as I hate that place anyway ;D Peace, Fish