Paul Roberts

Just takes practice. Lotsa process before you get to product. Can be frustrating if there's something specific you want and can't get it right -esp the night before you're heading out. Nice thing is, there are SO many good patterns for purchase now you can usually find something to cover. I was once a DIY kinda guy -still prefer that. But then I had more time on my hands then. If you WANT to tie, go for it. It's really satisfying and you can get EXACTLY what you need for a given fishing situation. But if you really just want to fish, buy 'em, bc tying is something unto itself, and certainly won't save you much money. Good luck with it.

Do you like to tie? If not, drop it. Flies are relatively cheap -and bass flies are much cheaper than swimbaits. I LOVE to tie. And that is the main reason I don't suck at it.

Don't get pysched out. Veges die in winter -that's probably the way it'll look until they start to grow again. Winterkill that far south would be darn rare. Here, ponds winterkill if they are <5ft deep and have a lot of vegetation, then get lots of snow on the ice for a long duration; While deeper ponds and those with less veges do not kill. I highly doubt your pond is dead. Don't get psyched out -find those fish and figure out ways to catch 'em.

Don't let us turn you entirely off of spin-cast. You may be able to make make it work for you. Maybe this is a reel size/lb test issue too? There are some saltwater models out there -I have one I've used with 200# dacron for archery-fishing. The biggest issue with spin-cast for me has been retrieve speed. You want >20ipt (inches per handle turn). ABU makes one that offers 25ipt -the 170i. It comes with 12lb line. I've been thinking about getting one for my young son as his 33 has only 8lb in it. And it also only offers about 17ipt -too slow for many retrieves and for keeping heads up. Look through the BPS catalog or site -BPS provides ipt for all reels. Every catalog and site should do the same. And look for saltwater models. I know there's at least one that's been designed for use with braid. But...definitely check the retrieve speed. In the end though, my guess is you'll find spin-casts just won't hold up under the strain of winching bass from cover. Learn to flip and pitch too -it's very precise.

I guess I'm not picturing the problem. Is this pockets in submerged/emergent vegetation, or pockets in shoreline cover -in which you have to get under stuff? I guess, regardless, there are two things required here -accurate casting, and winching fish from cover. The first can be done with all three: spincast, spinning, and casting. For the second, winching fish from cover, reverse the order in terms of effectiveness. I'm not up on what's available in spincast nowadays, but have dabbled some in them over the years for various applications. They just do not have the winching power (nor speed) you need to get a fish's head up and keep it coming to drag it out of trouble. For this, casting gear is far superior. Large high quality spinning reels CAN do this, but are still much less efficient than casting reels for this. A couple years ago I sheered the handle off a Daiwa Black Gold (saltwater spinning reel) winching a 3lb bass out of slop. Rich Zaleski (of In-Fisherman fame) told me he once snapped the reel seat stem off a saltwater spinning reel doing the same -on a bass that hit 7lbs, after he hand-lined the last few feet LOL. I can understand your issue, maybe, if you cannot stand up in your boat, which is required for both pitching and flipping. If you are sitting low in a tippy canoe, wading, or in a float tube (as I often am) then you are relegated to mostly casting. I can then see the bow-n-arrow casting you are describing (I use that a lot for fly-fishing brushy creeks). In my float tube I hit pockets well with both spinning and casting tackle, and penetrate cover with a heavy weight and a high "parachute" cast. I guess, without fully understanding your casting needs there, I would suggest you get a casting rig and practice accurate and controlled casting (quiet entry and instant engagement). I would suggest not too long a rod (for accuracy), and one with both a flexible tip (for accuracy) and power in the butt for getting that head pointed at you, and keeping it coming. Sorry for the long post, just trying to figure out why you feel casting tackle won't work for you. Just to re-iterate, casting tackle has the winching power spin-cast doesn't. Spinning is better, but not in the league with casting tackle for that use.

