shanksmare

Actually "Nodo" in Italian means "knot". So Nodo Albright Special is an translates to "Albright Special knot".

I believe that the Nodo Albright Knot is actually just a plain old Albright Knot. At least thats the way I've been tying them for years. I use 10 -12 wraps of the braid over the leader material. If you pull the main braid line rather than the tag end of the braid first, the knot seems to form easier than if you pull on both strands together. Once the strands of braid have lined up nicely then I pull on both strands of the braid together. It's a simple effective knot for leaders and bite tippets.

The Fogy does indeed have a bait keeper incorporated into the jig head. They work fine. The thump more than the original coffin blade styles do and they will "hunt" (dart out of their straight path) when jerked. If the fish are in a chasing mood, they will eat these.

I'm 71 years young and am somewhat proficient in computer related technical fields. I was a Senior Software Engineer for 20 years. I worked in an MIS Group as a Billing Programmer (turning operating system generated log records into dollars and reports for MBA types) and in a Software Development Group (much more excitingthan MIS). It is amazing how technology has progressed in the last 25 years. My first PC didn't even have a hard drive! The laptops of today have more disk space, memory and faster processors than the mainframes of 20 years ago. And they do it taking up 1/1000th the space without the need for a controlled environment. Many people in the younger age groups are more proficient than I playing video games and such. But I would rather spend my time doing something more useful - like fishing!

The clip/snap he is holding in the video is a Dou Lock snap.

I don't use snaps very often. I prefer to retie the lure. The line often gets frayed near the lure from contact with wood, rock, other debris and hopefully fish lips. I have lost many decent fish because I was to busy (lazy) to retie after catching a fish. My experiences with Dou Lock snaps have been less than positive. One memory that stands out occurred 15 or 20 years ago. I was bouncing a 3 oz. bucktail jig on the Cape Cod Canal bottom during an early morning East tide. I hooked up to a large fish (40 - 50+#'s). After fighting the fish for over half an hour I finally got her near the rockswhen suddenly my line went slack. I mentally kicked myself for putting too much pressure on the fish and breaking the 50# leader. When I reeled the line in much to my dismay I discovered that the 80# Dou Lock snap was completely destroyed. Both sections had straightened out. I still use snaps frop surf fishing but never Dou Locks, always CoastLocks or Pomponette style snaps. If I have the fish of a lifetime on my line I don't want a Dou Lock snap also connected to my line. Once burned .....

I have managed to hook myself on three separate occasions. Each time it happened I was fly casting for striped bass in the surf on Cape Cod. The beaches on Cape Cod are east facing and the prevailing winds there are from the southwest. This is a bad combination for right handed fly fishermen since the wind will blow the line (and fly) in towards the caster. This is not a problem if the wind is steady since you can cast side armed if the wind is light or turn around and face the beach and backcast if the wind is strong. However an unexpected strong gust of wind can cause problems. The first calamity occurred right around dusk while fishing with a friend in North Truro. He was down the beach a 1/4 mile or so when an errant gust of wind caught my line and drove the 5/0 hook into my right forearm. The hook was buried right up to the shank of the hook! After assessing the situation for a moment, I grabbed the hook shank and with a mighty yank pulled it out. A few minutes of direct pressure stopped the bleeding. I rinsed the blood out of my stripping basket and continued fishing. Around 11:00 PM we stopped at my friends house where the wives were visiting while we fished. Both his wife and my wife are Registered Nurses. They were appalled at the story of my incident. The first question they asked was when I last had a tetanus shot. It had been many years before, As luck would have it, my friends wife just happened to have a vial of the liquid used for tetanus shots in her refrigerator. So they loaded up a syringe and my wife rather joyfully (too joyfully if you ask me) gave me the shot. The other two incidents were less dramatic but each time I pulled the hook out myself. No 6 hour, $6,000 ER adventures were involved.

Here in SW FL there are many "wrong species" of fish present. I've caught gar, bowfin, mayan cichlids, white and blue tilapia, a variety of catfish species and tarpon on lures meant for bass. But the most frequent accidental catches are snook that have made their way into freshwater. A 15 lb snook is a worthy advisary. Their raspy lips make short work of 20 lb mono if they come in contact with it. By the way, they just love bladed jigs although I've caught them on a variety of lures - even worms.

