islandbass

agreed....i have never had a hit on it I haven't either, but I still love the action they have. The fact I haven't caught anything with them yet means I either haven't fished them at the right places or times or it was something the fish didn't want. The other reason is that I keep forgetting to bring or use them. Can't catch fish with them if you (me) aren't using them. Doh! :-[ To the subject, I agree that they look great.

What you say has some plausiblity with regard to fishing on the surface, and just about borders selfishness for fishing. You're probably dead on about golf. I used to be an avid golfer myself. I think that the increase in time for golfers is because they take too long to take a darn shot. ;D 15 million practice swings as if the US open depended on their shot and they wind up topping their shot, which only goes about 15 yards, barely passing the women's tees or fools out there who should be playing the white tees but they feel they have to "man" and play the championship tees. If I subscribed to your philosophy, I would not share the joys of fishing with my kids or anyone else. That would be too difficult for me to do. Have you ever found something that gave you so much joy and excitement that you couldn't contain it and had to share it with others? That is kind of how I feel about sharing fishing with others. I don't think saturation for fishing is likely to happen, because we need to factor in the drop out/retention rate. True anglers like us here aren't ever going to quit fishing. Your point is well taken especially with regard to those anglers who have no respect for the land, water, and other people. We don't need those type people out there with us. We cannot control them but when sharing our love of fishing with others we can teach them right then and there how to do it right. I respect you for being candid and no doubt there will be a few here that share your sentiments and that's cool because it's still a free country. Muddy, That was a great piece. I am glad that fishing for you was a positive agent of change in your life. Thanks for sharing. 8-)

I am far from an expert, but could that be a crappie? It doesn't llok like a largie of smallie to me.

Put your worm on a drop shot set up and you will get that monkey off of your back. For me, the "never caught a bass on it" lures are spinner and buzzbaits.

No doubt. I use both lines recommended. People seem to forget that 6# line properly played can bring in a 30# king salmon. Definitely would make short work of a 6# bass, minus cover of course. 6# fc line (invizx) + Spinning rod setup for drop shot = an unfair fight against the fish. poor whittle fishy. Now go get 'em!

This is a great thread. As a shorebound angler, combined with the limited types of structure I can access on the lakes I fish (eg, worthy drop offs, etc.) let me see if I really understand the point of this. The point is that GH found right structure to fish, the structure in that section of water that was not only retaining fish, but retaining the bigger fish. It just happened to be a harder bottom for this occassion. Also, the other things that this structure contained, ie, the moving water, mayflies were good but secondary to the hard bottom that made his location ideal to fish for the tournament. There must be something to the harder bottom that makes it more attractive to bass than similar structure without the hard bottom. From my own personal fishing experience, I can say will confidence that I have noticed the same thing, but I still don't know why. Can anyone explain why a harder bottom tends to be more productive? There are valid points on both sides of lure selection mattering or not. However I don't think either side can be completely correct while the other is completely incorrect. I believe the challenge for us is to figure out when it does and make the appropriate adjustments to capitalize on catching them. I wonder if stepping down (if the cover permitted) to 8-10# fc line would have enticed even more bites.

Denial. The first sign of being an addict. ;D Bud, your journey's just begun. I kind of went through that gotta have every lure out there, but like you, I cooled down. And I'm not in denial. Consider yourself lucky that you got the recommendations here vs. watching late night infomercials and buying something like the flying lure or the helicopter lure. ;D

As a shorebound angler myself, if I have learned anything, it is that only experience is going to tell you these things. Just to save myself the trouble, if a technique I am using is getting bites, I might try rigging it a different way or change size or color before I cut off and try a different technique if I only have one set up. I usually carry at least 2-3 setups, and sometimes 4 from the shore. For example, when I was drop shotting about 3 weeks ago, I had my baits nose rigged. I wasn't getting jack, so before trying a different techique, I just changed the way I hooked the lure from nose to wacky. Same bait, just a different way to hook them. That was the key. The smallies took the wacky. I switched back to nose rigging just to see, and lo and behold, no more catching. Switched back to wacky and started hitting them again. In addition, nosed hooked yielded no fish and I learned later that it didn't matter what I had, but it had to be wacky rigged. The next time out, they might want to have nothing to do with the wacky so I will probably have to change it up. The point is there is no panacea. You make your decision when you realize that what you're doing isn't working. You have to be willing to make adjustments as you go and the next time you go out can be a whole new ball of wax. Also, if there are no fish in the spot you are fishing, it isn't going to matter how good your presentation is. Experimenting, trial and error and sticking around a forum like this will be your best bets to shrinking your learning curve. Fortunately for you, this subject makes its rounds nearly as much as the left vs. right hand retrieve deal. So take advantage of the search function and lead yourself to a wealth of knowledge and information on fishing from the shore. Big pigs can be had from the shore.

