Bazoo

I'm too am blessed to be a part of this forum and its freely shared knowledge. I've learned a bunch.

I do it. I didn't know it was a thing or had a name. I figured it out when fishing tight bank cover. Often times I'll fish in trees, and I can't cast. Works great once you get the hang of it. I've hooked a finger once, wasn't pleasant. I didn't think of using it in place of skipping, good idea though.

That's slick, thank you for sharing. If I had that plus a shoulder strap, it'd probably be just right for some of the bank fishing I do.

Factoring in where you fish also includes the size of fish you're likely to catch. For me, I probably wont catch a 5 pound fish but once in a rare while. So a lighter rod does just fine for the 1-2 pounders that is my norm. Of course I can play a bigger fish when it does happen. I have 3 main rods I use. 1: A cheap Zebco with a baitcaster on it. It's short at 5'6" (I've added a length of grip so it has a full length handle and is closer to 6'), fiberglass, and loads up good. Great for fishing in bank cover, but I find it also pretty decent for just throwing lighter baits. 2: An Abu Black Max rod. It's a 6'6" medium medium, but it's on the lighter side of the spectrum. I can throw a lighter bait, and have good accuracy. It is a bit light for crankbaits, but does okay and seems to be a good general purpose rod. It's the standard that I judge others by. The Berkeley Lightening Rod that was meant to replace/suppliment it, while better by most peoples standards, isn't as good for me. Both are medium medium, but the LR is heavier, doesn't load up as good, and is harder to cast anything lighter with. Also it doesn't feel as good in hand for hours. 3: A BPS Crankin' Stick. It's 7'3" heavy fast and it is great for crankbaits and for casting a Carolina rig. It's a great rod, and at a reasonable price. Mine was a gift and I think of the sender anytime I use it, which is most times I go fishing. Number 2 though is the main rod, it's the one that if I could have only 1 rod, that would be my choice. It is the right length for my type of fishing, and will cast most of the lures on the light or heavy end. It isn't expensive, but it suits my type of fishing.

I'd probably spend a $200-$400 on a rod, but... I wouldn't necessarily only look at rods of that "caliber". I do not judge a rod or anything based on its paper specs/performance, but rather from actual field usage. How a rod casts, loads the tip, how it feels in hand for hours of use is far more important to me than what the specs say it'll do. One of my favorite rods is a Zebco rod (with baitcaster on it), which is worth nothing use, and was probably $10 new. I like the size and action of it. I want to upgrade the guides on it. So what I'd do is buy rods that suit me, regardless of cost, and upgrade the guides as I saw fit, or maybe into building rods. Of all the reels I've tried, and granted it's not a huge amount, my favorite reels are Bass Pro Shops. I have buddies with shimano reels, and I prefer my BPS Pro Qualifer 2 baitcasters. The BPS Pro Qual 2 Spinning reel is my favorite spinning reel as well. Now... my tackle stash would be pretty deep. Instead of having 1-2 bags of my favorite plastics or hard lures, I'd have 20.

Found this at the lake, new hooks and it works just fine. Works at the river too. I found this KVD Hard Knock, then lost it about 6 months, found it again, and and it's back in action again. Works at the river too. Found this roostertail, and I don't fish them much, but did get a nice one one day.

Private lake. First success with the Ol Monster. Been trying it a while here and there. River bass was a fighter. Moss covered pond is on the way, so I will hit it if I ain't tired after a trip to the river. Private lake the next day. The boy likes his hula popper... looks more like a 5 gallon bucket going across the water the way he pops it! Couple days later, got skunked at the river but got one at the mossy pond with the Ol Monster. Building confidence. Crankin' stick will bring them in without any effort. This one was at the heavily pressured city lake... in a spot that doesn't see quite as much pressure. Little guy got introduced to the boss.

I too thank bass I catch.

I like researching new to me techniques. Trying new colors, and overall just enjoy the tackle side of bass fishing. I generally go back to the same colors and styles that I know work.

