airborne_angler

Ive read reviews on the Hound Dog knocker type that Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops carries. Most of the reviews Ive read,mention the knot on the knocker coming untied and that youll lose the knocker portion if not careful.If you use a knocker that slides down your line...Retie the line prior to using it. I retied mine,and used an anchor knot,same knot I use when spooling line on my reels. I have yet to try my retriever out,but from what I have read,they work pretty good. Many reviewers say their lure retriever has paid for itself in the cost of retrieved lures. Ive heard stories of people pulling up not only their own stuck lures,but other lures that have been broke off on the same snag.

Ive stocked up on all sorts of Soft Plastics.All sorts of colors,types of creatures,beavers,soft stick baits,worms,finesse,dropshot,Lizards..You name it.Yep the Bait Monkey has been whispering in my ear ALOT!!! Am I ever gonna use all these baits?...Most likely not,but I know there will come a time when the fish will be so picky that they will only bite on one type of Plastic bait...And if I didnt carry it with me,I would likely get skunked.I take everything with me for that added insurance. My motto is "Better to have it and not need it,than to need it and not have it"

I tried anchoring off this boat off the transom last year during a windy day(BIG MISTAKE). The waves were crashing over the transom,I sit in the back to run the TM and I was by myself and the only person on the lake. The battery well area(between where I sit and the TM) started to fill up with water,and when I pulled up the anchor it got stuck in the rocks. I pulled and pulled to free the anchor,all the while dipping the transom lower and lower,allowing more and more water in until the boat got swamped and I had to "jump ship" Luckily I was in shallow enough water (7 ft) to recover everything that went overboard.I destroyed my TM while trying to pull the boat ashore and had a super hard time fighting the wind and the broken TM mount and Prop while limping back to the boat dock. Instead of double anchoring,I think I just need a bigger boat,or I just need to stay off the water when its real windy.

WOW-WRB...you are all over it. This lake is having trouble warming up. I gave things a rest on Wednesday and went back yesterday(Thursday) to see if things would change.The water temps were at 53* when I first turned my Graph on and then I monitored it and the highest reading I got was 52.3* The wind was way worse. I have a 10' flat bottom Jon Boat and I couldnt stay in one spot at all.The wind blew me all over the place.I mostly just cruised(drifted) around,did some observations.The wind frustrated me so I packed it up and went home.Ill give it a week and maybe go back then.

I recently picked up a "tub" of Cotton Cordell 8 inch Pencil Worms. These seem to me that they are old(er)...How old are they? When were these manufactured Does anyone know anything else about these? Ive searched Google and cant come up with a single thing about them.

Is this type of technology still used and how exactly does it function> From what I know,Its supposed to read the clarity of the water,and select the color of bait that will be seen best...Am I right? Is there more to it? How accurate is it at helping to choose colors? Anyone ever thrown the colors the selector advised and came up "skunked" on that color but then threw a different color than what it advised and done well?

Just picked up a reel,and cant find any specs on it. The reel in question is a (Zebco) Quantum QL550 PROBE. What year was this reel made? What kind of gear ratio does it have? Good and bad things about this reel? Thanks

I was throwing an Xcalibur XR50 and all I did was haul water,weeds and algae. Of course the wind didnt help much either,it was pretty chilly.

Im fishing Parker Canyon Lake in SE AZ.

Im trying to gain confidence in using a Rattletrap style bait. Today I threw a Royal Red XCALIBUR XR50. Water temps(according to my graph) were in the very low 50's. Is this too cold to be throwing this bait? Whats the best way to presnt this type of bait? Is it best to do a "Chuck and wind" type technique,or do I need to count it down to a certain depth and then begin the retrieve? Im all about throwing this bait but Im looking at getting a good technique down while throwing it.

Went out for the first time this year today. Was pretty breezy,and the wind kept shifting,blowing my boat all over the place. The highest the water temps got according to my Graph was 52*. Based on those water temps,would it be safe to say the bite is still gonna be off? People were catching trout,and the bait store operator said "some" LMB had been caught in deeper waters. Is this typical for these water temps? At what temps will the fishing generally pick up?

Im about to head to the lake for the first time this season tommorow. I havent been on the lake since July of 09. Its gonna be mind boggling for me as I have studied and researched new techniques and baits. I want to try what I have researched,but also want to go back to my confidence lures. Being that its the first time back on the water in awhile,its gonna take a little time to relearn everything. Launching the boat,ect. When the "skunk" arrives for me,I almost always go to a dropshot rig on my Ultralight rod with a small dropshot bait. Im almost always guaranteed to catch at least "Something",whether it be a dink bass,A bluegill or a trout,as those are all the species this particular lake has in it. Might even leave your gear in your vehicle and just do a "recon" of the spots you want to fish and try to brainstorm how to approach and fish them. Then go get your gear and give it a shot,if thats even feasible(just a thought).

