papajoe222

I wouldn't put too much trust in what a night fisherman reports. Most of them like to bend their elbow a lot when fishing at night and I don't mean casting. I know this first hand as I do a lot of night fishing and even I have reported seeing some strange things............Not that I ever bend my elbow except to cast

I just talked to BassinChris and he's in town getting ready to have dinner. He said other than being a little wet they're fine. I mentioned the severe weather going through Decautr and he said there were storms, but he didn't feel they were that serious. Hopefully, the front is moving north and east and will clear out of the area.

Last season was my first throwing the Mad N and I gotta tell you, they have the best stock hooks I've come accross on a bait in that price range EVER. Talk about sticky sharp, I had trouble tying one on without the hooks catching on my fingers. Oh, did I mention, the fish at my local lake hammered them. With the success I had I figured the Thin N would be a great spring bait and I was right on the money. I've already boated over 20 keepers with that bait in the few times I've been out. I like a bouyant bait when I'm fishing timber and Norman makes some darn good ones.

Hey Guys, As we finish are preparations for the trip, here's a little reading you might want to check out. Bassmaster mag has an article on Wheeler Lake in the current issue and also posts a website we can go to to check out current conditions on the TVA lakes................www.alabamabasstrail.org

best one I saw was a guy backed his boat down the ramp after unhooking the bow latch. Roller bunks and a brand new fiberglass bass boat. It got really ugly the first time he tapped the brakes. I even cried.

This and I believe there are different color options on the Super. The other BIG difference is the SuperSpook has split rings attaching the hooks to the hangers, the Original does not. Both are great baits reguardless of whether it says ZaraSpook on the package or not. I really like the SuperSpook Jr. It's slightly smaller than the original, but often, for me, that's a good thing.

I'll sum it up for me, if it works for you go with it. I know what I want before I ever walk into the store. By that I mean application, length, action, handle, type of guides and material. I also know how much I'm willing to spend and I don't bring more than that amount with me. Now it's time to actually shop. I'll check out any clearence or sale rods first. If I see something I like, I'll mount my reel to it. (Did I mention I bring the reel I intend to pair the rod to?) If it meets or exceeds my expectations, I buy it. I don't bother looking further. I also don't rely on a salesperson to tell me what I want, or why one rod is 'better' than another. The only thing I ask of them is where can I find your, say, swimbait rods and do they have any on sale. The only time this routine didn't pan out for me, I had it in my head that I needed a heavy action rod with a fast tip for C-rigs and ended up with an All Star 7ft. that was so stiff, I thought of taking the guides off and using it as a pool cue. My fault for not researching better.

Price aside, both BPS and Cabela's have excellent quality in their top-end rain gear. I have both a lightweight set from Cabelas and the older 100mph. set from BPS and have come out of some very serious downpours with only wet feet (still haven't found a dry pair of shoes). Just don't make the mistake many of us have and that's leaving it in the car or at home because the forecast doesn't call for rain.

The GLX855CBR is a MH cranking stick and I don't think, for the applications you mentioned, you'd want a higher power rod. If you primarilly fish from a boat, I might recommend going a little longer than 7ft, but this is a great rod. Wish I could afford one!

If you know that you'll be fishing from the boat you described on a regular basis, no I don't think a flipping/pitching combo is the way to go. If you want to stick with spinning gear, going with braided line and a MH/fast action rod will allow you to fish the pads and weeds without having line issues and the rod will give you the backbone you may need to get the fish out. If you decide to go with a baitcaster, the line and rod recommendations would stil hold up.

And then you cold call me and I'll take it off your hands. Seriously, a Wally Marshall or a BPS ProLIte should fit the bill for you. I taught my 6yr. old grandson on the latter and he uses his father's Wally Marshall when he goes out with dad.

Looks like an awesome choice. Let us know how they work for you. BTW, what color did you get them in and what clearity of water will you be using them in?

I'll ask a couple of questions before I attempt to give you recommendations. The first is; What kind of line are you using? The second is; Is the line breaking at the knot, or is the knot slipping? While many knots will work with most types of line, some work better with braid while others work better with mono ro flouro. The knot you describe, I think, is the original cinch knot and isn't used by many because of it's tendency to slip. You can tell by the end of your line being kinked for an inch or so. Do an internet search for animated knots and check out the Palomar, Pitzen, and SanDiego jam. Those three knots are easy to tie and are excelent for tying direct to your hook or lure. BTW, Welcome to the board!

A suspending jerkbait is ideal for the situation you've described. Some will run deeper than others, but you should be able to target the depth the fish are holding at with one or another. The difficulty in catching suspended fish is their mood. Most of the time they will be inactive or in a neutral mood and a presentation that is designed to appeal to their feeding instincts (like a jerkbait) will be ignored. That's the time to go for a reaction strike and this is where being able to keep a faster moving presentation at a defined depth is a must. Counting down a spinnerbait or lipless crank will put it at the depth you want to target, but often that bait will rise in the water column during the retrieve. A crankbait will maintain a constant depth for a good portion of the retrieve, but you need to be aware of not only what depth it will run with the equipment you're using, but how long it will take that bait to reach it's running depth in order to position yourself so that it will pass through the fish after it reaches it's running depth. Also remember that a crank's triggering effect comes from the bait changing direction or speed. When targeting suspended fish, there is no cover, or bottom to acomplish that for you. Don't be discouraged, at the very least, you have a lock on where those fish will move when they do become active and that change can come anytime.

