jwo1124

since I mainly shore fish, I am forced to be a "spot fisherman", I do however walk around the peremeter of a ponds as much as possible. But sine the ponds i mostly fish are located in an urban area, alot of the shoreline is commercialized. This makes it tough. But when I take my jon boat out, which happens once in a while, I will pick apart the water, but I do use my knowledge to think about where the fish may be and why. It always pays to know what our doing and why. But then agian, sometimes mindless casting and beating the shoreline will pay off.

I don;t know about you guys, but temperatures up here in Massachusetts have been very un-autumn like. The Average High for this time of year is 59-61 degrrees, and average lows are around 45 degrees at night. Well, this past week(starting at yesterday and going back to last wednesday) Hi's and Lows were: 78-59, 82-57, 75-55, 70-60, 73-57, 68-55, 63-35. As you can se the only two days that felt like Fall were last Wed. and Thurs. this was only because a cold front came in. Our Hi's in the third week of Oct. look like Highs for May. and are Lows for look like what the October highs should be. The weather has been like this all fall though. For the past month we have only had a few days that fell into normal temperatures for this time of year. Lots of 70-80 degree days. It look slike bass fishing season is going to be extended up North ;D Maybe global warming really is a big issue.... :-/ Anyway, any other anglers finding that temperatures are warmer then normal in their neck of the woods? One thing about New England is the weather is so unpredictable. It will be 80 one day in Oct. then 45 the next. Then we'll get snow storms in April.

I own three Ugly Stik Lites. I got the 3 Medium power rods for casting and trolling in ponds. haven;t done any trolling yet, but I did spend a whole day with my Ugly Lite. It is a decent rod. It has good sensitivity for cranks and the x-rap I was using. I have never had probelms with ugly stiks or the new lites. I know they aren;t the best rods, but I have caught fish on them, and so haven;t a heck of a lot of other people, so they can;t be that bad. Good luck, and keep reelin' them in.

On the FLW tour, anglers can use nets. I do think this takes some of the challenege away from landing a fish since you can just scoop it up when it's 4 feet away with out having to play it all the way into the boat and land it, but if it is easier on the bass, and ensures good fishing for the future, its a fine rule. I have dropped my occaisonal bass in the boat by accident, but for the most part I try not to let them hit the ground when bank fishing or the bottom of the boat. I'm sure it's not gonna kill the bass if it touches the boat rug or even grass or some sand, but I just thought it was funny how they just whip the bass around. I guess it's just the name of the game.

When you walk out of Dick's sporting Goods with a $300+ reciept and think to yourself, "I need to get more lures."

Protective fish handling is preached throughout the catch and release community. You are suppose to be careful with the fish you catch, only handle them if you have wet hands, be concious of their protective silme coating, etc. Why is it though that tournament guys think nothing of yanking abass out off the water and dropping it on a dirty floor rug? This is just an observation. I know that time is money in tournaments, and you want to be as productive as possible and use every minute productively. But still, you are catch and release anglers first, I think they should take better measures when handling the bass. Anyone else notice this?

That's a big problem there. Angering me and I'm not even fishing in your state. If you EVER see this, and this goes for anyone, immediately call the police and have them give you the number to the Environmental Police and let them know about the situation. Better yet, program the local environmental police phone number in your cell phone or right it down. No person, regardless of their economic status has the right to break the law, especially when it has to do with a natural resource like fish. It's not even like you can go up to them and ask them if they are aware of the legal regualtions surrounding fishing and the outdoors, cuz they no speaky english. That really tick's me off. If you want to immigrate LEGALLY into America(as many of our ancertors did) to better your lives or to get away from horrible governments, but learn freaking english so you can be a funtioning member of society. I shouldn;t have to learn spanish to speak to immigrants in my home country that can't speak the native language. I wouldn;t move to spain, or mexico if I didn't know a lick of Spanish. Back to the the C&R topic, I think keeping 5 bass a day is a high amount. Maybe not so much in larger lakes and resiviors, but in ponds??? I think there should be a two bass limit in ponds. If I were to keep up to 5 bass I catch every time I fished from my local pond(and there were plenty of other fisherman doing this too) The bass would become extinct from these places. Then the Wild Life federations would have to stock more bass, using the tax payers dime, and then I wouldn't feel good about catching Hathery Bass. I like the fight of an untamed wild fish. Not a pellet nibbling hatchery sissy I don;t think there are many anglers that fish primarily or soley for food anyways. Maybe once in awhile a recreational angler will take a couple fish home a couple times a year, but they certainly aren;t doing it every outing. Mostly the only fish I see people nap and take home for the frying pan around my parts are hatchery stocked trout that are put in the ponds for put and take action. I have only once see a guy take home a largemouth bass on a stringer and I must say, I was angery and sad at the same time. I was honestly debating on running over and releasing the fish and giving him three bucks for a can of tuna. I couldn;t kill and eat a bass, not unless I was seriously going hungry. I would rather eat a pickerel or a handful of bluegills. I just have too much respect for the bass. That and I appreciate what bass fishing is today. More of a sport and not a primative act of retrieving food from the lake. I think that more of a sport angler you are, the less likely it is that you are going to take fish home. I think its mainly the guys that only know fishing as a hook, bobber, and bait that do most of the keeping.

