J Francho

How about a fish poop picture, for old time's sake?

I think the common assumption, and I make it too, is that finesse involves light baits, spinning tackle, clear, pressured water.... Sometimes it's more than that.

First off, emotions aside, there is some VERY good information in this thread. Change every instance of the word "hatch" to "forage" and I'm with Matt on this. Being a sometimes trout fisherman, I hate the phrase "match the hatch" being applied to bass fishing. Though, there are times when a single food source is so dominant, you might have to "fit in" to get bit. Match the forage sounds way cooler. Anyway Matt, you think big bass are picky (I agree), you should see how selective big trout can be. I still don't know if it was the 20th bait, 20th drift, or the fish just got hungry sometimes, LOL. This is a common theme for me, and a great fishing quote: I gotta question, though.... So much of bait design is problem solving - a Texas rig in weeds, a drop shot in deep water, football jig in the rocks. At what point does problem solving intersect with realism? I mean, where do you draw the line on compromise when realism is concerned?

If you looked at the internals, you see where the pinion shaft is a weak point on light freshwater casting reels. It's not really designed to take too much torque. It's just a thin shaft and a cross pin driving the spool. When you are not reeling, the anti revers/one-way bearing bears the burden, which it is designed for. The way you properly fight a fish is to move it with the rod, and reel back down. repeat this process until the fish is boat side.

finesse: skillful handling of a situation; adroit maneuvering Guess you guys never fished in real wind.....3/8 oz. is sometimes what takes just to get the bait down. That's really the key to shaky head fishing, pick the weight gives you the greatest control over the bait - you are the one adding the finesse to catch the fish. I think Eric summed it up best. That said, you'll want some lighter jigs for calmer days

One cast puts it back in synch. Otherwise, loosen the drag, and turn the handle while holding the spool until the line guide realigns.

Not all TV shows are about teaching.....this was simply about the joy of catching fish, which BTW is sort of the ongoing theme of Lunkerville. If you don't like it, that's fine too. I didn't learn a thing while watching the movie Phone Booth last night, but I enjoyed the movie just the same.

Fishing is full of words that have double meanings. I suppose that's just the nature of it being a male dominated sport. Boys will be boys... As far as the Ske et issue, we're looking into it.

That's pretty cool Tom. The two I mentioned are full fledged editors. If you just need to resize, your link is just the ticket!

You probably filled while pulling to one side. It won't hurt anything.

Thanks for reminding me! Irfanview and The Gimp are two great, free image editors.

A few things: Hooks do not dissolve. Try your best to get all of the hook out of the fish. Baits falling on a slack line is HOW you get bit most often. This is fundamental plastics fishing, even using weighted presentation. A sensitive rod and fluorocarbon are two good ways to detect bites on slack line. Slack line does NOT mean loops and coils lying on the water, it means there is enough line out to allow the bait to unaffected by the rod. Gut hooking too much? Not setting the hook soon enough, or using the wrong hook for the presentation. I didn't catch what exact bait and hook were used, but I suspect a senko type bait. I disagree that hook size and fish size correlate. My largest smallmouth was caught on a very small #6 split shot hook. I have caught other, much larger species on hooks as small as #18. The hook should match the size of the bait. I've tried to set clients up with circle hooks, and they work OK, but they take the fun out of sticking a nice fish. I prefer to mash the barb. For the OP, barring any really out of place hook or bait, try going barbless, and concentrate on getting the hookset in sooner.

A winch is the exact OPPOSITE gearing of a baitcaster. They simply do not compare. A winch divides the effort to turn the spool, while a baitcaster multiplies it.

What makes Ronnie unique, is his willingness to share the IMPORTANT parts of learning to fish with just about anyone. I personally think these shows are required watching for anyone interested in fishing a jig. Pay CLOSE attention to his rod handling skills, both when fishing the jig, and when there's a fish on.

Definitely take some time going through the articles, and building up some basic knowledge. To answer your question is way beyond the scope of a forum. If you have any specific questions on the way, fire away. Welcome to the site

I priced out Rudy Projects from my eye doc, and it wasn't at all that bad. I seem to remember $150 sticking in my head. Now, my regular prescription glasses.....yeah, $450, LOL.

Yeah, having a good time on the water stinks, doesn't it? ********************************************************** Nice job with this one, Mike. Hopefully you recovered OK from the hooking, LOL.

Technically, ALL purchases made over the internet by NY residents are subject to sales tax. It's in your state tax return.

Why not look into prescription sunglasses?

Photobucket or another similar image hosting service will resize automatically.

Goodness, that IS a start! Nice work!

Click on your handle/name at the top, choose My Settings, click the Profile Tab, and click Change Avatar.

You read your own post. Chigger Toads are toad baits. Buzz them across the surface.

No difference....the difference is in the final product. Two different brand names fore the same material. Kind of like giving cotton a different name, and comparing shirts.

I never try new baits in a tourney, unless its a REAL bad day. 15" minimums can be a pain, especially if you're stuck in the back of the boat and the boater is fishing fast. Sometimes you have fish through the dinks. If he's moving on too fast, the big ones never see your bait long enough. I look at plastics in two ways, baits that have their own action, and baits that I have to add the action. When I started, I wanted the action built into the bait. I still like this type of bait, Roboworms with their wiggling tail on a drop shot or shaky head, Ragetails, even ribbon tail worms from Culprit and Powerbait. Lately though, no action baits have really caught my interest. I like to be in control. Sometimes its simply fall rate. I wonder how many fish I missed with a Sweet Beaver before starting to use 1 oz. weights and heavier. Hope that helps.