cyclops2

I watch pros reel a fish in 1/2 of the total distance. I can not do that distance with 4 # braided on my old saltwater spin.

I now find that everything is needlessly computerized. Just to say it is more reliable. A computerized Safety Pin !! I kid you not. I saw a electronics show about molecular motors And devices. I guess they will be selling computerized toilet paper soon.

Been away for bad health conditions. Heart & blockages. So now I am active. Money is no object !! I told the surgeon. Put in the best Medicare has !! He did. 6 stints. Pacemaker. Defibrulator with 2 levels of shocking my heart to pump again. New Honda Accord. Same great wife of 50 years. Life is good in my 1985 Lowe & 1988 Evinrude.

I did a quick check of the cheaper units problems. NONE are reliable. Some are bad in sunlight. Last only 3 months. Transducers die. 1 of my 2 Garmin 4 strikers has had a screen & transducer fail in 6 months. The other Striker 4 is still running. I will save some money & a ton of very poor / no Customer Service aggravation. Garmin was ordered to stop all sales of down looking units & parts by the Federal Trade Commission. Lowrance won the case. Why people complain about Garmin service ?

Thank you for your opinion.

Am I being too critical ? Buying new electronics just because there is a new release ? Buying the latest releases of fishing gear just to buy it ?

Kind of like a bunch of historians discussing war...........& never been in a battle for months on end. Have to do something with the spare time.

I really get a big smile when I see fishing topics like this. Line color or marking patterns are critical to success !! The 2 or 3 HIGHLY VISABLE TREBLE HOOKS hanging down ARE NOT !! Same for no mouth ?? No scales ?? No true correct fins ?? No gills ?? Sure......................The bass has a check list he goes thru before making a bite. That skinny disappearing line is what turns him off ?????????? Old mind. If he makes a attack from the rear. So the fish ahead has almost no sensing of him approaching. Lateral lines are not sensitive detecting from directly behind ?

Fish are just like.... Freddy the Free Loader.

I forgot. Lures & equipment catch fisherman. Skill catches fish.

The small fish can save you money. Nothing heavy is needed 4# test braided line & a Ultra light spinning rod & reel. I just bought 3 Mitchell ultra light spinning reels on sale & a light weight rod for everything up to 1 pound perch & all your smaller fish. Save again & buy the Medium heavy rod & reel for bigger fish, Lines & lures. Worst case ? a muskie / pike grabs a small fish & you have a hell of a battle for a change. Now we are fishing 30" to 48" fish on 4 # test ?? WAAAHOO. I now use the 4# test ultra lights for ANYTHING. Usually land them from a boat. Shore casting is a Double WAAHOO. 4# braded is usually about a ACTUAL 8# breaking strength with my improved Trilene Knot. It CUTS weeds easily. Reeds no way I use a 4# test setup & a 60# setup for going after bigger fish. Start small. Then decide how much bigger you will need. Some of us like screaming drags & chasing a fish from land or starting the engine alone & still keeping a tight line in the boat.

Do not need the reminder of drowning. Almost did it in a motel pool picking coins off the deep end. With loads watching me. Never new I was in deep trouble.

Most people leave trash behind when they leave it. Pee & crap near a bush or tree. All the things I do not want done to me.

I went to a metal fabricating shop. Told him I wanted a long rod SOLID anchor Needed a screw eye in the end. 3" diameter & 12 " long with a screw eye I supplied. He did it for $20. It is perfect for nice weather anchoring . NO weeds build up. I have a hand operated Anchor Mate hand crank Near me & guide pullies up to the bow I bolted the pulley bracket there The anchor Lifts up & down nicely. I have another solid pipe anchor in the stern corner. 4 of line to the rear pulley. No crank. I just use a cleat I added. I do have a big fluked anchor if I get caught in a storm & need to beach the boat. Done that more than 1 time.. Know when to run it up a non windy beach & set the anchor in dirt or to a tree Untill the storm ends. Far safer.

Choporoz Did you also only break the Bail Springs ?

Perfect use of their Lateral Lines. Good call OK.

Because I can DOMINATE the poor creature.

Mitchells. 400s. Now 3 ultra lights. 2 for guests to use.

Makes no difference to the fish or me. 4# braid. for everything.

I have never " FINESSED a BIG " under the docks / boats bass out. They head for the back of the dock. That does not work ? They head OUT from under the docks at a angle. That starts a wrap around something. I can not pull free or feel the fish either. Mean time the fish has raced around the piling & caused the line to dig into the wood that is rotten. Now he is tired & panicked as he only had about 1 1/2' of movement. NO WAY he would get free. As I looked down I realized he would stave to death slowly. Take everything off but my blue jeans. Empty pockets. Knife in hand. Slide in & got lucky. He stayed still as I pulled the barbed treble out. Could have been very bad for the fish if I did not go down to free him. Shortly after that I crushed every barb on everything I own. Face it. I am playing with the fishes life. Not what I want to do to the animal. I have let several fish have slack buy the boat. Almost all throw out the crushed barbed hooks in under a minute. I can wait that long to not touch & remove some of the protective fish slime on a fish.

In coffee stained water ? Rattles are all they can home in on to the lure. O K noisey hooks clattering also. In ALWAYS stained water they catch food ONLY with the lateral lines. They can detect baitfish well enough for a meal.

Would YOU remember when it is opening day of trout day buffet ? Smartness is different for each animal. But free food is always a blessing. Be it animal or plants with fertilizers every spring. Yes, they go to each food source all year long. Bass , catfish, &pike WILL ATTACK a stranger. First 1 bites. Then they all rush in for a piece of meat.

I will only marry a fishing woman, in my next lifetime.

I use the same rod, reel, line of 4# test braided & lure for bank, wading or from a boat. A hungy fish does not give a hoot about it. That said at 77. Rapala & Rebel small floaters with rattles seem most effective. I even toss the 1.5" short NON rattles in up to 2' deep water. Great sight to see a V shaped wave coming at the lure. I have 2 of them with NO HOOKS. It is a Blast to watch the multiple Vs keep coming at it & making short runs before letting go. No injury to the fish. But I count each tug as a boated fish. Getting the strike is what separates the abilities of different people. Using TOUGH stretchy rubber types with the hook snapped off, is a sure fire way to almost get them to the boat, before they let go. I fooled you fishy, is the real challenge.

Catt Come to N Y & Canada waters in the late fall. & icy water spring. Just bring the gin & tonic we have cold glasses.