islandbass

Good one!?

Wow. People actually do that? I wonder if those are same people who try foolishly insist on inserting a loop through a small hook eye that you’d practically have to make a crease at the end of the loop to fit it through the eye to tie the palomar. If I had a boat and saw them do that, I’d kick them so lucky I don’t have one. If they were fishing with me on the bank, I just might have to push them into the lake, lol.

Since you already got great advice, I’ll just add this. Like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits are known for not being aerodynamic and as a result, if the wind catches it right, an overrun can start somewhere in the cast. Therefore be mindful to have your thumb on alert. It might not be windy where you are, but the wind can influence the buzzbaits flight and it may not be visible to you. Buzzbait catches, like other top water catches are just awesome. Wham! Bam! Good luck and report back.

I believe Geography does play a role. In the Pac NW, salmonids are king. Period. Bass anglers are likely a super minority. Bass here are on their own, as there a no stocking programs for bass as far as I know. It’s all good however. Just means more and less pressured bass for me to target. State Fish and Wildlife departments could probably gather good data on this if they asked license buyers what species they target the most. That would be interesting.

Look up the okuma celilo light action rod. They come in variety of sizes. I have the 7’ model but there are versions shorter and longer. It states light action but for all intents, I call it my UL. This rod has caught me the most fish hands down out if ALL my rods combined. The rod runs about $40 and you can spend $30 on a fair reel and just be $10 over, and that should be doable. Can’t really recommend a reel brand but a 1000-2000 would be what I use on it.

Welcome and I’m already liking your enthusiasm!

I targeted salmon today, in hopes to catch a pink or silver. My experience has shown when they’re jumping and splashing, they’re a bit tougher to catch. Nothing worked. Not jigs, spoons or even the spinners were legal that I had on hand failed. Unfortunately, the spinners that I thought would be best had trebles, which are not legal in this river and a combination of my minimalist approach and just not being as prepared as I’d normally be bit me in the rear. Just trade the trebles for single hooks, right? Of course! But, oh no. I forgot my split ring pliers. Alert! We had an ID 10 T on the Green River! I also blew my one chance because I let frustration get the better of me. On one my last casts, as my spinner neared the end of its run through the current and into a pool, I started reeling it in a bit faster than normal since the sun was nearly done. In my frustration of realizing another fruitless outing that was going to end in a skunk, I decided to yank my spinner which was nearly at the surface out of the water like an immature kid would. Well, as are usually the result of childish outbursts, negative consequences. My yank helped a salmon miss its strike. $&;$/@:”!!! You got to be kidding me. Really? Had I just waited another second… The Good Lord truly has a sense of humor. Oh well. The highlight of this outing was that a lone, dying salmon decided to keep me company and hovered in place against the current for a while. I think it said, “Sorry Charlie, better luck next time.” I was standing on a rock next to the fallen tree. The water was clear enough to see this salmon without polarized glasses. It is most likely a pink salmon. It’s hanging in the shadows right before the shadow met the light. I like this shot. A close up. It hovered in place like a helicopter for a few minutes before taking off. I made these tonight. Equipped with a swivel to minimize line twist and a split ring for the hook. It is my belief that the split ring could help to lessen any leverage a fish might have to throw a barbless hook. I will attach the awesome siwash hook to all of them. French style blades provide excellent vibration but one downside is in faster current, they generate a lot of lift and they can leave the target ? zone. Hence, the willow bladed spinner. I think it’s narrower profile might help it to stay deeper if need be. These are experimental spinners. I never made them with Corkies (those egg shaped balls on the two spinners on the right). Let’s find out if they’ll work!

It looks kind of like a bull shark. Being Florida it’s a fair guess.

One take. First, if possible, practice with two hand casting. This will make casting on the non dominant side very stable and practically eliminate the weaker non dominant side from getting fatigued working alone. If you already cast two handed anyway, it will be even easier. I usually cast two handed whichever way I fish. The bottom hand is merely a guide and a “spotter” to help absorb the load that would otherwise be felt in your casting forearm (think tennis elbow). Your brain already knows when to tell your dominant thumb how to feather and manage the spool. It just has to send that same information to your non dominant thumb. By employing a two handed approach, I guarantee you’ll get it in one outing. Please note I didn’t say you’d master this in a day, but after a few throws, it should be very manageable and allow to fish competently. When fishing for salmon with heavier lures, the technique involves a lot of jigging and the dominant side can get fatigued fairly quickly. Therefore it behooves me to fish both ways. This is one benefit of a spinning rig, as you can easily change the handle to the other side whereas with a casting reel, you’d have to change reels. And yes I bring both casting. Why? Because the schools of salmon always seem to swim by while your resting your fishing side, lol.

