fishfordollars

A duck hunter reported an investation on the Angelina river arm to parks and wildlife this week. When they went to check it out they found it had covered over 400 acres. It is in the Kingtown area and they said a flood would likely send it to the main lake. Everyone please check your boats, trailer, and livewells when leaving a body of water. They also said the dreaded grass carp would rather starve to death before eating this stuff. Read the article at: chron.com

Black/Blue Brown/Green Pumpkin Trailer Camo/Smoke They all catch fish

If it gets a lot of use I respool daily. Keep backing on all reels so it's not as much line as one might think. The spools stay full. A 7:1.1 reel is not that when fishing half a spool.

Great point! I would just add, it doesn't hurt to fish in Texas, Florida, Georgia and Kalifornia, too! Yes it does. At the Toyota Bass Classic weigh in on Lake Conroe Saturday Kevin Vandam mentioned while on stage how lucky we (Texas Anglers) were to have our parks and wildlife department working for us the way they have been for the last many years. They are bound and determined to produce 20 lb. fish. They have even gone as far as changing slots to larger lengths and force feeding lakes oversize offspring. Two lakes (lake Nacogdoches and Town Lake), you are now required to release fish over 24". Only allowed to keep one to see if it qualifies for the state Share a Lunker program (Over 13 lbs.), and if not it must be immediately released back in the lake. Fish under 16" may be kept for consumption. State limit laws must be followed on these undersize fish except for the spotted bass. They may not get it done, but they are giving it one heck of a shot. It cost a lot of money, but thanks to Toyota, it's going all out.

One thing I failed to mention... I NEVER tie a knot in my spool. All I do is attach the end to the backing with a piece of tape. Don't want a knot anywhere in the spool. I'm sure some think I'm crazy, but I am very anal when it comes to anything about my line. I also check each rod guide with a qtip regurarly, and never hook a lure to the rod guide.

Some of the backing on several of mine must be several years old.

All of my reels have backing on them. Out of a dozen if I fish 4-6 hard those will be the ones I change. If the others just lay in the boat they will not get changed. They will; however, get respooled before I go the next weekend or the week after. Line is cheap(Well some of it is), so I don't worry at all. What I really worry about is the number of blowups that failure to change will cause over the next several days of fishing if I do not change it out.

Very simple...Picture yourself in the other boat as you approach and act accordingly.

I just read all three pages and not one person mentioned fishing deeper. I firmly believe that the reason most don't catch larger fish is that they spend way too much time in 1-12' of water. Get out there, find some creeks, river ledges, humps, deeper grass lines,etc and get after it. All but two of my fish over ten pounds(I have been lucky enough to catch seven) came in twenty foot or more of water. Fish larger lures, slow down, and make it a point to learn how to fish offshore. Good luck, Jack

Your english is a lot better than some from here on here.

Like I said, it's not for everyone. Just comfortable with this setup. I will also change the line if I spool one up and don't fish it if it sits in the boat or garage for a couple of weeks.

Thanks Kent. I've had that on my mind for a while, just havn't taken the plunge. Will pick up some and let you know what I think about it. Anything I need to know about it before I spool it up? Is it stiff, or do I need to treat it with KVD? Thanks, Jack

There was another person stabbed, but he has been released from the hospital according to the morning news. Police said that's the first homicide in over 30 years on campus. Sorry, that's about all I know.

He got stabbed Saturday night at a party. News said he went to school up there to get away from the violence in the Miami area. He was a good looking kid and good player. Stuff like this just turns my stomach. I hope they solve this quickly. Senseless act by someone that does not need to be on the street. Sorry for the rant. Jack

Gangley, I've got it on my mind to hit Conroe on Tuesday or Wednesday. You up for it?

Sandy is a long way down the lake from Caney. You sure you wern't up in Plum? That's the first large creek below Caney. It has a creek that cuts back north out of it about 300 yards from the mouth. If you went into that creek just north of the big point with all the pine trees on it about a mile south of Caney that's Plum Creek. you should have fished all the smaller creeks and pockets just to the south of the Church steps. Lots of fish come out of there. If everyone was fishing the banks you would have done just as well to move out and fish the middle of the pockets with a c-rig and a DT16, and a trap. Just a thought. Let's get together and I will pinpoint those humps and ridges just south of Caney Creek flats for you.