I forget who said this, but they put it best. GULP! is a scent bait with a little action, not an action bait with a little scent. As long as anglers know this, they will know what they are getting into when using GULP! And as far as the baits drying up; take the 45 seconds to take it off the hook and put it back in the bag. I have heard great things about GULP!, I have caught a few rat bass on a sinking minnow, but I haven't really gave them a lot of time on the hook. This isn't because I don;t have confidence in them, it is mainly due to the fact that I do not do alot of soft plastic fishing. For the anglers who have used these baits by them selves and had success, good. For those who have used it and had a bad experience: give them another try. Try them as jig trailers if nothing else. This gives you all the action of a jig, with the scent disspersement of the GULP! Just a thought.

Yeah if you are fishing low vis water, and a bass's sight will be handicapped. You want to work his other senses. By all means using a glass bead a brass ticker won't hurt. Using scent or even GULP would prove helpful. Also opt for a lure like a spinnerbait or jerkbait that will give off lot's of vibration and attract fish that way. Fish have a key feature called their lateral line that pick's up on the slightest vibratiosn and movement of water. This is typically how they locate their prey. Then they see it and eat it. I also believe that scent has a role in catching fish with atrificials. Mainly on bright sunny days, I have seen fish swim up to my lure in a hurry only to take off after getting a quick look. I don;t know if they see me, notice that the lure is not real food, or smell soemthing wrong. I heard that a fish's sense of smell is more than 100 times better than a dogs. That is some strong sniffing power. So, I personally don;t think using a scent can do anything but good. Neither does that Roland Martin, every show he plugs Mega Strike. I have yet to use it, is it worth buying?

I only have a couple things to chime in about. First, I always talk to the lady who runs the local Bait and Tackle, and the poor women never gets a chance to fish. It seems like when everyone else is out fishing, she has to be there to run the store. Now you can always hire help, yadda yadda, but that's more money, trust issues...etc. Second of all, when was the last time you went to the local Bait and Tackle for anything other than a box of crawlers, some shiners, or a last minute Item you needed for a day of fishing? I never buy any of my gear or tackle from the bait and tackle shops. I know it sounds bad, you should support local business. But bait and tackle shops are over priced, they don't carry a wide variety of tackle, they don't have sites on the web you can browse. Most of the gear is back behind counters, you can't really rummage through it like other stores where there are walls and walls of lures and stuff.(that's one of the reasons I like going to the big stores in the first place. ) Once in awhile I stop in, buy some shiner for some bait slinging and make small talk. See what the biggest catch lately is, etc. But I don;t see how you can make a real good living with it. Then again this is up in Northern Mass in a pretty urbanized city. I figure in a more rural setting a B&T may do better. I dunno, it's a lot of thinking. Owning your own business no matter what it is, is a lot of stress, pressure, $ and risk. Are you ready for all of that? I would guess that back in the day, 30 years ago when most fishing was done with minnows or worms, Bait and tackle stores were a booming business. But now, it's all about the newest lure, rod, reel. And that's the stuff you get from outdoor retailers like BPS or cabelas. Or go to Dick's sporting goods for. You'll still need a place to go and get bait from, since the retailers don;t reguarly sell shiners, frozen bait, leeches, crawfish, etc. So I don;t think they'll even not be around as long as fishing is here(or until big business finds a way to capitalize and profit from such items) But in the end, it's your own decision. Anyway, you jsut started college. Concentrate on getting: drunk, laid, and passing grades(no one says you need to get straight A's) And make sure you make time to fish. I'm sure after a few years of college under your belt you'll have a better idea of the big picture when it comes to operating and owning a business. But like KVD says: never stop dreaming.