Just a little tidbit about "superlubes" like rocket fuel for you. Many mornings I would bump into Ron Arra, who was a 5 or 6 time US Surf Casting Distance champion, along the banks of the Cape Cod Canal fishing for striped bass. His casts, naturally, were significantly longer than mine. I was curious as to what lube he used to aid him to achieve those herculean casts of his. I was shocked at his answer. He said he used SAE 20 3 in 1 Oil. Wow, you can buy a lifetime supply of that for a fraction of the cost of the more exotic oils.

If the hook is properly weighted the super fluke will still fall with a gliding, tail fluttering action ... only a little faster and with a little more action. I use a 3/0 1/8th oz weighted EWG hook (either an H & H Flutter hook or a BPS vertical drop hook) with good results. Most weighted swimbait hooks don't work well since the weight is too concentrated in one spot (?my belief?). This causes the fluke to fall like a rock instead of with the desired gliding, fluttering action. You can always try testing various hook sizes and weights in a swimming pool or clear water scenerio to see if you are achieving the desired results.

I'm not sure if fishing pressure has no effect on the potential size of a bass. Not each bass hatched has the potential to become a DD specimen. The more aggressive small bass have the greater potential to reach DD size. But by being most aggressive they are also most likely to be caught. Once they are caught 3 things can happen and 2 of them are bad (for the bass). They can be kept, they can be released and die from the experience or they can be released and survive. If there is no one fishing for them then it is academic. Back in 1975 when Plymouth Rock Bassmasters was formed there were a lot less fishermen than there are today. Todays fishermen have much more sophisticated equipment than the bass fisherman in 1975 (just look at depthfinders, side scanners, GPS's, etc). So there are just not more fishermen but there are more effective fishermen now than in 1975. When I fished in 1975 I was pretty much assured of catching at least one bass each day that was 5 lbs or better. According to friends who now bass fish in MA that has changed. They say that in the same locations that produced daily 5 lbers in the 1970's, they are lucky to get 3 or 4 five lbers in a season. I know that here in FL you are much more likely to catch a large bass in private ponds than in those of the public variety.

The Massachusetts state record bass was reportedly caught in Sampsons Pond in Carver. According to a friend of the record holder it was indeed not caught there. THe following is what this person told me at the time. It actually came from a small pond on the Agawam River chain just below Glen Charlie Pond. The record holder was specifically targetting this fish. He had seen it prior to catching it. He had actually hooked and lost the fish prior to landing it. He caught it on live bait (a shiner I believe) on the last day of fishing season for that year (Feb. 28th). I was a founding member of the Plymouth Rock Bassmasters, the oldest Bass Club in Massachusetts. We had two members who had reportedly caught bass over 10 lbs. One I would consider acidental, the other specifically targetted big bass during the spawn and spent each spring chasing big bass. It was a lot easier to catch a 5 lb. bass in MA at that time than it is now. A 10 lber would most likely come from waters similar to that in which the state record was caught. It would be in waters in which have an outlet to the sea so that alewifes and blueback herring would spawn there, thereby providing a substantial food source. I believe the pond which produced the 32 lb limit, Mashpee-Wakepee is such a body of water. I always enjoyed fishing this pond. It certainly had/has the potential to produce large fish - 10 lbs maybe but I doubt it considering the pressure it receives.

Super Fluke on a 3/0 1/8th oz Flutter Hook

I've been using spinnerbaits since the mid 1970's and I am anal about them running true. I realign them after each fish, hit or just periodically. I don't know if it matters to the bass but it matters to me. I guess its a confidence thing and that is huge.

I routinely remove the middle hook completely and replace the front and tail hooks with Owner ST41 #2 hooks. It doesn't seem to affect the action and I've landed snook over 15#s, tarpon up to 20 -25# and jacks over 15#s with no bending problems. The hooks are pretty expensive but they could save a trophy.

