bigbill

I use a 4lb copolymer line.

I'm finding there is a big difference in quality. But we can get a lower priced reel that will work but how long will it last. I'm moving up slowly having fun and learning as I go. I started out with a $12 Shakespeare baitcaster first. I have to learn what the cheaper ones are like before moving up to the better ones. At the sametime I can see the improvements too. I'd like to learn about it all in quality, function and how it handles. I'm having fun. Plus I'm out fishing too. Bill

I think we need to use brighter colors in stained & muddy conditions. Like chartreuse colors. Having a rattle and using scents is a plus too. I use just the salted senko by itself I clear water to slightly stained water at first. In using a weedless hook with a hit and miss the weed guard on the hook will be open if it's a strike/miss. One shot of scent on the next cast is a definite hook up. The scent will make the bass hang on long enough so we can set the hook. I think we forget the color & size rules with the hard baits also applies to plastic baits we must adjust them to match the water conditions.

I like the 1/8oz brass weight in the shallows up to 10' deep in the open water from shore. I use the senko and bushings on it so far. The only jig I haves used so far is a 3/8oz football jig in green watermelon with success hopping up a rocky point.

We were tossing live frogs in the water, they would freeze and sink. All of a sudden the bass came out of the darkness or shadows and ate it. Every live frog we caught acted the same way until the bass hit it. So a pause is good.

I just purchased a Quantum Code Red bait caster it lists for $99 on sale for $54 at fishandsave they have a reel sale this weekend. It looks like a decent reel? There in the spincast section.

My mom baked weak fish or blues in tomato sauce with oregano and basil. She would drain off the oil first from the blues after cooking it for a while then add the tomato sauce and seasonings. They taste awesome. The weeks ate good too.

I purchased a zebco 5'4" AVSv1.0 ZAVSC542ML 6-12. Line 1/8-1/4oz lure. My reel is the Chinese bait caster DM-120RA from the auction site. It feels like a well balanced setup. I changed the line to Cajun 8lb test. The rods look awesome. The reel feels like a more expensive reel with 10 ball bearings. Time will tell when it has some use on it. But right now I'm sure the $34 price tag will go up in the future.

Besides the 3700 plastic containers they do offer deeper ones now too. You can fit more into one compartment. I do like my jigs in rows of each size and color. Fishing at night has made me a tackle box neat freak. The deeper plastic storage box is the 3780 if you search for brannans bass shop they have it in there storage section. I just purchased these for my carolina weights and hooks. I also have one 3700 for my carolina assembly parts.(beads,weedless,hooks,swivels, snap swivels) I can grab one storage box on my work table to assemble them and zip loc bag them. Just my ideas thrown out there. These gals/guys there seem to stock the culprit worms too. They seem to be drying up all over. But I don't mix different colors of skirts, I'm Leary because I had plastics bleed together when different colors are mixed together in the past but I'm not sure if it applies to skirts.

I purchased the bogbait frogs, tadpoles, baby frogs, glo frogs, floating frogs and sinking frogs plus all the spro frogs, koppers etc. But I think the important thing is the frog scent from bogbait. Now I need to get out and use them. I'd like to know if one is hotter than the other. The bogbait tadpole with single and double legs looks awesome. I have the biggest bogbait bull frog but I'm not sure how to put a hook or hooks in it. This frog lure is a monster.

What do you use a med/lt bait caster with 10lb line on a 5'4" rod for? It's a light & medium but more on the flexible side.

It sounds like we have a world class jig maker right here on our bass forum. That's awesome I been looking for quality jigs. Plus he makes them to order too. I don't think we can do any better. I have a lot of weeded over spots to fish and no one fishes these over grown places because of the weeds. I think the swim jig will break the weed barrier there. These places drop off very quickly and some have 9' deep holes too. I think the swim jig just maybe the hot ticket.

