Taliesin

Ok Roadwarrior... Now I am confused... In the Topwater thread earlier, you stated: Now I know the price range might be part of it, but you are suggesting the AC70MHXF when you use the ES70MF?

I've never used a trailer on spinners either. Frankly, in the cover I throw those things in, I don't think another hook is a good idea.

Yes, the cheap guy on the site is looking at getting a new rod. And one that's over $100 at that. I'm not going overboard though, top price is around $175. Rod will be paired with an Abu Garcia Amb Record No. 50 (basically a fancier version of the 5600) spooled with 17# P-line CXX. Currently I have it paired with a 7' Ugly Stick Pro Lite MH, used it for plastics, jigs, and big topwaters (hybrids). After some research I have some thoughts on a St Croix AC70MHF or the AC70MF. Leaning toward the MH due to fishing heavy cover. The fish around here are very good at taking the bait and running into the trees and I need to be able to force it out a bit. I prefer a 7' over 6'6", it just works better for me. I have looked at several other posts, and I noted Roadwarrior's choice of the ES70MF but I can't bring myself to spend that much. It did have some effect on my choices above though (the possible choice of the M instead of MH). I'm not set on the St. Croix and wouldn't mind something similar from G. Loomis. The Loomis has an advantage in that I can get them at a local store. However, I don't care for BPS products (except for the lighter rods). I haven't had any luck with their quality. Shimano rods haven't really impressed me all that much either, but that might be because of my previous price range. A lot of info to weed through, but I would appreciate any inputs. Thanks in advance.

And here is the true answer to the question. Every person is different, and the choice will be different for different applications. You just have to find out where baitcasters work better for you. I've been using spinning gear for ages, and just recently picked up the baitcaster again. I can't pitch or flip with a baitcaster at all, but I can with the spinning gear. However for casting applications, especially spinners and topwaters, the baitcaster is better for me.

I'm fairly new to using crankbaits, but not long ago the bass were hangin around at 8' in 12-16' of water. My first serious use of a lipped crank was a DT16 in a light color (similar to shad). I kept the speed a little low so that the crank went to 8-10' and didn't dive all the way down. Result? 3.96 largemouth, only fish I caught that day (lost one on a rattletrap), third place in the tourney with big fish thrown in. I plan on using more cranks (and jigs) in the future.

Like I said, I'm just screwing with you. It think it is just funny because the stereotypical bass fisherman has a few pounds to lose. Enjoy it while you have it. I'm in the same boat as RocknFish, I'm 19, just hair shy under 6ft, and weigh 140. For about 3 years I was stuck weighing 125-130. No matter what I eat, no matter if I drink weight gainer, or whatever, just can't get past the 145 mark. I'm sure that will change, but I'll enjoy it for now. You guys don't have to feel alone any more. Shortly before my 39th birthday I finally managed to get 135# packed onto my 5' 10" frame. For 20 years I was stuck at 115 to 125.

I have to say a brown close to a natural earthworm color.

X2 I also read Missouri Game & Fish

I think most of you will laugh at my "system". I have two plastic shopping bags. Light colored plastics go in one, and dark plastics in the other. They stay in the bags they came in, and those bags get tossed into the shopping bags. It's not really as bad as you might think. When I am deciding on what plastic to use, i already know whether I want light or dark. I pull out that bag, pour out the plastics in it, pick out the one I want, toss the rest back in. It really is pretty quick. I can't find anything big enough to actually sort them out in to, so this works for me. I probably have a good 15# of plastics in the boat. Yeah, I'm still black and blue from that bait monkey beating on me. And I just put in an order with *** too.

If you are still seeing these bass as you walk down the bank, keep track of where they are. The next time you go out, tie on a frog (or that big worm, weightless) and cast to those spots. Don't get anywhere close to those spots until after you have fished them. Bass that close to a shallow shoreline are easy to scare off. I have used frogs, flukes, and all sorts of weightless plastics. Best bet is if you can cast across part of the pond to land on the shore just past the spot. Bass sees frog crawl from shore into water. Bass sees frog start to swim away, Bass sees FOOD trying to get away. Bass kills frog. mdgreco191 catches big ol' bass with a big grin on his face! I've managed to learn a few places this well and it has payed off big time.

