FishDewd

I went to the BPS at 288/beltway 8 in pearland yesterday. Was not real busy, but they were very well stocked. I only saw a few things that weren't in stock, and they had what I needed to prepare for Spring (if it EVER gets here, this year sucks so far). But price wise... they were higher than Cabela's on a lot of things. Over $8 for Yamasenkos, and $6 for a pack of 1/4 oz drop shot weights. Luckily what I needed was decently priced. Really hope Cabela's or Academy gets it together soon.

Which is why I said ballpark measurement... it won't work as well with high spool capacities, but I never fill my spool that full so that small difference is negligible.

I don't normally bother with measuring out or anything, I just fill it until I know there is enough to cover whatever distance I am trying to fish at, given the bait/lure weights I'll be throwing. Usually I leave a fiar bit to be desired on the reel itself cause I feel it is less wasteful and sometimes necessary for it to be totally filled. Remember, more line = more weight, and therefore the more resistance (inertia) the spool has to turning (on baitcasters). Which can mean you lose distance with a cast because it takes more effort to cast it. But if you want to be more frugal and precise, here is what I have done before. Tie your line onto the spool loosely with a knot that can be easily removed, make exactly one rotation of the handle, then mark the line spot where it just leaves the spool (can use the end of the line guide for a baitcaster, or the lip of the spool for a spinner). Untie the knot, remove the line from the spool, then measure out the distance to the mark. This should get you a pretty good ballpark measurement of how much line is taken in per turn. Then you just do some basic math to figure out how much line you're taking in based on your reel specifications. So if you measure say... 28 inches on a turn, and you want about 100 feet on your reel: 100 feet x 12 inches to a foot = 1200 inches. Then 1200 inches / 28 inches per turn = ~4.3 turns. Round that up to 5 to be safe.

My Cabela's is getting new stuff every time I go! I've taken to dropping by at least once a week now. Still some things they haven't gotten yet, but I finally found some sinker slides and a few other things I've been looking for.

I use that knot for making line stops for drop shot weights, and also double the line into a loop to secure the weight for kentucky rigs with a simple hitch loop. Always called that a figure-8 knot. Except I normally only make two twists instead of three.

Royale Legend is also a good choice, and is right in between those two for speed at 7.0.

My Kast King Royale Legend pitches really well... lightweight, super smooth, and very fast. And it was only $30 on ebay. I hear the Stealth is even better cause it is smaller and a bit lighter. I'll get one at some point, but first I need a better rod more suitable for pitching.

Lol, yeah, the silvers are the ones that jump out of the water and smack you right in the face while you're just trying to ride your jet-ski down the canal and have a good time... personal experience with that! They're big, they're heavy, they're prevalent, and they're delicious!

Fried bass huh? Well, I haven't tried that. I've had them baked and broiled and they weren't very good... then again, I also didn't cook it myself either. I actually have a background as a cook. What size is good for eating? Could make a difference. As far as carp, I should've specified more. I've only ever eaten silver carp, which I don't think are actually true carp at all. I've caught grass and other carp, but meh, I wouldn't eat those, although they are fun to catch. Not sure about frying, but they accept flavor very well and lack a fishy taste. I've had them baked like a flounder and it was pretty good, but never actually cooked one myself. Also heard of people grilling them too. If I ever catch any of the ones in my pond I will experiment and let you know. I know for sure that they don't bite traditional carp bait. I've tried dozens of formulas and have never hooked one. I have heard of angler success with spoons, so when the season comes I will try that and see if it works, despite never having caught any fish on a spoon before.

I don't know if they many advantages other than introducing people to fishing who don't want to mess with reels a lot. Just throw and go. I caught many big fish on those before deciding I wanted to upgrade. I still have the same Zebco 33 I had when I was 9, still works great to this day. I prefer spincasts when using slip float rigs, or if I am testing out a small creek or whatnot. I'll use a shorter pole up to 6' for those purposes. But 33's or One Classics are pretty much all I will use to fish with though as far as spincasts go, although I do have an older 202 that uses a star drag which is actually a pretty good reel, but I keep it more as a collectable or memento more than anything. The 30" dock demon pulled out a huge trout from under a ratty old dock once, so I have respect for that little pole too. I can throw that one with pinpoint accuracy one-handed too, so it's a little monster in cramped areas.

Alberto knot has already been said... I use that or the J knot. J knot hasn't failed me yet, and is much easier than the FG knot. It's basically braiding the lines together, very strong and small.

