FishDewd

Hi all, I haven't been on in a while, nor have I fished much lately... went out to family pond today trying to catch some lovely frying catfish... unfortunately the bite was slow. I did however, catch something unexpected.... a 10-12 lb Smallmouth Buffalo! Not what I wanted to see in our pond, but they don't seem to be doing much other than keeping the pond clean luckily... it bit on a piece of shrimp on 3/0 circle hook. I didn't snag it, the thing legit ate it and got hooked in the mouth. Felt like nothing bringing it in until it got about 6' from the bank, freaked out, and started using it's power to take some drag... I barely managed to get it on shore, having been using 10' mono on a medium power spinning rod I use for float fishing a lot. Hook actually ripped from the lips as I tried to shore it, but thankfully since it was so worn out, it just floating there on it's side and I was able to grab it by the gills and haul it onto land. It's not going back in. I gave it to the neighbor who is going to smoke and eat it.

Last year, I chucked out a squarebill into the shallows near a spot where I knew some rocks were... soon as it hit the water I saw a splash and my lined jumped, so I set it. It felt really weird reeling it in, but once I had it I saw why- I had hooked a pounder in the back just below the fin. Took a bit of surgery to get the hook out too cause it passed through a meaty little spot. Weird fish catch, and was one of a few that I caught that day... though I consider that more of an accidental foul hook than an actual catch. But caught on the cast? That has to be worth something right?

Power shot rig using the smallest dropshot hook you can find, and a 1/16-1/8 oz weight hanging below. A small piece of nightcrawler as bait should catch several perch no problem. The reason you lose nightcrawlers is from hooksets. With setup you reel in and lift, and most of the time get the worm back. This is my go-to perch rig around pond edges and creeks, and it is deadly effective with a tiny dock demon pole where I can fling the line out underhanded. Don't need anything else but that.

Ya'll are giving CPR to fish on your boats? ..... You're doing it wrong! ?

Thanks for the tips! I am actually back home, but I was there fishing with a friend who is new to fishing... I felt really bad we couldn't get anything. But I passed this along so hopefully he manages to catch something here soon.

I'm in north texas for the week fishing with a friend. We've bedn trying various spots on the lake from the texas to loyisiana side and haven't gotten a single bite. In fact, my luck has been so bad that I have casted off a whopper plopper and drop shot rig on back to back outings which hasn't even happened to me since I started fishing. My friend is new to fiahing and really wants to catch something but every spot we are told about my locals hasn't had any signs of life. Tried the piers, the creeks, even tried the dam where oarfiah, bream, catfish, and bass supposedly are abundant. Nothing at all. Is anyone familiar with this lake (Catt maybe?) Who can help me find fish from the bank?

This is one reason I like to go lure hunting when the bite isn't on that day... put my gear up in the car, grab a trash bag, and my lure retriever and start pulling it whatever my 16' retrieval pole can grab. The park rangers in the areas I frequent seem to like that I do this, cause often times I'm not just pulling lures out of trees or underwater snags, but also pulling in dozens of feet of line that has zig zagged through tree branches, or through common break off areas in the water. I also retrieve abandoned bobbers, bottle, cans, all sorts of stuff while trying to get free lures. Usually I'll head back when finished with a decent bag full of lures, and a huge bag full of trash and fishing line that I've also cleaned up. I figure it's a good way to do my part since I also fish these waters and want them to remain in good condition for a long time, as well as keeping animals from getting tangled up in broken off fishing line and being injured.

I learned on right hand retrieve, but find I am more precise using my right, more dominant hand, to control the rod. Therefore, all my recent reel purchases have been left hand retrieve. It feels better to me. But to each their own. I'm hardly a pro by any stretch; I suck at switching hands mid cast so this makes more sense to me.

Wow I've never seen one of those!

Easy... uglystick! If it happens to break, I'd hand line that monster in! Even if just a giant bundle of weeds...

The eyelet does look a bit off, but what gets me is how that overly thick bill lines up perfectly with the lower body.... just doesn't seem engineered properly to me (this coming from an engineer). That design can't plane correctly as it sits.

My new PB pond catfish, caught about a week and a half ago. Strangely, caught on a small piece of shrimp! Kept, since it was a male. Right at 24.5 on the tape measure but it was closer to 25 when I actually got it to way still enough to not mess up measurements.

Things That Hang From Trees... This is two fold for me: 1.) if there's a tree there, I will find a way to toss a lure into it. 2.) If there's a lure hanging from a tree, I will find a way to rescue it.

I looked at a tutorial for a similar reel, just never done a diawa before. I've only torn down one low profile BC reel before, mostly it's been round/tradtional reels and spinners I have worked on. Would feel better if there was a tutorial I could follow for my exact models but I am yet to see one. I might just let a local shop service them for me.