islandbass

Crestliner, You make a very interesting point about vertical vs. horizontal. I would agree with you that vertically presented, the chance of line twist should be minimal. However, I am shorebound and don't fish from the boat and as a result, I am forced to present the drop shot technique horizontally. And the stuff I wrote in my previous posts were things I do to minimize the twist, the result of fishing the DS horizontally. I guess the solution then for me would be to get a boat! ;D

One thing I noticed that I think we might forget to factor is the wind and the aerodynamics of the crankbaits we are throwing. I learned that they are definitely not equal. Some cast better than others and the less aerodynamic they are, the less distance I get even with a properly set reel. For exaple, Rapala DT series cranks cast very well. For your case, I imagine that lessening your cast control just a wee bit might do the trick. I have pretty much the same type of set up like yours.

Usually it's the 1-2 lb range, but this season it's in the 0-2 with an occassional greater than 3 lb. I am a dink master! Hence the zero in 0lb - 2lb! ;D

Congrats on those beautiful reels! 8-) You do what I do with the line except I loop it onto the reel foot. What rods did you have in mind for them?

I don't use a swivel above the ds rig. That adds to the potential for things to go wrong for the careless. I do use weights with the built in swivels. You probably already know that even the best swivels aren't perfect and the absolute best twist eliminator is the angler. Here are some things I do, some of which you probably already know: 1) Close the bail manually but MORE IMPORTANTLY, make sure you start your retrieve with no slack in the line. All you have to do is move yourself, your rod and reel, or both you and the rod and reel to either side just enough to ensure there is some tension on the line. 2) After every 5 casts or so, allow the line and DS rig to "rest" a little. By this, I mean to hold it out of the water. If there is any twist in the line, you will be able to see line oscillate back and forth for a few seconds. It only takes a few seconds but it will save you minutes working out a twisted mess or worse yet, cutting it off and retying. These are the things I do and I can proudly say that I do not experience major line twist problems at all. No nested thrruupppp through the guides or loops in the spool. This is not to brag about me, but to let you know that it really works. I don't use braid for drop shotting but I might be tempted some day. Seaguar Invizx at 6# test has been too good a thing that I have no desire to try any other line for drop shotting. Last thing; some reels are better at managing line twist than others. The reels I have used without issue are: 2500 Shimano Symetre 20 Rapala 6Sxi 101a Abu Garcia Cardinal I have a cheap 1500 Daiwa Sweepfire (daughter's reel) and I see the twist build up and need to be more attentive with this reel. Still it isn't a bad reel, especially for $9.99!

I also replace with the same size hooks, but in the event I don't have them, I will err on the smaller size. I have never seen size 3 or size 5 trebles anywhere in my local shops. The occassional Rapala comes with an uncommon size as previously mentioned, and this is the time I make an exception to that rule of thumb. I agree about VMC trebles. They are awsome out of the box on Rapalas. I also use them to replace dulled hooks and hooks I don't trust.

That's right. A 5" senko is about 3/8 oz all by itself! Brooks, I think it is great you are getting the hand of using a bc reel. Some of the things I do to minimize overruns are: 1) When casting, to let the rod do the work. Allow the lure's weight to load the rod and toss the lure forward. You just might find you can make very long casts that way. Getting too wristy is a potential cause that infrequent backlashed cast. If you have ever played golf, it is in the turning of the wrists that the golfer's swing goes through its greatest change in velocity. Do the same thing with a bc reel, and too much speed will be applied to the spool than it can handle, leaving backlashing the end result. 2) No matter what type of cast is made, stop the spool before the lure hits anything, be it the water, the ground, or a shrub. The latter of the two is the only thing I told my daughter to keep in mind and she has gotten the concept. I also did the same for a friend who has never used a bc reel in his life and he didn't backlash for the rest of the day. I am glad you realized that about the thumb. 90% of time I don't feather the spool anywhere in the first 85% of the cast. No need to give up distance.

I used to require that the rods I bought had them until I started seeing scratches from the hooks. So now, I don't mind if they don't have one. I see the wisdom in why many JDM rods lack the hook keeper. Oh the horror of scratching up a booku $$$ rod on account of a silly hook.

Right on! Just don't get too excited and make a typical hook set. You might find that they usually wind up setting the hook on themselves about 80% of the way and the reeling up of the slack line goes the remaining 20. Best of luck! 8-)

They look good. However, you might want to bring along an assortment of Roboworms. Aaron's Magic and Oxblood colors are well known to nail fish. Good luck!

