islandbass

They don’t need to match unless you color coordinate, lol. I think I’d try a straight Texas rig without a weight unless you need to increase casting distance. If you need to use a weight, then get bullet weights. Insert a bullet weight onto the line, pointed side first. Then tie your hook with a palomar. Then attach your bait. since you say you’re new, you might not really know what the bite will feel like. Many times they’ll take it and you won’t even know and you might wind up deep hooking them. It would behoove you to learn about what to do if you deep hook them and there is a recent thread here to help you with that. Search for it. lastly, hook sets are free. If you either suspect a bite, or if the line feels mushy, or if you noticed your line start moving or you feel anything and you KNOW that you didn’t do anything to make it move, SET THE HOOK. Note: you might need to reel the slack if there is any. welcome and good luck!

Both are tools. Both can do a lot of techniques fairly well. Each could make certain techniques more convenient to use. However, the number of casts you can make imho, is independent of the reel type you use for river or any other type of fishing generally speaking. I love to use either. It’s very doable with practice but I personally try to use two hands for both spinning and casting especially if the rod is longer. Once your forefinger is holding the line to the rod, it is no different than the thumb holding the spool down on a baitcaster. But like I said, I try to two hand cast when possible because one hand casting can take its toll on your wrist and forearm over time and I ain’t a spring chicken, lol.

I see your point, but I can’t relate on some of those points being a bank angler but definitely see your POV. The other things about being lazy on knots and such? Very rare, but I’ve been guilty too. I have to take a different approach because I cannot always go to the fish. I can only catch the fish that are close to me and within my reach. Bank anglers don’t have that luxury because sometimes spots we’d love to get where we suspect the bigger bass might be to we simply can’t access. But I have noticed that fish caught in the same area tend to be similar in size. And if that is what I can catch from the shore at that time, then I roll with it. From the bank, sometimes quantity is an easier goal to attain than quality. I have learned through the years that Certain times and windows in the season/year have increased chances to catch bigger bass and I try to fish those times when I can. Anyway, great topic. I don’t want the hassle of a boat but hope to try this kayak thing maybe next year. Other types of laziness? Writing my reports. I’ve totally lazier out on those. I finally cracked the infamous Fenwick lake and on that day, she spilled it. 15 years of skunk gave way to catching 7 bass in one 3 hour stint — and what made it sweeter was having witnesses who surprisingly could identify and relate to how tough it is to catch bass at Fenwick. Wow! I was nearly tempted to go to a casino ? afterward, lol.

Not really. I too am a bank angler and I also realized most can be covered with 3 rods. And I used to carry 5, lol. What I realized is that it is a PITA to carry 5 setups in the fingers of one hand and that on every trip no more than 3 were used and the 2 others hardly if ever were used. Glad I wished up and so did you.

It is really pretty easy. 1) For a loop with your line with one hand and maintain the loop between forefinger and thumb. 2) With the hand holding the loop, insert the loop under the line holder of the spool. Depending on the line holder, you may need to use a fingernail of the other hand to nudge the loop under the line holder on the spool, and then with the hand holding the loop, pull the loop under the line holder. BAM. Done. on one of my reels, I broke the line and I usually don’t have a rubber band or piece of tape on me so I make a loop in the line and hang that loop on the first guide and tighten the line. No tape, no band necessary. BAM. Done, lol.

Ahh….?When I see fly anglers set the hook, it seems reminiscent of when setting the hook when drop shotting. It appears to me that they just pull back to add tension on the line and the hook kind of “does the rest.” Sorry it’s such a poor illustration. Try to find some YouTube videos of qualified people (like Glenn our fearless leader here, tactical bassin to name two) and see how the hook is set for jigs. Then compare it to how you recall setting the hook on that lost fish. You can then if necessary, make the adjustments. Most hooks on quality jigs don’t need sharpening out the gate so if you had a quality jig to start with, would not have needed to be sharpened. And this would suggest to me that in this case for you, it was a case that the fish won this round. Don’t worry. It’s all part of the game. You win some and you lose some, but no one ever said it couldn’t hurt on those losses, lol. I still think about the first huge (ever) bass I lost on a husky jerk. She spit it out with authority. I still feel the pain of that loss and it was over 15 years ago when I was a newbie. But I did take away things from that loss. I learned you never ever let the line go slack, bigger fish you allow to jump can throw off your lure (a slack line gives them a chance to jump), and you had better make sure the drag is set before the first cast is made.

Based on what you’ve mentioned, I’d think it’s a combination of user and gear error, with more error awarded to the user. I also use 14# mono. I appreciate you mentioning that you think your hook wasn’t sharp enough to begin with and that is why I say more on user error. So yes, it’s a gear issue (dull hook) but user issue (user used a dull hook). Other than that, you win some and you lose some. Those are the ropes. Who knows? Maybe the fish was holding the lure in its mouth and the hook was never set or the hook was not in its mouth when the hook set was attempted. I’d just chalk it up to the fish won this round but you also learned a valuable lesson about knowingly using dull hooks. It was a high price and I say this as one who learned that same lesson.

