Brad in Texas

My experience with ratchet straps is they work themselves a bit loose. I used to stop and tighten mine on an hour trip going or coming home from a lake I fished often. This was for a kayak or canoe carried on a light trailer, so some bouncing. When I switched over to cam straps, I found them to hold better, at least for me. Both are solid choices as are a few special knots using just rope. Brad

I think I will try it! Like several of you said, it can't hurt. Maybe I will be able to answer my own questions about it after using it. For now, I know what happens when you soak an uncooked spaghetti noodle in water; and, I know what happens when you soak a piece of wire coat hanger in water. But, I'm open minded. This will be fun and if it increases the range of how I use fluorocarbon line, it'll be a big pay-off. Brad

What is the theory related to conditioners working on fluorocarbon lines? Since, the elemental bonding is so very tight and the line is impermeable to water and most liquids, what is the operative advantage here? I "get" how it would likely alter absorbent monofilament lines and make them more manageable. Even a few casts, a few minutes in water will do that, make monofilament lines softer (weaker, too). But, what of fluorocarbon? Wouldn't the conditioner, regardless of brand, just form a film around the outside of the line? If so, how does this help? Friction-related matters??? Brad

Well, the length-to-weight charts we have here in Texas are very accurate, based on observational statistics collected on a large sample set. But, the one TPWD publishes only considers length to determine probable weight. For a gravid female bass, the tummy full of eggs will expand its girth measurement giving you a pretty good number since it is based on two dimensions, not just one. Sounds like you caught a very nice fish! Brad

Ouch! That hurts. And, I have had it happen, for sure, I think once or twice. Once, it was when I wanted to stop, had about the right level on the reel . . . but I looked at the line spool and noticed that it had just a "little" left on it. What does one do with a fragment like that? So, I spooled it on so as not to waste it. Big Mistake. This was back when I used monofilament. Even it rarely gave me issues. The few instances I've had general line management issues, it was when I tried straight fluorocarbon. Never any issues with braid, ever. Even using 2 lbs. test. I may go back and give longer "leaders" of fluorocarbon a try, say beyond a long pitching distance, spool on 50 feet or something like that and try the idea presented here. Brad

My typical "rig" is a St. Croix rod of various lengths depending on what I am doing (and where), with a Shimano Ci4+ reel. A 3000 series reel is a great finesse reel. I typically use 10 lbs. braid (Sufix 832) to an 8 lbs. Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon leader, length of about 8'. On the rods, for a bit heavier finesse presentations, say a T-Rigged worm or creature bait with a nose weight, I like a 7' rod from the bank or a boat, a shorter rod if I am in my canoe or kayak. And, medium power with either a moderate or fast tip. For smaller finesse presentations, a ML is popular and I think lots of anglers use MLs for drop shots, Ned Rigs, throwing weightless worms. Brad

You'll have more lake "density" in North Texas, especially just to its east, than almost anywhere else in the USA. No, it isn't quite like, say, Minnesota, but just a huge number of quality bass fisheries. I know less about Austin, just that it has some really cool lakes to fish, Lady Bird Lake comes to mind but there are many others. Texas is "dry" once you get just a bit west of Fort Worth, dry again once you get down toward Austin and San Antonio. Fort Worth and other large cities often own the water on lakes in east Texas where we have more rainfall. Fort Worth, for example, owns the water on Richland Chambers south of Dallas. Anyway, if you are moving to either location, you are in for some great fishing! Brad

