lmoore

I hope you didn't spend too much money on those pieces of junk, fish actually run away from them. I've actually casted into a shallow backwater and had half a dozen 3 pounders jumping onto shore to get away from it. If I were you, I'd send them back ASAP. Hmm....I just checked my email and it looks like I ordered another half-dozen packs of them yesterday too. I guess I won't be catching any fish this year either

3 years ago it was Diawa all the way for me. Had 4 of their baitcasting reels (on a collge kid budget, that was a significant investment!) The following spring when 3 out of 4 had the nut cover fall of of the handle and the nuts start working loose (ended up super gluing them), I switched to Abu since Berkley supported our fishing team in college. Restocking right now after my 5 best rods and 2 tackleboxes grew legs, and it's a combination of Revos and 2 of the Okuma models, just to try them out. So far, I love the Revos.

LOL, we must have similiar April outings. No matter how much I "prepare" for the first day of the season, the first cast is almost guaranteed to find the nearest tree.

This can't be overstated enough for ANY method of fishing, and to get to that level takes one thing: practice!

The general difference between the reels is that the 6.4 will be stronger (more torque) and will get crankbaits deeper at similiar reel speeds, while the 7.0 will be faster and allow you to pick up slack/catch up to incoming fish easier. The difference in those 2 isn't significant. I would personally go with the 6.4 since it will be your first one, and that's kind of an in the middle "do everything" reel.

I would think they'd be a good way to keep fishing topwater, but show the bass a little something "new." Not to say that hollow bodied mice don't already exists, but almost everyone fishes a frog. For whatever reason, I also think bass like mice better. Throw a frog in the pond, and you rarely see it get eaten. Throw a mouse in the pond, and you get a whole pack of bass swarming after it. I also caught a bass in our home pond this last spring that had the hind end of a mouse sticking out of it's throat. I'll definitely be buying one.

In general, look for change and transitions within the mat. That could be in the form of points or cuts along the edge, or a transition from a thick mat to a thin area of the mat, or even a change in the type of plant material the mat consists of. Essentially, if it catches your eye, it probably des the same to a fish. Almost all of your bites flipping will either be on the initial fall, or within 1-2 pumps. I usually pump from the bottom all the way up to the mat and do it half a dozen to a dozen times, depending on when I'm catching fish. Your colors should be fine, I would worry more about zoning in on key fish areas within the mat, and learning to read and react to what the fish are doing.

Restricting yourself is a good idea. I going to try and become more effective with some different tactics this season, and it will probably take a few trips just like that. Anytime you catch fish like that, it's a bonus, especially in winter. Next time you get out and get some shots with SS, post them up with a story again. I'm living vicariously through you Southerners until this ice melts away!

That is weird. You would think with that buffet, at least a couple bass would be relating to them almost all of the time. I guess that's why it's so important to actually be out there fishing!

Another vote here for the Curado.

Redboat, You found an absolute jackpot right there. Scanned out at 100 feet, I would say that's definitely baitfish. If you decrease the length out either side, you'll be able to see more detail and should be able to see where the bass are relating to the baitfish. Normally when feeding, the bass will be under the baitfish, which would put them in the area of 20 feet to bottom. I cannot get over how awesome it is to see peoples images from SV. Brush guard isn't necessary around only rocks, so don't use one if it bothers you. It may help you avoid some snags, but for the most part when you snag in rocks, it will be because the jig is wedged, not because the hook caught something.

^^Good point (pun absolutely intended). However, I would put those points in a bag with the shoreline structure "points." They can be called that, and 100% correctly, to get your intended meaning (didn't want to use point again) across, but when I think of a "point" in terms of the meaning often associated with a body of water, it refers to a structure which tapers from shoreline out into the water. At least, that's how I always think about it. Those other points have certain times of year where they will hold fish, but the points which reach underwater will hold fish almost year round. They are more of a major structure in the lake/river/etc. while the others are secondary structure/cover.

I agree with that part, I just wanted an excuse to say point as many times as possible For lack of a better term, I would still call the shoreline structure types a "point", they just woudn't really have the fish staging advantages of true underwater points. I feel like I'm starting to talk myself in circles, but I know what I'm trying to say, even if no one else does.

That looks much more like a real word, thanks! Agreed, but "a point is a point" still applies because if a point isn't a point, then it's not a point.

So....how about we move the discussion to tirciary points? I'm not even sure if I spelled that right. I agree with those saying a point is a point. The only thing important about location is the time of year and weather conditions which will cause the fish to relate to it. You can figure that out without ever knowing what it's specifically called. The less complicated you make fishing, the easier it gets.

