The Bassman

I was waiting for this to be mentioned. I've had it happen to me with spinning tackle. (My CI4's have a 34" IPT) Just had to make myself slow down a bit. We get conditioned to our retrieve rate.

I'm content to just keep spooking muskrats in Indiana.

Some no name ultralight spinning rod that I bought at our Boat, Sport, and Travel show in the early 80's. It had those glow in the dark looking shock rings in the guides. I think I spent 30.00 so it was doubtless a composite. True graphite rods were very expensive in today's dollars back then.

I liked when they were hauling in swordfish to ZZ Top.

This. ^^^^^^

A couple of ponds I fish have some really big koi, some orange, some white, and some a little bit of both. Don't know how true it is but I've heard they're worth a lot of money to some people.

I've caught countless shiners when I used to wade creeks. They're pretty aggressive. Small spinners guaranteed a shiner bite.

Wakebaits are about my favorite reaction technique. They are perfect for the ponds I fish. Other cranks are continually fouled by weeds. Two of my favorites are Mann's Baby 1- Minus and Azuma Wake-Z. Sometimes when vegetation is sparse I'll step down to an 04 Storm Sub Wart (discontinued). It's an absolute blast on light tackle.

How do you like the rod?

Except for real shallow water temps haven't moved much from summer. I do find this time of year to be tough for catching big bass. Plenty of pounders though. I fish ponds like you describe.

60? Oh to be 60 again. Happy birthday. Enjoy your youth.

Welcome to the forums. I'm in central IN, 66, and have waded creeks for many years. Ankle and knee issues have really limited me the past couple of years. You're exactly right about big smallies liking wood (no coincidence that it's most always on the outside of bends). Glides above riffles where the water is knee deep and rocky have produced some good ones, too. You'll see a lot of 5-6 lb. smallmouth on here but as you said a 19-20" creek smallie is a whopper.

You'd see it was a carp if you could look closer. Chin barbels, underslung mouth. I caught it in an HOA lake. Buffalo are primarily in rivers and stream fed impoundments.

I use #5 Rippin Raps a lot. I swap out my hooks with #8 Triple Grips (modified barbless). Works great. I caught (foul hooked?) a big carp on one a couple of weeks ago and they held fine.

Don't tease me like that. You wouldn't want to contribute to the delinquency of a tackle addict, would you?

You're probably just noticing the single Gore fiber woven into the line. It tends to look lighter.

The more I use mine the better it casts. All four brakes on and practically no dial. That's how Shimano meant this braking system to be used.

I have four perfectly good CI4+ FA's and refuse to drink the Vanford kool-aid.......yet.

Sounds pretty much like my routine lately. Mid Aug. until a definite turn to fall seems to be my toughest time of year. Some wind really helps. Haven't been skunked for a while but I do have to work for bites.

Big Indiana Bass had a lot of history, too but seems to have vanished.

When I used to wade creeks this would be prime time (late summer low water). I'm in central IN so your conditions would be the same. Small creeks are affected noticeably by a couple of things, fishing pressure and rain. I could really sense a drop in action when someone else had been ahead of me. You'd see fresh shoe tracks in the mud and sand. Sometimes it was because I fished a stretch of water too soon where I had been.

You're probably just getting used to it. Rods that I considered stiff before moving on to better stuff feel like noodles now.

This coming from a Shimano fanboy. The MGL reels are all nice and cast well. But they get too much credit for being finesse reels. Under 1/4 oz. capability goes to another class of equipment.

Actually brings to mind the feeling when the front treble is fouled in the line. lol

There's certainly a measure of satisfaction in sensing a delicate contact bait strike but I really get a kick out of that rock hard thump that comes with something like a lipless crankbait.