BigAngus752

I went to Field and Stream today to pick up some hooks, a couple spinnerbaits, and some craws. Turns out the stores (not online/not advertised) are closing out reels that have newer versions coming out AND they are having their "percent off" sale (with the little colored stickers). I started looking around and found this Revo SX (3rd gen). It's even a lefty in 7:1 which I have been looking for. They had it marked down from $149 to $109 plus it had a 30% off sticker. When I asked the associate for one he discovered that the only one they had left was the display model and he couldn't find the box so he dropped the price even more. Final cost....$60 bucks. And it even looks good on my Powell Inferno flipping rod. I'm not sure if all the Field and Stream stores are closing out reels but if you have one nearby it is certainly worth checking on.

All lakes and rivers in central Illinois are subject to run-off from farmland. Two feet of visibility is clear water here. Many times it's six inches or less depending upon the season. We are nervous because we are going to Center Hill Lake and Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in two weeks. Those are clear, highland reservoirs. We have no idea how to fish the smallmouth there. .

And this is what I spent a 1/3 of my day doing. Thanks for the tips! Oh, and I ordered one of these.

I understand now. Fish it like I would if the trees weren't there. That makes sense, thanks to all!

LOL! I thought I was taking my time with the lures! Shows what I know.

One addendum to this...throughout the rest of the lake I saw fish in the 10-15ft range but recent reports also said you could find a few in 2ft. I started fishing smaller coves and found several fish suspended over two humps in the middle of a small cove at almost exactly 10ft. Every once in awhile a 5+ pound bass would come up and grab something on the surface and then go straight back down to the hump. I started throwing at them. I ended up anchoring and I spent just over one hour hurling almost everything in the boat at them. I dropped a weightless Senko off the side of the boat and let it float around them while I tried to draw them up with a Zara Spook and a then a Whopper Plopper. I threw two different size/color spinners. I tried a lipless crankbait. When those things didn't work I slowed way down and pulled a Texas rig (another Senko) past them over and over and over. I used big pulls and small pulls. I regret not trying a Shaky Head but I've never fished one before. In fact, I just got four packages of shaky head jigs last week. I'm going to learn that.

I was using the Rat L Trap to bang on trees at various depths but no luck. As I was packing up I started wishing that I had tried a worm or jig sliding down the sides of some of the trees. One thing I didn't try. This is not a joke. As I idled deep into this thing I became confounded about how to fish it and I thought to myself, "Catt would tell us to find the structure" so I started looking for contour changes on the bottom. But I still kept focused on the trees. I may go out there again this weekend and I'll hit the bottom hard where it gets to stepping down on the points. Lake Shelbyville. It's a tough one right now.

This cove was full of fish in the 3in to 6in range all hanging just under the surface sticking close to the trees.

This is a very large cove chock full of these old trees. The trouble I had with it is that these trees are 20+ feet tall. The center of the cove is 40 feet deep. When I took the "selfie" pic I was in 28 feet of water. Shoreline is a near straight drop off. Fishing at this lake is very tough right now. It was sunny/sometimes cloudy and very flat today. Water temp is still high (75 out in the middle and 76-78 in the coves). I occasionally saw suspended fish in this cove and it was getting a little bit of surface feeding. I used both lipless (Rat-L-Trap) and lipped (Rapala Deep Runner) with no success. Also had my usual weightless Senko floating along with me as I drifted and at the end I tried a Zara Spook on the surface. I didn't get a bite. This is a new lake to me. Would you expect this area to be productive under these conditions? How would you fish it?

Is this Center Hill? We are headed their for five days on 10/7. It needs to pick up before then!

I have actually considered buying her an 8:1! That's how slow she rolls, LOL. And she is the perfect woman so I don't have any issue giving her my SV if it helps her. But I do love that SV. I have to say that @Quarry Man does have a valid point. I don't want to create a bad habit for her. The big thing is I can't afford another SV right now or I would prob buy her a 6:1 SV. I can get two Tatula CTs for only ten bucks more than one SV, but I think the SV spool will be so much more forgiving that she will have a more positive experience with her first baitcaster if it's the SV.

So you've never been married?

Abu Garcia Vendetta ($50) brand new. Fenwick HMX ($35) brand new. Zara Super Spook Jr. two Shur-Set football jigs (Made in USA, awesome) my son ONLY fishes Rooster Tails so he got two This is from a mom and pop tackle shop 45 minutes away. Prices and selection are incredible. Their tiny building literally has more selection than our local Bass Pro. You can barely walk through the place. And when she has a sale it's really a sale as you can see from the cost of those two rods.

