Nixstyx

I'm having the same problem. Noticed it a week ago. Very disappointing. I did a lot of forum reading on there. I'd love to hear if there is a fix.

Resist the urge! Don't set too early. Sounds crazy, and I didn't believe it when I first started frog fishing, but you really have to give the fish a minute to get it into its mouth before you set the hook. If I see my bait disappear I just reel until I feel the fish. Sometimes I never feel the fish, but in that case I haven't ripped the bait away from a bass that might come back for another bite. For practice, try fishing at night without lights. Incredibly frustrating sometimes, but it will definitely teach you to wait to set the hook.

Nice smallie. That's impressive with the cold water. I'm itching for the warmer weather.

For what it is worth, I own all four, and find the Curado far and away the best of the group. The Abu's just aren't as smooth and consistent as the Curado. They're overpriced for their performance, in my opinion. The Johnny Morris is a nice reel, but heavier than the Curado. Also quite a bit bulkier, so it doesn't feel as nice in the hand. I actually think it performs better than the Revo SX.

I'm a southern NH guy as well. There are a couple decent spots in the area that you could try, but I would suggest keeping up with, and even reading previous posts (I know there are a lot) of the "Anyone have any luck in Southern NH" thread. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1238290254 That is what I did when I first joined the forum. It took me a while, since it is probably the longest thread on this site, but I got some good tips and learned names of some local people who use the forum. If you're just looking for some quick names of popular fishing locations, here they are: Robinson Pond Potanipo Lake Mill Pond Nashua, and Merrimack rivers Cobbetts Pond Powder Mill Pond Massabesic Lake Turkey Pond However, don't expect to find the "perfect pond". I'm still looking for it myself. That place where the only bass are 5+ pounders, where the shriners and the lepers play their ukuleles all day long, and the towels are oh so fluffy. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what off-centered song I'm referencing. Eternal friendship to anyone who can recite the entire song from memory.

I had the same thought at first. Then, I read the fine print at the bottom of that page that says something to the effect of, "pros may not appear at every location in the same group". Which leads me to believe that KVD will be at the BPS in NY or Penn (I think that was the other one), but not Foxboro. Very misleading flyer. No offense to Daves, but he and his son aren't KVD. Makes you wonder why they made that table with the pictures in the first place, since they have another page detailing who will be in Foxboro when, and even what they will be talking about.

Thanks for all the info. Good to hear moderators are moving forward with the idea of setting something up. There are a lot of talented people here, and I'm sure there are a good number of forum members that would be interested in their work.

I like to be as stealthy as possible. Some say fish can't hear above water noise, others said it wouldn't bother them even if they could hear it. I say, why bother? In my mind fishing is a way to get away from the sensory overload of everyday life. Enjoy the peace and quiet. You'd be surprised how easily the mind fills empty space with valuable introspection. No offense, but are people who fill the air with "obnoxious" music really that afraid to be alone with their own thoughts? Then again, maybe that's just the romantic fly-fisherman in me.

Lizards are a great option, even for the cold Maine waters. The reason most baits work is that bass are aggressive predators and will eat anything that looks like it might be food. Your local pond doesn't need to have a native population of "Yamamoto Kreatures" for them to catch bass. As long as it acts like prey, and looks like it might be tasty, fish will bite it. I do think there is something to matching your bait to the fish's seasonal feeding patterns though. Dragging a lizard on a carolina rig isn't going to attract much attention when smallies are following schools of suspended smelt. Even in that case though, it is more about the presentation, and not the type of bait.

Fair enough. Just didn't want to go around asking for items that aren't for sale, but I guess I'll take that chance.

I have both and find they are both great reels. In fact, I don't notice any performance difference going from the usually more expensive Morris sig series to the PQ. I'd definitely go with the PQ again if they were both at regular price, but if they're the same price I'd say it's a toss up, and a matter of what feels better to you. Go to the store an put them on a rod to see what you like.

So I've been lusting after some of the sweet looking custom baits and paint jobs I've seen you guys posting. Maybe it's just me, but I haven't seen any of these posted in the flea market section. So, who out there regularly offers these things for sale? On a completely different note, I'm just curious how difficult it is to build your own rod. I'm considering giving it a try, but I don't want to drop $100+ on a blank if it will take a little more expertise to get a decent end product.

Wish I had water temps like that. I haven't taken a thermometer out lately but I'm pretty confident the 3 feet of ice is still 32 degrees. To answer your question though, yes a shakey head has worked for me when the temps are in the mid-40s or so. I typically go with a smaller-sized jig fished very slow, though. If your string of warm sunny days continues, I'd try pitching some delicious looking plastics to wood.

I'm about 5'8" and don't have a problem using a 7'6" rod - except that it is too tall for my ceiling. However, I do prefer a 6'6" over a 7' for most other uses, for some reason.

