Flatrock

I went fishing a couple days ago and and I threw everything but the kitchen sink and nothing. However I noticed while throwing a white double willow with white trailer, that I find smaller fish following / running along side my lure like safety in numbers. I've never caught anything on a wht spinner but I always see fish schooling along side. Am I doing something wrong..? If so what could I change to cause a strike instead of being a swimming buddy for other fish..?

Lews KVD 7' Power Med Fast paired with the KVD 1 6:2-1 reel filled with 12# Kast King copolymer hybrid The St Croix BX 6'8" Med XFast paired with the Diawa Tatula CT 100 filled with 8# Trilene XL Again I'm not disappointed with the Lews. Immediately turned off 2 of the 4 internal brakes and was able to cast anything I tied on. Very smooth with a good feel. I will admit that the rod does feel a little fat in palm, but then again it's not some sissy stick either. I believe it will haul in anything you hook on to. On the other hand the St Croix has a very comfortable fit, light and I can see a place in my arsenal for this rod... Which brings me to the Diawa Tatula 100. I became curious about the reel because of the talk about how great the "T" wing casting system was. Now it worked fine with a 3/8" practice plug, but in practical application I found the reel a little stubborn dialing in on the water. I mean once I attached a 1/2oz spoon on, yea I was able to get a good cast on, but with the mag set almost all on. Compared to the Lews, I'm disappointed... The Lews is so much more forgiving, easy with minimal attention needed . So my question is to the guys that are Diawa fans... What application do you use your Diawa's for, cause I just don't see it as a general all round reel.

You know I have tried many things I have seen or read about on this forum without success. Except for the on thing that Glen Mays suggested on one of his videos and that was the Ned Rig with a light rig. And talk about adrenaline rush... For the life of me I cannot figure out what is so appealing on a 3" stick worm.. Then again I can't attract the attention of anything with a spinner either

I never was much into SMB until yesterday.. Fished a new lake and cam away with these pigs.

Hello folks... Last yr I purchased my first boat after taking some 25 yrs off from fishing. To top that I was trying to learn how to throw a baitcaster... In the past yr there has been a whole lot of firsts and personal best for me, yesterday was not different... I have become fairly efficient with a baitcaster now day and found the Lews to be go to reel. Last yr I ended the yr with a 5 lb channel cat.. not a big deal until you learn I participated in 5 cat tourn and got skunked every time.. Any ways yesterday I fished a new lake and caught 5, again nothing to brag about except I was fighting winds up to 30 mph... the white caps had white caps and I had to hide in the coves and behind rock bluffs. Caught my first crappie, 14" about 2 lbs and my first sm mouth larger than a pound... in fact I caught 2 beautiful sm mouth, one almost 3.5 lbs & 5 lbs making it my personal best bass and SMB.. Oh and I was using a old 2 pc Shimano med light spinning combo with 6# mono with a ned rig... talk about a fight. I have a another Cat tourn to go to Saturday... Will catching a cat during a tourn be another first..? Hahahaha Anyhow, What a difference a yr can make given a chance.

Sorry, just now seen this thread... I live near Cordell, only fished it once... I's say its fishable. I usually fish below the dam for cats but never done any good. I usually fish CH myself.. love the lake.

I think there is more of lack of knowledge about braid, myself included, which is why I'm asking. I think a lot, including myself think braid should be soft and pliable from the start. So when you're faced with a product like this that is stiff, its natural to think its junk or at best will be difficult to fish with. Personally I have no knowledge of braid other than it has no stretch, not because I live under a rock but rather because this is my 1st yr back fishing after 25 yrs off from the sport and technology has really changed across the board... To be honest, it would be hard to understand how I feel unless you have walked away from fish for this period of time. Fishing has become very technical, fishing line more so. I did try braid and had problems with it, but that was because of a cheap real that wouldn't cooperate. So now that I have that issue resolved, I'd like to try brad again and looking for something that I can work with... What and how do you decide what brand and size or color to use ? What would be considered a all round braid to use in water with 3-4' clarity to silty

Glen I was watching you video about chatter baits and you talked about the FireLine Ultra 8. I read a review where the guy stated that the line was very stiff. Apparently he cut a 10" piece and it stood straight up... Is this line supposed to be stiff or does it soften after it get wet ? I welcome anyone else's response that has experience with this line.

Ok this is what I was looking for... Reason I was asking this question was I purchased several bags of ribbon tail worms and the packages just didn't indicate if they were floating or not. I had presumed the tail at least would float but doesn't and I'm not getting the action I desired. Again thanks

Ok silly question... When buying soft plastics like worms, How do you know if its floating worm or soft plastics ?

You two just don't get it... Its not about the reel, well ok some of it is but its more about something I bought that is now classified as "Vintage"

That's so wrong in many ways... I had to replace another old spinning reel bought in the 80's back in June, the spring in the wire baler broke and I never gave it a second thought... For some strange reason seeing people calling this reel vintage, that and Shimano no longer mfg this line, just hit home... AND I"M NOT OLD..! yet...