I've been using safety pin spinners to catch bass for ages. The most common of these is the Beetlespin, but there are many brands that sell just the spinners and you can get them in a fairly wide variety of sizes (in both silver and gold). Put a #1 safety pin spinner on a 1/4 oz jig head, add a 4" sassy shad and you give the fish something they probably haven't seen often. And it's a lot cheaper than buying a full spinnerbait of the same size. Don't be surprised if you end up catching any other predatory species you have in your lake too.

X2 It's the standard answer. If you have a lot of shad in the lake, you might think of white or chrome (especially if you have a lot of light from a full moon, street lights, etc.). You might try a Jitterbug also. Plenty of noise to attract the fish. Come to think of it, almost any topwater can be worked in a way that creates a lot of noise to attract fish. A while ago I was in a local (fun) tourney and while no one else had luck with topwaters, I did well "walking" a Tiny Torpedoe. I made as much noise as a buzzbait, but it wan't moving quickly. Seems that's what they wanted that day. If the buzzbaits are working well, you might also try a prop lure worked fairly fast. Give them something they haven't seen in a while.

How about: Don't have one and wish I was a good enough fisherman to get one?

This is going to be difficult. They did a study not long ago and discovered that ponds and small lakes outproduce large lakes by a factor of 3 to 4 when you compare numbers of bass caught per hour fished. I'll be giving 2 answers to these question, first will be small waters (SW), then big waters (BW). Something to take into account here too is that many pros don't like the big lake I fish (Truman), and I don't know it very well yet (first year on it or any big lake really). I also fish it mostly during our local "tourneys" (just for fun), so if I find anything less than 15" I'm not interested in staying for the fun of them. I need them bigger than 15" to count for the tourney. 1: Missouri for both. About 50 miles East of Kansas City. 2. SW: between 5 and 6 an hour. BW: 1 every 2 to 3 hours 3. SW: About 1.8#. BW: 2# 4. SW: 15". BW: 15" 5. SW: 5#. BW: 3.96#. Lifetime?: SW: 6.5# (once in Missouri and once in Oklahoma). BW: 3.96# Yeah... one of the ponds I fish has some really skinny bass. Too many weeds and they can't find the food.

I don't really have a set schedule. It all really depends on how much I have been fishing, what the weather has been like, whether I was fishing at night or in the day, what kind of cover I was fishing in. Mono gets changed after around 100 hours of sunlight exposure, lowered for heavy cover, number of backlashes, and how heavily I used that reel. Braid... Totally different story. I put it on the beginning of last year and ain't changed it yet. I do take off a foot or two after each trip to get rid of any "hidden" abrasions. It is getting time to replace now, but I might just take it off, replace the backing (adding about 30 yrds more) and put the braid back on reversed (terminal end now tied to the backing). Haven't used flouro yet. Thinking bout replacing my mono with it. Right now I have mono on all my baitcasters and a couple of spinning reels, with braid on the rest of my spinning reels.

So far this year I have managed largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, meanmouth (various hybrids of the previous three), white bass (also called sand bass in OK and TX), and hybrids (also called wipers). We don't have stripers in my lakes, so I haven't got them yet.

I have been fishing during my lunch hour for several years now. What I have seen around here is that the smaller bass hit topwater well around the weeds, but that slows down about now. The bigger bass tend to go a little deeper, but they are there and bite well. My main problem is... This place is weed CHOKED!!! It makes it darned near impossible to get to those bigger fish.

I've actually been in situations where I was glad to have a rod between 4.5 and 5.5 feet. When shore fishing and forging your way through bruch to get back to shore, with limbs all around you while you cast, limited storage space in a car... Short rods have their place, but my personal preference (when I have the storage space and casting room) is 6.5 to 7. Even from a boat I still use a 5.5 foot rod for skipping baits under trees. I get much better control with that rod vs. the 6.5 foot.