Welcome, fellow Washingtonian! Our state is fairly big. You on the east or west side?

You might want (and I am going against the grain on this thought as many bass anglers might shudder at the thought) to go barbless. I have this season and I have yet to lose a fish, big or small. A hook deep in the gullet is easily removed when there is no barb. I too feel bad when I have gut hooked them and going barbless will definitely make this easier. When I started learning to fish senkos, I probably gut hooked my first 4-5 bass because I was in denial when I felt the take. Lesson learned? Set the dang hook every time you suspect a bite. in my state, we are sometimes required to use barbless hooks. This is targeting salmon and steelhead that can be far bigger and stronger than a even a large bass. At first I thought this sucked because in essence, I was using the barb as a crutch. I have since learned I was losing no fish at all. And these were bigger fish? Hmmmm. This is what made me seriously consider going barbless for bass. I have been this way since this season and zero last fish. matter of fact, if you keep the tension on the line and play the fish right or even if you have to horse it in, a tight line means no loss of fish. Prove me wrong, anyone, ‘Cause I ain’t wrong, lol.

Are you going to be representing us in the fishing olympics, lol? I really like how your combos look. ?

So sorry to for your loss, A-Jay, and it’s never easy.

Western Washington is of no help either. Big is between 5-6lbs, lol.

Sometimes you hook them and sometimes you don’t. It’s even possible that the fish was holding the bait and the hook never got set. Other factors like line and even hook type as already mentioned. I’m betting it was an EWG, lol. Your distance from the fish is possibly another. The farther you are, the harder it will be to set the hook, especially if there is slack in the line. Just chalk these up as the fish winning those rounds. You’re sure to win a round soon.

Me either, but welcome to the club.

Nature of the beast. As long as they’re still sharp imho, I’ll still use whatever red hooks I might have on, treble or single. The red color might be more a thing to catch you or people that like to “color coordinate”, lol.

X2! Nice bass.

I like 6’6”-7’ with the former preferred more. The shorter length just feels more “wieldable” and has less of chance striking things below on account of being shorter.

Ah, the tables turned around. Nothing wrong with the son taking the father fishing. That was actually the case for me. I took my dad fishing for his first time when he was in his late 60s and he enjoyed it. If you want him to go with you, just tell him it would be great father/son time. It might be a great incentive for him to spend time with you.

I can relate. My son was a fish catching machine when he was young. He’s 16 now and he does not want to fish anymore. At all.

Ahh, I see. Thanks. I too don’t like it if a rod is too tip heavy generally speaking. I have observed the rods seem to increase in “tip heaviness” the longer and more powerful it gets. It is more pronounced and felt in lower end and mid-range rods 7’+. And unfortunately for me, I’m not willing to spend the cash for the price of NRX level rods. Nothing personally against them, they’ve felt nice in hand. But it isn’t like a magic wand that would suddenly make a pro angler from the bank, lol.

If you ask me, I think you’re set. curious. What do you mean by muzzle heavy? Never heard the term but it sounds cool. Our state just lifted the mandatory mask wearing band which is surprising but good. If anything, I call that muzzle heavy, perspiring underneath it and it being so itchy, lol.

So they then replace it free of charge or still for $25? Still, at least they were responsive. Either way, good non them. I absolutely love my 7’ okuma celilo. It is one of my favorite rods.

True. My house is WA state doesn’t have it or need AC. Can’t believe we hit 106 yesterday and it was over 100 since Sat. I can take the heat or the cold. I even worked on my yard in the ? degree weather but I also know how to take care of myself in such conditions. So what do you do after such heat during the day? Go out in the evening believing that the bite should be good and catch this So far, the biggest of the season, and this is a huge bass for Western WA. I will make a formal report on it later. Heat? What heat? The only heat I feel is the heat I’m putting on the bass, lol. J/K Absolutely right, brother. I was sweating like a pig fishing Saturday evening but I certainly didn’t mind when I met up with a purty hawg, lol.

Unfortunately, like bass rods, there isn’t a do it all rod. In my neck of the woods, you ain’t floating unless the rod is 10’, lol. Joking aside, I’d choose a 9.5’ rod in M or MH as my “do it all rod” This length will allow you to drift, fish spinners and spoons and float. You might want to look at Lamiglas, St. Croix and Loomis.

I believe the point is a bit tongue and cheek way to say is there is no accuracy without distance, regardless of its value. So I think you misinterpreted it for the short 15’. That too would be accurate. It is an illustration that needs a little thinking outside the box. Weird yet mildly profound. That’s just my take on it and I admit I could have also misinterpreted it but I’m sticking to it, lol ?