Paul Roberts

Is there an area clear of ice? If the answer is "yes", then you're on! If it's "no", then, do you have ice fishing gear? Fish eat all year long. More so as temps climb. GO!

Now THIS is cabin fever at it's best. LMAO. As to the topic at hand, I'm a young'n here -started fishing in the 60s, and seriously in the70s. Francho wasn't even born yet however. He's lost little in the exchange though -'cept maybe some respect for his elders. John, lost in the woods without a super-tuned reel, you'd starve bro! Course, it's tough to get lost in the woods anymore. Just follow the sound of engines to the nearest road. Oh...you thought I meant a mapping GPS didn't you. ;D

I'm happy to hear about different techniques -new or not. Just like I read multi-species stuff -even though I predominately fish for bass now. I can handle the hype, and understand that people have to make a living. Long term exposure is what keeps people in business with their integrity intact. Short term hype is crash and burn waiting to happen. From this thread I've learned FnF is likely more effective than I might have thought -it's not something I ever saw for bass. And Crestliner's idea of adding braid to the mix is making good use of new technology. Pretty cool thread I think, in general.

Crestliner wrote in his posts above that he uses a bobber stop. and thin Fireline, to fish leaders of any length with standard length rods.

I've made suspenders out of a number of plastic baits, and have wanted to do the floating Raps, but haven't attempted it -yet. Balsa is so buoyant, I don't think external weighting would do the trick -in any elegant way. I'm guessing here. Haven't played with it. The thru-wire is an issue for drilling. But it was done once upon a time, as RandySB says. You'll need to find the balance point and put some weight there. Then probably add external weight: heavier hooks, heavier split rings, stick on lead tape, solder/lead wire wrapped on the hooks. Play with it and let us know.

I'm using a Kistler LTA 7ftM. It's very sensitive, and VERY versatile. It has an "odd" action -a strong backbone tapering very quickly near the tip. Took some getting used to, casting wise -very little effort needed. The long powerful butt made me want to strong arm it, and I can--with bigger baits-- so it doubles as my long cast rod, and a (light) worm rod as well with all that power back there. The really light tip even makes it a decent DS rod too. I have more extra spools for that rod than any other I own, ranging from 6 to 15lb. Again, it is very sensitive, even when just hanging light tubes or worms on a semi-slack line. It's impossibly light in weight -at 3.6oz . 'Spose that explains it's ability to cover the light end despite all that butt power.

Wow. Those are BIG lakes. Probably end up sorting by season, and habitat -upper, middle, lower creek arms/lake. Just a guess; my big lakes are 50acres. yeah... thts kinda my problem. theres so many things i could sort them by.. and its just a massive pain. whats funny is i normally just throw a 17'+ crank in sexy shad color. hahahah its the mid to shallow cranks that are killing me. ive got like 7 boxes. : (baitmonkey!!!) I hear you. I'm not in that league, water wise. I edited my last post, adding some stuff on styles that might help with the diff habitats.

Wow. Those are BIG lakes. Probably end up sorting by season, and habitat -upper, middle, lower creek arms/lake. Just a guess; my big lakes are 50acres. I can add to my first post, in saying I organize my trip box compartments by habitat: depth, cover, and clarity. Depth is handled by lip and design, cover by body and lip shape, clarity by size, style, color and finish. Different styles have diff places where they shine. I recognize four basic body styles: Sticks (minnow plugs), Potato Chips (shad style), Fats (Alphabets), Ping Pong Balls (super fats). In terms of triggering by shape the Stick end of the spectrum gets the nod. In terms of snaglessness, the Ping Pong balls are the GoTo's. I see lipless as a category by themselves. Soa spring CB box tends to have sticks (suspenders and floating Rap), some low buoyancy plugs (usually sticks and potato chips), lipless, and shad style divers. A summer box has weedless styles (fat plugs and ping pong balls), deep runners (fats and chips), and lipless.

I have a lot of crankbaits -way more than I can carry. I have a main box (the store), (and an overflow box :-[), then smaller boxes that I take to the water. My main box is sorted by depth, style (stick, shad, fat), size, color is last. I then choose from the store what I need. The choices tend to be seasonal, but certain waters, or conditions, can require somewhat different things. As to running depth, I use a designated CB rod that I've standardized with only two lines: .012 (winter/spring) and .014 (summer/fall). I don't mark my plugs by depth off the box -too much variability as to line diam, and cast distance. To hit a bush I find on sonar, I pick an appropriate plug and cast the proper distance that should get me there. If I come up short, I cast further. If I want less speed when I get there, I pick a deeper plug. It's a lot of brail-work for me. I guess I'm no David Fritz at this point lol. I introduce new plugs thoughtfully, testing them in the bathtub (shallow plugs), and on the water. First I tune them; untuned plugs not only don't run to depth, but also have stifled action. Then I look at the wiggle (aggressive, moderate, or weak), buoyancy, stability: Will they hunt? Do they require a certain retrieve speed? Do they need modification? All my suspending plugs I test in a small tub of cold water and I don't mark them; I fix them: changing hooks, split-rings, adding lead tape, or putting them under the drill. Here lies a major difference between a Lucky Craft and a knock off. The latter can be much more work to get it to operate well, and you may end up pitching it in disgust. I'm not averse to cheapo plugs, but they need a good testing, as some only work well at certain speeds, or with modifications. A few I simply discard. All this certainly cools the bait monkey's jets some, bc it can be work. But I do get a kick out of those $1.99 specials I can do good things with.