I've never been one to buy excessive fishing rods and reels... I mean I have rods for specific purposes and that's it... I had this Shimano Mark ll Quick Fire light rod/reel combo that I've had for yrs, mainly for small fish. I love this outfit because even a brown trout can feel like a 5 lb bass, but mainly because I can cast a very light rig forever. Well last night I decided it was time to replace the line as I wanted to set it up for ned rig fishing, when the spool comes off and it won't lock back in place.... sigh. Grab the second spool and same thing, won't snap on... great..! I loved this reel because it has rear drag, always been smooth and can cast a mile. I figure ok I'll just look it up and buy another one, right ? I mean its a Shimano Mark ll Quick Fire. Oh no..... In various descriptions the reel was described as vintage... VINTAGE ???? What do you mean vintage ? I've only own this reel for what, 30 yrs ? Well long enough that I don't remember when I bought it and it was made in Japan.. not China or Twain. I swear they just don't make reels like they used to I didn't want to buy Walmart so I bought a Kastking Pontus Baitfeeder 2000 with dual drag for $36 on amazon... I really like the rear drag. Maybe this reel will last longer than 30 yrs...

I just made a post several days ago about the 12# XT.... I could NOT break the line after snagging the bottom. I even tried using the trolling motor and the line just pulled the boat back. Some of the toughest mono I've ever used.

I'm going to be perfectly honest here... I didn't buy the line for the BC. I bought it as leader line for my weights for catfishing. Come to think about it, I've been having a hard time breaking loose when I'm snagged on the bottom there too... I'm gonna have to reevaluate how I think about the Trilene product line . I really like this XT line... If 12# is almost unbreakable, this means I can go a lot smaller and retain line strength

Today I got brave and changed the internal pin settings on my Lews Tourn, turning them all off (factory had 2 pins on) and backed off on the spool. I emptied the spool of line, not once but 6 times with no back lash, although it was wanting to so I adjust the magnet. I was beside myself and wonder if I'll be able to have the same success on the water dealing with more adverse conditions like wind... I even started pitching without backlashing with reasonable accuracy (in the right area). Then I tried roll pitching, if that is the right term.. I was building confidence then I got cocky and had a hell of a backlash, but was able to clear it up... LOL Definitely need more practice but I can see progress. I have to ask... Can you set just one internal pin or does it have to be in pairs ?

Yes guys it is Trilene XT. As far as getting over it and pulling.... It was wedged in rocks as best I can guess, but when your boat (2019 PT175TXW) is being man handled with such force that its tilting the boat, last thing I want to do is finding my self losing my balance and falling in 20 to 30 feet water and losing my rod as well.. I have catfish rods that have 30# line that I have been able to break. I have never seen 12# line I couldn't until now. I have to say I'm very impressed.

Thanks guys... I appreciate all the good tips. I have watched several videos, however they don't talk about reel setup and weight to use while learning... I know I tried a couple times only to find myself clearing a birds nest... so the piece of tape to keep the spool from unraveling during the initial learning process is a very good idea.. (thanks). The few times I have tried, I was trying to pitch 30-50 feet.. here is the unrealistic expectation thing. I think this is the only time I wish I had cathedral ceilings..

I think I finally have my casting under control and I'm ready to take the next step with pitching and flipping. I'm looking for some tips in pitching, like reel setup. Do I need to have my spool loose ? And what is a normal distance.. I mean 10...20 ... yrds ? And what about jig weight, 3/8 or 1/2oz ? I realize these are lame questions, but I'm trying to be realistic in my expectations.

I had to do a emergency line swap today while on the water.. Had K9 on (I'm done with that line).. Any how I had a fresh spool of Trilene 12#.. Tied on a football jig with a Palomar knot and began fishing the bottom. Of course I snagged the bottom a few times and was able to un snag and fish on... Until I hooked onto something that didn't want to let go. I swear to god I tried everything to break the line... I mean I had NEVER had a line that just wouldn't break no matter what I did. I even went to far as to straight line it and used the trolling motor to pull and nada... It would just stop the boat in its tracks... I finally had to cut it . I have to say I have never ever experienced anything like this before. Anyone else ever experience something this crazy before ?

I have bought everything I need to make my own jigs (Football heads). Right now they are unpainted... my question is have you ever used unpainted jig heads ? Considering your past experience, do you honestly think/know if a bass cares or know the difference between gray, black or green head jig ?

Other than fishing the southern end by the dam, I haven't been able to figure OH out..

I'm west of you 150 miles and I was talking about Center Hill Lake. I think its one of the prettiest man made lakes outlined with wooded bluffs, hills. But I think about 85% of the lake is 150' to 200' deep. I appreciate your tip about fishing the bluff. I couldn't figure out how to fish them and what you say does make sense... Thanks. I marked several spots yesterday while riding around along the bluffs where I found schools hiding in pockets.. Maybe they were Crappie because it didn't look like bait fish, especially down around 30-40 feet. Have you ever fished Old Hickory or the Cumberland River just east of Nashville ? Its silty at best, Chocolate milk after it rains... the rest of the time you've got one eye out for submerged stumps and floating trees just below the surface waiting to take your boat out if you dare get out of the channel where the fish are... then you have Percy Priest just to the south a couple miles that is shallow and nothing but boulders and rocks just waiting to take out your prop if your lucky, the lower unit if you aren't. Yet Priest and Old Hick are extremely popular and heavily fished... Tourns constantly, 2, 3 times a week. Was it Glen May that said in one of his video's that most lures was created to catch the fisherman and not so much the fish ?

Yes I did with the hook coming up thru the back of the bug. You didn't see it because I've never tried or used a drop shot rig... Like I said, so many new different technics... but I will give it a try. I was using a shakey head, figuring it would work best with a dirt rock bottom