Goose52

I registered on this board one year ago today. I haven't posted as much as many folks do, just tried to absorb the posts and articles. The 2010 fishing season was my first full season of fishing since I was a teenager. Work and life events prevented anything other than just occasional fishing in fresh and salt water from the late 1960s until this year. I retired in 2009 and am now able to fish nearly every day. My thanks to Glen, the Mods, article authors, and to the board members for the information that I have tried to absorb and translate to practical use. My knowledge of things like analysis of structure and cover, then bait selection and utilization, and all of the other technical details of bass angling I mostly attribute to this board. The results? I set a goal of catching 1,000 bass this year. As of today, I've caught 1049 largemouth bass this season (plus another 105 miscellaneous fish like trout, crappie, brim, perch, etc.). Now, that 1049 bass number includes everything from 6" dinks on up to a 4.73lb LMB and includes about 75 bass over 2 pounds. There are not a lot of large bass in my local lakes and the 4.73 fish was as big as anything caught in the local bass club's tournaments this year. So, not bad results for the year. Last year, I lucked onto a 7.75lb LMB (my PB), so there are some bigger fish in the lakes. A future goal is to beat that 7.75lb number. Although not a bass, my biggest angling success of the year was landing a 37.1 pound grass carp on a 7'm BC rod w/10lb test line - a great 35 minute fish fight (I already reported that catch in a post in the Other Species forum.) Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for all the knowledge sharing and camaraderie that we have on this board. We are all fortunate that so many experienced anglers choose to share their knowledge in this fine venue. Now, if folks would just quit bashing my use of BPS reels and rods, life would be good! (I did go over to the dark side and bought a couple of Loomis GLX rods this year...but I'm still using my trusty BPS PQs and Carbonlite BC reels!) ;D I can't wait for next season !

I registered on this board one year ago today. I haven't posted as much as many folks do, just tried to absorb the posts and articles. The 2010 fishing season was my first full season of fishing since I was a teenager. Work and life events prevented anything other than just occasional fishing in fresh and salt water from the late 1960s until this year. I retired in 2009 and am now able to fish nearly every day. My thanks to Glen, the Mods, article authors, and to the board members for the information that I have tried to absorb and translate to practical use. My knowledge of things like analysis of structure and cover, then bait selection and utilization, and all of the other technical details of bass angling I mostly attribute to this board. The results? I set a goal of catching 1,000 bass this year. As of today, I've caught 1049 largemouth bass this season (plus another 105 miscellaneous fish like trout, crappie, brim, perch, etc.). Now, that 1049 bass number includes everything from 6" dinks on up to a 4.73lb LMB and includes about 75 bass over 2 pounds. There are not a lot of large bass in my local lakes and the 4.73 fish was as big as anything caught in the local bass club's tournaments this year. So, not bad results for the year. Last year, I lucked onto a 7.75lb LMB (my PB), so there are some bigger fish in the lakes. A future goal is to beat that 7.75lb number. Although not a bass, my biggest angling success of the year was landing a 37.1 pound grass carp on a 7'm BC rod w/10lb test line - a great 35 minute fish fight (I already reported that catch in a post in the Other Species forum.) Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for all the knowledge sharing and camaraderie that we have on this board. We are all fortunate that so many experienced anglers choose to share their knowledge in this fine venue. Now, if folks would just quit bashing my use of BPS reels and rods, life would be good! (I did go over to the dark side and bought a couple of Loomis GLX rods this year...but I'm still using my trusty BPS PQs and Carbonlite BC reels!) ;D I can't wait for next season !

I cleaned up my canoe and other "on-the-water" equipment and stored it for the winter last week so no more boating for me this year. However, water temps are still around 50 here on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee so I'm still catching some bass from the bank. I fish nearly every day so depression won't set in until I get skunked 4 or 5 days in a row. I was skunked yesterday, but got two bass today !

