SoFlaBassAddict

See sig. I love mine. I fish every single day whether it's for an hour or for eight hours and I've had no issues whatsoever with it. I've taken it out saltwater fishing, washed it down thoroughly and it keeps on going. Make sure you treat it like any other reel. Keep it clean, occasionally lube it, and you're set. Very user friendly reel. I'd gladly buy more of them if I need to.

This is my biggest problem. My father was my mentor growing up, but I grew up saltwater fishing. Bass were never part of the equation. The few times we went saltwater fishing, it was treated as a joke day. As I've started fishing freshwater more often, I realize the challenge of Bass fishing isn't the act of reeling them in, it's actually finding them and figuring out what they want to eat. I'm able to take some of my saltwater techniques and apply them to bass fishing, but there are some drastic differences between the two. Thankfully today we've got the internet and loads of information out there that can fill in a lot of the missing gaps.

Poor golf club.

First thing I thought about when I saw the thread title was Bull Shark. I wouldn't have been surprised at all if it was.

Print it out. Makes good toilet material. As I get more and more into bass fishing again I'm starting to jot down notes or print out stuff to keep in a small binder for quick reference. Theres no way you can memorize everything in one viewing. If you can't remember it while fishing, the knowledge is useless. If you've got a way to help you remember it while fishing, you'll probably be in a better position to boat some fish.

I don't remember the thread these two posts were in, but I saved them to my info file for quick reading. ------------------------------------------------ You'll find that every pond, lake, river, stream, and reservoir have a color or certain lure that works best on a given day. Some sunny days a lighter color might work well. Others a dark color will. If you have no clue what so ever. I would start by thinking of 2 things. Light conditions: Overcast/Dusk: Dark Colors: Dark Green, Black, Dark red, Brown. Sunny/Clear Skies: Light Colors: White, Green, Red, Blue, Chartreuse. Next I would look at your water clarity. Muddy Water: Brown, Green, Black. Murky: Green, Brown, Black, Blue. Clear: MATCH YOUR FORAGE: Green for weeds, Brown?Black for rocks. Etc.. I'm not going to say color selection doesn't matter because it does. But I would throw a variety of lures until you find out what works. ------------------------------------------------ Many would argue that it's best to Match-The-Hatch (lots of luck). In my view at least, once the fish has seen the lure, the job of color is finished. I seriously doubt that any color would cause a hungry fish to lose its appetite or spark an appetite in a non-feeding fish. Furthermore, bass are opportunistic feeders whose target prey is in constant transition, typically from moment-to-moment. All colors are natural, but certain natural colors should be nonetheless avoided. I believe that lure visibility is best achieved using neutral subtle colors like black, white, yellow, brown, smoke, khaki & so on. Mother Nature frequently mixes vibrant gaudy colors to serve as a warning flag of a toxic host. Examples include the monarch butterfly, coral snake, black-widow spider, ad infinitum. Roughly speaking, color choice should hinge on underwater visibility. That is, where underwater visibility is excellent, strive to downgrade lure visibility, conversely, where underwater visibility is poor, strive to enhance lure contrast: Excellent Visibility Pale Colors (white, yellow, smoke) Translucent / Transparent (visual texture) Poor Visibility (Best to ignore hue, and strive to maximize contrast with colors that absorb light) Dark Colors (black, brown, dark-green, dark-gray, etc.) Opaque (visual texture) Incidentally, many anglers speak of "water clarity" as though it's the only determinant of visibility. Although water clarity is very important, it is one of four determinants of underwater visibility: > Sun Angle (midday, twilight, nighttime) > Water Clarity (gin clear, clear, dingy, murky, muddy) > Sky Clarity (cloudless, partly-cloudy, mostly-cloudy, heavy overcast) > Lure Depth (surface, subsurface, mid-depth, bottom) Lure depth is a little tricky. First of all, it's not to be confused with water depth, but only the depth of the lure. Moreover, even in shallow water, a bottom lure is always observed with a downward angle, while a surface lure is always viewed with a skyward angle. After all is said and done, all anglers are predisposed to certain pet colors. In a self-fulfilling prophesy, the color that spends the most time on end of our line is bound to be our most successful color. Roger

I've used lots of Catt's advice recently and am starting to become really comfortable with jig fishing now (to the tune of another 50-60 bucks for the bait monkey yesterday). I've got no issue working an arkie style jig through grass now, I'm sure a true grass jig would be a tiny bit easier. But thats not necessary. I just start picking apart the outer edges with the jig, working my way in. I'm not really comfortable with thick grass though. I still opt for a weedless t-rigged rage craw or lobster in that situation.

3, occasionally 4.

I'm telling you Rhino, I really need to get out on the boat one day with you. I could probably learn a ton on using a sounder. Every thread that comes up on the subject you have some extremely useful information to share.

This page has one of the best sonar tutorials I've seen online. Really good info. http://fishinweb.com/messages/messages/13028/13028.html?1258393767

Im in! PM sent.

x2 X3 x4

That's why i have 10,000$ insurance for tackle and gear on my boat and in my house!!!!! Oh, well in that case I'll be there sometime next week. I'll even wear a goofy black mask so you can say somebody "stole" it.

Nice fish there Rhino. Looks like the shiny new boat and electronics put you on some good fishing.

If I ever go up to Canada, I'm staying at your house. Don't mind the extra large bag when I'm leaving though....

x2 I use 20lb braid though. Bit shorter of a leader. And either 8lb or 12lb fluoro. Uni-uni connection.

Yep, 3/4 oz GMAN Mop jig/ Rage Tail Lobster. I also agree with your breakdown of the choice: Jigs hang up much more often than a weedless T-rig. Both presentations areVERY similar. 8-) Once I figured out that I can use a jig a lot like a t-rig, my catch rate has gone way up. I'm still learning the how the fish bite them though. It is surprisingly different than the normal tap tap feeling on a t-rig. Most of the fish I've caught on a jig have been the mushy feeling bites where they inhale and just kind of hold it in place. Thank god for megastrike. I probably would have never had the chance to set a hook on those fish without it.

Nice goin right there. Fishing sounds good at Lox lately. I really need to get up there one of these days and play around on that lake.

For heavier cover I like the t-rig. I just can't get a jig through cover like some of the other guys can. Right now I'm having good success with one rod having a 3/8 jig on it in an appropriate color. A second rod I'm using a Rage Lobster t-rigged with weights from 1/4 to 1/2 depending on the depth and cover. If the bite is really good, I'll rig up a second rod with a t-rigged lobster with a little more weight to work some of the drop offs down here as well for the larger fish. Btw, the Lobster is very quickly becoming my favorite lure to throw. I believe RW uses this thing as a jig trailer for a huge profiled bait also.

Make sure you do your homework about the 570. I got rid of mine. Another person is having problems with his, and a third had to send his new one to HB for repair. You may want to find something else, or make sure you can return it easily if you get a dud. When it worked, I really liked it.

I totally forgot about the extra drag from it. Especially on an electric boat, any extra drag is no good. I know that Steelflex is supposedly the best stuff in the world. It's just fairly pricey.

I really enjoy fishing in the rain. Not crazy rain like they had on the roadtrip, but normal rain. I love the sounds of it hitting the water, how flat the lake looks, etc etc. That and the fishing down here really picks up with the cooler water on top.

Make sure you don't skimp on the glue. I recently did some carpeting and am wishing I used a bit more glue than I did. It's cheap anyway. Just make sure you use a roller like IDbasser said. A rolling pin worked great for me.

I've got one. It's a good reel. It's basically a Pro Qualifier with a carbon fiber handle. Got mine on sale which made it even better.

Oh man, the places I could go with that....