Paul Roberts

Try the J-Knot. I switched to it from Uni-Uni a couple years ago. EASY and fast to tie. NO failures. http://www.worldseafishing.com/tackle/knots/j_knot_braid_to_mono.html

I used to fish for pike a lot in ponds and streams. They seemed to be more apt to hang out in certain specific locations, compared to active bass which cruise. I don't know muskies well enough though. Neat observation though. But my first thought was that you found a good "ambush point", an open spot near an area that concentrates prey. Here's what I'd do: go back with proper tackle and catch that fish!

FatG, those fish do NOT look small, esp the first. Look at the mouth and head on that fish. Wow! Very nice pics.

OK...that makes more sense to me. I can see pressure waves thrown from a fish's body or tail, but coming from behind? I'm not sure at all, just wondering. Since this discussion, I have been pondering the possibility of a wake being sent ahead of a charging fish that could be detectable. They are hydrofoils and pointed in the front, and I think (am guessing) it's for a functional reason. If prey could detect a wake that precedes a predator, that would be pretty disadvantageous for the predator. I think there's a reason wakes from a moving boat appear to the sides and rear, not the front -until you stop. If that boat were a fish on your bait, that is when you'd feel the 'strike'.

Just curious...and no challenge on your (or others) thoughts here. But.. how do you know a fish is "drafting" your plug? What if you set the hook? That's what I do when I feel that loss of vibration. Now, maybe you've seen this drafting (I've seen them follow lures, and "draft" bluegills -I think to speed test them), but most of the time when I feel that unexpected disconnect with a lure, it's bc the bass has "overun" the lure from behind, and I have to reel like crazy and set. This is such a common strike with horizontally retrieved lures of all types and SO easy to miss detecting. If I just continue retrieving sometimes they stop, and/or turn, and I get that noticeable "strike". But, they've already had it for some moments before I detect that obvious "strike". Again this happens on a lot of horizontally retrieved lure types, but the easiest way to experience this I think, is with in-line spinners. I fish these often in early spring and bass often overrun them (I think bc they are small), giving you that sudden disconnect before they stop, turn, or spit it >. It happens with swum jigs too, but is harder to detect bc the change is less obvious than with a lure that "pulls back".

To clarify: The hold I'm referring to that I try to avoid is when a weighty bass is stuck straight out perpendicular from the angler -just like in the previous photo by christopherjake. Now his fish is so light I doubt it would be a problem for that fish. With a heavy bass though, with its weight hanging on over-extended jaw tendons is what my professor was referring to. Again, I don't really know how much weight, flexing or torque those muscles and tendons can take. But I am somewhat careful anyway. In the pic of the 20+ RW provided the jaw does not appear over-flexed in this way. But, since fish are essentially weightless underwater, I think if I cared about the future of that heavy a fish, I for one would be mindful of its jaws. Disclaimer (if needed): This is just an opinion, based on little more than what I once read about some Texas Sharelunker fish (maybe Catt recalls), and what I deem common sense.

Ditto. Glad to hear you are out there 'savoring' those moments. Good read and nice pics. Great report.

Love it. What counts is the fishing, not the numbers. Great post, great pics. Welcome! Hey, the Huntin' Dawg isn't made anymore apparently. I bought out what I could of them. They are really inconsistent though in function. I ended up drilling holes to re-balancing some of them. Would have been better off buying a couple Sammy's I think. But, when they are balanced right, they sure do catch fish.

GREAT pics.

EXCELLENT thread.

Exactly. Who would have thought one could "weigh the line" with cranks. You can, sometimes, but a lot of the time you gotta be quick! Or at very least...wide awake.

Now that's a day to learn from. Loosen up! As to babying tackle...It was made to fish, use it -ya can't take it with you. The time is NOW! Reminds of a guy I once grouse hunted with who carried his new double high over his head so it wouldn't get a scratch. He never got it to his shoulder either that day. What a waste of time, and of a good gun.

