islandbass

If you have a sportsman's warehouse, check it out. There is a 3 or 4 piece travel rod that looks really good. I can't recall the name, I think it was like Maxx or something like that, but they are dark gray in color and there are about 3-4 models. All for about $40.00 too.

Is that all? For some reason I was thinking it was more expensive. Hmmm...... You've got me reconsidering. I am only going there for about 10 days, and the purpose of the trip is to help my wife bring all her stuff back home and the kids too. ;D Mazatlan is my wife's home town, but she doesn't care to fish. So any $$ that would have been spent on hotels could be diverted to a fishing trip. Yee ha!!!!! I agree. I am afraid of getting spoiled too. Living in the Pacific Northwest, a 4 lb bass is a hawg. Thanks again. My brain is already trying to calculate the logistics and formulate the plans.

Thanks. I'm going to Mazatlan in January next year, but I won't be going to El Salto unless I can fish from the shore. Else, I'll be fishing from the beach close to the hotel area or lighthouse. 8-)

Then it probably isn't the line. It seems that perhaps a little more patience it needed to tire out the fish a bit more, especially if they still have fight in them. I too am a user of Trilene XL in 6#. I have never lost a fish, but I have always made sure (and sometimes it's hard to stay patient) to wait until the time was right. I like this line a lot. You also mentioned that you wanted a line that didn't have too much memory. If that is the case, look no further than Sufix. I have tried both Siege and Elite and prefer Siege for my cranks. Elite in a way is somewhat similar to trilene but I like Siege better.

Excellent report and pics. Do you know if you can just show up at El Salto and start fishing? That's what I would do if I could. I could pass as a local and know enough Spanish to buy a beer. ;D

Yep....Trilene 100% fluoro is the deal. I quit 'trying' fluoro's after I used the Trilene. I went with the bulk 2000yd spools, but it is lasting even longer than I thought. Since it doesn't turn white, I can't find a reason to change it...not to mention the abrasion resistance seems to be parallel with CXX (did I just say that?!). Seriously....it's close. These bulk spools may last me until 2010. How would you rate Trilene's limpness from 1-10 and compared to Sea Guar Invizx? I use seaguar's invizx myself and have tried cabela's fc per your recommendation that it was very similar to Invzix. After comparing the two, in my hands the Cabela's version is slightly "stiffer" but acceptable to me. I liken it to a generic drug versus the original. There are slight percentage changes in certain components of the formula, but they're close enough. I have never seen a need to stray from Invizx, but with all the talk of Trilene FC's rave reviews, it has my bait monkey whispering, "go ahead and try it." ;D Anyway, my recommendation at this time is definitely SeaGuar's Invizx. My use of it drew me to the same conclusion as BrokJu, but the fact that it is so similar to mono is why I love it. I get the stretch of mono, but the sensitiivity and invisibility FC line offers. It spells for the fish, once hooked, not lost. CX Premium is a great line but it seems a bit on the thin side. Do not expect to to be as brutishly abrasion resistant as its brother CXX. It is also a good thing that RW recommends the use of line conditioner. Without it, CX premium quickly acquires memory and it sure looks ugly on a spinning reel. CX is a flurocarbon coated mono and not a true fc line BTW.

From what you described, I would think the line might already have some unseen damage (nicks and such) and allow the line to break. Every once in a while, check that first 5-7 ft of line for nicks and wear. That pulling of the line might also have something to it as you suspect. Lastly, it isn't a good idea to pull hard like that for the rod and the reel. If you have to pull that hard, pull off enough line to work with and pull as hard as you wish with you and the line. Removing the rod and reel from the pulling equation means zero chance of damaging either.

Was it breaking at the knot or elsewhere on the line? It would be helpful to know. I usually leave an ever so slight longer tag for potential slippage.

I love both the Improved Clinch and Palomar Knots. However with braid, the IC knot can slip out. This is why it is not recommended with braid. My obseravations and experiements have revealed that it is most ready to do it with newer braid that still has the waxy coating on it. If I decide to use it, I will double the number of winds. It has held up so far, but I know down inside I am running a risk of slippage. I agree that tying a palomar with baits like CBs can be a pain. The duo lock snap as already mentioned is a great way to get around this.

