Curly

"When" I catch a bass that big I will stick my head in it's mouth so there is no question on size ;D

I was given 6lb Gamma Edge 100% Flurocarbon Competition Grade line. My buddy had used it... maybe a little heavier on his Stella and had terrible day fussing with line messes and was ready to toss the whole outfit in the river(a location I would have made note of). He was happy with it on his baitcaster though and casts very far with a computerized BC reel? on some type of Loomis Rod. I have never used a BC reel but the performance was impressive that's for sure. Well I must have just gotten the wrong stuff with this Maxima Ultragreen. Been fishing on the Columbia River mainly and long casts can make all the difference at times when your in really shallow water or fishing from the bank. Also want to throw light stuff so it just drifts down to those big boulders. I will try the Yo-Zuri suggestion on the Shimano/Loomis setup. I do have an extra spool for that outfit so I should try something different on it also for a good comparision I guess. On the Fenwick I will try one of the others. That outfit I used for 4 or 5 years so I will notice the difference there easily. I feel like you got me steered in the right direction, looking forward the next outing now. Any other thoughs are certainly welcomed. Thanks Guys

I have a Loomis GLX Bronzeback rod 6'10" for 1/8>3/8 oz lures. My reel is a Shimano Sustain 2500FD spinning reel. I must be way off on line selection given the performance... or lack of for this setup. What it the best 6lb>10lb line for this setup? At the moment I have Maxima line on it. It discolors in a few hours and sounds like wire going thru the guides. It also seems to be programmed to jump off the spool ;D I am not concerned about price. I was given some Gama but after watching how that worked on a Stella I decided I wouldn't even bother putting it on :

Sorry I should have looked first. Looks like walnut shell blaster media is a good way to go from a previous thread.

What is the best way to remove the old paint?

I agree with ABA CAST CHAMP 2006. Easily the best day I have ever had was during a Miller Mayfly hatch on a tributary of the Susquehanna River. I was only about about 15(53 now) at the time. I had begged one of my friends to get up before sunrise so we could try out the early morning fishing. Finally one of them gave in. These bugs were large white mayflies and they were thick before the sun got on the water. We were using "Rocky" lures which were/are a minnow imitation which of couse looks nothing like a mayfly. We caught fish like mad. By the end of the hatch my Rocky was paintless! I wished I would have framed it looking back. I swear the fish were so hot they were watching the lure fly through the air and would meet it at point of impact often. Several times our lures landed so close together they made one ring and we would still both get one. It was about a mile to this creek and on the way home cars where pulling over asking "where did you catch those fish?" Of course we tried to throw them off course We were doubled up on both stringers and had our bicycle baskets full too and threw back a bunch to boot. Mrs. McHale(buddies mom) was very pleased when we got home as they had a large family to feed. Once the mayfly hatch quit the fish stopped biting. Looking back I do remember surface action and swirls so I have to think they were hitting those flies.. probably grabbing them as they came up to the surface in the emerger form just below the surface when they are most vulnerable.

This one came from the Columbia River in WA. state. There is a ton of food in there. It's basically an untapped fishery in my area. More people fish it downstream in the area where Oregon is on the other side of the river. The thing that makes this river so exciting for me is the variety. You can never be sure what's on the end of the line. I have caught bows to 25" on white curly jigs. These are wild bows and cannot be targeted though. They put up the best fight for I trout I know. There are steelhead in the river much of the year and salmon, shad, sturgeon etc.. There are lots of dams so it's fishes like a reservoir in some places. Then in other places there is some pretty strong current. I fish mostly in an area where the dam releases average around 120, 000>130,000 cfs and this is a drought here now. A tournament guy said the males average 2.5 lbs in this part of the Columbia. I found that interesting as he said in the potholes and seep areas they average 1.5 lbs. I have measured them to 23" inches. I also feel I have seen significantly bigger ones than that. On that same outing I saw what I though was a pair of carp cruising by the outside of a weedbed. Then I thought "wait that second one isn't a carp" and I tossed my brown trout rapala out there and sure enough the trailing fish turned and and came 25' to strike. He came unbuttoned pretty quick. We fish for those carp & bass on the flyrod when it can be done that way. Sometimes I need more distance or depth then I can get on the flyrod for bass so I always carrying a lightweight spinning rod. Point being that bass was big enough to be a carp, but he wasn't. It's not unusual to see bass tooling around with carp for me. I am on foot mostly although my fishing buddy has a Lund and we get out on it some. I fish backbays and side channels and the bank proper some. I have this side channel that is as big as many rivers that is my favorite. There is a V shaped riffle or break in it. If you catch it right it becomes a feeding lane. When the dam releases are low you can stand above it and seen the bass patrolling just below the break, back & forth. Every so often (moon related?) midday I really get into them there. I tell people you could get them on a bent fork if you catch it right. Overall I like sight fishing them best. We get alot of wind though and it messes that up often. I know guys who think nothing of 100 fish days but their sizes are smaller. I prefer to fish current and for fish that are on the hunt. That's probably why I catch less...but bigger fish I feel?? The 20"er could have been spawning....I think it's a little screwy here. We have water height variation of 5' due to dam releases. We also have snopack runoff from British Columbia and the east slopes of the north Cascades. That can vary flows and temps a bunch. Sometimes I find a bass on a redd in late July. Mostly it seems like late May thru June though. That even varies depending on what stretch your on. If your right behind a dam they find warmer bays or shelves it seems and go on schedule so to speak. Below a dam seems more varied though. If anyone is from central WA. I would love to get out with a Bass specialist. I grew up fishing for bass back in the Susquehanna River and tributaries in the 60s. We sure caught lots as kids but out here the fish seem way bigger on average. Tips and comments welcome of course.

Interesting chart. If I spread my fingers, from the tip of my middle finger to the end of my thumb is just over 8.5 inches and it was every bit of that not including fins top to bottom. It was more of a slab then a pig. Had a little bit of a pot belly but I've seen bigger porportionally. The best part of this fish was the first jump. It wasn't a missile launch but it made the loudest crack/slap I've ever heard. Our summer weather started last weekend so I'm just getting into hot weather fishing. Well I better just get a scale and go catch some more I suppose. Thanks for the chart and info.

Thanks. I should have know to look as this is "The Ultimate Bass Fishing resource Guide". I ought to be able to fit one of those scales in my pack.

Howdy I'm new to the board. I live in Wa state. I was wondering if there is a formula or chart one could use to get a rough idea on a fishes weight knowing how long it is. I often fish on foot and would rather not pack scales as I already carry multiple rods and a backpack full of "stuff". Today I caught a 20" smallmouth and wondered how much it might weigh? I would have guess 5lbs anyway...but I'm seem to be getting weaker as I get older so I'm loosing faith it my estimates.