You will need to look no further than shimano rods to fill this niche of your arsenal. In their line, the Convergence, Clarus, and Compre all have 2 piece versions: Convergence: $39 IM6 graphite, Aluminum Oxide Fuji Guides Clarus: $59 IM7 graphite, Fuji Aluminum Oxide Guides Compre: $89 IM7 Graphite, Fuji Hardloy All models have the lifetime warranty, have two piece version of both casting and spinning rods. I have a clarus casting and compre spinning that fill the 2 piece niche of my arsenal. They are my trunk rods. Both are sufficiently sensitive to get the job done. Good luck on your final decision.

Thanks for this great information! I suck with jigs and I have got to stop being a Jig N Pig virgin!

If you really want to get a better idea of how fish see, as opposed to subscribing to speculation and conjecture, read the book titled, "What Fish See," by Dr. Colin Kageyama. While the book focusus mainly on salmon and steelhead, there is a section on bass. I cannot believe how much $$ I've by staying away from lures more designed to catch me vs. catching fish. I stick mostly to colors I know work and a couple odd ones for the times the main stays aren't working. Think of the rainbow colors, ROY G BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). As a rule of thumb, starting with red, the deeper you go into the water, the darker each color will become until it starts looking gray/black to us. There are other factors that influence this such as water clarity, content in the water (eg, silt, tanin, vegetation). Last year, I don't think I caught more than 10 bass (didn't fish much either!) This year (from late May to now), not going out any more times than last, I have caught over 30 smallies and 40 lmbs. I attribute it much to what I learned from the book. In addition, all fish were caught without a boat, from the shore. Not bad for someone shorebound! With winter approaching, I would highly recommend everyone read this book. -ib

Man, that is some serious bad luck! Can't see the pics either :'(

VMC Round bends (best bang for the buck -25 trebles for about $5 and Mustad Triple Grip (Short or regular shank) - They just plain, flat out look awesome and they work!

koko, The compre is just one step below their crucial line. Compres Sport: IM8 graphite Fuji Hardloy Guides Exposed foregrip (no other rod makers do this that I know on off the shelf rods) Couple these with Shimano's lifetime warranty and it makes it a tough cookie to crank in terms of bang for the buck. It is reasonably light and fits well with the 2500 size spinning reel of your choice. I am not sponsored by Shimano, but I wish I were. ;D

Yep, sounds like a little late on the release and the reel's position during the cast. A slight decrease in the cast control setting could help too. Since you are coming from a spinning background and haven't used a bc reel for quite some time, you will need to "re-program" your thumb to come off the spool at an earlier point in the cast than your forefinger comes off the rod. Depending on the set up, even a release point at 12 O'Clock (with 12 above you) can be too late. With 9 o clock in front of you, aim for a release point closer to 1 o clock. Good luck.

Take a look at Loomis' neighbor in the same, sleepy WA State town, Lamiglas. They make good rods. I will buy a loomis some day, and when I do, I will buy it in OR to avoid sales tax in my state. I live less than 2 hours away from loomis land yet don't own a single loomis product.

A 6'6" MH Shimano Compre for $89 and the $50 spinning reel of your choice. The medium heavy action will allow you to easily set the hook with single hook lures. I have the 2 piece version of it for convenience. I also use it for soft plastics, and drop shotting, and tried the shakey head deal for the first time earlier this week.

Sorry that it happened. That is a strange place for a break. You went the expeditor route I see. With a break like that, and you getting your rod, do you know if GLoomis is going to tell you if it was the result of a defect?When I saw that blue color, I actually thought it was a Shakespeare Barbie pole. : Don't be too harsh on them.

I am sad to admit that I have never ever caught any fish on a Bill Lewis Rattle Trap. However, it is a completely different story with a Rattlin' Rapala. As a matter of fact, all the fish I ever caught with a rattle trap type bait have come from the Rattlin' Rapala. I have also tried the berkely frenzy one and a kinami, but they have, like the Lewis ones been zeros. This doesn't mean that I think they suck. Quite the contrary. It is just a matter of time before they will work for me.

Wow!! WTG, 4B!!!! Thanks for sharing such an awesome report.

Than I guess you and I have something in common! ;D

That's all I needed to know. Most of my catches have the hook in the corner of the mouth and only recently have I seen hooks go through the palette. I though that I might be doing something wrong that resulted in the fish being hooked in such a way that they're pierced well through the hard palette, which is why I posted my inquiry here. It appears that how I hooked the fish is a more common occurrence than I initially thought. I'll try not to get your panties in a bunch next time. ;D Thanks!

that is good! Sage wisdom! ;D