"Except bluebird skies" This says high barometric pressure to me and that spells COLD FRONT. Don't be fooled into thinking that cold fronts are always accompanied by cold or cooler temps. If you see a high pressure area pushing through your area on a weather map, you have a frontal condition moving through. Pre-front conditions normally will be accompanied by active feeding and post-frontal conditions, especially cold fronts, will normally shut the bite down or at the very least reduce a fish's aggressiveness. Sounds like you hit the pre-front bite one day and the post-front the next.

Fish use breaks in the current for a number of reasons and as an ambush point is one of them. Anything that disrupts the flow of current will form an area of both reduced and increased water flow. By disrupting flow, I mean obstructions. Stumps boulders points etc Other areas of slower current such as deeper water, a bend in the channel, or as you mentioned a bay or backwater area. Although they may not be actively feeding, fish will use these current breaks. They are prime areas to fish.

So my grandson is getting into fishing, but like most six year olds he has a short attention span. I've taken other children out at this age and I find the area that I loose my cool isnt the attention span, it's the gut hooked fish that result from it. I was thinking of using circle hooks in an attempt to reduce that occurance and maintain my enjoyment while teaching the little guy. My concern lies in the fact that children rarely listen at the most critical of times. I'm talking about the hook set and playing the fish. I don't know how many times I instructed my own children to "set the hook like I showed you." Forget playing the fish and enjoying the fight. You'd swear they beleive the faster you get the fish in, the better. I'm rambling. My question is; How forgiving are circle hooks when it comes to hooking. I doubt very seriously that he'll remember to keep his rod tip up and reel. Heck, I still want to and occasionally do, rear back and try to cross their eyes when using them. So do they do a decent job if your rod is at 3:00 or if he tries to mimick Papa?

Depending on your outlook, the topic could read What are the advantages of mono over FC? Each has applications where they shine and those where they don't. Choose your line according to your preference. Oh Yea, What about braid vs. mono or FC? Sorry, I like to stir the pot every now and then.

This is why I said a Texas rig is a poor choice in vegetation. Not sure what myths you're refering to, but I think NWBasslover, like many, was looking for a starting point when faced with different conditions/cover.

Doris is sitting in a bar and says to her friend that she wants to have plastic surgery to enlarge her breasts. The bartender tells her, "Hey, you don't need surgery to do that. I know how to do it without surgery." Doris asks, "How do I do it without surgery?" "Just rub toilet paper between them." Fascinated, Doris says, "How does that make them bigger?" "I don't know, but it sure worked for your ass!"

I'll disagree with Mike L on one thing and that's the type of cover. In vegetation, a T-rigged soft plastic bait will become a headache in short order. When the sinker and bait become separated, the weeds will find their way between them and wreck not only your cast, but you patience as well. The only option is to either peg the sinker or go to a jig and pegging the sinker eliminates the benefit a true T-rig has over a jig, the ability of the fish to take your offering without feeling the weight. If your definition of Texas rigging only refers to how the bait is hooked, I don't see where it makes much difference except in the angler's confidence in one over the other.

I don't use this technique, but a 5" tube like NetBait has, on a pegged punching weight sounds like it'd fit the bill for you. The profile is ideal for following a big weight through a mat of vegetation and it imitates both crawfish and shad. Although most of the tube's built in action will be lost, it's still something the fish don't often see.

I know where you're coming from. I fished 'Traps with a 6'6" MH rod and 12lb mono and could never rip them from the weeds. Occasionally I could tick the tops of the weeds and luck into a few, but it wasn't until I switched to braid that I really got the knack of ripping the bait to clear the weeds and that's when this became a top producer for me.

I go with a brown, polarized lens on my Rx glasses. They offer plenty in the way of shading vs. amber, but are a good option for overcast days. Grey lenses are okay, but under all but sunny conditions they are a little on the overkill side. I also have difficulty reading my electronics with grey lenses, but that may be because I'm color blind.

With the majority of baits I use, I can tell when they pick up a weed or some moss. A quick rip of the rod tip will normally clear all but the most clinging of them. The reason I want to clear the bait of weeds is that the action of the bait is altered and if I can feel the difference, the bait isn't running true. To me and likely to the fish, a 'shad' zipping by with a weed trailing along looks out of place and unnatural. With plastic worms, etc. it's much more difficult. Not only to detect the fact that I've picked up a weed, but to clear it. In those cases I don't feel a strand of weed clinging to my worm makes a lot of difference to the fish as I'm fishing in the weeds for a reason. The fish, hopefully, are focusing on my bait not the weeds around it, or clinging to it. I have caught bass with a strand of weed in their mouth along with my worm or tube, but I guarantee you I've caught a bunch more that didn't.