I cleaned up my canoe and other "on-the-water" equipment and stored it for the winter last week so no more boating for me this year. However, water temps are still around 50 here on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee so I'm still catching some bass from the bank. I fish nearly every day so depression won't set in until I get skunked 4 or 5 days in a row. I was skunked yesterday, but got two bass today !

I cleaned up my canoe and other "on-the-water" equipment and stored it for the winter last week so no more boating for me this year. However, water temps are still around 50 here on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee so I'm still catching some bass from the bank. I fish nearly every day so depression won't set in until I get skunked 4 or 5 days in a row. I was skunked yesterday, but got two bass today !

A can of worms for sure. Riparian law differs by state and that makes it just that more complex. One factor that is often part of the equation is whether the waterway is "navigable." Of course, the definition of navigable is also probably different in each state. However, if there is navigable public water going into, AND out of, a lake, that would make it much more clear. In your case, that doesn't seem to be the case. As mentioned above, contacting your state fish and game agency might give you a pretty good answer.

A can of worms for sure. Riparian law differs by state and that makes it just that more complex. One factor that is often part of the equation is whether the waterway is "navigable." Of course, the definition of navigable is also probably different in each state. However, if there is navigable public water going into, AND out of, a lake, that would make it much more clear. In your case, that doesn't seem to be the case. As mentioned above, contacting your state fish and game agency might give you a pretty good answer.

A can of worms for sure. Riparian law differs by state and that makes it just that more complex. One factor that is often part of the equation is whether the waterway is "navigable." Of course, the definition of navigable is also probably different in each state. However, if there is navigable public water going into, AND out of, a lake, that would make it much more clear. In your case, that doesn't seem to be the case. As mentioned above, contacting your state fish and game agency might give you a pretty good answer.

You bet - good luck with your purchasing decision. I just got home from some evening fishing and was wearing the UA liners in 39 degree temps - no problem...but they were dry and there was no wind.... :

Now that's a bargain for sure! I got another 15" bass today on a WalMart spinnerbait 8-)

How about that! I have 6 PQs - two 7.1s, two 6.4s, and a 5.2 and 4.7 and I never noticed that on the 5.2 and 4.7. Good to know. When I get a new reel in, I have line on it and it's on the water in about 30 minutes so I flat missed that difference in the spools. Now I know why I got as much 17lb line on my 5.2 as I did. Have you checked to see if the spools interchange? This would give you an increased line capacity option on the 6.4 and 7.1 reels...

Wow - a 5 pounder on topwater - that must have been a rush. For everyone that has had problems with buzzbaits, you might try downsizing the bait. We don't have a lot of real big bass in our lakes here and I never had any luck with the larger spinnerbaits. I went with a 1/8oz (book weight - actual weight is 1/3oz) Strike King "Mini-ProBuzz" bait and nabbed 31 fish (largest 3 pounds) on them this season and that was just in the late summer and fall. I'll be fishing them more often next season. YMMV...

My UA glove liners have never been completely soaked (like dripping wet), but they have gotten damp from line spray soaking through. They still provide some level of protection, but it's obviously reduced from what it would be if they're dry. My opinion is still that they're 40degree gloves, but when temps are in the 30s, you need something over them. For anyone interested, I wore the Seirus gloves yesterday - temps went down to 35degrees. They do seem more "weather resistant" than the UA glove liners, but I haven't worn them enough yet to determine if they would eventually get any soak-through from line spray. Regarding warmth, starting with warm fingers, I was good for about 45 minutes or so at the mid-30 temps, but then was getting some pretty good stinging in my fingers. One big plus of the Seirus gloves is the long cuff that will stay under your jacket sleeves - the UA liners have short cuffs and you sometimes have some bare skin showing if your jacket sleeve rides up. So, for me, the Seirus gloves do appear to be superior to the UA liners in several ways, BUT, they are still NOT 30 degree gloves. However, the advantage of both the UA liners, and the Seirus glove, is that you have reasonable dexterity and can operate both spinning and BC reels reasonably well. Another thing on the Seirus gloves - the reinforcing pad on the index finger of my right hand interfered with picking up the line of a spinning reel at the end of the cast - I cut the stitches and removed it. For now, I still have the reinforcing pad on the thumb and can still feather a BC reel...but I will probably end up removing the thumb pad as well to have better feel.

