papajoe222

I fish alone about 75% of the time and I use both an automatic inflatable while fishing and a vest style PFD while running the boat. I can always activate the inflatable manually, but for a few extra bucks, I like knowing that the possible few seconds of loosing my orientation when I enter the water won't be wasted. Then there is the concern over getting clunked on the head. I use a Sospenders and replace the bobbin every year and the CO2 cartridge every other. I purchased a BassPro model a few years back for the wife and do the same with hers.

My wife only uses these reeks, so I bought her the best available, IMO, Pfluger. She has landed numerous 5-5lb bass and cats. She did loose her PB this season, but not because of the reel.

Best advice I can give is to keep as much slack in your line as possible and be a line watcher. Even on semi-slack line, bites can be difficult to detect. If that line moves sideways, or you see it jump where it enters the water, well, you know what to do.

Sounds good. It may clear up some confusion many of us have on color selection.

Great write-up. I've always been partial to the double willow combination and a short arm single willow. The majority of the time I end up modifying baits to those ends as I rarely see them offered. I love an Indiana blade in the spring and late fall on days when the breeze is blowing. Come to think about it, I rarely use a spinner bait when there isn't some wind. The exception is ledge fishing, or slow rolling over deep structure.

As I find many fish in shallow water this time of year, I really like square bills. If a medium to fast retrieve with pauses isn't working, I switch to a thin bait with a tight wiggle. For a tough bite, I really like the Scatter Rap and Mann's 1-Minus (which I can speed up, too}

The only bass on my home lake that know what day of the week it is, are the ones that can read a calendar. The majority of them are under six years old and haven't gone to school yet, so I'd say; No, the majority of bass can't tell what day of the week it is.

If they're busting bait on top, I go with a presentation that I can keep in the upper two feet. I'll wake a crank, or burn a spinner bait just under the surface letting the blade get occasional air time. For top water, I want something I can work fast, too. A Torpedo, or a WopperPlopper fit the bill nicely.

Some prefer a lipped crank because they are`easier to keep at a given depth. Crank it down and it stays there until it starts rising at the end of the cast. If you count a lipless down and reel it back too fast, it'll rise up and you miss your target depth for the majority of the retrieve. I'll choose a lipless over a lipped for a few reasons. The tight wiggle, their ability to shed weeds easier, the different sound, the ease of retrieving them and the fact that they cast a country mile all factor into when I choose to use them. I fish them through timber by removing the rear hook and retrieving them steadily. My most productive retrieve at this time of year is to yo yo them in the middle of the water column, but sometimes they want it ripped off the bottom and allowed to flutter back down. The Red Eye Shad is my #1 pick then.

I only have one goal for the winter; Live long enough to see the spring. My plan is to stay away from visits to the hospital, or my heart doctor. I figure, if I can avoid those I have a pretty good chance of reaching that goal.

Actually I've seen it numerous time and caught many on a jig, but the location of a pike's swim bladder prohibits them tilting their head down and tail up. Almost every one was swimming downward and had likely seen the jig as it was falling.

Congrats to both your grandson and you. I believe where you are at any given point in time, you are there for a reason. Your grandson, to prepare him for the future and you, to remind you of the past. Sounds like a good way to apply that belief.

Your experiences on this like will likely repeat often. The small number of bass vs. pike will be reflected in your catches as both species are competing for the same forage. One thing that will possibly tilt things toward catching fewer pike is to fish bottom contact lures. Pike can not tilt their bodies to look down, plus the position of their eyes makes targets above or even with them the ones they go after. With all the lakes in close proximity to Aitkin, I'm sure there are some with a larger population of bass. Unless you are unable to access them with your boat, I'd opt for targeting one or two of them.

Maybe move this topic to the rod, reel, line forum. I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback there.

I'm not the type of angler that can sit on a spot for hours, drinking beer while listening to a ballgame, or whatever. Heck I don't spend more that 30-45min. on a spot even when I'm catching fish. I'll sit at home, in the air conditioning, watching the bait monkey viewing monkey porn before I'd do that. It's much more entertaining and my recliner loves my booty.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I ordered the CS722 yesterday along with a set of Fuji Alconite guides and a blank through reel seat. I have the pistol grip and cork to fashion a fore grip. My only regret is that I’ve put off this build and likely won’t be using it this season. Actually, that’s a blessing because the last build I rushed, I messed up.