6# mono is a great choice. I like to use Trilene XL. It casts great and I have never ever lost a fish with this line. Let us know if you notice more strikes and hits vs. lines of thicker diameter. I noticed it but I am wondering if it is just in my head.

Then you are in for a treat. You might even notice more catches and hook ups, as it is something that light line does. Also, don't be too worried about a light action or UL rod not being able to "handle" larger fish. Barring super heavy cover and using a decent ul rod, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Light action rods if designed well serve you by protecting your light line, much the same as any other rod. You just have to trust your equipment and ensure that your reel's drag is correctly set. If you still can't get over that hump, then know and picture this. There are people in my area that target large king salmon up to 30 lbs on UL salmon rods with as little as 4-6 lb. test. Now if they can land such a big fish, there is no doubt that you and your UL rig can handle say a 6# bass. There is nothing like watching the parabolic bend of a UL rod, protecting light line as you battle a fish. Ahhh yeah...

I've done it, but on a rod that nice, I wouldn't recommend it for the reasons already given. I did it with rods that if I screwed up, I wouldn't be upset at all. A piece of crap Rapala spinning rod and my Berkley casting rod were the guinea pigs. They turned out quite alright. Also, George Roth is the man. I found his tutorials helpul. I can also tell you that removing the epoxy takes a lot of elbow grease if you can't do it chemically or by heat as George did. Here is my spinning rod converted And my Lightning Rod You will notice that with the casting rod, I shaved it down to the point where my palm is in contact with the reel while I am holding the reel. I made certain of this because I realized that the only way a split grip can claim to be more "sensitive" than a full grip is if some part of the hand is touching the blank while holding the reel. If not, it is just going to be a purely aesthetic move.

X2 I could't have said it better. A third option of both or neither ought to be added for this minority of no preference anglers that let the technique or application dicated the reel type to use. ;D

in my original post , i said i wanted to know so i can get the right amount spool , example ; if i can load 180 yds , well i shouldn't get a 150 yd. spool , i should get the 300 yd. spool . do you follow my drift ? i was hoping some one has or knows of a line comparision chart that it would make it easier when deciding on spool size ..... You can also reverse your thinking. If you know it holds 180 yds and you have a 150 yd spool of say braid which is typical, then load the spool with 30 yards of mono with the equivalent diameter first. Add the braid on top and you'll be good to go. Anyway, when I use braid, that is what I do. I use to fully spool with braid until I realized that most of the line will never see use as Wayne P pointed out. By keeping a mono backing I ensure that all of the line gets used. You are also free to choose the percentages. 50/50, 40/60, 30/70 mono/braid. You can have more than 50 yds of braid on top. I do about 40/60 myself.

i have to say dropshoting also . nose hooked for open water or minimal vegatation , texas-rigged wide gap worm hook for thicker vegatation and rip-rap . x3 It is by far my most productive too. You can even upscale too. It is not limited to finesse or "sissy" tactics.

The easiest thing to do is look at the other capacities it holds for other lines. Many reels usually display 3. For example, the Curado 200/201E holds about: A) 8/180 10/155 C) 14/110 You can see that there is a 45 yd difference between B and C. One can reasonably guesstimate that the Curado 200/201 E is probably going to hold about 133 yds. or 12# line. 12/133 is fairly close to your reel's 12/140. As you can see, the curado holds about 180 yds of 8# test. I believe it would be safe to guess that your reel will probably hold about 190-200 yds of 8# line. There is no need to be exact but if you had to, you would need some type on line counter. Such a measurement would only be good for that line diameter and not really the # test of the line. Why? Because lines with the same breaking strengh can differ greatly in diameter.

