FishDewd

Dunno, but I know I can't throw any of my baitcasters that far! I may have touched 100' a few times, but since I only use side or backhand casts that is pretty rare for me. I can't overhead cast anything worth a bean lol. Just doesn't work for me. I feel like I get much better load with a sideroll than bringing it back over my shoulder.

I've been to pensacola, tampa, and orlando over the years, passing through other towns of course. The only time I ever went fishing there was when I was about 12. My uncle had bought a fly set-up but didn't really have a chance to use it for that kind of fishing while there. But we had a group of about 12 so we decided (him and I) to try and fish traditionally off a dock with it hoping to get a few fish. The only who caught anything was me: a pufferfish lol. Not really edible but it was something cool you don't expect to catch. While bringing it in a pelican swooped in and tried to eat it. It puffed up while I removed it from the hook. After I threw it back in the water it floated there and the pelican actually picked it up in its mouth for a moment, tried to swallow it, then spit it back out. Guess it didn't want to eat the pufferfish either. One of the funnier things I've ever had happen while fishing. I have a pic of me with the pufferfish somewhere.

Yeah, I could, but can't invest the time in something like a greenhouse right now. I like Florida, been there many times, but ya'll have some messed up carry laws, so pretty sure I would miss Texas too much. I'm hoping that once these trees get large enough I can plant them on a sort of hill and root them deeply enough that they can survive a mild winter down to about 20* or so, but I know that in Africa they prefer a 50* or so winter so it'll be tough.

Actually, I do have a Lew's reel I really like, but it's an open face spinner reel. I had about $100 budget when looking for one from a 2000 to 300o size, but I wanted one as small as possible for lighter applications. It ended up between a Shimano something-or-another and a Lew's Mach II Speed Spin. Local store had both in a 2500 size for $75 but not the 2000 or 3000 sizes. What sold me on the Lew's was that it was smoother than the Shimano at the same price point, and it had toggleable anti-reverse which the Shimano did not. I kind of like that feature... so I ended up with the Lew's and I've enjoyed the heck out of it. Only thing I'd like to modify on it is to one day replace the flelt drag washers with some carbon fibers ones, but the drag on it is actually pretty good as it is. Been real happy with it, it's caught a lot of fish. You can often find the rod and reel combo for it for about $90-100, but I already had a Lew's American Hero SS rod to put it on. Moral is, you should consider looking at their baitcasters cause I bet they are pretty fine reels as well.. Not to mention they come with those sweet Winn grips.

edit: missed where you only said reel... it was late. Yeah tons of option for that range, though I have a tighter budget on equipment than you do so I haven't dabbled much in newer Daiwas and Shimanos.

Okay, here's a question for you crank guys: I have some cranks that are silent, some that make noise... some lighter or smaller than others... so when I buy a crank, how would I know what is silent, a one-knocker, etc? Cause when shaken inside the package they pretty much all sound the same to me cause the hooks clink. But from what I have heard on this page it has to do with the weight rating of the lure?

Lol this is funny! There is a problem with the logic proposed by the OP's friend, based on what physics tells us. I would think if anything that a white rod would stand out more more than a black one. Allow me to explain. Colors do have characteristics when it comes to light and heat. Light colored surfaces (namely white, chrome, etc) are known to be poor absorbers of heat/light but good reflectors. Darker colors (black, brown, dark greens) are the opposite. These are good absorbers and poor reflectors. So when it comes to contrast: both would create a shadow looking up from below the water since the rods are going to block a tiny portion of sunlight, but the white rod could also possibly be reflecting light back down onto the water, and/or at angles from the rod, through subtle movements from the wielder, causing a shimmering light effect. This is why the white rods are easier to see at night, as stated earlier. With this said, do I think it would matter? I really don't think so... I mean, I don't consider fish to be completely stupid, but how would they know what a fishing rod is? Would they have the intelligence to link the pole to the line to the lure that caught them? I'm pretty skeptical of that personally lol. But... whatever floats his boat I guess! Confidence can be useful. I own 2 white rods and 2 black rods that I use a lot for various fishing, but I have never once considered either one to be more or less "invisible" to a fish looking up.

Lol, maybe 3 feet I haven't had them but a few years, I got them from a local grower. Problem is that I get a real winter here sometimes so they go dormant for a few months and I bring them inside. Still potted. Not sure what I will do when they one day get tall.

I found a bait that works good with the larger power finesse heads, although I am sure there are others. Grandebass Airtail Rattlers. I think all of their baits float. They are large enough for the bigger power finesse shroomz heads, unlike the rest of the Z man products. No idea why Z man made these heads when none of their baits work well with them lol.

Check the seams. If they look different or have popped the paint off then your lure could have swollen up and cracked. Compare the sides to verify swelling. Weird things happen to cranks when they swell or crack.

