Tony L.

I know that gander mountain spinning reels are made by pflueger, cant say I am all too familiar with the baitcasters- I am sure that one of the more experienced staff members in the store could give you the inside info though. Some of the other guys are saying they are a quantum variant, so I would go with that. People on this site really know their stuff

I am really interested in trying this. Would you mind explaining how you do it? Do you have to slit the straw lenghtwise to wrap it around, or are you actually able to find a drinking straw wide enough to thread onto a senko?

I would also look at pflueger spinning combos. Even the 70-80 dollar rigs are surprisingly high quality, and you will probably like it more than your ugly stick. Credit Shakespeare though, because those ugly sticks can take a ton of abuse and just keep on going

Have any of you ever added HOMEMADE scents to any of your soft plastic lures? I realize that I a never going to recreate megastrike or match a shad/crawfish flavor in my kitchen. But, when I see coffee, garlic, and salted lures, I think to myself "shouldn't I be able to do this at home to spice up some of the unscented lures that I have lying around?". To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard of anyone who has used ingredients from around the house to add scent to their lures, but it seems like it should be possible and I know that catfishermen do it all the time. Has anyone ever tried this with bass lures, and has it been successful? Realizing you can't impregnate lures that are already formed, is there any way to make the scent last if you do add it yourself?

Holy cow! That thing is big enough that I almost thought it was one of those Nile perch I saw on tv! Catch of a lifetime!

The pointing the tip toward the fish (also known as bowing to the fish) is something often used in fly fishing. With fly fishing, the problem is not necessarily shaking the hook so much as it is snapping the incredibly light tippet that it is tied to, so you want to take your chances and give some slack to an airborne fish. With conventional gear, there's not as much worry of line breakage so you can keep it tight to ensure the hook stays put. I usually fight my fish with the rod high to keep all slack out (also because I fish around a lot of submerged timber that I would like to keep them out of), but as soon as I hook one that takes to the skies, I plunge that sucker down to try and keep the fish pinned underwater. At least, I do that when I remember to..... Even after 20+ years of fishing, setting into one still gets my heart pounding and good form goes right out the window sometimes.

Always welcome here!

Unfortunately, my provider doesn't offer WFN, and i dont pay extra for an additional outdoor/sports package, but Nbc sports seems to suit my needs. They put fishing shows on at horribly inconvenient times during the week, but I dvr them and usually have more than enough programming to watch in the evenings. I also use some internet Tv features that can come through a smart Tv, Roku device, or internet ready blue ray player. You can subscribe to the "wild" channel for like 3 bucks a month.

I just finished grad school and am starting into the field of vocational rehabilitation counseling. It fits my interests, but I know that not everyone would enjoy it. I think the same is true for any of the other jobs people have listed before me. People tend to gravitate towards their interests, so what works for one doesn't work for everyone. Its helpful to ask around to see what's out there, but I certainly wouldn't pick my career that way. It will take some soul searching. Ask yourself what you are interested in on the most fundamental level. How do you think through things and solve problems? SThen consider if you like working by yourself or with others. Do you prefer to build or create things, or are you more service oriented? Do you like working with your hands, or are you a paperwork kind of person? Are you mechanically oriented or are you more artistic? Want to work in an office or in the field? Narrow down some options based on your individual style of working and interacting with others in addition to your personal interests. Once you have it pinned down, it is a matter of figuring out what you need to get there (college, trade school, on the job experience, etc...). Don't panic if you don't know where to start, you are fresh out of high school- you aren't supposed to have it all figured out yet. You can take some of those career inventory tests if you would like, but just remember they should only be used to point you in a general direction. Don't feel pressured into the results because, as with any test, they are designed to do the best they can for everyone that takes them, but no one knows you better than yourself. Taking several different ones can get you on the right path though. You would be surprised at how many resources and employment centers are out there that you probably didn't know about. If all else fails, feel free to send me a personal message because I am in the field of career counseling, assessment, and evaluation and might be of some help.

As far as white bass go (not talking about stripers or hybrids), you'd be hard pressed to find one much bigger than that. AWESOME catch!

