the reel ess

Yesterday I only caught two tiny guys at my local spot from my buddy's back seat. So I loaded up and went to another friend's pond. Caught 4 in about 45 minutes. Then I went up to his shop and had a beer with him.

My Pad Crasher isn't that light and I can cast it a mile. But I have a couple Scum Frogs and Snag Proof original that are way too light for BC equipment. They'd be best on spinning gear with 20# braid. Interestingly, I caught my PB on the Snag Proof Original.

Yeah, I heard a pro say it's better to have the wrong bait in the right place than the opposite. Go to Walmart near where you fish. What they're out of is what you need. Now go get it at Academy, BPS, Cabela's or online to get it. Where I am that's usually bubble gum colored trick Worms.

It's a good color from the piedmont to the low country of SC, where we have stained water almost everywhere. So are the different names for purple. For a long time, purple is the only color I ever bough a worm in. Then I started fishing a local place where I couldn't buy one on purple.

I have a friend who lives near Naples and yes, there are. This is not mine, but my fishin' buddy caught an 8 lb largemouth on a crappie tube jig, trolling. I guess the reason I don't catch bass on tiny baits is because I'm always fishing for bass. A small bait to me is a Hula Grub.

I'd really rather have a MH with a little more tip. I can't glue it back on this time because I can't find it. It could be in the back of my buddy's boat.

When people asked me I always said that when i got that familiar "tap-tap" on the line I forgot all my worries. And when they were really biting, I forgot them all day. But I heard it put succinctly recently. "It's impossible to worry while fishing." I've heard it said that days spent fishing don't count against your life span. And it really does feel like they add to your life. Now I'm really fishing for big ones. I want more PB's. I've gone through most of the phases on the way here: Cane pole and worms, crappie fishing, keeping and cleaning everything, catching white bass and stripers where I find them, bass fishing the local big lake, now kayak fishing at a nearby water hole with trophy bass in it. I even like to watch others catch big fish nowadays. Of course, I still want to feel that familiar tap-tap that empties out my mind.

I have that same boat, Procraft F/S, but mine's red. And I can relate about the fishing partner. My dad's gotten old and doesn't want to fish anymore. Says he's just too old and tired. My fishing buddy's dad has Alzheimer's and he's unable to go. So we're in the same boat, so to speak.

I bought a Tourney ZX Frog model rod back in December and the butt cap has fallen off twice. I glued it on once, but I think I lost it this time. Anybody else had this happen? I've only caught a few fish with it and none on the frog yet. It also was my jig rod. I'll return, but don't want another if the cap will fall off it too.

I once got a treble right through (between strands of) the braid. That took a long time to pick out because I was in the kayak without scissors or clippers. OP: do yourself a favor and buy some scissors or some cutting device made for braid. Clippers usually aren't sharp enough for a clean cut. Then you have a time trying to feed the frayed end through a bullet weight. If you don't know the Palomar knot you need to learn because most mono knots won't work with braid.

Yes. The frog is the reason I started with braid. I spent a long day of not getting any hooksets with 12 lb Trilene mono. So I started reading and got the correct gear. I went and bought a $100 Cabelas Frog rod. But it's too heavy IMO. It won't cast as far or smaller frogs or jigs. The butt cap keeps falling off so i think I will return it for a MH. Anyway, after using the braid for frogs, I started using it for jigs, then T rigs. 50# braid that you know fish can see, but they don't care. If anything, I've caught more on it because there's no stretch for better hooksets. I did learn that you still need some drag though because you can straighten out a normal EWG hook horsing a big fish. And for spinning gear, it's just the best ever. No twist, no line memory and the smaller diameter 20# casts like 6-8 lb mono.

I use braid for single hook applications. And I don't use any leader. Fish don't seem to care about that visible line. But I use mono for treble hook baits, especially topwaters. The buzzbait is the only exception to that. I bought 50# braid for my baitcasters thinking it was the thing to do. I'll probably replace it with 30# next time. The thing is it doesn't wear out. And you can reel it from one reel to another and use the unused end. I use 20# braid on my spinning equipment. It casts like 8# mono.

Try BPS reel repair. They may just have them. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&appID=40&cm_ven=Redirects&cm_cat=catalog&cm_pla=ad&cm_ite=repair They have helped me out in the past. Or have you asked someone at Academy?

Interesting. I may take out all the lures I have and have never used for a photo op. Even better: Next time I'm at a pond with hungry stunted bass, I may tie on on each rod and give it a go.

Uncle Steve X1000!!!

Yes, I've heard that, after they guard them a couple weeks or so, they'll run through them with their mouth open as if to say "You're on your own now."

For the guys who refuse to fish bedding bass, have you considered that the bass you catch after spawn may be guarding their fry and those fry are statistically more likely to become full grown fish than are the eggs in the bed because they've already hatched? I'm not knocking the refusal to fish bedding bass. That's a personal choice. Just raising another question.

One secret to a good bass fishery, especially one without much in the way of forage fish, is that the bluegill need to spawn as well and as often as possible so there are always smaller ones for the bass' to eat.

Catch some and the average size goes up. No biggie!

Yes. It works better for me in the evening. And the best time is the most humid part of the summer. At least that's my experience. I've also had a long day of catching them on topwaters. But it was overcast, cool and even drizzled rain.

When a bass blows up at any topwater and either misses or just slaps it, reel it in fast and toss a worm over to the spot. Often times, they'll take that offering just because it's below the surface.

The lake I fish most often (and also why I fish it) is about 20 acres and has a lot of bass over 5 lbs. It's a sign there is plenty of bait and good quality water.

There's a guy on here who will feel the need to "correct" me on this. But when i first used one, the frog bite was happening. I got a couple bites right off the bat but missed them, then the thing started filling with water on every cast. It was like dragging a sandwich bag through the water. I would squeeze it out after every cast. I mentioned it on their YouTube video and got a reply from the company that I should superglue the nose but I know that's not going to last. How often do you catch one and the frog slides up the line? Plus I hear the legs come off easily. I tied on the Pad Crasher and never looked back. I actually bought the Pocket Frog too and have never tried it.

Q wacky rigged dark color worm with a big exposed hook.

Chug'n Spook, Jr