Bass Turd

Where can I find the "recopies" for rod blanks mentioned in the video on the Batson website? Sorry if it's obvious but I don't see it. Thanks.

I use a black and or white paint marker you can find in a hobby store. It's actual paint and I found it lasted longer than a sharpie.

I hired a guide out of Harrisburg last fall and caught my first Smallmouth. Call a tackle store and ask about guides. You can get a feel for conditions If the guides aren't going it may be worth it to wait.

Thanks Glenn. I tried to find the information I needed in that thread but couldn't. My apologies if I missed it.

Group, I have about $150 to spend on a new rod. The two techniques I use the most are finesse spinning (drop shot, Ned rig) and casting 1/4 to 5/8 jigs and Texas rigged worms (dragging over rocks/ledges). I like 7' rods much better than 6'6" ones. I've never tried heavier. So far I've been using Diawa Laguna rods as they are cheap and I could buy multiples. So whats the most bang for my buck? I'm a fairly educated man but rod actions and powers still confuse me. I would presume the benefits of more expensive rods are weight reduction and sensitivity. What do you guys recommend? I found a post with a whole list of rods in this range but it is six or seven years old. That's probably light years in rod design. I've put my money into reels and I'll be pairing the spinning with Shimano CI4+ Stradic and casting a Shimano Chronarch CI4+. I have a BassPro close and can hold the St. Croix Mojo Bass but not the Blackout. Those are the only two I've found. I absolutely don't mind buying pre loved. That's how I got the two Chronarch's for the price of a new Currado. Thanks in advance. I'll read everything the group posts.

I have not found this spot yet on the lake but I believe the water is now 20-30 feet high in this cove now. The boat docks migrated down as the lake went into severe drought over the last 10 years. They're all floating docks. You can see the dead trees from the original river bank. The river channel swings right by this cove. The new green stuff are some kind of bush probably 4 to 8 feet tall. I'm really excited about trying this spot tomorrow. It seems to have sooo much to offer. I'm going to drop shot the deeper stuff with a skinny weight and texas rig a craw. I'll probably mojo rig another craw and crawl it down the banks especially on those mini channels that flow downward with brush in it and the two points.

It's been eight months. It's still down 19 feet but plenty of water again. Went out and fished a chunk rock shoreline and we caught ten in the hour we were at that spot. Most were small but a few keepers. Going again tomorrow (Sunday). I did a lot of research with Google Earth and printed out many promising areas that are now underwater of course.

Thanks for all the replies! So it's not the actual hard bottom we are looking for but the edge of it that creates that transition. Unless of course the hard bottom has rocks, boulders etc that bait can hide in or that bass can ambush from. That makes sense now. Here's a photo of the lake I fish when it was almost bone dry. There's anywhere from 12 to 20 feet of water here now. (I haven't been out on the water since I found the photo to mark waypoints and depth.) I was planning on hopping a jig or carolina rig across the breaks and transition changes especially the point at the bottom of the photo and the rocks next to it. Any other ideas?

So I'm fairly new to bass fishing but love to research everything I can and try and apply it my next trip out. I keep reading the term "hard bottom". I believe I know what it is... rocks, sand rock shelf... anything but mud or weeds... right? Why do we want to look for hard bottom? Do we want to look for hard bottom? Is it truly a fish attracting feature of a lake? Why? Any and all information is welcome. Sorry if it is too basic a question. Or I could be totally wrong. Just let me know.. Probably should clarify I fish for Large mouth only in central Texas. Very few Small mouth around.

I caught my first bass on a jig last weekend. It was a bitsy jig with a worm trailer. My fishing buddy was catching them on a worm on a shakey head so I thought... why not? And I'll give it a little bigger profile... Caught about 5 the last hour of the day.

If you have an IPhone Navionics has an app that has the same maps. I'm not sure about brands other than apple but I'm sure they do. I think it is somewhere around $15 but you get access to the whole country. You can also download maps from Navionics web app so you can view them when not connected. Just dig around in the menu's and you'll find it.

