islandbass

Yup, I hear you, and most of the other species caught were caught targetting bass. Even tilapia and salmon have fallen victim to the drop shot!

I think that you perception of what is trout lure or a bass lure needs to be re-examined and I don't mean in a bad way. I have come to believe inline spinners and spoons and crankbaits and many other lures have more of a universal appeal to fish, bass, trout, or other species without a doubt. So if you wish to define inline spinners and spoons as "trout" lures, then I will say yes... Those trout lures will catch bass and I am telling you from personal experience. As you would guess, the converse is also true. I have nailed trout and other species with crankbaits and drop shotting. I was field testing my ugly, homemade crankbait at a small lake targetting bass and on about the 5th cast WHAM! In the words of Shaw Grigsby, "He just crushed it. He pummelled it. Golly!"

I know what friction is, but how exactly did it kick your butt? Also, any possible or visible signs of friction I would imagine would most likely come from the guides and the braid starts to sing during a fight. I am asking to get to bottom of your issue because it has definitely piqued my curiosity. However I'm having a hard time visualizing this friction and can't seem to get out of my head the braid slipping around the spool. I take it that the rough feel is probably your fingers feeling the individual strands wrapped about each other. You got point there, but it hasn't been a show stopper for me personally. Based on your experience in using braid, I would assume that you employed either a bit of mono backing or something else to prevent the braid from slipping around the spool so I'll rule that out. Your mystery is definitely afoot!

I only use 6# for my finesse stuff and really like it. I have not used it in other or higher strengths, but have used other lines for those line strengths like Yozuri Hybrid or PLine. Like you, its cost makes it prohibitive enough for me to limit it to my finesse fishing. With this said, you might want to look into Cabela's FC. It is very, very similar to Invizx and at its $10 price, it might be a comparable and decent alternative.

That's way cool. I wish I had thought of that concept. I would have called it the, "IBanez Minnow." ;D 8-) The Stratocaster was a pretty cool name too. FW, How about a jointed version next? 8-)

Thanks! Actually that set of spinners got sent to Iraq a couple years ago for some of our troops serving back there. I hope that they caught some Saddam Bass as they call them there. Make them in whatever combinations and configurations you can imagine. As a rule of thumb, you want the blade to be at least as long as the body, if not a little longer. This is what a great inline spinner maker taught me.

Welcome! Good to see more Pacfic NW folks around here.

Basically, I will throw just about anything in the ultralight weight class. Don't forget about the tiny little spoons and spinners (eg rooster tails, beetle spins, kast masters, etc.) UL fishing is a blast. I have caught a few 3lb bass on my and it feels like I'm battling a behemoth. One of the coolest things I like about UL fishing that I will never tire of is watching the rod flex into that parabolic u-shape to fight the fish and simultaneously protecting my light line. Now that is flat out awesome.

Matt, Thanks! I might be heading to cali to visit family this summer and I just might lucky enough to at least visit some of those legendary lakes.

Matt, Thanks for the heads up on this. I know you have a taxidermy background to know what is medicore from what is excellent. I haven't caught my trophy worthy bass yet, but since I don't have knowledge on this kind of subject, I could have fallen hook, line, and sinker to pardon the pun. By chance, could you post pics of superb replicas for comparison? 8-)

Sorry to hear that! In the spring of 2009 I broke my ankle in two places so that fishing season was completely shot. Only a visit from my dad who travelled thousands of miles to see me made me go (since he wanted to go fishing) with cast and crutches just once during recovery. You can call me a nerd, but I am always hungry for information and knowledge, especially when it pertains to fishing. Here are just a few things I have read that I could recommend. Your local library would be my recommendation to get a hold of these books without having to buy them. I should have made my screen name bookworm bass! I keep a note and ISBN numbers of the books I have read so that I can quickly find them. Knowing Bass Keith A. Jones, PhD ISBN: 1-59228-616-X ISBN: 1-58574-523-5 paperback IB's note: A Scientific Approach to Catching more bass. This book dispels a few myths bass anglers hold true. Want to know which ones? Read the book!! Largemouth Bass Don Oster ISBN: 0-86573-005-9 ISBN: 0-86573-016-4 (paperback) Successful Bass Fishing Ken Schultz ISBN: 0-07-057236-4 Circle on Bass - Bass Wisdom from a Master Homer Circle ISBN: 1-55821-463-1 In Pursuit of Giant Bass Bill Murphy ISBN: 0-9633120-0-6 IB's Note: Great Read Covers the stitching technique and how to anchor your boat. Another keeper. Bass Angler's Almanac John Weiss ISBN: 1-58574-214-7 Sow Belly Monte Burke ISBN: 0-525-94863-5 ISBN: 0-452-28715-4 Paperback IB's Note: Great book about the search for big bass. Not Bass books but still well worth the reading. Title: What Fish See Author: Colin J, Kageyama, O.D., F.C.O.V.D. ISBN: 1-57188-140-9 IB's Note: Tons of information about the color shift that happens underwater. While it mainly focuses on steelhead and salmon, the knowledge Dr. Kageyama imparts is invaluable for bass anglers too. BTW, there is a bass section that I found most informative. I have become a better angler after reading this book. Make better, more educated selections in your choices for lure colors. This book is now a part of my personal library. Title: How Fish Work Fish Biology and Angling Author: Thomas J. Sholsheth, DVM, MPVM ISBN: 1-57188-239-1 IB's Note: It turns out fish focus on seeing polarized light. This book, though informative is more technical in its style. If you enjoy reading technical articles, you'll like its format. I plan to buy this book.

