Fishing trends...drive me crazy!!!

[Bass Dude]

Some thoughts on fishing trends..

They (pros and the like) used to say the large spinning reel spools caused more twist and line slap, so they go to long spools.  Now, they say the larger spools make for longer casts and less twist. 

They went from front drags to rear drags and back again. 

They used to say that you should use a low gear ratio for flippin' to winch the fish out.  Now you should use a high gear ratio to get them out as fast as possible. 

They used to say to flip with a rod like a broom handle, now it should be parabolic.

Bottom line...I think just stick with what you have and the trend will come back around!!

[SuskyDude]

Everything old is new again.

I remeber when braided line was "new." I thought to myself, "haven't I seen this before?"

So I dug some old reels of my great grandfathers out of my closet, and there was bradied line on half of them (dacron I assume). Go figure.

[Bluebasser86]

I just go with what I like and stick with that. If it works for me I don't really care about what I "should be using".

[intheweeds]

That is so true. I read some where that mono may come full circle. The article said that so many fishermen using are using braid, fluro, ect.. so mono gives the lures a new (old) action that the fish aren't use to seeing. I am not saying I agree, just something I read. Pretty funny though. ;D

[Sam]

Yes, I agree with you.

Now it is Japanese finesse techniques and swimbaits.

Wonder if the "trends" are set to fill the fishing magazines with content???        

[intheweeds]

Yeah, the Japanese microjigs are crazy small. In this months Bass Master magazine Kiriyama says that he uses 2 to 3 pound fluro in the pressured Japanese waters. Wow! 2 to 3 pound test for bass. I would never think of using that light of line. That is why he is a pro and I am NOT! :D He does say he won't go below 6# test on American waters.

[Carrington]

Yeah, the Japanese microjigs are crazy small. In this months Bass Master magazine Kiriyama says that he uses 2 to 3 pound fluro in the pressured Japanese waters. Wow! 2 to 3 pound test for bass. I would never think of using that light of line. That is why he is a pro and I am NOT! :D He does say he won't go below 6# test on American waters.

bass are nothing for that size line lol, ive seen guys catch sail fish of of 2lb line.

[OHIO]

Yeah, the Japanese microjigs are crazy small. In this months Bass Master magazine Kiriyama says that he uses 2 to 3 pound fluro in the pressured Japanese waters. Wow! 2 to 3 pound test for bass. I would never think of using that light of line. That is why he is a pro and I am NOT! :D He does say he won't go below 6# test on American waters.

bass are nothing for that size line lol, ive seen guys catch sail fish of of 2lb line.

I find that hard to believe.

[Fish Chris]

Fishing trends amuse me 

I like to know what the crowds are doing, so I can be sure not to do that myself

Peace,

Fish

[Fish Chris]

Yeah, the Japanese microjigs are crazy small. In this months Bass Master magazine Kiriyama says that he uses 2 to 3 pound fluro in the pressured Japanese waters. Wow! 2 to 3 pound test for bass. I would never think of using that light of line. That is why he is a pro and I am NOT! He does say he won't go below 6# test on American waters.

bass are nothing for that size line lol, ive seen guys catch sail fish of of 2lb line.

I find that hard to believe.

Ohio, believe it. The 2 lb test Sailfish Line Class record, as recognized by the IGFA, is over 100 lbs. I think it was 103 lbs the last time I checked. Quite a feat, but not really all that unbelievable to me.

Pretty much any fish can be caught on any gear. It's all about a smooth drag (the clutch) and having a boat driver that can stay on the fish. Piece of cake

Fish

[OHIO]

Really? That amazes me. How long does it usually take to get one to the boat?

[Fishing Rhino]

Back in the day, the 1960s, we (the kid next door) used 2 pound mono so we could cast the smaller size Mepps Aglia spinners, either zero or one.  That was on my favorite pond smallie fishing before someone (another story) introduced largemouth into it twenty plus years ago.

In May, during the spawn, five pound smallmouth were fairly common.  It was not unusual to catch a half dozen to a dozen that size.

On two pound test, with the drag set at next to no tension, it would take up to a half hour to get them to the boat.

