papajoe222

A quality cover will protect your investment when sitting in storage and when trailering. The cost of such a cover is well worth every penny regardless of the cost of the boat it protects.

I haven't see any valid responses in favor of over filling the spool, IMO anyway, I guess I'm just a graduate of the school that teaches me to judge perfornance, as it relates to expense, first. A quality spool of line, in compairison to the cost of the quality reel I'll be spooling it on, justifies it's price. Respooling when the spool gets a little low becomes a given.

The biggest tubes I've used are 5.25 in.(NetBait BK Tube), but hook sizes and rigging options won't differ much for the tubes you'll be using. For bed fishing, you don't want or need action on the fall so internal weighting would only be considered during the nest building stage. I would suggest a stand-up style jig head, or a swivel head style either of which will give the tube a tail up attitude when sitting on the bed. The other option and one that I use, is a tungsten bullet weight pegged a half inch or so above the line tie of a 5/0 round bend worm hook. I've found that I get more hook-ups with those vs, EWG or most straight shank hooks as they are longer. The small space between the bullet weight and the nose of the tube gives it freedom of movement.

I see a lot of guys with their reels so full of line that it bulges out past the rim or higher than the edge. I've always had problems with the line jumping off the spool even when using my thumb or forefinger. I suppose I could learn to eliminate those problems, but I don't see the need to spool an extra twenty yards when bass fishing. Do you fill your spools to capacity and if so, what's the advantage vs. to an eighth of an inch or so og the edge?

I use both larger and smaller profile reels and decide on which one based on the size and type of bait I'm throwing, 'rght tool' mentality. I have, however, eliminated round baitcasters from my bass fishing

The bass aroumd here love anythimg with orange. An orange belly on any crank gets some time tied on to one of my rods during pre-spawn. A 1/2oz. Orange Craw Red Eye Shad gets some jaring strikes from the biggest cold water females.

The equipment and tackle you already have are well suited to spring fishing, including your kayak. I'd target those smaller lakes as they'll likely warm up quicker than Bull Shoals. Read up some on pre and post-spawn habits of largemouth along with the fishing regulations and seasons of your area. Visit a local tackle shop when it isnt busy and ask some questions. If the staff doesn't try goating you into buying something, the information will likely be beneficial. Above all, remember what your main objective is and work toward that end. Good luck and keep us informed in the fishing reports forum.

By spotted bass the same as Kentucky and are you sure the fish you're marking are spots? Between the cold water and the depth you're targetimg I'd opt for a C-rig with a small, floating soft plastic or a drop-shot with a heavy sinker. Either way, load up your choice of plastic with a water based scent that will disperse better than an oil based one in the cold water. JJ's would be a good choice if not available. Visibility and scent will tilt the odds more your way when it comes to the number of bites. Hope that helps and good luck.

Actually braid is more sensitive than fluoro at any depth and will give you a better hook set when fishing deep. To the OP I would suggest the best of both for the clear water you'll be fishing, braid/fluoro leader.

I have two of them and I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised at the sensitivity of them. I always thought that most of the sensitvity would be reduced at the inheirent 'dead spot' If you're looking to sell one or both off, pm me.

A classic example of how a lure catches an angler (the voice of experience speaking). What are you looking to imitate?

For me, it's boredom brought on by not being able to go fishing, so the monkey gets held at bay from March to October. All of my reels, rods and electronics over the last ten years have been purchased in Nov. Dec. or Jan. I think I'll just rip those out of my calendar next year and see if that doesn't eliminate the spending.

Great job and I hope you don't mind if any of us use it. I decided to video my outings this upcoming season which means I can enter the information in a log at my leisure. It also means that I won't be relying on memory for my entries which is the main reaso I discontinued keeping a log last year.

Constant changing weather forced me to change tactics often, many times during the same outing. That accounted for more unproductive time than what I normally see. For that reason, I give the season a B- On the other hand I give myself an A for being able to adjust and for being persistent. When I average them out, I come up with an A+. Then again, I'm an optimist

Yea, I caught the Yankees vs. Red Sox game the next day too.