I think it depends. In my experience, if one strikes the lure, and maybe even thrashes a little, but doesn't hook itself, it will almost assuredly hit it again. If, however, the bass does initially get hooked but then comes off during the fight, it almost never comes back. At that point, its usually gone but might be fooled again if I throw something different at it.

You have knowledge well beyond your years and appreciate the value of hard work and pursuing your interests. The world needs more of you!

Me too. I grew up fishing from a boat, but don't have that luxury anymore because I moved to the city for school. The spinnerbait is one of my all time confidence lures, and i tried it from the bank of a brand new lake yesterday. I couldn't get a hit to save my life. I varied the retrieves all day and still had no luck. A couple times I could even see the bass I was casting to and brought it right across their nose without any success. I switched to a weightless senko and got absolutely whalloped on the second cast. Sometimes they just want something different.

I just found a picture of them, looks like they would be a really good multispieces lure. I bet they are especially great for smallmouth and walleye. Let us know how they perform.

Sounds like a great plan and the absolute best way to get someone started into the sport. Not sure what part of the country ur from, but while ur out getting the ladies acquainted with a bobber, maybe throw an extra baited line out onto the bottom and see if you can pick up a couple catfish too. Very impressive fighters, good on the table, and can get pretty sizeable. I know it isn't as fast paced as bluegill on a bobber, but while you're out there ya might as well give it a try.

I also have and use both. I guess if you were to get technical though, one piece rods are more sensitive (because there is nothing to dampen the transmission of vibration all the way down the handle) and they are slightly stronger than two piece rods of the same quality. But research and manufacturing have come such a long way that i think the difference is pretty negligible, especially on higher end rods. Adding a joint to anything will weaken it. Even if the joint is made extra strong, the areas to each side of it will receive uneven amounts of pressure under strain, thereby making them more likely to give out. That being said however, I still have a several two piece rods in my arsenal. I still always know when i have a bite and can still catch plenty of fish, who obviously don't know or care what gear i use. I also have yet to meet a bass that has broken one of my two piece outfits. If I were a tournament angler who needed every edge available, I would probably shop for one piece rods exclusively. At this point in my life however, I am not splitting hairs over differences that I simply don't have the experience or the skill to notice.

I agree with Brian. I am in no way an expert on this one, but it is entirely possible that the bass have overpopulated which would stunt their growth because of the fierce competition for food. If there are bigger ones in there, though, that jig/pork would be a definite go to. You could be successful with other lures as well, just scale up the size. Use BIG soft plastics and cranks, or beef up ur spinnerbaits with a chunky trailer. I don't know what your stance is on using live bait, but it seems that hooking a large shiner through the lips and suspending it under a bobber is catching on with more people and they are landing some hogs. Whatever method you choose, just fish a little bit more carefully. Big fish didn't grow to that size by being stupid. They are older, wiser, and will be much more easily spooked than the little guys, especially in clear water. Stay further back, cast from a distance, and try to move quietly in ur boat. You won't believe how well the sound of people and gear will transfer through a metal hull and into the water.

Go to the Social Security administration office first thing in the morning and tell them what happened. They should be able to help you get a new card and number before anyone can do any damage with the one that is missing. At the very least, I would think that they can flag your number in case anyone tries to use it. Like other people have said, you are super young and don't even have enough credit to wreck at this point. It is most likely in the possession of your bank teller, if not someplace you haven't looked yet (check every square inch of your wallet, I know mine got stuck to my license when I had to carry it once). Remember, while there are bad people in this world, they are completely outnumbered by the good ones. Also, do you know how you would go about using someone's ssn number against them without also having a driver's license or any other information about them? I know I wouldn't even know where to start, and neither would the vast majority of other people. I understand that there are those who can easily do it, but they are few and far between, so the odds are decisively in your favor. I know it will be hard, but try to get some sleep tonight and don't run through all the "what if's " in your head. Jump your hurdles as they come and don't focus too hard on the things that haven't happened yet.

And so it begins... this sport is part of you now, and there is no escape. Muahahahaha! Congrats man! That is one incredibly healthy-looking, beautifully marked/colored fish. Great photo too

Highly recommended for travel, just check to rod every once in a while to make sure the guides are still lined up-- with the telescoping rods, sometimes the pieces twist a bit during use. Its very easily corrected, just keep an eye on it, I'd hate to see you get too much strain on ur line when you hook into something. Also, its very tempting, but never sling that thing like a sword to make it extend from its compacted travels form. The momentum puts a lot of force on the outermost sections and they can pull too tight and be almost impossible to collapse back down (learned that one from experience) . You obviously want each section pulled nice and tight, but don't overdo it. Best of luck!

