islandbass

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve logged in and it’s great to be back. I received an email from St Croix and Fin Nor glasses have been deeply discounted and despite doing some initial research I and reviews opinions of fellow members here will bear more weight in my decision. It seems to be part of Pure Fishing and that in and of itself is not a bad thing. If anyone uses them, I hope you can share your thoughts on them, positive or negative. Thanks. -ib

The hawks did it!!

What a great story. Thanks for sharing. 😎

@Glenn LET’S Go, baby!!! The pats are going to get mowed down. 😝

Personally, no. After I investigated it, as good as it looks, I did not feel Like in investing the time to learn or tie it. Just seems like too much work and I can tie the Albright very quickly and it has never failed me and can handle lines that differ greatly in diameter. That said, the small knot formed by the FG knot is darn impressive in how small it is. Puts the other knots to shame.

@Smirak But a great excuse for what would be an awesome road trip, especially if one goes bass fishing along the way. 😎

That sounds like it’s going to be a blast. It’s just a wee bit too far for me. Hopefully you guys can post pics here for the rest of us to enjoy. 😊

@new2BC4bass I forgot to mention in my earlier post, the adage, “if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it”. So if what you’re currently doing is working and productive I don’t see a need to change for the sake of changing. Now if you’re changing to test and experiment and learn, that’s a reason to do so, say to test a line you’ve never used and you want to see how it fairs compared to what you currently use. Here there’s a reason and purpose as opposed to changing Willie nillie for no reason. For example, I finally gave the braid to leader thing an honest run despite my aversion to having an extra fail point where the two lines join. After battling some big salmon, I understood when properly tied, any concern and line breaking was an unneeded concern. 30# braid to 12-15lb leader enabled to keep maximum capacity on the reel, maximize ms my casts when necessary , and slay those silver torpedos.

If you think about it, the lightest line and heaviest you can get away with is the same thing. I know it’s winter for me but I believe this to be true. I find it easier to say lightest line I can get away with. But as I mentioned above they are the same or at least arrive at the same conclusion. 😎😇

Wow. Great work. I leave the country for two weeks and this shows up. I thought we got hacked, lol.

I can’t add to what has already been said. Tom will be sorely missed. My condolences to his family.

I love racquetball but have no one to play with so I play solo and take advantage of the anarobic stints. I also love chess. I am not rated but I did beat the kid who would late that year WA state champ for her age bracket . She was no chump. She was squeezing me the entire game like a little magnus Carlson and her first move advantage of playing white was real. Her board perception was insanely sharp. She made only one little boo boo that caused her to lose but let me tell you, I have never played someone that strong. She has had excellent training from legit GMs. I won’t play her now, however, because she’d kick my Fanny through the goal post like a field goal. I’m going to keep my perfect record, 😆. I also like golf, building things out of creativity or necessity and playing musical instruments. I’m teaching myself bossa nova on the guitar (once again solo, lol). I play mainly keys but dabble with guitar, ukulele, and bass guitar.

To my prayer list you go! Will be praying for you.

@Swamp Girl I hope you didn’t think my post was on suggesting using casting gear. I just pointed out one little thing a casting rig allows an angler to do. I am in the camp of using both types of set ups. Incidentally, most of my salmon caught this year was caught on spinning gear and these buggers pull harder than most bass. 😎

@Glenn Agreed on the hawks. So I’ll just enjoy the ride to the playoffs. Is it just me or is it tougher in our division with the rams and the niners? I know it’s perception, but the top dogs in the other divisions seem to have an easier ride to the top while the hawks, rams, and niners seem to always have to scrap and scrape against each other for the top slot?

