papajoe222

My 'bad' days usually start off before I'm ever on the water and just continue to get worse. One started out with loosing the locking pin on my trailer's swing away tongue. Not much damage to the tow vehicle. Got to the ramp eventually, only to discover my cast off rope was missing. By the time I got on the water, I'd totally missed the morning bite. Proceeded to break the only rod I've broken in 25yrs and blew up my favorite reel so bad I couldn't get it out after trying for 20min. To top it off, I only caught one dink all day. Sad to say I have a number of days like that every season.

Novel way to breath life into a thread. This year, 2021, and Arkie style jig and RageCraw trailer win MVL, AGAIN. Big fish, numbers, it doesn't matter that combo gets it done day in and day out for me. Seasonally, a couple of lures would give it some stiff competition, but collectively it wins, hands down.

I think LazyIke made a popper that looked a lot like that, but I can't be certain.

Every company makes and sells a bunch of chartreuse/white spinnerbaits............That should tell you what color sells best. Sure, offer something completely different, but something tells me your bread and butter will be from chart/white sales.

Smaller blades, 3/8oz. Larger blades, 1/2oz. You'll likely find that different anglers have different preferences about blade configurations (double willow, Colorado willow, double Colorado) as well as blade colors. My advice would be to offer something the big companies don't, such as compact baits, single blades, three blades, or short arms. Different colors sell better in certain areas, maybe check your LSGs and see what colors prevail there.

Thanks for all the replies. I don't know how it happened to this thread, but I'm not asking about light line for a BFS reel, I don't own one,I'm asking about a standard 100 size baitcaster. I understand that I can add a shallow, skeleton spool to a reel, but I don't plan on throwing trout sized baits.

In a recent post I asked about using light line on a standard baitcaster. I'm sitting here tying fluoro leaders to braid and it got me to thinking; Why not tie 4, or 6lb. mono to my existing 10lb. mono rather than spooling up with the lighter line? Has anyone ever done this to step down in line size? I've heard it done for salt water fishing. I plan on giving it a shot, but I'm concerned about weakening the strength of the leader from the connecting knot. (I tend to overthink things when I'm off the water) ?

Truth be told, I dislike spinning gear, mainly because of the wrist and shoulder discomfort I experience holding them in my right hand for any length of time. I've actually built a casting rod using a ML spinning blank. Many of the finesse baits I will be using are castable with that combo and lighter line in the 6lb. range won't deaden the action of some of them the way 10lb. does. For some baits like hair jigs and 4in. straight tail worms, line diameter doesn't matter much.

Check into the rod's lure weight ratings. The majority of bass lures lie between 1/4oz. and 1/2oz. so you want a rod that can handle those weights and a little more. A mod/fast action will allow for longer casts than a fast action, but the trade off is their less than ideal use for soft plastic presentations. Personally, I like St.Croix spinning rods, but I'm not familiar enough with them to recommend a model

I am slowly and reluctantly, switching over to finesse tactics. I have both baitcasters capable of casting lightweight offerings and a couple of rods to use, but I'm hesitant to use line that's too thin. I currently have 10lb. test mono on one of my Sols and the same test fluorocarbon spooled on my Alphas. How much thinner do you think I can go without concerns over the line digging into itself?

Sorry to say I have been. Struggling with depression is an ongoing struggle and I did give up on fishing along with most other interests. What really got me back into fishing was taking my newly acquired son-in-law fishing at the request of my daughter. Luckily, we got into some 3lb.-4lb. bass and between sharing in his excitement and experiencing my own for the first time in a long time, my love for fishing was rekindled. He doesn't fish any more, but I have him and some good medications to thank.

I have the same situation occurring on my home lake. The water level is way down and the majority of shoreline cover is exposed. I shifted my concentration to small patches of green vegetation and was able to pick up a few decent fish, but my biggest of the day was suspended about 2ft. off bottom at the edge of a fairly sharp drop off. A 1/16oz. bullet weight, in front of a 4in. strait tail worm got her. Although you'll likely not locate fish on your D/F, do a little scouting anyway. I search for baitfish and then target that depth looking for cover, or bottom changes. No matter what you find, or where you begin your search, the fish's strike zone will be small. You'll need to put your offering right in front of them and possibly keep it there for a while. Smaller jerkbaits and soft plastics are good choices, but don't rule out a jig/plastic.

From his description, I doubt they are. It'd be a sad finding if they've spread that far west.

