brophog

I fish ambidextrous, though I wouldn't say I'm naturally ambidextrous. Some things I just do with my left hand out of habit and others with my right.

Someone mentioned a 1/2 oz lipless as a lure choice, and that's a great suggestion. Most people won't fish in the wind, and more to the point they wont throw into the wind.......and most of that is due to casting difficulties. Density of the bait is key in these conditions. Where I might throw a spinnerbait I move to a lipless, or maybe I just move from a big double willow to a compact short armed version. Where I might throw hollow crankbait I throw a large jig and grub or swimbait. Dense, compact baits will cut through the wind, especially with a low angle cast. For that reason, I actually use more baitcasters in windy conditions than spinning reels, and that's just a personal thing. I'm much better at throwing low angles with a casting setup.

Agreed. I don't have problem seeing my line, but I know others that do, and a green line helps them significantly.

It's all about what you deem acceptable. For me, I have two price points for reels: $100 on most name brand baitcasters. $50 on most name brand spinning reels. I don't go under those retail price points because over the years I've found that's about where the line between acceptable performance and cost cutting tends to lie. I'll tend to pay more for performance from a baitcaster than a spinning reel as well, simply because casting performance is more affected by the reel on a baitcaster than a spinning reel, and spinning reels at about that price point are generally well made by the more prominent manufacturers. Also, never forget (especially with baitcasters) that many reels in this price range tend to be well constructed, but have relatively poor bearings. That's an easy replacement part that can greatly aid in the performance of reels at this price point, and you can upgrade that as your budget allows. Manufacturers have more modification choices than ever before, especially for things like bearings and drags, so you're not always limited to buying the high end to get a lot of features you won't use, such as the next superlight frame material to come around. If you just want a well made reel with good components, much of the cost of a reel whose principle selling point is its weight is wasted on you. For rods, BPS house rods are good, but I personally feel they aren't worth the retail price. However, they put most of their lines on sale several times a year, and have great closeout sales when the product lines turn over. For most applications, they can suit one well, and money can be therefore spent on more specialty applications that fall out of the relatively limited range of a house brand rod. I feel one of the advantages we're currently enjoying in manufacturing processes is that the mid grade stuff is extremely good and has really narrowed the performance gap between itself and the far more expensive high end. For each small performance upgrade from the mid grade to high grade lines, the cost is very much disproportional to the benefit. Low grade is low grade, that that likely will never change, but we're no longer forced to the high grade lines simply to feel like we have an effective tool. An end around to the question, but the question is a false dichotomy. You can have quality AND quantity without breaking the bank. Plus, this is fishing, and any man that says he has everything he needs is either a liar, or talking to his wife. ;D

My favorite UL rod is definitely Shimano's Compre in the 7ft model. Very few manufacturers tend to want to sell rods in the 6'6"-7' range, which I find a shame. I much prefer a longer (but not ungainly long) rod for casting the tiny stuff. For me, it definitely outperforms the far more common small UL rod offerings.

I do the same, except I don't leave them in the original packages. I tend to pull what I need and put them in snack sized ziplocs to save space. Works well though, and with the binder being a 3700 size it fits into existing tackle storage solutions. Some days I'm feeling in a particular plastics mood so I throw in a 3600 in the front pocket filled with terminal gear and just carry the TUB.

My fish have.......disco fever! Get down, you funky LMB!

Out of purchasing curiosity, which scale is that?

Hula Grub

Depth Bottom Contour Vegetation Speed Action Baitfish Season Water Temperature All kinds of various factors that will tempt me to pick one up over another. Sometimes one factor suggests one or the other, and sometimes a given set of conditions doesn't preclude me from trying both if I feel that's what will trigger strikes on that day, at that time.

Yeah, don't feel bad......that screw gets a lot of people on Quantum reels!

That's where the tricky part comes in, isn't it? In every industry and every field you're going to run into professionals with differing opinions. Sometimes those opinions are radically different, and yet often times those people propagate excellent, long lasting products. In terms of reel lubricants this is extremely common. I'll use Hot Sauce as an example because it tends to have the widest range of opinions. Some professionals both in manufacturing and service praise the stuff. Some despise it. You'll find local service guys that swear at it, and you'll find others that swear by it. Either way you go in a case like that, you tend to be listening to a professional with years of experience backing up his opinion. It really comes down to which opinion you value the most, and how those opinions match your own personal experience.

I've kinda thought that, too, but it is so hard to tell because they like to mash the rods and reels sections together. Makes it a lot harder to navigate, imo.

Push the release lever towards the center of the reel. The sideplate will then rotate down (counterclockwise), exposing the spool. http://www.quantumfishing.com/bps/zebco/tackleservice/knowledge/e100hpt%20schematic.pdf