I had a 1/4 oz. Jointed minnow from rapala that I used once for bass fishing. I found that all this lure did was sit an inch or two below the surface and just snake back to the boat. I find them to be horrible lures. Maybe you need to use a loop knot or something. I like the original floaters much better anyway.

I would have to 100% agree. I was sort of stumped looking at this thread, as I don't really know too many of the pro tour guys. I know the big names like Van Dam, Iconelli, and others you see every week on Bass MAsters, but I don't really feel they have done much for me. When Muddy said Al Lindner and Bill Dance my eyes shot open. I think these guys have done a lot for me personally as I can attest to sitting in front of the tv on weekend morning soaking in every word these guys said. I would have to go beyond to say Al Lindner would be my industry role model(industry meaning fishing in general) since he has provided so much information through Infisherman tv and mag. He also does this without trying to sell any products such as other TV Hosts do. Bill Dance is also a great fishing teacher, but his show is very commercial. When was the last time you have seen him use anything besides a YUM or Booyah product? But without taking credit away from anybody. Anyone, pro angler, tv host, or the everyday man, who will take time to instruct, inform, or help another angler is an industry role model. Take a kid fishing, because I know it made a big difference in my life.

I must confess I have not came close to reading all the articles bass resource has to offer. I did although come across this lately. Got it right off this site. "There are many different types of bait, presentations and techniques used today in the sport of bass fishing, and the reel selection mostly depends on what is the most comfortable for the angler. Now, please don't take this the wrong way because I am not going to say that you have to use a certain reel for certain applications, but I will tell you what works the best for me. I personally use a baitcasting reel about eighty percent of the time because I feel that I have much more control at casting and hook setting in addition to comfort than the others mentioned. I like the thumb control on the spool with a baitcasting reel because it allows me to stop the bait on a dime when it comes to accuracy. I also like the power in the retrieve, especially when it comes to horsing big bass out of vegetation and different structured areas. However, I like the spinning reel for vertical fishing and making casts with lighter baits. Here are the reel applications I mostly use for the following:" Flipping and pitching - Baitcaster Texas rigged plastics - Baitcaster or spinning Carolina rigs - Baitcaster Crankbaits - Baitcaster or spinning Top water - Baitcaster Spinnerbaits - Baitcaster Soft jerk baits - Baitcaster or spinning Drop shot - Spinning Really makes me second guess just using spinning gear in bass fishing. Seems like the only time I should use a spinning reel in bass fishing is with dropshots, weightless plastics, and small crankbaits.

I appreciate what you're saying. I didn;t really think about the reel weight that much. I did notice however that some of the larger capacity reels were close to 20 oz. I know this is heavy. I think I'm just going to have to get a baitcaster and practice with it in a field and not when I'm fishing. Ruining a fishing outting because poor reel skill wouldn;t be that fun. practicing it when i'm not fishing seems more reasonable since I'm more willing to spend time with it and not put it down and pick up a spinning rod to fish with.

I always use a clinch knot, and have since the day I started fishing. I can;t remember ever losing a fish due to knot breakage except when I tried the junk they call Berkley Vanish Fluoro. I could have been a toothy critter that frayed the line. Or maybe rocks, timber, etc. Like you said it could have a been a large trout, who knows. Sorry that it happened though. Loosing a fish is a horrible feeling, but you'll catch plenty more.

I know there are larger spinning rods out there that will hold significantly heavier line, but I am looking for something that will be comfortable to fish with, and not a huge, heavy rod like a BWS Ugly Stik. Even a Shaksepeare Tiger Lite rod would probably be too big for bass fishing heavier lures. I think an inshore rod is the best choice. Then I can use a regular size reel. Approx. 150 yds. The inshore models I was looking are rated for 10#-20#. I would probably only add the upper end of that spectrum to a reel for big plastics in heavy cover. I would mostly stick with 10-12 for cranks/topwaters/and jerkbaits so I wouldn't lose a lot of depth of cranks, I may buy a new reel that comes with an extra spool. So if the reel is rated for 10, 12, and 15# I can spool one with 10 for cranks and one with 14-15# for plastics. WIth maybe like a 20 or 25 lb. fluoro leader.