To me, spool diameter is what is most important in choosing a spinning reel. Second most is drag and weight is close behind it. A wider spool diameter allows for both longer casts and faster retrieve over a smaller diameter spool, given the same gear ratio. It also incorporates a larger drag washer(s). The problem that arises when choosing a wide spool spinning reel, is pairing it to a rod that isn't designed to handle the larger loops coming off that spool. For a good match, talk to a knowledgeable associate at your LSG if you aren't sure how well a particular reel pairs up with a rod you're interested in purchasing.

The number of guides used should be based upon the flex of the rod and where it flexes the most. Ideally, the reasoning is to use as few as possible placing them so the line never touches the rod blank. That reasoning isn't logical because if that were the only criteria, a spinning rod would only have two guides. Most rod builders will place guides so the angle of the line is as low as possible as it passes through the guides when the rod is flexed and there is no contact between the blank and line. Using that reasoning, short or stiff rods require fewer guides than a long flexible one. Thus the same length rods may differ in the number of guides and their placement.

I tend to abandon traditional T-rigged worms from mid-October through April. I just seem to do better with other soft plastics then. A jig/ trailer, on the other hand is a year round presentation for me, although I do go lighter/smaller in cold water.

The way I reduced weight was to carry fewer styles of plastics. I carry one bag of ribbon tail 6in. worms, one or two bags of stick worms, two bags of Flukes and two packages of RageTail Craws. A Spike-It double marker gives me multiple color options without carrying extra baits.

Often overlooked with all of today's plastic offerings, tubes just flat out catch fish. There are plenty of tubes out there as just about every soft plastic manufacturer offers them. Hand pours are popular and I'll admit I use them the most. The important thing when choosing a tube, IMO, is how it will be rigged. I prefer soft/ thin walled tubes when using insert jig heads, especially when Stupid rigging and thicker tubes when Texas, or Carolina rigging them.

I don't have a preference for any one brand. In fact, mainly because I loose so many, I go with inexpensive, hand poured ones. In the fall and into early winter, I prefer a yo-yo style retrieve not unlike the stroking retrieve I use in the summer, but a slower lift that gets slower and shorter as the water gets colder.

I agree and I don't........Let me explain. Bass are sight feeders, plain and simple. Do they use their lateral line and hearing to help find prey in dingy, or muddy water? Yes but even then they use sight in combination with them the majority of time. The shape and profile don't have to 'match the hatch,' it just needs to appeal to the fish. Contrast becomes more important in off colored water than color, but in clear water the opposite is true. A prime example is chrome vs. gold. One reflects its surroundings perfectly. The other, although it reflects in the same manner, has some contrast. In either case, their profile is what attracts bass to them. Color becomes critical when those two factors don't get the fish to commit to your offering. If you try switching out the profile of identically colored baits say from a worm that has been producing to a bulky plastic, I think you'll discover how much more important shape/profile is over color.

.Ah, yes.....................Grasshopper has much to learn.

I never 'put away' one presentation or lure because a different one is producing better. Flukes, this time of year, will likely out produce paddle tails, but under the right circumstances the opposite can be true. The best example is after a hard rain has colored the water. The vibration from that paddle tail will draw the attention of bass that normally rely solely on their sight to find forage, which is a Fluke's, or any jerkbait's main drawing characteristic.

Decision making, this time of the year, depends mostly on what the main forage of the lake is doing. eg. Bluegill will seek out green weeds to feed and hide in. Considering the depth of those weeds, you make your lure choices. No weeds, they will seek out their wintering spots early (normally deeper cover of some sort). Roaming, schooling forage will move shallow, so your lure selection should focus on mid to upper water column presentations. Lastly, ALWAYS have a jig and plastic trailer tied on. Even though the crayfish have, or will be disappearing, bass holding tight to cover or the bottom will not pass up the opportunity to feast on one.

Please enlighten us.

I love fishing hair jigs and would never suggest you don't try them, but, not knowing the type of 'grass' or how high off the bottom it grows they may be frustrating to use at first. A much better option in a similar size bait would be a Strike King Bitsy Tube rigged Stupid style (see Glen's video on tube rigging). With a light weight, they won't penetrate the grass, but sit atop it and when popped off, will trigger strikes. With a heavier weight, they'll penetrate sparse grass. Just be sure not to over power those peacock after hooking as those thin wire hooks will bend under heavy pressure.