I have never been much of a line watcher, have done so more lately and all I can say is it is circumstantial. It just involves another sensory element and where it works best for me, by far, is when I am using any weightless finesse presentation, say a wacky-rigged plastic or weightless worm or shad-like bait. For T-Rigs and Drop Shots and several others with weights? The weight provides an anchor from the other end, so when a fish bites down on the plastic and moves it, it is more like, what, a string on a guitar being strummed and it'll be that tiny weight that helps transmit the vibration up to your hands. Here, I think a very taut to semi-slack line works. Anything too loose will mask the signal. Many of us started out fishing with cane poles or cheap rods/reels fishing with a red and white bobber, the rest hanging down below the water line. If you recall, when you were watching your bobber, you'd most often see it dip several times just a fraction of an inch, then suddenly get jerked under water. Sort of like that old scary scene in the original Jaws movie, the girl getting hit, hit, then dunked. Yes, occasionally a fish will slam a finesse presentation, no messing around, but more so with moving baits than those that sit on the bottom. When they do hit them fast and aggressively on finesse applications, in my experience it is almost always on the drop or just as it hits bottom. Otherwise, they tend to inspect it a bit first, maybe push on it or pick it up and drop it first. So, for me: 1) line watching is a big deal when you can see it and are using any weightless finesse bottom presentations; 2) you want as much slack out of your line really fast if they hit it on the fall or at touch down; 3) and, if you have a weight at the other end, hook between you and it, the line has to be at least a bit snug to transmit signals best. *** Then, there's that Carolina Rig that doesn't fit these rules. Ha! (big weight between you and the hook to transmit signal through). Not so much a finesse presentation really and a different skill set altogether to know when you are hooked up. Brad

Thanks, everyone. Yes, the spinning tackle with 10/8 line is plenty strong and I even landed my 10+ pounder in the same area on 4/4/18 using the same exact gear/lure. But, it is really circumstantial. I use spinning tackle the intended way . . . controlling fish with my rod, only winding down on a loaded rod to gain ground, etc., and it works great in open water. But, if you are fishing near heavy vegetation or structures, a bass of any decent size will spool line on you and can often come un-snagged. And, except for the last bass I caught standing on my boathouse deck, if one fishes from a canoe or kayak, it can help that if a fish does wrap you up, that you can sort of pull toward it. This sometimes helps but it can also make you lose the fish as it can pull you around, just a bit, giving it more range to find something to dive into or around. Just in general, the canoe I was in, I think the world's greatest fishing canoe by far, is so stealthy that I can float up to within about 20 feet or so of "fresh" targets, then make a little pitch to these choice sites. It makes this a great way to cruise along a stretch of a vegetation line in sort of stealth mode. The inside of my canoe is padded with ethafoam and I just have to think about not banging things around. Are bigger bass more attuned to noise and shy away from it? I don't know but it seems at times they are. I just want to present something to them that looks like a wounded or startled bait fish without too much commotion on my part. My "stealthy" canoe below. Brad

Oops! A bit on what I have been doing. I am using a 7' St. Croix rod, Medium Power, F, and a 3000 series Shimano Ci4+ reel, 10 lbs. braid to an 8 lbs. short (6') fluoro leader. I have been using a 3/0 60 degree bend jig hook with a medium sized Owner CPS "nose screw" I attach myself and tossing out a 4" Keitech Shad Impact in Sexy Shad (but, I have had luck with various shad-like colors). After screwing into the nose, I T-Rig the hook so that its point lies down in that little slot on the bait's back and I usually skin hook the point just a tiny bit. Pretty much weedless. Presentation: Well, Glenn and others here might comment and know if this is common or not. But, these baits are qualified as soft jerk baits so I tried that sort of retrieval. But, what has really worked well for me is to "pitch" out, not cast out, usually no more than 40 or so feet, often much less, and let the bait just fall, weightless, to the bottom. In a canoe or a kayak, I can get so close to my targets, I don't need use long casts often. So, I am a finesse angler by choice and preference . . . and I have found that just letting the thing drop and sit there like a dying fish . . . give it a little time and they'll pick it up. If no bite after a minute or so, I slowly lift my rod tip 2 or 3 feet, let the bait fall down again, maybe adding in a few jerks which creates this random darting to this particular lure. I guess my point is I am throwing it weightless so that it looks like a wounded or dying shad, letting it sink and I fish it more finesse-like than maybe what is typical. I hope sharing these "particulars" helps someone snag a few using a different approach than perhaps what is most usual. Brad

