papajoe222

A fish that follows, but doesn't commit to your offering is telling you something. You're doing something right, but something about your presentation failed to make that fish commit. While most gamefish will return to the same haunt given time, an immediate follow-up can turn that fish into striking. Increasing retrieval speed will sometimes produce (after all, she was interested) as the fish won't have as much time to look over your presentation. Adding a bit of scent prior to the follow-up is never a bad idea either, especially on hard baits. If she fails to follow or strike your changed presentation with the original bait, I go with something completely different that can be presented at the same depth. A crank for a spinner, as an example. Many pros will tell you to switch up colors or change speeds, even to let the fish 'rest'. All good advice, but after years of muskie fishing I can assure you of one thing that applies to most game fish. A fish that has shown enough interest to follow is an active fish and your best odds to catch that fish is NOW. If that fish is worth the effort, exhaust your alternatives before abandoning her. I've caught more big fish within 15min.of showing themselves than fish that I've returned for at a later time. Not that I haven't, but even if the fish returns to the same area, it's likely that it's mood has changed. I'd rather go after her right away than take a chance that she'll get more aggressive later.

The current is your friend/enemy and I agree with Scott about using cranks in current. Those deadfalls create current breaks and the fish will use the slack water they create as ambush points. There are two areas that are prime under those conditions. The first is what is refered to as a seam. It's where the faster current and the cover create slower moving water just out from and to the down current or back side of the obstruction. The other is the eddy at the tail end of that seam. The slack area between the eddy and the obstruction will often hold inactive fish. You can't beat a jig of some type in either situation. The weight and style will be determined by the current's strength and the depth of the water. You want enough weight to get the bait down, but not so much that it takes more than a twitch of your rod to get it up off the bottom. Go with as light a line as you dare as the heavier the line, the more the current will want to drag your offering along.

Fill the sink with dinks! I like it. I had a similar day on ultra light recently. I really needed it to as I've been targeting big fish all month with only one 5lb.+ to show for it and very few in the 4lb. catagory either. I left the big baits/gear at home and stuck to 4in' worms and baits under 1/4oz. You would have had to beat me silly to get the smile I had on my face for a couple of days off. Glad to hear it Mac.

May I ask why you want such a full skirt on a spinnerbait? Are you looking to add bulk, or are you attempting to draw more attention to the skirt/hook area and away from the blade?

For me, it depends on how I'm rigging it. I rarely, if ever T-Rig a tube and even with an internal weight it will spiral some on the drop. That doesn't make for a good pitchin'/flippin' presentation an although I love tubes, I opt for using them as a trailer to an arkie jig when doing so. If I'm pitching to grass pockets or edges, I'll weigh it internally and with very little weight. With a big tube it will fall enticingly into the openings and sit atop the weeds on an errant cast. Either way, if I don't get bit on the initial fall or the first pop of the rod it's on to the next pocket.

Bill Norman Fat Boy. They're easy to cast at almost a half ounce, made of balsa, premium hooks and at around $6 won't break the bank. The paint job also rocks. For a balsa bait, they really stand up to the abuse they get. The Fat N and Footloose by Bandit are decent plastic cranks

It's listed as having both, thus my initial interest.

I was also unable to find them, but Bass Pro does offer their own version. I've been using them for a few years with good success. The main difference is the line tie which is turned 90 degrees so the eye sits horizontal

If you felt the weight of the fish that blew up on the Jitterbug before you attempted your hook set, the hooks may be partially at fault. If the current hooks do not have a split ring attachment, be sure to attach replacements with one. As for hooks, I use both Mustad UltraPoint short shanks and EagleClaw 3X Trebles. The 3X's are made from thinner wire,but aren't short shanks. On a Jitterbug you can upsize the belly hook with the Mustad and go with the 3X on the rear without tangling issues or worries of altering the bait's action. If your concern with the Flukes and Senkos is hook penetration, I'd recommend a change of rod action rather than going to a thin wire hook. Are the fish coming unbuttoned on you? If you're coming up totally empty on the hook set, I'd venture to say the fish that are hitting the bait aren't big enough to get it in their mouth.

A woman goes into Bass Pro Shops to purchase a rod and reel for her grandson, but has no idea which one to get him. She picks up a combo and approaches the clerk at the counter. I'm blind, he tells her, but if you drop it on the counter, I can tell you all you need to know about it. She doubts him, but does so. That's a Zebco 33 combo. A good all purpose rod and reel spoiled with ten pound test line. It's on sale for 29.99 She can't believe it and as she reaches into her purse to pay, she drops her credit card. Master Charge he says and as she bends down to pick it up she farts. Thinking he will never be able to figure out it was her, she says nothing and hands him the card. That will be $45.99. Wait a minute, I thought you said it was $29.99 for the combo. It is he says and the goose call is $10 and the bear repelent is $6.