You might try 2 things... first: topwater. That will get them on the edge of their seats the first time a fish grabs it. Second: Texas rigged worm. It's slow - not as exciting, opposite ends of the spectrum (explain briefly that there are various techniques between those extremes to suit the angler and the fish's mood). When they feel the nibble, and set the hook, they too will be hooked.

I fish a frog on lighter gear than normal, and I don't have a problem hooking up. That said, I don't fish in very heavy cover most of the time. Mostly open water around cover. Heavy braid is more to power the fish out of the cover whilst having your drag set high enough that you can just winch the critter out. When I fish with 10-12 pound mono, I let the fish grab the frog, and I wait about 2-3 seconds, then I set the hook, then I reel the slack and set it again. I don't catch 8-10 pound fish granted, and there probably aren't many where I fish. But I've caught some 3-4 pound fish using my gear. I have better results with a sweeping hookset rather than a high jerking hookset. I've also caught dinks and large rockbass. I've had many times a fish grab my frog and swim with it, then either just let it go or not get hooked when I set the hook. Mostly at a place where there is a lot of sunfish. I catch those sunfish on poppers though. So they are just teasing me with the frog. They like to rip the feet of my pocketfrogs. This one was caught on spinning gear, pocket frog, 10 pound trilene xl. Weighed 2lb9oz. This one is spinning gear using 8lb big game... got to give them a minute to get the frog in their mouth sometimes. Obviously I wouldn't run this in the thick of the pads, but for the moss-covered pond I was fishing at, I tied on the frog and let her fly.

I considered my knot had slipped, but I was using a trilene knot, and I've perfected it. I have a certain way of tying it and it's never failed. I wonder if the double wire eyelet of a beetle spin may have caused an issue with it? While I don't use a beetle spin a lot, I've caught several fish with beetle spins tied with this knot previously.

I was fishing today, using a beetle spin, and bam felt a strike, set the hook, feel weight, and broke off immediately. I have my drag set light enough that I will strip some line with a 3 pounder pulling, so reasonably light, and using 12 pound Big Game. When I pulled my line in and looked at the end it was curly for about 1/2"; the same way as if you use a pair of scissors to curl a ribbon. Line is fresh and I had checked it several times for line wear. I first thought, man I hate to break off in a fish, then I got to thinking, I wonder if it was a huge snapper and he bit my line, curling it in the beak as it broke free?

Awesome story, thank you for sharing. As far as hobbies go, I have several. •fishing: I have only one good memory of my Dad; at age 5, he took me fishing. He then commenced to do donuts in the field and hollered "Hold on Bazoo!" Hence my nickname. I was all in for fishing from about 13 until I was 18, then it started to wane until I took a break due to life circumstances at around age 24. Now I've been back at it full force for a year and really I enjoy learning new techniques and collecting lures. The old passion came back as strong as it ever was. •hunting: I enjoy hunting, but not as much as fishing. You can't catch and release a deer, and after you catch one, that's when the work begins. I love being in the woods though, and I love packing a gun with me. •guns, casting bullets, and reloading: A love of guns and gun trading took away from my fishing at 18, but I still fished some. I started reloading and casting, and that has ended up being just as rewarding as the gun hobby itself. I settled down my trading, and I have decided that single actions and leverguns are more my speed than anything else. •knives: I've been a knife nut since I was about 10 years old and got an Old Timer for Christmas. I promptly stabbed myself in the hand whilst opening another present. I don't collect in the traditional sense. I enjoy finding a cool knife at a yardsale or fleamarket, cleaning it up and passing it on. I have a select handful that I won't get rid of, but I enjoy trying new to me patterns. •chess: When I was a kid I learned how to play, but never had anyone to play with until I got a job and we played on break/lunch. I now play on chess.com and I'd be glad to have a game with any of my fellow bassresource family. Bazoo_II is my username. •scrabble: I remember playing with my granny when I was probably about 12. It didn't make any sense then, but now... I love it. Partly because I love words, especially archaic or out of the norm words. There is a strategy involved in Scrabble that I enjoy. My best game so far is 521 against my wife. •church: Without going into religious conversation, I enjoy doing things with my church family. Not only the Sunday service, but Wednesday night bible study (including vittles) and the other activities they do. For example, we recently went to the zoo as a church. It was interesting and somewhat scary to see the rhinoceros. I then contemplated if a 45-70 would suffice for such an endeavor. We also do hayrides in the fall and have a lot of potlucks. For 4th of July, we had fireworks and a meal. They are my family, and I enjoy spending time with them. They are always asking if I can be counted on for a fish fry... to which I adamantly respond that I am "catch and release only." •history: I love history, the history of the west, and of guns and their use in the settlement thereof. I probably spend the least amount of time on this hobby, but I'm always picking up little tidbits here and there. •woodworking: I am a carpenter. I have been tinkering with wood since I was 10 years old. I whittle, combining both my love of wood and knives, and if I whittle a lure, combining those with fishing. I enjoy whittling spoons and Christmas ornaments. I like making small boxes and the like. I go through spurts where each hobby is at the forefront, but I always have a dabble of each going regardless of which one I'm focusing on at the present.