Good articles. Thanks for those. They help. Here's the take-home message I heard: They tell me I'd like to see the modulus and strain ratings for the material used for rod line/model. After this is out of the way, then we can talk power, action, and cosmetics. What am I missing?

Really good question. I would like to know that too. Is there a standard out there for measuring stiffness to weight ratio? There's IM-? and ?-million modulus and SC-? (St Croix), ... ad finitum, most that basically amounts to jargon. The fishing industry needs some standards. Or maybe anglers need them and the industry would rather not have to answer to a number that might control buyer decisions, to the exclusion of other important factors. Like what's happened with the number of bearings in reels -that one's become almost meaningless. I'm an adult, I can handle it: How about a standard for rods? And then how about line!

Interesting. You wouldn't be in the southern hemisphere, would you? ;D First, if you haven't seen it, why do you think it's the same fish? Is this a small water body?

;D First, Welcome! We get this a lot: How big -from a photo. So don't mind some of the terse comments. OK, I'll play... I'm guessing in the 3lb range. Definitely worth having a decent scale. How do you like your new rod? Berkley?

... Recently I was swimming a jig and watched a fish swim up and bump it and swim off and my line did not move and I could not feel anything. If I wasn't watching I would have never known. Scary isn't it? I once watched a steelhead respond to a fly in an interesting way. The drift was on the money, and the steelie responded, but only by intercepting the drifting fly at the very tip of its snout, with mouth pretty much closed. It held the fly by the tufts of fuzz it was tied with, for only a moment, then let it go. That kind of response is essentially imperceptible. But the trout now knows that that fly is "not food".

Thinking about it and looking through some of my pics I guess I hold them a few different ways. Seems the most common is with a thumb alongside one mandible (jaw bone) -as I mentioned above. This does several things: It offers a good grip, keeps the crook of my thumb from getting too chewed up, gives me space to work, and keeps dangerous trebles as far away from my fingers as possible. Clutching one jaw is also a good hold for self pics and is a good hold for pics taken of you holding a bass high -without hyper-extending jaw tendons. This thumb alongside a jaw bone hold also allows me to support the bass' head with the rest of my fingers, so its weight is not all on the jaw and neck vertebrae. The one thing I am careful not to do, esp with bigger fish, is over-extend the lower jaw by supporting the fish's weight by the jaw tendons. Bass do look cool sticking out like that, but I'm not comfortable with it. I try to keep the jaws within a normal range of motion. I've read that the Texas' ShareLunker program has had some bass come in that subsequently died from starvation due to damaged jaws. These were exceptional sized bass, but I'm careful anyway. And I once had a fisheries professor (whom I respect) scold me for taking a gorgeous 3+lb smallie from a trap net and then hold it outward, perpendicular, by its jaw. He said, Those jaws are how they make their living. Although I don't really know how much weight and flexing a bass jaw can really take, or how easy it might be to torque a muscle or tendon, I try to respect that. Here's a bunch of pics with various holds Belly Lift -Good if mouth isn't safe to put fingers into! Make sure fish is under control before you attempt it, and work fast to clear the mouth for a better grip. Side hold alongside one jaw bone. Gives a good grip on bigger fish too. Good for keeping distance from trebles. Held perpendicular, but jaws and neck supported. Same grip, clutching one jaw, but rotated around for photo. Regular front hold with bass hanging straight down. No tweaked tendons here.

