islandbass

Unless they mix in sewer water or urine. ? I don’t want to imagine how refreshing that would be, lol. ?

Buddy, four words. Do not give up! I’ve done worse. I’ve done more than that totally skunked. This is where attitude comes in. With the right attitude, a skunk out is never a complete loss. So you didn’t catch a fish, but did you learn something? Try to learn something from every trip. Did you take note of the lures you use? Their colors? Their size? How did you work your lures? Fast slow? What line did you employ? What was the temp? The time of day? Did you observe the water? What cadence(s) in your retrieve did you use? There are so many things you can make note of when you’re skunked and not. You can store this into your deposit of knowledge. Keep depositing. Keep adding. Eventually, it will return to you dividends. Think if it is partially delayed gratification, but is it in my humble experience, knowledge and wisdom come manifest. Knowledge that you earned though blood, sweat, tears, and training and praying and eating your vitamins, working out in the gymnasium of skunk. So no, I do not accept your sulking attitude and two personal example from which I hope you can draw upon for inspiration and optimism. 1) I’ve been fishing for 14 years and in this time I had never ever caught a bass on a spinnerbait or buzzbait. Initially, I wrote them off as baits that “don’t work in the Pacific Northwest.” What a bad attitude and tick poor conclusion. What a mark of a loser. Eventually, I changed my mind and did my research. I got to a new pond and based on the water color and time of day (evening approaching, sun setting, nearly dark) and relative shallow depth, I tied on my black and red buzz bait. I honestly couldn’t imagine what the strike would be like. I chose a somewhat fast retrieve because I was thinking it’s dark and I don’t want to give them a chance to get too good of a look, ie, force them to make a decision. Then a strike! I missed. A short strike. *#*#€# qbert style thoughts raced across my mind. 14 years a blank, I ain’t quitting now. Only had about 15 minutes left before having to get to work. I slow my retrieve just a wee bit to hopefully get them some time to latch on. BAM. It worked. Holy smokes, I finally did it. One heck of a monkey to get off your back. I followed the same process with a spinnerbait on a different trip. Before, one bass per outing was usually a good thing or the best I’d usually do. Similar conditions. Chose a red spinnerbait that had a willow and Colorado blade. The clevis of the Colorado blade was broken and I was a bit upset. It was too late to change it. Sun going down, 20 minutes before work. Had to roll with it. I was concerned that a willow wouldn’t give off enough sound or vibration. I was 100% wrong. First cast, pretty fast retrieve, short strike. I was shocked I even got a hit. Made an adjustment to my retrieve and SMASH!! First spinnerbait bass! Dang!! Then bass numbers 2,3,4. What in the world is going on? Bass #5 I lost because I got my rod tangled in some over hanging tree limbs. However, #5 came. Five bass in less than 20 minutes? This is unheard of for me. Many of those years of to trying with nothing to show for it until i finally changed my attitude and tried to learn from every skunk out IMHO was the difference. Granted there were some years I did not even try a spinnerbait or buzzbait but it’s still a net 14 years. 2) My poor brother. In this same time, I have been trying to help him catch his fish bass or blue gill or whatever. But no. Nil. Nada. Whether fishing with me or by himself. His closest was in a story I wrote about in a different thread not to long ago. That’s right. Hooking into a fish and not landing it Does not count. He’s visiting me now but is going home for good. This will be his last chance to catch a warm water fish for a very long time. Well, tomorrow, I’m taking him and i am going to give everything I have to make sure this 14 year skunk will end. I’m even going to have night crawlers on hand. So so if you can go 14 years of being skunked, I’ll feel for you. But not for 48 fishing stints. At least you caught dinks. Attitude is key and I know you know this, especially if by chance you might be a sport coach by occupation. When you’re down you have to dig deep, especially when your mettle is tested. We all know this, whether it’s sports, fishing, or life. So go get them and lose the depressing attitude if only for your sake, lest your fishing gear be transformed into glorified dust collectors in the garage. ?

With every birds nest you create, you risk damage the line via kinks when you pull on it to undo the tangles. If I were you, I'd replace that line immediately. If you're snapping off that frequently, the line is probably damaged and kinked beyond use. If you want to stick with braid, then step up to at least 50 lb test. Also, stay away for using lures that are too light for your rod or aren't fairly aerodynamic in windy conditions. With both, you will be forced to manipulate your mechanics just to make a cast to get your lure out there and thereby increase your birdnesting possibilities. I don't think I can blame the reel given your description, although it might very well be a culprit. The adage, "You get what you pay for," usually rings true with bait cast reels. Sorry.