To put it in better terms, it feels like the lure is pulling on the rod as it moves through the water. It is a heavy feeling as I reel in the lure. It's not just a vibrating feeling of the blades

As much as I enjoy working lures, sometimes I feel the urge just to sit back and float fish. If I fish from the bank, I'll just use a clip on bobber. It's just simpler. I want to start using slip bobbers to make for easier casting and better fish finding performance. I have used them before, but as anything, the first time is usually a disaster. Obviously when bank fishing, you will know the approximate depth, and you can easily adjust the bobber stop. My real question is, say I wanted to drift live bait under a slip float around the perimeter of a pond instead of bank fishing or trolling. How do I adjust the depth with a lot of line out in deeper waters. Do I just slowly let line down to the bottom, moving the bobber stop up gradually a foot at a time until my weight is on bottom? I figured this would be a practical way of doing this. Also, do bobber stops reel through rod eyes and sit well on the reel?

yeah I just read that from Road. But slow action rods seem weaker than fast action rods. So I would firgure a stronger rod could cast further...is the backwards logic? Whatever... I've gotten good casts from my fast action lighting rod and my slower action glass crankrod

As many may have noticed, over the past couple years Rapala has increased there line of lure with some pretty great additions. The X-Rap is a big hit. Catching on in bass fishing as well as pike fishing as I hear. They now have an X-Shad. This is a 2" crankbait with the same properties of an X-Rap. The DT line of crankbaits have also been a great hit. These baits seem to allow anglers to fish cranks more confinately, knowing there bait is getting down the the correct depth and staying in the strike zone. My question is, since the new addition of DT series that go from 4', 6', 10' and 16', does anyone bother still using Shad Raps or tail dancers? It seems to me that there is really no need for these cranks anymore. Do you think Rapala will discontiune these? ( especially when you consider the new minnow rap that has just about the same diving specs as the shad rap.)

I don;t know if this is because I was used to fishing on composite rods and glass rods, but I was using a 1/2 spinner bait on a 6' MH Lighting Rod rated for 1/4-1oz and it seems liek the lure is too much for the rod. Whenever I real it in it feels like the lure is pulling alot on the rod creating a lot of resistance. Is this just due to my conditioning to loose, whippier rods, or do I have another problem. I think this is because I keep the tip up around 10 oclock. Should I be pointing the tip at the lure the take out the bounce in the tip that comes with working this lure with the tip up at 10.

I have always seen UL rods to be moderate action. Match this with an UL power, and it will be hard to find a rod that isn;t a little whippy. Here's a Cabela's brand rod that comes in 6'. The extra length may help in hook sets since you will be yanking more line with more leverage. But since it's UL, you should still keep the sensitivity. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20374&id=0036324120487a&navCount=2&podId=0036324&parentId=cat20374&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20374&hasJS=true

There are a lot of reason to stick with spinning rods. I like them because O have been fishing with them for years and years, since I was a little kid. I am comfortable fishing with them, and they get the job done. The ONLY problem I have found with spinning rods, especially in freshwater fishing, is that almost every rod only does up to a model that will cast no more than 5/8. What if I want to throw a 3/4 Rapala crank, or a 7/8 Heddon Spook? Well, I'll tell you what I do. I just came across In Shopre spinning rods. These are rods that are meant for lighter salt water species, come in freshwater MH and H sizes. Reviews have told me the blanks are no bigger than freshwater rods. I am thinking about getting a couple of these for larger lure throwing. Just thought I'd share this with you other spinning guys. Now we can have baitcasting attributes like stronger rods, and more lure weight with out the bird's nests. Thanks God for helping me find these rods and [ut an end to my dillema. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20374&id=0017639316451a&navCount=97&podId=0017639&parentId=cat20374&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20374&hasJS=true

I am wondering if a rod's action, fast, moderate, slow, will affect the distance of a cast. I would venture to say it must affect the accuracy, lessening as you venture away from a fast action, but does anyone know if distance is different, and if so, who much? I am thinking about sticking with my lower end crankbait rods, glass, Cabela's brand name, because they have the right action and lure rating I am looking for. I do get pretty decent casting distance now with my 6'6" ML mod/slow glass with a 1/4 oz. wind resistant lure. It seems lures like Shad Raps with big lips cause a lot of resistance and cause the lure to flip turn. Maybe this is just because I use spinning tackle oppose to casting. I heard since the line comes off the reel in a circular motion, lures tend to follow suit. But I can chuck casting spoons, topwaters, and jerkbaits, so I'm guessing the bigger the lip on the crank, the more resistance and less distance you are going to get.

I just found this rod, the reviews are great. All 8 reviews are 4-5 stars praising sensitivity and performance. Problem is it is graphite, and may not be a good cranking rod. It's only $80, priced well enough that I could get two, a ML and MH. These rods may be used for trolling too, is graphite a good choice for trolling? I have heard of them snapping, but I suppose drag setting would help this.