SV1000

Thanks Bud!

I don't know the name of the color but it was a medium brown back and white belly.

Clunn, Dance, KVD, Linder or others that we see on TV.

I was tired of throwing my buzzbait yesterday so I switched to a Horny Toad. I decided to try something different after getting some hits on a falling buzzbait. I cast beyond my target and retrieved it fast enough to make the legs kick and then I stopped it right at the edge of the weeds and BAM!!! Hardest hit to date from a little 17" mama.

I remember seeing them as a kid, a picture of one rod bent to different degrees indicating backbone and action, etc. Thanks, SV

^^^ that is extreme but may be legal in Alabama and this issue is not the intent of the tread. I just checked with TP&W and found that in Texas, it is illegal to hunt, fish or retreive game on other persons property without written consent. Texas Penal Code 30.05 states that a fence is notification that the property is posted. So that answers the question for Texas. Now this question was generated after reading a post by another member who found ponds on Google Earth and fishes them. I know of some sweet looking ponds in my area but I don't want to jeapordize my privaledge to hunt and fish in Texas so I don't.

I do not fully understand the laws regarding this issue but living in Texas I was taught not to cross a fence to hunt because it's trespassing. There are heated debates on the hunting boards regarding this issue and depending on the part of the country, the practice is either accepted or rejected. It is my understanding that it is not trespassing when the land is not posted, by sign or by purple paint. In NE KS, I hunt my family farm and our farm borders at least 5 other farms that are not posted. However, being from Texas, I still don't cross the fence to hunt a neigbors field. What is the law where you fish and is it acceptable to hop a fence to fish a pond or other body of water?

I have three: pink/chrome, yellow/chrome and a small blue/chrome I bought last summer. The pink and yellow were bought for speckled trout and I've not fished the blue much at all. This morning they were not hitting the chart buzzbait so I decided to fish the yellow and chrome because chartreuse seems to be the color right now. I was paralleling a weedline along the bank and I gave up. It didn't matter if I was 1' or 10' away I was still pulling back a mess of grass and crap. I bet the Trap would be great on Amistad but I don't see how I can be productive if I have to clean it each cast. Will the bass hit them with a hunk of vegetation hanging on it?

It's a good idea in my opinion. If it's cane it will rot quick, if it's bamboo it will last for years. I have been sinking crappie trees this year and hope to attract the crappie so that I can catch them for the skillet. I picked up a trailer load of bamboo and only used the top 8' for the crappie trees. Now I have a load of bamboo that is up to 1.5" in diameter and 8'-14' long. I am going to use the larger bamboo to make bass habitat and think the bass will use the heavier structure before the crappie trees. Google "crappie condo" and you will find a lot of info.

Pretty interesting video with an artificial snake. Who makes this bait? http://video.aol.com/video-detail/15-lb-13-oz-bass-caught-in-nc-on-this-snake-lure/209153847

You might find this forum helpful. http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm

I Google'd for an FAQ on rod blanks and rod terminology because I am not sure if "fast" means limber or stiff. If it means stiff, then my Castaway "Light Fast Casting" is "slow".

It sure was, and simply saying that bass don't feed on snakes would have been an intelligent response. Instead, Micro tried to elevate his status on the internet by showing that he is an expert in his field at my expense. I am well educated and quite knowledgeable in my field; it required a five year professional degree, license and at this point almost twenty years of hard work to reach my level of knowledge and credibility. When people do not speak fluently in regards to my field of knowledge, and this happens frequently, I can educate them and correct them at the same time without being a pr!ck, I call that maturity. Time to go fishing! SV

All that I know of our 20.00 for Cruxis, 30.00 for Citica and 50.00 for the Curado.

Yes, I am serious but I had no idea that using snakes as live bait would be so controversial. A lot of the sarcasm contained in the responses is so near PETA'ism that it's scary. Now that I think about it, I have seen snakes swimming all over the lake with not a single blow up by Micropterus salmoides. I should have thought about this before snagging them off the tree. I have been around snakes most of my life but I am not a herpetologist. In fact, I do not know the scientific name of a single snake that I have owned in my life including Red Tail Boas, Glossy, Longnose, Garter, Hognose, King, Diamondback, Coachwhip, Bullsnake, Indigo, Massasagua or others that escape my mind. So I am not an expert on snakes, I don't study them and I don't kill them indiscriminately. In Texas we eat Rattlers fried and call snakes of the genus Agkistrodon Cottonmouths, Water Moccassins and given enough time or distance, Cottonmouth Water Moccassins.