What’s a line ruler? Most braids eventually lose their color or at least the power pro I’ve used. I actually like the white color, lol.

1) If that’s the lowest you can get away with, then yes. I can get away with 6# for just drop shot. Depending on the brand 8# would likely be my limit if the fc is “stiff” for spinning gear. If casting, no problems. I don’t think I’d have an issue using 8# if it were invisx or the renowned tatsu. 2) I prefer all main line when possible but using a backing is always an economical approach. I would just make sure that the backing is way down in the spool like at least 1/4-1/2 from the start of the spool. You’ll need to fiddle diddle with the ratio you think is best. Having the joining knot this deep will stave off the joining knot becoming an issue for some time. For easy purposes, choosing a mono of the same diameter will make this calculation easier. 3) I don’t see why I would consider a leader if FC is my main line. If I needed to add a 10# leader, then I’d just start with 10#. No need to add such complications to the set up. Winter hasn’t arrived yet where such thoughts would be legal to ponder. ??

That’s all, lol? I’m willing to bet some folks here have at least twice that. ? Kidding aside, I think you have your bases covered and I also like that you didn’t go the route of sticking with one company for your rods as some do likening rods to a set of golf clubs. ??

@MN Fisher: Thanks. Will do.

I have used Dev Con 2 Ton epoxy (24 hour cure time not 5 min) with great success. It seems harder to find these days locally but I learned this from the masters at Tackle Underground about 14 years ago. There are probably other comparable finishes available now, but this is what I still use.

Can anyone join?

The first thing you can do that might help is to verify that there are smallmouth in the river system. In WA state, our reg booklet usually list the fish species that are in a given body of water. I would suspect there are smallmouth in your river but it doesn’t hurt to confirm it, lol. Do you already have the fishing gear? If so what kind? For example, spinning or casting gear? Many smallmouth fishing (and lmb fishing) can be done adequately with both but other techniques are better done by one over the other. I would next recommend doing searches here for smallmouth fishing techniques and decide on a few you’d like to try. The drop shot, tubes, and Texas rigged plastics are a fair options to try. Floats and hair jigs sometime later down the road too. Also, do as much research on that river as you can. Take the time to learn about features in a river fish will tend to gravitate to. Pools, river bends, rocky bottoms, where changes in water current occur, etc. And take the time to scout your river out on foot, looking for such features. As much as I love both reel types, especially spinning for finesse type fishing, for some reason, I simply prefer baitcasters in rivers when possible. Just last night I was fishing for salmon in a river with jigs, and all I had on me was spinning gear and I felt the time I lost pulling line to the rod and opening the bail (and sometimes the bail is in a position that opening might take a second) and then cast was costing me precious time whereas with a baitcaster, as soon as you reel in your lure, depress the thumb button and cast. This is relatively minor, but ooohhh I felt like those few seconds cost me. The jigs from others casting can scatter the schools and they’re already gone when I release cast, lol. Good luck! Before you know, you’ll be the one giving future newbies advice. ??

Darth Vader texted me earlier today and told me this about you, “The monkey is strong in this one,” lol. Sometimes the act of purchasing new gear can be as euphoric as fishing with it.

That’s almost happened to me too. Luckily, I have ninja matrix reflexes so I was able to instinctively move with grace and style to avoid getting tagged with it. The lesson learned from that day was if you’re going to yank on the line in such a manner, always pull to either side of you and not from directly in front of you. That way, if it does break free, it has no chance of hitting you. Correction. It actually still could hit you, if you make the mistake of moving into it’s path like you might have done playing dodge ball, lol.

Greetings from the Pacific NW and welcome!

This is what I do too. Just re-spoiled my symetre and my gray 201 curado last night this way.

So sorry to hear that. It’s never easy losing a loved one.

Sometimes conventional rod means use of a rod that holds a baitcaster and water type is not a factor. I vaguely recall it from reading either Fishing for Dummies or The Idiot’s Guide to Fishing.

Two words — As needed. Bam! Pow! Done, and take that to the bank, lol. Most common reason I re-spool is primarily when the spool is low on line such that casting distance and line recovery rate are no longer ideal.

Since Halloween is approaching here are a couple from my old scholastic book I got back in first grade. Honestly, I can’t believe I still remember them, lol. 1) What’s as sharp as a vampire’s fang? 2) How much does a truck full of bones weigh? 1) His other one 2) A skele-ton ?

Ha! If I had the time, I’d press him why, and have fun with that. And if I did buy that rod and had my reel with me, I would have asked him to spool it with mono, lol.