Fishes in trees

I've got one like you're talking about. In the mid-80's, Diawa made one that was a Kevlar/graphite blend. It is a pretty thin rod, but it is stiff enough you could shoot pool with it if you wanted. (change out the tip) It is either 5'6" or 5"3". I got it in a close out - where a store was going out of business. As I recall, in the late 80's there were quite a few similar rods on the market. I had a Team Diawa Guido Hibdon special for a while. It was 5'9" and at least 14 inches of it was handle. It got stolen and I was bummed for a while. I've never found another one like it. As I recall, the short, stiff spinning rod was a Tennessee, Kentucky, Ozark Lakes thing. Lots of guys who were fishing the Brewer Slider type baits wanted to go with a somewhat heavier rod - so they could go slightly heavier line and heavier baits. Bass Pro used to market some in their Tourney Special series, That guy who marketed himself as a small mouth ace - died a year or two ago - Billy Westmorland (I think, don't know) anyway, he was the rod pimp for that line. Good luck finding a short, MH spinning rod. There are some out there, but I haven't seen one for several years - and I look. I can't drive past a fishing tackle store without stopping - or a yard sale for that matter. If you want one right now, go ahead and get a custom one made. A guy can't have too many fishing rods - it is impossible.

I'd go power pole. I really want one for my boat but I just can't swing it this year. Maybe next year.

I can't help but think that the quality of All Star rods has decreased since Shakespeare bought them. I have had issues with Shakespeare customer service, It is like you have to jump through hoops. A fishing tackle store that I go to all the time, Rogers Lures in Liberty, Mo doesn't handle All Star rods anymore, because they are a pain in the butt to deal with.

Ugly Sticks are pretty heavy, and I think they have some sensitivity issues. For me, cranking with an Ugly Stick would get real old real quick. I have decent to good cranking gear, and my wrists are sore after 20 minutes or so. I eat a couple of Alieves at the start of the day, and that helps some, but at the end of the day, driving home, my wrists are sore if I've done alot of cranking. On the other hand, if there are budget issues, use what you got. I am uncertain if the fish care what kind of rod you're throwing crankbaits with, but they could. Truth is stranger than fishin.

If I'm outside during the day and I don't have my polarized shades on I get a headache pretty quick. I don't know why. It is pretty simple - if I'm outside in the sun, wear my shades - it literally is one less headache for me to deal with.

I use it more in chilly weather than I do in the middle of summer. I carry many rods and reel in my boat and frequently switch rods. I have fewer line issues if I remember to give the spool a shot prior to casting for the first time.

Cold front conditions generally mean low and slow. If I have a day I've scheduled for fishing, it takes genuinely nasty weather for me to not go. Wacky senko, jigs, shakey head or a Brewer slider is where I'll start.

Bummer

I've got one of that model too. I forget why I originally bought it, I think I just wanted it. The majority of the time I have a wacky rigged senko on it. I feel like the slightly lighter tip gives me more distance pitching. I like it.

That "catapult" or "bow and arrow" cast is an accident waiting to happen. Sooner or later you are going to space out and not hold the bait correctly and it will drive the hook into your finger past the barb. That will hurt. To reiterate what the other folks are saying, you need to get yourself a bait caster and learn how to pitch. All you need is a lane to the target, and if you've got a lane, you can make that cast. If you have to sit down in your boat, you can learn how to pitch sitting down. Takes practice. Or learn how to do that little underhanded Jimmy Houston type roll cast. That is an accurate cast. A case in point, Have you ever seen Jimmy Houston miss with that cast? I didn't think so - neither has anyone else. Jimmy Houston might have missed once - a couple of decades ago, but the camera man was changing tapes at that moment and missed it.

I found a way to get rust and crud off tackle. One day at Walmart, they had a kids rock polishing kit on sale dirt cheap. In the reloading section at Bass Pro, you can get polishing medium, (it isn't cheap, but it lasts, a gallon could be a lifetime supply) for polishing spent brass cartridges. A small handful of cruddy hooks, jigs, etc., and some of the medium, in the polisher for a half hour or so and then you know what you got. A few things are rusted beyond hope, yet many are salvageable.

For me, they are both situational baits - for different situations. I'll use a spinnerbait when there is too much stuff - brush, cover or vegetation, for a rattle bait to come through clean. Using a rattlebait to tick the tops of the grass is different.