I've read all the stickies and I know what the "typical" good fisherman would use for a crankbait/spinnerbait setup but please read along and let me know if I'm on the right track here. I just picked up a Fenwick HMX for my wife. It's going to be her first baitcaster and it will be a crankbait/spinnerbait setup. Normally I would be putting a 6:1 or slower on for ME to fish these lures, but my wife is currently using a Zebco Omega Z03Pro and she turns it WAY too slow. I mean like a glacier. She barely gets action out of Colorado blades. I currently use a Tatula SV in 7.3:1 on my flipping/pitching rod. I don't need the SV spool on the flipping/pitching rod so I'm thinking I will put it on my wife's new rod. The SV will make learning a baitcaster much easier and although the 7:1 would be way too fast for me, I think it will be perfect for her with her natural, molasses-like retrieve. Does this make sense? Am I on the right track? I have some gift cards and I can replace the reel on my flipping/pitching rod with a Lew's Tournament MB in 7.5:1. I'm also picking up a Tatula CT 6:1 for my crankbait/spinnerbait rod. Thanks in advance!

Right-handed guy. Left-handed baitcaster. Glad to hear I'm not alone!

I know you said $100 and, yes, I'm gonna be "that" guy that suggests a more expensive reel...but...you can get a Tatula SV on eBay for $132.95 free shipping. That puts you in a reel that is on par or better than many reels in the $200+ range for only $33 more than you are talking about spending. Of course you didn't mention the type of fishing techniques you want it for so maybe the SV spool isn't as important, but just FYI. Of course right now at Academy you can almost get two CTs for that money so perhaps that is more to your needs.

I fish with my wife and she has never been wrong in her life so....

I should have recognized that since I live so close to the Illinois River.

Yes. That is a gizzard shad. And you catch shad that are bigger than the LM I catch so I'm not speaking to you anymore. Good day, sir.

You're gonna tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser? Credit: Joe Dirt

To echo what the venerable @A-Jay and @snake95 have said, as I grow into this sport (which isn't a sport at all, it's an addiction that consumes every dime you have, every waking thought and gets me into trouble at work for repeatedly getting caught on bassresource.com) I have found that when I try to copy others it doesn't always work out well for me. Also, it's frustrating to find my perfect rod for a certain technique, one that feels just right to me, and then shopping for another rod of similar specs/build but perhaps a different length made by a different manufacturer and finding that IT DOESN'T FEEL THE SAME AT ALL! There is no MIL-SPEC for fishing equipment. You must seek and find your own way, Grasshopper.

Spinnerbaits are about the only thing I'm good at as far as fishing goes, LOL. I would suggest you find a rod that has a moderate tip but a strong backbone. Something with some give but sensitive enough you can clearly feel the blades turning. Look for more of a M or M/H with a moderate tip. You want to be able to feel the lure whether you are running two willows or a single Colorado. That's important because different spinnerbaits fish at different speeds. As far as your reel you can run any ratio you want. If you run a fast reel you will have to learn to slow way down when needed. If you run a slow reel you will have to crank your wrist off sometimes. I generally fish a slower reel on my spinnerbait set up just because it works great for buzzbaits too, but if I'm running willow blades then I'm cranking hard. I don't have any heartburn running braid with spinnerbaits. I like to run them parallel to weed lines and the braid is tough as nails in the rough plus I like the sensitivity. But I also have another set up with 10lb mono and I do okay with that also but it doesn't feel as good in the weeds. I generally run the slower stuff (Colorados, buzzbaits) on braid. Just like the way it feels. Personal preference. And killer hooksets. I can't help with the kayak thing as I fish standing up but my educated guess would be that braid would be more likely to give you the solid hooksets you are looking for rather than mono. If you are going to use a mono leader just use mono. Now teach me how to catch something with a jig!

I agree it's a lot of pressure, but this lake gets these tournaments every weekend and I don't think they get near the 40 boat limit. It's pretty consistent pressure on both lakes yet the smaller one keeps turning out bigger bass. Does that make a difference?

I can see that logic! Thank you

A recent post in Tournament Talk by @mattkenzer got me thinking about our upcoming weekend. We are going out on Sunday evening. Which lake would you fish and why would you pick that lake? Lake #1: 11,000 acre lake. Water level is steady for this time of year but the water is muddy right now. Overall current fishing report is "fair to good". This lake is extremely popular for crappie and is well known for that species but we would be going for bass. Bass rating for the lake is "fair". It does host regular bass tournaments and there are two scheduled on Saturday but they are small for that lake (a 40 boat and a 20 boat). Lake #2: 730 acre lake. Water level is steady and water is normal color. Overall current fishing report is "fair". This lake is known for bass and muskie. There is a bass tournament on Sat morning (40 boat). Current bass rating is "good". Water temp, depth, topography, and shore detail are similar for both lakes. The smaller lake has more cover per square acre and a lot more docks as the larger lake has almost no docks. We are fishing Sunday afternoon/evening. #2 is our favorite lake and we are leaning toward going to that lake and hitting the area around the tournament release site. What do you think? Too soon for the bass that were caught on Saturday? Is there other info or details that you would take into account? I suspect I will learn a lot from your advice so thanks in advance.