That might very well be true, but the Rapala loop knot is recommended for their use of cranks/lures that don't come with the split. So what I mean to say is that it is also a very effective knot to employ if you don't have a snap or split ring around and you want to use a lure than can benefit from the loop knot.

That's because they're shimanos for sure, right?. Just set it and practically forget it. My sentiments precisely. 8-)

Honestly, I thought you were being sarcastic about know who Homer Circle was. Sorry! Anyway he is well known in Bass Circles (pardon the pun regarding his last name) who has written many articles and a book called, "Circle on Bass." If you have ever picked up a copy of bassmasster magazine, there is a good chance you might have read the section, Ask Uncle Homer. Sorry for the digression!

That looks pretty cool. 8-)

Very funny. Glad that you are prepared for anything. Dang, this is exciting even if it's only vicariously on my part! ;D That would be pretty tough not to know who Uncle Homer is in bass circles. Even I have heard of him and I've only been fishing for about 5 seasons, but it is possible to not know who he is.

Ahhhh, the super sweet feeling of catching something you made with your own hands. Congratulations! 8-)

Man, that is very exciting! I can feel your enthusiasm. First, you need to check out the Tackle Underground. Many folks including myself go there and that is where I learned. www.tackleunderground.com There is a wealth of knowledge there. The search function will be very helpful there. You will be able to learn just about everything you need to get you started. However, I think that it would probably best the easiest to learn to make something like a popper or propeller bait first. Crankbaits are a different animal and the first few tries can be discouraging. Well, at least they were for me. Making a popper would give you experience and boost confidence. They do not require nor do they demand that things be right with little margin for error. You cannot deny the effects of physics, but you can confirm them when your bait lists on one side because the bait as a whole isn't balanced. ;D You'll know what this means soon enough. My first three tries at crankbaits resulted in utter and complete failure and this was about 3.5 years ago. This is not to discourage you but to help you prepare for the trials and tribulations of the trial and error process. On the other hand, the rewards are great. Keep us posted. Basswood, Cedar and Balsa are commonly used. Best of luck and congrats. One last warning. This is a very addictive hobby. ;D

16 oz = 454 grams Therefore, (158 gr/454 gr)*16 oz = 5.568 [ch8776] 5.6 oz. Hmm... Shimano didn't round up and truncated the computation in the hundredth spot. ;D Multi-Variable Caculus class next. ;D

You spin me right round baby, right round, like a record baby, right round, right round.... ;D Spinning - Left Casting - Left

well done, both of you! My daughter, who is 9 is fast becoming a bass catching machine, but she too for some reason is afraid to "lip" or hold them in anyway. I think all we can do is offer them to hold the fish until they feel comfortable to try. I think she thinks the teeth are sharp :-?, or perhaps it's the sliminess from the fish.

X2. Not only that, the thing to get to the brakes needs to be turned as much as the old greenie! This shocked me with my 101D. Aside from that mini peeve, the 101D is a fantastic reel, but the Citica E IMHO is the better choice.

Shimano's Clarus or Convergence, or if Cabela's is close, their Mag Touch line has a few two-piece rods on sale starting at $49.99 depending on the model. I bought a casting one but I know that some spinning models are also on sale. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20374_TGP&id=0053452122696a&navCount=3&podId=0053452&parentId=cat20374&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=9IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

I finally got around to completing it. This is the same one that caught a largemouth bass while I was field-testing it when it was still unpainted. Before This time, I used a super cheap airbrush that I bought a long time ago and forgot about until I did a little spring-cleaning in the garage. The dark green strip was done by dabs with a hand brush. After This is what I call Islandbass's baby bass color scheme. There is still a lot of improvement in painting, but I think I am getting better with each try. I can't wait to try this out.

That is some mighty fine work. I like the tone of the red.

This is a shot in the dark, but take a look at Lamiglas. They make awesome rods and they are truly underrated, meaning most folks don't consider them outside of the west coast. Competitor or Certified Pro, or their new split grip line. Any of these three are bound to serve you well and great bang for the buck. If not, go Crucial.

I have also had thoughts along this line. I just haven't gotten around to working on it. Cool! 8-)

Keep it and learn to use it and also get future reels left-handed. I did the exact same thing as you and taught myself to fish the opposite way. It will come in handy when your dominant side gets "tired.: ;D For me this happens when pier fishing for salmon with heavy spoons. ;D