Big Jon

I was wondering if that was any good. I might have to grab it.

I'm guessing you meant Nanofil. Either way I just looked it up online, and that was it. Thanks! Good to know. I guess I shouldn't have tossed the line. Oh well, you live and you learn.

I have almost exclusively used the improved clinch for fishing my entire life. I have never had it just straight pull out like that before. I haven't had the issue since I changed the line. I just checked the back of the car, but I guess I already tossed the line in the trash. Someone had given it to me brand new in the box so I don't remember what it was, I just strung it up as 10lb line was what I had wanted at the time and that was the only one I had. Believe me, I know what knots are and how to tie them. I am an Eagle Scout and I was in the Marine Corps. I spent years learning and teaching knots. When I say the line slid straight out of the knot, that is what it did. I didn't even have to pull that hard for it to do it. The knot has never been the problem in the past, and it hasn't been a problem since that time. The only thing I did was get rid of the line and the problem was fixed. Logically speaking, it had to have been the line.

Honestly, I wouldn't pay to go fishing outside of regular fees and cost of tackle.

I'll second that.

Yeah I thought about doing that after I pulled the knot out that third time, but I just decided to put new line on. I really should switch to the Palomar when applicable. The annoying thing was that I had just got that line. It was brand new, and I had just strung that reel a few days prior and hadn't been fishing. It's OK now though, I put some other line on there and have been keeping all the fish I hook. Trees on the other hand...

I love getting to go to BPS. I have a monthly meeting in Denver I have to go to, so I leave a little early to go at least walk around and look. I live about 2.5 hours north of there, so I get it when I can. Glad to hear you had fun.

I'll add to make sure that your knot won't untie while fighting a fish as well. I had some 10lbs line I was using and lost two fish after making the set. I looked at the end of the line and it looked liked the knot came out. I had tied an improved clinch knot. Well, on the third hook, I left about two inches of tag end and slowly pulled it all the way out. Needless to say, I'm not buying that line anymore and I stopped using that rod until I could replace the line.

I know this is off topic a little, but that's the funniest phrase I have heard in a long time.

I know this is a super old post right about now, but I did a search and found it. This was incredibly useful. I just wanted to say thanks.

I agree. We have been in a tight spot here and there for the last couple years, and I donate plasma for extra money. Sometimes it's the only way to get through to the next paycheck. It sucks, but you do what you have to do without breaking laws. The license isn't that expensive.

Wow, I didn't know that. That's amazing. Learn something new everyday I guess.

I agree, good advice!

I don't have a boat, and probably won't for a while. I have a lot of little ponds around me, but I have grabbed an occasional 3-4lbs largemouth by fishing a texas rig in and around timber, back in little corners (coves). There are a lot of dinkers to be had as well, you just have to figure out where they are going to be at your body of water and what they're hitting on. My advice is to go out with several colors of soft plastics and maybe some JJ's Magic to try some color combinations on a texas rig. Throw in and around trees. Throw along the grass. You can even find them in the shade of a tree when the sun is out and it's hot. Where I am at, I can try throwing everything in every combination, but if I want to consistently catch largemouth, I have to through a texas rigged soft plastic, usually watermelon or green pumpkin with blue JJ's Magic on the end of a worm or crawdad or black/sapphire Yum baby brush hogs or their wooly bug (same color). That's just what they hit on here. You'll have to figure out what they want where you're at. If I dip those same baits with the Red JJ's Magic, I get the bass to run away and the bluegill tear apart my bait in one retrieve. I don't know if this was helpful or rambling at this point. Good luck.

Dang it. I guess that would mean I need a Facebook account.

If you lived near me, I might ask where you caught that one. I had a good solid hook set last week and then snapped the line in some timber (totally my fault).

Sounds like fun. Happy Father's Day!

Thanks for all the comments everyone! I feel a lot better now. I know fishing mishaps happen, but not many people seem to fish around where I live, so I don't hear these stories very often, and thought I was just a super newbie.

Yeah, I finally got contacts and my first purchase was some polarized sun glasses. I was surprised how well polarized glasses help improve my ability to see fish in the water. It's amazing. I'm never going back.

I have learned to be a little quick and flexible myself

I know this is going to show how new I am at this, but I thought someone would get a laugh at it. Has anyone done the following before? I was bank fishing and traded out my 4lbs test line for 12lbs and was doing good at the end of last week. Well, Monday morning I got caught up in some standing timber and figured I would just pull to see if I could get the lure free and wrapped it around my index finger. I gave it a yank and immediately remembered that I had switched out my line. Instead of snapping the line or pulling the lure free, I sliced my finger open. It's ok though because it cauterized the cut from the friction at the same time it cut into my finger. I wasn't bleeding and I figured I would keep on fishing. That was the third cast of the morning. I moved to a different spot and, two casts later, got caught up in another tree. I gave two quick pops of the rod over my head to try and get it free, and snapped the rod. I guess you could say that it was a Monday for sure. I was a little frustrated because it's the only good rod/reel combo I have. I only have a couple of those $20 combos in the corner of the garage now. Oh well, I can use those until I can get something else. I hope this brought someone a laugh. It has taken me two days to laugh about it.

Ok, I'll try that for now. I can afford that at some point this week I think.

Yeah, it's a spinning rod. I have a MH Abu Garcia rod that I picked up on clearance, but I haven't been able to afford a reel for it yet. I am new to bass fishing since I found this site at the end of last summer. I figured I was going to get this type of advice. I just wanted to make sure. I guess I'll just need to be real careful until I can afford better equipment. Thanks guys.

Hey guys, I just have a quick question. If you are fishing timber from shore, what size line do you use? I don't have a boat, but there are a lot of little ponds around here. I have some green Gamma 4lbs test line that I have been using for the last couple weeks and it has been doing just fine. However, this morning I was fishing around some trees and much to my surprise, on my third cast of the day, I hooked a 2 1/2 to 3 lbs largemouth that came splashing to the surface with my little worm. Of course he took it through the timber and the line broke. I guess I learned something from that though. You can't underestimate ponds/small lakes. Any advice in this situation? Thanks in advance.

Sorry to keep asking all these questions, but I just checked basspro.com and this one is on sale as well. What do ya'll think? http://www.basspro.com/Quantum-KVD-Signature-Series-Reel/Accurist-Rod-Baitcast-Combos/product/1211100657003/ The reviews looked ok.