Hey I just noticed that you fish the Little Miami River in Ohio. I recently moved to the Montgomery/Blue Ash area on the northeast side of Cincinnati. I was considering fishing the LMR, because it is less than 10 minutes away. Do you have any suggestions on where to get access to it? I am without a boat at the moment, and so I haven't the slightest clue on where I can get shoreline access without having to pay or cross through private property.

Bass pro DOES sell a telescopic rod that has a reel seat (reels sold seperately). I was actually in the store yesterday and I played around with it while is was waiting to talk to the guy behind the counter. I think they also sell telescoping rod&reel combos online. From what i have seen, they don't come anywhere near the quality of having a solid 1-2 piece rod, but they absolutely can't be beaten on portability. I bought a telescoping set from a department store years ago before I was old enough to drive--- it was a heck of a lot easier for me to manage when I was riding my bike. I still love to throw it in my pack when I go hiking and I usually have it in the trunk when we go on vacation. I wouldn't in a million years consider making it my "go to" rod and reel, but it is fantastic for travel, and if you are looking for bream/bluegill, crappie, bullheads, or the occasional bass, it should do the job. As far as choosing between one with a reel and one without, it depends on how you plan to use it. Obviously, there is the casting factor. If you want to be able to fish near shore, far from shore, anywhere in between, or on the bottom, get the reel. If you will be only fishing water that is in you immediate vicinity, you could get by with either one, it would just be a matter of preference. The one place that the 12 foot jigging pole excels where the reel does not is if you were planning to reach out and drop a bait directly into lily pads/weeds/timber without tangling your line. However, I don't imagine that this would constitute enough of your fishing to justify getting a straight jigging pole over the rod/reel combo, so I would consider going with the more versatile option.

Go with whatever you are comfortable with. Yes, there are some applications where the baitcasting outfit would make your job easier, but that is not to say you can't still use spinning gear. One of the best examples that I can think of to illustrate this point is the buzzbait. Using a baitcasting reel, the bait lands without slack in the line, so it doesn't have a chance to sink before you pull it across the surface of the water. With a spinning reel, the buzzer lands with a lot more slack, so you have work harder to bring up/keep the lure at the surface at the start of your retrieve. So yeah, the baitcaster has an edge in this situation, but you can be equally productive with a spinning reel if you make adjustments to your technique (reel incredibly fast once your bait hits the water, grab hold of your line and pull back on your rod to keep the bait on the surface when it hits, or cast slightly up onto the bank and drag it into the water). I can think of a few other examples too, but won't go into detail. I guess the short answer to your question is yes, there are a number of situations where the spinning outfit doesn't measure up to your baitcaster, but that doesn't mean you can't still use the spinning combo for those applications. You just have to work a bit harder, and if you are already used to doing it, why change now? By the way, everything I said totally works in reverse too- there are plenty of times when I would choose a spinning reel over anything else.... But its all about what helps you to personally get it done in the most effective way possible and you gotta go with what works best.

I am curious about that myself. I noticed that on one lake I fished for the firsttime this this year, the bass seemed much more "toothy" than any I have caught in the past. One 3 1/2 pounder, in particular, tore my thumb to shreds when I grabbed it by the bottom lip. I figured that this lake, which is very isolated, simply had a unique genetic strain of bass. The crawfish/grinding teeth theory would also make a lot of sense, given what I know about the available forage where I was fishing, but I had never heard that before. Really interesting.

I get what you are saying, i use a tablet and switch back and forth all the time. I like the simple version better for a small screen, but it doesn't have all of the same features as the full. If you go back to the very bottom of the screen, you should be able to click 'use mobile version'. That is probably the quickest way. Also at the bottom of the screen is a 'change theme' option - you can click on that and select 'use mobile version' as well... Either way should get you back to where you want to go. Both of these are at the bottom of the screen, right above the orange-ish decorative banner/picture of a bassboat on the water.