Ghost, sorry to hear about that! I bet some dumb ***** damaged the rod before you bought it. When a rod breaks like that, that is usually a sign of some serious damage, sight unseen. :'(

I can't complain at all for a reel at this price point. It is exceptionally smooth and just the right size. It also only weighs 6.95 oz which pretty awesome. If you decide to buy one, a quick check of the reel's weight on the package will tell you if it is the same one that I have. So far, it has performed superbly and has never let me down.

My Light Action rig is a 7' Okuma Celilo (1/32 - 3/8 oz, 2-6# test) rod mated to an Abu Garcia Cardinal 101a or c or something like that. It is one of their small spinning reels. Rod $16 Reel $29 This is one of my favorite rigs to fish with. I have targetted bass with it too and have caught 3.5 bass on it without issue. Talk about a fight! I normally use 6# Trilene XL. This rig is sweetness made into reality. 8-) Sorry that I don't have a pic of it though. Update.. I just found a pic with me holding my UL rig with a bass I caught with it. I'd guess it was probably around 2 lbs. I apologize for the poor quality of the image. A fish this size on an ultralight makes for a very thrilling fight. There is nothing like watching the parabolic bend of the rod protect the light line such that it makes me confident the line isn't going to snap, barring heavy cover of course. 8-)

It was a mix for me. Personally it was the worst as in practically non-existent for me. I broke my ankle in two places on back in May and that practically did me in. I was looking forward to learning jigs and shakey heads. Vicariously however, it was quite good. One outing with my dad and the other with my daughter. My dad visited from overseas and even with a full fledged cast on my right leg, I took him smallie fishing (in July) because he wanted to go. Then in September, I helped my daughter, a trout catching machine, catch her first bass. VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE #1 July 2008 This is what I composed to remember the outing: Finally Gone Bass Fishing with Dad! Some of you might know that I broke my ankle in late May (double fracture) playing with the kids at the playground (that's the truth) and as a result, fishing for this season is pretty much not going to happen until I heal. Per Doctor's orders, I cannot put any weight on my right ankle lest I want to risk having surgery. My dad came a long way to see me, and he wanted to do some fishing it possible and I thought to myself, I really shouldn't fish, but on the other side of the coin, I don't get to see my dad often enough because he lives so far away and he really wanted to go fishing, probably more than me! This past Monday, I gathered up what we needed including a chairs for us to sit on. It was a blue bird sky day. My gut feeling was saying that prospects were going to probably be slim and fishing tough. I was hoping to be wrong and it appeared that I would be. Within minutes of rigging him up with the drop shot (6'6 med action rod with cabela's 6# fc line) rig. He gets his first nibble as I am preparing my own set up. He gets my attention and I observe the rod's tip twitch. I said excitedly, Dad, set the hook! Just moments before the first bite. Just to let you know, my dad is a newbie to fishing. The last time he fished with me was at this spot last year. He reeled up the slack and pulled back just as a pro does to make a cross the eyes hook set and I thought. Wow! What a hook set! Where in the world did that come from? I didn't teach him that. Well, at least he looked good! I started laughing but not because he missed the fish. It was such a beautiful hook set, but unfortunately, that type of hook set is not needed when drop shotting. It was probably a decent sized smallie too. I proceeded to tell him that that I meant for him to just reel up the slack to get tension to the line. He was bummed out but still kept an optimistic outlook for the rest of the day. I spent most of the time trying to get my first jig fish: both jig and pig and Shakey head, but no luck today. I had followers with the J-n-P (30% of the fishing time), Shakey-head (30%), spoons (5%), lucky craft jerk bait (4%) and homemade inline spinners (30%) but no takers at all despite the adjustments I made in size and lure color. My poor dad had no luck as the day went by miss after miss. I switched to my comfort technique the drop shot (1%) and on about the 3rd cast with my dad right next to me I mentioned, Got it, as I reeled the slack in. It might look like I am putting weight on my right leg but I am not. It's all on the left leg. I knew it was a small one but being only my second time out this season for bass fishing, I will take it. It is also my first bass this season too. He jokingly said that I stole his fish and that my unasked help on that hook set was an attempt