My rods are very similar in length, weight and action but with the addition of the Citica tonight I decided I should setup the rods for certain baits and try to keep them that way. I originally bought my Cruxis/Castaway combo for Speckled Trout. I had no idea what I was doing and took the advice of the GM employee. The tip is a little fast for my tastes and the handle is a little short but I still like it a lot. Cruxis 200, 7' Castaway Pro Sport "Light Fast Casting", 20lb PP, Duolock - Crankbaits (Most flexible tip and shortest handle of my rods) Pinnacle LP100, 7' Silstar "Med-Heavy", 20lb Sufix Hi-Vis Yellow - Buzzbait/Crankbaits (Casts a long ways with 3/8 ounce buzzbaits) Citica 200D, 7' Castaway "Medium Action Popping", 30lb PP Red - Plastics/Jigs (A little faster tip than Silstar and should cast lighter plastics a little better) Does a worm rod need to be real stiff if I am using braid for everything?

...I decided on a Citica 200D after using my Cruxis 200 for a few years. I looked at the 100 series and decided I liked the wider spool. It is butter smooth, certainly due to the well greased innards but that's okay by me. I will wait until winter to tear it down. I fleaBayed to check prices on Curado CU-200's and they are selling for 82.00-92.00 so that was the deciding factor. It was 79.00 after the 30.00 rebate and a 10.00 coupon I have been carrying for a year. When my last LP100 is deep-sixed, I will replace it with another Citica.

I grabbed two water snakes that were sunning on a tree yesterday and want to use them for bait. No, they are not Water Moccassins and I am well educated as far as our resident poisonous snakes. Would it be better to hook them behind the neck or near the tail? Either way they may tangle like an eel does in saltwater.

Thanks guys, I really enjoy having them along but I know their mind will be on everything in the world but fishing and Dad pretty soon. I don't dwell on it, it would be selfish of me to not let them do what kids do...they will be Daddy's girls again someday.

I'll bet the water temp is 55-60 on our 55 ac lake and the Horny Toad is killing them.

Great bass and story too!!!

She does not like to fish as much as she did but I managed to get her out this evening. She started off tossing a chart buzzbait but tired of the winding with her 3:1 spincast so she switched to a Horny Toad. Last year she was pretty successful with a worm. We worked our way around the lake to proven spots and even I only managed one fish. We had a storm and heavy rain last night so I knew it wouldn't be great but I really wanted to get her on a fish. We stopped where we started which is a bedding area mostly 1-2 foot deep. I started heaving my chart buzzbait as far as possible and into the edge of the weedbed and handing over the rod. About the 6'th cast this 17" beauty nailed it!

I recently bought a 300 yd spool of Sufix high vis yellow in 20 lb after a few months with Power Pro green 20 lb. I wanted to give Sufix a shot because it receives very high review here. I have posted in a few threads about my comparison of the two but will try to summarize here. I found the Sufix to be quieter and frays less. But after two weeks of fishing and approximately 25 fish, I have broken off at least four times most likely at the hook, and snapped off two lures when I left a loop from a previous backlash and cast again, this occured the second time last night but I was able to retrieve the Bandit Footloose, can't say the same for the buzzbait. I have used a Uni-Knot for all connections. On the other hand, I caught over 58 fish in February and did not break off or lose a bait using Power Pro. It is stiffer, frays faster and fades quickly but knot strength appears to be better as well as shock strength. I will go back to Power Pro Red but I need to get full use out of my Sufix, if I get some catfish rods set up I will move the Sufix to those reels. Just one guy's opinion and worth exactly what you paid for it....SV

I like the reels, they cast almost as far as my Cruxis and they have served their purpose so far when I wanted more than one rod/reel and could only afford to spend so much. I certainly don't take what you say personally. It does chap my butt that I can't get to the other side of the cage to service it properly. I pried and twisted and managed to scar it up pretty good, hopefully it will still work at least through this season.

I want to set up some baitcasters, probably 3 for channel cats but they will be used for bass 90% of the year. I had a 4600C years ago that I really liked. First, I am looking for a good website listing Ambassadeur model numbers but have not found one. Second, what are the recommended Abu reels and which models should I steer clear of? I can bass fish equally well with a round reel or a low pro because I don't palm the reel.