RobbyZ5001

Thank you for the input. I am just entering the swimbait world, and I am not sure I want to dump a ton of money into it just yet. Do you think it's possible to use one swimbait setup? I have a feeling it's a dumb question, and the answer would be no. I would like to throw soft hollow bodies all the way up to hard jointed swimbaits. The baits in particular that I would like to throw would be lunker punkers, matt lures soft/hard gill, HUDS, Berkley hollow belly, and the slammer.

Yeh I tend to throw them on my current designated jig rod, cumara, or mh avid.

I have been trying to build the quality of my setups as well as covering all techniques. Please critique my gear, and let me know what you think I should add. Some ideas I have are two swimbait setups (one heavy/one light), a light spinning setup for dropshot, upgrade my flipping stick, and upgrade my frog rod. What I have: GLX BCR803 /Curado 201e7- Jig Setup avid 7' med fast/stradic 2500 - Jerkbaits avid 7' mh fast/curado 201e7- crig/spinnerbaits/buzzbaits quantum tour edition pt 7'6 XH fast/ revo s- flipping stick Cabelas XML 7' H/ revo stx- frog rod avid 6'6med fast/ revo winch- cranks cumara 7'2 med fast/ chronarch 51mg- Shakyhead/Dropshot american rodsmiths 7'6 med deep crank/ BPS pro qual 4.9:1- deep crank What I have on my possible buy list: okuma 7'11" med-heavy w/ a cardiff 300 (light swimbait) okuma 7'6" heavy w/ a cardiff 400 (hvy swimbait) Dobyns Savvy Cast Rod 7'3 mag heavy (frog) Cumara 7'2 med xfast spinning/ shimano sahara (dropshot) Gloomis Shakyhead Spinning 6'10" Mag-Lt (dropshot) Lucky Craft 7' med fast fat mini magic (shallow/mid crank) I am thinking about possibly using my winch with a new crank rod, and buying an stx to use with my 6'6 med fast avid for topwater. Any thoughts would be great. If I need to better explain anything please ask. I know it is a lot to look through, and I appreciate the help! Thanks!

I have been trying to build the quality of my setups as well as covering all techniques. Please critique my gear, and let me know what you think I should add. Some ideas I have are two swimbait setups (one heavy/one light), a light spinning setup for dropshot, upgrade my flipping stick, and upgrade my frog rod. What I have: GLX BCR803 /Curado 201e7- jig rod avid 7' med fast/stradic 2500 -jerkbaits avid 7' mh fast/curado 201e7- crig/spinnerbaits/buzzbaits quantum tour edition pt 7'6 XH fast/ revo s- flipping stick Cabelas XML 7' H/ revo stx- frog rod avid 6'6med fast/ revo winch- cranks cumara 7'2 med fast/ chronarch 51mg- lightweight american rodsmiths 7'6 med deep crank/ BPS pro qual 4.9:1- deep crank What I have on my possible buy list: okuma 7'11" med-heavy w/ a cardiff 300 (light swimbait) okuma 7'6" heavy w/ a cardiff 400 (hvy swimbait) Dobyns Savvy Cast Rod 7'3 mag heavy (frog) Cumara 7'2 med xfast spinning/ shimano sahara (dropshot) Gloomis Shakyhead Spinning 6'10" Mag-Lt (dropshot) Lucky Craft 7' med fast fat mini magic (shallow/mid crank) I am thinking about possibly using my winch with a new crank rod, and buying an stx to use with my 6'6 med fast avid for topwater. Any thoughts would be great. If I need to better explain anything please ask. I know it is a lot to look through, and thank you!

Thats great J Francho, we also have a classic in Feb. or March at Toledo Bend with no entry fee or motel bills(all paid for thru club dues, raffles and tournament fees) everyone that fishs it goes back home with a payout no matter where you place. It's a great time.....Mike 8-) The top 4 boaters and co-anglers meet at a diner at 4 AM. We each put a name of a lake in a hat, and pick the lake. We draw for partners, and head to the lake. Pretty cool. That is a really cool idea. Doesn't one guy typically dominate, or are these popular lakes that your all familiar with?

John, I completely agree with you. I just wanted to show that releasing fish still adds to mortality. I think that most anglers thoughts are that if they release the fish it WILL live. That is also a great quote by Bob Lusk. Nate, what size and how many musky do they stock? Are they hybrid or will they be reproducing?

Nate, My statement on agriculture was just an example. I am sure it is a problem, but I have no clue to what extent. There is nothing wrong with anglers keeping fish. In fact, when working I will encourage them to keep fish. I think anglers should read more about selective harvesting. I have seen reports of a decrease in harvest for quite a long time now. I am not sure that people are aware of how high the post release mortality of a fish is either. I don't know the numbers off hand for just fun fishing c&r mortality, but for a tournament the studies I have read show a 30% post release mortality. I know this doesn't demonstrate what you may be doing, but it just shows that it happens without knowing. As for the fish not being there after seeing people fish it time after time. There could be something that your not seeing making the fish leave. It could be food source, water quality, habitat, etc.. I think it's obvious, but I will state it anyway. Areas with higher fishing pressure will typically have less fish, or they will be harder to catch making them appear to be less in numbers. That is only area not the river as a whole. Trying to extrapolate one little area to compare to the river is erroneous. Anyway those are some thoughts...

