BigEbass

I may be getting a curado 300E....looks like its gonna be a nice christmas for us man "woohoo" indeed ;D

Thanks sean, I am sure that costa's are worth it to many...if I had more dough I wouldnt mind as much paying - but if there is something that protects my eyes equally and are equally as comfortable and durable, then I will try it - hopefully at a lower cost.. those eye surrenders are like 40 bucks (35 on some sites) - you know if they are US made? I try to when possible buy something that is US made, but when the difference 150 dollars, I will break that principle.... Are they very comfortable for you? I hate when sunglasses hurt your ears only after 1-2 hours of use!! I hate that I cannot try them on though....not sure what to do about that....at this price though I may just take the plunge and try a pair..... Dont think I would buy oakley, I seem to never like the frames...but Im sure ive never tried them all....I am looking for something in the 40-90 dollar range anyway..

Ill forward you my address and you can just mail me a pair of one of these pairs - you got too man Thanks for the advice - going to look into them...

Okuma makes some good rods I hear right at 100 bucks for swimbaits, plus I think their warranty is very good.. My first and only swimbait rod at this point was the daiwa heartland swimbait rod - 70 bucks new. It can handle 1-5 oz's nicely so far...so it probably wont throw a much heavier bait, but it all depends on what you ar throwing. I have been tossing 6 hudds, triple trout, lunker punker, and an aceademy bluegill 4 inch swimbait - all of which cast fine with the daiwa heartland. This rod was initially suggested as a good starter rod from Bill Siemantel to me on his website...I paired it with a calcutta 400, and its working great.... Now if you are throwing much larger stuff, I cant help you there yet cause I have not delved into 5+ oz baits YET I would imagine (and this is guess only), that when you get into these heavier baits, it may pay to save and buy a higher quality rod to chunk those heavier mothers Good luck, let me know how you fair

oh man that is nasty Ill check it out thanks.

also, just found this link - kinda mad that mike didnt email me this link in the first place as I have been chatting with him about this techique via email - kidding mike - thanks man!! Here he confirms the importance of not using the slip bobber...I think I am gonna go with a more moderately priced long rod cause it appears for this appliciation it will be very good.....

So I got lasik 9/28/10 - it came highly recommended from many of you....can I jsut say - YOU ALL WERE SO DARN RIGHT!!!!!! My vision was 20/15 the day after.....and I now am free of glasses WOOOHOOO (at least til I need reading glasses, but I am now 27...). Anyway...I had a 50 dollar pair of magellan sunglasses from academy bought 2 years back - amber lenses - and those were quite comfortable on me and my eyes never felt strained....but on a recent trip to see the fam, they were lost in travel, and I am really good about not losing such things so I was ticked... Anyway, I am now in the market and that particular pair I cannot find anymore...... So many people have said get costas...but I am cheap and cannot quite find the gumption to blow 200-300 bucks on a pair.....especially when I was pleased with my previous 50 dollar pair....perhaps I hadnt tasted the forbidden fruit... I was hoping some folks have some other name brands that are high quality, COMFORTABLE, and moderately priced....I want a pair that is good for most conditions - I hear green tint amber lens are pretty good all around Any advice appreciated yall, take care.

hey thanks man! I didnt percieve it as bragging, its all good!! Yeah, I saw on jarret edwards outdoors just last week a 6 lber ish landed on like 4 lb test.....and I think they were using a 7 or 8 footer.... Here is where I am at and cannot fully decide what to do.... 1) if I choose to fish a fixed bobber rig and not a slip bobber rig - in which case I may want to tie on a leader 10 plus feet at times - in that case, the long rod is pretty necessary perhaps for easier casting. This rod would be farily specific for float n fly and I think I would go on the cheap for this rod - B n M for 50 bucks I saw today in academy I think would do the trick.... 2) alternatively, if I fish it with a slip bobber I could buy a 7-8 footer, but buy a better quality rod and this rod could be used for multiple light line purposes...f/f and other finess light line stuff.... The site suggested on here www.floatnfly.com makes a hard stance AGAINST using a slip bobber, but I still am unclear about why its so wrong to use....and I have talked to folks on other sites including the bbz.com and a couple others that DO use the slip bobber AND fixed - and they both catch....have actually picked up a few other really good ideas for f/f : - I think I will simply end up buying the 10 footer B n M for purposes of float n fly fishing....but I will still need to buy me a 7-8 footer for light lining other stuff.... At least this is how I understand my decision process at this point - overanalyzed you say

