J Francho

Although "minnows" and "bugs" sometimes work at the same time, often one or the other is a significantly better choice. In the fall for example, minnow type baits rule. In the summer, it's soft plastics and jigs (bugs). Now that we have an explosion of choices in the swimbait category, that may change things a bit. BTW, I'm not suggesting that topwater or spinnerbaits aren't in the mix, but conditions or time of day may dictate their most appropriate selection. My comments in the first paragraph are simply generalizations. Right now I don't seem to have a clue at local ponds, I need to be on the Tennessee River! 8-) I meant bugs, as in terrestrial bugs, in reference to matching the hatch. I never liked applying that flyfishing term to bass angling. I guess it probably stems from my locale, and the sheer number of trout fisherman here. The fly anglers are some of most stubborn, stuck up, elitists on the water. But then again, some of my best friends use a fly . To me, jigs and creature baits are critters I know many say a jig is a crayfish, but I'm not really so sure that's what the bass thinks.

You guys that keep dropping your tools in the water...why not get a $2 zip lanyard? :

Sounds like the main gear bearings are not seated right, or perhaps you put a spacer on the wrong side. Use your schematic to reassemble it, and take your time to verify everything is in the right place, and seated properly. Definitely stop cranking the handle if it feels like its grinding! Short of that, take it to a pro.

Usually its results. But in a sense, that really only qualifies a good fisherman, with some exceptions. If they do something that advances the sport in some way, I'd bump it to "Great."

Google "Rich Zaleski Dropshot" and take the second link in the list for the way I have done it for years. Very simple, yet effective rig. Crestliner, I know we disagree on rigging this, but I wonder if you have tried micro swivels from Raven. They are meant for salmon and steelheading, but they are super strong, and very small. Granted, we are using much longer, slower action rods, but the line weights are comparable - 8-10# main, 4-8# leader - and the fish are MUCH bigger and more powerful than smallies. Just thought I'd throw that suggestion out there.

Fireline is a fused line, and will probably work fine, though I MUCH prefer Power Pro after using both. When fishing very deep, I agree with the others that braid with a fluorocarbon leader is an ideal setup. I fish Lake Ontario quite a bit, and while I think the fish would probably ignore the 10/2 diameter line at those depths, the zebra and guagga mussels would slice it up. If you use a tough leader material, like Gamma Leader or P-Line CFX, you'll minimize break offs. you have to check it frequently, though. I generally start with about 8' leader, and within a few hours, its whittled down to 3' or less, and I have start with a new section. One thing to note, a Uni to Uni connection with a mainline that is 2# diameter, and leader that is heavier, say 6 or 8#, then you will want to either go to an Allbright knot or use a spider hitch knot to double the mainline. If you use a swivel, a friend showed me a cool trick: thread a small, plastic bead on the mainline that is just bigger than the ring in your tip top. Thais will save your rings should you accidentally reel in too far. The downside of this trick is if you still don't stop reeling, you could snap the rod.

I'm wondering whether you were using braid with a heavy rod, and what bait you were using. For treble hook baits, #3 Duo-Locs are as strong, if not stronger than any split ring. They also allow you to easily tie a Palomar connection, which is a very strong knot. Sometimes its the wrong "mixture" of gear that causes the issue, not opne individual piece of tackle. Could have been too light a clip, or a bad run. Same thing can happen with split rings.

My ice out baits: suspending jerks, spinnerbaits, jigworms, hair jigs, very occasionally float 'n fly.

So, do you really think that if they didn't give the MVP a Caddy, all GM's problems would be solved? Same with the executives flying in on private jets to ask for the bailout, I agree that they probably shouldn't have been so flamboyant, but they are in so much trouble it wouldn't have made any difference. All those millions in bonuses they gave themselves would account for less than 1% of their problem. Its simply a public relations ploy. They need to figure out how to provide a product that makes a profit. Very simple business logic.

