The Bassman

Beautiful fish. I've heard that they fight even harder than smallmouth.

OP mentioned that his was the BB version which, like @Bass_Fishing_Socal pointed out was the same frame as the Casitas and much cheaper.

I just carry a five buck e-bay sharpener in my pocket for touch ups in the field. Works fine. I've learned to constantly check my hook point on my fingernail while fishing.

This is why when I fish neighborhood lakes that I have to just "tune out" the trash I see laying around. Of course I love a pristine setting but I love catching fish more. Good thought @schplurg.

I would agree completely with one exception; A prolonged fight with larger fish especially in warm water can cause a lactic acid buildup that it might not be able to recover from. Better to be in control and land it quickly. Now that said, I get as much (almost) enjoyment out of a lot of action on medium size fish as I do catching a kicker.

I catch a lot of bass (and occasional cat) on those. I've never had one get so battle scarred as that. I like the #5 and swap out the stock hooks with #8 Triple Grips.

I think St Croix still has them in their lower tiers. Spinning would definitely be best with floating Rapalas, though.

Thanks guys. I bought three spools on sale, 18,24, and 40. I put the 40 an my Ald 50 with Avail spool for light apps. (The 40 is more like 20 lb. braid) I'll use it and reverse it until it's all fuzzed. I do like how quiet it is.

Nice fish. Inline spinners don't seem to get as much press these days. They flat out catch bass and about everything else.

3000 would be fine. Different manufacturers have different size ratings. Shimano 2500 and 3000 are only different by line capacity. Pflueger tends to be a bit smaller for their size classes.

This was a pretty hot topic three years ago so I decided to bring it up again. I was one like some others who initially saw some merit in this line. Over time durability issues put me in another direction. Being the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results) I'm giving it another shot. So I spooled on some 18 lb. pink. Just came in from a brief outing in 30's weather with very little open water. Did manage to catch three with one a solid 2.5 lb. Of course it casted great and was perfect for nedding. Still can't get it out of my head that this stuff is going to be fragile. Is any one else using it? Some of our guys loved it three years ago. Wondering what the current take on it is.

Wouldn't be a problem except the first time it would be wiry and want to jump off. After the first top shot of braid it would take a set on the spool. FWIW 20-30 lb. braid is too heavy for a 1000 or even a 2500 size reel. I'd keep it under .20 mm.

If your reel is newer than the G platform it doesn't have one, anyway.

175.00 is a great price for an FB. JDM sites are around 200.00 shipped which is better than 230.00 retail.

Dick's has always been a letdown to me here in Indy since they bought our local sg retailer, Galyans back in '03 or '04. Galyan's was an institution around here that really catered to the outdoorsman.

The new FL's are supposed to be ultra smooth and lighter than the FK's, so that's a good choice in a metal framed reel. On the CI4 side, I own several FA's and have to make myself stay away from the current FB's because they're so smooth. Just can't justify replacing 4 perfectly good reels. If I was shopping for a CI4 I would look for a deal on the current FB.

Hey, I'm laughing at myself. I wouldn't be advertising my spots if I was catching smallies like that.

When I first joined these forums I searched Google maps. Felt really dumb as it sank in.

Maybe this is making excuses but the way I see it the bad days make the good ones sweeter. A little Yin, a little Yang. Doesn't address the question but (at least for me) there are days I just don't catch them, and I fish small waters. That said, a lot of it has to do with my attitude, not the fish's. If I resign myself to striking out I generally do.

I'm self employed. The struggle to work vs. fish is constant.

The HOA lakes I fish give up a decent channel cat every so often. Hasn't happened during the cold months yet. Also get a bullhead cat every now and then. Some of the ponds I fish have hybrid bluegills which are very aggressive and have no trouble getting hooked on larger baits.

I've got Pac Bay butt caps on my Loomis Classic Basses that I shortened. I think they look better than the stock ones.

Bait monkey is getting inside your head. You'll never be the same again. (Welcome to the forums/tackle purchase support group).

I think that was once referred to in a presidential debate as voodoo economics.

The honeymoon is about to end for us. We've had it easy since before Christmas but there's growing consensus that we're getting close to experiencing real winter for a while. Except for a couple of cold snaps we made it halfway without too many bumps and bruises.