I have, occasionally, looked through ads... seems like a lot of people want darn near what they paid for them new. But mostly just not in my budget right now.

Yep, I've lost plenty of Texas rigged Senkos. I actually had that one rigged in a way where the hook was below the surface of the lure, but not a true Texas rig since it's a standard J hook. Difference is, these jigs are harder for me to get than worm hooks.

Should mention that I am in-between jobs right now... no, it's not a big deal that I lost a lure, just that it seems to be a trend every time I fish, and I try to preserve what gear I have due to not making a lot right now. I am the stick master! Actually main reason I left is because the conditions weren't as good as I expected, and I didn't feel like re-rigging when it was so windy. Not real fast at it to begin with.

Whoa that's sad! Yeah that would hurt so much worse!

So the weather today wasn't too terrible... high 60's at my house. However once I got to my usual fishing spot in a park, it was windier and cooler than it was at my house. I sat around a bit, rigged a few poles... kinda just watched to see if there was any signs of fish activity. Didn't see much happening. A touch of the water told me the water was very cold... so I decided to skip the float rig and just go bottom rigging/finessing with my new Shroomz finesse heads I just got. So I set up a little "weedless" ned rig, casted it out and wiggled it while slowly working it back in a few times, starting to my left and working to my right. Got a light nibble or two but nothing committed enough to set the hook on. So I casted parallel to this giant tree next to me out near the middle of the canal where I felt the fish were sitting. Was doing great until about it got to about 4 foot in front of me. Just as I lifted my pole up to reel the lure out of the water, it happened: it snagged. And badly! I tried everything to get the 10 pound flourocarbon leader to get free, but nothing worked. So I decided to pull out my little "rescue pole". It's a cheap Dock Demon that I spooled with 50 pound braid and a small drop shot. I use this for areas like this for when I know there are snags, and it usually works to pull out obstructions, like sticks and whatnot. But nope, I hooked into what I think is an entire tree! Took me a few casts to find it, but once I did, I tried to bring it in putting quite a bit of pressure on the little glass composite rod. POW! Line snaps, lost the hook and the weight. I knew then it was over... so I just yanked the other pole and broke the lure off. 1 finesse head and finesse lure gone! I am irritated, cause I had to order both off of amazon since no store around here carries these. Needless to say... I packed up and left. Less than a 15 minute fishing trip total. I kindly made a complaint with the rangers on the way out cause that's kind of ridiculous, to have such massive obstructions in the water so close to the bank. They need to clean it out cause I've had this issue here before, always somewhere random and new from the last time I fished there. So... decided I'm probably not going back there. Had enough of losing stuff. How anyone can finesse fish around sticks and such is beyond me, I lose stuff no matter how I rig it. Just a little rant to vent... lol. Wish the weather would hurry up and get normal so I can warrant traveling a bit further to fish properly.

Nice, Glenn! I didn't know that about casting with the handle up, I will definitely have to try that and see if it helps my accuracy. I tend to cast off to one side or the other sometimes, and that very well may be why that happens. Never seen that tip mentioned in any other video. Edit: actually, scratch that in my case... I don't do overhand casts with my caster since my pole doesn't set very much. I do more of a side-roll which gets me plenty far out there. Plus, I'm a right-handed reeler, but use my left hand as my spool control hand, but still cast from my right side. It would be the fishing equivalent to being goofy footed in skateboarding (which I was when I used to skate).

I learned on braid... it's a bit harder to undo a backlash, but then again, it's harder to backlash in general. But yeah, if you can learn on mono you'll be set to go! I still can't really use mono or co-polymer on a baitcaster very well. Watch the lighter lures though, at least at first. I think this is one of the key points when learning, start with heavier, learn the reel, then work your way down in weight. The lighter the lure is, the more the spool wants to over-spin compared to the speed that the lure travels: the lure will slow down faster than the spool which causes looping that results in a backlash. I had this issue when I got my first low profile baitcaster and it took me a while to figure out why it was happening as opposed to my larger baitcasting reels which don't turn as quickly. It's possible to do, but you have to have that spool knob turned just right, and I think that's the key point with baitcasters in general. Also, I recommend watching this video and a few others like it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5UfRzLbR8&t=65s

I'm liking a lot of these rods you've all recommended... hopefully I can try at least some of these in person, but a few of them I haven't seen in stores (yet anyway) do look very promising. That TopCaster actually does look really nice, and I think I saw something about getting both a spinner and a baitcaster with one purchase on that one. St. Croix, G. Loomis, Abu Garcias I am familiar with, those are always nice rods as well. I think even a used GL will be out of my range though lol. But then again, if I REALLY like it, I might be able to justify the purchase. Lot to think about for when I'm ready to commit to a choice. Basically just wanting something better/more sensitive for freshwater than what I have now. I know for the lightest stuff I am better off with a spinner, but sometimes the control of the baitcaster is very nice, so it's just another tool I'd like to add to my arsenal.