I still have an 8'6" 6wt flyrod I used for light steelheading. I simply replaced the tip-top with a ceramic. I taped (vinyl) the spinning reel to the handle. It was fine for trout, too light for steelhead and would be for bass too IMO. Randall, we northern bass fishers don't fair too well in the winter. I, for one, go rabbit hunting, and get ready for ice out -now about 3 weeks out here.

Light Fireline. Neat. We didn't have braid when I was using slip bobbers for steelhead. Always had difficulty getting line to feed with mono. Bill, In the video, Driver is using a plastic float fixed to a 3-way swivel.

> > > I hear you, I've been a little grumpy lately too. The techniques are one thing. Trying to make a living from it I guess is another. Creating that balance has to be difficult -more want to do it then can probably, and keep their credibility intact (remember the bare jighead/Gulp! guy -I've forgotten his name already ;D). From what I've seen from him, Mike Whitten does a pretty good job with that balance. I don't begrudge anyone for an honest attempt at it either. It can be a buyer beware market though -the last bastion of the snake oil salesman. Read almost any lure description and you'll have to agree. And IMO the technique specific marketing deal has gotten some people thinking they NEED to split hairs. That said, if one wants to jump on a new technique, the right equipment can help, or even make or break. Not everyone has time to re-invent the wheel. And we aren't all somehow owed these techniques. No, I won't be buying a FnF rod, but a long rod IS a help with a float and long lead, even with a stop. I'm going to guess that that tackle was designed for river fishing. I believe that's where FnF began? But for that farm pond and a 3 ft lead, a 7M spinning rig will make that cast we saw, and still allow you to lip that fish. If you need a 6 ft lead? Use a bobber stop, although it does help to keep line off the water to feed line into one, esp in cold dense water. Hey, are you doin' that too? I was just headed out to the garage to see what I had. ;D

Bring your plastic pushbutton reels to BPS. Offer everything else to the forum here, or ebay.

\ Please tell me the Saros 2500 is in the list of perfect reels for that rod. If it isn't don't tell me what reel is perfect. I don't need an excuse to spend more money on reels, only to have to look for a couple of rods for the "imperfect" Saros reels I just got. I have no opinions. I couldn't possibly do that to you Tom lol. Others here have more experience with modern reels than I do. I still use my old Quicks and Zebco Cardinals n such. (But I coveted a US Reel 3G 250 I saw at BPS -on clearance. I left in a cold sweat.)

That's what I am hoping for. You know whats bad. I have no patience. I bought a new PQ yesterday at BPS instead of waiting another month... Yeah, but you know what's worse? Drooling so much over that page in the catalog that you can't see the photo of it anymore! Now you can go next month and buy something else you've been dying to get. You did the right thing.

Check the inches-per-turn (ipt) retrieve rate. I have a Fuego and it draws 28ipt -my SB reel. My cranking reel is an old Shimano at ~23ipt.

Exactly. Mine is also in the low 20s.

Same boat. Can't fish? BUY! Disgusting. I will be over-prepared come spring -once again. Some ask, do we over think our fishing? I'll say: Only in the winter. Tom, I bought a CL M too. Been casting it in the snow out there. Perfect M rod in my book. It begs for the proper reel.

M is too light, except for ~finesse situations. I use M rigs with 6-10lb with smaller plastics: jigworms, and 4" stickworms. But for most LM applications, where there is cover I would strongly recommend a MH: 8 to 14lb / 8 to 17lb; 6-6 to 7ft. You want sensitivity (as light and crisp as you can afford), a somewhat light tip to pitch weightless plastics (although stickworms are anything but light) and power too for hooksets and steering fish around cover. Good quality MH rods are light enough to certainly enjoy the fight. I have two MHs I use now: A 6-6MH Fenwick Techna AV, and a 7M Kistler LTA -both are rated for 8-14 and weigh either side of 4oz.

Ditto, but I break em out below 50. They move great in the water, pull a wake, and can be fished ultra-slow, with built in action. They aren't talked up much in the mags, guess bc they aren't new and high tech. But, they will NEVER be forgotten. They are just too good, and a cold water standard.

