jimmyjoe

In my tiny area of the Midwest, there are at least as many people fishing for crappie and panfish as there are bass fishermen ..... maybe double. And there are at least double the number of catfishermen as there are bass fishermen here. In some areas of the USA, walleye fishing reigns supreme. In others, it's trout or steelhead. And of course, the coastlines have saltwater fishermen. All in all, what percentage of the total fishermen in the USA would you guess are bass fishermen? My personal guess would be no more than 25%. But I could be way off, too. jj

You've got more common sense and self-control than many people I know. Sounds like your fiance is an angel, too. ? jj

Look at the Daiwa Fuego 6'-09" H/F. I have the 7'-06" brother to it, and I like it. It's not as "heavy" as some other rods, kinda like a real strong MH, which would benefit you in your situation. jj

Flukes are solid-body. Super flukes have a hook slot and have salt. jj

I am a shorecaster. I have 2 rigs that would work well with those .... and others like them. One is a 7' Fenwick Eagle Ultralight with a Shimano Nasci 1000 reel, and the other is a 7'-02" Fenwick River Runner, L/MF with a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500 FA. Both reels have 4 lb. line on them. jj

Yes, it is. I found that out the hard way. I usually use a H/M fiberglass rod for spinnerbaits. People think because it is (physically) heavy that it must be hard work to use. It's not, because of the moderate action; it "gives". I have a H/F rod (and used to have a different H/F rod) and they are/were much harder on me. The acceleration was more physically demanding. I'm surprised that you use 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits. I used to fish rivers exclusively, and I used 1/2 oz. or heavier. But I had pike (and wiper) to contend with, too. I've experimented with lighter spinnerbaits in lakes the last few years, but keep coming back to 1/2 oz. I guess old habits die hard. ? Thanks for the information; I appreciate it. jj

Leave it to me to forget the intent of the OP. Brain fart! Sorry about that. 7'-06" H/F Daiwa Fuego casting. 7'-02 H/M St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass casting. 7'-0" MH/MF St. Croix Mojo Bass. 8'-0" M/MF custom rod on a Batson IP963F blank. This rod has "next zip code" written all over it. I put my reels on whichever rod I feel gives me the best use that day or season, playing musical reels all year. Different matchups have different uses. Daiwa Tatula 150H (50 lb. Sufix 832 braid) Shimano Curado 200i PG (12 lb. Big Game) Shimano Citica 200i (12 lb. Trilene XL) Shimano Curado 70 XG (12 lb. InvizX fluoro) Fewer spinning. 6'-06" M/F St. Croix Avid spinning. 7'-0" ML/F St. Croix Avid-X spinning. Shimano Stradic 2500 FK (undetermined line right now.) Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500 FA (6 lb. Stren) I have other stuff for panfish , crappie or walleye, but these are my bass setups. I also had lots of other rods and reels that I have sold over the last couple of years. I love to experiment, but not every experiment turns out good. ? jj

Yes, it sounds like it. When I saw that @Captain Phil was in Florida, the first thing that came to mind was BIG BASS. That's why I was surprised that he used a (presumably) medium power rod. I figured that he would have had a monster rod. But you're in Canada. That's a little different, at least for bass. Musky are a different problem. BTW ...... at one time I used the 3/16 version of the War Eagle Finesse spinnerbait. It caught fish left and right; some small and some big. I quit using it because it didn't last. It got broken up by one big fish or two mediums, sometimes breaking into two pieces right at my feet. I was not happy, to say the least. I had chosen it because I have arthritis in my hands, and the lighter weight allowed me to "push" the rod less. Ha! So much for good ideas. ? I eventually came around to the "1/2 oz. minimum" school of thought, and I've been happy ever since. The moderate action on that big fiberglass rod helps cushion the acceleration on my cast, although I still need to be a little careful. Good luck fishing! jj

Anything that produces consistent hook-ups. Unfortunately, this was a matter of trial and error. For me, it was more error than trial, which is why I eventually ended up using very large unweighted hooks rather than small weighted hooks. jj

I take it that when you say "action", you actually mean "power". If you could, please tell me which "action" (taper, to some and speed to others) that you use. I'm especially interested in your spinnerbait setup. Are you really using a medium power rod for spinnerbaits? If so, what is the weight of the spinnerbaits that you're using? Years ago, I thought I was going to get by with a medium power, fast action spinnerbait rod. Then I went to a medium heavy power, fast action for a spinnerbait rod. Now I'm using a heavy power, moderate action rod for spinnerbaits, and I'm finally having great luck. Great hookups with no spit outs. It's fiberglass, though, and gets heavy after awhile. I'd be interested to hear about your rig and the weights. I use nothing less than 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits for bass, and those weigh 3/4 to 8/10 ounce with no trailer. The weight only goes one way from there ......... up. ? Thanks. jj

