islandbass

A Curado 101d will fit that bill.

No question... The Clarus.

Which set are you using for which lure? The other thing, if all else is equal, the lure's aerodynamics can influence distance. For example, you can probably toss a 3/8 spoon a country mile even in windy conditions, but you should not expect a 3/8 spinner-bait to go the same distance. Those flapping blades can hinder the distance the spinner-bait will fly. What reel are you using? As you know, not all casting reels are equal and some will cast lighter weights better. This might or might not be the case until you have tried making adjustments to your reel's settings. From what you've described, I think I would loosen the cast control even more. Personally, I tend to have my cast control setting much looser than you've described and I am willing to believe many others also prefer a looser setting. If all of your experimenting with the reel's settings fails to work, you might very well have learned the lower weight limitation of your reel. I don't think this will be the case, but it will be possible. To give you a reference, my reels, with two brakes on and four off, and a loose cast control, make short work of 3/16oz. With some fine tuning, and the lure being aerodynamic enough, 1/8th oz 80ft. with the right line.

Just don't buy lattes for a month and get the Citica. Nothing wrong with the Caenan, but if you look hard, you could probably find a Citica for close to the price of a Caenan.

That is why! As JF mentioned, your brakes are off, not on. Four out and two on is a good place to start, but I would bet you would quickly switch to 3 off and 3 one in a symmetric fashion rather quickly.

Jig Man pointed you in the right direction. If you want to see samples of people's work here, just search some posts in this section. Big M, FishWhittler, just two to mention, and many others do some real kick-phanny work. I know how to make hard baits, but I can't paint worth a darn. Congrats to you and your buddy. It is one thing to catch a fish on an artificial, and no doubt it is a great feeling. However, to actually catching something you made yourself is simply indescribeable until you experience it. You'll be hooked in a new way, as fishing hooked you.

Another yes vote. Without the discount, I would have suggested the compre or the Lamiglas excel line.

Ouch, that has got to hurt, but sometimes that is how it goes.

If the line rating includes 20# test, you should be alright. The 4# rating refers to the line's diameter and not its breaking strength, which is 20#. Just as a thought, I wonder of braid's near zero stretch and its thin diameter make this line prone to snap on shock hook sets or casts. 4# diameter at 20#? That is pretty neat considering that many other braid makers 20# braid is usually about 6# test diameter.

Cool! I never even thought to make a flat sided topwater. I like them all, but the topwater prop is killer!

I know of them since they are a local (to me) company, and I know that they make very nice rods. Unfortunately, they are a bit out of my price range. Just check out their site for more details. Their rods do feel nice in hand. Also, they might be more well known for their salmon and steelhead rods, which are also beautiful.

If you want zero memory, then here's another vote for braid. If you want a mono line that for me seems to do the best at resisting memory but eventually acquires some memory, I would recommend sufix.

Hogwash! It is NOT hard to learn to use a baitcaster. Do a search here on learning to use one and you will find a wealth of very excellent information. I would work on getting a solid spinning setup and a solid baitcast setup. BC reels at the $100-120 price point are quite good these days, and an $80-100 rod with decent sensitivity can be had these days too. $80 buys a whole lot of spinning reel that could be matched up with about a $100 rod. Either way you would meet your budget. There are many applications that both reel types will work well. I also like catching bass and other fish on UL gear. It is a total blast.

That's a jaw-dropping WOW! WTG, Big O!!

I hope so. Those are the two main weights I have been working with. I need to get the "no fish on a jig-n-pig yet" monkey off of my back.

Always love reading your posts! Glad to see it was a good trip.

