loodkop

Best. Its not raining/blowing under the water. Worst. Buy this reel. Its got more bearings than that Shimano in your hand.

Stretch 40 Buzz frog/ Horny toad Trick worm.

Luremakers and anglers have been searching for the magic bullet forever. I personally don't buy lures or tackle to make it more difficult to catch fish because the fish themselves make it difficult enough. I don't believe TAR is a magic bullet either but it I do think that under certain circumstances it will make me a more effective angler. I fish a lot of weed choked waters where I would not even consider TAR. On the other hand I also fish a deep clear lake with lots of open water where I'm now catching bass I could not before. As long as it is within the rules I will use any technique that makes me more effective. I doubt that this will become my favorite technique but it is a tool to use. As to the amount of skill involved I noticed that not one of the BASS opens in 2012 has been won on a rig. Fish won't jump. Into the boat just because you have a rig tied on.

I know I'm supposed to eat while fishing but I often find it just to much of an effort to stop fishing and sit down to eat. I would like have some nutritious chewy stuff I could eat with one hand while holding a rod or steering wheel with the other. Suggestion/ opinions?

Nice work.

You might also try to spike the head instead of the tail. I have found it to make a difference in the amount of short strikes I get using dropshot and shakeyheads.

I was waiting for JFrancho to post pictures of male and female "openings" but I believe your post took care of any difference in the sexes to my personal satisfaction.

I towed my boat a bit over a 1000 miles to go tigerfishing in the Zambezi river. First day was a blast and the second morning went well until the boat wouldn't start leaving us stranded miles from camp. Luckily another boat in our group came past and could tow me in. Long story short we couldn't fix it and had to hire a replacement for the rest of the week. Back home the mechanic found that there was a loose wire on the kill switch in the control box. Needless to say the boat hire worked out a bit more expensive than the free repair.

Salt will stiffen it up. Let us know how it turns out.

I have used my flipping rod with braid for frogging/ flipping before buying a dedicated frog rod. I still flip with braid.

I agree with Smalljaw. Those are almost to nice to waste on bass. I really like the purple craw. First time I've seen that color. It looks like a winner.

I very seldom use any hardener. I'm much more likely to add softener to my plastic. I have found that adding a teaspoon of hardener to a cup makes a difference. I have found that adding hardener makes my plastic more likely to overheat in the micro. I use LC's soft plastic. Other brands might react differently. Might I ask why you want to add hardener?

I have learned from this. Thanks.

The 400+ bass I caught on a frog last year didn't mind my inferior and outdated green 65 # PP.

I agree. I have smallish hands and the 50 is just more comfortable. I will be looking to replace most of my current reels with 50's during the year.

Nice review. Looking forward to the next one. Well done on the big cat as well.

I use a lot of red hooks on plastic baits. I don't know if this improves my strike rate or not but it doesn't hurt it either. In my experience of fly fishing for a variety of species red is considered by many to be an attractor color and splashes of red is added to a lot of fly patterns. I try to do this by adding red hooks.

I like to use a drop shot in this situation. The drop shot let the sinker drag in the slime while my worm/creature is in the clear. Some trial and error let you adjust the dropper length or if your electronics is sensitive enough you can see how high the moss is floating from the bottom. I hate dredging up slimy stuff and having to clean my hook on every cast.

If I had money on it KVD. Sentiment is with Fred Roumbanis after meeting him in South Africa last year. I also like Rojas and Evers.

Very impressive lures. That spotted bass pattern is great!

If I may make one recommendation it would be to start with the best rod and flyline you can afford. Better tackle makes learning to cast much easier and in general makes fishing more enjoyable than bargain basement specials. Fight the fish not your gear.

3 times a week plus the weekend sounds fair to me to.

Very nice. Your photos are stunning.

I use braid on my lipless cranks. Most of my regular waters are very weedy and braid helps me "rip" my red eyes and aruku's better than mono or fluoro.

X2. I always have a fly rod in the rodbox. In some situations it can be the only way to get a bite.