tentimesover

I've got a '01 QX4 which I believe is basically the same vehicle as the Pathfinder. It said 5000 lb towing capacity. I tow my Stratos 295XL Pro (specs say 19.5 ft but measures 18.5 ft) with 200 Evinrude HO with no problem -- at least as yet. It seems to pull real good and stop just fine.

Well the fillets are in the freezer now and the answer was not a free lure but just a hook in the gullet. Appears that a cat fisherman just broke the line. I can't imagine that that braid would have broken with just the fish pulling on it.

So I'm fishing the flats this morn with a deep diving bomber and dragging it over the bottom. I pull it up and it's fouled with a length of braid line over the bill. I pull the braid off the bomber and am about to throw it overboard but decide to see if there's a lure on the end of the braid. As I start to pull it in hand over hand there is a responding tug on the other end of the braid. After pulling in about 30 feet of braid there's a 5 lb flathead for me on the end. I put him in the live well and haven't cleaned him yet. Maybe I'll still find that lure -- inside him.

I couldn't help remembering the "ugliest bass" post when I caught this one yesterday. He seemed to come from the same gene pool as the big one that started this thread. I dissected his gut looking for some obstruction -- but nothing. Could it just be there are just some strange looking bass out there?

Hate to be the naysayer -- but, I have a Carrot stick rod and recently spooled with Fireline Tracer braid (50 lb test) after using flurocarbon. I couldn't take the noise of the line through the rod guides -- so, I changed it out after a week and went to the YoZuri hybrid.

Like you I've got some of these hooks after giving up on the Money Minnow. They sure look good on worms -- but, I haven't had any luck with them either. I use them along with one of those parasite curly Q devices to keep the end of the worm up tight against the hook.

I've tried braid and I've tried fluorocarbon (several brands) and the Hybrid is the best of the lot for bait casting. I use 15 lb test. I bought the clear because I couldn't find green. Someone above mentioned line breaking down in the reel. I've had this problem too; however, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the line. It's still a mystery to me.

Well, I couldn't last an entire week with the braid on my Carrot Stick. I took off the Fireline Tracer Braid and spooled back up with YoZuri 15 lb Hybrid. There were several reasons. First, the sound still gets to me. Second, there is that little spray of water off the reel when you cast. The braid appears to soak up more water. Thirdly, when I'm using my spinner bait it seems to foul the spinners more frequently. Fourthly, I don't like the way it cuts with scissors or nail clipper when I'm changing lures. Finally, the color seems to be fading after less than a week of regular use (I've been fishing every day). I do still have braid on my spinning rod (not Fireline) and I really like the fact that there's no looping problems at all. I even tried the ultimate test this evening and put a drop shot rig at the end of it. In fairness I did use a barrel swivel and a Hybrid leader. I think I've found the right use for braid and it's not as a casting line.

I tried it. I bought it from BPS and put it on braid and fluorocarbon. It made everything feel greasy to me. I have stopped using it. My opinion is that if you have the right line for the application (YoZuri Hybrid for bait casting and braid for spinning) you don't need line conditioner.

I don't usually work top water in the middle of the day but recently I've had luck at the deep water side of docks and today tried a devils horse top water with bright sun around midday and - bang, got a nice one that came out from the end of the dock and hit it. In the past I've used spinners and jerk baits for that mission but I think I'm going to try the top water more often.

So I've put braid on both my spinning rod (used for working worms and creatures) and one of my two casting outfits and I'm going to have a go at them for a week to compare with my experience with fluorocarbon. I seem to see mixed reviews with some using a fluorocarbon leader and others not bothering with the leader. Do bass care what is attached to the lure? Do those that use a leader do so because of the visibility of the braid? If not visibility, then why use the leader? Thanks in advance.

After reading some good things about Fireline on the forum I went to BPS and spent a bit over $35 for a spool of the 50 lb Berkley Fireline tracer braid. I spooled it on my Curado 200E7 which I have on a Carrot Stick rod. I casts real smooth but I hate the sound it makes on the rod guides during retrieve -- like dragging rough thread through the guides. It may be a fatal flaw for me. I'm not sure how long I can put up with the sound before it's back to YoZuri Hybrid. Has anyone else had this issue with braid?