On April 4th, I caught a 25.5" LMB off my boat dock, this after having a really good day the day before in a short time down there making a few casts. Yesterday, I was worn out from getting back from Houston, 4 hours of sitting, so I walked down and dropped my canoe in the water (Lake Athens, Texas) and caught 5 LMBs in short order. Two were in the 4 lbs. range and the others respectable 2.5 lbers. So, rain was in the forecast, thought I'd stay on my home lake and went out again this morning at 8:15 AM. I caught one really large bluegill to get things going, about 9" long but really, really fat and big enough that it swallowed a 3/0 hook! I was dropping it back in the water when I heard and saw a commotion over on the other side of the cove. A big bass was really bullying bait fish, very persistent, so I floated over and was able to catch it and about 5 or 6 others from that same spot. One was around 4 lbs. and another around 5 lbs. So, after this played out, I let the wind take me up the cove and caught a bunch more, most again in the 2.5 lbs. range. I did a mental count, came up with 1 big mouth bluegill and 11 large mouth bass. One more for a dozen. I got my kayak out of the water, then made a few casts, missed a fish that came off running me through some lily pads. I grabbed my gear and was just about to walk down the walk to dry land, thought I'd make one last cast, tossed it about 20 feet and saw something carrying my line out. I set the hook and landed the biggest fish of the day, another 5 +/-. Not bad, 17 bass and one bluegill fishing over about 5 hours or so both days. One of the trips out was on a whim. Sure glad I went. Photos below, two from today. Brad

A mnemonic, a memory trick is this: For a casting reel with the line spool out front standing vertically (like the tire/wheel on a car orientation), the line comes off of it when spooling line onto the reel like an overhanded fastball pitch in baseball; for a spinning reel, it comes off of the line spool underhanded like a softball pitch. Most of us have bought garden hoses over our lives and know that the winding "bias" in the hose remains . . . forever. So, after we use them in the yard and roll them up for storage, it is futile to try to roll one up in the opposite direction. Fishing lines are like this (not so much braid, of course), just to a much lesser visible degree. But, still to wind line on "backwards" while not as evident as with a rubber hose? It'll be much more likely to cause line management issues. I'd see no issue at all with the suggestion of running the line back out greater than your long casting distance and winding it up again. It could help with line twist, sort of a separate issue from line's directional bias. Brad

These remind me a bit of the Reins Deka Cross Swamp Worms, the worm that looks like an "X" lying on its side. One of the absolute best wacky rigging plastics when bass want a very slow fall rate. Cross Swamp worms look like a butterfly gently flapping its wings. These plastics you have might have similar characteristics. Brad

Agreed. A simple sidearm cast before an overhead. If you are a bit early or late with a sidearm cast, it just "sprays" out left or right of your intended target. Once you can sidearm cast to an intended target, it means your thumb release and other mechanics are a bit "trained." Then, move to the others including an overhand cast. There seem to be a few prevailing overhead cast methods. A lot of pro bass anglers, KVD for example, don't seem to extend their casting arm forward, sort of pull the rod back and then snap it up where the elbow is tucked and the wrist straight above it vertically. Others use a more aggressive form extending. A few tips would be to start with relatively short casts with a heavy lure or casting plug. Then, increase distance and try lighter weights, both more difficult. Brad

I may have already posted this, that the pro bass anglers often throw straight fluorocarbon on casting and spinning reels . . . because they have line sponsors and many of them have unlimited access to these lines. Expense is not an issue. So, they change out often, and fresh fluorocarbon after a good stretch is pretty decent line for casting and other handling issues. Where most of us "mortals" have issues is how it performs over time when it sits on a reel. The "knot being the weakest link" idea. So very true. But, if you re-tie a leader always taking out a fresh leader, even re-tying on the water if you are fishing areas known to be rough on lines, or have caught quite a few fish . . . a junction leader knot is likely to be at least equal to, not inferior to, the issues with abraded line from wear and tear on well-used lines. My point here is a fresh 8' leader, the knot required to attach it, is likely no more problematic, no more susceptible to breakage than the last 8 feet of any straight mainline fished with (braid, mono or fluoro) that is all nicked up. Leaders do require good knots. If you can't tie one very accurately, you could have issues for sure. A 150 yard spool of, say, Seaguar Invizx, will give you 56 eight feet leaders. Pretty cheap used this way. Brad

