papajoe222

There is another club, Deer Creek, just down 143rd from B&G that has open memberships available, both full memberships and yearly memberships. A yearly membership doesn’t get you camping or hunting privileges, but will give you a good idea of the fishing.

It's funny that you asked about tying with a weed guard on. I just finished my first attempt at doing so. It didn't turn out bad, but it was a bit tricky wrapping the thread around. I secured the hair with 70 denier and finished the wrap with 210. The thicker thread gave the finished wrap a much more uniform look. The next time I order jig heads from Siebert, I'm asking Mike to not glue the weed guards in place. I'll do it after I tie them up.

It's you.......................well, kind of. I should say; it's the choices you make and I'm not talking gear. Fish location is the key to fish catching and you are limited as a bank angler to year round, fish holding structure. Plain and simple. You're likely in a situation that doesn't present access to other areas that do have this. So, don't beat yourself up thinking that you don't have the gear or skills needed to be a successful angler. What you don't have and what you don't have control over, is access to the different, seasonal areas that hold fish.

The one thing I've taken from being a member here is that moral, helpful, people are still the majority in our society even though it may appear otherwise at times and most of them are bass anglers.?

#9 &#11 for the Rapala. I prefer the Bomber Long A or a Smithwick Rogue as there are pike in many of the lakes I fish and they can tear up a Rapala in no time.

Nice work. I really like the firetiger and Tenn. Shad colors.

I don't have a style of lure, but I do have a brand that I've never, repeat, N E V E R caught a fish with and that's Bandit cranks. I am clueless as to why, but I can mark fish at a certain depth, throw the corresponding Bandit crank and zip. Take it off and throw a Bomber, or a LC and it's fish on.

I've been scratching that itch for a couple of weeks. The free shipping on a number of sites really gets me scratching. I've already added 10 bags of craws, 6 more of beavers, 8 bags of worms along with a couple of jerkbaits and a few cranks. I've been holding off making a big purchase until the black Friday sales. I need to replenish my supply of tubes, not to mention all of them pretty cranks and topwaters. I will not be purchasing any more spinnerbaits as I think the 50 I have now should last through next season, but then again..................

I asked this same question a number of years ago and am curious how members will answer it now. There have been a lot of quality, mid-priced reels that have been introduced since then. What is/are your work horse reel(s)? I'm talking the ones that get a workout almost every time you hit the water. Mine are my two Daiwa Fuegos. Between mid-size to large crankbaits and spinnerbaits, they are both on my deck and get used the majority of time I'm on the water. I end up doing a mid-season tear down, clean and lube on them because of the amount of use they get.

Many like straight fluoro for jigs and worms, I don't as I'm old school when setting hooks and have had too many break offs when doing so. I use straight braid and have come to like the high-viz ones. I rarely let the bait fall on completely slack line, so between watching the line and feeling the tap of a hit, it works for me. I do, however, camo the last foot of line with a green Sharpie as I don't want the fish focusing on the line.

I fish them strictly as a drop bait as they get hung on wood and weeds fairly easy. Reel one over the top of a weed bed and let it drop at the edge, or for ledge fishing. As someone mentioned, they have a better hook-up ratio because the hook is well behind the blade.

#3 Split-Shot rig. A shakey head, to me, isn't a presentation for covering water but more for use when I know where the fish are and need to entice them to hit.

My #1 is a RedEye Shad, but I've also had good luck with a Cordell Super Spot. The vibration on the fall isn't as strong, but enough that it doesn't fall like a rock. Sometimes that more subtle action works better, like in cold water.

Most square bills don't run deep enough for me to be deflecting them off bottom structure and there's very little in the way of deadfalls in the natural lakes I fish. I still love throwing them over the tops of cover. Frequent rod twitches and pauses get me bit plenty.

I try to hide the oversized forearm as it dwarfs the one on my right arm and I get a lot of sideways glances from guys that don't fish.

Bringing you another smile. I do use them on the bottom, but rarely, if ever, do I crawl them along. It's either a hopping or stroking presentation as a jig trailer and I feel that is more a vertical presentation because the hits come on the fall. I use them for vertical presentations because of the action most of them have on the fall. The same goes for beavers and creature style plastics.

For me, it's a simple choice. Worms for horizontal presentations and craws, creature baits and beavers for vertical ones. I'm sure that I'm likely missing out on a few bites at times, but I do basically the same thing with jig trailers. Slimmer style ones for swim jigs and more bulky ones with casting or flipping jigs.

The majority of time I'm fishing vertical presentations in water under 50 degrees in late fall. Hair jigs are my #1 presentation followed closely by blade baits and jigging spoons. If I do throw a horizontal presentation, it's a paddle tail swimbait, or a jerkbait with 10-15 second pauses and soft twitches.

Calm and still conditions amplify disturbances both above the water, as the fish can see better, and below, as there is nothing to disturb the calm and mask any disturbance. Keep this in mind when approaching and standing near the shoreline. As for your lure's noisy entries, if they can't be avoided, give a long pause prior to starting your retrieve. My dad use to say to let all the ripples die off before retrieving a topwater and I've found that under calm conditions, that works for sub-surface presentations. The other thing you could do is cast well past your target. Bass become conditioned to their immediate surroundings and may not react negatively to something that happens 20ft. away, or a lure that lands on shore and is slid into the water.

Creme Lure's 3.75in. Craw (Bama craw) and 4in. Creature. I like their craw better than the PacaCraw (more action) and they're cheaper. The other is the Bagley Pro Sunny B (orange belly gill). It's a silent flat sided squarebilled balsa crank that casts exceptionally well and runs slightly deeper than most (5-6ft.)

I feel for you. I had hand surgery done in july and missed out on a month of the shorter season we have up here. I actually put off shoulder surgery until next week because of the lengthy recovery time hang in there. The holidays pass quickly and you’ll be on the water before you know it. one question; What kind of livewell does your yak have?

I’m a member of some diverse forums and I just want to commend the way those new to the sport are treated by the members here at Bassresource. There are no insults or other demeaning comments directed at those asking novice questions. ?

If he doesn't love it, send it to me. I've been looking to build a casting rod with this blank, but haven't pulled the trigger.....yet. Yea, I'm cheap too.

I'm not attempting to hijack the thread, just wondering. When feathering the line (I've never attempted this), do you feather at the edge of the spool, or let the line slap your finger just in front of it?

I rarely go longer than 2ft. Most often, regardless of water temp/season, it’s closer to 18in. My reasoning is bite detection. Two negative factors come into play with longer leaders. The fish can pick up and drop your bait without your being aware AND they can also inhale and swallow before you know what happened. I hate gut hooking fish.