The Bassman

Temps moderated a little here in central IN since Thanksgiving. Just for fun I went back to my warm weather tactics by throwing a weightless Senko. Just fished it deeper and slower. Had real good results with three over 2 lb. and this big one. Sorry about the bad lighting.

Fuego LT's are great reels for the money. I have a 3000 which is the same as some other manufacturers 2500 in spool dia. I like it because it has a slightly slower retrieve ratio but still a 30" plus IPT. Plenty of torque and only 7.6 oz. It also has a T handle which is more secure to me than fingertip knobs. All just personal preference. @Darren.makes a convincing case for his 1000's. I just feel that I get a bit better casting distance with a larger spool. I'm a bank fisherman so that's important to me.

Met and Chronarch will both do what you want great. Just a matter of budget. Zodias is a very fast rod. 72MH is a bit heavy for stick worms, especially shorter ones if you're fishing weightless. Others may disagree. Can't speak for the Dobyns.

I was really looking forward to getting away some Thur. but they keep pulling back on the high temp. Sun. supposed to be 50 before another cold shot. I know the fish can be caught. I've caught some the past few days(no real size) but I really don't enjoy being cold. Fishing with gloves doesn't work for me.

I've been fishing my whole life. I've considered myself reasonably proficient a fair percentage of that time. My family and friends have always associated me with fishing. Joined these forums two years ago and started to really learn this sport. I see you're new. Get involved and you'll gradually learn to discern good advice. We have a lot of very skilled (much more than me) members. Keep the faith and welcome.

Low Sat. night 31; high Sun 38; 40% chance snow and rain mix. Better you than me. Let us know how it goes.

Gear ratio isn't critical. If you read up on this technique (more accurately referred to as midwest finesse) you'll see that tackle is secondary. Technique is key. Ned himself uses very modest gear. As for lures, manufacturers have largely lost the essence of mwf to boost sales. It's all pretty basic and pretty much what finesse guys have been doing for decades.

The focus on core temp is key. I need my hands exposed to fish effectively. That said, even though I fish in cold weather I draw the line at about 40 deg. and light wind. Hang in there. We're due for a warmup. I've seen winters that started out like this then eased off. I'm betting Thanksgiving is going to be warmer.

I've got five real nice baitcasters and four spinning outfits. I love my BC's and use them occasionally but my spinners are my go-to, especially now with cold weather. I also find them to be more accurate casters. Not having to compensate for wind is a big plus, too. Baitcasting has its place for sure but I fish from shore and spinning is superior IMHO.

Glad you're well. Wouldn't want to lose you.

Follow up to last post. We made it into the 40's today which is normal for mid Dec. but was really pretty pleasant after two cold mornings. I got out this afternoon for a couple of hours and action was real steady. No bigs but lots of fun size on a 3" sticko ned rigged on a 1/32 oz. Owner blockhead. I've settled on these as the best MWF heads out there. Anyone else getting out? I'm trying to keep this thread alive. We must have lost @frostywho was always posting.

I couldn't have said it better except some days I get on them pretty good.

Give me that "different" feeling of being 48. You can have my "64" feeling. It's obvious that most of us have some physical issue(s), but as my wife says "you do what you want to do". It's easier to hurt while fishing than (in my case) hurt while painting.

Heavy braid over a wrap of electric tape will keep your total spool weight as light as possible. Cheap mono works fine if that's not a concern.

Thanks for reminding me about DMSO. Tried it but didn't really give it a chance.

I've been doing good in the smaller lakes I fish. High temps in the 30's will keep me off the water for a few days though. I'm betting on a warm up before Thanksgiving.

We were in and out of ice last winter even with sub-zero weather in Jan. I was fishing two days before Christmas and at the end of Jan. @Team9nine is always posting pics of nice bass in cold weather. He's right here in central IN. Give it a shot. Fish the sunny side of HOA lakes mid afternoon if you can get out.

For many years creek wading was my favorite technique. An ankle injury has for the most part kept me from that. A bigger matter in the long term is arthritis in my thumbs. It makes baitcasting painful sometimes. I'm OK with spinning for now.

Does the pond have grass carp? My experience with catfish has been that they move pretty fast. A big turtle makes a lot of sense, but I'd opt for the big bass of course.

That rod is very light and well balanced and cosmetically would look great with my Stradic FA's. I just don't like the ss guides. I suppose changing out the tip top would fix that concern.

I used to subscribe to the notion that bass are like bears. Being cold blooded creatures they don't need to store up energy. They eat at varying degrees governed by water temp. As you mentioned they do in fact gravitate towards warmer water, though.

Yeah, I looked it up after I posted. A lot of guys try to say little noises and such are no big deal but when I drop two bills on a spinning reel I ask a lot of it.

I might be wrong but I think the Luvias has worm gear oscillation.

I replace split rings with VMC crankbait snaps on all my moving baits but still rety when changing. I have trouble opening and closing snaps. (old age, arthritis)

That's what I've always thought. This guy (who's well known and is very good) insists that wear patterns develop on main and pinion gears. Wouldn't mesh locations change constantly anyways?