You weren’t the only one who misread the title, lol. I also thought it was fishing tips, lol. To the topic: This applies for any rod I am using. 1) Paramount - maintain tension in the line at ALL times. 2) Strive to maintain a 45 degree angle in the rod with respect to the fish. The plane your rod is in is irrelevant. Maintain this angle. This is where you rod is most powerful. It is all too easy to get up to 90 degrees. This position: a) sucks. b) is just about weakest position for the rod to be in during the battle. The next time you battle a big one and you feel like you can’t control the fight, I’d be willing to bet a floating rapala minnow that your rod is probably at 90 degrees. c) did I say weak, tick poor position? Heck, regardless of the plane your rod is in, if you’re are at 90 degrees, you’re practically guilty of high sticking. If they still pull when you’re at 45 degrees, they earned the right to pull your drag assuming it’s properly set. As already mentioned, this is where the bc reel comes in handy because the thumb can help out especially if they can dig into cover.

You have an interesting take on the suitability of bc reels for river fishing. I think bc reels are solid but that said, I think you answered your own question. my shop teacher said use the right tool for the job. Since you’re mostly doing finesse techniques, the spinning reel is superior for convenience, practicality to cast lighter lures that might be lacking in the aerodynamics department. So unless the bc was intended for those techniques, you will encounter issues if the reel is not a suitable tool for the task at hand. another thing is mechanics. I can’t empathize this enough, especially if one comes from a spinning background. You can be sloppy when casting spinning gear in ways you cannot when using casting gear. I know, since I came from a spinning background. Lived and learned, lol. I don’t have bfs gear at this time so if I’m fishing finesse and lighter items, I will use spinning gear because with regard to my personal arsenal, it IS the right tool. no shame, no loss of pride. Right tool for the job, period, done deal, ‘nuff said. Now if I did have bfs gear, …. 😇😂😜

Don’t give up yet. Check with DVT.

@MN Fisher I am so sorry to hear that. Wishing the best possible outcome for you.

One word. BillyDeeLicious. I helped an elderly women get into some smallies and she caught a decent 3-4 lber maybe 12 years ago. The fight exhausted her but the smile on her face said it all. She’s from the catch to eat generation. So she took it home. The next time I saw her, she had all wrapped up in foil and a zip lock bag part of the bass she cooked. She was already a great cook, but man oh man, this was one of the best well seasoned fresh water fish I had ever tried. Tasty and flaky. It could not have tasted better. She is now 86 and can’t fish anymore, but if I ever gut hook an LMB, or if the hook did some permanent damage (usually 1-2 pounders) I give her a call to see if she wants it. The answer is yes 100% of the time. I think the last bass I gave her was in late spring or early summer. It is then I learned she can no longer scale them so I had my first stab at descaling an LMB …. With only a knife and a spoon. Oh boy. It took a while. I bought her a set of fish scalers for Christmas and she was very happy. We will both be ready to scale the next bass, lol. 😂

@Bazoo I have been using 8-10# PLine c21 line this season (outside of my usual mon) for lighter t rigs and cranks), which is a coploymer that is economically priced. 8# is 0.0092” and 10# 0.0108”. It acts similarly to mono and the results this season have been most excellent. Even the 6# for my DS has been good. I have also used 12 and 15# for heavier trigs for bass fishing and jigging metal spoons for salmon and this line has impressed me. I did not lose any fish due to the line breaking. It holds knots very well including being used in tandem as a leader to braid (against salmon). Excellent quality for its sub $6 price. Walmart sold it for the lowest price in my area.

@Bazoo my favorite were the DT6s and floaters. I never got into the shad raps but now I will thanks to you.

@Bazoo great info. Looking forward to delving into this. I love cranks but the past 2-3 years most bass caught in other techniques and I like cranking. Matter of fact, only 2-3 on cranks this year and decent 4+ pounders. This tweak just might be the edge I need against them.

Welcome aboard. I sure I started when I was your age. I hope you have many opportunities to fish with your grandpa. They would be memories for a lifetime to cherish. 😎👍

I find eagle claw hooks for trout and panfish and their laser ones are decent for bass. I think they might have finally overcome that bad rep. All of the other major brands like gamakatsu, owner, vac, are all excellent. For value, the BPS hooks are very good. I would not hesitate to use these.