I've started adding a white split tail worm to my spinners after viewing Glenn's video and I believe it has significantly improved the number of strikes I'm getting. I also regularly feel bites to the trailer without a sincere strike. I think this may be perch going after the trailer.

I'm fortunate to have a house on a cove of a very large lake. I'm typically a catch and release guy unless I'm preparing for a fish fry for the family. I read a tip somewhere that if you are having trouble locating fish, try a location where tournaments leave from because there could be bass there that are released after weigh in. Does this imply that bass don't tend to travel far from the point of release? Generally, what's the range of mature bass? If I bring my catch back to my cove and release at my dock will those fish tend to remain close by if there's good forage for them there?

I have a BPS Bionic Blade rod that I use for bait casting and one of the line guides has loosened. The guide is in good shape but it slides up and down the rod and gets out of line with the other guides. What type of glue can I use to secure the guide on the rod again? Thanks in advance!

What's the best way to resuscitate a bass that's unable to get going on his own after being in the live well. I've been told to move it back and forth in the water to bring water over the gills. Thanks in advance

I have the cocoons. This is my second pair after losing the first. I got them at BPS (think they were around $40) and thought I was getting grey like the first pair I had -- but, they turned out to be amber. I can't compare with fitovers since I haven't owned them. The cocoons work fine for me but I like the grey better than the amber. My eyes are sensitive to the wind when I go fast in the boat and the cocoons solved that problem as well. I keep mine on those string things so that I can let them hang when I don't want them on.

I've had a run of breakoffs recently after hooking fish. It's probably my fault due to bad habits on retieing, bad knots, etc. I lost my favorite Devils Horse yesterday to a bass that I didn't even get close to the boat. I wonder what the fate of that fish will be? That lure has three sets of treble hooks and generally hooks them up real good. After losing the Devils Horse in the morning I caught a 3 1/4 pounder in the afternoon on a spinner bait. As I was extracting the hook I found another hook deep in it's mouth near its gullet. It had broken off just above the knot that was still tied to the hook eye. What happens to fish after breaking off with a lure? Do they typically shake the lure after some time? Do many end up dieing?

I solved the problem of wondering weight by adding one of the new electronic scales to the boat. I got the Berkley digital at BPS on sale. As I recall it was about $20.

I wouldn't use Vanish on a spinning outfit. I tried it and was very frustrated with the looping. If you're using a bait caster it might be OK.

To be fair the line conditioner I was using was the Ardent product, Line Butter, that I got at BPS. In any case I don't use it anymore and have adopted a "less is better" attitude regarding what I put on my line. In the meantime I've respooled with Yo Zuri 10lb Hybrid. I really do like the stuff even though I bought it for my spinning rig. Hope you don't get branded a liar and thanks for the 2 cents worth.

I'm near MM32 close to where Lynn Creek and Niangua arms intersect the Osage Branch.

Thanks for all the tips. He's right that I'm fishing Lake of the Ozarks. I have my boat on a lift there and, for the most part can fish anytime I want. I sure hate giving up two days of the week though to the "boaters." It's a rainy day today, Sunday, that has closed the boat traffic down. I got out between showers and landed one small one and hooked but lost the big one right at the end of the point at the edge of the main channel -- and then the lightening started with the rain so I came back.

I fish on a lake that is fairly quiet during the week but it gets crazy on most summer weekends. There's constant traffic after 10am with waverunners, cruisers up to 42 feet leaving big wakes and a variety of other boats. Trying to fish is hard because of the constant beating with wakes in my normal hot spots at the mouth of coves off the channel in 10 to 20 feet water. My question is do you think bass in that kind of depth are affected by all the noise and water disturbance? Will they head for quieter water back into the coves during these times?

I lost another of my jigs yesterday fishing on the bottom in rocks. It's getting frustrating as well as expensive losing tackle to the rocks. I'm rigging the jig with a brush hog trailer (as an example) and I don't believe that it's the hook that is getting caught. Instead I think it's the whole jig that's getting lodged in the rocks. I move the boat over it and try a number of different pull angles but nothing works but to break the line. How can I work these jigs on a rocky bottom without losing one about every half hour?