He who knows not the power of the dark side knows nothing... (Per James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader voice) Night time fishing rocks! It is a lot of fun. Imagine... It’s pitch black. New moon. A bull frog croaks from the shadows, unseen but heard. In my hands, I wield my weapon of choice, a bc rig. Left hand on the butt, right thumb on the spool, I proceed to make a cast and toss my spinnerbait into the darkness along an edge of lily pads. Auditory skills and experience take over as I focus on the sound of the whizzing spool. The waning spin of the spool is my signal to feather the spool to a stop. In the darkness, my lure splashes down and my thumb does not feel a single single loop of overrun. I begin my retrieve. I key in on the speed of my retrieve, picturing in my mind how the combination of willow and colorado blades are spinning. About halfway through the retrieve, I feel my lure get violently smashed and instinctively, I pull back to set the hook. The hook is driven in. The battle begins. The bass valiantly fights, but this time around, I score the winning point, in the dark to boot. And the prize is the larger bass in the image I hopefully posted successfully. The power of dark side fishing is not without its rewards or joy. So if you haven’t yet, “Do it!” (with senator palaptine’s voice, lol).

@Junger Thanks!

Does the weight refer to line test/strength? Thanks in advance.

That is bold! Just googled the distance.. 747 miles. Sure hate to get caught in a storm enroute.

I have broken two in my 14 years of fishing. I was running with three rods in my hand, tripped and flew forward like Superman. One of the rods landed just as hard as I did and broke. My fault. That was probably 11 years ago. The second one happened this season. A cheap, south bend spincasting rod that I slapped a bc reel on. This rod hasn’t hasn’t been used in over 10 years. Wait a minute. I think it was the the Daiwa strike force rod. I guess it doesn’t matter but one of them definitely broke. I decided to take it because it had the right action for small cranks. On the cast, the rod went snap. I said crap. I guess it was my fault despite that it was a light vs a mega cast. Perhaps the blank got damaged enroute to the pond.

This is THE attitude. Sharing our passion with others, to me, is like planting seeds. Some seeds will be bound to grow and prosper and the legacy continues.

From what you described, I think your modifications to the baits is preventing them from performing the way they were intended so the results you had really can’t be surprising. Smaller plastics will catch smaller fish if that is your intent. It will be better, as already mentioned to just use smaller plastics. You also seem to suffer from the belief that the plastic is too big for them and I know because I also used to think like that, lol. Trust me those smaller fish will hit those larger baits too. I a caught smallie that was smaller than my roboworm, lol. Since you are fishing stained water you might want to consider using bait with vibration or cause water commotion like spinner baits and cranks. You can add a soft plastic body to your spinnerbaits and that should count as caching one with a soft plastic ... technically ?

If this is a crank bait that wiggles, I honestly would not upsize. Manufacturers chose that size for a reason. Many lure stores that sell hooks have size charts online that can be to real life scale that you can use. Another way is to call the company directly. Or go to a local shop with the treble you want to replace. Mustard, Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC (stock on rapalas) are all good. But if you did upsize, all you need to do after you install the new hooks is try work. It will be obvious whether or not not the action was negatively affected

Thanks. I appreciate that. Good info to know when choosing a reel.

Congrats! I have this gut feeling it’s going to serve you well. @BaitFinesse: what’s the deal with aluminum in that what makes it less than ideal compared to say brass in your opinion? Just a straight up question with no bias. You have however piqued my curiosity. ?

I actually coined a phrase for that scenario. "A mouthful of trebles." I've also been in a similar case, but it wasn't down down. I had to pick a 5.5lb - 6.0lb give or take bass with a mouthful of trebles with my arm and hand out extending underneath a two-rail dock fence that was far enough that I had to practically to a best guess stab with my arm and hand sight unseen to grab and lip the bass. It was a nerve-wracking, make-a-man-out-of-you experience. It was well worth it. I call her big mama.

I think it is amazing and quite frankly awesome that they do that. Fish and Wildlife in my state only support salmon and trout. Some out here think that our green and brown buddies are "trash" fish. All "warm water fish," as they are called here are entirely on their own. Hope you find the links. That would be a great read.

None of my friends fish. For nearly 14 years no one really cared to join me of if they did couldn't on any regular basis. It's almost always an inability to have schedules coincide to fish. It has opened up other ways to think and improve. I made a device young kids or clumsy relatives could use to ensure they don't accidentally throw your curado into the drink, I created a multiple rod carrier that I call a rod quiver, and I figured out how to make a variety of artificial lures from poppers to inline spinners and crankbaits and jerkbaits. Loving the entire fishing experience. Only drawback? You unleash something that was always there but dormant.... the bait monkey and is myriad of cousins. boat monkey, bait ape, just to name a couple.