I like that one too, Marty.

;D Sorry Bill, I was wondering if you were (thought you might be) Bill Girvan -angler extraordinaire, angling educator that works with kids a lot, and with DEC.

Reactions to jig bites do need to be quicker than plastics bites bc bass just don't hold jigs long -even with pork. Dunno why really. You'll get used to identifying bites. But you'll miss some too, esp when fishing in wood, when it IS important to be somewhat tentative -don't want to set the hook into wood. I don't think you're analyzing too much at this point. You do have to learn what things feel like down there. You are not born a jig fisher, or crankbait fisher, etc... . You have to gain some experience with it. 'Instinct' is simply a knowledgeable hand -quicker than your thoughts. Keep analyzing what you're doing. 'Instinct', or whatever you want to call it, will come. What'll happen is you'll get to know that particular tree -where everything is, and you'll get less tentative there. You'll be amazed how much you'll learn from that one tree -esp if it continues to hold fish -which it probably will. And you'll see why so many anglers are jig fishers; they can go right down, and in, where the fish are -and fish will eat em. As said by others, make sure you keep those hooks dangerously sharp. The point should stick, not slide, on your thumbnail.

The easiest way to make a buzz bait slower is to go up one size on the blade. We offer this option on special request and also left and right running baits. On aluminum blades, you can place the outside L on a anvil and take a hammer and peck on the blade on both side to increase surface area. This will catch more water and allow it run slower. If you will drill out the back hole on a Buzz bait blades to 1/8 of a inch and run it in, it will squeal better. Always make sure the rivet is crimped and will not move. Tip to make you buzz bait last longer. The back of the blade that has the hole is bent around 90-92 degs, if this bend is bent blow 90 degs the rivet will wear on the inside and will cause it break in the bend. (This can change the sound of a tuned buzz bait, if it is your favorite do not change) I have some that I will take small nail and remove the blade and tap a nail on back hole with a hammer to make a square hole. This will make a different sounding bait. The plastic tubing that comes with trailer hooks, cut a piece 1/16 -1/8 long and slide it up over the R bend where you tie the line. This will keep the line in place and prevent the R bend from opening up. (Repeated opening and closing of the R bend it will break.) Hope this helps. If something is not clear, let me know and I will post some picture. Dow Wow. Thanks RHB.

-Changing directions during the retrieve can really trigger bites. When my buzzer hits a potential sweet spot, I'll lean out and change directions (long rod helps), or make three quick changes, a zig-zag, and they'll jump on it. -Bang stuff! Don't be bashfull. -Ditto the multiple casts thing. I personally don't think it angers them, as much as it wakes 'em up, calls attention, and/or focuses their attention on the bait. This actually works with a lot of lures, esp topwaters. I've learned to make at least three casts, in succession, to particular areas when searching with topwaters like spooks. Same with a buzzer. Sometimes, I think the splashdown draws attention, and a fish moves toward it, the next cast orients them further, and the third or more, they are on it. With a popper, Jitterbug, or other slow topwater, a long pause after the splashdown, then the first movement, gets bit. -Fish a ssslloooooowww one. I use a triple-wing buzzer fairly often as it can be fished pretty slow. But a friend of mine has a single-blade buzzer that just crawls. It appears half sunk as he retrieves it and it just makes a wake. And it's a killer. It has an over-sized blade and a plastic head on it. I hadn't seen one like it, or so I thought, and asked him about it. He bought it for 3bucks at a local hardware store, and I suddenly remembered them. I laughed when I'd first seen them, "Cheap garbage!" > I thought at the time, annoyed. Cheap packaging, rough stamped blade, and "Is that a PLASTIC head on that thing???" ;D ;D "What a joke!" After seeing it work I went back to buy, probably two or three, and they were long gone. So my next project will be to get an over-sized blade for a 1/4 or 3/8oz buzzer and see what I can do. -Buzz with a tandem CO-bladed spinnerbait. I call it bulging bc the blades roll up a bulging wake bass JUST CANT STAND. This often works when a buzzer doesn't seem to do it. If the surface is calm, this is my GoTo buzzer. -I also like the little 1/8oz Strike King triple wing. They rarely short strike that one, don't need a trailer hook, and even big fish like it (well big for CO lol -4lbers). Killer on smallies too. I use one (in white) on bright days when a little wind chop starts. If it's dark, cloudy, with some chop -great summer BB conditions -I use a full sized buzzer. -In fall, if you have shallow fish, have a buzzer tied on and ready to fly all day. Sunny, cloudy, doesn't seem to matter so much then. I've never doctored up a BB, like to get that squeak. Just haven't gotten around to it. After reading the above, I guess I'll have to finally try it. Thanks for those tips on doing that guys.