I'd only take out the rod I plan to use at the moment and leave the others on the holder. Would you take them all off? I can see the pros of having them off of the rack but as you mentioned the extra work required to put them back on every time I move is enough of a con would make me keep all of them on the holder except the one I plan to use at the moment.

Go to shimano's site and download their maintenance pdf. I think you can find it under the customer service tab.

You and me both, bud. Our weather has not been cooperative lately, especially for someone like me who is shorebound. I'm spoiling to get into some smallies and have been since November.

Lake Sawyer is closer to you than either Lakes Washington or Union. There is also Lake Tapps. Are you a member of any of the local forums?

There are a number of ways to do it, but I think that using a forstner bit is perhaps one of the easier ways to do this. Click on the link below to see how I do it. http://washingtonfishing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/making-a-latheless-popper I posted this link below to show you one awesome thing that our own EJTaylor devised (see 5th post) to improve the drilling process. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1205115997/0#0

There's also the Puyallup Hawg Hunters and one in the Olympia area Rainier something or other. I'm just north of you in Fed Way, but I don't belong to any club.

Thanks the the advice. I am using a 1/16 ounce SK bitsy bug jig with a tiny paca craw trailer The jig's weight, combined with that of the trailer is probably going to exceed 1/8 oz which is good becuase I know that a curado is capable. In addition to experimenting with the cast control setting, do not get too wristy in your mechanics. You might be able to get away with doing this with heavier baits, but when the baits are lighter, you have work with what the momentum of the lure's swing can give. Adding "wristitness" is going to spell bird's nest. Make the motions of going through the pitch but don't let the thumb off of the spool and do this until you can feel the wieght of the jig and trailer as it swings along in a pendulum shape away from you a few times. This is what you need to be aware of. When you let the weight of the lure send it off, you will attain greater casting distance with less effort. Too much wrist is bad when you don't feel the weight of the lure swing away. You will wind up using too much thumb to compensate for adding too much energy to the casting equation thereby shorten the cast considerably, or your thumb might not act fast enough to stop an overrun from occurring. All you need now is focused, quality practice.

Check of Stamina aka lurepartsonline.com. They will have everything you need from wire forms to a variety of blades and bodies. Unless you are a machinist, it is probably far easier to buy the lure bodies. It is easier if you have a pair of round nose of needle nose pliers and I prefer the former. For this lure type, it is a little cheaper than buying store type. Enjoy! I make my own too and they have caught lots of fish.

My reels have centrifugal brakes and its almost always 2 on and 4 off for just about everything. One occassion I might go to 3 off and 3 on is if the wind is strong severe enough to affect longer casts or if its well below freezing when my fingers (this is rare as shimano brakes truly baby and spool the user). because they might be numb, will have a slower reaction time.

The first thing I would recommend is to run a search on this topic becuase there is a wealth of information on this very subject. As for a the length, try starting anywhere from 12-18" As for working it, all of the methods you mentioned will work. Some DS anglers like to just "work the semi-slack" line. With the line just semi-slack they might move the rod just enough move the line which in turn moves the bait and they do so in a way in which the weight stays put. Mix in a bit of deadsticking and then drag it to the next spot. Other like to wiggle and jiggle it to death. Both work although I have found the former to be more productive. Good luck and congrats. You're going to love this technique.

RW, I agree with you about Invizx 100%. I have been using 6# test and it works great on my spinning reel. I haven't tried abrazx yet, but they don't have it available in my area. If people have issues with not liking the perception of stretchiness they then might not like Invizx, but I can tell them this... Given how well this line performs and the fact that its mono like feel won't affect feedback, it is well worth overlooking. My only concern for me is that it is starting to get pricey for me because I can burn through it pretty fast (loss of line from unfreeable snags). It used to be only $12 for 200 yards at a local shop, but it seems they got wise as to how much other places with charging for it and have adjusted their price to match.

I do that too! 8-)

The key to minimizing this (spinning reels twist line inhderently) is to make certain that there is no slack in your line before you start your retrieve. Closing the bail manually does help, but you still have to be conscious of ensuring that the line is not loose BEFORE the retrieve is started. Think about it... If the line is slack or loose before you start the retrieve, the reel is also going to loosely lay the line back. Twisted line with spinning reels is a given, so for me, the goal is to minimize it and this is what I do. When I do this, I hardly ever experience what you described but I have beforehand. The other thing I do after a few casts is to let the line "rest" a bit, especially when I am using setups where there is no swivel to alleviate line twist. By "rest", I mean that I will let the line be with the lure dangling underneath while holding the rod. If there is line twist present, you will see the lure alternate from clockwise to counter-clockwise. After a few seconds, it is practically gone and I get back to fishing. I call it freeing the twist at the local level. ;D I have found it to be very useful and helpful while fishing. I can take care of serious line twist (hardly ever) at home.

I fish from the shore 99.9999% of the time and I employ the drop shot rig often. I mean no offense by this, but I do get a big chuckle whenever I come across posts where there is a debate or question that the drop shot won't work because it's being done from the shore. The fish don't know. ;D I will tell you that it is worth your time, if you're willing to put in the time. If you give it a fair shake you should be rewarded. If anything, you will probably come to the conclusion that drop shotting from the shore is so effective that you could kick yourself in the phanny for not trying it earlier. The vast majority of the fish I catch are caught on the drop shot and 100% from the shore. That .9999% is the result of fishing from a boat just twice, ever in my life. The only thing you have to do now is to get-r done. Finally, I view the drop shot as a method to rig your lure. It is not limited to being just a finesse/light line tactic. You can step up in line class, lure size, and rod power to suit the cover. 8-)