senile1

why?ken whiting is a rod building genius.maybe carrot fibers are better. AHA! I THOUGHT that butt looked familiar ,.... Why so ugly with the color/graphics, man that thing is huge visual turn off. Doesn't mean it's not a great rod, for all I know, but cosmetically, I give it a -2 I prefer more subtle colors for my rods as well. I don't doubt that a lot of thought went into this rod. At the $350 price point, it sounds like they want to compete in the top-end rod market.

This rod must be stored properly. Otherwise, the varmints would eat your rod. Interesting idea. I'll wait to see a test.

I really get irritated at the pedal boaters. They make so much noise with those darned squeaky pedals and it spooks the fish, not to mention the large wakes they produce. :

The original manufacturer doesn't matter. Get some Owner, Gamakatsu, or Daiichi replacements and you'll have a better bait.

Braid floats and is probably the most visible of all lines.

So La Russa didn't play Albert Pujols in the All-Star game and the media wants to make a big deal of it. Since the All-Star game, Pujols has hit 4 home runs in 3 games, after going 22 games (I think) without a home run. It looks like the extra day of rest did him some good. Maybe, just maybe, La Russa knew what he was doing. Only time will tell. Pujols started slow but he's now batting .315, with 20 homers, and 57 RBIs. For most guys those would be excellent stats. For Pujols they are below average.

As you well know, all that matters is that you are enjoying yourself. Thanks for the post, Muddy. It reminds us all to not forget what is truly important.

I enjoyed your posts, FIN-S-R, on "everything you know." I'm glad you understood it was all in good fun.

Well, you basically understand that you're supposed to wait until you feel the fish. What bait or baits were you using when you missed the hooksets? I would change the hooks on Zara Spooks and Pop-Rs, but even with the original hooks on them you should be able to keep fish more often than you lose them. What kind of line are you using? If you're using braid you won't have any stretch so it is extremely important to do the waiting game. I guess you could use a more moderate action on your rod if you can't control the urge to set the hook too soon. I would still say the most important thing is to wait until you feel the fish on. When bass are very aggressive they will leap completely out of the water, over, and around a topwater bait, brushing up against it but never taking it in their mouths. If you try to set the hook every time they brush up against it you'll rarely land a fish.

Different bodies of water affect your average. Some people simply have better populations to fish. Others could probably knock 'em dead no matter where they fish. While my average is good this year, I can bring it down just by fishing Smithville Lake more often. It is very highly pressured and is a very tough place to fish at times. Five or six bass in a day is good there, and I have been skunked there a few times over the years. This is the closest lake to me and if it was the only one I fished, my average would be much lower. Of course, we can all help ourselves by learning the waters that we fish and what techniques are best there.

That made my day, Catt! The reason it is such an excellent comeback is because it is true, though I can understand keeping one's mouth shut in Iraq as it would probably have resulted in death or torture. Hopefully, this remark will make her realize how lucky she is to have made it to this country, where she can speak as she pleases. Maybe she will learn to appreciate that these soldiers are giving their lives to try to help her country, even if it is a very imperfect operation.

I always park my boat on the outside of the floating walkways and leave the inside trailering lanes free. This allows people to launch boats while I, or my wife, go and get the trailer. I always thought this was the polite thing to do. As an aside, I like to powerload my boat on the trailer. My wife prefers to back the trailer down the ramp rather than driving the boat up on the trailer, so she is more than capable of maneuvering a trailer down a boat ramp.

I started this thread because there were a number of threads that began with "Everything I know about . . " and, also, because I have never caught a DD. So I can truly question what I know about catching these beasts. All joking aside, Fish Chris hit the nail on the head with the only serious reply in this thread. In Northwest Missouri where I reside, 10 lb plus bass are a very rare occurrence. A little further south at Lake of the Ozarks you will see one now and then, but not very often. Up here the main source of these rare bass would be farm ponds. So, unless I travel south, I just need to concentrate on big bass, period, which run around 7 and 8 lb here. If I'm concentrating on catching the bigger bass, if or when that rare DD sees my presentation, hopefully I'll hook up.

Hello, and welcome. 8-)

Glad to have you on the forum.

Or the limitations of his bladder.

:

Guestimating isn't very accurate when looking at a media representation of a fish because things can be distorted by the manner in which a photo or video shot is taken. However, when holding the fish in your hand I've found my guestimates are off by only a few ounces at most. When I'm talking about a fish less than 4 or 5 lbs I don't think a few ounces makes a difference. Actually, I usually guestimate a range anyway such as "I caught 10 fish that weighed 2 - 3 lbs."

A fishing rod is not like an alternator or a starter. You can't replace or recondition much of anything that makes the rod a high quality rod, other than the items already mentioned in ReelMech's (David G.'s) and Flechero's posts. Maybe I'm a paranoid, middle-aged man but I wouldn't take the chance on a reconditioned fishing rod.

I follow the same procedure. If I think it may be getting close to 5 lbs I'll weigh it. Otherwise, I'll rarely put a fish on the scale.

It's good to have you back, Lane. What kept you away? Of course, if it's something that should be retained in confidentiality, then there's no need to answer. But it is good to see you on the forum again. I've missed the knowledge you bring to the plate.

Catt, That is incredible! ;D ;D ;D 8-) The part that is really incredible is the fact that your average per bass exceeds 5 lbs per fish in tournaments for over 35 years. Wow. I'm averaging just under 22 fish per every 8 hours fishing this year, but I'm lucky to break the 5 lb mark two or three times a year. I haven't kept good records in the past but I don't believe my average quantity has been this high very many times.

Some lures are prone to lower landing ratios, such as frogs. When a wacky-rigged Senko is used I would expect a hook-up ratio somewhere north of 90 percent most of the time. The other posts have already covered most of what you can do to improve your ratio. I would add that when fishing topwaters you wait until you feel the fish before setting the hook.

I love whitewater rafting though I've only rafted once. I was with my family on the one day Brown's Canyon section of the Arkansas River in Colorado in 2005. It contains mostly class III rapids with an occasional class IV depending on the water level. I really want to go back and run either the Royal Gorge section or The Numbers section of the same river (Class IV and V rapids).

It is normal for bass to be shallower and very tight to cover in muddy water. If the river section is muddy, try the same thing as you did in the muddy creek. If there is current fish the current breaks tight to cover. Tremendous changes in the depth of a lake due to muddy runoff from heavy rains can make fishing difficult sometimes.