basscrusher

OK, I've been using braid extensively for almost a decade, and I've always used mono backing. I've known about the tape trick, but I've never seen anyone actually do it, so here's what I just realized I really don't know...when you spool braid using tape, are you taping over the spool and then tying off over top of the tape, or are you taping the braid down to the spool and then winding on? I always assumed the latter, but a recent description got me to wondering.

anyone have reviews of the River Runner or, even better, the Smallmouth series of Fenwick's Elite Tech rods? I am esp. eyeing the smallmouth rod in 6'9" Medium Light. How's it compare to, say, an avid in sensitivity and weight? And are those grips as cool and comfy as they look?

Thanks for all the input. after doing more research, it appears that the rod is the same blank as the Jeff Kriet squirrel Tail rod, but with Bucoo grips. Tackletour reviewed the Kriet rod here: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfalconsquirreltail.html seems like a great deal for $99, but it wasn't really what I was looking for. The review says the ratings are misleading, not really a light line/lure rod, even though the ratings indicate such. I was looking more for a ML range rod to throw really light baits (3" senkos, 1/16 oz shaky heads, etc) to big smallmouth in a very small stream. I already have a ML st Croix LTB rod (more like a medium of other brands), and the light powered Bucoo to cover most of my smallie needs, but wanted something in between. This doesn't appear to be that rod, but a hard deal to pass up nonetheless. Now, the Fenwick Elite Tech smallmouth series in 6'9" ML has my attention, as well as the new Shimano Crucial in 6'8" and ML. If anyone has input on the Fenwich Elite Tech smallmouth (or even river runner series) I'm all ears.

The closest trout waters I can think of would be out toward Front Royal, unless you count Accotink Creek in Fairfax. Not exactly the bucolic trout experience there, however.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with the Clark Wendlandt series of Falcon Bucoo rods? They seem to have better graphite than the regular Bucoo rods. In particular I am intrigued by the grub/Worm spinning rod (7' medium, fast action). This rod is rated medium but has the specs of what I'd consider a ML rod (1/16 oz lure rating for example). I have a regular Bucoo in the 6' light model as a perch/stream smallie rod and really like it. One of my few non-St Croix or Cumara rods that I actually use.

Got it. That's what I figured. Only time I went there I followed bad advice and drove thru the camp, which led me to the trail that runs by a pond. Not what I was looking for. Thanks for the corrected info.

WHich trail at Hemlock is best for reaching the water? I went there once and took the wrong trail. Then I got annoyed at some weirdo eyeballing me and left. Never fished the place even though I heard there are some decent smallies.

Does Shimano even sponsor touring pros? The only guys I've ever seen sponsored by Shimano were guys with TV shows (Dave Mercer, Bob Izumi, Jimmy Houston back in the day, etc). I know many pros use Shimano, but it seems like they just use them w/o the sponsorship.

I fish until the water gets hard. Throughout the winter, when the bass bite is slow, I always bring gear to fish for perch, stripers, or pickerel depending on the body of water. I'm lucky to live close to the Potomac river, which has great winter perch fishing.

I don't know which ST Croix rods the others are referring to, but I have the 6'8" M/XF in the Legend Elite and it is by far the most powerful bass spinning rod I've ever handled. It is as powerful as most of the MH baitcast rods on the market, with the exception of other St Croixs and some Loomis models (IMX and above only). And I've handled most brands out there (i worked in a very large sporting goods store for 4 years). The Cumaras are fine rods (I have 2) but the St CRoix is plently powerful, at least in the Legend Elite series, which runs stiff due to the high modulus graphite. Texas rigging with light weights that are hard to throw with casting equipment is all I do with my M/XF St Croix. Its just too beefy for real finesse tactics. For example, 5" TX rigged senkos or 6-8" lizards with 1/16 or 1/8 oz weights shine on this rod. I've caught too many 5+ pound bass to count on this rod, and it was plenty powerful.

If a 14 incher is a big fish...sounds like you are fishing something like my favorite smallmouth stream. You could try something I use on O-ring wacky rigged Senkos...size 4 Gamakatsu Octopus circle hooks. I also use the Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot hooks in sizes 1, 2 and 4, depending on the size of fish present. Many anglers use too big a hook in certain situations. 5/0 EWG hooks have their time and place...and so do the smaller finesse hooks.

This is one of my most successful techniques, so here's my two cents: Weight depends on depth. at night I tend to go heavy, since its not as important to have that lifelike light-weighted flutter. start with 3/8 oz and adjust from there. I tend to drag slowly and pause with occassional hard pulls to send out vibrations. Any color that is predominantly dark will work, so your black/chart tail will be fine. I peg in heavy cover, not a necessity in light to moderate cover. At some point, also try the Carolina rig at night. Great tactic, hardest part is getting used to casting it in the dark without backlashing.

I have to disagree with the others. The skitterpop does not have as aggressive a "cupping" in the mouth, making it more of a "finesse" popper. Because of this, it produces less resistance in the water and I think it walks rather well. Walking the popper might not always be the ticket, but you can certainly do it. I've caught fish doing this, particularly in saltwater. I like to do a hybrid retrieve of walking and popping the lure.

