Senko lover

Glad I made a last-minute decision to add Skeet. I had JPow but switched like the day before the tournament. Congrats to the man in yellow! Three of my guys made it to the top twelve. I'm happy. 99.40th percentile yesterday, will have to see how that changes once they update it for today.

Boy those are nice bass but that bluegill takes the cake! Dang it's fat!

That's pretty awesome!

I taught myself to feather the spool with my other hand. Helps a lot.

Peg it with a toothpick. Shove it in the head, trim it at the body, and hook the trailer behind the toothpick. It'll last a lot longer.

Note: This is part of a series targeting toward beginners about straightening your learning curve with a baitcast reel. To see part one on why to get a baitcast combo, click here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154372-trials-and-errors-with-a-baitcaster-pt-1-why-get-a-baitcast-combo/ --------------------------- So we've talked about your choice to buy a baitcasting reel in part one of the series. Let's say you've decided to give them a try. You go online and start looking around. Wow! There's a lot of choices! There's Shimano, Abu Garcia, Lew's, Diawa, Pfleuger, Ardent, Wright & McGill, Megabass, Duckett, Quantum, Okuma, and Pinnacle, just to name some of the better known ones. Don't even get started on rods. So what are you looking for in a good combo? First, don't skimp on quality. Most pros will tell you, don't go under $100.00 for your first reel. If you're really budget minded, you can probably safely go down to $75.00. There are reels under that price range that will perform decently for you, but investing a little more money and getting a nicer reel is always worth it. It will last longer and make your experience smoother. I would be more lenient with rods. You can get a surprisingly sensitive rod that will last for as low as $40.00 Obviously, if you have the money, get a nice rod, but if you're on a big budget, you can skimp a little here and get by just fine. Buying used always is an option. You can get a nice rod or reel for a lot cheaper if you get it off of Ebay or the Flea Market here on Bass Resource. Buying anything used is always a little risky, but this is a great option for you if you're looking to save money. Stick with a Name Brand. I don't swear by a specific brand, simply because I haven't tried a lot. Probably the four best known and most trusted companies are Shimano, Abu Garcia, Lews, and Diawa. Some people swear by X brand, and say everything else is junk, and some people like trying lots of different brands. Whatever your opinions are, make sure you plan a trip to Bass Pro and try out the reel you want to get and see how it feels in your hand. You don't want to get a reel you don't like the feel of. The same with rods. Find one in your price range that feels good in your hand and has good ratings online. For the record, I picked up a Lews Tournament MG Speed Spool, and have been really pleased with my choice. Make the choice between profiles. What about those big round reels? Those are designed after the original baitcast reel with a larger profile. Some people really like them, others don't. Due the sake of simplicity and ease of palming the reel, I'd stick with a low-profile for your first reel. Figure out what side the handle should be. Typically, if you're right-handed, you cast with your right hand, switch your reel to your left hand, who palms it while you're reeling, and reel with your right hand. So the handle will be on the right side. Vice versa with left-handers. Some people like to mix it up, but typically what I've outlined works for most people. Make sure you get a reel with the handle on the right side! Find some good sales. Waiting till Black Friday can really pay off. I found a reel that typically retails for around $140.00 for $50.00 brand new! That's some big time savings! Sites like Gander Mountain, Cabelas, and Tackle Warehouse all had really good deals and rebates last year. I would really recommend buying your reel on Black Friday if you can wait and would like to save money. In the end, don't complicate things. Research helps. I did a good bit of online looking, asking, and reading before I bought my first, and it paid off. My reel has been performing flawlessly. But the most important thing is gaining confidence with casting the reel. That's what we'll be looking at in the next few parts of the series.

Holy cow. I really don't know what to say. That thing is stunning.

Boy, that's a good question. I guess I tend to use jigs around cover, and plastics in more open water. That's not to say that I switch it up sometimes, but that's how I usually do it.

Yup. They do that a lot. Especially with my baits .

Yeah, I'm in the 96.9th percentile. Pretty pumped if I can pull off a good GVille.