Not that it makes any difference, but I just returned from BPS in Estero. I check both the saltwater and freshwater sections for Super Spooks and Jrs. They had a pretty extensive selection. None of the Super Spooks, Jrs, originals, One knockers or Pups had split rings on the line ties. So maybe senility hasn't set in yet for me.

Good choice, you will then get them exactly like you want them. Its very satisfying to catch fish on a lure you made. Its sort of like fly tying. Have fun!

Confidence in the spinnerbait you are using is key. Some manufactorers only make double willow or tandem willow (willow-colorado blade) spinnerbaits. So if you want a double colorado or a single bladed spinnerbait you might have to get out the wire cutters or the split ring pliers. I continually tinker and "improve" them (usually until they don't work any more). Smalljaw has lots of great posts on constructing spinnerbaits that you can also use to modify them if you feel the need or desire to do so.

I have used the Plano 3607 spinnerbait box for several years. I fish from the bank mostly and since it fits easily in my shoulder bag it works out well. You can also store chatterbaits and jigs as well as spinnerbaits in the 3607. It holds the spinnerbaits firmly in place and I don't experience arms with a permanent bend from securing them. If you do not carefully arrange the skirts when inserting the spinnerbaits, you may have to remove a couple to get one out without damaging skirt strands. Years ago when I fished mostly from a boat I used a box similar to the one Felix mentioned. It worked well. It would occasionally wind up with tangled spinnerbaits after a rough ride. It would be too bulky for my bank fishing.

Well I guess it all depends how you are going to use the spinnerbait. If you just cast it out and retrieve it straight back then there is probably less difference between spinnerbaits than if you bounce it off cover, drop it, slow roll it, etc. What I look for in a spinnerbait are the following: 1). a good (preferably US made) ball bearing swivel 2). a long shank hook 3). a somewhat flexible wire frame 4). a twisted loop (more durable than an R bend). If it has an R bend then I reenforce the bend with fly tying thread 5). a wire tied skirt (if it doesn't have that then do it yourself with wire) Brands I have used with success include Mann's Classic (Hank Parker) spinnerbait (some QC issues), Strike King (some ball bearings are sticky) and Booyah. I use the Booyah most often because they work and are consistant from bait to bait. The Top Secret spinnerbaits they make for Dick's are a great value. They lend themselves well to customization. If you make your own, then you can tailor make them to how you fish them. You eliminate compromises by making your own. Besides its fun!

When you get to be 70+ years old, 2 years is recent. The ones in my box (plus the many that decorate the mangroves) have/had no such split rings. Evidently this is a "new" improvement. I haven't bought any in quite a while but my supply is somewhat depleted (the mangrove thing). Another tip that I remember for using the spook which originated with Charlie Campbell was to file a groove at the bottom of the line tie. Then affix the line with a clinch or uni knot. Move the knot down to the groove. The line pulls from the bottom of the line tie thus making the spook walk the dog easier and/or more erratically.

"The super spook and super spook jr. don't need a loop knot as they are equipped with a split ring which allows the lure a free range of motion" Unless this is a very recent change, they don't have a split ring on the lure tie. I use the Super Spook and Jr frequently for snook and small tarpon (occasionally redfish) as well as bass. I use a spinning rod for the saltwater applications and a baitcaster for bass fishing. When fishing in saltwater I use 15 or 20# braid with about a 24" heavy mono leader. For freshwater I use whatever outfit I'm using that day(bank fishing with one rod generally). I always use a loop knot to connect the lure with heavy mono. I remove the middle hook from the Super Spook. I upgrade the hooks on both the Super Spook and Jr to Owner ST41 size 2 hooks. The key to getting the lure to walk is twitching it on slack line as has been stated. You twitch the rod tip away from the lure and bounce it back towards the lure to create slack so it will glide to the side. Look for videos or articles by Charlie Campbell since he is the acknowledged guru of spook fishing.

They will look and act more like crayfish than the crayfish themselves. Should be a winner for sure.

Look for Eagle Claw model 254 hooks. They have a large eye. I've been using them for close to 40 years on spinnerbaits mostly but also on buzzbaits. I also use them for tying flies meant for big stripers so they are tough. They have withstood the test of time at least for me.