I mistakenly thought it was quite the sporting thing to do until my uncle from Huntsville, Alabama, who fished with what looked like tuna gear compared to my rod, taught me otherwise.

The problem with "sporting gear" is that it wears the fish down to exhaustion while building up lactic acid in the muscles.  A much higher percent of my fish would die because of this.

[SirSnookalot]

Not that it hasn't been done, but to catch a sailfish on 2# test takes 1 hell of a fisherman, I have never witnessed a feat like that. If you can imagine a fish hitting a bait at 60-70 mph ( bass swim about 12 mph), then peeling off huge amounts of line faster than you can blink your eye and most sails don't weight a 100#. To land a world class fish like that is an effort of teamwork between a top notch angler and a very experienced charter captain at the helm. I've caught sails, but with heavier tackle, still a great battle. I've seen it done on tv, but in person .......no!, The Spanish Fly ( Jose Wejebe ) catches sails on fly rod, on tv. They troll with conventional gear and when a sail is spotted they reel in and he throws out his fly as the fishing is swimming towards the boat, fantastic stuff, wonder how many takes are required to do it in a 30 minute show.

The major problem with an exhausted fish are predators, sharks are almost always around, barracuda for some of the smaller species. Not uncommon to have a number of bull sharks swimming around the boat

[flipin4bass]

It's both interesting and fun to watch the evolution of bass fishing. Pros have and always will establish the course of fishing because of the multitude of people watching them. I do, however, get a kick out of watching how they change over time; I remember when a young KVD publically talked down spinning reels and said how he would never use them. Look at the deck of his boat today, he even endorses them.

[jdw174]

Some thoughts on fishing trends..

They (pros and the like) used to say the large spinning reel spools caused more twist and line slap, so they go to long spools. Now, they say the larger spools make for longer casts and less twist.

They went from front drags to rear drags and back again.

They used to say that you should use a low gear ratio for flippin' to winch the fish out. Now you should use a high gear ratio to get them out as fast as possible.

They used to say to flip with a rod like a broom handle, now it should be parabolic.

Bottom line...I think just stick with what you have and the trend will come back around!!

With clothing, I wear what I like...not what somebody else thinks is "hip".  If I tried to keep up with the pros on everything they tout, I'd be in the poorhouse.

[intheweeds]

Yeah, the Japanese microjigs are crazy small. In this months Bass Master magazine Kiriyama says that he uses 2 to 3 pound fluro in the pressured Japanese waters. Wow! 2 to 3 pound test for bass. I would never think of using that light of line. That is why he is a pro and I am NOT! :D He does say he won't go below 6# test on American waters.

bass are nothing for that size line lol, ive seen guys catch sail fish of of 2lb line.

I see what you mean Carrington. I was thinking more about the cover that bass can get into, that is why I would not want to use such light line. That is amazing about that sail fish. I used to crew on a charter boat on Kauai and we would use 80# main line with 400# leader for marlin and sail fish. We always had lighter gear stand up gear on board for customers who wanted it. We never had 2# test line spooled up though, lol.

[bilgerat]

The comment about the light line Japanese way of finesse fishing made the light bulb above my head click on. I realized it was no fluke that when I got my UL rig a few years back I was very successful with it and, as I tapered off of it, my numbers went down.

In a lot of ways, my particular fishing scenario has a lot of similarities with Japan - smaller bodies of water that are high pressured. Trying to utilize Southern huge body of water techniques up here is futile. This is not set in stone as I can throw a frog in pads and weeds up here and have success, but for the most part light tackle is suited well for up here.

The internet and sites like this can be a blessing and a curse. There's almost too much information out there and one can be overwhelmed (I know I was) by 'information overload'. I understand where Fish Chris is coming from when he says he goes the opposite way of the crowd. It's not for the sake of being different, it's because he figured out something that works.

I guess the bottom line is to keep an open mind and be able to adapt. Don't dismiss a certain technique because no one else around is doing it or someone said "it'll never work"

[Fish Chris]

Ya' know Fishing Rhino >

The problem with "sporting gear" is that it wears the fish down to exhaustion while building up lactic acid in the muscles.  A much higher percent of my fish would die because of this.