Thanks @A-Jay I didn't see the cracks.

The before picture, might I ask what was wrong with it? I see it was yellowed, is that an indication that the epoxy is at the end of it's life? I appreciate you sharing this thread and your knowledge. I've been learning about replacing the guides on a rod I like that has cheap guides.

If bass inhale their food (and I don't doubt they do because I've seen videos of it), why then does an instant hookset rip the bait way, while waiting a second will produce a solid hookup? Do they not inhale everything? such as a worm? or only inhale a portion of it, then sorta chomp the rest in?

I like when they bite your finger during the release. Kinda like one last hoorah.

Interesting discussion. For some reason I was thinking of @ol'crickety when I posted this. Maybe it's because we both love the nibble, or perhaps we both fish more simple than those with a decked out bass boat. I enjoy researching a new technique, then being able to employ it and have success with it.

I've just found the Ol Monster, and while I haven't caught any hawgs yet, I've caught a few smaller ones to get my confidence up. It's a nice worm. That's a nice one, thank you for sharing!

What is your favorite part of the fish catching cycle? That is... from the time you tie on a lure to the time you release the caught fish. For me, it is the nibble when using a plastic worm. Drag a worm across the bottom, feel a nibble, then move the rod to feel the weight... no weight and another nibble... darn bluegill! Then a nibble... and you feel weight... set the hook! I think I'd rather fish a plastic worm than anything else because of that nibble. Second so far for me is the strike on a crankbait.

I use a little bit of everything. I flip them if they are small, less than 2 pounds. Anything larger, I generally lip. I have never belly grabbed a large one, but I've done it to some smaller ones when unhooking them. I haven't been hooked badly, but I've had some scratches and ******. So I am extra careful. I don't net them as I fish from the bank most of the time, but I am thinking about a net because some of the places I fish, there is about a 3' drop, so if I were to catch a hawg, it'd be hard to land without flipping it.

I need more details, if you don't mind sharing some secrets. I want to try it. Might be an interesting change of pace. First... what size of bluegill/bream do you think is a good size. So... If I catch one that is say 5" long, would that be too large? what size of bass will take that? I'd guess the smaller the bait the better. Most likely it'll be green sunfish for me, where I am thinking to try it. I suppose that'll work? I would think bass would eat any bream and not just bluegill. Okay... so you hook it aft of the dorsal fin? below the spine I reckon? What size and type of hook would I use, just a large octopus hook? No weight or bobber? Just cast it... I guess the bluegill picks the depth he wants, and you just pull him in as needed to keep him somewhat in place if he's not eaten quickly. Do they ever survive for a second fish? If they are half dead... how do they do?

Howdy from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Texas Riggin' and Splitshot Riggin' are my current favorite techniques. I love feeling that nibble.

Chatterbait is a no go for me. I've never caught on one, even when my friends use them to good success. I can't catch on them on a farm pond or a lake. I always lose them at the river so not sure there yet. I rarely have success with a lipless, but occasionally. I haven't caught anything on the berkley glide bait yet... course... I ain't fished it much, nor do I have much of an idea of how. Texas rigged, Carolina rigged, plastic worms of any type used to be my black hole, and now... they are my confidence bait.