Reaction_Strike

I make my own jigs, spinnerbaits (including inline), and have started tinkering w/ crankbaits.

It's stuff like this that makes me glad I stumbled across this site! I've made a few post about my "crankbait woes" and how I can never seem to hook one when using them. This goes a long way towards explaining why! I figured using a crankbait would be like using my inline spinnerbaits. I wasn't waiting for a monster strike, but I figured I'd be able to feel it. Perhaps I am getting strikes, but just don't know it. Guess it's time I finally got a better rod too. I hear G. Loomis makes some nice ones. ;D A couple questions: 1) Chris said: "The wider the wobble, the more resistance the bait has and the less depth the bait can go". Does this mean that wide wobble baits don't reach their advertised depth at all, or that it just takes them longer to get there? 2) Raul said: "You lose 1 ft for every lb you increase line diameter". So...if I'm using 8 lb test on a bait designed for 10-12, it will run 2-4 ft deeper?

Look up Do-It molds. They have everything you need. 8)

Okay, I don't get it. I've never hired a guide, so bear with me here, because I guess I don't understand the whole concept. You're basically hiring someone to take you out on the water (in his boat I assume?) and locate fishing hotspots. This person is probably a local, or at least knows the location well. Not only is this person supposed to know where the fish are, but has some working knowledge of what kind of baits would be successful in said location. So....how is the guide supposed to know where the fish are unless he goes fishing? I'm sure he has several locations that any guide with fishing knowledge would have, and a "home field" advantage as well. But how is he going to know what works at what doesn't unless he's out there doing it too? Personally, I would WANT him to be fishing. I would hope everyone catches fish, but if either my party or myself isn't catching anything, and he is...that he'd be able to tell us what's working. To answer the original question, I would hope the guy would ask if we minded if he fished along with us. Just seems like the professional and courteous thing to do.

We've all had days like this. :-/ There are probably hundreds of different baits you could've used, and still not had any luck. Sometimes, they just aren't biting.

Usually 3-5 days a week. We're a fishing family...the wife and 3 kids (ages 8, 6, and soon to be 4) all like to fish. Generally we'll go from about 6-7:30pm or so during the week and then off and on over the weekend.

Things are getting pretty chilly here in Ohio...it's definitely October weather now. I had a lot of success today. Caught 4 bass, all decent fish, including a 5 pounder. I was using a Zoom tube (watermelon) that hooked 3 of them and caught the last (and biggest) on a FLW 5/16 finesse jig w/ rattle, in black/chartruese w/ a chartruese grub trailer.

Silicone is better in more ways than I can even list. I make my own jigs on occassion, and I tried mixing rubber and silicone once...it's junk.

I agree with mgton. I'd definitely take it up with the guy personally before reporting it.

Sounds kinda...fishy...to me. Like an old wive's tale or something.

I like the way these guys think! RW, you handle the squares. Make mine a Fuente Fuente Opus X.

Now that's dedication! The boat looks sweet, Glenn...lots of bling-bling. 8)

What he said! My wife outfishes me 5 days out of 7...and she doesn't go the other 2.

I checked your profile and noticed you live in PA...so I dug up some info on PA Fishing Regulations. Line 1 reads: - Boats have the right of way over fishing from boat launch areas or boat docks. It is unlawful for persons fishing from a boat launch area or boat dock to permit their fishing activity to interfere with boat traffic into and out of the boat launch area or boat dock. There's no mention of specific distance, though this might not be a reliable source. So...unless the lake you're referring to has some special regulations, I'd say that 80 yards is plenty of distance from the dock to be fishing. I'll have to agree with the others. This guy either had a bad day, or is just one of those people who enjoys being a jerk.

Lure Building: - Barlow's Tackle - Custom Tackle - Do-It Molds - Lure Making.com - Mudhole Custom Tackle - Shoff Tackle - Stamina Components - Tackle Underground Rod Building: - Custom Rod Builder's Guild - Rod Building.org That should be enough to keep ya busy for awhile! 8)

I bank fish most of the time and don't use a net. I've considered buying one, but as someone else said...I have enough to lug around already.

I read that thread LBH, and I can honestly say that I had never considered buying a jonboat until after I saw what you had done! Perhaps I should clarify a bit...by building it myself, I mean actually putting it together from scratch, out of wood.