One of my own pond cats. Caught some live craws out of the creek and used them as bait. Not the best picture... I killed it pond side, cut the rakers, and was bleeding it out as I carried it back to the house as I didn't have my phone with me while fishing. About 16" and right at or maybe a little over 2 pounds I estimate: Fileted and ready for eating!

Haven't caught any bass on either one yet, but I've hooked quite a few catfish with tubes.

I got a couple from BPS during their spring sale not too long ago, I've fished them a few times but I think they are too large and/or not right for where I fish at. I think they would do better in a river, bayou or lake. I forgot who made them, but one is a 3/8 finesse jig in black/blue and the other is a 1/2 football head in green pumpkin. Didn't mean to get two that close together in weight, I may step down to a 1/4 and smaller profile at some point and see if it works better.

Is there a certain one that seems to work better, or is it all of them? One I used was silent... basically one of my spy bait squarebills.

I didn't realize one could do a constant retrieve with a lipless, I've always tried the yo yo with no results. Maybe I'll try that next time.

I'm yet to catch a bass on a crankbait (but apparently I can catch catfish with them!) but what I do is first is use them to assess how deep the water I am fishing is. If I can touch the bottom fairly easily and I know the rating of the crankbait that can tell me some stuff. But I've heard it can be good to grind the bottom if there is nothing to really bump into, so I will crank just fast (or slow) enough to keep it there. Sometimes I will pause and let it float up a bit, or sometimes all the way to the surface and just let it sit there for a few moments before continuing again. If that's not working, I will add a little twitch to the lure, or maybe raise/lower my pole somewhat while I vary the speeds. I think my approach is okay, the theory works in my head anyway. But it'd be helpful if the bass would help me out and bite my lure some times to give me some confidence in them!

Well the ones in my pond are smarter. They don't hit crank baits. I'm surprised cause they haven't been fed since winter ended.

I think I'm going to try catching more channel cats on bass lures lol. Gonna try it in my own pond and see what happens! I've caught them on tubes and senkos with exposed hooks before, but now I'm wanting to try a crankbait in there and maybe some texas rigs and see if I can hook one up before it lets go- should be fun!

Nah I have no problem catching catfish... I have a catfish pond, so needless to say I am a very versed catfisherman. Bass not so much. Bass lately just don't like anything I have lol. Maybe I should stick with catfish!

Decided to go fishing today. It was a bit warm so I waited until late afternoon/evening to go. The water was choppy and after not having much luck with a carolina rig or inline spinners, I noticed it getting pretty cloudy. I put two and two together: why not try some squarebills? On my 5th or so cast I was riding the current, slow rolling it down a grass line when it got hit hard. I set it, thought for sure I had a bass... turns out, it was this little guy: So this confirms the old addage: a catfish will eat ANYTHING! And he committed to it too, front hook!

I can skip, but only 2-4 times and not very accurately. I'd say from maybe 5-10 yards away tops. I don't really fish brush a lot either, if I did maybe I would work on perfecting it a little more.

Yes, actually hotdogs are a very good bait here for panfish and catfish. I've also heard of people encasing them in strawberry jello as well somehow. But they work great by themselves. I've used cheap vienna sausage from the can and it was catching some decent catfish out of ponds. Future bass fishing legend right there! She's what, 3? And already using a baitcaster?! Outstanding!

My go-to for a while now has been 20-50 lb braid (right now 50 is on it, so that's what I use, I don't believe in wasting line for no good reason) with a 6-15 lb fluoro leader tied on. Offers the best of both worlds: the sensitivity of the braid with the toughness and subtle stretch of the fluorocarbon.

I'm pretty sure around here the bass think that worms resemble... well, worms! We don't get eels.

I probably carry a little too much.. I use a bag that holds 4 medium sized plano boxes with moveable dividers that they sell in the fishing department of basically any store. I have one box full of plastics, some float, others are for texas rigging, dragging, etc. Another box that is a mix between weights and trailers for jigs and bladed baits. This is my accessory box. Another box that contains all hooks, jigheads, and some just in case specialty stuff. The main box I use contains all hard baits of some sort. Square and round crankbaits, a few buzzbaits, a chatterbait, rage blade, jigs, spoons, bladebait, spinners, etc... plus I have some plastics for ned rigging stuffed in a few pockets of the bag. I also have some extra line and some tools in there, like pliers and cutters. How much of it do I use of a given day? Not a whole lot really. I generally have a plan for what I'd like to try that day before I go out, but if all that fails I may decide to try something a little different. I like the option for trying something new and/or creative if the situation arises. Here lately I haven't been having much luck so I've trying to figure out what works or doesn't work. So far it seems like more stuff is in the "doesn't work" category. Plus with this additional tackle I can help out someone else if needed. There's always that guy who runs out of something or forgot something. I don't have any issue handing over a few hooks or weights if it means that person can have a more fun day.