My First Two Fishing Outings in 2011 Outing #1 – Monday, May 2, 2011 The first outing left a bitter taste of rust, or at least the shaking of it off, as I attempted to catch for my first bass with a jig a rubber skirt. If you didn’t know, jigs and I don’t get along. Could you imagine entering your eighth season of fishing and still NOT landing a bass with a jig and rubber skirt? Oh the embarrassment! To add salt to the wound, I was pleasantly surprised to have had not one but two excellent opportunities to finally get this done while fishing through hand-numbing cold, non-stop, pouring rain. From the dock, I pitched my jig right where I intended (grass and old lily pad remains) and watched it descend about five feet to the bottom. Shortly after the jig hit bottom, a 15” largemouth bass came out of nowhere and inspected the jig. I gave it a tiny hop and that was all she needed to commit to the strike. In my thoughts I shouted, “Ah yeah!!” Then, I set the hook. Unfortunately, the excitement of the situation overcame my usually cool and collected approach and I yanked the jig away a split second too soon. The silent, “Ah yeah,” was followed by a loud and verbal, “Oh no!” I let the environment rest a few minutes and tried again in another spot close to where I made the first cast. Can you believe I did the exact same thing again? Further attempts yield no other takers and neither did changing tactics. 0 for 2 can make you blue, especially if you haven’t fished for bass since last October. The poor weather didn’t help either. Conditions: Miserable – Overcast, constant rain, about 45 degrees F. Gear: Rod #1 Cabelas Mag-Touch casting, Curado 101D, Black and Blue jig with a zipper worm as a trailer, 8# Spiderwire Mono Rod#2 Shimano Compre spinning, Rapala 6Sxi reel, various plastics, 6# Invizx. Outing #2 – Friday, May 6, 2011 This was definitely an unplanned trip. Had to run some errands downtown and happened to have one rig, a casting rod and a reel and some finesse tackle with me. The weather conditions were overcast as is was on the first trip, but this time there was no accompanying rain. I only had time to use one tactic and I chose the drop shot. After a number of snags, forced break offs, and trying two different plastics, I finally broke through with the third bait, a brown sniper snub. After dragging the drop shot rig about three times, I felt a mushy take and I knew it was game on and fortunately this time around, I remained composed. Yes! My first bass of the season, and I am glad to get that monkey off of my back. I released the bass after taking a photo and it swam away vigorously. I am glad I caught her when I did because I was also out of time. Conditions: Fair – Overcast, but dry about 50 degrees F. Gear: Cabelas Mag-Touch casting, Curado 101D, Sniper Snub worms, 8# Spiderwire Mono Not a pig, and not taken with a jig, but I’ll take her!

That is its MSRP. However, there are places like Ebay where they can be bought for less than MSRP. I would also pick the Sahara.

Absolutely not! I taught my daughter when she was 6 1/2. The first thing she said to me was, "Papi, this reel is so much easier to use than the other (spinning) kind." The major key I taught her was that she had to stop the spool from spinning with her thumb BEFORE the lure hit anything. That is all I told her. Her first ten casts with birds-nest free. She even claimed one of my curados as hers. I certainly didn't mind. She is now 11. Sometimes I think we forget how quickly kids can learn something new. Just keep it simple and don't get too technical. 8'6" rod with an abu rod, jigging for salmon.

Maybe they were short striking? Just a thought. Short strikes can feel like a legitimate take but if you ever saw a video, the fish are close enough to grab the skirt or other material and don't even touch the hook. I even saw one bass come from the bottom and smack my rapala crankbait right inbetween the tail and belly treble. Its lip actually kissed the bait and it swam straight back down as if to say, "No thanks!" The trebles didn't even move! Talk about being close but no cigar.

There is also the DHSV, which is what I have and it means the Curado D, High Speed Version.

I know that you said to not switch lines, but this is one exception where I would. You couldn't count the number of horror stories people have had with Vanish. In this case, I would switch. I would not fish for bettas with Vanish, 20# or otherwise. They might break it.

Right on! Catchin' bass on cranks is a blast, one of my favorite ways to catch them.

The dead of winter, the day after Christmas, snow and ice on the ground. After parking the car on site, I put on my waders and boots as if I were donning on battle armor, feeling like a bad-***, ready for fishing combat. Mount up! Lock-n-load! Rods - Check Reels - Check Head Gear - Check Lures/Bait - Check Starbuck's Drip Coffee - Check (I live in Seattle, you know ) Polarized Glasses - Check Gloves - Check Keys - Check Ready to go!!! A quarter mile in, even with everything on, something felt missing, but I couldn't pin it down as to what it was. I wade into the water about make my first cast and realize that I didn't bring my wallet. No wallet = Driving without a License AND more importantly, fishing without a license. I don't think I've ever been as upset at myself. Doh! Double Doh! Yup. Tucked the tail, walked back to the car and headed home. Fishing liberty expired! Now if that isn't a dumb move, I don't know what is.