Eric J

Confidence cometh before a fall? ?

This is why I love my local Dick's. I had a rod snap and a Week later a reel with a bad magnet. On both instances they didn't blink and replaced both items. Every time I walk in there I have a pleasurable experience and as a result spend the bulk of my fishing budget there. It's simple... Invest in your customers and the return is enormous...

I madw a trip to the Ct location yesterday and tbh it was a great experience. Spent 69 bucks on lures. However... I was approached no less than 7 times to be told about their credit card. When we first walked in we were approached by a woman. Who seemed very helpful until we realized she was just trying to get us to sign up for the card. It bordered on harassment. Outrageously annoying.

I have had several off mornings in a row on this God forsaken lane ... lol... I am probably one of the better bank anglers on this lake. As much as I can hate this body of water I love it. It is a challenge. But lime this morning, I feel I moved to other spots prematurely....

That word "confidence" gets thrown around here in regards to many aspects of fishing. I gotta say there's a lot of truth to approaching the water with that "confidence". I fish a high pressure lake pretty frequently as its 10 minutes from my front door and has a nice bank. Tough lake and I never get a high fish count but I can usually pull out a couple biguns... I do better than many bank fisherman do there. But... As it was this morning I was skittish about what I was throwing and moved to 3 different spots and couldn't settle on a lure. Could be that it was just an off morning but I find that my attitude and "confidence" can definitely help my catch... Eric J

I don't know..... A monster exploding Topwater hit is like an adrenaline shot to the heart for me!

If the bite is not there I will inevitably go to plastics. If creature features don't get me the fish I always go to a T-rig worm...

True but some of my best time on the water has been foolishly spent...

I fish a 160 acre pressured lake for the most part. Sometimes the rules apply and sometimes there are no rules. I had a great topwater day last week with the sun overhead and the bass were out towards the middle deeper areas. The lake has a reputation for very migratory bass...

Thoughts and prayers going out for him...

Sane here... the vegetation is EPIC!

Wait till you're 58... ?

Agreed. I do well with poppers but frogs are new to me and I'm excited for the learning experience. Topwater hits are amazing!

lol... I know the feeling. I took it as constructive advice. and appreciate it. The one REALLY frustrating thing last night were the carp and or bluegill nipping at the trailer bands on my frog, pulling it under making me thing I was getting hit... Maddening! Eric J

Great advice... But fools rush in... Yup... But out of 2 hours fishing last night I spent ten minutes, maybe, dealing with nests. Sure, I have plenty to practice on and get the habits ingrained. But I needed that second rig and buying a 4th spin rig was not a good use of my money right now. I am impulsive by nature and at 58 that hasn't changed much... Maybe after the season I'll grab a second rig to practice on... Eric J

I actually got out last night and took both my Spinner and the baitcaster set ups. Not going to lie, I was pretty apprehensive. I tied on a topwater hollow body frog and started pitching short till I felt confident enough to cast farther. I built up the distance and worked short for accuracy. Through the 2 hours of fishing I nested once somewhat bad, but was able to clean it up without line loss and couple other instances where I was able to just pull out a foot of line and straighten it out. I was astonished by the distance I was getting with so much less effort than on my spinner!

After a morning of fishing I got to Dick's and got my reel replaced.... Get home, respool and sure enough SAME ISSUE WITH THE BRAKE! Called Lew's and they're sending out a new side panel. Looks like a bad batch. Since it's nothing I need to worry about as far as learning to use a baitcaster I started pitching in the back yard... Dialed in nicely and started pitching short distances at a target. After a while I increased the distance and started varying near/far different points to hit. Even had a few premature stops. Out of a whole mess of casting over a combined hour plus I had one nest that was a problem early on and a couple that just needed me to back out a couple turns. All I can say is I LOVE THIS THING!!!! I will give it more practice before getting it wet, casting with different weights etc... and getting the overhead cast down better but man I am enjoying it. Baitcasting Frustration?? More like Baitcasting ELATION!!

I never cut my line if I can help it. I'll pull and yank by hand as hard as I can when all else fails (never with the rod at that point). The line will usually detach or the line will snap at the knot or swivel. I do all I can to leave as little line as possible in the lake.

Thanks...

I've heard nothing but great things about the reel and I have the spinner version which I love, both carbon Fire rod and reel.

And..... my reel is defective. I only get 7 adjustment points on the brake. I mentioned it to a buddy who uses Lew's but not the Carbon Fire so neither if us was sure if it should have a wider range. He went to dicks to pick up a new combo and checked out the reel I bought... should have 27 points of adjustment. This after returning the speed stick this morning that I bought Saturday for damage and defects. After tomorrow mornings fishing session it's off to Dicks to exchange the reel... {{{sigh}}} Eric J

My biggest miss was watching the reel and not placing the thumb. With all the videos I watched nobody actually mentioned using the thumb to stop the reel. Except one I found a few minutes ago. It may be somewhat intuitive but being a lifelong Spinner, and pretty accurate with them, baitcasters are somewhat counter intuitive for me.

Had a buddy stop by on his way to work and checked things out. My biggest issue is not using my thumb properly and taking my eye off the lure as it hits water. Reel is fine. Pretty funny watching him adjust and literally flip that thing 5 times with serious distance to have him say, "Well, it ain't your equipment." I cast a few times birds nest free until I hit a branch and FRAZZZZZLE... But I have a better understanding. You all are an awesome source of knowledge and support! Eric J

I'm married 37 years to my High School sweetheart. She'll joke about my spending on my passions, years of endurance racing had me spending on bikes, running and swimming gear and race entry fees. Now back to fishing after an absence for my racing "career" the spending has shifted back to gear. My wife spends on her hobbies and clothes. Years ago we decided that we will not ever argue money as long as it doesn't impact our quality of life. We share all bank accounts. Through our 37 years of marriage we have gone back and forth as top earner. I'm not out drinking, getting stupid and staying out late for no decent reason. She loves that investing in my passion makes me happy just as when the girls are all over to play "Mahjong" and talk crap about the hubbies I just smile and say, "Honey, I'm goin' fishin'."

I picked up the Lews Carbon Fire ll after reading great reviews and being a big fan of the Carbon Fire spinning combos. I have been working on getting this baitcasting thing down for several hours and am outrageously frustrated (yes, my first baitcaster). Looks like I have the drop rate correct as the weight lowers slow and when it hits the ground the spool stops. I have the magnet dial set near max. But every time I cast (practicing in my backyard) I birdnest like a frickin eagle is maing its home in my reel. If I don't keep my eye directly on the reel and slam my thumb down as soon as the backlash starts I've got a bowl of curly ramen noodles to deal with. What the hell am I doing wrong???? Eric J