I love kayaking, but they are still out of my price range right now, unless I wanted to go with a really small one not intended for fishing.

Not just bass fishing, but bank bass fishing since I don't own a boat! I think the pink TRD may not be the worst idea in my location though, considering that the waters are so murky and dark. Sure, vibrations can be felt, but nothing like a hot pink little worm wiggling on the bottom to really entice a bite! I mean... who wouldn't want a piece of that action?

I've caught 3 bass this winter... apparently that isn't too bad for someone who is choosing winter to get into bass fishing for the first time. Lol. Two were on yamasenkos (red pumpkin w/ black and green flake), then when I finally got the stuff I needed for a proper ned rig, I caught one on the second to last cast of the day about a week ago. Used a pink bubblegum TRD (don't laugh, that's all my Cabela's carries right now, though they are getting others in... one of these days!) and a 1/15 oz Z man shroomz jig head. None were over a pound though, but a dink is better than nothing! I also caught a few catfish on senkos, and a few catfish on other baits: 2 in my pond with a bass tube, and one on a magnum zoom lizard. So right now, the senkos are in the lead with about 4! Still trying to watch something on the Yum Dingers, but I think I may have the wrong color.

Sounds that way... I mean, for the usual catfishing I do, or for when I take a trip to catch redfish, they work fantastic. But since I am slowly entering a new scene of fishing, you are likely correct in that assessment. I also thought 3/4 seemed a bit high. Funnily, they had another in 1/6-5/8 at a 7' length that was also a medium. Guess one day it'd be worth a run to bass pro so I can try out a larger range of rods for this type of fishing. So lure rating is a suggestion huh? Hm, I'd really have thought that some type of official testing is done by manufacturers. I have seen those online, but I don't know much about them. I'd really like to handle one first if possible, cause I haven't had good luck in the past buying rods online. But I will see what I can find information wise.

Hm, so maybe the mediums I have are closer to medium-heavy then. I have a medium power baitcast rod that is rated for 1/16-3/4oz... it's a Lew's, supposedly a topwater/plastics inshore rod. But there's no way it would toss something that light, seems like the minimal it will do is about 1/4, and best performance is at the upper edge near 3/4 oz if I need some distance. I love it for drop shotting though, it does well at that. I do want some backbone, I know that's important, especially if the bait is out there a ways. It's really the tip sensitivity I think I need. All the mediums I've tried don't have much bend to them, and when I watch people using these finesse techniques it seems like their rod tips have a lot more give to them than mine do. Mine don't tend to move much and I wonder how this affects the action of my lures as well as the feeling. Does that make sense? Good food for thought, thanks. Sounds like I need a rod actually made for lakes as opposed to inshore, so maybe that's the issue. Not sure if there is a real difference or not there.

Hi all, so I have some rods for spinning reels that I use for lighter finesse techniques, but there are times when I would like to use my preferred baitcasting reel for finesse techniques. The current rods I have are medium power, and although they do work okay, I feel like the reel outperforms the rod when it comes to casting. Not much flex in the tips. Also, they aren't the most sensitive so it is hard for me to feel subtleties in terrain or bumps from shy fish. I know I miss some things due to this lack of sensitivity. I've done a lot of research and have seen plenty of rods that I think I would like, but they are all pretty expensive (for me) and I would hate to buy one to find that it doesn't quite work for my needs. I like a 7' length, although I could go a little longer, maybe up to 7'4" or so... I don't think any longer would benefit me very much and I couldn't fit it in my car if it's a 1-piece. I do think I would like a medium-light power with a moderate-fast or fast action based on research. The usually type of finessing I do will be weightless/lightly weighted plastics and rubber lures, like senkos, powerworms, and other creature baits, but I wouldn't mind being able to also work the occasional crank/jerkbait and spoons if the situation arises. Maybe even allow me to work a jig or use small live baits like minnows as well. If I am wanting to go say $150 or less, what would you all recommend for me? I couldn't get it now, but with fishing season coming closer by the day, I'll be ready to shop soon. Thanks!