I used to use the weedless crappie heads, 1/16 oz. in black. They worked well with a variety of small plastics. I had thought to use the double-lite heads, mostly to straighten out on snags, but thought better of it. jj

That's because there is no industry standard for "action". What one company calls "moderate fast" another one will call "moderate". A good example is Cashion vs. St. Croix. jj

The only "help" you're gonna get around here is people pointing out new sales for you! Just to make sure that you know, though ........ you're NOT alone! ? jj

As much as I hate to suggest it ......... call Daiwa. Of all the factories with which I've spoken, Daiwa has more information and gives it freely on exactly this subject. Other than that, the Lew's BB-1 has a 5.1:1 gear ratio model. jj

Which reel are we discussing here? That makes a big difference. What are you trying to achieve? More distance? Don't waste your time and money. Smoothness? Usually that's from a bad bearing. Replace it with a factory bearing. The greatest improvement in reels that are made by competent companies is gained by sending the reel to a professional (or the factory) for deep cleaning. Some reels benefit from what is called "supertuning", which is basically polishing. If you need new bearings, they'll tell you. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Go catch fish! jj

Watch real frogs in your environment and make your lure mimic what they do, and how they do it. It's possible you will have to slow down or speed up. jj

No amount of polishing or lubricating has any effect on inertia. Inertia relates to MASS, either at rest or in motion, and the tendency to resist change. Polishing and lubricating have an effect on friction, which may sound the same but is totally different. jj

Hmmm ....... that's not really a good sign, is it? jj

Yeah ..... that's what I meant about a storm changing D.O. levels overnight. New water introduced plus (possibly) violent wind, and you've got a whole new ballgame. jj

Thermoclines are the hardest thing for me to understand about fishing. I used to fish the rivers, which do not develop thermoclines. If you're in Iowa, you can read the DNR fishing letter that comes out every Thursday. This summer, it has constantly had lake thermocline levels in it, cautioning the fisherman to not fish below that level because, " .... there is no oxygen below that level, and the fisherman would be wasting their time." Some of these levels have been as high as 7 feet of depth. Yet people have caught good fish well below that. As much as I respect the DNR knowledge base, I think they're wrong on this. In fact, I think most people are wrong on thermoclines. I see them as a phenomenon that isn't well understood at all. 1.) I think their severity is different in different lakes. 2.) I think this low-oxygenation factor can vary so much that only a D.O. meter could give you a reasonable assessment .... and then a storm could change everything the next day. 3.) Even if the low-oxygen characteristic is true, I think it may have less effect of the fish than people think. A powerful thermocline would depend on powerful water stratification. I (personally) doubt that stratification is that powerful and stable if there is fairly constant wind. I think we're scared of the bogeyman. I see too many things that contradict conventional wisdom. As usual, though, I could be wrong. jj

You'll get used to it. Just remember .......... most fishermen retrieve lures way too fast. When you get that 7.2:1 ratio reel, concentrate on the speed of the LURE, not the feel of the crank. I think you'll do just fine. ? jj

Neither. Those lines have a diameter that is too low. I use 12 lb. Big Game, and so do a good number of other people. But that's a little stiff and too large a diameter line to throw light lures all the time. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think you needed to go with 12 lb. Big Game for this lighter setup. ? You want a line that is around .011" to .012" (11 to 12 mil.) That's my advice whether the line is nylon, fluorocarbon or braid. The reason is that you're setting up a good all-around rig for lighter lures here. To work at its best, everything need to be sorta balanced. For the size of the MGL spool, lines in the neighborhood of .011" to .012" feed off the spool at high rotational speeds very well, yet give you the reserve of line needed to deal with cut-offs and break-offs. If it were just me, and my personal opinion, I would go with 10 lb. Stren or Trilene XL. They've been around for ages, they're available everywhere, and despite what some people say they're good lines. That being said, you know full well that you can get what you want and experiment to your heart's delight. After all, that's what I did. I wish you the best of luck! jj

That SLX combo would be great! Just make sure that you can return it if you don't like the glass rod. jj p.s. - Start thinking about somewhat lighter, lower-diameter lines. They're more appropriate for lighter lures.

Shimano Cardiff reels. They make 200, 300 and 400 sizes. The 400 size is kinda clumsy, but the 200 and 300 are good, solid bass reels. They're used for catfish and musky, too. They ain't no shrinking violets. ? jj

Such as the Powell Endurance 724CB casting rod. At 1/8-1/2 oz., that would be a match made in heaven! They used to have another that was almost a twin except it was 6'-10". Both are great rods. jj