papajoe222

Famous: Ribbon tail worm, Arkie head bass jig, in-line and safety pin style spinnerbaits, walking and popping topwaters, fat body cranks. Flavor of the month: Ned rig, Umbrella rig, hard baits with soft plastic tails.

Start with seasonal guidelines, add current conditions, look at structure and cover options, then make your decisions based on those factors. Too may guys do just the opposite. They see a good main lake point , or an irregular weed bed and start there. In the spring, the fish will be using a slow tapering point, or the side of a point that tapers off slower. If the water is falling, that weed bed that was hot when the water was up isn't your best choice. Water clarity, weather conditions, wind, etc. are all conditions to take into consideration, but look at each one's merits separately and as the apply that day. If the wind just started blowing today, or it's the fourth day after a front has moved through, you need to look how those factors affect fish location that day. Find structure and cover options that you have confidence in fishing. If ledges are your nemesis, find cover close to the drop. That may not be the best location for numbers of fish, but it may be where your confidence is.

On any weed edge, I look for transition areas where the bottom composition changes, or where a different type of weed starts. These are generally the areas where you see indentations, or points on an otherwise straight edge. Even on a slow tapering edge, you will see areas that thin out quicker than others. In your case, those tall stalks of weeds are either spots where the bottom composition changes, or small humps. Either way, those are the type of spots to key on. You're basically doing the same thing an angler fishing a piece of structure is doing, looking for something different along an extended piece of structure. In the case of weeds, it's a change along a large piece of cover. Another way to attack a slow tapering edge is to cast perpendicular to the edge. Your jig will swing back toward you as it falls, following the weed's downward taper. You may need to adjust the fall rate of your jig, or pop it off the tops of the tapering weeds to keep it following the slope.

Welcome to the forums. Be nice guys, its his first post. Ive done more than a few and I still cant figure out how to attach a pic.

Another option might be Yo-Shri Hybrid ultra soft in 10lb. It has a breaking strength heavier than its rating and is more manageable than most copolymers.

I'm a little of both if I think about it. I always start out in search of active fish and that means covering a lot of shallower water with faster presentations. Once I find them I'll work the area with both reaction and finesse presentations until I feel the fish have moved, or 'turned off.' If imy search is futile, I switch gears and target structure with good potential to hold fish. That's when I slow down and work an area. I may return to my beginning strategy during the course of the day

Friday, before the front moves in.

If the only knock you have against the Rapalas is the lack of detail and colors, you can always look into having them custom painted. I just recently contacted a fellow about custom painting some Super Spook Jr's Not overly expensive and if I supply the baits, it cuts the cost considerably.

I don't play games when I'm fishing big worms. If I feel the pick-up, or the worm feels light or heavy when I go to move it, I set the hook without hesitating. I also use 5/0 hooks because there have been times when that big worm came back doubled up on the hook point. Sometimes they ball that big worm up in their mouth. I don't give 'em the chance and if by some brain fart on my part they do, that big gap is insurance.

I've heard of guys breaking hooks, but often wondered what exactly one has to do to break a hook? I've been fishing 60 years and never broken a hook and trust me when I say there's a reason I warn my co-angler when I'm about to set the hook when fishing soft plastics or jigs. I've broken a couple of rods setting the hook on things that don't swim, but never a hook. Just wondering. I've used both the flipping and tube Trokar hooks and yes, they are sharp and strong and there are situations where that is exactly what I want from a hook. As far as expense goes, a tungsten weight is expensive, so is fluorocarbon line, but they're worth it, IMO.

I built a cranking. Stick with a MHX-905 blank, white, that works great for mid-deep cranks. It is a slightly heavier (power ) blank than most MH blanks and I don't do much in the way of deep cranking anymore. They also make a 7'6" HM, I believe it's the 967 or 965.

I used two transition guides and put tension on the blank to insure the line wouldn't come in contact it. All three are double foot and the remaining are single foot.