Quanjig, you and I fish alot of the same waters, so I feel your pain. as much as some people like to play the whole "it's rude but they have a right to fish there" card, we often forget something else...you have a right to be angry about it too! Granted, you probably aren't going to run anyone off your spots, and you'll probably just unnecessarily raise your blood pressure, but you have a good reason to be upset. Just because someone is legally entitled to fish your water doesn't mean they should do it. Many people often lose sight of this simple dichotomy.

There are many different styles and brands of shaky head jigs that are good and useful for different situations. If you're just getting started, keep it simple: try either the Strike King or Bite Me brand of round shaky head jigheads. Whatever brand you use, make sure the eye is angled (something like 60 degrees) and horizontal rather than vertical. This allows the bait to stand up better. Try a couple different weights to begin with -- I generally go with 1/8 oz in less than 10 ft of water, 3/16 oz for 10 to 20 ft, and 1/4 oz when fishing deeper than 20 ft. As for the baits, well...options are limited only by your own creativity. But again, start simple and expand from there. I'd suggest using the Zoom shaky head worm for a true finesse presentation, and when looking for a little bigger bite, move up to either the Mag Shaky Worm or the Trick Worm. Keep your colors basic to start -- some variation of watermelon or green pumpkin in clear water, junebug in stained water. Once you are outfitted, just go fishing and keep an open mind. The traditional method is a slow working of the bait with small, subtle shakes to make the worm's tail quiver. On some days, an aggressive shake will get more bites. Sometimes hopping the bait works best. Other times deadsticking rules, and there are even times when reeling fast then killing the bait will get strikes. Experiment with retrieves and actions until you get bites. But you WILL get bites with this setup.

This is a great question, and I've been thinking but I keep coming back to the same answer...for me, my most pivotal purchase was probably my first really high end rod. While I was in grad school I worked at a sporting goods/tackle store and I could get 60% off St Croix rods. Before working there, my best rod was a St Croix Premier. Once I worked at the store long enough I got 2 Legend Elite rods at the discounted rates. The sensitivity in those rods opened up new worlds for me. since I fish plastics about 75% of the time anyway, the effect of being able to feel bottom composition -- and tell the difference between cover and a bite -- has been immeasurable. I absolutely became a more successful angler with the better equipment. Sure, I caught lots of fish before the high end equipment...but how many did I miss because I couldn't feel those subtle bites? I still miss plenty of fish, but not because I couldn't feel the bite (usually). Runners-up: braided line, first Curado B(could not use a baitcaster until I got a quality one), Senkos.

they'll be as deep as possible. Alot of the natural lakes (and rivers) in FL aren't very deep compared to man-made lakes, so deep will be relative. In shallow bodies, look for thick, green vegetation (a sign of well oxygenated water).

your regular lures sound fine, but if you go to Florida, be prepared to fish in some thich grass like you've never seen before. Straight lures like senkos and trick worms will slither through that stuff a little easier than the jig, but of course there will be opportunities to throw whatever you like.

what bodies of water will you be fishing? I do not live near J'ville, but I fished several times there with my uncle while he was on a work project there several yrs ago. I fished the St. Johns river and Rodman res. with him, and did fairly well. Most of my fish at Rodman came on Zoom trick worms, although we did downsize to finesse worms one time as a cold front passed through. Any dark color seemd to work equally well, although Muscadine was the main color we used. Plastics were the story for me in the river as well, although my uncle was fond of throwing the DOA shrimp in places where bass and reds mingled. i would think Gulp shrimp would do even better, but our experiences were before they got popular. I'd also consider a frog bait, although I never used any down there (I left mine here in VA and my uncle has never been a frog guy -- I can't understand why.)

Yes, all hollow-belly swimbaits run pretty shallow, unless you have a really heavy keel-weighted hook for them. If you want swimbaits for deep, look toward the ones with weight molded in (think Storm Wildeye series) or go old-school and rig a swimming plastic on a really heavy jighead. I really like the action of the Yamamoto saltwater sassy shad-type bait rigged on a 1/2 oz kalin's swimbait jighead. The slower you reel, the deeper it'll run.

the Kinami flash is the exact same as a Senko. Same formula/specs used in making it.

Everyone knows the best lure during the shad run is a bare #4 treble hook with split shot added just above for casting weight. It's called the trash snagger! ;D

These all qualify as real confidence baits for me, depending on conditions...5 options, all by ZOOM: G-tail ringer Shakey Tail U-Tail 6" Dead Ringer 8" Dead Ringer Junebug and Watermelon Red are the only colors I really need, but they come in quite the array...

I don't have the opportunity to fish for white bass really, but I used to know a guy who did, and he said they loved a small floating rapala more than anything. problem was, they were almost 30 feet deep where he fished. So he Carolina rigged the small crankbait to get it down to them and slayed 'em.

flooded ponds with muddy water are prime for dark colored chatterbaits. One of my best days came in nasty weather with 6 bass all between 3 and 5 lbs in 15 minutes under aforementioned conditions with said lure.