james 14

Do you guys keep the hook point in the hook slot on the bait or on the flat side? I've always used the slot but after missing about 20 fish the other day and it costing me a tourney win (3 ounces) I'm wondering if there's a better way. I even had success with a trailer hook not getting hung up but still had a fish go unhooked. I could see where his teeth scraped down the side of the bait (had the frog sideways in his mouth). I thought maybe keeping the hook out of the slot would increase hookups. It really bugs me because, up until this point, I've had few problems. I'm using an Owner 5/0 spring lock hook with a bead on the line just in front. I'm also using 50lb braid and a 7'10" MH rod and I'm crossing their eyes so that's not the problem.

I have an old Chug Bug that has some rust on the hooks and the dressing on the rear hook is starting to wear a bit. I want to go up one size on the hook but I'm not sure if it'll affect the action of the bait. I'm also not sure how to go about putting a new dressing on the rear hook. Any help?

Is this a reliable knot? Any better options?

I used to put braid on everything and switched to flouro for most applications to see if my catch ratio went up. I'm catching more fish now but I don't think its because of the line switch. I really like braid and would prefer to use it for everything. I will probably go back to braid slowly over the next year and use a leader if I think its needed. As for brand I use Power Pro since its always worked for me. I've got PP on one rod that's been on there for 7 years and its still going strong although I have to re-color it with a permanent marker. I also haven't noticed much of an issue with using crankbaits on braid. It's all in the rod and your wrist as you're reeling in the lure.

And there's the problem. I'll start using mono and see how the action changes. I had, actually, thought about using a jerkbait but didn't consider using a hard jerkbait.

I like Google because I can easily measure distances and mark spots, however, I will reference Bing because it's usually more up to date down here.

I would do it if it weren't for having the extra knot. I don't like having to cast with it going through the guides, I'm leary of there being another breaking point and when you have to re-tie it often means re-tying the leader as well. In reality, these are probably not as big a deal as they are in my head but, at the moment, that's what is keeping me from doing it. Actually, up until about 2-3 years ago I used braid for everything. I branched out because I thought I'd get a few more bites with something a little less visible. At the time I experimented with different leaders and tested several knots. I found the surgeon's knot to be the strongest. Every test I did resulted in the break occurring at the hook with the palomar knot and never at the surgeon's knot.

I've used them a few times with moderate results but I want to gain a little more confidence in it. The problem I have is the bait usually just sits on the bottom behind the weight. It doesn't seem to matter how long of a leader I use or how I work it unless I really pop it up off the bottom. So my question is: Is this the way the bait is supposed to work? I guess I could use a floating worm but everything I read about this technique rarely says anything about the need for it.

Do what I did in my pre-trailer days - back the truck into the water and slide the boat in fully loaded. Just make sure your parking brake works well! Considering you're putting the boat in the back of the truck you should be fine with any size jon you can fit. You may have not be able to drag it out of the truck with everything in it but the weight of the boat alone should be no problem as long as you're pulling it out on a non-concrete surface. As far as stability is concerned - I have a 1236 with a front deck and I have no problem. I even fished with another guy who stood on the back seat. I about threw him out a couple times with the TM on high but we were ok. I fish in a decked 1436 with another guy and we manage pretty well. If you're careful enough you should be fine with a 36" but go larger if you can fit it.

Right now its flipping grass mats and sight fishing, however, I can also pull out a few throwing spinnerbaits, frogs and even shallow cranks and chug bugs if the water has warmed enough to pull the shad up. Since you're asking about tournament patterns I'm going to hit a couple deeper hydrilla edges with shallow cranks and chug bugs to throw a few keepers in the well and then move on to either sight fishing or flipping mats depending on what my pre-fishing has shown to be the best pattern. If the lake I'm fishing has no suitable grass mats I'll be on some other form of structure holding females waiting to spawn or just coming off the beds. After the bass spawn its all about the shad spawn until the water temps hit 80. The right spot can yield a solid limit in the first hour of daylight. Once temps hit 80 the bass have moved out and depending on what lake you're fishing this can mean 100 different things. As things cool down you get back into a shad spawn pattern, however, once the sun gets up they'll move back down. During Winter...well...we don't have those down here in FL.

I was having some carb issues and pulled mine apart, cleaned it out and reassembled with the same parts and its been running great ever since. These were the original carb parts and the motor is a ~1980 model. I might've gotten a carb kit if I could've found any info on any Yamaha motor before '84. Heard a rumor their facility burned down down in the 80s and they lost everything.

I've done it and also used braid for spinnerbaits a lot. You basically just keep your wrist a little looser than you might normally would and hesitate a split second after feeling the strike. This is a moot point if you're pumping the bait rather than reeling it straight in as 99% of your hits will come while the bait is at rest. There are some benefits to using braid as well so its not a total compromise.

I had a 14' with a 15hp and wouldn't want any less than that. I'm not so sure you'll get on plane with a 7.5...but that might not matter to you. As far as batteries are concerned...one good battery will be plenty for you. Those three extra batteries are essentially another person sitting in the boat. I run a 50lb TM, fish finder, running lights and occassionally a 3 million candle spotlight if I'm running at night and have never run out. I am using a group 29 Everstart.