Looks mead diddly to me. I have a Lews with the dual braking and love it for cranks and when I saw the specs on this reel, it's what caught my eye. I haven't checked out the Tatula. Does it have dual braking?

They are very similar, so much so that some companies list the same blank under suggested uses while other companies have different models for each application. The biggest difference, IMO, would be length preference and handle choice as both blanks have extra fast tips and recommended lure weight. Is the rod you're considering building for yourself? If so, I'd consider which application you would use most often and go with that blank recommendation.

Has anyone used this product? A review and possibly a pic or two of finished lure would be appreciated.

I was looking to pick up another Sol off of e-bay and noticed a few listings for the new Sol ii. I like the fact that the new design has dual braking (among some other improvements). Can anyone give me some insight on this reel and where in the USA I can get my hands on one?

Maybe if you're fishing from a boat, but if he's fishing from shore and is working the bait with his rod tip down it could be.

There isn't a big demand among bass fishermen for the Abu Garcia round baitcasters. When I fell in love with baitcasting gear, round reels were all that was available and I owned four of them. The trend, since the introduction of low profile reels. is toward smaller and lighter reels that have tighter tolerances. That does not mean that these reels are worthless. There is still a market for round reels and the C-3 design is still a popular one. If you break the price down assuming you can unload the reels for $20 each, that leaves you holding five All Star rods at an average cost to you of $25. They aren't the lightest, or close to it, but an above average rod considering your purchase price.

Great observations. If I may, the same design features are also the reason square bills do not run very deep and they give off a completely different vibration to the fish's lateral line. The latter is a reason square bills produce in areas of no cover when worked irratically. I'm not implying that your comment about fishing in the wrong place if you aren't getting hung up, a square bill is in heaven if it's deflecting off of cover. It can and does also produce when worked over weeds and along the edges of drop offs.

Although the Rage Tail line of baits are not made to float, there are ways to take advantage of both their awesome action and give the fish a higher standing tail or claws. A stand-up jig head will elevate them. Although the claws or tails will not stay elevated, the bait's body will be at an angle that will keep them off the bottom. I've been using a long shanked, shakey head to acomplish this during the last month or so as the fish have been ignoring a faster moving bait and my love affair with Rage Tails is still in the 'smoking hot' stage.

Along the same lines, I've all but replaced my flukes with slender tubes. It's just another bait that I use more ways to reduce the bulk of baits that I was carrying AND give the fish a different look at the same time.

I've been out three times this week and each time Mother Nature and the weather forecast have really tested my good natured approach to fishing. So it was no surprise when I awoke before sun up to fid a clear, star studded sky rather than the cloudy one forecast. It was also no surprise when my preconceived patterns (always a big mistake, but I do it anyway) only produced a few dinks by noon. Over a cup of cold coffee the sledge hammer finally cracked my hard head and I tied on a half ounce jig and RageTail Craw and started flipping and pitching to whatever cover I could find in the shoreline shade. There wasn't much of either, but I boated six beautiful largemouth in the next 90min. I think God is trying to tell me something.........hope he has a really big sledgehammer, 'cause I'm clueless.

Over the past few seasons, I've changed presentations to cover the same conditions mostly with better results. The waters I frequent are heavily fished and being a proponent of 'showing them something different' I've been using different lures and presentations to do so. Swimbaits. For wake baits, swim jigs for spinnerbaits, bubba shot for C -rig, not to forget burning a spinnerbait so the blade breaks the surface occasionally or walking a Spook so painfully slow that I could sing 'Happy Birthday' between twitches or banging a DD22 through rocky cover in 8ft. Of water. These different approaches have all but replaced the old standbys for me. Have you done anything similar and if so, how's it been working out for you?

I have caught all my personal bests, except for catfish, between noon and 2:00PM. The only factor that would have made a difference in weight/size of those fish,IMO, would have been if they'd just finished feeding and had a fuller belly. That is exactly what happened with mt PB walleye. Although she was only 28"' she weighed more than the 31" my partner had caught an hour earlier.

Great to see you young guns taking an interest in this great sport. Good luck getting a school team together. If there isn't competition among schools in your area, you will still be able to learn from and compete with each other. Besides, sharing fishing knowledge and experiences is a great way to make new friends........Welcome aboard friend.

If I rig her rods, she kicks my butt. Size or numbers, it doesn't matter. She picks what she wants and she still kicks my butt. Either way what she doesn't know is that I let her because I like keeping her happy. Normally she likes a Senko and a Bandit 200 series crank, but she will throw a Jitterbug if I'm getting blow-ups on a buzzbait and not connecting.

The person in the front of the boat can have an advantage if he wants to take it, but he is also at a disadvantage as he is the one that must split his concentration between fishing and operating the boat and watching the depth finder. My biggest pet peve when up front is having the guy in back cast past the bow of the boat and if I'm in back it's having the operator kick the motor on high without warning when I have line out. Communication and a cooperative partner have eliminated both of these headaches for me (so has fishing alone)