That was my first impression, at first glance I thought "man, that thing looks neat" but just wasn't sure about the design. Graphite doesn't scare me like it seems to others, treat it right and you shouldn't have a problem. I'll probably end up with it cause I just think it looks neat, wouldn't be the first time I spent money on something I didn't need and realize I couldn't use it, anybody want to buy a Castaway Big Show Flipping Stick ;D I'm gonna be using it for crappie/bluegill so the spool size doesn't really bother me. I plan on probably 4-6lb. With 4-6lb mono my guess is it'll work just fine. I have an old Quick 1202 (Med size spinning reel) with a very small (graphite) spool. I use 10lb braid and it's just fine. Ditto on the graphite body parts. No issues with it.

I don't know the reasons for that rotor design, but they are common in saltwater spinning reels. I'm sure you could Google up something, once you know what that rotor design is called. Personally, I think that reel looks really cool. BUT, and for me this is a big deal -the spool looks really small in diameter. I'd want to know IPT. Even then, small spools hold too little (lose some on the water and you're more severely compromised, not to mention the line handling issues. With fine braid it would be less an issue than with other lines; w/FC -f'geddaboutit!

Well, I've done no scientific testing so this is just my opinion: I don't think touching the blank makes any difference whatsoever. I say this bc I often tried this and felt it never helped. I also made several rods years ago with the spun-graphite Tennessee handles that supposedly transmitted vibrations. I came to feel that this simply didn't pan out. I feel that the critical elements of rod sensitivity lie in it's rigidity/weight, and you pay for that. All the rest is bells-n-whistles. I like split grip, no fore-grip, rods; I think they look cool. And, anything that reduces weight I'm all for. Touching the line does help though, where applicable.

Yeah, I see that now. Edited my post. Thanks, Dan.

I see 20# as overkill on such a light rig. This is a L rod, yes? I've gone to 10# for my ML rigs, and you'll still need to add backing -a 125yrd spool will last you forever. I looked it up -a M power rod. Personally, I'd go with 15#PP. Sounds like a dream SM set-up.

No problem. Functional rod length is from the reel seat (your hand) to the tip. Cutting 3" off the butt won't change that. In my mind, rods are tools and should be modified as you see fit.

I grew up with dogs, and had two in particular that were good "fishin' dogs": a Welsh Corgi, and a yellow Lab. Short answer: The one that has "sit", "stay", and "come" down pat, and has developed a good relationship with you. "Heel" is helpful too. Highly recommended reading: Anything by Dick Wolters, esp: "Family Dog" or "Game Dog". As to breeds, with training and a good developed relationship, you can probably make almost any dog into a fishing companion. But soe breeds are not well suited. You'll want a good companion animal, which tends to dis-include the aloof Chows, malamutes, huskies, and wolf hybrids. You also want one that can be comfortable outside in various conditions, which dis-includes boxers, chihuahua's, bulldogs, and other super-short haired breeds. You don't want a scent hound either -beagle, etc... -their brains are wired to their noses. You don't want a gaze/coursehound, they are wired to their eyes and legs -too wide ranging. A patient breed is helpful -too high strung an animal can be a pain, and not right for the dog to be cooped up in a boat, or spending long periods at a particular fishing spot. All dogs are exuberant when young and settle down as they age, but some breeds need to RUN! I guess I'd recommend a herding breed, or hunting breed such as a retriever or flusher. Both herders and hunters are social and take commands well -bred to be connected to your actions. I'm not up on all the breeds now, you can research that, but what you certainly want in the end is an obedience trained companion breed. No worries about fear of water. Let them play in and around water and they'll be fine. Again: Short answer: The one that has "sit", "stay", and "come" down pat, and has developed a good relationship with you. "Heel" is helpful too. Highly recommended reading: Anything by Dick Wolters, esp: "Family Dog" or "Game Dog".

Jeff Kriet: "I lost $100," he said when informed that Pam Martin-Wells had made the cut to fish on Sunday. "I don't mean that disrespectfully," he added quickly.

Nice find Jacob. Great resources available to work from in making your own maps it looks like. Enjoy! And, if you want to, let us know down the road what you find. As to this substrate map, you are right it is old. Development around the area will have changed things tremendously. This is now like archeology -what you see in this map is what's beneath a lot of new silt and organic material. Vegetation will be much denser now and will add to the organic layers. Harder substrate will be harder to find now I would guess. Again vegetation will be key.

1. Crawfish trap let soak overnight. 2. Try dip-netting using a flashlight at night along a cobbled shoreline, or stream. Seriously.