awesome hammer - I actually have a flippin stick - skeep reese rod - that would likely do the job very nicely for the punker - I know have heard the braid vs. mono for lunker punker go both ways - guess its a small detail either way - some have said that working the punker with the stretch of mono all day is a bit more tiring, but the stretch probably allows you to get the bait back and forth walking motion a bit better - I have been using mono without a major problem except on my calcutta 400 TE, i have to just reel too much and its a bit tiring, but even with that doable. How have you done with the 9 incher - do you target largemouth with it?

yeah, well the bass that I am going for as always with any of my fishing is to beat my PB constantly - this year I have became obsessed with this concept PB LM 7 lber, PB spot 3.5 lber - both caught this year - I hear that the float n fly will surprisingly hook up with some big fish....we will see, I just love trying new techniques

Have only been fishing for a bit over 3 years now....at first I focused on the texas rigged worm, but very soon, I mixed it up with spinner baits and a few crankbaits to cover the water column....interstingly, I dont know that I have a "confidence bait" to date really. My limited experience so far has proven to me that everything works....and sometimes nothing works - caught my first jerkbait fish recently this year - I knew shad were stacked up on this spot and bass were working them, and reading and TV has reinforced the brilliance of this bait, so when I tossed it I knew there was a very good chance of a hookup - and then, there was....also my elder more experienced neighbor was leading me so I never felt all that not confident that a given bait wouldnt work really.... And personally I just love trying new things, somehow once you catch your few first jerkbait fish, or lipless crankbait fish, or craw bait fish, or more recently, my first big swimbait fish (lunker punker) - it just feels really good....and my neighbor is now always saying how he is psyched cause we are always catching on something different and its fun - sometimes it can be tough, but I figure over time if you focus less on the importance of a given lure and focusing on presentation, depth, the spot, etc, then you may lead the pack ;D - but I am far from that :-/ - but hey, I am loving learning the big baits now - its a ball - Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

Have only been fishing for a bit over 3 years now....at first I focused on the texas rigged worm, but very soon, I mixed it up with spinner baits and a few crankbaits to cover the water column....interstingly, I dont know that I have a "confidence bait" to date really. My limited experience so far has proven to me that everything works....and sometimes nothing works - caught my first jerkbait fish recently this year - I knew shad were stacked up on this spot and bass were working them, and reading and TV has reinforced the brilliance of this bait, so when I tossed it I knew there was a very good chance of a hookup - and then, there was....also my elder more experienced neighbor was leading me so I never felt all that not confident that a given bait wouldnt work really.... And personally I just love trying new things, somehow once you catch your few first jerkbait fish, or lipless crankbait fish, or craw bait fish, or more recently, my first big swimbait fish (lunker punker) - it just feels really good....and my neighbor is now always saying how he is psyched cause we are always catching on something different and its fun - sometimes it can be tough, but I figure over time if you focus less on the importance of a given lure and focusing on presentation, depth, the spot, etc, then you may lead the pack ;D - but I am far from that :-/ - but hey, I am loving learning the big baits now - its a ball - Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