I've been considering building my own jonboat. There are several plans available on the internet, and it seems to be much cheaper than buying one. Has anyone built one of these before? How did it hold up?

My wife and I fish a 3-4 acre pond behind my parent's house quite often and we've pulled some decent sized bass, considering the pond's only about 3 years old. At first, we didn't have a tape or scale...which of course is when some of the biggest ones were caught. But since we've started measuring, the largest to date was about 4 lbs and 21.5 inches. My dad has caught some big ones too, in the 6 lb range. Next year there should be some really nice bass fishing at this little water hole!

According to dictionary.com: Lake n. 1. A large inland body of fresh water or salt water. 2. A scenic pond, as in a park. Pond n. A still body of water smaller than a lake. Jeff Foxworthy might say: If someone can stand on the bank and see the entire body of water...you might be a pond.

Very informative post, Raul. I've been doing a lot of research of my own the past few weeks on this very subject. I have a couple of my own contributions I'd like to make to this thread: It's hard, even through science, to say for certain how a bass might see or taste or smell. Often scientific data is compared to that of other species as a reference point. For example: Let's say a bass has X number of taste buds. A pike may have X + 300 taste buds. It can then be argued that pike have a more acute sense of taste than bass. This may or may not be true. The taste buds of a bass could be 500 times more sensitive, but we may never know that for sure. 1. - Eyesight As Raul mentioned, an important thing to remember is the Tapetum lucidum, which amplifies incoming light. It is a layer of guanine crystals which glow at night, and allow the eye to receive roughly 5 times more light than the human eye. A bass' eyes are perfectly sperical, which enables them to see underwater because it has a higher refractive index to help them focus. Contrary to popular belief, bass are not repelled by bright light. The eye is able to adjust, controlling the amount of incoming light just as the human eye does. Studies have shown that bass have a greater field of vision than humans do, and can see in all directions except directly behind or below. Bass see differently than we do, but that is largely due to the water and water clarity, not physical differences in the eye itself. They do see a wide array of colors, and see them well...especially vivid colors. To get an idea of what a bass actually sees, try to imagine wearing green (or blue or red) tinted sunglasses, similar to the kind hunters and shooters wear. Blue water filters out red, so red lures become almost black and white when in blue water. Red is actually the first color filtered out by any water color. 2. - Hearing and Touch I'll lump these two senses together since they're so closely related. I won't get into specifics about the ear itself because it's really not that important. As sound travels through the air, it creates waves. In water, this effect is greatly magnified and bass have the ability to feel these waves as well as actually hear them. It is believed that bass detect distant sounds more so with their inner ear and close proximity sound with the lateral line. Initial underwater contact between a bass and its prey is not usually by sight or smell, but through sound waves. Studies have shown that bass hear better in the low frequency range (below 40 Hz to about 2500 Hz). They have also shown that bass can detect differences in sound intensity, frequency, and patterns. Ever since we were kids we were told to be quiet, or we'd scare the fish. Sound does not travel well from air through water, but it does happen. More importantly, sound travels well if an object is in the water. If you're holding your rod, line in water and talking...your voice creates vibrations that tranfer into the water. 3. - Taste and Smell This is where I'm going to disagree with Raul a little bit. My research shows that bass have a highly developed sense of taste. They have taste buds on their lips, tongue, and all over their mouths. Other fish species such as walleye have taste buds on their entire face. Catfish have them all over their bodies, and particularly their barbels (wiskers) which they drag on the lake's bottom to locate food. Scent is detected through specialized tissue in the nostrils. The number of these tissues seems to be directly related to how sensitive a species sense of smell is. In catfish, these number around 140. Largemouth bass have about 8-13. While a bass' sense of taste and smell may not be as sensitive as other species, why not use whatever you can to change the odds in your favor? Some studies have shown that bass may be attracted to human scent and taste because of the amino acids that are present.

Couldn't have said it better myself! This is what I use: Gerber Multi-Plier 400 (Compact Fisherman) It's a great multi purpose tool and it should come with a sheath that you can keep handy on your belt. It's a great tool to have.

Well then...guess nothing else needs to be said after that! Nicely done, Raul!

I'd be interested in some feedback on this question in particular as well! ;D