That image is a mind-blower. Am I seeing fins on those fish??

Same invite for you if you ever leave your haunts and head east for any reason. There are a couple of nice ponds in the Cape Cod area that allow me to do reasonably well, with both largemouth and smallmouth. My favorite I'd avoid in the summer. Too many boaters of all kinds. But the others would lead you to believe the Cape was deserted, even in high season, Fourth of July to Labor Day. Thanks, Tom. I do make it back East every now and then, but not usually quite that far east. My wife has been salivating over a beach vacation, so I'll let you know if our summer plans allow me to actually take you up on that offer.

There are reasons most anglers, esp newbs, "chuck-n-wind" -many of them good reasons. A lot of anglers AVOID hitting weeds, wood and the bottom so they don't get hung up, or get 'slimed'. It takes some time to become adept enough to first know where precisely in the water column you are, and then how to fish through cover without getting hung or wadded. Only after this, can you start to really effectively probe with your tackle. Many anglers never get this far, or if they do, they really don't appreciate how small strike zones and windows can be -or get intimidated by them. Big catches for most anglers come when the "timing" is 'just right', and strike windows are especially large -needles in the haystack really. KVD doesn't get so intimidated by small windows; his confidence lies in his knowledge and precision. He says he likes a tough bite bc it cuts the field -the random catches of someone being in the right place at the right time. Top pros are well honed. The "whole other level" they are at is not some magic, it's a very real connection to what's important on any piece of a piece of water. KVD, apparently, does it quicker than most. And he's not infallible. He is subject to the same conditions that the fish suffer too. Once again, KVD does not have God by the cajones LOL, it's the other way around. Kevin just doesn't squirm quite so much as the others, when the big guy tightens his grip. ;D OK...I couldn't resist that analogy. I too was impressed by Lane's 3rd day -he went fishin' by gum!

I expected so, and why I thought this was such a potentially great thread; a great opportunity to learn how fishing really works -esp bass fishing. Strike windows and strike zones are real, and often small -esp so in colder water. Fish those, instead of straining the water. Fishing randomly results in random catches. From Louie Stout's recent article on VanDam: "VanDam's mechanics aren't superior to other top pros, but his ability to read water is far superior, Zona adds. That's why, he says, VanDam is able to fish behind other pros and score bigger bags. He's very underrated as far as how he reads offshore structure, Zona explains. He finds the juice on the juice of a sweet spot, and everything else is irrelevant. He also finds those spots with his lures rather than his electronics, so he knows how to maximize each cast. That's a rare trait. " Strikes me, the comment about electronics...Oh he uses them, but as in Lay, he knew enough about the area with minimal scouting that it held large numbers of fish. It had all the elements. The large scale work was done. What would make him a contender in the tournament was accurately mining that water. It was very fun watching it unfold.

You do have a treasure there. I have a few of my own, and cherish every minute I have on them. How's that for fitting an 'Old Timers' thread.

Just don't mention the 'S' word (senkos). Certainly didn't mean to come off as chastising you. Poor word choice and composition I guess. ;D There IS a collection of good info in past threads worth finding. Welcome to BR, btw.

The eel would appear to seal the deal on imports. Wow. Very nice shoreline veges -despite the fact that the 'purple strife is loose'. Your YOY survival hinges on that shoreline cover I'd bet. And with WP of that size there's obviously plenty of YOY production.

Of course not. Always new people on board too to add new stuff and potentially new perspectives. ..."proper spelling and composition..." You lost me there.

Makes perfect since - but my question was: are there really many pros (for example in the classic) who really "chunk-n-wind" in this sort of "thoughtless" manner? These guys/gals who qualify for a classic surely are all pretty versatile folks? BigEbass, I wasn't responding to you, just the tack and tone of the thread in general. Yes, this isn't news, but the particular use of lipless (a classic chuck-n-wind bait) in this event was especially illustrative. I took that as Jack's intent.

J Francho is the expert on this question. Listen to him. Ignore the rest of this post LOL: I'm a hack. I dunk my reels all the time. I open them up once a year. They all make loud grinding sounds though. I'm used to it -always thought that's the way reels are supposed to sound. They still cast plenty far, wind in that line and some fish too