hatrix

I have never been a fan of the BBZ. It seems to be the bait everyone wants to get for there first one for some reason though.

I am not sure what you mean? Are you talking about developing a pattern? You should always have a mental note of what just happened that triggered the strike. Then you should be trying to duplicate what just happened and go from there and start to fine tune all the factors that were involved. Cover, depth, temp, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it might just be a trash fish and your working on nothing or it is a pattern but it might not be the most productive one. Thats for you to figure out.

The guy who invented the banjo minnow makes frogs now. They have his frogs on TW and they are good frogs. I had one of his frogs that he hand makes years ago but someone lost it and I never replaced it. They are very expensive as far as frogs go for the hand made ones. I think I paid like $30 or more but some are even more expensive. They catch fish no doubt and thinking about it I really should buy another one. It was one of the best frogs.

I never said to fully tear down a reel. I am only talking about removing the handle plate. A couple screw and the the nut that holds the handle on. I don't disagree that not everyone could break down a reel 100% and put it back together. Unless you don't know how to use a screwdriver or wrench then removing the plate to access the internals should not be a issue. Of course some people might have limiting disabilities but for the average person I hope almost everyone is capable of removing some screws and the handle.

The only time there are tiny parts that go flying is when ou start getting into the level wind or handle shaft. Those are held in with E clips and pop those off in a bag or something. It's really nothing to just remove the handle side plate. Depends on the reel but 4 screws and a nut the rest slide off. Really if doing that is beyond someone's mechanical ability then we are doomed as a people. I understand getting older and things being harder with little parts. But if you don't qualify for AARP then I hope for your sake you can handle such minor task. Also please refrain from clicking the thumb bar when the plate is not on and the yoke springs still installed. Unless you don't want those yoke springs anymore and intend to send 30 minutes on the floor looking for them. I have done it myself and I know waaaaayyyyy better then that. I did it back to back the one day. Crazy

Its not that hard really. Everyone who like to fish should probably know how to do some minor maintenance to there stuff. You don't need to get crazy your first time taking one apart. Just pop off the handle plate and clean and grease the pinion and main gear and see what that gets you. I think chances are though if it feels rough or like gears when you turn the handle one of the gears might be beat. If you have another reel to swap out the gears to test it that's always nice and easy.

Learn how to do the around the world pitch and you don't need a rod length of line out. You will see some of the really good pros do it all the time.I can kinda sorta maybe almost do it I do something similar though but mine is more of a roll cast type thing while theres comes straight out off the rod. I never tried what I do sitting down but the way the around the world thing works you should be able to do it sitting easily.(I don't know if there is a name for it). They only let out like maybe 2' or less of line when doing it. After reading some of the comments I can't believe none of you have ever seen them pitch that way. They just swing the bait in a circle with the rod pointing straight out and that loads the tip as they flick it straight out like nothing. I guess its actually faster when beating a bank but is a little challenging to master.

I haven't figured out how to add a nail weight to a hard bait yet... It very common to use them to tune a soft bait so it runs true or to change its rof. I would say floater for some hard baits as I don't care for them in different sink rates. A very common one is a BBZ it is a better floating bait to me. But then on the other hand you have baits like a TT that is the same kind of snake swim but actually catches fish (for me that is). Then on the other hand you have the glides like S-Wavers Deps High Powers Gan Craft ect. Those are slow sink hard baits and the glides are starting to give Hudds a run for there money on fish over 10. They have not been as popular for as long as Hudds but the Deps might surpass them although there is no way to tell for real what one has caught more fish over 10# Glide are just magical sometimes at drawing big fish from far away.

The banjo is no gimmick that thing really is a fish catcher. I have caught fish on flying lures also although I was super young when those came out. I bet flying lures would work pretty good as a pitching bait. Areas along the bank where I know the ground is eroded away and goes farther back then just the edge you can see. They might get way back there and get those fish to bite where a jig or t-rig might not get close enough to them. Banjo minnows catch fish no doubt.

Tom made a lot of good points. Waiting on bottom baits to set is debatable. In my experience like Tom pointed big fish don't run while smaller fish do. The double tap type bite also is usually a smaller fish deal and big ones either give no tap or can be one super hard slamming hit and anything but a instant set is usually leads to air. If you fish enough moving soft baits you can kind of get a sense of if they ever fully grab it just like you can with topwater and don't set because you need them to hit again. On a bottom bait bait I am not feelin for a bite thats painfully obvious usually and I am concerned about what I no longer or shouldn't be feeling. The lightest bite you ever get is the biggest fish you will ever catch. That statement has a lot of merit to it but is not 100% of the time true.

I really wouldn't be very fond of goin out on Erie in a bass boat. You can't just go out any day even with bigger boats capable of handling the waves. I mean people do but when they start white capping you should probably stay in. If you stay close to shore or inside some break walls you can get some fishing in even on bad days or in something like a bass boat. Go far off shore when it's bad or in a boat not designed for it is asking for trouble and many people die each year out on the water. A huge majority are found with there zipper or pants down. They either fall over the side or jump in to do what they are doing without being anchored and they never had a chance to catch back up to the boat. It has to e a terrible feeling you just have no chance. On a lake there is hope I would think but when your out like 2 miles and you look at shore I bet they just know its over. There is no way your making it. I know someone who was never found. It's a bummer and can be super dangerous at time. Someone posted a picture on here ones where it was all calm and then the same place but in a winter storm where the waves where insane and it was behind the break wall. I have seen them break on piers or rock walls to lighthouses and get 20' I have gotten stuck at a lighthouse because we didn't leave in time and had to wait it out.