You don't need any special rod to achieve a flip cast, though a longer rod can give you more reach or allow you to fish deeper. Pitching is a different story. You do want a heavy power rod for heavy cover. I pitch and flip from my yak, both seated and standing. You really can sneak right into the heaviest slop with the fish. jig bass on a flip pitching from the yak

It looks like a BIG banjo minnow.

There are some ponds, where I'll only bring my heavy cover rod, a 7'6" XH/F flipping stick. Other places, just my drop shot rod, which I use for most small finesse plastics. I think one of my favorite rod to bring on shore trips is my 6' topwater/jerkbait rod. Its a M/F, kind of short, a little too light, but easy enough to get used to throwing most of what's in my backpack, including spinnerbaits, t-rig, wacky Senkos, in addition to its primary duties.

Same here ;D Anyway, as far as the off topic comment about bed fishing....I think its wrong to assume that all fish are spawning during the spawn. Many do not spawn at all.

That water isn't what I'd call stained. That's algae, and I usually refer to it as pea soup. That looks like mild pea soup, with a bit of silt thrown in. I don't get too fancy with colors, but I'd use some variation of black or motor oil for jigs and plastics. I'd try adding rattles if I was having trouble getting bit. Anything with chartreuse for reaction/crank baits, and Colorado or other wide blades for spinnerbaits.

Any new reel should work perfectly out of the box. Send it back.

I only use Duo-Locs for hard baits with treble hooks. For everything else, I tie direct. As far as the Duo-locs affecting the action, the answer is yes, as in yes the bait will run true more often than when using typical split rings.

Well, I certainly understand your point, but there have been a few "Magic Lures" over the years. The first I ever knew about was the original Floating Rapala when it was introduced domestically in the early 60's. The next was the GYCB Senko, thirty plus years later. I bet some of the first swimbaits were considered "Magic", too! 8-) The Slugo in the late 70 's. I didn't realize Slug-Os went back that far, but they certainly were "Magic" through the mid 80's. Everybody was throwing them, myself included. Seems the Super Fluke or Fin-S-Fish did them in.

Uhhhh......dude, what are you saying?

I know you're messin' Just laughing right along with you. last I hear, old Rolly and Billy were laughin' too.

It really cracks me up when someone says they were deceived by Bill Dance, LOL. Really? You call yourself a bass fisherman, and yet you didn't see the inherent weaknesses in these baits? And how many other baits have you tried that didn't work? Did you blackball their sponsored pros? Its silly. Not even anything I'd be worried about.

Just so you all realize, these guys didn't make nearly the money that even a mediocre pro level angler does now. So what if they hawk weird junk. Modern bass fishing was built upon their early success. Street cred doesn't put dinner on the table. If someone said to me right now they'd pay me $100 to promote some goofy item, I'd do it. Sell out? Yeah. Sell out = money in. Hell, even KVD hawks Quantum, LOL.

I have a flipping stick, but I consider it a heavy bait/heavy cover stick. I use several casts with it. You can flip and pitch with any rod and reel.

Arbor knot.

P-line Flouroclear in 6# - junk. Some Plano tackle bag/backpack thing - never got used to it. Berkley Tec Hook sharpener - plain old hook stone works better. Gulp! Floating Nightcrawlers - repels most fish. Boo-Yah Swim Jigs - they work, I still feel duped. Terminator Football Jigs - unbelievable sticking power, as in stuck in rocks, LOL.

The same hook concept is on a frog and it doesn't seem to hurt the hook-up ratio.Compare frog hook up rates to jig hook up rates among those that can fish BOTH well. I think the actual hook-up ratio isn't bad on frogs. You usually miss them on frogs because they don't take the bait in. I think with a bass sucking that jig in, the second hook won't be a problem. I do agree with *** in that you may get hung up more. This why when you're frogging, you MUST use a follow up bait. And if a bass not completely taking the bait in doesn't constitute a "hook up" issue, then I must have a different definition.