of sabotage. I was really hoping and praying he catch at least one fish, but it was not to be. We fished for just less than three hours, but had to leave to beat the traffic to catch his train. He went 0 for 8 and I went about 1 for 4, not including the followers. It was definitely great father and son time, something I cherish deeply. So in addition to taking the kids fishing, if possible, don't forget to take a parent(s) fishing too. VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE #2 Daughter's First Bass 09-01-08 I am glad to say that I have finally gotten this monkey off of my back and it has been there for a long time. My daughter is my first fishing buddy and she has been a trout catching machine since day one. However, catching a bass until today has been so elusive for her. So after a very long time of trying and trying and trying, her persistence has finally paid off. We faced a cooling trend and overcast skies after a good period of decent warmth. On the way to the lake she told me that she was not going to leave until she caught a bass. I set her 6'6 spinning rig with a drop shot set up and I set up mine as well. The first 30 minutes was not productive for either of us and to be honest I was awaiting a comment along the lines of, Can we go now? Instead, she says, Papi, we have to move to another spot. There is nothing happening here. I thought I needed to clean my ears because hearing those words was like hearing music. The other neat thing was the degree of determination in her voice and attitude. You could not only see it, but also feel it. We moved to another spot that has been productive for me in the past. We had to pass our car on the way to that spot so I unloaded unneeded items we were carrying. Unfortunately, time was running out for fishing because we had other plans. We only had about 20 minutes left. So as I unloaded the unnecessary items, I decided instantly that I was going to give her my complete and undivided attention. I put away one rig and told her that I wasn't going to fish so that we can both focus on getting that first bass. We were fishing riprap and while she held the rig, I kept my hand on above the rod's fore grip. Then, as she dragged the weight over the rocks, I asked if she could feel the vibrations. She said, Yes, those are rocks. Shortly after, I felt a nibble but before I could tell her or say anything, she blurts out, A bite! and yanks to set the hook. I thought to myself that maybe she should be teaching me. Goodness gracious that has got to be a good instinct because when I started fishing, it took a long time to figure what was a bite and what was not. Naturally, that kind of move will just yank the lure away from the fish. I shared with her that unlike a regular hook set that all she had to do was to reel up the line until there was some tension. We're down to our last five minutes and she is still determined. She encounters a snag and so I grabbed the rod above the fore grip to pop the rod and managed to free it. My fingers were still on the rod when the weight landed and I felt very small tug. I didn't say a thing. Apparently my daughter did too. She says she has one and starts reeling up the line. Oh the joy to see the line moving and you know they're hooked. I was Iaconelli-ing it loud and proud, fist pumping, and yee-hah-ing it all the way to the bank. Speaking of the bank, folks on the bank of the other side of the canal gave their approval with cheers and applause of their own. I quickly took photos and she released the cute little bass. Beautifully hooked if I may say so. She did well! First time lipping a bass, readying it for release. My little girl did it. And she didn't give up. This definitely made my day (despite going home skunked fishing solo in the early morning) and I know it made hers. Sorry that this is long winded. Location: Lake Union, WA Conditions: Gray, Overcast, 65 degrees Gear: 6'6 MH Compre/2500 Symetre, 8# Spiderwire Mono (trunk rig) Technique/Lure: Drop Shot/Sniper Snub -ib

Thanks!

The TackleUnderground is another great resource for you. Just google it.

Man that is terrible. Don't mean to sound harsh, but why would you spend that kind of cash and not bother to open the box? :-? With that kind of damage, I'd be returning those reels double time. I second the posting of pics. Looks like someone screwed with those reels first.

I know that I will be getting into rod building some day, but this question has been on my mind. How does one determine the location of the spine with a two piece rod? It seems straight forward with a single piece blank but with a two part blank, how will one know that they have the two pieces aligned correctly to find the spine? Thanks!

Exactly. The first thought that went through my mind was... Cast... "Ooos! Sorry Papi, I didn't mean to drop it." ;D :-[ And bye bye curado. ;D Fears are now non-existant.