I vary retrieve type and times, sometimes on the same cast, until I find what, if anything, works. I'll start with a couple of turns of the reel handle per second and that equates to approximately 60in. or 5ft. 150ft=30 seconds. Dragging is a whole different ballgame as I'll often dead stick somewhere during the retrieve.

I’d be curious to see where preferences fall based on ones age group. I cut my bass fishing teeth using short (5’6”) broom handle stiff rods, straight shank hooks and heavy line. My grandson likes the longer (7’6”) rods, EWG hooks and light line. My current preferences are somewhere in between.

Thanks for the heads up on the shooter blanks. The CS723 looks about right for me, unless the power is under rated. Is the 722 on the heavier side, power wise? I have two rods built on MHX blanks and I feel they’re both right on power and action wise.

I'm looking to build two rods over the off season. A rebuild of the one my brother-in-law broke (he offered to purchase the components) and I have the specs for that one. The other will be a dedicated rod for fishing walking baits, mostly Super Spooks and Sexy Dawgs. I want the blank on the shorter side with 6ft. being the max as I'll be adding a pistol grip. Brand and sensitivity aren't a concern, but power/action is as I'll need something that can handle both casting baits up to an ounce in weight and with enough backbone to set the bigger #2 and 1/0 1X Triple Grip hooks. I've only checked two suppliers and neither have a short rod that meets my needs. I've been thinking of getting a 6'6' blank and cutting it down, but I'd rather that be m.y last option. Any recommendations would be appreciated

I was like WRB with the love hate relationship. Loved the sensitivity vs. mono when cranking, up brake offs on the hookset reduced its use to cranking only. Once I started paying attention to how I tied my palomar, I returned to using it for my swim jigs and Keitechs. Midway into the season, the break offs returned. I store my reels in a case and the ones that stay on my everyday combos come inside upon my return home. I’m glad to hear that many of you are pleased with it and my rant wasn’t intended to convince anyone to abandon its use.

I gave fluorocarbon main line three seasons to win me over. It didn't, but I still had half a spool of Sunline Sniper left over from last season. I spooled up my deep cranking reel with it and didn't have the occasion to use it until last month. I don't do much deep cranking anymore. After a couple of trips, I started rethinking about my dislike for the line. Then the witch showed her true self last week. I was targeting an under hump that topped out at 10ft. and dropped quickly to 18ft. By casting shallow and cranking into the deeper water, I was able to keep the bait on the bottom. I check my line frequently for nicks and knot strength regularly, but what happend next was the reason I'm saying goodbye to fluoro as a main line. I made a long cast and my Poe's just kept going and going. The line had broken about 30yrds. up. Luckily I watched where it landed and recovered it and the piece of you know what line. I'll stick to braid when I want sensitivity and good ole Original Stren when I want abrasion resistance.

Every company rates their rods power differently. I would recommend a MH for the species you mentioned, but you’ll need a tip that has plenty of flex to be able to throw worms and corn unless you use a bit of weight. Best case scenario would be to mount the reel you’ll be paring to it and see how it feels.

I use a 6’ Quantum Tournament rod for my walking baits. It’s the only rod I use that I haven’t built, mainly because I haven’t found a blank with similar power/action my dream build is a5’10” Med/Mod-Fast wiith a pisrol grip.

I've fished from Minnesota to Florida and I doubt if I could tell by the fight where a bass is from. I can say, without hesitation, that the bass down south react more adversely to weather changes and take longer to return to 'normal.' As for drag, I use it for it's intended purposes; avoiding line breakage and tiring the fish so as to land it easily. I doubt if I've ever lost a fish because I'd set the drag to tight. I use braid almost exclusively, even for most treble hooked lures and I set my drag fairly loose. If I need to horse a fish, my thumb is the tool I use. IMO, setting the drag tight takes some of the fun out of fishing and doesn't give the fish a fighting chance. It is a sport after all.