Goose52

Great fish indeed! Unfortunately, no stripers in my lakes... :

Thanks! 9 of the 11 lakes that I fish have iced over twice so far this winter - then melted and opened back up. I expect that they will ice-over again at least once more, perhaps twice, before the winter is over. So, I do get some "windows-of-opportunity" in-between the ice-overs. Thanks RW! I know folks are catching bigger fish this time of year, but a 20" fish is a NICE fish in my lakes any time of year and it was especially satisfying to get this fish on New Years day, and fishing from the bank at that. Oh - and that's the MBR842C in the photo - earning it's keep right off the bat ... ;D

Thanks! At the beginning of last season, I caught my first fish of the year on March 8th so it looks like I have a good head-start on the 2011 season...

A popular bait indeed ! 8-)

Me too - the fanny pack I showed above is always in the trunk of the car, along with a 5-pc pack rod and a spinning reel - you never know when you might be driving around and see some good-looking water! The fanny pack is also used for regular outings with other rods as well but it's always ready in the trunk.

Thanks! One thing for sure - I need to get a better camera to record my catch ! ;D ;D

WOW - that is a primo fish! I'm always surprised when deer travel across lakes to "get to the other side" ... especially in cold water - brrrrrrr !

Yup - nowadays, 9.45 ounces is just a bit portly for a standard spool (not wide-spool) low-profile BC reel...

Will do ! Outstanding ! 8-)

Thanks! It was a good start for me...but I think I used up all my fishing luck for a while as I fished for 3 hours today and was skunked... :-? Have you had any ice on your water down there?

I'm not sure it's a "huge" difference...but there certainly is a noticeable difference. I have an "L" and an "ML" spinning rod but they are not directly comparable. The light power is a 5.5' rod, the medium-light power rod is a 7'. Given that big length difference, they "fish" quite a bit differently. The L 5.5' rod has a lure rating of 1/16 to 1/4 - the ML 7' has a rating of 1/16 to 3/8. You can get L and ML rods in the same length, but they will have different line and lure ratings. As to which one to get, I guess it depends on the weight of the baits that you expect to use, and the type of water you fish. I'll say this, in open water, I caught a 33" (18-20lb or so) catfish on that 5.5' light-power rod with 6lb test line and it was a blast! ;D ;D The photo below shows the difference in the diameter of the blank just above the grip - the L is on top, the ML on the bottom - quite a difference...

I have two 2009 model Rick Clunn reels, which are the same as the 2010 RCX - just blue instead of purple. They're a good quality reel, have one more bearing than the PQ (although I haven't checked out the schematic to see where that bearing is), hold a bit more line, and have a soft-touch kinda finish. However, the RCX is a bit heavier than the PQ at 9.45oz catalog weight vs. 8.8oz for the PQ. The PQ is lighter, holds a bit less line, but is available in a lot more ratios both RH and LH. The main reason I got the RC reel was that they were on closeout for $71.xx. Had they not been marked down so far, I would have probably just got a couple more PQs... :

Wow - GREAT fish ! I am a native-born Floridian but moved away in 1967. When I was getting ready to retire, I figured I'd move back to Florida for the fishing and to be near my family. Made a recon trip to FL in early 2006 and found out that the dang Yankees had ruined it since I left.......... ;D ;D

I admire innovation (and the risk that goes with it), but I wouldn't go with an Enigma yet - too new (plus, it's got that nasty graphite frame). Of the rest, since I'm a BPS reel user, I'd go with another CL or the PQ - the choice depends on the applications you plan for the reel and the gear ratio that you think you need. As always with BPS reels, if you can ........................... wait for the sale !

I guess I would have to say smooth over max drag. I do fish nearly exclusively in open water though so I don't have the problem of trying to move a fish quickly out of the junk into open water. Like RW, I would imagine that all my BC reels are set for 5lbs or lower. With open water, that's enough drag to bring in something like this on 10lb test line...

Thanks for the ideas guys...me and the bait monkey have to do some browsing on the TW web site....

Wow - great fish! Now - catch 2000 more !

Thanks! I got a fish to finish the year, and got a fish to start the year 8-) Not bad considering my lakes were frozen over just two days ago. The weather forecast is showing that I'll probably have soft water for at least a couple of weeks before they freeze again.

I was just looking at some craws like that - I think I'll start another TW shopping list...

Thanks Dwight. Right off he bat, I have a pretty good weight target to try to beat as the season spools back up!

Yes it does! Ugly ones too !! ;D

Marty - do you take that Large-size bag in your canoe? Yes I do. It's not a particularly large bag even though it's called size Large. It's the only tackle storage I use. I remove the shoulder straps when fishing in the canoe or my partner's bass boat and put the straps back on for shore fishing. Thanks Marty - Since it's "canoe friendly" I should get that bag I guess!

I was looking for an alternative to plastic worms or jigs for fishing deep and slow in cold water - something compact but would move some water. Looked through my plastics bin and found a bag of these Zoom Speed Craws that I picked up at WallyWorld a while back. Used them for the first time yesterday, t-rigged, and got a little 13" bass in 40 degree water. Today I got a very nice 20" 3.76lb bass in 45 degree water. So, I'm a happy camper. Does anyone else fish these t-rigged? Does anyone feel that there is another compact (3") craw or creature bait that works better?

Are dual brakes necessary - no. Are they nice to have - yes. You set your centrifugals for the weight of the bait. You have the magnetic for compensating for wind or fine-tuning the latter part of the cast. I also crank in more magnetic when my thumb starts going numb from the cold, when the arthritis starts to act up, and sometimes when I'm wearing gloves and lose some sensitivity. Thumbs can, with time, become educated...but they sometimes get a bit stupid under difficult conditions and that's when a DBS reel may allow you a little more leeway before it's backlash city... :

Naw - I only ended up with 1054 bass last year...so, I ONLY need 1053 more this year to tie last year... :D