As a Vietnam vet, I felt shunned upon my return and subsequently shame for volunteering during the height of that conflict. To me, a thank you from a fellow American is appreciated and IMO, long overdo. I also understand where Mr. Clark is coming from as my feelings as I fought reflected his. I wasn't fighting to protect the freedom of the American people, I was fighting for my brothers. It wasn't until years later that I understood that in spite of the reasons for our participation, I had been supporting American values. My personal greeting to other vets is rarely thank you. Welcome home says it all.

I drove a party bus for four years after I'd retired. The things I saw and sometimes participated in made even this old fart's cheeks turn red. I remember one 30th birthday party that I had to pull off the road because my eyes were glued to the show going on in my mirror.

My wife and I just returned from an enjoyable trip to the Quad Cities just a few hours from Chicago. I couldn't shake the feeling that the trip, though enjoyable, lacked the makings of a memorable one. The locks on the Mississippi there are winter home to many eagles that feed in the open water there. Pending snow and overcast skies kepth them away. At the Princeton exit off I-80 stand four 150ft. high masts,one at each corner of the intersection, that fly some of the most elegant American flags I've had the honor to gaze upon. As you round the curve heading west, they come int view as if from nowhere.The masts were bare on that day. I never realized how much I look forward to seeing both of these sights on our frequent trips there until they weren't. That made me thankful for God and our servicemen and women, past and present, for the freedom these symbols represent. If you are gratefull for your freedom, I urge you to thank God if you are so inclined and every serviceman, women and veteran you meet.

I've tried a couple of low profile baitcasters for deep cranking and truthfully, the one thing that made the biggest difference to me in a reel with a low gear ratio was a longer handle. The lower gears (4.9&5.1) did make it easier to crank deep divers, but the addition of a longer handle really added to it. My feeling is that adding a longer handle to a 6.1:1 that retrieves around 26-28IPT could serve both purposes with one reel.

I just finished a rod build for lighter weight tubes and jigs that I'll be pairing up with one of my Sols and was wondering what the lightest/thinnest line is that any of you have used with this reel. I'm more concerned with line jumping the gap between the spool and side plates than I am with it digging into the spool. Thanks.

When I'm teaching a beginner how to set the hook when using an articificial bait, this is what I tell them: When you detect a hit, drop your rod tip (if it isn't already down) and reel up the slack at the same time, then just bring your thumbs up to your chest as quickly as you can. If they actually are able to complete the manuver, they either missed the fish or never had a fish take the lure. I also teach them to always be facing where the lure entered the water. That, to me is a basic hook set and if your fish become unbuttoned, you're either giving them slack during the fight, or your equipment (line or rod) is to blame. Rod tip speed and the amount of line you move during the hook set, IMO, are the keys to success. When 5 1/2ft. broomstick rods and stretchy mono were what was being used for worm fishing, a lot of fish were lost because not enough line could be moved to overcome the stretch of the mono. IMO, that is when a 'cross their eyes' hook set mentality began. Some of the pros were using heavy mono to reduce that factor and the rod industry soon after started offering longer rods, but that hook set remained.

I have a very similar bag that I've been using for a couple of seasons. I like the fact that I can switch out the boxes with ones containing seasonal favorites, or whatever. I just grab six boxes out of the boat, add terminal tackle to the side pockets along with sun block and bug repellent JJ's or whatever and still have room for a bottle of water.

I've tried them on just about every plastic I own. The give the bait a different look on the fall and work well with action tail worms, Senko style worms and bigger grubs. They also keep the bait moving belly down through the water as some big action plastics roll on their side or twist when worked fast.

I'm in a similar situation. Some of my equipment is newer, some I've had for longer than I can remember. If I could remember half of what I've learned over the years, it wouldn't make much difference. I spend a lot of time on the water and get much more enjoyment out of it when I don't try to figure everything out and just fish. Catching fish was always my goal and though catching is still important to me, enjoying the time, either alone or with friends or family, is my goal. I also found that sharing my love for the sport, whether actualy taking someone fishing and teaching them first hand, or the way we share on this site can be as rewarding as actually fishing. Enjoy your upcomming trip and don't forget to take time and thank the man upstairs for the opportunity.

I got into rod building so that I would have technique specific options and Baston has a great blank I built one on specifically for tubes. It's a Forecast SP841 and I believe that designation is applicable to their Rainshadow line as well. I did mine as a casting rod with a spiral wrap this winter and can't wait to use it. If you're interested, GetBit has them in a kit on sale now until they're gone.