I'm not going to deny that their is some truth to this. But here's just a few other things to consider....

In-Fishermen once did a study on this exact topic, and what they found out, was that fish with less red muscle (like Largemouth Bass) do not tend to fight very long anyway, regardless of the tackle, hence, they do not tend to build up a lot of lactic acid. In other words, Largemouth's are a great candidate for using very light gear with.

Also, lets say one uses a flipping stick, and rips a big bass straight to the boat, before you can blink an eye. That fish is going to be VERY hot coming into the boat, increasing the chances of the fish hurting itself, by ramming into the inside of a livewell, or shaking out of the anglers hands and being dropped.

Another thing I see, is anglers who either do not have much experience, or, who try to milk out some extra fight from a fish, by lightening up on the drag of medium, or heavier gear..... or, goofier yet, just not pulling on the fish, 1/10th as hard as the gear would allow. {if these guys want more fight, they need to catch bigger, stronger fish }

Generally speaking, I believe people place too much emphasis on the gear, when it comes to wearing down a fish, while in reality, I think a much bigger factor, is the fish wearing itself down. All you have to do is stay hooked up, and keep even pressure The fish pretty much takes care of the rest

Peace,

Fish

[brushhoggin]

yeah the trends are silly. the most powerful marketing or angling advice is word of mouth from a close friend or relative, i.e. someone you trust dearly who isn't trying to sell something.  ;D I think it'd be a great marketing ploy to pay small, but decent amounts of money to folks who send in videos of them catching fish on that companies lure. then use the videos as sales tactics somehow.

[J Francho]

I tend to agree with Chris here.  Most fish don't fight to the death.  There are a few exceptions.  Northern Pike and Muskies.  I get these guys in hot and green, and let them go without much fanfare.  I don't even bring them out of the water most times.  I don't know about the red muscle tissue/white tissue thing.  Seems like Esox would be the exception.  Salmonoids seem to wear out to the point they need reviving.  I usually bring them in pretty hot and green, too.  I've gone to using barbless for trout, makes it a hole lot easier to unbutton them in the freeing cold.  A coupleof fly fisherman couldn't believe how quickly I landed a 11 lb. steelhead and released it as they were coming to help me.  "You've done this before," they laughed.

Now bass, large or sallmouth?  I don't think in most cases you're going to wear them out to the death.

Now, trends in gear?  Yes, everything is a cycle.  As young anglers learn about the old ways, they develop new twists on the old, and make it better.  Do you think UL gear of teh 80's is anything like UL gear of now?  Look at spinning reels.  Ever fished with a Mitchell 300 or a Penn 704?  Compare that to what we have now.

You want to know what I think the net big gimmick could be?  Certified weighted baits.  Jigs guaranteed to weigh 1/4 oz, etc.

[Goose52]

......The internet and sites like this can be a blessing and a curse. There's almost too much information out there and one can be overwhelmed (I know I was) by 'information overload'. I understand where Fish Chris is coming from when he says he goes the opposite way of the crowd. It's not for the sake of being different, it's because he figured out something that works.

I guess the bottom line is to keep an open mind and be able to adapt. Don't dismiss a certain technique because no one else around is doing it or someone said "it'll never work"

That's a very good summary indeed!

On gear, I don't follow any trends. I buy gear based on what I think will work, and what is a good value, and use it until it's "used-up". I don't sell or trade gear to have the latest and greatest stuff. I still have, and occasionally fish, my rods and reels from the 1960s (although the rods are hopelessly obsolete by todays standards). I still have in front-line service a bunch of spinning reels from the mid-1980s. Then I have my modern gear. I got so much stuff now that I won't be able to use it up by the time I'm gone.

On trendy baits, I'm a victim of that to a degree. When I got active on this site just over a year ago, I followed all the threads about the various hot baits and techniques and then started placing orders (winter and on-line ordering are a dangerous thing). However, when the spring came and I started fishing my particular water and conditions, I found that just a few baits were all I needed and the trendy techniques weren't necessary to catch fish. I'm retired and can fish every day and it's going to take me couple of years to fish all baits and techniques! So, there's a lot to be said for the KISS principle when it comes to baits.