I've been looking at getting a Veritas. Haven't held one yet, but I've been hearing good things. However, I have heard of some breakage problems, which, with a new rod model, makes me a tad nervous. Also concerned with just the one year warranty. Then again, all rods can break, and there are such things as defective individuals. Anyone else having these second thoughts? Or is this rod just as durable as any other comparable rod?

Off Wiley Hill? I live 5 minutes from there and am unaware of what you could be referring to. I know of a small pond next to the continental soccer fields, which - as far as I can tell - has only pickerel. There is another set of 3 small ponds created from a gravel operation further down West Road, but no smallmouth in there, only largemouth. Google maps doesn't show any other water nearby. Care to help a brother out? What part of Wiley Hill? What side of the road?

Robinson has been good to me the last few weeks. It's only 5 minutes away so I get there often. Not many big fish, but it's almost impossible to get skunked, and it's a fun place if you only have a couple hours. The other day I was having luck in the cove on the south side of the pond - not near the marshy area, but just off the dock of the last house along the eastern shore.

It probably won't help this year, but if they hear from enough people it could certainly help for getting it on the list next year. The state has milfoil management plans for 70% of affected ponds/lakes - so I read - and if they hear that this pond is impoartant to people they may consider it. Only thing going against it is there are no homes on the pond with residents who would complain about bad swimming and diminishing property values. EDIT: Actually, after thinking for a minute Fish and Game may not be much help. However, the state DES exoctic species program could develop a milfoil management program for the pond.

I've been wondering what Potanipo was like. I tried there VERY early in the year, but didn't get a bite in the cold water. Been wanting to go back, but just haven't got there. Good to hear there is at least a bit of action, and I've heard there are some decent size ones in there somewhere. Anyone have any other suggestions for some late summer locations that havn't been taken over by vegetation at this point? Speaking of vegetation, as you can probably guess Mill Pond in Nashua is pretty congested, but my buddy just caught a sweet 7 pounder on a swimbait there about a week ago.

I know very little about expensive rods, and even less about Loomis, but it seems to me they should honor the $50 replacement cost, considering it was sold under those terms. I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me, and I'd hope that Loomis customer service would honor those terms. I understand these rods are expensive, but personally I'd be upset if I had to pay anything to have a warranty honored. In my opinion a warranty doesn't imply that you should have to pay 1/3 of the total cost to have a defective product replaced. If you pay anything it's not a warranty, it's a "replacement plan". Obviously it's not on the same level, but last week I took my BPS extreme rod back to the store because one of the line guide inserts popped out. The customer service associate had already told me to go pick out a new rod before I even showed him what was wrong with it. That is customer service. Yes, I know BPS has a lot more ability to "eat" the cost of a $100 rod, but I hope you can see my point. Or... maybe my new point is that, after hearing this, I think I'll stick to cheaper rods that are financially easier to replace if there is a factory defect.

thanks for the feedback everyone. For everyone who said line guide, you nailed it. Found a missing guide insert, so the line was running over the sharp metal guide. And on the other reel, I think I'm ready to blame that on a previous birdsnest that weakened the fluro. Sadly, no gremlins to blame.

Forgot to mention, I always fill my reels from one spool. In case you are curious I use 40# power pro and 12# xps fluro.

Over the last few days I've been wondering if I have a serious mechanical problem, or if someone is just sabotaging my equipment. What happens is I suddenly find that the line leading to my lure is no longer attached to the rest of the line on the reel. Crazy huh? First time it happened I set the hook but missed and the lure came flying at me. I started to reel in the slack and realized the lure was still lying on the ground along with 20 feet of line that had been severed from the rest of the line on the reel. So I retied and on the very next cast it happened again. But it wasn't on the hookset. The line backlashed and as I was pulling it out I noticed a loose end. To my surprise the loose end led to my lure which was 60 feet away in the water. I ended up pulling the lure back by hand, but as you can imagine I was a little confused. Two days later the exact same thing happened with a different rod and reel. So I'm stumped. First two times it was with braid. Clean cut. Last time it was on fluorocarbon. Any theories as to why this is happening that don't involve bad karma or mythical creatures?

It will work, and it has worked for me. I usually use a light jig and fish it more like a T-rigged senko than a jig. Gives the senko a bigger profile and more action with the flowing skirt.

As an anecdote to emphasis my point, I noticed this spring that Fish and Game was stocking trout in a local brook just upstream of a pond literally in a guy's front yard. He owned all the land around the pond and there was no where to fish upstream. I actually talked to the game warden and asked why they stocked it. He said, as far as the law is concerned, it was a public waterway and I had every right to fish there. So, I floated my kayak through a culvert and into this pond. I may feel differently about this in the future if I ever have enough money to own land near a waterway, but seeing the look on this guy's face when the cops told him I wasn't trespassing as long as i was on the water was just priceless.