cyclops2

Perfect Evan I have a accurate micrometer. At 1 time there used to be rod guides & tips of all materials & prices. Are there any places like that today ? I have about 7 rods with grooves cut into some of the guides. 1 place with good selection is needed. I have 5 of the kids rods that need some guides also. Many thanks. Rich

Who sells them in different grades.

Every brand is the same floppy fit. What gives with the sloppy fits ? At 77 I do not buy stuff that loose new. I retired all the spare ones for fishing kids. Just worn out. Mostly bail springs. I need about 5 new cheapies for them. They did not have 1 decent new reel . Store in Easton Pa. I have Penns for me. But the kids do not get them ever.

We are not catching any fish in areas where there were hundreds year round. Would hundreds of Cormorants clean out fishing areas as their numbers increase ?

When the sun comes up. The bigger & smarter fish head for docks & under the boats at the dock. . Rubber worms are death to the fish dragged on the bottom. You want the fish to always look DOWN . Never up to see you against the sky....Catch & released fish know what your shape against the sky means.

6 to 1 is fine. Soft action makes tossing live bait or scented bait balls a lot easier. A medium action will also work fine. Pick a rod that reads for line weights of 4 to about 20 # ( pound test ). It is usually stamped near the handle part of the rod. Some will also have SOFT or MEDIUM or HEAVY action to guide you.

OK Enough safety. I would pick a Hold it !! You can carry a LONG regular rod on the bike . NO sweat. I used to carry a roll of Electricans tape with me . I taped the rod onto the pipe under the seat to front post. Butt faced foward tip under the seat & cleared the rear fender. I used tape in 3 places. Never damaged a thing. I did a spinning reel only because I could swap from 4# test to about 30# test in about 2 minutes For Catfish or Carp. Your call

Always see if you can carry a CHARGED UP cell phone in a sealed ZIP LOCK bag. 911 if you get really injured.

Well I did a check at Wallmart rod and reels. If you need to have a 5' rod that does come apart into 2.....2 1/2' sections they do sell them. I assume money is limited ? Get to a Wall mart store soon. This is when they have the most to pick from. Also try Dick's SportingGoods. They sometimes have good Rapala & Rebel lures at sale prices. Bank fishing ? The lures are most effective in very eary morning and just before, during & right after sundown. Surface lures work very well & allow you to see the fish swirls on the lures. 4" to 5" will work. Perch, a green pattern, or a Emerald Shiner pattern are good. Once the sun bothers your eyes a little. It bothers the majority of larger fish feeding near shore. Line strength of at least 15 pounds would be nice due to not being able to see snags.. You MUST wear some type of full protection eye / sun glasses. A NEEDLE NOSED plier is a must!! if the lure comes flying back & hooks you somewhere that is not serious ? You can CRUSH the small barb on the lure. That allows you to simply slide the hook out of your clothing or skin. A small pocket knife is needed to cut fishing line. I think you will do a lot of fishing alone..............You need to be more prepared than a group with a car to help them if something goes wrong. I fished alone as a kid. Now 76. So I do have some smarts about going alone. Safety & a EASY way to get to your bike & help ARE VERY IMPORTANT. You are completly DEPENDANT on your self to get help if needed SUNGLASSES ALWAYS............If you had a $ 100 bill for everytime I hooked myself. You could have a small boat & motor. If you are fighting a fish or get the lure snagged.. Always try to keep the rod pointed to either side of you at about belt height. If the lure pops loose it will probably miss your face. Enjoy & think before acting when alone. Rich

What would be the types & sizes of your fish. How far do you need to cast to reach 1/2 way acroos your waters ?

The Cormorants are eating machines. There are Loads of fish eating birds in our areas. Cormorants by the hundreds on several islands , terns several types, 2 types of herons, minks, I have noticed that there are no medium sized basses or perch. Only LARGE adults of them. We also have tons of GOBIES eating eggs & anything that moves. I even catch them on small Rapala lures.

I no longer have any shallow water fishing to take people out to unless I drive 3/4 hour at 30 mph. Anyone else seeing the same problem ?

Thanks everybody. I am satisfied with the Spider Wire Stelth braid 50 pound test in moss green.. I like it for being able to straighten the bendable wire trebles on 6 & 10" lures when dug into thick reeds. I almost pulled the 5# largemouth straight in with it. I fish with 4# for small fish. But Pike eat the 4# lures. So I now come back with a big lure & the 50# line. Transplant the pike to another area for someone else who enjoys them. I get a few loose wind knots. none bad.