Hmmm - $1 bait (plus a new skirt) bags a 6.13 fish - sounds pretty cost effective to me... 8-)

Yep - mine too...

The Black Friday version of the bait monkey only got me for $59 at TW - mostly crankbaits to replace what I've lost in the fall. Otherwise...I...can...resist................ ;D

On Carrington's "real" statement, I think he just meant that the WalMart baits don't have the level of detailing that the higher-end baits have - muli-colored high-quality skirts, detailed heads, better hardware, etc. as shown below. I'm sure some of that detail and quality translates to some percentage of increased fish catch...but some of it is probably to increase the "catch" of the angler's dollars ... ;D I know one thing, I don't fish those bluegill-pattern spinnerbaits in the photo in risky water very often - they're $7 baits - I don't want to lose them...hence the use of the WalMart baits :

Of course they use cheap parts - they're only a dollar! They're not $4 to $7 (or more) that you pay for mainstream spinnerbaits. The question is, are people catching fish on them...

Love it !

WalMart calls them "Promo" baits and probably has them made for them. They also have buzzbaits at the same price. They have several configurations of the spinnerbaits - a single big honking Colorado blade, a willow and small Colorado, and I think a single large willow. The photo shows several of them. Note that there is no packaging - they are just hung on pegs in the bait section of the fishing aisle.

Funny thing is that I bought these to fish deep (and have lost one on deep rock already) but all these fish have hit in less than 3 feet of water - and the water here is extremely clear so they had a good look at the bait....

With water temps getting colder, I grabbed some of the $1 Walmart spinnerbaits the other day to use deep and slow - if I hung one up on a rock ledge or whatever - it wouldn't bother me as much as losing one of my premium spinnerbaits. Dang, I'm catching fish on these things. Last week, I got an 18", 2.87lb LMB on one, then today I got a 15" and a 14" LMB, and lost another fish that was about the same size. I've only fished them a few times and they've produced some quality fish. Considering that the bite has slowed WAY down here, I'm pretty tickled about these things (I just love value as evidenced by performance vs. cost!). Anybody else use these - or will admit to using them ... ;D

Interesting stuff. Google Doyo and you can get lots of hits. Follow some of them and you will see their involvement in fishing equipment and U.S. customers like Shakespeare and "Laker Fishing Tackle." Laker is owned by Eagle Claw (aka Wright & McGill Co.) and this statement was on an Eagle Claw web page: "Laker Fishing Tackle is based in Camdenton, MO and specializes in importing a wide variety of products including rods, reels, tackle accessories and many products for private label programs with major retailers throughout the United States." Don't know whether the private label programs that they're referring to includes BPS but it's an interesting factoid. Another link will take you to a U.S. patent held by Doyo on the sideplate release pin design used on the BPS PQ and Carbonlite (and others probably). Also interesting. Just amazing what shows up on a Google search - including this thread which Google has already found ... ;D

I think that's a major point. And as Raul and others said above, many of us have baits that we just haven't fished very much (or at all). They may very well work, but we just don't have the confidence in them, and we have our confidence baits that we know usually work. With some folks having limited time on the water, many just don't want to experiment and try/learn new baits. For me, I am retired and fish every day...and it still seems like I don't have a chance to try all the baits that I have. I have had luck with many of the baits that others have mentioned above - jitterbugs, tiny torpedos, buzzbaits, baby bass patterns, etc. BUT, I haven't given jigs a chance and probably don't have the skill to use them well. With the colder water temps in my lakes, I've been fishing jigs a little bit the past few weeks, and have had a few taps, but no fish... :-?

Unfortunately, the last day of that price was November 13th... :-/ The PQ is back to the regular $99.99 price but it will probably be on sale again at some point in the future...