MattinOK

Another question for you fine folks out there. When looking at reels, both line recovery and gear ratios are listed. My question is if the gear ratio is different, but line recovery is the same. Is there any difference between the two? If you had a spinning reel that had a 5.3:1 gear ratio, but a line recovery of 30" p/turn would it be comparable to a caster with a 6.3:1 line recovery 30" per/turn for burning cranks and spinners? Thanks Matthew Luce

She looks about 30-40lbs to me... Oh, you meant the fish... Great fish! I may have to try out swimbaits one of these days. Bet she had a great time! ;D

While browsing my local Academy the other day; I happened upon a new rod by H20 express (Academies house brand.) They have Fuji ACS guides, they're IM6 graphite, are really aethestically pleasing (I love the black graphite on cork -drool-), seem to have a sensitive tip and alot of backbone (every time I fished it in the store that is...) and best of all they have a good price tag. $39.99. Has anyone here had any experience with them? I've seen a few mentions of them on other sites, but never any in-depth reviews. I also looked at some of they're BC reels. One in particular caught my attention. The Mettle is a graphite bodied, 6.3 to 1 gear ratio, 6 pin centrifugal brakes, and 10 stainless steel ball bearings. I've looked at, and handled one of these, and it seems solid. Out of all the 50ish BC's I've looked at; this one seems the nicest. Would the centrifugal brakes be any trouble? I've heard some people don't like them. Thanks for all your trouble and time. Matthew Luce

This happened on a saltwater rig of mine. Make sure you have quality line, the cheap bulk spools you buy at wal-mart are stiffer than a dead eskimo. (No disrespect toward Eskimos).

Today my father and I went to a nice little fishing hole. It's formed by a river; that runs into a dam, like this Black fork creek---pool---bottom side of dam---poteau river. So when it floods the bass and gills swim into the pool on the bottom side of the dam. When the water levels there lower; they can't get back out. I started out at 6AM fishing a 3/8oz. firetiger spinnerbait, trying to locate the bass. I got several good bites, but didn't hook anything (Bass are real finicky here, as it is somewhat overfished). So I tied on a 5" watermelon/purple flake senko type worm. I cast it out to the middle of the pool, and let it set for 10 seconds before twitching my rod. On the first twitch I noticed it felt... mushy. So I set the hook, and landed around a 1/1.5lb largemouth. I fished two different colored senkos for almost an hour with out another taker, so I caught some bluegill with crappie nibbles. All in all it was a good way to start of the 4th of July. Happy Independence Day ya'll.

Some of may favorites are Jim & Jesse Mac Wiseman Don Reno Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition Osborne Brothers Flatt & Scruggs Mr. Monroe And, Nashville Grass

What is your preferred size for Rooster tails, or any other in-line spinner?

My weirdest catch was in a pond fishing a 10'ish crankbait. I was burning it in, and all of a sudden my line went taught and my pole almost bent in two. I'm thinkin' "This must be a dadgum' big fish.". So I finally reel it in, and it turns our to be a old newspaper... ;D ;D ;D

Which would you choose? I really want to try rage plastics out, but at the moment two packs is the absolute max I can afford. I mainly fish small ponds. Thanks

I've done a search, but I couldn't find any topics like this (sorry if there is one). Both these brands seem to have pretty good standing, and they are reasonably affordable. Which do you think is a better lure? Is there some other brand with decent quality products in the same price range ie 3-4$. I know you get what you pay for, but lures like lucky craft are just out of my range right now. I'm thinking mainly of lip-less cranks. Thanks. Matthew Luce

I live down in Lleflore county. I was about 20 miles for Paul's Valley the other day. Man they have good BBQ there

I should have said this. I want to use both, but I can't really afford to outfit my tackle box with both. If I could get by with just two or three of each I'd go for it.

Which do you prefer for fall fishing? The main two water bodies I'll be fishing are murky (Wister Lake and Poteau River) with about a 2ft. water clarity. On the crankbait side I'm thinking either bass pro XPS or academies h20 express (I'm cheap AND broke). Probably thinking of chartreuse and shad colors, but I don't really know what depths to use. Both bodies are at least 50' deep. I really don't have much experience in spinner/buzz baits. So favorite brands and colors for the mentioned water conditions would be helpful. Sorry for so many questions. Matthew Luce

Hello everyone! My name is Matthew Luce, I'm fourteen, and I'm from a rural town in SE Oklahoma. I just got bit by the fishing bug this year; when a bluegrass jam (I'm a fiddle player) a man taught me how to fish in a small pond, and bought me my first rod and reel. I fished for big ole' perch (maybe 4 inches long), and a turtle. Just last week I was at another bluegrass jam in Waldron, Arkansas; where they had an even bigger pond. Me and my adopted Grandpa caught about 20lbs of bluegill in three days. Then one day about 8 AM I saw something break water. So I said, "Hey, Dub (my aforementioned adopted grandfather) what was that?" He said it was a bass. So I asked him how to catch it. I had purchased some 1 dollar walmart spinner baits the day before just because they looked neat. I had no idea what they were, or how they were fished :-[. So I asked him if a spinnerbait would work. He said it would. So I grabbed my chartruese 1/4oz. spinnerbait and got to it. On my third cast a bass exploded out of the water with my lure in his mouth. When I got it into shore It weighed a tad over two pounds. Since then I've been hooked. I think I can learn a lot here; because the people aren't afraid to share they're knowledge (or lack thereof ;D)