Great stuff all. I don't think I've recognized the "pressure wave" yet; Guess I'll have to pay CLOSER attention, or brush up on my Zen. As to rods, I'm still using 'old time' stuff, so I don't own a "proper" CB rod. Mine is a 1980s Berkley Bionix IM6 prototype a rep gave me. It came as a pistol grip which I'd stripped and epoxied on a straight grip hacked off a light downrigger rod. That rod still weighed less than 4oz. and I love it. It's rated a MH but it's line range (12-25) is way optimistic. It's fast, but absorbs CB fish perfectly well. Catt described to a T, how I developed my sense of feel and control with lures: I came into artificials with the jig, and stayed there for a long time before branching out. I started by swimming a jig -still do a lot -it's defalt for me, and it's how I developed feel: a rock solid rod and smooth retrieve. Any changes...wasn't me! If I can find it, I'll dig up something I wrote on control when fishing a jig, I think it's relevant, because as I've said before I often fish a crank like I'm swimming a jig -same requirement for tight control for detection. This is the kind of thread I like. I asked, "what kind of hook-set we use", and got, "why we use what we use". The devils in the details.

Good post. Yeah, I'd agree with that. I'll do that too -keep reeling and wait for the next attempt. But if they don't engulf the plug, those biting takes may not 'find the corner'. If I'm getting plucks and bites and they aren't comin' back for seconds, or the bass don't load the rod themselves at the take, I'll load it myself! Pop em!

I've heard that, but haven't tried 'em. I'm using round bends too. I've done well with the Excalibur whatyacallems ...'rotating' trebles too. They are light wire but good for my waters and fish. With barbs they can be brutal to work free. BTW: The one's I've got as replacements from BPS $uck. They are not the same quality as those that came on the plugs.

In my experience a hard hookset is not necessary. But a quick one can be, and it would be hard to tell I'm fishing a crank if someone saw some of those hooksets. First off. we're only considering sticky sharp hooks here. They make a huge difference. Not only do they have to be sharp at the first cast, but at the end of the day too. They need to have the proper point -sticky to handle. Bass don't always crush a crank -that may be a misconception that I think lots of anglers get about cranks -that all you have to do is "crank" them and the lure takes care of the rest and may be why some people have a hard time developing consistent confidence in them. Sometimes you have to fish them. It's great when bass just "glom on" to a bait, but they can be more tentative, even with cranks. This was actually observed by Bob Underwood (in his book 'Lunker') when he dove to watch located bass groups respond to lures. He said he watched bass often take and expel a trebled plug without the "experienced" anglers knowing it. Hook sharpness was not discussed here though. I find I need to pay as close attention when cranking as when jig fishing. I'm feeling for any changes in the plugs action, and I need to be wide awake to react in time on some takes. And that hookset probably looks like I'm fishing a jig. If I get tired, hungry, sloppy I feel those fish a bit too late. > Or maybe not at all! I hate the thought of that even worse! Some of those tentative hits turn out to be good fish too. Some crankbait strikes are just slaps, which are probably bites instead of an attempt to engulf. Or maybe they are a cheek slap -like false rises trout do on flies -I've watched that. With bass and cranks, some of these 'short' hits are smalls, but not always. Slaps tell me something is amiss -they're aggressive, but not eating it. In trout fishing, it's called a "refusal". It means a change is needed. I either try to elicit a more committed strike by triggering actions, or usually better, switch lure types entirely. Curious what others will say. And deep cranking may be different than shallow -I do little of that. Curious what others have found.

Was thinking this is common sense, but thinking about it... Depends on how they're hooked. Usually as above. If hooks up front I may slip my thumb deep alongside one lower jaw. Works the same just gives me room to work. Helpful too if my thumb's getting raw. Can't help but do this with a big one -then the base of your thumb gets raw. This hold also keeps the jaw inline with the head better -I don't want to bend the jaw too far and damage tendons. Those jaws are how bass make their livings. If lotsa trebles in there and no safe space for a thumb, I'll belly lift it, pop free a treble ASAP and then thumb it. I'm barbless or micro-barbed with trebles too. Come to think of it, this is the way I handle most bass: Thumb alongside inside of one lower mandible.

The old remedy was beeswax to make them stick together better. Parafin makes em slicker, as I remember it. When you put it together, make about a quarter turn as you snug it down firmly. As I fish I check occasionally to make sure the rod is still tight as I fish.

I clicked on the link, and I see the planet, LOL. I thought it was a trick question. ;D