I'd think a ML power casting rod would be an excellent choice for a spybait and that technique. Too, as already mentioned, bass often like small presentations and I'd build a collection of smaller lures to throw on a ML. There are, for example, mini-sized chatterbaits, some smallish spinnerbaits, inline spinners, light crankbaits, etc. A ML power will handle those really well! Brad P.S. Yes, Ned Rigs, Drop shots and weightless plastics, too.

The best luck I have ever had was this past 3 day Presidents Day weekend when the white bass came up in my cove and spawned. I caught 45 or so over 3 days fishing for a total of around 5 or so hours. The smallest one was 15" and the largest was 19". What did I use? I followed Dennis Christian's advice and tossed a Plain Mepps Aglia (no skirt) in a #2 size. Color? Silver for me . . . but Dennis uses white, too, at times. He has an article published on the Mepps website and a YouTube video showing his technique fishing for them in deep water, not so much their annual spawn run. Along with the 45 white bass, I caught 4 LMBs (one photo'd below) and one crappie, so a fun weekend. Mepps are outstanding inline spinners. #2, #3 and #4 are all good sizes, so is the #00 for pan fish. Photo of one below that from its mouth to its anal fin was as long as my 13" boot. Brad

Chris, just the original poster's using 8 lbs. line made me think the 1/16th would be best. When I use 8 lbs., I don't like a lot of weight generally. And, when I fish my home lake, Lake Athens in Texas, it has so much vegetation that I am in no "rush" for my baits to drag down into it. Light works well. Today, I decided to run a canoe I fish out of up to the boat ramp and fish my way home. That sounded better than dragging it down off my truck and down to the boathouse. I ended up catching 4 small/medium sized LMBs paddling back using a weightless Keitech Shad Impact in a 4" size. A 3/0 60 degree bend jig hook and an Owner CPS was it . . . no weight but I think I might have liked just a bit of a keel weighting. Brad

Good stuff! You have tuned your setups to your circumstances. I'd second your preference for short rods, especially the way I use them: fishing from a kayak or canoe. One of my favorites is a 5'6" Medium power I use for pitching a Drop Shot rig. I also have a 6 footer, MH, for larger worm presentations, say a T-Rig. And, for sure, your comment on a spincast in the right circumstances, for example, fast repetitive casts for white bass or schooling bass chasing shad on the surface. Too bad there aren't more high quality spincast reels with really well-made internals. For making rapid casts, pin-point accuracy, it'd be hard to keep up with a casting reel, certainly a spinning reel. Brad

I like and use both depending on circumstances. Good point about tungten vs. lead being a very minor issue compared to proper tackle: rod, line, etc. But, I don't get the comments that smaller sized tungstens get hung up more than the same weight (so, by default, larger sized) in lead. Again, this could be circumstantial, that the lakes I fish here in Texas have much different characteristics. Usually, something "small" can move through obstacles, say a crevice between two rocks, where something larger would get lodged. At least as bullet weights go for T-Rigs, I have way less hang ups with tiny Tungstens than I do with the larger lead types. I'm not as certain with shakey heads but I do think lead would likely give one a larger "base" for the hook to stand up more vertically . . . if that is what you are looking to do. The Megastrike owner posts here as I recall and he makes a vey substantial base so the hooks stand straight up. Maybe he will chime in. Brad

