Sam

Not only do you use your hand to close the spinning reel bail, but you pull on the line to get it tight first. This will help eliminate a loose spool and line twist. And by closing the bail by hand also prolongs the life of the spinning reel as you do not use any force against the bearings. As NIKE says....Just Do It!

You eat an elephant one piece at a time. In other words, just take your time with the canoe and then move up to your dad's boat and then a Triton and then a Ranger. A big Ranger.

Super. Am going to Gaston on March 8 so I may impose on you for some suggestions. Usually stay around Popular Creek but we have been known to venture out to other places on the lake. Thanks for sharing.

Funny.

Avid Long Mike Geroge Welcome Catt Basspro48 LBH (In warm weather, only) Roadwarrior Muddy Cajun77 Glen Burley Probably some others, too.

Dominion Dan, You can always buy used books at a discount!

And one other thing. If you have too much tackle for the canoe, tow a raft with your stuff in it on calm waters. Works great, even when you are wading in a river. Just be sure to keep it tied to the boat or your person when wading.

Super. It is a start and it will keep you dry. Can you put a trolling motor on it? Fishing from a canoe is fine for ponds and rivers and small resivoirs. Super great for smallies in rocky and shallow areas of rivers, too. Have fun and send us photos. P.S. Your insurance bill should not be that high, either! ;D

Yes, but sharpen the hooks when you take them out of the package. Do not use mono as it has too much stretch and you need power to set the hook. Caught a bunch on a Chatterbait in rivers and ponds. It is fun to fish.

Which one? Lost two beauties on Lake Gaston two years in a row due to my stuipidity. Grabed the 1) Carolina rig two years ago; grabed the crankbait setup last year WITHOUT CHECKING THE DRAG so I could throw it fast. Got two major hits. Like wham! Both times she took it and headed west. She is still heading west as the line broke off both times. I now check my drag all the time. And then on Lake Chesdin, not paying attention when a nice size bass hit my Pop-R along the grass line, I had too much slack in the line and he took the Pop-R down with him and spit it out. Talk about being sick. Just stuipidity on my part.

Yes, and I am going to give it a try this year. Take only three (3) rods and reel setups with me in lieu of 12. I will take different reels to change the setups. One baitcaster will have braid on it, just in case. I also plan not to take 200 pounds of plastics and all of my hardbaits on the boat. And I promise to retie after each fish. Maybe.

BP48, They look great. Do you pait the jig heads to remove the bright silver color? Are the Pamunkey jigs creamy or extra crunchy? (Sorry, could not help myself)

Don't let the loonies get to you. No problem using lead. As the guys said, don't eat it.

Chrome with black back. Chrome with blue back. Red.

Welcome aboard. Glad you joined us. Be sure to read the articles on this site. They are excellent. And post your "location" questions within the board where you reside, such as the Southeast, West, etc. The guys will want to have some clarifications before they start offering advice so please add to your post, such as: What part of the country is the river? How deep is the water? Is the water clear, stained or dirty? Is this a tidal river? How fast is the current? Can you wade out or are you secluded to the bank? How high up on the bank will you be? Do both large and smallmouth bass live in the river? What time of day do you fish the most? You can throw jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms rigged Texas style, wacky style or shaky head style for largemouths in addition to creature baits and tubes. You can throw grubs, tubes, hair jigs and Rat-L-Traps for smallmouths. The current will also dictate the weight of your baits. Early in the AM or late in the PM you can throw a buzzbait, trick worm or a topwater to entice a strike. Since you have rocks and wood in the area there should be fish holding within the structure and cover on the down-current side which is the area where the water is not flowing. The fish will be facing into the current, looking for their next snack. You can fish with an ultra light rig (4 pound line and a small grub on a small jig head fished with a spinning reel) for all of the types of fish in the river. The river's current will dictate if this is an acceptable technique to use. Read, read and read some more. And keep those questions coming.

Charlie Moore is a waste of good air time. You do not learn anything other than watching a very acerbic individual who talks funny do some fishing. Other shows are acceptable. I would rather watch my Kevin VanDam, Woo Daves and other's DVDs and videos over and over than watch Charie Moore.

Hey Red, That's not a tough day. It is a challenging day that will make future days look great. A bad day is when you fall out of the boat. Or you lose your favorite bait. Or your rod and reel fall overboard. Or your cell phone falls out of your pocket into the drink. Or your motor blows up. Or you forget to put the plug in. Or you hook yourself. Or that big mamma that weighs 10+ pounds gets right to the boat; takes one look at you; and spits out your bait. Or your wife or girlfriend gives you grief when you come home and you have to go to a "girlie" movie to placate her. Or your trailer gets a flat on the way home or to the boat ramp. Or you get to the boat ramp and realize you left your tackle in the garage. Or you are planning a great day on the water and all heck breaks loose at the office or place of work and you have to cancel the trip. Hey, you had a great day on the water. Beats what I did today. I cleaned the boat; sucked the remaining gas out of the boat's gas tank; planted a tree; entertained the two neighborhood boys (ages 10 and 7) and their dog (who ate the cookies my wife put on the coffee table for the guys); and watched America's Funniest Videos. You did great!

Gummy, That's all? $300? Let's get with the program. Fishing season is right around the corner. $500 or $600 would sound better. ;D But $300 is a great start to the season. Da Bait Monkey loves you.

What my mother told me. "Women are like street cars. There will always be another one coming along soon enough." 16 years old and you are upset that a girl blew you. I mean blew you off. Or whatever? Your true honey will not enter your life until college or thereafter. Just have fun; play the field; and find them; love them; and forget them. At your age fishing and gettng good grades are the top priority. Plus baseball and cars and hunting and computer games and ..........

Don't tell anyone but I bought all of the mocassin blue four-inch dead ringers I could find; the last two injured yellow perch Bandits (100 and a 200) plus almost all of the Bandit Salad Bar cranks. I am now set for this fishing season.

You guys are brutal. Funny, but brutal.

They are Tulane University students. Probably Dean's List guys.

How do we do it? Well, there are a lot of positions we can use....opps. Sorry. Off the subject. Now, to answer your question about bank fishing. Easy question - difficult answer depending on the type of lake or pond you are fishing. Apply the rules of winter fishing found within the articles on this site or by going to some of the pros' web pages (Woo Daves, Ike, etc.) and read what they say about winter fishing. Remember, the fish are staging off shore, probably along a drop off or a bank, and are just sitting there, waiting for the water to warm up. They usually do not move far but they do move. Baits? I would try a black and blue or a black and chartruse jig and pig; a pointer; or a slow or dead-sticking Senko along the bottom. Just read and experiment and have a good time.

Yes. Or when you take the spool that you put some old line on to reuse and find out that there is not enough line on it so you have to spool it back onto the spool from the reel, again. I need a yard counter when spooling my reels.

Everyone has their favorites. I like Bandit. Have you seen the new colors that are out? The wounded yellow perch looks beautiful. I like the 100s and 200s. Firetiger is my favorit color along with the blue top and chartruse bottom Bandits 100s and 200s. Shad colors are good, too. Remember to note the forage and water clarity when selecting your crankbait.