deep

Good stuff man. I don't/ won't expect any less from a Calcutta (I have a 401TE).

That sucks BC; I hope you get them back.

I have a few questions. Thanks,

I wonder how come I've never seen an LH spincast reel...

Hey BC, have you ever considered submitting an article to Glenn? (I'm not joking.)

I really like green-pumpkin and a touch of brown in my jigs, but I also like a lot of colors in the same jig. This is what I've been fishing all spring and early summer (made by Dominic/ backwater4): green, brown, and a few red and a few yellow strands. Got these a couple of days back, and they are my new favorites. Also made by backwater4: green, brown, and a little of red, yellow, black and blue.

I never tried a RH baitcaster, but I have tried reeling righty with a Symetre (spinning reel). Once. It felt so awkward that I switched the handle back to the left side after that one retrieve.

This is the way I look at it: Would a leader help? Maybe, probably- assuming I'm confident with the connecting knot. Would a leader hurt? I don't think so... So, I guess, I'd try a leader. Which is what I do a 100% of the time.

Sounds good! Thanks guys.

I used a 3/4 oz weight and a Berkley Pit Boss today; and did away with the leader. Caught 3; including what seemed to be a 1.5-2 pounder, and a bigger one- probably around 3 lbs. I know they both look smaller though lol. I had to get into the duckweeds and slime to land the bigger one; she got herself tangled pretty good. P.S. I was looking at the tungsten punching weights at DSG yesterday, and boy are they pricey! I'm sure they're better than lead though; just not ready to drop $8 for a pack of two weights yet.

LMG, it's not a Shock. It's the regular Lightning.

Specs: 7'6", H - F, 5/8-1 1/2 oz, 12-25 lb line I'm interested in this rod as a punching stick. My jig rod- the Powell Max- tops out at 1 oz, and I think I could use a heavier rod; instead of damaging my treasured Powell. I got another reservoir that I can punch mats in, and it has some big fish. A few questions: I can get this rod for $25 shipped through my college bass club membership. Is it worth 25 bucks? (I know retail is more.) I don't see myself doing a lot of flipping/ punching anyway, so that's what I can spare. I'm used to $150 rods; and I'm wondering if it'd be a culture shock trying to feel a bite with a value-priced rod! I'm going to use 55 lb braid on this (my jig reel- reels aren't that cheap lol). If that is the case, I'd save my 25 bucks, and use my small swimbait rod.. Thanks..

I never ever did any sort of punching before. I was watching Bub Tosh's videos on youtube last night, and I thought, why not try it out? Seems like fun. I got some 1/2 oz weights, bobber stoppers and beads, a pack of Gammy flipping hooks, a pack of Ike's Devil Spears from Dicks Sporting Goods in the morning; and hit a local lake full of duckweeds in the afternoon. I don't have a punching/ flipping rod; so I used my casting jig setup: Powell Max 753/ Citica 201D 7:1/ 55 lb Samurai. Caught a fish on the second cast, but I forgot to take a pic. After that I caught three more, and missed a couple. I need to get used to feeling bites under the mat; I'm more of a line-watcher than a bite-feeler. Also, the 1/2 oz weight was waay too light as I found within a few minutes. Here are the second, third and fourth bass. Yes, I know they are very small, but I tried a new technique, and to my surprise I caught a few fish! I'm super-happy right now. The stuff I was fishing:

I think the term finesse refers more to the presentation; rather than the size of the bait. Technicalities aside, I like to fish "sissy" baits like weightless senkos, 3/16 oz shakey-heads and 3/16 oz jigs on my Powell 733 Max. Reel is a Shimano Symetre; line is 30 lbs Daiwa Samurai with 8-10 lb leader. I usually fish them pretty slow; so I guess that's finessing.

Both. I also pause it; a LOT.

Your enthusiasm is contagious lol. I wanted to fish a simple wacky rig so bad today (I don't really fish much other than jigs and swimbaits these days) that, well, I went ahead with it, Too bad my local lake is closed to fishing right now; I didn't know that beforehand. So I hit a secondary target. It looked something like this : Totally unsuitable for spinning gear and 8 lb line, but a spinning combo, wacky hooks and senkos were all I had. Pulled out a couple of fish, and lost three in the mat. But it was a lot of fun. Chasing trophies and chucking big baits is a high; but sometimes I tend to forget the simple pleasures that fishing offers. Thanks a lot for your post yesterday; it brought back a lot of memories when catching anything- even a tiny bluegill- was something to be celebrated. This is the bigger of the two fish that I landed; around 15 inches I think.

That is a very decent and healthy-looking fish. Congrats!

Snagged and got back one of my old school huddleston deluxes today; 3.5 months after I lost it. I'm pretty stoked to get it back; they don't make those any more.

I got 4; two in rainbow trout, two in yellow perch, in either ROF.

This might be of use, http://www.swimbaitnation.com/nationtalk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=32630

No matter what guys say, it's not always easy to catch schooling bass that are busting baitfish on top. Ask me how I know?

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

Overly attached BassClary:

BC, keep your Zillions. We don't WANT them.

I use braid for jigs and soft plastics (spinning or baitcasters); and I almost always fish them on slack line, unless there's too much wind/ waves and then I'm trying to feel the bite, instead of seeing it. Usually, on a bite the line shoots forwards, or moves forward or to a side, or jumps, or one or more of these. It's sort of difficult to explain what exactly to look for, but you should have a general idea about how fast the line moves when the bait is sinking on its own. Anything different is a bite. I don't use mono/ fluoro, so I won't know what to look for if you're using those. If it's windy. I hold a taut/ semi-taut line- watch fluemaster's jig fishing video- that's what I'm talking about. No matter what you do, sometimes the fish eats the bait and sits there; and if the bait happens to be a weightless T-rigged senko, I have had a few gut hooks. I don't really fish fat ikas the way I fish a senko. Roadwarrior made a post once about dragging fat ikas like a football jig, and that is what I do. If the fish bites while I'm dragging, I feel the bite; if it bites when the bait is sitting still, I can see the bite. That's the theory anyway.