BooyahMan

Hi Guys, Was perusing my local Bass Pro when I came across a Rapala Shadow Rap Shad in a colour I've never seen or heard of before called Tempered Steel. I did some snooping on Google but found very little. Does anyone have any info on this particular colour of Shadow Rap Shad? It looks pretty cool but if it's something unusual, not sure I want to throw it.

Appreciate the input. You make a good point about shorter rods being easier for getting into those tight spots. I think it was one of your posts that I came across when doing some research on these two rods so I am glad you responded here! Do you find the 844C still has enough power to move fish out and away from cover quickly?

Was hoping someone out there who either owns or has fished a Shimano/Loomis Conquest 844 and/or the 905 can help me out. I am looking at these two rods for a very specific application. I will be pitching to laydowns and sight fishing from up on an embankment with very tight openings between thorn bushes and trees. Depth is between 1-5 feet and water is quite clear so fish are easy to spook. It is very tight quarters; basically the second I hook a fish I need to keep them pinned to the shoreline and then scramble through a bunch of thorn bushes to get those fish out. If they turn they will probably get wrapped up in either the laydown or wrap me up in the thornbushes. Trust me it's just as much hell as it sounds! But...I've broken my PB doing this a couple times and it is hella fun when it works. Here is my dilemma. I need a rod that has a lot of horsepower to keep these fish from turning. However because of how easy it is to spook these fish and how shallow most of it is, I sometimes will toss weightless 4-5" swimbaits or go down to a Zoom Lizard and a 1/4oz bullet jig. I am leaning towards the Conquest 844C MBR as I have had decent success with heavy powered rods in the past but was wondering if it was worth moving up into the 905C for the extra lifting power? I know the 905C is severely overkill in terms of lure weight range for most of the stuff I throw but I did read a few accounts of people fishing 3/8oz jigs on it comfortably. For what it's worth casting accuracy is critical, while distance is not. If I can present a lizard accurately 20 feet away on the 905C still that would be a huge plus, but if the 844C has ample lifting power already then I will stick to that. Thanks for any and all input!

Have a weird phenomenon and was wondering if the knowledgeable anglers of Bass Resource could shed some light on this for me. Over the last few years I've been fishing with fluorocarbon leaders as the waters I'm fishing are pretty clear and have some pretty wary bass. I started out with 15lb Seaguar Red Label and had a ton of issues with snapping on the hookset with it. Even on brand new ties I found myself snapping the odd fish off. This year I bumped up to 20lb Seaguar STS and I typically retie before every trip to see if I could fix the problem; I use STS for salmon fishing and have never had any issues and, for that fishery at least, is a fluorocarbon I trust. The season started out okay with no break offs, but I have had a couple fish snap me off recently. Always on the hook set. The rod barely loads and then it snaps. It doesn't matter if it's close in or a long cast, and it seems to be breaking either right at the hook or right above it. It's gotten to the point where I'm losing a lot of confidence in running a leader at all. I only use it for texas rigging so I have a lead bullet weight, bead, and then a palomar knot to an EWG when rigging with the leader. I sometimes use a bobber stop to peg the weight. Another couple of observations. The leader never feels frayed or worn. I also have never snapped a fish off when sight fishing. It's always been when casting to structure and striking when the fish is chewing or starting to swim off with the hook.This is only an issue when bass fishing too. I have done some hero hook sets for other fisheries with no issues. Is this relatively normal with fluorocarbon leaders? How often do you guys retie your leaders; every trip? After a few fish? Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Wanted to chime in with my 2 cents for what it's worth. I've seen this sunning behavior too and it's almost an artform to getting these ones to bite it seems. They are very tough to catch but not impossible. I have definitely NOT mastered it but a couple of things to think about. Main keys I have found to getting them are being as stealthy as possible (probably a duh moment, but even more so when they are "sunning"), light penetration, and weather. Mid day they are easiest to spot but man do they spook easy. If you know certain spots they tend to congregate I go back late in the afternoon, see if I can still spot them, and then hit them again. Casting nearby and obviously not right on top of their head and working slow. The last big thing that I find to help, and this is totally dependent on the weather, is to hit them right before a front. I love those hot sunny days right before a front as that sun pulls them up shallow, but once the front starts to roll through they get bitey and are more likely to grab instead of run. Hopefully that helps a bit. Or someone can tell me I'm full of it, that works too!