Anyone tried these out? Whats a good presentation for them? They appear to be a Tube with a long tail. Anyone have success with them?

I went to a lake with my 10' john boat for the first time a few years ago. Had all my rods rigged and was pulling the boat out of the back of my truck. While I was in the boat making things ready,somehow I got a rattletrap stuck in my leg,below the calf muscle. I had just driven an hour to the lake and decided while I was there at the lake I may as well make the best of things. I clipped the line and left the lure hanging from my leg the whole trip. Was sorta funny when I would cast or moved that leg,I made a rattling sound. Got home and used the hook removal trick and popped the hook right out . No blood,just a little discomfort.

I just picked up a few spinnerbaits off Ebay in one auction,New in the package. One of them was a BPS Lazer Eye pro series 1/2 oz model. Well I now know why the seller had it up for auction.Its still in the package and the smaller Willow Leaf has fallen off the clevis. Think BPS would take it back being that its brand new even though im not the original buyer and wouldnt have a BPS receipt? I would advise staying away from this Spinnerbait as well. The reviews all say the same(for the most part) about the clevis and blade falling off. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_90120____SearchResults#reviews

Picked this reel up recently on ebay. Doesnt have the magnetic control on the side of the reel,only the cast control knob where the handle is. Any idea how old this reel is? Without the magnetic control,is there any special way this needs to be cast? How different can I expect this reel behave when casting vs. an identical reel with the magnetic control? Is there a learning curve,or will this cast like any other baitcaster in ideal conditions/situations? Anything special I need to know about this particular reel? I have another almost identical Shimano Bantam that I got from my uncle,but it has the magnetic control,and I love that reel. Im hoping to enjoy this newly acquired one just as much.

I just picked up a pack in "SAND" color. They look pretty cool

This maybe the answer I am looking for.Thanks LHC - Bank Robber!!! Looked up the Premier Diamond Shad and came up with this from an older Strike King Catalog: Diamond Shad DS14 - 1/4 ounce DS12 - 1/2 ounce DS12P - 1/2 ounce DS34 - 3/4 ounce Rattling lipless crankbait with super loud fish-attracting interior rattles Traditional DS12 has highly reflective diamond pattern sides and eyes New DS14 and DS34 have new style scales on top half and a smooth surface on bottom half of sides. Unique pattern gives best of both! Also feature 3-D eyes.(I have one of these as well I was gonna ask about,but Ive found my answer!!) New DS12P Premier Diamond Shad has smooth sides with holographic scales, 3-D eyes, and Premier finishes Mark Davis: I have a lot of experience fishing lipless crankbaits and have tried many different brands. From this I have discovered that the 1/2 oz. Premier Diamond Shad has the best fish catching ability of all. There is just something about it that causes it to attract more strikes than other brands. I often use the 1/4 oz. model when I want to imitate smaller forage or fish shallower. The 3/4 oz. is my choice for going deeper or imitating larger bait. Try the extensive Diamond Shad lineup and increase your success! ..Geez you all are really on top of things...Thanks a million!!

They were NEW in the package,and the package doesnt look to ever have been opened or tampered with. In the ebay auction I recieved 2 baits,both of them are 1/2 oz models of Diamond shad. One of them is Silver(chrome) with a black back(Diamond pattern sides) and the other is this chrome/blue back with a red lateral line (smooth sides) I cant remember which one came out of which package but I saved the packaging they read on the back as follows: DS12-2 Made in Costa Rica DS12F-702 Made in Mexico So these numbers correspond to any colors anyone here is aware of? Perhaps these are just older baits,When did the Diamond Shad make its debut? Did I get a bootleg Strike King bait? These baits look identical with the exception of the paint scheme and the Diamond patterned sides.

Looks like a larger Version of a Reaper/Leech type bait I use when I dropshot.

Makes me wonder why this one doesnt have the diamond pattern.

Picked a few of these up,new in the package on Ebay and noticed that one of the baits has a Silver/Almost Rainbow Trout appearance to it(minus the spots). All my Other Diamond Shad baits have the distinct diamond pattern on the side,but this particular bait doesnt have any diamond pattern on the side,its totally smooth. Do they make "Diamond Shads" with smooth sides? I figured since the whole Diamond pattern on the side of the bait is supposed to give the bait its trademark flash,they all would have the pattern. How can it be called a "Diamond Shad" without the Diamond pattern on the side? Just curious. Anyone else ever seen this?

Ill have to go to wal mart and see what they have. Stay tuned.

I havent taken mine out of the package yet,and was reading the description on the back...Thats how I noticed it.

Recently acquired a few of these baits,new in the package.On the back in the end of the description of the bait,theres a few words blacked out by marker.I was able to get a certain angle of light on it and it reads "Licensed by RAD Lures" Arent RAD Lures the ones that made the original Chatterbait? So what does "Licensed by RAD lures"mean,and why is it blacked out on the Strike King Pure Poison baits I have?