I have a Record No. 50 (very similar reel) that I use 17# test P-line CXX on. It's on a fairly sensitive MH rod. For black bass I use it for big jigs, T-rigs, and C-rigs in heavy cover (usually lures over 3/4 oz, but minimum of 1/2 oz). However, this reel is also used for big topwaters (Super Spook Excaliber) and striper hybrids. I'm still fairly new at the baitcasting thing, so I don't trust myself with "pricey" lines yet. I might move to flouro after I get better.

Heck... In a few of them I use live bluegill (5") for bait. Mostly for catfish, but I catch a LOT of bass on them. Taliesin. Would you please tell me how you hook your bluegills when you baitfish them. I have had trouble with them coming off hooks. I hook my live bait a couple of different ways due to the problem of throwing them off: Bluegill: Two different methods. If the bite is pretty fast, I'll hook them through the eyes. This does put the hook through the brain also, so they don't live long (10 minutes or so). While they are alive, they act VERY injured and attract fish quickly. With a slower bite, I'll run the hook in the mouth and up through a nostril. They don't act as injured, but do survive longer (up to 3 hours) Shad: Shad will live quite a while when hooked through the eyes. For these fish it doesn't put the hook through the brain. It does make them VERY active though. Shad don't live long after being stressed out, but they will still manage to kick around after an hour this way. I know some people that hook them through both nostrils, but I haven't tried that yet. With these hooking methods you need to be ready to set the hook quickly. Most fish swallow bait head-first (especially bass) and you don't want to gut-hook your fish (unless you are out fishing for food). I haven't used circle hooks much, but that's another solution for this. Just remember that with circle hooks you CAN'T set the hook. It's the main reason I have problems with them.

I stick with the original Rattle Trap. My local lake has TONS of shad, so I usually stick with chrome in 1/4 and 1/2 oz.

Marty make a good point. Black bass won't normally make long runs that make you worry about the knot at the other end of the line. For those of us that go for other species as well (stripers, striper hybrids, catfish, redfish, etc.) we do need to worry about that knot. Looking at Marty's pic, it looks like he uses an improved clinch knot. It's the same knot I use at both ends of my line.

Islandbass gave you some good information. I'll expand on it though. 4# test line will pull in a 2.5# fish. However, Will it pull in a 2.5# fish that is trying to pull away from you with all it's strength and managed to wrap you around 3# of weeds? (And worse yet, if you end up fishing in a river or stream the fish might have the current to help.) I only weight 135#, but in some situations I can put out 300# of force. A fish diving away from you will have a similar effect. With luck and a lot of skill you can bring in a fish that weighs more than your line it rated for (my uncle caught an 80# catfish on 14# line), but your drag WILL end up letting out line and there is a really good chance that fish will find some sort of cover to hang you up in. I tend to use heavier line than most people, but part of that is spending most of my life on the shore, and not on a boat. With shore fishing you can't go get your lure (with or without fish) out of cover, but have to force it out (maybe while fighting a fish). For wide open areas I'll go with 10# line, but for most of my bass fishing I use 15 or 17#. For really heavy cover (especially weeds) I go with my 40# braid (and for my catfishing I go with 65 and 80# braid).

I think this is part of knowing your particular body of water also. I only fish one pond where I have to downsize my lures, and it's less than 1/10 acre. In all of my other local ponds/lakes the fish are big enough (or hungry enough) to tackle whatever you throw out there. Heck... In a few of them I use live bluegill (5") for bait. Mostly for catfish, but I catch a LOT of bass on them.

I used to fish for northerns while I was stationed at Minot ND, and spinnerbaits were the best I found. Buzzbaits were a real blast though! Nothing like seeing the wake of a 30" fish coming up on your buzzbait from behind! I never went for size on those, but I must have caught hundreds of those things, and all of them on spinners and buzzbaits meant for bass. Just pop by Wal Mart and pick up about 20 of their $1 spinners. I would stick with white and chart.