One of the main reasons I believe they are doing this more for the public is because of the guides. The susky has many guides, and many of them are pushing for c&r only. I will also agree with you, for the most part about rivers being more dynamic. I think the biggest problem with rivers are that they span great distances. Look at the susky, the Delaware, the Hudson, hell look at the Mississippi. They will go through many different areas such as residential, woodlands, industrial, ect.. It is hard to fix something that could be spread out over 100's of miles. Such as the leakage of a pollutant, or runoff from agriculture. Sometimes even if the biologists know the problem it won't be corrected, because of the almighty dollar. For instance, Wyoming is huge in cattle grazing. Cattle grazing is detrimental beyond imagination to the habitat. State and federal organizations know this, but they can't just stop it completely. They need to do damage control the best they can so fish and cattle can coincide. I won't get into all this, but it's just an example. I am sure some of you can think of similar situations. Sorry for rambling....

Well a little bit of background of me before I put my.02 in. I have followed this issue for quite awhile. I have listened to meetings on this issue as well as spoke with Dave Miko about the issue. A few points off the bat. The decrease in YOY SM have been recorded for quite awhile now. This has been a known issue for a long time, but the last few years have been very bad. Columnaris is a disease that can be brought on by stressors. From what I had gathered there is no "smoking gun". There is no point source pollution they can take care of. It is not the nitrogen or the phosphorus solely, it is a combined effect (this is an example). The lack of YOY survivorship is documented in the Juniata river as well as other places to some extent. Catch and release is great, but the problem will still not be fixed. Will it help to some extent? Possibly... Is there still a significant problem that no one knows the cause of? Yes... In my opinion this move could be to make the public happy, and not as much as a biologist choice. This is just a guess. I have not spoke with the biologists about the subject recently, because I have been in WY working. I will be scrounging for some updated info though. Nate your stirring up a can of worms with the last comment about closing the spawn. That fight could go on for years.

What would we do without you... ;D

I think we actually have an active member who passed it.. Congratulations Long Mike!

I think we need an annual BR spelling bee.

How does the capital one card all the way at the bottom look? I read the fine print, and found nothing odd. I have a high interest loan currently I would like to pay off. I am confident I will be able to pay it before the interest would hit the card. http://www.creditcards.com/0-apr-credit-cards.php

Are there any hidden tricks or gimmicks on the 0% for a year credit cards? Has anyone used them to benefit from the 0% interest?

Has anyone used the Daiwa Exceler for deep cranking? http://www.***.com/Daiwa_Exceler_Crankbait_Casting_Reels/descpage-EXC.html I need a reel to pair with my 7'6" med. cranking rod. http://www.***.com/American_Rodsmith_Fritts_Glass_Cranking_Rods/descpage-ARFGCR.html

Thanks, by posting this you just made my day worse. I do not have cable. >

Another bit of real life knowledge to help BASSclary grow up. He's going to make it out of the "Peanut Gallery" some day. harsh man... :-/

My experience, and what I feel comfortable with is freshwater. I feel like I could adapt to marine environments quickly, but marine definitely has more complex systems. The end goal in my mind right now is to eventually settle down, and work with black bass. North Carolina has man very well known lakes. To name a few, Wylie, Norman, Kerr, and Gaston.

Nope, not yet. I woke up to 4 horses this past week out in the field though. :-/

Thank you for the replies, I have looked into the jobs mentioned. It seems to be a lot of wildlife work which is not my cup of tea. I will definitely keep an eye on it. Come spring time many jobs open up, but loans don't always wait until you have a job.

Man, I didn 't know you could earn a BS degree in anything. smarty ;D

Does anyone know of any fisheries/park/rec/dcnr/usfs jobs opening up (preferably within a short drive to well known bass fishing waters)? I am open to moving mostly anywhere, and have a Fisheries Science degree from PSU. Currently I live in Wyoming which is a gorgeous place to live, but the bass population is non existent in this cold high altitude area. I am looking for my next job to be somewhere in bass country. Some areas I am giving a hard look at are North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Alabama. I know this is a complete shot in the dark, but if anyone has seen an ad or have heard something from anyone please let me know. It is hard to find jobs in some places without actually living there to hear about them opening up. I have had cabin fever since June when I moved out to Wyoming. Please keep me in mind if you hear of any openings. Thanks.

Report and pics would be great. This sounds like an awesome time. I have heard they are good eating. Have you tried them?

This makes sense. What's your favorite dropshot combo?

I have done both, and am about to invest in a better setup. Any suggestions? Any reasoning for one or the other?