I have a mental problem with uni and the double uni. I have it memorized at home and by the time I'm on the water, I forget how to tie it. It's a rare but a true disconnect. But I can tell you that I saved a whole lot of money by switching to Geico, lol. Definitely a strong knot. I use it more for in the salt. Another vote for the uni. If it were a line other than braid, I think the improved clinch knot is a viable alternative. To the OP: What part of the palomar is making it difficult? For shakey hands and eyesight IMHO, it has got to be the simplest knot to tie. The other recommended knots, while good seem to have more loops and coils and more steps, which might be difficult for shakey hands. May I ask how you are threading the line through the hook eye when you tie the palomar knot? I've seen some people choose not to use the palomar because they have a hard time fitting the loop of line into the eye, and this becomes increasingly difficult the thicker the line and the smaller the eye of the hook get. I chuckle internally when they tell me this, but I do smile. I show them that it is far easier to insert the line into the hook eye first and then bring the line back through the hook eye, which there by creates the loop. It is truly an "aha" moment when they see it that way. There are videos out there showing people to tie the palomar inserting a loop into the hook eye so maybe that's where they pick up that strange method. If that is not the source of your difficulty, I regret that I cannot be of further assistance.

Absolutely not. We’re not using golf clubs after all, where it would be beneficial. And for me this goes for both rods and reels. Gear makers need to earn my trust for each and every item. I won’t go with a brand for everything just because I might like one thing from them. Nope, no way, no how. Therefore, put me in the mix and match group.

Season wise mine will soon end too. The answers to your questions will definitely be given after some time on the water. I’ll be looking forward to the review.

I think you answered your own question. 2500 Sahara holds 140 yds of 8# test 2000 Eagle holds 150 yds of 8# test As a former engineer, we know that the real world is not ideal so when applicable and where tolerances aren’t demanding or necessary constraint we find reasonable approximations acceptable. The difference between the spools is only 10 yds or 30’. If you ask me, it’s close enough and therefore good enough (ie, acceptable). If that extra 30’ really bothers you, since I’m a “southerner” relative to your location, “I reckon you can cut it off, lol.” ? I hope you can give a review on the Reel after you’ve used it for a while. I never knew much about KK or looked at their stuff until very recently and I am finding their prices awfully compelling. As of late, my bait monkey has been trying the Jedi mind trick on me to pull the trigger on a few things.

Pow. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/how-to-choose-fishing-line.html Bam. Thank you mam, lol. Not too many videos as informative on the basics. After watching, you should be able to ascertain whether going straight/exclusive or using a combination of lines is for you. I prefer use of one line type, but I won’t limit myself when conditions demand something else. Straight mono is a good overall kind of line and the most economical by far. So mostly mono for me.

It turns out I was mistaken on the Kast Kings regarding to MH models. Only their pedigree line has an 2 piece that come with an M and MH tip. Yup two tips for on rod. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! That is pretty cool. I thought their other line, royale something had an MH, but no. Only medium. Not bad but probably not suited for frogs. Interestingly enough, I’ve discovered my 2 piece Cabelas mag touch is a M powered rod but it has not had a single problem drill the large, bulky hooks of spinnerbaits. I found this a bit odd. I was using this rod because it’s all I have so you have to use what you even if it might not be adequate. On more than one hook set, and I never ever cross their eyes, the hook penetrated the harder, upper lip without a power hook set and I’m using mono. Another interesting point but I still want at least an MH. I gave up my cherry hardly used MH crucial for an auction ? so that part of my arsenal is non existent.

@HawnSalt: Hmmm. I was searching for a 2-piece MH rod myself just today, hoping to find an H rod for frogging/jigsaw since I also want to give frogging a try. I only found one brand that even came close and it was St. Croix, in a casting and MH. There were 2 triumph models of what appear to be the same rod spec wise but different in length. One was either 6’8” or 6’9” and the other was like 7’1”. If I have a peeve, it’s buying things as important as this sight unseen and worse not held in hand. I just hate it. I want to try the 7 footer, but I’m dreading it might be tip heavy and the 6’8” , can I live with that as a bank angler? They were the same price at $140 and I’ve never spent that much on a rod and if I did, maybe I should get it one piece, but 1 piece rods don’t suit my portability needs so I keep rambling on with indecision and mental paralysis. Now that I got that off my chest, I feel better and can say that both are perhaps my best options in the given market that are a compromise and might suit my needs. I guess its it’s time to flip a coin. Oh, their was one other company, Kast king. They also had a 2-piece mh in one of their line ups and another one that came with two tips. Another possible candidate and for less than half that of the st Croix. I need to do more research on it but normally aluminum oxide or comparable material is my minimum standard for guides and the Croixs have them. With all the positive talk about st Croix it’s awfully tempting. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I have excellent one piece bass rods but my 2 piece rods are the ones that get called to duty 90% of the time because of my fishing reality.

Great advice! It reminds me of a shimano crucial I bought for about $59 only because it was a display rod (all rods are on a display, lol.) I snatched it up faster than white on rice. There were about three other rods, some model and such. But no, I was foolish. I could have bought another one, heck all of them... and could have made a profit even selling them off at a discounted price, which would have been a win-win for the buyer and me. I went back a few days later, and they were G-O-N-E.

Nice! I second the rapala skitter pop. It has accounted for some of the bigger bass I caught and it casts surprisingly well for being a light bait. Its popping sound is also intriguing and unique.