Have only been fishing for a bit over 3 years now....at first I focused on the texas rigged worm, but very soon, I mixed it up with spinner baits and a few crankbaits to cover the water column....interstingly, I dont know that I have a "confidence bait" to date really. My limited experience so far has proven to me that everything works....and sometimes nothing works - caught my first jerkbait fish recently this year - I knew shad were stacked up on this spot and bass were working them, and reading and TV has reinforced the brilliance of this bait, so when I tossed it I knew there was a very good chance of a hookup - and then, there was....also my elder more experienced neighbor was leading me so I never felt all that not confident that a given bait wouldnt work really.... And personally I just love trying new things, somehow once you catch your few first jerkbait fish, or lipless crankbait fish, or craw bait fish, or more recently, my first big swimbait fish (lunker punker) - it just feels really good....and my neighbor is now always saying how he is psyched cause we are always catching on something different and its fun - sometimes it can be tough, but I figure over time if you focus less on the importance of a given lure and focusing on presentation, depth, the spot, etc, then you may lead the pack ;D - but I am far from that :-/ - but hey, I am loving learning the big baits now - its a ball - Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

Honestly, I think with my original post, I was hoping I could use something like an 8 footer as a multipurpose rod, perhaps for shakey head, for little crank baits, etc....as well as float n fly - but as I read more about f/f - it seems that the 8 footer will limit your castability especially if using 10+ foot leader.....in other articles (floatnfly.com and others), there is mention of the importance of the longer rods for playing the "big" fish better - "big" to me, I dont know, but for 4 lb test, I would call a 2 + lb spot, or a 3.5 lb largemouth "big" - Im sure the 8 foot rod will work though, just perhaps it will be relegated to slip bobber f/f rig or shorter leaders with a swivel rig......and casting distance may suffer a bit......hmmm...I think what I may consider is a modestly priced 10 footer for f/f, but invest in a nice medium light 8 footer (like the schimano) - I had a really nice schimano rod - 6 footer medium light - 110 bucks, plus a sahara reel - lost it the very next day after purchase - that was a really nice rod/reel - I was soo ticked > > > Definately will invest in a high quality sensitive and strong rod for other finess techniques aforementioned (similar to the one I lost already).....for the reasons you meantioned earlier!

Plus would casting a 12-18 foot leader with an 8-9 foot rod be just really difficult? would have to go with the slip bobber if I used an 8 footer I think, and apparently there are many that feel that the slip bobber is NOT the way to fish the float n fly...although debatable I suppose...i have no idea....

do you fish float 'n' fly on the rods you mention? Sensitivity may not be a concern being that you are using a bobber to indicate the strikes? Backbone - my reading so far has indicated that 2-6 lb test is used for these rigs for best results - backbone would seem to be less of a concern in this regard - rather I would think that the longer the rod and evenly applying the load on the rod would be key? - I would not want to horse out any medium-big fish with 4 lb test on a long rod I would think...? That leaves the issue of weight and feel - likely I am sure the more expensive one is better in this regard...but is that enough for me to drop the dough for this application keep in mind these are all questions, not assertions!

nice article! I had saw triton mike's you tube video description of the float n fly rig and the bobber modification - ive already made three of these bobbers to detect the "lift bite" - very cool - hadnt thought of that... not so sure though why the three way swivel is really necessary - I read his rationale regarding easier retying in the case of breaking off - but that assumes you break off alot - is that a common occurence with float n fly - I suppose if it is, then I would favor the 3 way swivel - but I would think it would tangle more in casting and make it a bit more annoying to change target depth....either way, Im sure it isnt a huge difference... Ive read on a few sites mixed things about selection of rods - I have found a few rods that appear to be quality based on folks comments that are cheaper...wondering if 180 + dollars is just too much for this rod for the job it does...?? Whats the real diff between say a 50 dollar B&M or BPS 10 footer and 180 dollar all star as far as utility? or even 300 dollar G lumis

Also, any strong feelings on a good rod for big topwaters such as lunker punker to pair up with the curado 300 - or a different reel alltogether - just I have seen this reel recommended alot for this application.... I have a skeeter reese flipping stick that I figure can be used in the interim for this application....but probably there is a better rod for this purpose...

