jimmyjoe

I want to make sure you understand what I'm trying to ask. I'm not very good at getting my ideas across. I'm not asking about the lightest I can throw, I'm asking what the lightest I'd need to reliably catch fish if I kept heavier rods and lines. Right now, I have 2 ultralights, one light, 2 medium lights, 2 medium and two medium heavy setups. And that's after selling 5 rods and 1 reel. I'm keeping the 2 MH setups, I know that. I know I'll keep at least one medium, a M/F spinning. But I don't know whether I need any of the lighter stuff. For instance; Catt mentioned trick worms. I throw them right now on a ML/XF casting rod. Do I need to? Evidently not. If Catt can throw them on a MH rig, that means I can get rid of the ML/XF. Unless there's another reason to keep the ML/XF. Maybe there is. Maybe I'm just not thinking about it. Maybe there's a dynamite technique out there for which it's just the ticket, and I don't realize it .... yet. See what I mean? It's not how light can I go, it's how light can I NOT go and still do everything I'll need to do. And remember .... I'm doing this from shore, not a boat. Ain't life simple? ? jj

Good. That's a lot heavier than I use, but I can learn. It fits right in with what I'd like to keep. jj

Ouch. I forgot about those. Blankety-blank floaters. And there's' nothing that I know of that's heavier that will do the same thing. What is the heaviest rod you'd use to throw those, @Catt? jj

I've decided to thin out my rods and reels from the lightest on up, and that means the lures that go with them. I've got lures from 1/8th to one full ounce. The light stuff has to go; the rods, the reels, the line and the lures. I just don't know where to draw the line. What's the lightest lure weight that you figure you really need, considering fishing from ice out until ice up? I don't mean something like a 1/8th ounce jighead, because when you put a plastic body on it it'll weight 1/4 to 3/8 ounce. I mean the real, true weight. I figure if I know that, I can figure where to draw the limits on my equipment. Thnx. jj

I worked in appliance repair for 38 years, and from about '90 or '95, Torx was ubiquitous. I've worn out several sets, T-10 to T-25, plus some smarmy brand-unique sizes. If you would have told me that there were people and places here in the U.S. that weren't familiar with Torx, I wouldn't have believed you. The brand-unique sizes were considered "special", and were sourced from that brand. The standard sizes weren't considered special at all. So .... I guess I got educated, didn't I? jj

Might your drag be slipping? jj

That's interesting. How do we determine the dissolved oxygen amounts in our favorite lakes or rivers? jj

No thanks ..... my wife does enough of that already. ??? WELCOME! jj

I use Big Game. Tried Sufix Advance, and went back to Big Game. What I consider kinda funny is the effect "fashion" has on line choice. Five years ago such-and-such line was really great, and nowadays it's put down by many fishermen. Or vice-versa. In reality, results are due to the person doing the fishing, not the line. jj

Yes, live or fresh cut bluegill is great bait ... for flathead and blue cats. And the fresher, with more blood, the better. The people around here mostly go for channels. That is where the stinky stuff comes in. I should have been clearer. jj

Normally I'm an impatient person, but for 20 inchers I can learn patience real fast! Yes, it's a joke. ? Thnx. jj

Welcome!

Georgia as in Atlanta, or Georgia as in Tbilisi? Either way, makes no difference ....WELCOME! jj

If you fish it unweighted, how do you get it to go down? BTW ... that's the color I bought, and that's the size hook I use. I just wish I had results like yours!!! ? jj

Yes, I used liver in those long-ago days when I fished for cats. I live 2 miles from the Mississippi river, and catfishing is a mania. Take a 4"x4" piece of 2-layer gauze, and lay it down. On it, put 1/2 the chicken liver, usually a tablespoon. Put a treble hook in, maybe something like a #1, to which you've attached a foot of whichever line for leader that you want. Put the other 1/2 of your liver on top the hook, and gather the gauze together like a little pouch. Tie the neck of the pouch with several TIGHT wraps of mono (I used 4 lb) and tie securely. Take your main line and slip a small split ring over it, then tie a larger split ring to the end. This way, the smaller split ring will slide. Tie your bait leader to the larger split ring. Tie an appropriate weight to a dropper line about 16 or 18 inches long, and tie that to your smaller split ring. When you cast out, keep some slack in your main line. When the fish try to nibble on the liver, they can't get it thru the gauze. They'll keep trying, because they don't feel any resistance from the weight (it slides). Pretty soon, they take the liver, and WHAM .... you got'em! Chicken liver is OK bait, but the best bait is anything so dead, so rancid, so stinky, that you can't stand to have it near you. That's good catfish bait. Use your imagination. ? Don't know anything about carp fishing. jj

A guy I worked with would take chicken guts from the butcher, put them in a 3-gallon pickle jar and set that on the back porch for 3 days. Said it was the best catfish bait he ever used. I don't believe keeping bream on ice for 24 hours is gonna do any harm. jj

Ditto, a million times over. jj

Too true. Some people learn this waaaaaaay too late. jj

Why the Midwest? I wouldn't want him here. jj

If the lake is clear and there's not much structure, then the forage should be pretty obvious. Mimic it. I only fish one clear lake, but in late summer I throw anything that looks like crappie fingerlings, because that's what the bass are going nuts over. As for the pickerel ... clean'em out! Fun is fun, regardless of specie. jj

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I'd buy 6' St. Croix Triumph casting rod, M/F. I'd take the rest of the money and buy some good Bourbon. jj

I wrote this 3 weeks ago: Without a doubt, my favorite and most-used lure. For pike, for walleye .... and for bass. Has to be a clear bottom, though. For bass, the 3/4 Dardevlet is favorite, in Pearl Clown, Grey Ghost and Purple Rain. Down the line come the Orange Crush, hammered nickel, hammered nickle/blue, Purple Haze and Potato Bug. The 2/5 size is good, but not like the 3/4. The 1/4 Trout Weight is good, too, just not like the others. I rarely retrieve these steady. If I wanted a steady retrieve, I use the 1/2 or 4/5 Cop-E-Cat. By far the most common spoon retrieve for me is the "dance". It's basically like the twitch-bait retrieve, but the cadence has to be adjusted for the weight and surface area (resistance) of the spoon. On the 1/4 oz., the cadence is twotchtwitchtwitchtwitch, with short and light twitches. With the 2/5, it's twitch ..twitch..twitch, with short but smooth twitches, maybe four inches long.. On the 3/4, you have to apply slightly more authority to the twitch, and it becomes more of a jerk. One fairly smooth jerk per heartbeat will generally do it, but you have to increase the stroke from 4 to 8 inches. The reason behind all this "dance" stuff is to make the spoon more attractive to bass. They commit faster on a dancing spoon than they do on a wobble spoon. I've noticed over the years that my take on a dancing spoon is about double what it is on a wobble retrieve. I imagine I could catch bass on the 1 oz., too. I just never tried. The 1 oz. is my pike and musky size. The dance it has is slower and has greater latency. I had mentioned that this was "over a clear bottom". I don't use spoons over brushpi..... excuse me, over habitat, because it's a sure snag-up. There, I use soft plastic and spinnerbaits. I use spoons around rip-rap, but parallel to shore, not perpendicular to shore I can't stress enough using a pool, school or private, to really see clearly the effect of your retrieve. And as always ......good luck. ? jj

I have mussel memory when I fish, too. ??? jj

I fished the Magnum yesterday and today. Everything you said was exactly spot on. That's a compliment to you, but not to the bait. ? jj