surfer

Possible problems #1 the knot #2 heavy action rod, heavy drag setting, Hard hook set. If your knot is holding, then I recommend setting your drag to 2 or 3 lbs for your 10 lb line. This alone should fix it. Every one else commented on the knot so ill skip that and comment as if it was a break. Braid has no stretch so the impact energy of a hook set it not slowly absorbed, but transferred all at once. When mono breaks you can feel the loading of the line then the snap as all tension disappears. With braid there is no loading of the line, the only loading or give is in the rod. On a hard hook set you can use up that amount of give in 1/10 of a second. Almost an unperceivable feeling like nothing was there. At home try setting a hook into a log, fence post or something, and pacing off 50 ft of line then pretending to set the hook on it. Try it with both braid and mono and you will feel that braid hook sets are more instant and require less swing of the rod.

Good thread. So will a lake hold either well fed bass with potential or poorly fed bass who will remain long and skinny with big heads as they get older but not both? Excluding the occasional diseased / injured bass.

Once the novelty of the new toy wears off I probably wont weigh much unless is starts getting close to my PB of 3 1/4 lb. I just got a Berkley digital this week and weighed two at about 1lb 4oz last night just to try it out. The scale only goes to 15lbs. I figure anything over that I want to certify it anyways and can get the weight then. FL record is ~ 17 lbs

Last time that happened to me I found out my hook was dull. A sharp hook is helpful in driving the hook deep on the hook set. The deeper past the barb it is set the harder for the hook to back out. Road Warrior gives a good description of the parts / procedure for setting the hook using a worm bait on this thread. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1184183091

What you say is true. It can rip through pads and pull big bass out of cover. It has other benefits too. I use it for its long accurate casts and unmatched sensitivity. The leader is because braid is so visible in the clear and pressured waters I fish.

I use a 10# suffix braid (casts a mile) with about 8 ft of 6# or 10# InvisX Floro Leader. I use this more for its castingand sensitivity abilities than its lure saving abilities. Casts far and accurate on my spinning gear. I also have the same 20# set up for fishing in the weeds. as for the diferent line diamiters, it dosent seem to be a problem. I use a Uni-Uni knot. Maybe not the best but it doesn't fail me and i know it well. I haven't had any heavy cover or tree removal experience yet. Isn't pulling a stump out of your fishing hole going to spook the fish you are trying to catch?

I would rather have the 14 john too. They are more stable, have lots more room for gear and moving around in, and they hold their value better. Aluminum never rots. I just looked at craigslist.com for Louisville and am now aware of how spoiled I am here in FL. You have about 5 boats list a day in your area. I have 50 lists a day in mine. It makes it easier for me to find a good deal. Here is a link to a boat on craigslist.com for $550. The motor doesn't work, but it's 15ft with trolling motor, trailer, titles. This add is only a few days old. It might still be available. http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/364787504.html

Nicely said RW. I was only going to say sharp hooks and always maintain tension in the line / never allow slack. I am somewhere around 90 to 95% landed after the hook set. i can only remember once in the last 30 hook sets that i know was a bass, but the hook just didn't get him. I am somewhere around 30% for figuring out if its a weed or a fish I am setting the hook on, but hey, swings are free.

I fish them the same way most of my friends fish ribon tail worms. FL-rig with light weight or weightless at docks and other targets when the wind allows.

Nice write ups. You mention a few conditions not to use a drop shot and say most other conditions it works in. What is your ideal setting to use a drop shot? Short grass on sand? Sand and rocks? Around docks? No wind light wind? Clouds, sun, sunset/rise? Edges of weed lines

Garcia reservoir next to stick marsh. January something. Cold and windy. Live shiners. Braid with 4 ft Floro leader - 4 bass Straight mono - 0 As best I can tell all else was equal between me and my buddy. I am a believer. I am sure there are situations where a leader won't mater, but I don't know how to distinguish when to and when not to so I always use it since it doesn't hurt.

I havent had a chance to watch the birds yet, but let me know what you find in your trials.

Way to go Roger on making that info more easily digested. Every one else go back and read Rogers's firs post. If you're not using the right sun block you may be doing more harm than good. UVB causes sunburn. UVA causes skin cancer. Sun block blocks UVB, but not UVA. If you are wearing sun block to extend your time in the sun then you are increasing your UVA exposure and increasing your risk.

I agree with the majority. Hook size and braid. A 10 lb braid will cast farther than 6 lb mono in my experience. The braid won't stretch like mono when you set the hook so it will drive the hook deeper with the same setting motion of the rod.