On following the crowd, or not...when I first moved to Tennessee and started fishing, I had everyone tell me that I had to join the bass club to be successful. So, I looked up some of those guys and they told me that the basic rules were that you had to have a boat to be sucessful in our area, and that only plastic baits would work. Hmmmm, that didn't jive with what I was learning on my own so I figured those guys were in a rut for sure. I'd be fishing from the bank and some of those guys would drive by and say "you won't catch nothin' off the dam." Uh, excuse me while I land this 7-12 LMB from the dam. "Crankbaits don't work in these lakes." Uh, excuse me while I land this 4-12 LMB on this crank. "Dummy, you can't use a buzzbait in the daytime in open water." Uh, excuse me while I land this 3lb LMB on this buzzbait. So, I think I prefer going my own way, reading and learning what I can, then shaking-and-baking what I've learned on my water to see what actually works..... ;D

[Goose52]

... Salmonoids seem to wear out to the point they need reviving. I usually bring them in pretty hot and green, too. I've gone to using barbless for trout, makes it a hole lot easier to unbutton them in the freeing cold.

.....Look at spinning reels. Ever fished with a Mitchell 300 or a Penn 704? Compare that to what we have now.

I have limited experience with trout but did catch 59 rainbows last year (between 12" and 17"). I had a pretty high loss rate on those fish. On hook-up they would just go berserk and by the time I got them to the bank or the boat, the were pretty tuckered out. They're great fighters, but I almost hated catching them.

On the Mitchell 300 - I wonder if the millions of fish that were caught on them knew that they had mostly bushings and no fancy bearings... I still occasionally fish my mid-60s vintage Mitchell 408 - great reel - smooth enough, catches fish. BUT, I will say that the lack of a manual bail feature drives me nuts, as well as the noise and backplay from the ratchet & pawl anti-reverse system... ;D I also like the push-button spools on the old Mitchell reels so you don't have to change your drag setting when you change spools.

[BassChaser57]

Wisdom from my Grandmother----

"Do not be the first to try something new--do not be the last to throw out the old"

That still seems to work in most parts of life--including fishing. I use what works for me and will try something different on occasion.

It is interesting that most articles will say somewhere in them -- use your confidence bait when you need to catch a fish. I always wondered why wait, I always want to catch a bass?

[bilgerat]

I tend to agree with Chris here. Most fish don't fight to the death. There are a few exceptions. Northern Pike and Muskies. I get these guys in hot and green, and let them go without much fanfare. I don't even bring them out of the water most times. I don't know about the red muscle tissue/white tissue thing. Seems like Esox would be the exception. Salmonoids seem to wear out to the point they need reviving. I usually bring them in pretty hot and green, too. I've gone to using barbless for trout, makes it a hole lot easier to unbutton them in the freeing cold. A coupleof fly fisherman couldn't believe how quickly I landed a 11 lb. steelhead and released it as they were coming to help me. "You've done this before," they laughed.

Now bass, large or sallmouth? I don't think in most cases you're going to wear them out to the death.

Now, trends in gear? Yes, everything is a cycle. As young anglers learn about the old ways, they develop new twists on the old, and make it better. Do you think UL gear of teh 80's is anything like UL gear of now? Look at spinning reels. Ever fished with a Mitchell 300 or a Penn 704? Compare that to what we have now.

You want to know what I think the net big gimmick could be? Certified weighted baits. Jigs guaranteed to weigh 1/4 oz, etc.

Right on. The reels of 20 years ago were toys compared to today. You still have to dig a little harder to find quality ul rods that are more than 5' long. Finding quality downsize baits takes a bit of searching but they're out there. I know it's a very niche market so I don't blame anyone for the small number of choices out there. This is where the internet really shines.

[Goose52]

Right on. The reels of 20 years ago were toys compared to today.

How so? Are we still talking spinning reels? What advance in spinning reels has occured in the last 20 years that has put so many more fish in the boat that the reels of only 20 years ago should be considered toys... :-?