VERY happy I have Ike on my team. Picking the leaders always gives good points, and I know he's going to go all out for this one. Ike doesn't fish for second. Three of my guys, Ike, Skeet, and Christie, are in the top 15, which isn't bad. Edwin Evers was doing really well in the early morning yesterday, but is now in 31. Still better than yesterday. Justin Lucas was a disappointment. He was doing well yesterday for a while too, but he's in 51. I think he made it to today, under 53rd was the cut. So that's good that they all made it.

I like the SK Bitsy flip, works just fine for me. Obviously the Missile baits one would work too, but I would go with the cheaper price myself.

4x4 Nightime spinnerbait on TW. (Black/blue technically) Zorro Baits Long Arm Aggravator (b/b) Those are both Colorado bladed. The closest I can find is the Revenge Double Willow, which has a "Black Widow" color that is black/red. Hope that helps.

Dang, dude. We get get it. You find better deals than we do . Lol, just kidding, Congrats on the nice finds.

http://www.shrinkpictures.com/ Finally figured out how to get past the whole "selected file is too large." I use that site and it works perfectly. Takes a little while for the picture to resize but it does a great job.

Nice fish! Looks like a solid 3 1/2 pounder to me, if not more.

We all have a black hole somwhere. I think you just misplaced yours. Most of ours happen to be right in the bottom of our wallet. "Where did that 50 dollars go........."

"You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day." Whew, I made it through all the comments . JK, thanks for the support guys. I was thrilled to catch a 4 1/2 pounder just 3 weeks ago. Ya'll told me that my 5+ pounder would come soon. It did!

Yes sir, you're totally right. Funny thing (on the side), all my fish over 4 pounds have come when I'm wearing a Tar Heels shirt. Don't ask me why, but with those results? I'll keep wearing them. But I will wash them .

The dude was just looking for help. You didn't really offend me, I was poking fun (in a more sarcastic way) as well.

Stay calm. Fish your strengths. Fishing tournaments can be a big mental game. Good luck!

May I nominate you the most helpful commenter of the year? Really? C'mon.

Good stuff! I love Lews.

Today, I was at the pond. Caught a couple of little fish, but couldn't get anything together. I tied on a Yum Money Craw with a 1/4 oz. bullet weight and started dragging it over logs on the bottom. Felt a weight, and set the hook. Thought I had a turtle or a carp on at first, but when it jumped for the first time, it was so big I thought I had an 8 or 9 pound bass on. It headed straight for some logs to my right side, so I charged into the water and fought it away from there. Pulled it up to the bank, picked it up, and the hook fell out. It weighed 7 3/4 pounds on the scale, and was 24 1/2 inches long, with an incredibly fat stomach. Now, you're asking, why are there no pictures? For one, I made quite possibly the stupidest mistake of my life and didn't bring my phone. I usually take a trackphone fishing with me. The photos won't even upload to the internet, but at least I could show people. So I took a vine and tethered the bass to a log in the water. I didn't want to kill it (I would much rather have it swim away then get pics and die). I attatched the vine in such a way that the bass was upright in the water, made sure it was breathing, and headed down the road on my bike to home, 2 minutes away. I'm sure the cars passing wondered why this wild-eyed teenager was racing down the road at such a desparate pace! Ran into my house, got my brother and mom and a camera, and we drove back to the pond. THE BASS WAS GONE. Very disappointing. But I caught the bass!!!!! My previous PB was 4 1/3 pounds. People might not believe me, but at least I landed it. I'm still shaking.

Shamless, I know. I looked at BassTrakk and Bassresource during my school morning. But I had to, I mean, c'mon! What's the reproductive and digestive systems in an earthworm and the childhood of Charles Dickens when Mike Iaconelli is pounding them on Guntersville? Couldn't believe my eyes. FOUR of my guys; Ike, Edwin, JLu, and Skeet are in the top 7. That's pretty amazing. Christie isn't doing so well, but better than last. KVD has climbed, as well. Before you diss me, I know half of you are looking at this comment at work . And bye, I'm back to school.