Get the biggest trolling motor you can afford. An on-board charger is nice. Swapping out the front seat for a butt seat. I carry most of the safety stuff guys mentioned earlier. I added a step set up and a wider board on my trailer tongue and now it is much easier to climb in and out of the boat when I'm launching.

I have issues with pitching tubes. I'm using decent gear and rods, 4 1/2" tube, 3/16 or 1/4 internal weight (sometimes with rattle and sometimes not) 4/0 or 5/0 wide gap hooks ( I switch brands sometimes, but the usual brands, Mustads, Gammies, Owners, etc) I get bit, but I land maybe 1 of 6. I try to hit them instantly. I try to let them run for a second or two, it doesn't seem to matter. Roughly 1 out of 6 is my ratio with tubes. It is to the point that, last year, I only threw one once I'd proven to myself that creatures and beavers and paddle tail worms , essentially everything else didn't work. It is a mystery to me. I know, compared to a lot of other fishermen, I suck, yet other baits that I get bit on, I stick a much higher percentage than 1 out of 6. I think this year, again, they will be a bait of last resort.

I haven't picked up a Fishing Facts magazine in over a decade, yet I recall they used to have a slogan that they printed on T-Shirts and sold. I think it was a Buck Perry quote. "The fish are deep or shallow or somewhere in between." Pick one to start and go from there.

Yes - Shakey heads will work. If that isn't finesse enough for you, spool on some 6 lb test and tie on a Charlie Brewer slider head with a 4" slider worm. Then "polish the rocks." You will get bit.

I like mine. I wear it whenever I'm on plane. It has stopped several june bugs. Those could have hurt. I got a plain white one.

Finding a fishing magazine out there that is consistently good is a challenge. Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, come across as real patronizing to me. For instance, I don't need four pages on how to pick a spinning reel. In-Fisherman magazine might be the best of the bunch out there right now, but it isn't anywhere near the magazine it was when the Lindners had it. It is thinner for sure and it seems like the writing has been "dumbed down" a little bit. I understand a magazine has to turn a profit, yet Bassmaster and Bassin and the FLW Outdoors magazine seem more interested in pimping product than in conveying genuine information. We should probably count on each other to share information and ideas rather than count on some profit driven rag to do it for us.

I think there have been a few. I can distinctly remember one, I was snowed in at a motel and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. It was on motel cable - Fishing with Courtney & (some other woman, I don't remember the name.) I remember one where they were salmon fishing on the Kenai in Alaska and another where they had hiked in British Columbia to fish for brook trout. One of their sponsors was Oklahoma Joe BBQ grills and smokers and they ended each show by firing up their smoker and cooking some fish. Surely there have been some other fishing shows starring women through the years. Fact of TV life, if they can't pimp and move product they won't be on the air for long. Production costs for TV shows ain't cheap.

Beats me. Surely there is someone you can call.

So, you're going to organize your plastics, huh? Good luck with that. Goals are good. Stay in touch and let us know how this quest for order works out. Seriously, if you can devise a system that puts frequently used plastics at your fingertips, allows reasonable access to occasionally used baits and clearly identifies and stores your once in a blue moon plastics, you're just better at this organization stuff than I am. I think once you more than one bag of soft plastics, you're going to have storage and organization issues and you will waste time on the water digging through your stuff.

I get bit often enough using tubes (internal weight, texas rigged) but I have issues sticking and landing fish with this lure. Maybe 1 out of 8 on average, over the past couple of years.

I use 2' or so of fluorocarbon leader material - not just fluorocarbon line. It is much more abrasion resistant I think. I'd go shorter, but I like to be able to change baits several times before I tie a new leader on.

The War Eagle Screaming Eagle is another option - 1/4 oz size with 1/2 oz weight.

I see wake baits as an alternative to a buzz bait, that's where I use them. Any place where a buzz bait is an option a wake bait is an option. You can stop them and they won't sink like a buzz bait will. For the most part, they won't crawl over logs like a buzz bait will. The Timber Tiger DC1 doesn't seem to get stuck as much when I happen to throw over logs and other horizontal cover, and yet I've found that an angler with my skill level can pretty much get any wake bait or buzz bait stuck and it isn't that hard to do.