Visit the Costa website. It helps you choose the right lenses for the conditions you face most. Also note they come in different frame (temple length?) sizes so pick two you like and try them on and compare. I have the glass lenses and love them. No scratches in two plus years of fishing every weekend. I don't notice any weight difference.

DVT, I respect your opinion. Can you quantify what ball bearings come standard these days in modern offerings from Shimano, Lews, Diawa etc...? $150 -$200 price range? (I know lower price reels have bushings as bearings and not ball bearings.) Should anything be done to "New out of the box" reels? I hear they come packed with too much grease yada yada yada. Any truth to that? Are the ABEC 5 SS bearings an upgrade? Thanks for your input.

For rods the best thing I could think of was to get labels printed with your name and address and wrap it around the base of the rod. People used to use these for golf clubs. I'm not sure if they are still made. I'm betting it wouldn't even be noticed by a thief on their way to the pawn shop.

A post a few weeks back mentioned a bunch of fishing stuff stolen from a mini storage. Guy said he saw his reels in a pawn shop but no way to prove they were his without serial numbers. This got me thinking. Does anyone mark their reels (and other expensive stuff... rods etc...) in some way they can be identified as belonging you? I've thought about engraving my initials on the inside of the side panels on expensive reels. Does anyone do this? Any better ideas? Does anyone take pictures for insurance purposes?

This is very easy. Get the hourly rate of your nearest psychotherapist. Multiply by the number of hours you fish or touch fishing equipment a week or month. Hand her the bill and say "This is how much it would cost us for me to STOP fishing." You might even be able to spend more...

Does anyone use a fish camera regularly? I've always thought it would be helpful to actually see the bottom or structure I was fishing. Any brands to recommend? Length of cord? Lots of cheap Chinese cameras on Ebay. I'd love to hear any and all experiences.

Two things I've read about but haven't tried. 1) A drop shot doesn't have to be all finesse all the time. Up size line, lures and baits and power fish it so to speak. 2) Mentioned above but use a jig or other bottom bouncing bait instead of just a weight. I've bee wanting to try a Bitsy Bug Jig.

So I'm a tool fool. I love watching my spool spin for minutes at a time (with no breaks or cast control on). I don't mind the sound of ceramic bearings. Now can I cast with a spool that spins this freely? Absolutely not. Can I cast five or ten feet farther? Maybe, probably... but I'm not measuring. What it does do is allow me to cast with less effort for a given distance. And that allows me to be more accurate.

Ohhhhh kaaaayyy......I don't think I look good in pantyhose but I know where I'm gonna put the rocks...

Does anyone have a good system for making catfish drift fishing slinky weights? I'd prefer to make them lead free.

You might want to look at buying a higher quality bait caster used on Ebay. You'll get twice the value for the price and if you ever want to sell it you will probably get what you paid for it. I learned to cast last year on a Currado 200B. It's about thirty years old and a little bulkier than current models but it is just about bullet proof. I like the centrifical breaks and have stuck with Shimano ever since. Rule of thumb is used price is about half of retail for somewhat current models. When you are ready there are lots of great threads here about casting success. Good luck.

Emmteebee (MTB) Ellteebee (LTB) I call my wife a Lipless Crank sometimes...? Probably not a positive... Drop-shot, Mercury, Nitro, Skeeter, Shimano, Seaguar, P-Line, Lunker P-Line, Drop shot- These could be viewed as potty mouth though and I don't want your dog beat up in school.... Flukemistress

Hoosierbass07 Check out Winkiedoodles videos on YouTube. He does a lot of strip pit / small lake float tube fishing. He's got great tips on a variety of baits. He tells you exactly how he rigs and what the fishing conditions are. I just picked one at random.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA9fK-PBg5A

Amen to that! Every life has seasons. It isn't her season anymore. Work on yourself. Meet new friends. List what you liked about her and what you didn't. Be open to new things but don't just grab the next one that comes along. You can spend years with "another wrong girl" by hook'in up just because you hurt. One day at a time.