I'd second the choice of a VMC Drop Dead hook as a great "finesse" choice. And, I'd stay with the lightest 1/16th keel weight . . . available all the way up to a 5/0 as I recall. For 8 lbs. fluoro, as a main line or a leader, I'd likely use a 3/0 and an appropriate sized plastic, say a 4" fluke/shad/etc. I think the shanks are longer on these than many other hooks, too, and so between that and the bait keeper, it really gives a fish a long "bite" area to hook itself on. Very nice. One thing I'd recommend is removing the bait keeper screw device that comes standard on these and replace it with an Owner medium sized CPS. Having that little pointer pinning guide on it helps one get the bait screwed on much more centered. I have bought these Owner CPS devices in bags of 50 for a very low price from a major online tackle source. Hey! I commend you for going "finesse" here and fishing this presentation on 8 lbs. line! It works great. Brad

One really good rule of thumb for knots is to use the one you tie best. If you tie a sloppy uni junction knot, you are asking for "double trouble" since either of its two knots can slip. It is playing Russian Roulette with two bullets instead of one. That said, it is a great knot for those who tie it really well. Very strong. One other advantage to an Alberto type junction knot is it has the braid pressing itself down into either the fluorocarbon or monofilament's softer materials. For anyone suffering bad Alberto knots, know that it is not okay to form the loop with the braid then make your wraps with the softer material of fluoro or mono. Those two line materials won't "grab" the braid the way the braid grabs them. Yet, I have seen it tied just that way by a saltwater angler on video. I tie a great FG but I just think it is generally overkill except in a few circumstances. Keeping a fresh Alberto or Uni junction knot is a good strategy. So much faster to tie, easier on a vessel especially a canoe or kayak. Brad

I use a lot of St. Croix rods and, without advertising for a particular outlet, I note that rods are on sale right now at one of the major retailers. I think they are 20% off in general. I am uncertain why you'd want two rods of essentially the same length and power, but I must say if I had to choose a single power for a spinning rod for finesse applications and wanted multiple rods, it'd likely be a Medium power. MH is too much in my estimation for many finesse applications, getting a bit away from the strengths of spinning tackle. Good for you dialing in a proper power rating! A ML might be the better companion rod and it'd be the rod power of choice for many with smaller finesse presentations, say, light drop shots and small Ned Rigs. Then, the M for slightly heavier presentations like T-Rigs, small jigs, weighted wacky worms. But, you aren't asking so much for power rating opinions but I thought I'd present my thoughts on the "best combination" for owing 2 rods. Brad

J Franco is correct. It has a core of one material then an outer layer. It is a way for Seaguar to find line qualities between all abrasion resistance and all concern over suppleness. Seaguar is one of only 3 or 4 fluorocarbon makers I'd even consider. Most of the rest? My guess a whole lot of them are private labeled lines from someone else. Speaking of multiple layers, Keitech is now doing this same thing with one of its worms where it has a different material density in the core area and another for the outside skin. Pretty cool. For lines and lures, this just gives us more range of options. Brad

That would be correct, that a really active angler won't have the same issues with fluoro line coiling up as someone who fishes less actively. And, the pros who use fluoro "straight" as main lines, not just as leaders? They are often sponsored by a line manufacturer and can re-spool their reels at will, likely before every tournament, at least to a length beyond their casting distance. In contrast, most of us likely would spool on fresh line once a season or so. I really like fluoro leaders, short at around 6 to 8 feet. I really don't like it straight . . . and I fish often. I use Seaguar Invizx. One trick is to re-tie your terminal knot after catching a fish or two, re-tie the junction knot between main line and leader if you have snagged up and yanked the line hard, had a big battle with a large fish or know that you have scraped the line against things. Fresh fluoro line, after a single tug, works pretty well. *Our fingers have amazing "touch" sensory capabilities. Most of us can "feel" when we have accidentally grabbed two pieces of paper from a sheaf of paper, say two pieces of typing paper. A piece of 20 lbs. typing paper is 3 or 4 thousandth's of an inch thick! So, with this ability, when using short leaders, it takes just a second to pinch it between your index finger and thumb, run it down the length of the leader . . . and you will feel any imperfections in the line if they exist. Brad