$200 is a tight budget to get on the water. While the two boats you link to are within your budget I can't see either one lasting 5 years under perfect conditions (big uneducated guess. My actual thought is 2 years under normal use). There are canoes in your area for $450 on craigslist.com that will last 20years under normal conditions and could be resold when you no longer need it. A john boat will be a little more by the time you get a trailer and mount a hitch to your car, but the aluminum hull will not loose value and can be resold. Save your money and get a canoe. Safer, more comfortable, easier to row, can go on top of car with rope, can be resold, can mount pole holders to it, you don't have to inflate it, etc. Don't forget to beat them up on price. They are probably expecting $400 and might be talked down to $380 if you ask real nice.

SPF is based solely on UVB. The FDA Cannot yet measure UVA effectively so claims of Broad Spectrum block are not checked by FDA and are only claims made by that company to sell their product. It may only block 10% or less of the UVA and claim broad spectrum. "To determine if your sunscreen blocks both UVA and UVB check for the following ingredients: avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide." This is true, but they only block 1/10th the amount of UVA as they do UVB. They are the only three ingredients with any FDA recognition for UVA protection. So if you take the SPF of the product you are using that contains one ore more of these ingredients and devide by 10 that is the SPF equivalent of UVA protection it is providing. The above statements are paraphrased from the articles I provided a link to on my previous post. Be safe and avoid the middle of the day if you can. As my name suggests I have spent lots of time in the sun. I have been surfing for more than 20 yrs. I currently surf with a long sleeve shirt, a visor, and sunblock. The other surfers laugh, until I spray buckets in their face. Oops wrong forum. ;D Karma will probably give me skin cancer for that. Sun block is still a good tool in the prevention of skin cancer, but avoiding sunshine in the middle of the day is important. Do not trust your sunscreen to protect you completely. Best wishes to anyone who has had or has it. I know I will one day.

I hate to play devils advocate here, but sun block my not be as helpful as the dermatologists suggest. I read a report that broke it down like this. UVB causes sunburn. UVA causes skin cancer. Sun block blocks UVB, but not UVA. If you are wearing sun block to extend your time in the sun then you are increasing your UVA exposure and increasing your risk. Here is a link to three long articles supporting the ideal that sunscreen is not sufficient in preventing skin cancer. One of them is the FDA site. I use a wide brim hat and avoid the hot parts of the day. http://cheef.com/buffaloskin/Answers/The_Pro___Con/Skin_Cancer/Sun_Block/sun_block.html

I would think sun at your back for all the same reasons that GSB87 just said. Add to this that if there is a tree the bass is probably on the shady side of the tree so if you are fishing towards your shadow you are on the sunny side of the tree and the bass is on the other side. I think this is a more stealthy approach to cast to the shady side of the tree from the sunny side. I am going to watch waiding birds that stab at minows to see if they know.

Iron more than silk. I use it as backer with confidence.

I have a pair of their Nanos. They are the most comfortable glasses I own. Very light weight. My Costa Del Mar 580s are the best lenses I own and I were them because of that. The Nanos I picked up at an expo for about 1/2 price I think. They have been more durable than I expected and the lenses are good.

Sam, Biodegradable dose not mean its not litter. Please dispose of properly.

I find it easier to steer from the front. Especially when moving in and out of cover it is more responsive. When under way and up to speed it is second nature to steer from the back, but when idling at slow speeds turning the boat form the back is slow and cumbersome. From the front you just point the motor where you want to go and the bow follows immediately. As for the speed, if your river really is at 5mph you may not be able to beat it with a trolling motor. The link below is someone's thread with a few comparisons of thrust vs. Mph via GPS. My 14 ft Boston Whaler only gets 2.3 mph with a 45 lb thrust. It's a heavier boat though. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1176337488/3#3

Good advise so far. The backer rod mentioned by Fishin Phill is a foam rod made just for what LBH is suggesting with the rope, hose etc. It is also what Catt is talking about that comes in roles. Did I leave anyone out? You will have to put caulk over top of the backer rod after it is in place. The backer rod is just to support the caulk while it's wet. If you go with the great stuff expanding foam after you cut it flush with a sharp razor it will have a rough texture from the air bubbles inside it. You can use regular sparkle to smooth it. Covering it with the bed liner paint will give it the water proof that the spackle needs.

Whats wrong with just plywood ? Mine is just plywood. At high noon when its 90* + and sunny it is a little hot under foot, but tolerable. Carpet sounds like too much work and the texture of the wood feels fine to me.

Those all sound a little high to me. I have a 1232 and when i was 12 years old we would ski behind it with an 8 horse. That was 3 100lb kids and the 100lb boat on plane with 8hp. I am 30 now and 200 lbs and put an 18hp on it last year. It probably did 25 with just me in it. I think the boat planed at about 12 mph. The boat was rated for a 5 horse. But like cart7 said, but you can't go wrong with a 20 horse.