I started off using a 1/8oz Carolina rig with a brass weight and a ticker with a 20" or so leader with a weedless hook wacky rigged. The only colors I have used so far is the Amber red flake or a red with gold flakes. I do cast it out and either follow it down as it falls keeping the line snug while watching the rod tip for any bites or twitch it as it falls letting the ticker call out. I just purchased all the colors they offer at mister twister there comidas are on clearance. The bites as it falls seem to be a double tap on the rod tip. In twitching it as it falls they just inhale it.

I notice the #5000 & #6000 reels aren't that much more $ wise why not go bigger for a saltwater reel? I fished for strippers and blues many times in Milford and Stratford,ct. Are the weak fish still running?

It could be the quality of the ball bearings? Are the ball bearings shielded or sealed in both reels? Does one have more bearings than the other?

Ditto on the 3700 plastic boxes for storage my monster soft sided boat bag if filled with the 3700 boxes. It has everything in it. When we rent a boat it's a one tackle bag grab and I have it all.

Nice fish congrats on your new PB too. In Maine too. I wonder what the state record is for bass there. They say we don't have big bass in the northeast I say there wrong and we do have bigger bass here. You just proved that Maine has them too.

It's awesome to hit the feeding frenzy like this with bass. I seem to catch it from shore before the rain front hits and during the light rain or like you between the cloud cover inbetween the rain showers too. I've even seen the bass turn on after a short heavy rain as it lets up. I wish I had a meter to tell me when this frenzy is going to happen. My older brother always told me before he passed on to stay going and sooner or later they will turn on. He was right. BigBill

In the past I would fill up the car with the neighborhood kids and take them fishing with me and my son. I worked nights so I got up early to take them all fishing. Today there all adults and they never forgot about me taking them fishing. One of the boys I took fishing offered me a free elk hunting trip he is a hunting guide in Idaho. Not that I expected anything but doing good always comes back to us in different ways. Good karma? My son's ask me now to go fishing. Soon as my grandson gets older he will be my fishing buddy.

I've tried jig fishing with success so far using a 3/8oz football jig in green pumpkin with a uncle Josh pork trailer hopping it up a rocky point, but I haven't tried different trailers. What trailers do you like to use on jigs? Color? With swim jigs do you cast them into weeds a reel them slow or fast? Steady movement or do you twitch it? I'd like to improve my jig fishing this fall.

I had that reel that couldn't handle 3lb bass. It was a $5 spinning reel over a decade and a half ago and offered by a name brand company. It was junk to begin with but for trout fishing it was ok. The numbers of bass it caught finished it off. There is junk out there. This was before I got heavy into bass fishing. I went next to Wal-Mart and got the quantum spinning reels which I still have. They aren't bad for $25 to $35 each at the time. Live and learn.

I just found out that fishandsave is having a reel sale this weekend. You might want to take a look. For you youngsters you might want to look at there rod prices too. I have no ties to any company. I just look for the best prices at any company. I do support our sponcers first. Everyone has to eat.

I'm seeing the difference in materials that are used, the difference in machining between the lower cost and the little better quality wise reels I'm still under $100 in looking at them. I can see the difference in just paying a few dollars more in quality. Your right as I go higher in price they will get better quality wise with less plastic parts I'm sure. The difference in the gears caught my attention.

I want to use my baitcasters more for med 1/2oz to 1 1/2oz spinnerbaits , jigs, drop shots and Carolina rigs. Everything else I'll use spinning setups. That's my plan for now but I'd like to use baitcasters even more in the future. I have 12 New baitcasting setups that range from a micro lite to trolling setups. The ultra lite setup I think will probably be the hardest to learn. The micro lite setup is for crappies and impossible to cast. I know the bait caster reels will run spinnerbaits a lot smoother. I'm not sure about using them for topwater and crankbaits yet.

I hook the snap swivel to the second eye support not the eye itself. After changing my knot. Then I'm ready for fishing the next morning. I change my knot after every bigger fish is caught too. Anything over 4lbs that's caught the knot gets retied.