Now that gives me some pause. However, the thought of being the guy who is bringing up 19 pounds of smallies on one cast in a tournament setting....I almost passed out from excitement I'll be looking for that viedo shortly! I think they key here is whether there is an unfair advantage for someone. Live bait is outlawed because it provides unfair advantages, especially over the fish. The Alabama Rig is an artificial lure and must be worked in such a way to trick the fish into biting, so I don't htink of it as an unfair advantage over the fish. As for other anglers, everyone follows the same set of rules, so the only advantage here goes to the guy who is willing to spend $10-$20 on the rig as opposed to the guy who buys 4 Bombers instead. I don't have a problem there.

They hit bottom because (if I understand right) he was dropping them in from a distance above the bucket. If he were to set them i, they would suspend. To quote you, "Do you think that by hitting the bottom they magically changed?" They suspend after hitting bottom, so either they did magically change, or it's because there was an outside force when they were first added to the bucket. Drop your perfectly suspending pointers into a bucket and they'll "sink" at first too.

I got mine on Ebay from a guy making his own (and probably making a killing). Search for 3 arm alabama rig and it should bring something up. I think mine was $13. For one, I don't really care how many rods people use. You can't use live bait in a tournament, so 15 live bait rods would only happen in a non-competetive scenario. I don't care how people fish in that scenario, assuming they can be responsible (following size and possession limits). I personally wouldn't get any excitement out of it, but I have no rational reason for wanting people to fish a certain way when they fish for fun. In a tournament setting? Of course I would have a problm with that, but moreso with the live bait than the 15 rods. Go ahead and throw 15 cranks out there and see if you catch more than I do working 1 effectively. The key to the Alabama rig is that nly 1 rod is being used. Size and feasibility will be limiting factors to use. You see people here already having trouble with using it effectively with 5 arm, you think adding 10 more will allow them to catch any more. Even if they can get it to work effectively, I'm not sure they would increase the number of bass caught. The key is that it's 1 bait searching in 1 area. The number of bass feeding simutaneously is generally limited. I have yet to hear of someone catching a bass on every single hook, so I don't feel like adding 3 more would increase the number of bass per cast. I'm sure that at some point, if someone had a bait with 10-15 hooks and they somehow got it into a school without killing themselves and could work it back effectively, that a fluke thing would happen where they hook 6 or 8 bass or someting crazy, but it wouldn't be a normal occurrence. Anyway, that whole argument is moot in the majority of states because there is a limit to the number of hooks that can be used. Whether it be 2, 3, 5, or 9, most states have a regulation which wouldn't allow 15.

Exactly my point. Throwing 3, 4, or 5 hooks in the water doesn't matter if you can't locate fish. Guys who have success with the Alabama rig are guys who would be successful anyway because they know how to find fish. The Alabama rig just offers them the potential to catch more of those fish faster. It's kind of a "rich get richer" type thing. I bought one this winter with 3 rigs. I can't use them in Iowa unless they only hae 2 hooks, but I might use it at a tournament this summer in WI if I find a school of fish.

StructureScan and Sidescan/downscan would provide more of a significant advantage for the average joe than an Alabama Rig when it comes to a tournament.

As mentioned above, temperature has an effect on the bouyancy. The table below shows the density of water in english units at various temperatures. The difference in density is shown better in metric units, as the change in density of 1 lb/cubic meter is rather significant. Temp Density °F pounds/cubic meter 0+ (liquid) 62.4 39 62.42 68 62.28 104 61.92 That being said, I rarely find a jerkbait that suspends exactly how I want it to right out of the package, even in 45-50 degree water.

Learn to use your thumb to control the line/spool and get your reel set correctly. You shouldn't ever have to deal with "overruns" while pitching. I quite commonly pitch weightless plastics if the fish are being finicky.

Well, I've been thinking I needed to get back to more cranking this coming summer and debating on ordering some new deep cranks. I tookone look at that collection and noticed my hand was no longer in my control as I brough up another IE window and started typing "www.bassp..." I blame you guys for what happens next

Wisconsin is 3 and Iowa is 2.

Most of the frogs on the market are very similiar in terms of build so the action is similiar. Walking a frog is actually really easy if you've ever fished another walking topwater, the only difference is the amount of lure in contact with the water. A frog is only a couple inches long whereas most hard bodied lures are 4-6 inches. What that means is that your "jerk" motion should also be shorter. The easiest way I found to learn walking a frog is to cast it out and let it sit, then make a 4-6 inch jerk and immediately take the rod back to the starting point. It's almost like you want to smack a fly on the side of the boat and then look to see if you hit it, if that makes any sense. At first, just do that motion until you can comfortably get the frog to turn 90 degrees. Once you accomplish that, it's simply a matter of repeating that motion over-and-over in rythm.