Ok, so I got a bit of money 400-500 bucks that I am going to blow on some stuff. I am going to buy a curado 300E for my big topwaters, but I plan on trying to learn some new "light line" techniques for this winter and early spring.... I had a couple months ago bought a nice schimano reel and rod 6 footer medium light (totaled about 180 bucks) - without going into detail - it is gon > > > I think though I want a better light line rod - a longer rod that can cast a float n fly type of setup nicely, but also be a good quality rod and fight the big fish nicely. I have started to try to spoon for bass (have only tried it once really so far just to see how it looks on my electronics - caught a catfish ) - I think my current rods I have will suffice for this tactic. However I am thinking about making a change to braid for these applications in large...?? I figure that braid with a floro leader will be better for verticle jigging a spoon etc, for float n fly Im not sure it will matter as there will be a strike indicator...but for spoons and ice jig I imagine that fire line or braid will be better. Ive never used braid before so I am looking for advise and any tips on what # test I should use? knots? leader? is mono a better leader to give a bit of shock absorption for example? color of braid? brand? casting with braid with either baitcaster or spinning reel, dos and donts? with such low stretch I suppose I will need to pay much more attention to proper drag setting to avoid breaking off on a hookset - any advice there? totally new to braid, so if you all know of good links to articles that would be great. Advice specific to my techniques of interest (including drop shot, wacky, or shaky head fishing with proper line selection). Best rod for float n fly - possibly this rod would be good for shaky head and drop shot and other light line applications?? and and a good reel for this setup. Any help or direction appreciated.

I am relatively new to fishing - 3 years - 2 years in my boat - only probably 20 days per year or less on the water (work sux) - put the 998 on my modest boat april this year, have only used it probably 8 or 9 times - for someone that is new to fishing and to a given body of water, I feel much more confident in finding targets as others have pointed out. It gives me more confidence that I am fishing productive water and I am slowly keying in on how to interpret the images and apply it to my fishing... I am still too new at this all, including with this technology, but I am confident that with each new trip to my local waters, I will gain more and more knowledge of fishing spots, structure, cover, contours, etc...and I feel that my learning curve will be that much shorter....but for a person that already knows alot about their lake and has more experience than me, they probably would kick my novice but with a row boat with no electronics But a wise man told me recently on another forum - that the best unit you could use on your boat is your head - that is probably the first underutilized technology when we go fishing, myself first and foremost ;D

Weather conditions only bother me to the extent that I am unable to fish - ie winds higher than say 30mph, too much for my spall boat - but I down frown upon wind too much - I agree with the other folk that it is a bit annoying when it changes direction frequently. The worst summer heat in aug-sep here in Alabama - killer heat and humidity - for me the heat and humidity I can stand, but the sun hitting you all day relentlessly is pretty tough - I have decided that this next summer I am gonna do two thinngs: 1) use an umbrella attached to my chair perhaps or 2) just go night fishing for bass and striper during that 1-2 months. I dont mind the cold weather as much down here - last winter it was a cold winter with temps frequently in the 30's for longer than usual stretches, and even some snow brrrrrrrr - I still will go fishing, and I still will prefer this to that scorching relentless sun as I can put on a slew of clothes, hand warmers, propane heater, to stay warm, but jeez that heat is tough at certain times really I get kinda psyched with a a decent stiff wind and rain - somehow my fishing always turns on in these conditions. Oh, but rain and near freezing, that is nearly intollerable for me I think - that may be the worst come to think of it - 41 degrees and raining - RETREAT

Weather conditions only bother me to the extent that I am unable to fish - ie winds higher than say 30mph, too much for my spall boat - but I down frown upon wind too much - I agree with the other folk that it is a bit annoying when it changes direction frequently. The worst summer heat in aug-sep here in Alabama - killer heat and humidity - for me the heat and humidity I can stand, but the sun hitting you all day relentlessly is pretty tough - I have decided that this next summer I am gonna do two thinngs: 1) use an umbrella attached to my chair perhaps or 2) just go night fishing for bass and striper during that 1-2 months. I dont mind the cold weather as much down here - last winter it was a cold winter with temps frequently in the 30's for longer than usual stretches, and even some snow brrrrrrrr - I still will go fishing, and I still will prefer this to that scorching relentless sun as I can put on a slew of clothes, hand warmers, propane heater, to stay warm, but jeez that heat is tough at certain times really I get kinda psyched with a a decent stiff wind and rain - somehow my fishing always turns on in these conditions. Oh, but rain and near freezing, that is nearly intollerable for me I think - that may be the worst come to think of it - 41 degrees and raining - RETREAT