Well who would want to weigh a bass less than 18" anyways

I learned this lesson very shortly after using braid for the first time several years ago. I now only use Gamakatsu or Owner with a stronger preference towards Owner since they're stronger. Even still I had a stretch where I couldn't get any fish in the boat. I thought I wasn't setting the hook hard enough and kept ramping it up to where I eventually started flying fish over the boat. At that point I realized something else must be the problem and figured out the hook was bent out just enough to hinder the hookset. That was still with a Gamakatsu. I've also had the knot slip off the eye on some Gammy hooks with braid. Thus my preference for Owner. I may switch to some type of flipping hook in the future if for no other reason than to avoid having to skin the tip of the hook on the opposite side of the bait as you have to do with a standard wide gap. This is what got me to thinking about using the snell knot since it seems to be so highly recommended with straight shank hooks.

I saw it yesterday and was very impressed with the Space Monkey. I really want to try some but they don't sell them around here. I guess I'll have to wait until I make a trip out to BassPro but who knows when that'll be.

I'm RH and use RH reels but have experimented with pitching with LH to avoid having to switch hands so often. It doesn't usually bother me to switch but when pitching you're moving pretty quickly from cast to cast and the loss of time due the switch is very noticeable. It's very awkward indeed to use my LH in this fashion. As far as making full casts - it doesn't bother me to switch. I also don't buy into the "using the reels as a winch" theory. I never fight my fish with the reel unless they're dinks and I'm just reeling them straight in. But in that case power isn't a problem. However, I still have my RH on the reel because that's what I'm used to. I suppose it would make sense to fight the fish with the rod in my RH but, again, I'm so used to using my LH here I'm much more effective that way. Besides, it's not like we're fighting tuna offshore here. The vast majority of the time its a <5lb bass which isn't too demanding. Let me now make an attempt to actually answer your question . As I said I'm much more comfortable with a RH baitcaster but when it comes to using a reel that is UNDER the rod I like the LH reel much better. I don't know why but I guess it has something to do with the position of the reel. I've used both fly and spinning reels and, as a righty, want the reel in my LH. So, basically, I'm telling you to go with the RH for the baitcaster.

I've seen it recommended several times to use a snell knot, especially when flipping, but I have some concerns. Not sure why I'd want to change since the palomar hasn't failed me but I suppose I'm just curious. First off, most hooks I've seen are not welded where the eye loops back into the main shank of the hook. Wouldn't this rough edge cause excess wear on the line where the knot pulls up into the eye of the hook? Second, how does it work with braided lines? Palomar is the only one I've found that doesn't slip...at least for me. I suppose you could double the line over to help with this problem? With that idea you could even flip the resulting loop on the tag end around the bend of the hook so it can't pull through the knot...assuming you could tighten it down correctly to get the loop tight around the hook shank (if that makes any sense the way I explained it).

5% here too. My goal is to put one in the boat on every trip...or at least in every tourney. I'm still waiting on that stringer with 5 - 5lbers!

Yeah I'm thinking about hitting the BFL Gator division next year and starting as a co-angler. Most of the tourneys are in the Spring and it got me to wondering what I might expect. All of those lakes they fish are very similar so I wasn't sure how much pre-fishing was needed since you don't have much of a say in where to go. If I don't have to make several trips down to Okeechobee I could certainly save that gas money for an entry fee or two. I know the Kiss. Chain well...won twice on it in my local club and looking for another win in two weeks.

I'd have to agree. I usually like to root for the greatest to be just that...the same way I root for Tiger when I watch golf. But in this instance I wouldn't mind seeing some others get a shot. If I can't get Martens or Ike I'd really like to see a "no-name" or a rookie get it. Kinda like when Trevor Bayne won Daytona last year. I was yelling at my TV as he rounded the last couple of turns. Someone like Palaniuk, Defoe or even a qualifier from outside of the Elites. The challenge I'm going to have is trying to avoid seeing who wins before it hits television. I probably won't be able to unless I stay off the forum for a few weeks.

Saw it today. That was possibly one of the most serious attempts at a hookset I've ever seen. I'm surprised Overstreet didn't get a set of jaws back when he reeled in. I do have a question. I'm sure I've seen others doing this but I noticed it for sure today when Overstreet was reeling in a fish...how many of you hold the rod below the reel when fighting a fish? I always hold above the reel to gain more leverage. I've seen many tv guys look awkward when reeling in fish and just realized today what it was when I noticed him holding below the reel.

If you fish a spring tourney and the pro is sight fishing for bedding bass do they usually let you in on the action or are you stuck fan casting the surrounding water while they work the fish? My guess is that they aren't going to let you in on the bedded fish. Second - Do you typically pre-fish any as a co-angler? I can understand doing so if it's a brand new body of water...particularly if it's a different type of lake than you're used to fishing.

Its only just begun where I'm at in Central FL. We're not even two weeks in and some lakes might not have even started yet depending on your exact latitude and the low temps you've seen. Looking at your 10-day forecast I don't see how you're going to start in two weeks. Lows in the 30s and highs in the mid-60s. Maybe you misread and it said two months instead? That seems to be more plausible.

That's how I used to do it but by pulling on just one end you sometimes get a loop that can kink when you pull the other end. Not that it's NOT possible to do it correctly by pulling on one end at a time but its easier for me to make sure I've got it right if I pull both. It won't cinch down easily if the line isn't wet enough so you can tell when you've done damage.