Goose52

Ya' know, it's funny, being the type A guy that I am, it's tough for me to fish slow.... yet most of the time, if I fish fast, I feel like I'm totally wasting my time. I force myself to fish slow, much like I force myself to fish finnesse. I'll do whatever it takes. Kind of like weight lifting... no pain, no gain Skeet, what are you talking about ? Senko's are great ! It gives the crowds something to do, while I'm going the other way I've yet to have ever thrown a Senko in my life. I might someday...... but everybody else will have to stop throwing them first Fish I love it! ;D

There are some good deals on that site right now. I got: 3 cranks 6 spinnerbaits 2 jigs 8 bags plastics 2 hook/tungsten weight packs $35.20 (just over the $35 free shipping threshold) plus tax = $38.46 Bait monkey wins.... ;D

Senkos and jigs for me. I know both are great baits and catch lots of fish, but they just don't float my boat. And a (Dis)Honorable mention - like J Francho - I'm not a big fan of Carolina rigs either...

It works. Rig-em weedless and you can use them in open water or drag them through the junk. Pop, pop, swim a little, pop, sink a little, pop..................BAM.... :

Good idea for some - but I'm retired, on a fixed income, and I can fish everyday if I want...recycled baits for me...

I fish 5" grubs (a lot). The Gander Mountain brand have a good action on the tail, but the bodies are tough. I'll fish that GM grub on a 2/0 EWG and when the nose gets too torn up I'll cut it off, forming a "popper" face, then fish it on a 1/0 as a topwater. 10" worms - I'll fish these down to 7" or so - as the nose gets torn up, I'll trim the nose back and rehook. Eventually, it will tear in half and you're done. Ribbon-tail worms - when the worm is done, save the back part and use like a grub or as a jig or chatterbait trailer. Notecards - ever take notes while fishing? Since my hands are often wet, especially after handling a fish, you quickly water-log a notepad. I take our cardboard cereal boxes, cut them into pocket-size cards, and write on the inside surface - since they're stiff, you don't need a backing and it's a renewal resource (if you eat breakfast that is!). Light-duty lanyards - ever visit a casino and have a player's club card? They give you a coiled lanyard with the card. When I think of it, every time I go back to the casino I get another lanyard - good for keeping lighter things in place and prevents dropping them overboard or leaving them on the bank. I'm pretty frugal, I probably do other stuff too that I'm not thinking of right now... ;D

WOW - outstanding fish! What are you catching the bass on?

Now you're talkin' ! Chartreuse Baitfish and Sexy Ghost Minnow are my two primary RES colors.

I keep thinking I'll tackle drag improvement as a project and it would probably be fun...but I keep putting it off since I mostly don't have any drag issues with the gear I have and for the kind of fishing that I do. Although, one of my 25 year old spinning reels has a drag that needs serviced one of these days - it's sorta either on or off without much modulation... ;D Another good tip indeed! I know some of the folks on the board take this seriously enough to have the metal drag washers surface ground, then polished, and checked for parallel surfaces...I guess you can take this blueprinting pretty far if you want to!

The variety of the replies is just killing me. Get back bait monkey.... ;D

Sorry - I had to throw that pic in It's never fun to be skunked - that's for sure. Enjoy that soft water - you'll get 'em next time! And that was a nice photo you posted - you didn't get any fish - but you were on the water and enjoying nature - that's a lot of what it's about for me (after working in an office for many years!). I actually got in about an hour of fishing today - had the ice recede away from the bank a bit at one lake - water temp was 37 degrees - so, I mostly got some casting practice...but not any catching... ;D

Personally, I've never lost a fish due to a drag issue - and that's fish up to 37 pounds - and that's on mostly BPS reels. Many people like to tune-up or blueprint their reels, even Shimano owners. Really, you Shimano "brand-droids" should try to rein it in - there was no reason to introduce brand loyalty in this thead. Goose, Chill out. Apparently, my joking around is too serious for your liking. Nope - the antics of the Shimano posse are getting really old, and boring, and are one of the only bad things about this board. BTW - I own Shimano too - but I haven't had any of the koolaid I guess....

Personally, I've never lost a fish due to a drag issue - and that's fish up to 37 pounds - and that's on mostly BPS reels. Many people like to tune-up or blueprint their reels, even Shimano owners. Really, you Shimano "brand-droids" should try to rein it in - there was no reason to introduce brand loyalty in this thead.

I don't have enough experience with the Ultra-Soft yet to comment on abrasion resistance - just fished it a bit in-between freezes. I fished some regular 10lb Yo-Zuri on my deep cranking rod all last season and liked it. I bought the US based on recommendations of the folks on this board. I hope this line is good because I now have nearly 8 MILES of it. ;D BUT, at only $25 a spool, it's a cheap experiment and I know it will be at least as good, and probably much better, than the BPS Excel mono that is my standard line.

Sounds like a project I should tackle...instead of spending my time outside trying to catch fish in 37 degree water! Good tip - thanks.

WOW - great fish...and I bet a pretty good fight too!

Thanks for the report - I was hoping someone would give a first-hand report on the braking system. Like I said, I'm a BPS BC reel fan, and I admire them for the innovation in this reel. Hopefully, it will sell and that innovation will be rewarded. For a beginning BC reel user, this may be the way to go...and for an entry-class reel, the graphite frame is not that much of a negative. It is a bit ugly though... :

I'm still not sure that I'm convinced that there's that much difference in catch rates and line colors. I bought the mist-green Yo-Zuri as part of color coding: my nylon mono is clear, all my Yo-Zuri is green ...

I got my spool of 10lb about 3 weeks ago and fished it on the few days that we had open water between lake freezes. I had the same good impressions as piscicidal so I placed a second order for 6lb. So, I guess I'm set for baitcasting and spinning for 2011,........and 2012,.........and 2013...........

What could be worse... :

Great fish! I've only personally seen one snook caught - I was fishing with my dad in a fresh-water canal (that ran into Biscayne Bay) in the Miami area when he got at 18lb snook - that fish was about 8 miles from the bay and my Dad sure was surprised and delighted! Well, I'm fixin' to hop in the car and drive around my 11 lakes to see if I got any soft water in any of them today... ;D

Fishing a golf course pond near a community pool. wow....i think im moving to Florida lol Don't come , we have too many people here already....J/K California has some great fishing. Unfortunately - that's a true statement... :'( (see my post #12)...

I've been in my canoe when all of a sudden I'd be in a school of 15-20 forty-pound plus grass carp - I'd get startled when they'd flush all of a sudden, then for some reason the theme from Jaws would play through my mind....da-dun, da-dun, da-da, da-da, da-da....... ;D

Another great fish - just super colors...

You can find them with a search on "Pro Qualifier" as well. Anyone considering a PQ should give these a look for sure - good price right now and 1.5 oz lighter than the regular PQ. Only downside is the one gear ratio - but it's a versatile ratio.