I've gotten 5's off the bank most years and a couple in the 6 range. Got my PB this year at 7lb 5oz on a scale. I've found timing to be extremely important and just knowing where those big ones tend to be when they get near shore.

Where were you the last few years when I didn't have a scale?! ?

Hello Bass Resource! I don't post here often but I do pop on here once in a while. Over the last few years I have pestered the good anglers of Bass Resource regarding weight estimates of my potential PBs and everyone always had the same response: get a scale (the best advice, by the way, so thank you). Well this year I finally got a scale, and two days ago I put it to good use on a definite new PB. I know it isn't a big Bass for a lot of anglers here but this fish has been a long time coming and it couldn't have been any more epic, at least for me. Long story short, I discovered a spot two years ago that holds giants that I can sight fish. In 2019 I got my PB at the time there, and this year it happened again in the same spot. When I saw this big girl come out from under an overhang, I knew it was a PB fish and all my senses kicked into overdrive. I worked hard to entice it but at the same time not spook it. The first two presentations got rejected, and I thought at any moment I was going to screw everything up and watch my potential PB swim away. Finally it picked up a Texas rigged 5" paddle tail swimbait. I laid into the hook set hard and the rest is history. When I got the fish in my hands I knew instantly this was a special fish in my Bass fishing "career", and to top it all off I had it captured on a digital scale. Thank you Bass Resource for continuously telling me to get a scale. It was worth it, and I no longer have to play the guessing game. Oh yeah, and the official weight? 7lbs 5oz.

Aha, you got me! I'm betting you saw my other thread! I didn't have my scale on me but at least I got a better measurement on my new PB. Ended up not getting a replica, just couldn't justify the cost. Probably was a good thing in the long run as over the years I've gotten a much better idea of what is a trophy fish in my area. If I ever get an 8+ I will definitely get a replica of that as those are tough to come by here. Thanks for pulling up this blast from the past though!

Thanks! Truth be told I didn't even realize it was a PB (just had a feeling it was a special fish) until I went home and looked at the photos...and then compared it to my previous PB photos. I'm 5'5" and roughly 165lbs for anyone else that wants to take a stab at the weight.

Hello Bass Resource! Used to post on here a bunch a couple of years ago but life got in the way and stopped posting. Still have been bass fishing and as always, on the quest for a PB. Finally got one a month ago but in classic fashion did not have a scale. It was taped at a hair over 20 inches and wanted to know what weight you guys think this girl was. Easily the thickest bass I've ever caught, even though it wasn't crazy crazy long. I know I'll never have an exact weight without a scale but let's hear some guesses from the pros! I know a lot of you put fish on the scale and are really good at eyeballing sizes. Thanks guys and happy bassin'!

Hey Bass Resource! I haven't posted in a LONG time...life got in the way for a bit so I had to put the internet perusal on the back burner. Truth be told the bass fishing wasn't great for me last year either; managed some fish but nothing particularly big or worth writing home about. Thus, thought I would check in now that my 2017 Bass season is officially underway! It has been a very cold winter up here in the PNW and the fisheries all have reflected that; last year I was catching bass in February and getting topwater strikes in March, but this year the lakes were still iced up at that point. I've been making a few short trips here and there but it was always the same: cold, wet, and no fish. Finally got a break after the temperature started to climb a bit. Got out yesterday and hooked 2 dinks before getting into these two beauties on a jig crawled along the bottom. I'm not nearly as adept at jig fishing as most people so this was a very nice surprise for me, and man is it satisfying to feel a good fish on the end of the line again! Thanks for looking and I hope everyone else is having a great season so far too.

Hey guys, I received a brand new bottle of Mend It this past Christmas. Opened it the other day to find it was not liquid at all but was starting to dry up already. I kept it in a tackle box in a cool closet inside the plastic bag that it was shipped in but it still started to harden? It's impossible to get anything out with the brush applicator and the stuff that I did manage to scrape out didn't work very well. Is there any way to revive it or is it basically toast? Cheers!

Here is the Storm webpage for it in case anyone is interested: http://storm.fishing/products/sx-soft-bull-frog

Oh wow, I just looked it up and yeah, it's a spittin' image! Interesting.