X2 on the KVD Line and Lure Conditioner.

Heck no you don't need them.

I think most of the upper employees were at the tournament. So they probably figured everyone else would be off playing. That's a great discount and I specifically asked them if I could post it here while I was up there. They had no problem with it. I figured they were using it to close out the 09 stuff. Either way it's a great bargin.

This crossed my mind this morning and thought I would share with everyone. I cannot remember the last time I had my line broken and will share the reasons I think are behind it. First, I fish only braid(Power Pro and Suffix), mono (Trilene "Big Game"), and Trilene 100% fluorocarbon. When purchasing a line I only buy from large volume outlets(BPS, Academy, Dicks, etc.). Hopefully this guarantees that I have not purchased an older, out of date spool. I have learned to read the shelf life dates(Manufacturing dates) for my mono so I can purchase a spool of line that has not set on the shelf for long periods ensuring that I get the freshest line in stock. Whether it makes a difference or not I look for the spools that are hidden in the back of the shelf out of site of the stores lighting. At home the spools will stay in a place that is out of sunlight and away from extreme temperature variances and I mark the date of purchase on each spool. I set the spools up to ensure that I always use the oldest spool first thus ensuring that I rotate them exactly as to the time purchased. Every reel I fish has the date marked that the line was installed. This only comes into play with the braid as I change line almost daily when fishing more than one day in a row with mono. Yep, if it gets fished much at all the line comes off in the evening and replaced. During the day blowups, rod guides, hooks, fish, and underwater issues take a toll on the line. It's cheap so I replace it. Get yourself a good spooler and it takes very little time. I also use a backing on all my reels to cut down on the total line usage and the amount. Heck a spool of "Big Game(900 yards) only cost 7.00-9.00. I won't say I retie after each fish caught, but I watch it close and try to after several have been hooked or caught. If I do not replace the mono on a reel after a day on the water, I certainly will strip ten feet or so off the reel and retie before the next days fishing. I know floro is expensive, but I have very little confidence in it's ability to withstand a days fishing, so it definitely comes off if it has been blown up or fished around a lot of heavy cover. It may be me, but I have major problems if I leave it on a reel for several days. It tends to keep it's memory(At least it does for me) and I have problems with the kinks and blowups if I do not change it out. Braid is another story(Are you listening Long Mike?) in that I will fish it for a month but no longer. I never turn it around on the spool like I have seen a lot of anglers do, I just replace it. I will retie it several times a day just like I do the mono. When it loses it's color I take a permanent magic marker and color sections of it. This is just something I do to keep my confidence up. Sorry for the long post. Just thought it might help someone else that may be having problems. I'm not trying to tell everyone that they need to replace the line each and every time they hit the water. This is just something I have done for years and it keeps me out of trouble when that big fish decides to hook up. Good luck, Jack

You will catch hell from some for this, but it was legally caught, and you have ever right to do as you please with it. Good job, and congratulations on the big fish. Jack

Rattletraps. Fish them over the top of the grass, and when they hang up, rip them free. This is when most bites will happen. Fish them on a stout rod, a little heavier line with less strech, and enjoy. Good luck, Jack

Not that I would have bought one, but I probably would have never tied it on. Would have had a place on the wall for it.

Lefebre wins it all: Dave Lefebre 46-12 Andy Montgomery 46-08 Todd Auten 46-04 Aaron Martens 45-12 Jason Christie 42-00 Clark Wendlant 41-04 Chad Morgenthaler 41-00 Tim Horton 39-08 Sean Horneke 37-08 Tommy Biffle 29-00 Biffle blanked the last day

I picked this up at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic yesterday. If anyone goes on line use promo code TTBC09 for your 25% discount. Offer is good from 10-19-09 through 12-31-09. www.castawayrods.com Jack