Weather conditions only bother me to the extent that I am unable to fish - ie winds higher than say 30mph, too much for my spall boat - but I down frown upon wind too much - I agree with the other folk that it is a bit annoying when it changes direction frequently. The worst summer heat in aug-sep here in Alabama - killer heat and humidity - for me the heat and humidity I can stand, but the sun hitting you all day relentlessly is pretty tough - I have decided that this next summer I am gonna do two thinngs: 1) use an umbrella attached to my chair perhaps or 2) just go night fishing for bass and striper during that 1-2 months. I dont mind the cold weather as much down here - last winter it was a cold winter with temps frequently in the 30's for longer than usual stretches, and even some snow brrrrrrrr - I still will go fishing, and I still will prefer this to that scorching relentless sun as I can put on a slew of clothes, hand warmers, propane heater, to stay warm, but jeez that heat is tough at certain times really I get kinda psyched with a a decent stiff wind and rain - somehow my fishing always turns on in these conditions. Oh, but rain and near freezing, that is nearly intollerable for me I think - that may be the worst come to think of it - 41 degrees and raining - RETREAT

Yeah, there is no golden rule, BUT.... There is truth to the idea that bigger baits draw the fish up... I was fishing with my neighbor saturday over 40 feet of water near an inlet of the lake - there were bass that had blown up on some shad way out there a few times - couldnt get them to take traditional offerings, got a strike on a small spook only when there was a blow up right closeby and got that bait right near and working to the blow up...got a strike, missed....could not for 20 minutes thereafter call up another bite.... Put on the lunker punker and 3-4 casts later working it very erratic - pulled up a 3.2 lb spot - he had 2/3 bait in his mouth! 10 min later, another GOOD spot hit right at the boat - missed him though as I had turned my head to look at the depth finder at the WRONG TIME. Anyway...if you talk to the experienced big bait guys, they will tell you that big baits draw fish, but they do not always spell strikes, there is no "golden rule" for sure...but there will be certainly times when their drawing power will have its place I am sure..... At the same time, I think a small spoon, float n fly, or a hair jig are just likely killer winter tactics as well....just get out there and let those bass tell ya....thats what I did saturday and was rewarded and I plan on keeping the big bait close by and continuing to learn when to key in on that bite.... My more skeptical neighbor was floored when those big spot blew up on that big hunk of wood on top

Yeah, there is no golden rule, BUT.... There is truth to the idea that bigger baits draw the fish up... I was fishing with my neighbor saturday over 40 feet of water near an inlet of the lake - there were bass that had blown up on some shad way out there a few times - couldnt get them to take traditional offerings, got a strike on a small spook only when there was a blow up right closeby and got that bait right near and working to the blow up...got a strike, missed....could not for 20 minutes thereafter call up another bite.... Put on the lunker punker and 3-4 casts later working it very erratic - pulled up a 3.2 lb spot - he had 2/3 bait in his mouth! 10 min later, another GOOD spot hit right at the boat - missed him though as I had turned my head to look at the depth finder at the WRONG TIME. Anyway...if you talk to the experienced big bait guys, they will tell you that big baits draw fish, but they do not always spell strikes, there is no "golden rule" for sure...but there will be certainly times when their drawing power will have its place I am sure..... At the same time, I think a small spoon, float n fly, or a hair jig are just likely killer winter tactics as well....just get out there and let those bass tell ya....thats what I did saturday and was rewarded and I plan on keeping the big bait close by and continuing to learn when to key in on that bite.... My more skeptical neighbor was floored when those big spot blew up on that big hunk of wood on top