crank

busted! at least give me credit for the imagery. Looking forward to getting back out there with you and ripping some buzzbaits!

...so take advantage of whatever window in you get, and don't question it because it doesn't fit the season, the report, whatever. I've had great results this winter on the bottom with jigs and hogs...but when my fishing buddy's spinner gets pounded, first cast, it's probably a good idea to give it shot. I caught my best fish (7 10) on the observation that they wanted to react that evening, rather than sticking with the bottom feeding game that had been producing. The lesson for me was read the fish first, and don't question it based on history, season, report, etc...or I might miss a good window of activity. Good luck!

you bet...took my line (12 mono) across the bricked-in drain she was tucked behind, and had to snake her through some timber too. I'd already determined I was going in, phone and all, to get her if she got hung in the sticks! Thanks for all the congrats! It's double digit time!

My daughter fishes with me pretty regularly. In fact, she got me back into it after many years...pestered me regularly "can we go fishing!"...One day it dawned on me how much I loved it as a kid, and realized it would be a blast to fish with her...and it has been. We both just caught our biggest fish together last night...Can't think of a better way to spend the time.

My daughter pulled one on an inline spinner, while I was fishing a hog on the bottom. switched over to a spinnerbait. Glad I did. She grabbed it almost right when it hit the water. Great fight, monstrous head shakes. 7 lbs. 10 oz. of fun...woo!

I like to look at my nice collection of Stanley minnow-heads, and Terminators. However, my .50 cent Wal-mart clearance collection I bought start the SB box have been the most productive for me, with the mixed colors (yellow/red, green/yellow) being the most productive of those...go figure.

if you moved him 20 feet, it sounds like he may have shook it off. was there any slack during the fight? braid, good quality hooks and a good backbone on a rod should help with hooksets I lost him at a transition point where I realized he was coming back at me from the direction he'd been pulling. So yeah, didn't have as much pressure on him. Rod was probably good (St Croix Premier 7MF) but 12 pound mono didn't help. We were sight seeing the wall/cliff that Jacob mentioned with the kids, and just happened to see some big balls and arcs on the graph so started jigging on them with whatever was handy. I would think braid on a clear lake like Jocassee would scare them off. Fluoro leader?

+1 on the Jitterbug. The $1.50 Strike King Bitsy Bug. Deep, shallow, bright, overcast, heavy cover, open water, bounce it, swim it, dead stick it, tipped w/ a craw or not, big fish, small fish, SMB, LMB, spots...doesn't matter. Sometimes I wonder what all my other lures are for.

Recycling to the max... Start with oldest daughter's book satchel that is not "cool" enough anymore to hold it all.Then raided the pile of shaving kit bags I get for Xmas/B-days. Currently those bags are organized as: 1) Worms/sticks 2) Tubes 3) Creature/Hog/Lizard 4) Flukes go in the front of the satchel for quick access. Craws, chunks, and Beavs, stay in a 3700 box dedicated to the jig game, in my big tackle bag...Then there's the BPS shopping bag full of "duplicates" I can't seem to stop buying when they're on clearance. That one stays hidden, or I'm in trouble...

on a recent BassPros episode, they said that the spot can be fished slower than other rattlebaits because its slower fall. ...which seems to translate to it sailing pretty badly on me, especially with longer casts. Anyone else?

Nothing compared to those northern fish, but have to represent GA. Smallies! We don't have many left. Caught at Lake Blue Ridge. This was my first, and only last year. 2lb. 13. oz...

I managed to beat the typical problem..spooky fish in gin-clear water. Lost two solid fish due to bad hook sets. One grabbed a swarming hornet at SIXTY FEET and jumped off 20 feet later. The other was up shallow, you know...like 35 feet. I got to see the three pound-ish LMB before he spit it at the surface and gave me a tail wave on the way back down. How does one get a good hook set on light line into a fish that deep!?

I'm still rooting around for an inexpensive drop shot rod that will only get occasional use but still be sensitive enough to make it worth dedicating to the technique? The length and action option here seems to "lean" in that direction, no? Any opinions on President rods specific to DS or in general?

I bought a St. Croix casting rod off a guy on Craigs List and he threw in a Pinnacle Plus for another $10. I didn't immediately have a reel for it, so I figured it would get me through until I could replace it. I've since moved it to my spider jig rod, but it's still getting use and catching fish. In fact, there are more expensive reels I would replace, before I got rid of this one. It's no Curado, but based on the build and feel of this reel, seems like, $ for $, you're getting more for your money down in the "value" range with Pinnacle. I'd be willing to try other reels based on the performance of my $10 "find." Thanks for a decent, inexpensive little reel!