Be patient. You can't run and gun like you can on a boat. I routinely see boaters that are going so fast around the lake that they aren't catching the fish. They throw on a crank or a spinner and just troll around the lake giving each spot a cast. And they catch a few fish doing that, simply covering territory, but often we can catch just as good or better fish from the shore by working the same spots more methodically. You have a bit of an advantage, in that you're forced to slow down and constantly adapt, and that can put you on fish that those boaters often miss. A boater is often apt to just change location, confident that their setup is the right one, but without thoroughly investigating all of their options. A shoreline fisherman will often change tactics first, which may bring promising opportunities. A few things I do, if I'm from the bank, and especially if I'm new to that lake/area. 1) Start off with a bottom rig, such as a weighted plastic or lipped crank. This is my "sonar". I'm going to use that bait to scout the bottom of the lake. Am I picking up weeds, banging on the rocks, hooking into sticks? Can I get an idea on depth changes? Are there any pronounced drop offs in the area? This is going to tell me where bass may be hanging out. It can take some time, but you will be amazed at what a decent rod and some patience can tell you about what's below the water, especially on smaller bodies of water. In addition to this, get a topo map of the lake, if available. Without electronics, these resources are even more vital to fishing success. 2) Do not be afraid to scale down. Instead of a 3/8 or 1/2 oz spinnerbait, you may use a 1/4 oz spinnerbait. From the shore, you have less ground to pick and choose from, and you have to do a little more "catering" to the fish. I may start with a 1/4 spinnerbait to develop an idea of where fish may be holding, and then move up or down if necessary. 3) Gauge if the area has a tendency to hold fish. This is hard in a new area, but the one thing to always be conscious of when fishing from the shore is if that area is capable of holding fish. Sometimes, the fish are there, but you're presenting them the wrong offering. Sometimes, they simply are not. This is where the scouting of the bottom comes in really handy, to find sources that fish relate to. You're almost always going to be in a single area longer from the shore, but you still don't want to waste your time if you don't have to. Often times, it could be a single submerged hump or laydown in that area, that once located, can hold fish time and time again. 4) When I switch up baits from the shore, I'm much more likely to change types, rather than just colors/size. Because I'm limited in terms of water area, I want to hit all parts of the water column I can. Many times I may be throwing a lipless crank and catching fish, and then the bite stops, or the conditions change. A quick pass with a bottom bouncing jig or burning a spinner on the surface can often locate fish that I missed. 5) Carry what you need for several situations, but be mobile. Many people may think it looks silly, but I strongly recommend a vest of some sort for shore fishing. Carrying any sort of box or gearbag after a while just gets annoying, but a vest can carry a ton of gear and keep me mobile. 6) Be observant of nature. Is there any activity in the water, such as frogs, snakes, bugs, minnows, birds? Where there is life, there tends to be fish. Often times, something as simple as a surface ripple may be that sign that fish are in the area. 7) Cast into the wind. Yeah, this is a serious downside of being on the shore, but the wind drives the water current, helps oxygenate, and you want to be on the side of the lake where the current can drive that life to you, because life usually means fish. If you have trouble casting into the wind, it can help to change up to more compact baits of the type you normally would use. A 1/4 oz jighead with a 3 or 4 inch grub will cast very well, even in windy conditions, whereas a larger profile may tend to catch more of the wind. 8) Do not be afraid to go multi-species. I love bass fishing more than any other species, but sometimes the other critters are biting and the bass are not. Nothing sucks more than getting skunked, especially when you know you could be catching that crappie or blugill that keeps sucking at your offering. Don't let stubborn pride ruin what could have been an enjoyable day of fishing.

Fly fishing vests have small pockets, and therefore make for poor bass fishing vests, but this thing has massive ones, and a lot of them. It is not sold as a fishing vest, but as a general purpose vest, meaning its large pockets easily fit common sized lure boxes. If you like a bookbag, then certainly use that, but you wouldn't skip a vest like that because of lack of room, I can assure you. BTW, please read what I wrote again. I have no idea what books have to do with your reply.

I didn't care for a bookbag when it had books in it. I'll stick with a vest.

Picked one of these up from a recommendation from the board when this question came up before. Highly recommend! http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0018716902478a.shtml

Very important point, especially for Bass. Worm and bobber tactics are very effective if you know where the fish are, when they will be there, and what fish will be there, but they aren't terribly effective at actually finding fish. When I'm on the bank bass fishing, I use similiar lures as I would when I'm not on the bank, just scaled down. A small spinnerbait, slow rolled parallel to the shore, is an excellent way to find a variety of fish. Many bank situations have an adjacent dropoff that can be ideal for a dropshot or a bobber and jig rig. Once I locate them, then I may switch to a live bait strategy, but I rarely just throw a live worm out there and hope it gets bit. If you're set on using live bait, then improve your odds a bit. Use multiple rigs if your locale allows it, set to different baits at different depths. Chumming can also be very effective in those situations. Try to spend time in that area when it is most likely to contain fish.

Generic??? Hardaloy Guides,Alconite Guides,Fuji9 Handles aare not generic stuff. Once Cabelas Puts their name on a rod it is not generic it is a Cabelas Branded rod.They are made in overseas factory like many other rods, probably in the same plants. Sorry you got confused. 'Generic' here simply means house branded stuff.

There are a lot easier fish to catch for food than a fat bass. Better tasting fish, too.

Whoa now. Don't you know you're not supposed to let her call the shots til she tricks you into marriage?

I only use either's middle tier rods, and which one I use depends on application. If I want a high end rod, I buy from a high end company. I don't mess around with generics past a certain price point. The real rod value from either company comes in their mid tier stuff. As to any general statements people make about either company's stuff being "built better", I find that a real fallacy. Both companies have certain products that are total junk and certain products that are real winners. In using "house branded" products, I do not, and would not, shop from either one exclusively.

I don't know about that last statement, but yeah, that's the jist of it. It's not a fishing show, it doesn't try to be a fishing show. Heck, half of the show is a parody on itself, and in particular, the host. Like a lot of entertainment, some find it funny and some don't. I, personally, don't.

If the original packaging is small, they stay in that, otherwise I move a few into ziploc bags. All of the bags then go into a 3700 sized tub in my main bag. I never leave any soft plastic bait exposed in a tray.