Put some rice in a coffee filter and use a twist tie or something. Rice naturally absorbs moisture as do silica packets since that it exactly what they are made for. Or drill hole or whatever you want to do. Both methods will work.

You have tried every kind of p-line and it has the most stretch of any line? I am pretty sure you are mistaken and when talking about CXX I am not sure there is a other line with less stretch even made. But to each there own and that's just more for me.

elite tech + president

Is this real life? I didn't even know it was a competition.

I don't know what it is really. Maybe it is because of the fish they remove and a ever smaller population they slows the bite. In reality they are probably just not that kind of place to begin with where anything works or it is so easy regardless how many people fish it or how often. Just not every place is like that and I think a lot probably has to do with genetics somehow even in the same strain along with conditions of the water it self in regards to all the variables that brings. Also external conditions like weather and the seasons . Some years are just not as good even though nothing has changed at a place and next year it can turn back around and be on fire again.

As long as your hook ends up where it needs or you want it to be it doesn't really matter if you know what size it is. It is just when you go to grab more and you standing there thinking $#@! was that a 4 or a 5 ect. Just grab them all. I doubt they will go to waste. I have never measured it but a 5 is around 2 1/2 3/8" I think.

I think you would be better off spending the extra couple bucks on a Tatula. The main draw I see for a Lexa is that it comes in 300 size and is one of the most popular swimbait reels. Although I wouldn't mind giving the new Tatula HD a shot on some smaller stuff maybe. The Lexa also comes in 400 and that what TW links to on there swimbait reels tab. I don't know who could possibly fish with one of those. If you ever held one in person the thing is a monster ans you need Shaq hands just to grab the thing not to mention its like holding a brick.

I have never bout of ichiban but it is a good place to quickly and easily see what companies have. It would have to be a decent size order or they would have to have something I really want and can't fine cheaper on other sites but that's doubtful if I made a order on there. Ebay doesn't always have everything when it comes to a JDM item and its usually at markup. You can find everything at a better price most likely if you know where to look. Not everyone sees the same internet

That works just fine you can even apply it on the spot if you really want to and it still makes a huge difference.

I wish I could buy it in gallon size of something to refill little bottles. I lost a bottle about a month ago way back in some woods at place in the middle of nowhere and spent like 45 mins walking back and forth looking for it cause I didn't have any more with me. It was a brand new bottle on top of that. I never found it and it is still out there somewhere and maybe I can find one of these times if I go back.

I used Yo-Zuri for a while and it is a great line. I still have some spools of it and I have some 8# on a spinning rod. It is a excellent line but I think CXX is better in every aspect you can deal with the memory. For me it is the best line I have ever used. I did actually get a spool of Trilene XL but I am not sure if it was smooth cast or armor coated kind in 17#. It was like $2 so why not. I have to say I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers. It didn't have a outrageous amount of stretch and only slightly made that creaking noise when you pull a heavy bait on a long cast and the memory very minimal even though it sat on a reel for around 3 weeks before I ever even used it actually. It is still not better then CXX but it seemed very manageable and casts like a champ. I think reel magic will actually hurt your line over time and can somehow weaken it maybe depending on the line. You can probably get the same effect by spraying some WD on the line. KVD L&L is on a whole other level and is totally different. I can't believe after all this time though no one has come out with another knock off that actually does the same thing. They copy everything else in fishing....

If your hook is already coming out where the marks are on the bait then I am not sure how much bigger you can get since its at the very end of the bait. I just try them out recently for the first time my self but never really gave them much of a shot. I rigged them from both way using a twist lock hook and I can say that going actually through the body and not rigging it flat was way difficult to get it in there correct. I would maybe not use a lock next time if I rig that way as anything with those in them make it harder to rig a hook straight. I'm no rookie with those either but maybe I was just off that day.

Yes they do and all the JDM things are so much nicer. They are serious business about bass fishing and have a wealth of knowledge I wish i could understand that you just don't really get from the US. As for the e-bay that's a negative but you can go that route if you like. http://www.ichibantackle.com/showproductdetail.asp?productid=3396&name=HAIRY%20CHUNK If you didn't know or are looking for the JDM stuff. There is even better places then that but there a secret

It is actually funny how many people have Erie on there list. I live in Cleveland and don't even go out there all that much and when I do its hardly ever for smalles but will be perch or walleye. That is what the vast majority are out there for any ways. To say Erie is super vague and it is not a lake like you have ever fished if you never been on the great lakes or even the ocean. They are not really lakes but are a freshwater sea basically.The great lakes are insanely massive and not all places are great for some fish. If you want smallmouth Dwight has the place as I believe he is right at the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio and i'm pretty sure that is where the fishing is the best and I think there is a spot in Michigan also that's really good