Looking for something between 6 # & 15 # test. Bought some cheap ...Mills Ends....45 # test. Cast beautiful in very windy weather on my spinning reel. Also bought some 50 lb test Spider Wire. It cast good also. is there a huge casting difference for more money ? Looking for REASONABLy priced stuff. Not Pro fisherman stuff. Thanks Rich

Well I find in small lakes / ponds, the fish get more selective about the noise of trebels banging around & biting them. Then they get hungry & bite trebles. I have found schools of 12" to 14" bass feeding on worms or bottom insects. They would not bite or move as I motored over them. Happens.

Have to remember. It is the person that catches the fish. The lures catch the person. That never changes. My 6 year old daughter was catching trout on a bare Gold hook.

It is funny to see how many different types of fish will use the same cleaned out circle in a weed bed. Muskey, pike, perch, smallies, large mouth, crappie, sunfish, then the catfish. They each clean out the sediment. & then go crazy chasing the baby eaters. I think the bigger fish prefer the higher Oxygen for themselves & the young. The grass does allow the newborn to hide more easily. Osprey find the beds. Scott is right about deep water spawning. Very deep with predators. Flying or Mink. I have seen MInk do REAL wipeouts of nesting fish. Not sure which is worse Mink or the Gobies. Mink eat the adults. Gobies eat all the eggs & any young.

The $ 4,000 fish finder catches more fish than a $ 4,000 boat I still can not catch fish in a area where there are none

Where there are none. Anybody else have this problem to ?

In almost every case the smallmouths are in rocky running water or they will make a short duration swim into a still backwater area at sundown and bite anything that they can find. 5 minutes would be a long time in each still water place. They can swim long distances from sundown to sunrise to be at a different spot to have the sun shinning from BEHIND them. They can be absolutly fearless to you wading in a prime bait area. They will school up by size & go hunting together. My favorite lures are abouta 4" RAPALA green shad pattern solid or jointed body. Long casts work best. Vary the speed WILDLY. Stopped or steady speeds CAN work. But a steady speed for 3' & the a quick jerk to FAST as you can wind for 5' then back slow down again.....The hits come on the speed up, fast & slow down. You ....MUST..MUST have VERY THIN & POINTY hook points. I Carry a VERY SMALL fine sharpening stone in the box. It is only 1/2" X 3/8" X 2" long. Not critical. But must let you sharpen at least 3 sides of the hook. The smallies are as fast as a trout when they come from behind the lure. Very sharp hooks can catch some of these speed demons that cause a slack line & then jump. The SKINNY hooks penetrate deeper & quicker & hold on better to a Smallie jumping before you can reel up the slack & set the hook. I find Smallies to be a open water group type of fish. They normally are NOT line shy. Use a NON_STRETCHING BRAID LINE due to their speeds & jumping abilities in 1' to whatever depths. Wear a life vest & get a CHEAP pair of baseball shoes with SPIKES. Smallies LOVE SLIMY COVERED BOULDERs & ROCK LEDGES. A CHEAP SKI POLE with a wrist strap IS NEEDED. WHY ? AS you wade out into the rocky currents you WILL SLIP like I did. The current pushed me backwards & JAMMED BOTH feet under a sharp rock ledge. I was pinned down underwater with nothing to push myself up for a breath of air. I was drowning each second & I could not twist or roll free. I took my fly rod apart & used the 2 pieces together to push myself high enough to get a breath of air. Lots of pushups allowed me to finally get free.. Make sure the SKI POLE HAS A SNUG WRIST STRAP. It saved me the same way on a VERY BIG BOULDERED trout stream.................NO ONE can be bent flat backwards in a current & arch fowards fast or long enough to keep breathing without a skipole for help...Keep the pole tip VERY POINTED to work when needed. Enjoy Where there are trout. There can be smallies. Both will eat the same food & lures.

Thank you road warrior. I almost had a stroke when the cover for the Echo arrived. $ 10 + S & H = $15 for a 4" X 6" plastic front side only, snap on cover. I helped somebodies yacht payment.

I do the same as Crestliner. NO hitech sonars or deep diving cameras. You have stopped fishing and are now becoming a commerical meat hunter. I limit my gear to a chart with depths & visual references....Channel bouys, land towers. DONE. I forbid the use of those 6 lured rigs on my boats. Might just as well net & use explosives & say you are sport fishing for big eyed tuna.

Wind currents are a surface current only. In 99% of the time. Across a long shallow point just below the surface. River currents are always constant & in one direction. The wind current across a shallow point can really pile up everything on the downwind side of the point.

I now catch my limit of fish at the resturant.

I used my old guitar strings as leaders 60 years ago. Fished Dacron lines. Saw no difference back then. Cyclops2 Say............" No hungry fish around ? " He very smart fisherman.