If you want to make it easier to walk a frog I'd suggest adding a split ring to the line tie and trimming the legs. The split ring allows the frog to turn much easier than a direct tie to the eye and trimming the legs reduces the drag that inhibits its turning. Also, try adding a couple of split shot into the belly. They'll help keep the nose up which also makes walking easier.

I'd adhere to the KISS theory. Two topwater baits, one weedless. Three or four crankbaits with small bodies and clear lips, to cover the entire water column of whatever pond you fish. One each willow blade and Colorado blade spinnerbait. One black or white buzzbait. A few tungsten bullet weights in assorted sizes. One pkg. of 3/0 EWG Gammys A handful of ribbon tais worms and a handful of stick worms. If you have room, a few Rage Tail Space Monkeys.

As long as you don't overtax your equipment, you're okay using what you have. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I always like to show the fish something they don't see on a regular basis. Although hollow body frogs and weightless worms work great, I still like to throw a Johnson Silver Minnow with either a curly tail grub, or the back section of a ribbon tail worm. Let it wobble across the tops of the weeds and when it reaches open pockets, let in drop into them, Same goes for the edge of the weeds. Between the wobble and flash of the spoon and theqaction of the trailer, you can clean up behind guys pounding the weed tops with frogs.

I know guys that catch fish walking a frog over open water.I don't even try. If I'm fishing open water, I'd much rather fish a Spook. I feel it's better at drawing strikes and the hook up percentage is much better. I use hollow body frogs for fishing the weeds. If I'm faced with a situation where there's open water between the weeds and me, I opt for soft body frog like a Ribbit that I can work slowly across the weeds and then run it across the surface back to me.

I must be looking in the wrong place on the reply post. All I see are insert existing attachment and insert from URL

For every bass that lives it's entire life in one acre of water there are four dozen or more that will roam miles during the course of a year. From deep river channels in the winter, up creek arms to spawn and then out to main lake points only to follow the shad bck up the creek arms in the fall and then back to their winter holding spots

Welcome. Jig and trailer color combinations are near the bottom of the list of things that you should concern yourself with, IMO. There may be times when color will determine your overall success, but fish location, the fall rate and even the trailer's action or lack of, will be the factors that determine your success on a regular basis. I've used everything from the tail section of a worm to a lighter, trailer less jig after depleting my supply of a certain trailer and continued to catch fish.

Thanks! I'll make sure to keep a record of it.

If I could figure out how to, I would. I did some nice inlays on the wraps that actually came out the way I planned. I'd love to read some comments on both, but I have a computer handicap......my grandson isn't here! Quality guides and placement likely contribute more to my perception of increase sensitivity than the spiral wrap.

I'm looking for the name of the treble hooks with the barb on the outside. I picked up some #4 & #6 last spring for my jerk baits and they performed so well, I put a set on a 1/2oz. lipless crank I was using today. OMG! seven fish, and not one came unbuttoned even though all but one jumped at least once. I'm sure it was a result of the thin wire they're made of and the barb's position on the outside. I just don't remember the company that makes them, or what they're called.

I had a nice Forecast SP841 blank sitting around and decided to try my hand at a spiral wrap. I'm not a big fan of spinning rods, so I figured this would give me the action I wanted using a baitcaster. I have to admit, it looks a little strange between the last six guides positioned under the rod along with the placement of them. I can't deny the performance, though. IMO, the rod is more sensitive and just feels more comfortable when working smaller tube jigs and hair jigs. I paired it with one of my Sols and it also casts them effortlessly. Sadly, i only have use for one such rod so I doubt if I'll be doing another. <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/user/papajoe222/media/IMG_4337.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b354/papajoe222/IMG_4337.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_4337.jpg"/></a>

Hat's off to you. Great to hear of fellow anglers sharing an angling experience with one of our soldiers. I, too, take part in a similar program to take vets fishing. Sad to say it really hasn't taken off in my local. The rod build is going way above the call, it's 'fantasimo' (my grandson's description). As I'm gaining more confidence in my own builds, I'm contemplating doing something similar. The rod, however, wouldn't have the decorative thread work, possibly a decal or inscription.